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63,592,768 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feni%20Gas%20Field | Feni Gas Field () is a natural gas field at Feni, Bangladesh. It is a subsidiary of a Canadian multinational company, Niko Resources.
Location
Feni gas field is located at Dhliya union of Sadar upazila of Feni district of Chittagong Division.
Discovery
Petrobangla discovered the gas field in 1981.
See also
List of natural gas fields in Bangladesh
Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited
Gas Transmission Company Limited
References
1981 establishments in Bangladesh
Economy of Chittagong
Natural gas fields in Bangladesh | Feni Gas Field | [
"Chemistry"
] | 106 | [] |
63,592,865 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National%20Federation%20of%20Chemical%20Industries | The National Federation of Chemical Industries (, FNIC) is a trade union representing workers in the chemical industry in France.
The union was founded in 1907 as the Oil and Gas Workers' Federation, as an affiliate of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). In 1909, it was renamed as the Federation of Chemical Products. In 1921, it suffered a major split, with left-wingers forming the United Federation of Chemical Industries, but they rejoined in 1935, with their general secretary, Eduoard Finck, becoming secretary of the merged union. This took membership from 4,000 to a claimed 190,000, and although the union was banned during World War II, it reformed after the war and had 160,000 members in 1946.
By 1994, the union's membership had fallen 22,156. It has since stabilised, and was 24,814 in 2019.
General Secretaries
1900s: E. Bernaud
1910s: Decouzon
1922: Loze
1928: Van den Bossche
1935: Édouard Finck
1958: Roger Pascré
1978: Jean Vincent
1991: Georges Hervo
2001: Jean Michel Petit
2015: Carlos Moreira
External links
References
Chemical industry in France
Chemical industry trade unions
Trade unions established in 1907
Trade unions in France | National Federation of Chemical Industries | [
"Chemistry"
] | 254 | [
"Chemical industry trade unions"
] |
63,593,401 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese%20amber | Japanese amber is a type of amber that can be found in Japan.
The largest sources of this substance are located in Honshu. It is similar to Baltic amber and has similar general use. However, Japanese amber is softer and much more difficult to treat than the Baltic type. Its treatment requires special care and precision because stones can be easily damaged. Its color range varies from many shades of orange to brown. It is characterized by dark spots that can be found on its surface. The opacity of Japanese amber varies from clear to opaque pieces.
Location
Sources of Japanese amber can be found in many different locations all over Japan. They have the whole area of 2800 km, starting from Hokkaido in the North and Kyūshū in the South. The only still opened mine is the Fuji mine where amber is recovered since the 6th century AD. In 1938 up to 13 tons of amber was recovered there. Two pieces recovered in the mine can be found as a part of a private collection (mass: 19kg, size 40x40x2 cm, recovered in 1927) and as a part of an exhibition in the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo (mass: 16 kg, size 40x23x23 cm, recovered in 1941).
Use
Due to its soft and easy to damage surface Japanese amber is not widely used. It can be found in jewellery as a decorative gemstone or to decorate clothes and utility items. A recovered decorative pillow from the 6th century decorated with Japanese amber was a part of an exhibition in Kaliningrad. Modern artists prefer to use Baltic amber, as it is easier to work with and has similar aesthetic values.
References
Amber | Japanese amber | [
"Physics"
] | 333 | [
"Amorphous solids",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Amber"
] |
63,594,113 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%201452 | NGC 1452 (or NGC 1455) is a barred lenticular galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. Located 80 million light years away, it is one of the farther galaxies of the Eridanus cluster, a cluster of approximately 200 galaxies. It was discovered on October 6, 1785 by William Herschel.
The galaxy has a Hubble classification of SB0-a, indicating it is a lenticular galaxy with a bar. NGC 1452's bar extends from the core to the middle of the galaxy. It size on the night sky is 2.8' x 1.5' which is proportional to the real size of 65,000 light-years.
The galaxy is a member of the NGC 1407 Group, a small group of the galaxies inside the Eridanus Cluster, together with the galaxies NGC 1407, NGC 1400 and others.
See also
NGC 1407, brightest member of NGC 1407 Group
NGC 1460, another barred lenticular galaxy, with huge bar
Lenticular galaxy
References
External links
Eridanus (constellation)
Barred lenticular galaxies
Discoveries by William Herschel
Galaxies discovered in 1785
1452
013765Eridanus Group | NGC 1452 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 235 | [
"Eridanus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
63,595,069 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un-24 | un-24 is a gene in fungus such as Neurospora crassa, encode Ribonucleoside-diphosphate reductase large chain, involved in their heterokaryon incompatibility.
See also
Un-25
References
Fungus genes | Un-24 | [
"Biology"
] | 58 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus genes"
] |
63,597,263 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuphus%20polythalamius | Kuphus polythalamius (known as giant tamilok) is a species of shipworm, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Teredinidae.
Description
The tube of Kuphus polythalamius is known as a crypt and is a calcareous secretion designed to enable the animal to live in its preferred habitat, the mud of mangrove swamps. A typical specimen measures in length and is shaped like a truncated elephant's tusk. The wider, anterior end is closed, has a rounded tip, and is about in diameter. From there the tube tapers to an open, posterior end about in diameter, with a central septum. Siphons project through this end for feeding and respiration. They can be withdrawn inside the tube and the end can be sealed with a set of specialised plates or "pallets". The two small valves of the mollusc are inside the tube along with the mantle, gut and other soft organs. In the intact but otherwise empty tube found on the strandline, they can be seen by X-ray photography.
Longest bivalve
The giant clam (Tridacna gigas) is generally considered to be the largest bivalve mollusc. It is indeed the heaviest species, growing to over and measuring up to in length, but Kuphus polythalamius holds the record for the largest bivalve by length. A specimen owned by Victor Dan in the United States has a length of , which is considerably longer than the largest giant clam.
Distribution
Today, Kuphus polythalamius is found in the western Pacific Ocean, the western and eastern Indian Ocean and the Indo-Malaysian area. The range includes the Philippines, Indonesia and Mozambique. However, the only thoroughly studied natural habitat of the species is in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat in the Philippines.
Evolution
Marine biologist Ruth Turner studied shipworms and considered that their common ancestor would have been very like Kuphus polythalamius, the most primitive of the teredinids. She believed that the anatomy of the tube was such that the animal would not have been able to burrow in wood as other modern teredinids do, but would instead have lived buried in soft sediments.
Live specimen
In April 2017, the species became the focus of international attention when the announcement of a scientific study conducted in the Philippines was misinterpreted by foreign news reporters as the discovery of a rare live specimen. The sample was gunmetal black, and very muscular. While other shipworms feed on submerged wood, K. polythalamius was found to use bacteria in its gills to use hydrogen sulphide in the water as an energy source used to convert carbon dioxide into nutrients. In this respect it resembles the unrelated giant tube worm, which actually is a worm.
Videos uploaded to YouTube, however, already show Philippine scientists dissecting specimens as far back as 2010, after a news feature on a giant , the local name for the common shipworm, was broadcast on a local TV network. The report by local media celebrity Jessica Soho suggests that local residents in the province of Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao island, were familiar enough with the creature to the point of treating it as a delicacy. After the discovery of the species in Sultan Kudarat, various environmental groups launched a campaign to protect the species and its habitat from further destruction and human consumption. Currently, the municipal waters where the species thrive in is protected by the local government.
References
polythalamius
Chemosynthetic symbiosis
Molluscs of the Indian Ocean
Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean
Bivalves described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus | Kuphus polythalamius | [
"Biology"
] | 753 | [
"Biological interactions",
"Chemosynthetic symbiosis",
"Behavior",
"Symbiosis"
] |
63,598,605 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Strange%20Logic%20of%20Random%20Graphs | The Strange Logic of Random Graphs is a book on zero-one laws for random graphs. It was written by Joel Spencer and published in 2001 by Springer-Verlag as volume 22 of their book series Algorithms and Combinatorics.
Topics
The random graphs of the book are generated from the Erdős–Rényi–Gilbert model in which vertices are given and a random choice is made whether to connect each pair of vertices by an edge, independently for each pair, with probability of making a connection. A zero-one law is a theorem stating that, for certain properties of graphs, and for certain choices of ,
the probability of generating a graph with the property tends to zero or one in the limit as goes to infinity.
A fundamental result in this area, proved independently by Glebskiĭ et al. and by Ronald Fagin, is that there is a zero-one law for for every property that can be described in the first-order logic of graphs. Moreover, the limiting probability is one if and only if the infinite Rado graph has the property. For instance, a random graph in this model contains a triangle with probability tending to one; it contains a universal vertex with probability tending to zero. For other choices of , other outcomes can occur.
For instance, the limiting probability of containing a triangle is between 0 and 1 when for a constant ; it tends to 0 for smaller choices of and to 1 for larger choices. The function is said to be a threshold for the property of containing a triangle, meaning that it separates the values of with limiting probability 0 from the values with limiting probability 1.
The main result of the book (proved by Spencer with Saharon Shelah) is that irrational powers of are never threshold functions. That is, whenever is an irrational number, there is a zero-one law for the first-order properties of the random graphs . A key tool in the proof is the Ehrenfeucht–Fraïssé game.
Audience and reception
Although it is essentially the proof of a single theorem, aimed at specialists in the area, the book is written in a readable style that introduces the reader to many important topics in finite model theory and the theory of random graphs. Reviewer Valentin Kolchin, himself the author of another book on random graphs, writes that the book is "self-contained, easily read, and is distinguished by elegant writing", recommending it to probability theorists and logicians. Reviewer Alessandro Berarducci calls the book "beautifully written" and its subject "fascinating".
References
Random graphs
Finite model theory
Mathematics books
2001 non-fiction books | The Strange Logic of Random Graphs | [
"Mathematics"
] | 524 | [
"Graph theory",
"Finite model theory",
"Mathematical relations",
"Model theory",
"Random graphs"
] |
63,598,831 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebaru%20virus | Bebaru virus is an RNA virus in the genus Alphavirus.
References
External links
Wikispecies
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/arbocat/VirusDetails.aspx?ID=56&SID=9
https://www.atcc.org/products/all/VR-1240AF.aspx
https://www.genome.jp/virushostdb/59305
Alphaviruses
RNA viruses | Bebaru virus | [
"Biology"
] | 100 | [
"Virus stubs",
"Viruses"
] |
63,599,232 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARC%20Centre%20of%20Excellence%20for%20Australian%20Biodiversity%20and%20Heritage |
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) is a research centre which focuses on the natural, historic and Indigenous heritage of Australia. Its aim is to increase understanding of the past in order to be able to better adapt and plan for the future.
The facility was opened at Parliament House, Canberra on 22 June 2017, and planned to run for seven years. It is funded by a grant of from the Australian Research Council, million from the New South Wales Government, and million from 20 universities, museums, and organisations, which will pay for about 40 new research positions and over 50 students over the term of its existence.
An outreach program to schools and the broader community has been set up to engage participation and interest in science, and educational facilities to help train new researchers, with a particular focus on nurturing the careers of Indigenous and female researchers. As well as including scholars from STEM disciplines, including earth science, climate science, ecology and genetics, there are researchers from the fields of humanities, arts and social sciences disciplines, such as archaeology, Indigenous studies and museology.
Organisation
, the Director of CABAH is geoscientist Professor Richard "Bert" Roberts, and the University of Wollongong is responsible for administration. Collaborators and partners are:
Australian National University
James Cook University in North Queensland
The University of New South Wales
University of Adelaide
Monash University
University of Tasmania
Queensland Museum
Australian Museum
Scarp Archaeology Pty Ltd
South Australian Museum
State Library of New South Wales
Bioplatforms Australia Ltd
Université Savoie-Mont Blanc (University of Savoy, France)
University of Papua New Guinea
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Natural History Museum of Denmark
Indonesian National Centre for Archaeology
University of Colorado, Boulder, US
Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery
Symposia
CABAH's 3rd Annual Symposium was held at Monash University from 4 to 8 November 2019.
Studies
CABAH supported a series of archaeological excavations undertaken by a team co-led by Sean Ulm, distinguished professor at James Cook University, and Ian J. McNiven, professor at Monash University, and included traditional owners of Lizard Island in Queensland. The resulting study, published in April 2024 and co-authored by radiocarbon dating expert Quan Hua of CABAH, uncovered hitherto unproven dating of pottery sherds on the island. This was the first pottery in Australia to have been found and reliably dated, showing that the people of Australia were not geographically isolated, but involved with other seafaring peoples and in possession of considerable seafaring technology and navigational skills.
References
Further reading
External links
Biodiversity
Research organisations in Australia
Heritage registers in Australia | ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage | [
"Biology"
] | 538 | [
"Biodiversity"
] |
63,600,199 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start%20%28streaming%20service%29 | Start is a subscription-based international streaming service available worldwide with Russian-based production. The service is a part of START digital media holding that also includes production company Start, and distribution company All Media.
START Originals includes world-renowned projects 257 Reasons to Live (Beta Film, 2020 Canneseries Best Performance Award, 2020 Rose D’Or Finalist), Russian Affairs/Gold Diggers. Another START Original sci-fi hit Better than Us after its premiere on Start became the first Russian production to be dubbed into 20+ languages and secured a Netflix Original status. Some of the series are currently being sold as formats for local adaptation abroad.
History
Start was founded in 2017 by the producers of Yellow, Black and White — Eduard Iloyan, Vitaliy Shlyappo, Alexey Trotsyuk, Denis Jalinskiy. The company produces content in partnership with Disney Russia and other major distributors. As of August 2019 START had subscribers in 174 countries, 40% outside CIS. In October 2020 Start announced it had over 1 million paying subscribers.
Since April 2021 Start has been a part of so named digital media holding. Start holding also includes a production studio Start Studio that handles all rights to its original series, and a feature film distribution company All Media.
Finance
According to one of the founders, Eduard Iloyan, total investment amounted to 2,3–2,4 billion rubles (over 36 millions $) at the end of 2019.
According to Telecom Daily and TMT Consulting reports, for two years in a row Start shows the fastest finance growth among streaming services in Russia, occupying 6% of the SVOD market.
Device support and technical details
Start's web version can be accessed via a web browser.
Content
Over the past three years Start produced in-house more than 30 originals, including series Russian Affairs/Gold Diggers (3 seasons), Better than Us (1 season), Storm (1 season), Addicted (3 seasons), The Vampires of Midland, Mediator (2 seasons), Passengers, Container, Offside (2 seasons), The Counted (2 seasons), 257 Reasons to Live (2 seasons), A Good Man (1 season), Sherlock: The Russian Chronicles, and films Hotel Belgrade, Factory by Yury Bykov, Text by Klim Shipenko etc. In 2019 Start original series Better Than Us became the first Russian TV series released worldwide as a Netflix Original. It was dubbed into 20+ languages.
In 2020 Amazon Prime bought exclusive distribution rights for Russian Affairs (season 1) as Exclusives and Originals after its release on Start.
As of May 2021 Start had over 50 projects in production.
Awards and nominations
Start original series Storm by Boris Khlebnikov won a silver award at the New York Festivals TV and Film Awards in the Streaming Drama category. Text by Klim Shipenko won The François Chalais Prize at the annual Festival du Cinéma Russe à Honfleur (2019) for Best Script (Dmitry Glukhovskiy) and Best Actor (Alexander Petrov and Ivan Yankovskiy)[28]. The film won four Golden Eagle Awards (2020) for Best Motion Picture, Best Leading Actor (Alexander Petrov), Best Supporting Actor (Ivan Yankovsky), and Best Film Editing.
References
External links
Official website
Android (operating system) software
Companies based in Moscow
Technology companies of Russia
Entertainment companies established in 2017
Internet properties established in 2017
IOS software
Mass media companies established in 2017
Online retailers of Russia
Recommender systems
TvOS software
Universal Windows Platform apps
Video rental services
Internet television streaming services
Subscription video on demand services
Software companies of Russia
Video hosting
Russian brands
Russian companies established in 2017 | Start (streaming service) | [
"Technology"
] | 739 | [
"Information systems",
"Recommender systems"
] |
73,722,146 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exidia%20saccharina | Exidia saccharina is a species of fungus in the family Auriculariaceae. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are gelatinous, reddish brown, button-shaped at first then often coalescing and becoming irregularly effused. In the UK, it has the recommended English name of pine jelly. It grows on dead branches of conifers and is known from Europe, North America, and northern Asia.
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1805 from Germany as Tremella spiculosa var. saccharina by mycologists Johannes Baptista von Albertini and Lewis David de Schweinitz and raised to species level in Exidia by Elias Magnus Fries in 1822. Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that the species is distinct. Exidia subrepanda, originally described from Finland on spruce (Picea), is considered a synonym.
Description
The basidiocarps of E. saccharina are orange-brown, gelatinous, button-shaped at first but sometimes coalescing to form effused, irregular, often ridged masses up to 10 cm across. They become leathery, dark, and shriveled when dry.
Microscopic characters
The translucent hyphae are 0.5–2.5 μm in diameter, monomitic, branched, thin-walled, and form clamp connections. Hyphae frequently form anastomoses. Basidia are typically 13 to 15.5 μm long, elliptical, and consist of four longitudinally septate cells. Basidiospores are allantoid (sausage shaped), 10 to 14 by 3 to 4.5 μm, with thin, smooth walls.
Similar species
Fruit bodies of Exidia subsaccharina (known from France and England) also occur on conifers and are not distinguishable in the field, but have larger basidia and spores (12.5 to 17.5 by 4 to 5.5 μm).
Distribution and habitat
Exidia saccharina is most common in Scandinavia, but can also be found elsewhere in Europe, in northern parts of Asia, and in North America.
Exidia saccharina grows only on dead conifers, including species of Abies, Larix, Picea, and most commonly Pinus. It seems to grow most preferentially on Pinus strobus. In its anamorphic (asexual) state, it has been found in association with bark beetles.
Conservation status
Exidia saccharina is currently listed on the register of protected and endangered fungi of Poland.
References
Fungi described in 1805
Fungi of Europe
Auriculariales
Fungus species
Taxa named by Lewis David de Schweinitz | Exidia saccharina | [
"Biology"
] | 565 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,722,175 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse%20analysis | Multiverse analysis is a scientific method that specifies and then runs a set of plausible alternative models or statistical tests for a single hypothesis. It is a method to address the issue that the "scientific process confronts researchers with a multiplicity of seemingly minor, yet nontrivial, decision points, each of which may introduce variability in research outcomes". A problem also known as Researcher degrees of freedom or as the garden of forking paths. It is a method arising in response to the credibility and replication crisis taking place in science, because it can diagnose the fragility or robustness of a study's findings. Multiverse analyses have been used in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. It is also a form of meta-analysis allowing researchers to provide evidence on how different model specifications impact results for the same hypothesis, and thus can point scientists toward where they might need better theory or causal models.
Details
Multiverse analysis most often produces a large number of results that tend to go in all directions. This means that most studies do not offer consensus or specific rejection of an hypothesis. Its strongest utilities thus far are instead to provide evidence against conclusions based on findings from single studies or to provide evidence about which model specifications are more or less likely to cause larger or more robust effect sizes (or not).
Evidence against single studies or statistical models, is useful in identifying potential false positive results. For example, a now infamous study concluded that female gender named hurricanes are more deadly than male gender named hurricanes. In a follow up study, researchers ran thousands of models using the same hurricane data, but making various plausible adjustments to the regression model. By plotting a density curve of all regression coefficients, they showed that the coefficient of the original study was an extreme outlier.
In a study of birth order effects, researchers visualized a multiverse of plausible models using a specification curve which allows researchers to visually inspect a plot of all model outcomes against various model specifications. They could show that their findings supported previous research of birth order on intellect, but provided evidence against an effect on life satisfaction and various personality traits.
References
Multiverse | Multiverse analysis | [
"Astronomy"
] | 423 | [
"Astronomical hypotheses",
"Multiverse"
] |
73,722,872 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain%20R.%20Thierry | Alain Thierry (born 21 October 1959) is a French geneticist and cancer researcher. He specializes in the clinical applications of circulating DNA analysis, notably in cancer care management. He is currently Director of Research at the INSERM's Cancer Research Institute in Montpellier, France.
Education
Thierry obtained his primary degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology (MSc) at the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France in 1982. In 1986 he completed his PhD in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Montpellier II. The following year he was awarded the Certificat d’Etudes Supérieures (CES) in Human Biology in Clinical and Experimental Oncology, from the Paris-Sud Faculty of Medicine.
Career
Thierry began his career in the US as a Postdoctoral Fellow (1988–92) at the Lombardi Cancer Centre in the Georgetown University Medical Centre (Washington DC), going on to work there as Adjunct Assistant Professor from 1992 to 1994. From 1992 to 1996 he was also a Visiting Scientist at the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, where he worked with Dr. Robert C. Gallo, the laboratory's Director.
Returning to France, from 1997 to 2000 he served as Scientific Director at the Biovector Therapeutics company. From 2001 to 2007 he was Associate Professor at Montpellier University's Faculty of Sciences. Since 2008, he has been the Senior Investigator and Director of Research at the INSERM's Cancer Research Institute of Montpellier (IRCM).
He is the principal founder of the MedinCell and DiaDx biotech companies in France. The latter develops liquid biopsy solutions in oncology.
Research
Thierry specializes in the clinical application of liquid biopsy that exploits circulating DNA as a biomarker, notably in cancer management care. He has been the principal investigator in numerous discoveries in drug delivery innovation and application in oncology.
It was during his period at Georgetown that he showed the circumvention of multi-drug resistance in tumors through drug delivery. There, he also developed his expertise in synthetic DNA complex formation, notably regarding its use for in vivo gene therapy. He built on this work at the US National Cancer Institute, developing gene therapy for cancer and HIV, in particular the first long term expression of a transgene by systemic administration with a synthetic delivery system.
While at the University of Montpellier, he worked first on the pharmacokinetics of therapeutic vectorized HIV antisense oligonucleotides in primates (2002). He then went on to demonstrate the biomimetic supramolecular auto-organization of DNA in a synthetic complex (2006).
Since 2006, Thierry has focused increasingly on clinical and basic research into the role of circulating DNA (cirDNA), and on its diagnostic potential in oncology. In this area, he has worked notably on: the detection of mutations following targeted therapy; the follow-up of CRC patients; and the prognostic power of cirDNA, with potential application in a universal cancer screening test. He has also worked towards the development of methods which support personalized medicine.
In 2009, his team developed an animal model to specifically quantify the different origins of cirDNA / circulating tumor DNA, and demonstrated the importance of short cirDNA fragment detection for high specificity and sensitivity in cirDNA analysis. That observation enabled dominant IP and the design of the IntPlex test, a multimarker quantitative analysis of cirDNA that also enables the detection of mutations.
In 2014, Thierry coordinated the first prospective blinded multicenter study to offer clinical validation of plasma analysis in the detection of mutations in oncology, and to demonstrate the clinical utility of cirDNA analysis in digestive oncology.
His team has also engaged in sustained basic research programs on cirDNA structure and functions. Key discoveries in this area include the demonstration of the presence in blood of circulating functional cell-free mitochondria (2020), and the demonstration that most cirDNA derives from neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), either in the presence of invasive microorganisms or of cancer. In a related discovery, they were amongst the first (in April 2020) to suggest NETs as a key player in COVID-19 pathogenesis (2020) and have shown long COVID-19 (COVID post-acute phase syndrome) to be an effect of the persistence of the production of NETs and auto-antibodies. Recently (2022), they have demonstrated cirDNA association with NETs production in cancer and lupus.
Most recently, Thierry has pioneered work on cirDNA fragmentation, proposing potential solutions towards cancer screening through the use of fragmentomics. This builds on earlier work (2011) on the fragmentation levels of cancer patient cirDNA.
According to Google Scholar, he has an h-index of 45.
Awards and honors
2021: Innovation Prize, Montpellier Université d'Excellence (MUSE)
2016: Grand Prix for Therapeutic Innovation, Beatrice Denys Foundation & the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM).
2010: GEFLUC Award (Collective of French Companies against Cancer), France.
2002: National Innovation Award, French Ministry of Education & Research.
1994: Federal Technology Award, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, US.
References
French geneticists
Living people
1959 births
University of Clermont-Ferrand alumni
University of Montpellier alumni
Inserm directors | Alain R. Thierry | [
"Biology"
] | 1,111 | [
"Biotechnologists"
] |
73,724,979 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory%20syncytial%20virus%20F%20protein | Fusion glycoprotein F0 of the human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a critical fusion glycoprotein that facilitates entry of the virus into host cells by mediating the fusion of the viral and cellular membranes. This class I fusion protein is synthesized as an inactive precursor (F0), which undergoes cleavage to form two disulfide linked subunits, F1 and F2, that are essential for its fusion activity. The RSV F protein exists in two conformations: a metastable prefusion form and a stable postfusion form, with the prefusion form being a major target for neutralizing antibodies due to its role in viral entry. The structural transitions of the F protein during the fusion process are crucial for its function, making it a significant focus in the development of vaccines and antiviral therapies against RSV infections.
References
Viral structural proteins
F protein, Respiratory syncytial virus | Respiratory syncytial virus F protein | [
"Chemistry"
] | 191 | [
"Biochemistry stubs",
"Protein stubs"
] |
73,725,722 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delmonas | Delmonas (or Dalmonas, plural delmonai) – is a detail of folk costume of women originated in Lithuania Minor. It is an elaborately decorated purse, visibly attached to the waist by a band. This costume feature represents the Prussian Lithuanians and is not common to other ethnographic regions of Lithuania. In 2019 Delmonai of Lithuania Minor were inscribed into The Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Lithuania as a form of folk art, traditional craftsmanship or agricultural activities.
Traditional appearance
Delmonas was usually sewn from velvet, wool, silk or cotton. Traditionally the color of fabric was dark, and delmonas was embroided using colorful threads and glass beads. Embroidery usually depicted flowers or other plants, birds, and sometimes the initials of the owner. Also some meaningful quotes, dates or initials, sometimes figurines could be embroided on a rectangle, rounded, flare, wavy bottom, trapezium, multiangular or other shape pocket. Delmonai were usually embroided by the women of Lithuania Minor themselves; however, they could also order delmonai from a tailor as well.
Usage and history
Worn at the end of the 18th century – beginning of the 20th century – when region was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia – delmonai served a certain practical function. Women could store small items while doing house chores or use it as a pocket going outside. This practical feature was not hidden at first – dalmonai was the most decorated item of the costume. However, during various political turmoil women of Lithuania Minor started to wear dalmonai secretly. They would be hidden under the skirt and used to hide money, documents or letters, especially for women who were willing or forced to leave their homeland. Many of such women would pass delmonai to younger generations, who would then donate them for various museums of Lithuania. Women of Klaipėda city reportedly continued to wear delmonai up to 1940s. The popularity of delmonai was restored in the revival of folk costume in 1960s and 1970s. Being used as a sign of Lithuania Minor identity, delmonai are also used as a modern accessory, continuing the uninterrupted production in Klaipėda region.
Gallery
Sources
Lithuanian folk art
National symbols of Lithuania
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Textile arts
Parts of clothing
Lithuanian clothing | Delmonas | [
"Technology"
] | 479 | [
"Components",
"Parts of clothing"
] |
73,725,759 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather%20of%201946 | The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 1946. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones.
Deadliest events
Types
The following listed different types of special weather conditions worldwide.
Cold snaps and winter storms
Tornadoes
Tropical cyclones
Timeline
This is a timeline of weather events during 1946.
January
January 4–6 — A small but violent tornado outbreak across the South—Central United States kills 47 people and injures at least 412 others. L. H. Seamon with the U.S. Weather Bureau, the predecessor of the National Weather Service, later stated this was the "most disastrous" tornado event of the year.
February
February 5–6 — A blizzard in South Dakota leaves two people dead in the city of Huron.
February 13 — A tornado estimated at F3 intensity struck Ardmore, Oklahoma, killing one person and leaving over 1,700 buildings damaged or destroyed in the city.
February 24 — A section of the Cooper River Bridge is “carried away” by high winds, killing five people during the destruction.
March
March 16 — A long-tracked thundersquall, a combination of a thunderstorm and a squall, kills ten people, destroys 78 homes, and damaged 94 others. It was noted by the United States Weather Bureau that the houses were “rural negro dwellings”. The thundersquall traveled at least .
March 22 — A violent tornado estimated at F4 intensity struck near Wynona, Oklahoma, where it destroyed 15 homes and a power plant and damaged ten other homes. A piece of machinery was carried by the tornado.
April
April 21 — A tornado strikes around Timber Lake, South Dakota, causing $150,000 in property damage. (1946 USD) in property damage throughout the city. This tornado did not receive an estimated rating on the Fujita scale from Thomas P. Grazulis, meaning it was believed to have been F0 or F1 intensity. The U.S. Weather Bureau published a paper in 1946 which stated the width of this tornado was , which would make this the widest tornado ever documented in history, beating the 2013 El Reno tornado.
May
May 10 – An intense tornado, estimated at F3 intensity, struck around Eufaula, Oklahoma, killing one person, injuring five others, and it damaged or destroyed 18 structures.
May 15 – A violent tornado, estimated at F4 intensity, struck south of Loraine before striking the community of Champion, where it killed a person, injured two others, and leveled several homes, including one that was newly built.
May 17 – An intense tornado, estimated at F3 intensity, struck Norris City, Illinois, where it killed one person and leveled three homes.
May 18 – A violent tornado, estimated at F4 intensity, strikes Stoneburg, Texas. Along the tornado's path, it kills three people and obliterates a church, where a linen scarf was untouched that laid on the pulpit. An hour later a second violent tornado, also estimated at F4 intensity, struck around Sanger, Texas, killing a nine-year-old girl.
May 20 – A long-track tornado, estimated at F3 intensity, occurs in North Carolina, where it kills two people near Grifton.
May 23–24 – A significant tornado outbreak of at least 17 tornadoes occurs in the Central United States. Four people are killed and 42 others are injured during the outbreak.
June
June 7 – An intense tornado, estimated at F3 intensity, struck Froid, Montana, where it "nearly leveled" a five-room farmhouse, destroyed a second farmhouse, killed one person and injured another.
June 13 — A tornadic event in Europe spawns three tornadoes two F2 tornadoes in the Czech Republic, an F1 tornado that strikes Zabrzeg, Poland killing one person, and a fourth unrated tornado in Austria.
June 17 — A violent F4 tornado impacts the city of Windsor, Ontario, killing at least 17 people and causing $9.6 million (1946 CAD) in damage. This tornado was one of two officially rated F4 tornadoes during the year.
July
July 12 – A lightning strike in Saratoga, North Carolina kills four people and injures four others.
July 23 – A brief tornado struck around Concord, New Hampshire, killing one person. A 150-foot section of a steel and brick building was leveled, several pieces of machinery were destroyed and army vehicles from a National Guard Arsenal were damaged.
August
August 17 — A violent tornado estimated at F4 intensity, struck the Green Gables camp southwest of Mankato, Minnesota, killing 11 people and injuring 100 others. Multiple cars were thrown at least and a road grader was thrown . Later in the day, a second violent tornado, also estimated at F4 intensity, struck Wells, injuring 30 people.
August 20 — A large and violent tornado strikes Kłodzko, Poland, with an estimated intensity of F2–F4 on the Fujita scale. A few hours later, a large, deadly tornado, rated F3 by the European Severe Storms Laboratory, struck Stronie Śląskie and Stójków in Poland, killing one person and leaving ten missing. In an academically peer reviewed paper published in 2017, the tornado (combined) was rated F3/F4. This was one of two officially rated F4 tornadoes during the year.
September
September 5 — Multiple thundersqualls, a combination of a thunderstorm and a squall, kill one person in Minnesota.
September 18–27 — Typhoon Querida kills 154 people and destroys over 373,000 houses in Taiwan.
October
October 5–14 — The 1946 Florida hurricane kills five people in Cuba and causes $5.2 million (1946 USD) in damage in the state of Florida.
November
November 2 — An intense tornado, estimated at F3 intensity, struck Washington, Arkansas, where it killed one person.
November 2–5 — A winter storm kills 13 people and causes $10 million (1946 USD) in damage in the state of Colorado.
November 10 — A significant tornado struck Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, where it killed two people and injured eight others.
November ?? — The November 1946 Andhra coast cyclone kills 750 people.
December
December 2
A gale in the Massachusetts Bay sinks the barge Winsor, leading to the drowning of two people.
A person dies of heart attack induced by hypothermia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
December 30 — An ice storm in Mississippi kills one person.
References
1946 meteorology
Weather by year
1946 | Weather of 1946 | [
"Physics"
] | 1,350 | [
"Weather",
"Physical phenomena",
"Weather by year"
] |
73,726,471 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambispora%20granatensis | Ambispora granatensis is an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species in the genus Ambispora, family Ambisporaceae. It forms spores of the acaulosporois and glomoid morphs, thus the Ambispora classification. It was discovered in Granada Spain in 2010 and has unique spore characteristics, which distinguishes the species from the others in its genus.
Taxonomy
The genus Ambispora is the only genus of the Ambisporaceae family. Species in this genus are characterized by having the potential for spore dimorphism (glomoid and acaulosporoid).
The Ambisporaceae family is separated from the other families in the Archaeosporales order due to differences in the rDNA characteristics.
Morphology
The species is found to form spores of the acaulosporoid and glomoid morphs, which explains the classification under the genus Ambispora. Like the other species in the genus, this species has two spore types.
A unique characteristic of only this species, differentiating it from the others in its genus, is the spores form three walls rather than the commonly seen four-wall structure. They have a “papillae-like” rough outer cell wall surface that can be difficult to identify within a few hours of development however, when placed in water it becomes more clear. Both spore types tend to be smaller in size, having a diameter of around 90–150 μm. They are the commonly seen color of the acaulosporoid morph, ranging from glassy translucent to white or even pale yellow.
Glomoid spores are formed either in a small cluster of 2-10 or one single spore alone. The acaulosporoid spores form individually in the soil on a short pedicel that is branched off of the neck of a soporiferous saccule. The species spores can be differentiated from the other species of the genus due to its thin outer wall.
Ecology
The species is known to invade plant root cells and surrounding soil to hold a symbiotic relationship with the plant it is colonizing. The species has hyphal elements and forms a vesicular Arbuscular mycorrhizal structure to facilitate the symbiotic relationship. Fungal symbiotic relationships play an important role in maintaining plant diversity and development, especially in unstable environments.
Habitat and distribution
The species was isolated to garden asparagus, (Asparagus officinalis), which is multi-annually cultivated, the lifecycle and harvest schedule may explain the abundance and consistency of ambispora granatensis spore formation. In studies, the species was propagated in pot cultures with red clover (Trifolium pratense) and great millet (Sorghum vulgare).
The species was observed growing in the rhizosphere of the plant, forming a symbiotic relationship that is known to improve the growth and yield under a variety of conditions.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) species, like ambispora granatensis, are significantly affected by soil characteristics including nitrogen, clay, cation exchange capacity, and the pH of the soil, determining the species distribution. Ambispora species are the most abundant and have the highest diversity at high altitudes.
The species was originally found in an agricultural site in Granada, Spain. Granada is located on the Genil River at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it has a very hot and humid summer season with increased rainfall before and after, and a mild winter. This provides an ideal habitat for the species and allows for maximum spore production and abundance.
References
Fungi described in 2010
Fungi of Spain
Glomeromycota
Fungus species | Ambispora granatensis | [
"Biology"
] | 773 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,727,640 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thursday%20salt | Thursday salt is a dark salt produced in the Kostroma region, Russia. It is associated with Russian Orthodox Easter traditions, and was historically produced at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius monastery on Maundy Thursday.
The salt is created by mixing rock salt with flavourings such as kvass, herbs, or rye, and baking the mixture at a very high temperature for several hours. The process reduces the sodium chloride content and increases the content of other minerals such as calcium and potassium.
See also
Black lava salt
Himalayan salt
Jugyeom
Kala namak
References
Religion in Russia
Edible salt
Kostroma
Folk Orthodoxy
Russian cuisine
Religious food and drink | Thursday salt | [
"Chemistry"
] | 134 | [
"Edible salt",
"Salts"
] |
73,729,142 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal%20menopause | Criminal menopause is an informal term describing a decrease in anti-social behavior that correlates with human aging. In the United States, for example, people over 60 years are responsible for less than one percent of crime. Another study found that only two percent of convicts paroled after age 55 are ever imprisoned again. The term criminal menopause alludes the human female biological process of menopause, in which ovulation and menstruation slow and then cease, eventually resulting in natural infecundity. There is no generally accepted method for assessing whether or not a convicted criminal has entered a state of criminal menopause.
Marie Gottschalk writes in Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics:
According to the author of a Los Angeles Review of Books article on prison reform in California, "Ed Bunker, the celebrated novelist who spent 18 years behind bars, including a stint in San Quentin as the youngest prisoner ever to enter the institution, would always tell me: 'crime is a young man's game.'"
There is a complicated moral, financial and social calculus to be made by states that hold large populations of aging criminals. The country of the United States is expected to have 400,000 elderly incarcerated people by 2030. One study found that the recidivism rate of ex-convicts who had served more than 25 years of prison time was "essentially zero." In 1992 a manager of Louisiana's Department of Public Safety and Corrections recommending releasing prisoners over 45 years of age who had already served 20 or more years. In 2010, a 90-year-old man who bludgeoned to death his 89-year-old wife was said the defy "the theories about criminal menopause."
See also
Frontal lobe
References
External links
Criminal justice
Prison reform
Gerontology | Criminal menopause | [
"Biology"
] | 376 | [
"Gerontology"
] |
73,729,878 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyisobuteneamine | Polyisobuteneamine (PIBA) is a polymer derived from the reaction of polyisobutylene (PIB) with ammonia or primary amines. This polymeric compound is known for its excellent adhesive and dispersant properties and is commonly used as an additive in lubricants, fuel, and other industrial applications.
History of discovery
The history of polyisobuteneamine dates back to the early development and study of polyisobutylene. The first synthesis of polyisobutylene was reported in 1931 by the German chemists Hermann Staudinger and Leonidas Zechmeister, who obtained the polymer through the cationic polymerization of isobutylene. The discovery of polyisobuteneamine followed as researchers began to explore the potential applications of polyisobutylene and its derivatives.
Synthesis
Polyisobuteneamine is synthesized through the reaction of polyisobutylene with ammonia or primary amines in the presence of a catalyst. The reaction takes place at elevated temperatures and pressures. The molecular weight of the resulting polymer can be controlled by adjusting the reaction conditions and the choice of catalyst.
Polyisobutylene (PIB): (CH2=C(CH3)2)n
Ammonia (NH3) or Primary amine (RNH2)
Polyisobuteneamine (PIBA): [-(CH2-C(CH3)2)N(H)-]m
In the chemical formulas above, n represents the degree of polymerization of PIB, R represents a hydrogen atom (in the case of ammonia) or an alkyl group (in the case of primary amines), and m is the degree of substitution of the amine group on the polyisobutylene backbone.
Properties
Polyisobuteneamine is a viscous liquid with a yellow to amber color. It has excellent adhesion and dispersant properties, which are attributed to its polar amine groups and nonpolar polyisobutylene backbone. The unique combination of polar and nonpolar groups allows PIBA to interact with a wide range of materials, making it a versatile additive.
Applications
Polyisobuteneamine is commonly used as an additive in lubricants, fuel, and other industrial applications. Its adhesive and dispersant properties make it particularly useful in enhancing the performance of engine oils, gear oils, and hydraulic fluids. PIBA is also used in fuel additives to improve the combustion process and reduce deposits in the engine. Other applications include the use of PIBA as a corrosion inhibitor, an emulsifier, and a demulsifier in various industrial processes.
References
Staudinger, H., & Zechmeister, L. (1931). Über Polymerisation. Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft (A and B Series), 64(9), 2157-2160.
Legge, N. R., Holden, G., & Schroeder, H. (eds.). (2005). Thermoplastic Elastomers: A Comprehensive Review. iSmithers Rapra Publishing.
Mart, L. (ed.). (2013). Handbook of Plasticizers, 2nd Edition. Elsevier.
Notes
External links
JP4197298B2 - Polyisobuteneamine - Google Patents
Synthesis of 1-polyisobuteneamine-(2-14C)
Effect of Multifunctional Fuel Additives on Octane Number Requirement of Internal Combustion Engines 932813
Polymers
Plasticizers | Polyisobuteneamine | [
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science"
] | 737 | [
"Polymers",
"Polymer chemistry"
] |
73,730,090 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy%202.0%20Pumped%20Storage%20Power%20Station | Snowy 2.0 Pumped Storage Power Station or Snowy Hydro 2.0 or simply Snowy 2.0 is a pumped-hydro battery megaproject in New South Wales, Australia. The dispatchable generation project expands upon the original Snowy Mountains Scheme (ex post facto Snowy 1.0) connecting two existing dams through a underground tunnel and a new, underground pumped-hydro power station. It is expected to supply 2.2 gigawatts of capacity and about 350,000 megawatt hours of large-scale storage to the national electricity market. It is the largest renewable energy project under construction in Australia. It includes one of the largest and deepest cavern excavations ever undertaken. It also includes the longest tunnels at 27 kilometres in length, of any pumped-hydro station ever built.
It is designed for grid stabilization; to be a backup at times of peak demand and for when solar and wind energy are not providing sufficient power. It provides valuable firming capability. Snowy Hydro acts like a giant battery by absorbing, storing, and dispatching energy. Snowy 2.0 can be "switched on" very quickly. The battery is designed to operate for up to 175 hours of temporary supply. It is Australia's largest energy project, estimated to cost 12 billion Australian dollars and projected to generate 10% of the nation's energy.
Construction began in 2019. By 2023, AU$4.3 billion had been spent. Snowy 2.0 has been described as a white elephant. The project is led by public company Snowy Hydro Limited. Snowy 2.0 will last for at least 100 years. When complete it is expected to have a large impact on the price and reliability of electric power.
History
Initial plans for a power station at the location were discussed in 1966. Further studies were undertaken in 1980 and 1990. The current project originated as the centrepiece of Malcolm Turnbull's climate change policy in 2017. The original cost of the project was around $2 billion. A feasibility study carried out in 2017 finding the project was both technically and financially feasible. The study was released on 21 December 2017 and found the project cost would be between $3.8 and 4.5 billion.
The first tunnel that was completed by October 2022, was a 2.85 kilometre section that provided main access at Lobs Hole. It was 10 metres in diameter and provides pedestrian and vehicle access into the power station. By May 2023 the emergency, cable and ventilation tunnel was excavated. It is 2.93 kilometre long, 10 metres in diameter and will be used for power station ventilation and high-voltage cables. Excavation of the transformer and machines halls began in June 2023. By February 2024, half of the construction required was complete.
It was originally expected to be completed by 2024. Snowy Hydro 2.0 has been beset by delays and cost blowouts. Delays have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain disruptions, complex design elements and variable site and geological conditions. The delays have raised concerns that Snowy Hydro will not be ready in time for new solar and wind projects coming online as five coal-fired power stations close. AEMO warns that supply gaps will emerge from 2025. The project is currently expected to be fully operational by the end of 2028 and generating power as early as late 2027.
The project is using three tunnel boring machines to dig tunnels. One of the machines, called Florence was stuck for 19 months after encountering soft rock near Tantangara. Florence is excavating the 16 km headrace tunnel, which will connect the underground power station to the upper Tantangara reservoir. Florence launched in March 2022 and was named in honour of Australia's first female electrical engineer, Florence Violet McKenzie. Eight weeks later the machine was bogged in wet soft ground. The machine is capable of digging 30 to 50 metres a day. In December 2022, a sinkhole opened up above the tunnel. Florence was moving at a pace of six metres a day by early December 2023. In May 2024, the tunnel boring machine was stuck in hard rock. A complex fault zone caused the delay. By 11 July Florence was clear of the hard rock after using ultra-high pressure water jetting. A fourth boring machine was required due to the delays caused by Florence.
Drilling and blasting was used to dig caverns. The company managing underground blasting operations was Orica. Rock bolts and shotcrete support the exposed solid rock face. The main cavern was excavated between June 2023 and January 2024.
Design and location
It is located remotely within the Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains. Snowy Hydro 2.0 will use water from the Talbingo Reservoir (bottom storage) and Tantangara Reservoir (top storage). The dams have a height differential of 700 metres. The new power station is being built by the Italian firm Webuild. It will be located in a cavern 800 metres underground. The underground location allows for reduced environmental impacts within the national park. The operational footprint of the facility is less than 0.01% of the total size of the park.
The Inclined Pressure Shaft (IPS) through which the water will pass is the largest of its kind in the world and facilitates the water's return to the upper reservoir when the pump-turbines operate in reverse. The IPS is 10 metres in diameter, 1.6 kilometres long and at a 25-degree incline. Pre-cast concrete segments for the shaft are produced at a factory in the town of Cooma. Fatigue resistance is a key design element in the IPS.
The power station will measure 22 metres wide, 50 m high and 250 m long. The station will house six reversible Francis pump-turbine and motor-generator units. Three units will be of variable speed with the remaining of synchronous speed. Each turbine will have a rated output of 333 megawatts. Power generating equipment is being supplied by Voith.
It will be connected to the grid via the HumeLink transmission line. Construction costs for the project total $4.8 billion. The construction of overhead power lines by TransGrid has been opposed by community advocacy groups. Landholders desire to see the transmission line built underground have been opposed due to prohibitive costs.
See also
List of megaprojects
List of pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations
List of power stations in New South Wales
Renewable energy in Australia
References
External links
https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/
Snowy Mountains Scheme
Economic history of New South Wales
Engineering projects
Hydroelectric power stations in New South Wales
Murray River
River regulation in Australia
Snowy Mountains
Underground power stations | Snowy 2.0 Pumped Storage Power Station | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,348 | [
"nan"
] |
73,730,263 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gcore | Gcore is an edge AI, cloud, network, and security company founded in 2014 in Luxembourg. As of March 2024, its global network consists of over 180 Points of Presence (PoPs) on six continents. Gcore is partnering with NVIDIA to provide training and inference on cloud and edge infrastructure, aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence workloads.
History
Gcore was established in 2014 in Luxembourg. The company built its own content delivery network, originally designed for the needs of the entertainment industry. In 2016, Gcore's infrastructure included fifteen points of presence, many in regions not served by hyperscale cloud providers.
In 2020, the company entered partnership agreements with Intel and Equinix.
In 2022, Gcore partnered with Graphcore to launch the European AI Cloud, which uses technology to speed up machine learning tasks with ready-made AI infrastructure.
In March 2024, Gcore announced it had acquired a web application and API protection (WAAP) solution from StackPath.
In May 2024, former vice-chancellor of Germany and federal minister of Germany for health Philipp Rösler joined the Gcore board.
In April 2024, Gcore received a commendation in the Industry Innovation category at the NVIDIA Partner Network Awards EMEA for developing the first speech-to-text technology for Luxembourgish, using its LuxemBERT AI model.
In August 2024, Gcore was named as a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape report for European public cloud Infrastructure (IaaS) 2024 by IDC, the global market intelligence firm.
Network infrastructure
According to the company's website, Gcore has network locations in six continents: Europe, North America, Asia, South America, Africa, and Australia.
Products and services
Gcore provides content delivery network (CDN), cloud computing,virtual machines, bare-metal servers, object storage AI infrastructure and inference, Kubernetes, video streaming, DDoS mitigation, Web application and API protection (WAAP), Domain Name System (DNS), function as a service (FaaS) and logging as a Service (LaaS).
A January 18, 2022, review by TechRadar commend Gcore's large network and CDN analytics. However, the review noted that its support documentation could be more detailed.
In March 2023, Gcore offers a free speed test that helps check internet speed and the quality of a broadband and mobile connection.
Controversies
Correctiv and Tageszeitung reported that Gcore supported the distribution of the TV network RT until April 2023, which has been under sanctions by the EU since March 2022. However, Gcore denies the accusations.
References
External links
Cloud computing
Cloud computing providers
Cloud platforms
DDoS mitigation companies
Content delivery networks
Internet security
Software companies established in 2014
Software companies of Luxembourg
Artificial intelligence companies
Luxembourgian companies established in 2014 | Gcore | [
"Technology"
] | 585 | [
"Cloud platforms",
"Computing platforms"
] |
73,730,394 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium%20tetrabromide | Iridium tetrabromide is a binary inorganic chemical compound of iridium and bromine with the chemical formula . This is a salt of iridium metal and hydrobromic acid.
Synthesis
Synthesis of iridium tetrabromide can be by solution of iridium(IV) oxide in hydrobromic acid:
Physical properties
Iridium tetrabromide compound forms black crystals, soluble in water and alcohol.
Chemical properties
Iridium tetrabromide reacts with water:
Iridium tetrabromide decomposes when heated:
References
Iridium compounds
Bromides | Iridium tetrabromide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 115 | [
"Bromides",
"Inorganic compounds",
"Inorganic compound stubs",
"Salts"
] |
73,731,688 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%20Silicon%20Initiative | The Google Open Silicon Initiative is an initiative launched by the Google Hardware Toolchains team to democratize access to custom silicon design. Google has partnered with SkyWater Technology and GlobalFoundries to open-source their Process Design Kits for 180nm, 130nm and 90nm process. This initiative provides free software tools for chip designers to create, verify and test virtual chip circuit designs before they are physically produced in factories. The aim of the initiative is to reduce the cost of chip designs and production, which will benefit DIY enthusiasts, researchers, universities, and chip startups. The program has gained more partners, including the US Department of Defense, which injected $15 million in funding to SkyWater, one of the manufacturers supporting the program.
References
External links
Google Open Silicon (official site)
Google Git repositories of FOSS EDA Tools
SkyWater Technology Foundry FOSS 130nm Production PDK- Github
GlobalFoundries GF180MCU FOSS 180nm Production PDK - GitHub
Google hardware
Integrated circuits | Google Silicon Initiative | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 219 | [
"Computer engineering",
"Integrated circuits"
] |
73,732,089 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomus%20macrocarpum | Glomus macrocarpum is a vesicular-arbuscular endomycorrhizal plant pathogen in the Glomeraceae family of fungi. Also occasionally known as Endogone macrocarpa, G. macrocarpum is pathogenic to multiple plants, including tobacco and chili plants. G. macrocarpum was first discovered in the French woodlands by the Tulasne brothers in the early to mid 1800s. Their first known description of G. macrocarpum was published in the New Italian Botanical Journal in 1845. G. macrocarpum has since been documented in over 26 countries, including Australia, China, and Japan for example. G. macrocarpum is frequently found in grassy meadows, forests, greenhouses, and fruit orchards. It is known for its small, round-edged, and light brown to yellow-brown sporocarp. G. macrocarpum is sometimes known as the Glomerales truffle.
Description
Morphology
The sporocarp of G. macrocarpum is small, usually measuring up to about 12 millimeters in diameter. The sporocarp shape ranges from globose, subglobose, elongate, to irregular. The sporocarp is also often observed to have soil (primary substrate) embedded in its surface. When the peridium is present, it appears white with a cottony texture. The sporocarp color ranges from yellow-brown to light brown.
Chlamydospores that act as resting spores or survival structures are present. These allow the fungus to remain dormant during inadequate germination conditions. Once appropriate germination conditions are reached, chlamydospores form germ tubes to germinate into hyphal structures that place pressure on plant surfaces in order to infiltrate various tissues and begin forming a mycorrhizal association. Chlamydospores are globose to ellipsoid, and aseptate. Spores range in size from about 100 to 350 μm in diameter. Spore walls are yellow to brown in color. Spores arise from subtending hyphae that range from 12 to 25 μm in width. Hyphae are also cylindrical and lacking in pigmentation. Both young and mature spores are often evident on the sporocarp surface. The sporocarp of G. macrocarpum is a relatively fragile structure with other environmental components, such as soil, sometimes embedded in its surface.
Ultrastructural studies indicate that two wall layers, containing fibrils, are present in spores. There is a slight separation zone present between the two wall layers. Spore contents are also indicated to be lipid globules from subtending hyphae as an energy source for the spores.
Ecology
Glomus macrocarpum is a vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus that forms associations with many different plant types. The fungus grows in a hypogeous manner, just underneath the topsoil in various geographical locations and environments. The fruiting season of G. macrocarpum occurs during the summer and fall months. Until relatively recently, Glomus species were thought to be exclusively asexual organisms. However, studies have been conducted to analyze the presence of sex pheromone sensing proteins in some Glomus species. The presence of these sensing proteins is indicative that species in this genus may not be entirely asexual. However, the validity of a sexual process in Glomus species has not been confirmed.
Importance
Laboratory studies of G. macrocarpum indicate that the species has both positive and negative effects on a variety of plant species, many of which are of economic importance worldwide.
Spore survival
Glomus macrocarpum spores have been studied and subjected to autoclaving or ethanol treatment in order to measure the ability of spores to survive under these conditions. Spores that were treated were sourced either from fresh pot cultures or from cultures stored for five years. Spores were treated with MTT stain, which causes living spores to appear red and non-living spores to appear black or dark blue. After treatment, the percentage of living spores was measured at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 72 hours. Results indicated that spores sourced from fresh pot cultures had a higher survival rate after treatment than those sourced from five year old cultures. Results also indicated that after 72 hours most spores that were stained red (living) from 40 to 72 hours had turned black or dark blue and were no longer viable. Since G. macrocarpum can be pathogenic and often remains in areas for a long period of time after sporocarp removal, researchers are attempting to understand the effect that time, combined with other treatments, has on spore viability.
Biological impact
Glomus macrocarpum was discovered to be a strong factor in improving essential oil quality and concentration in dill and carum plants. Both of these plants are used commonly as spices, and essential oil quality and concentration is an important part of what allows plants to be used as spices. Glomus macrocarpum was found to be more effective than other Glomus species at enhancing essential oil concentrations. Analyzed plants were inoculated with G. macrocarpum inoculated soil and the essential oils in the plants were analyzed after 15 weeks, allowing for the Glomus species to form mycorrhizal associations effectively. Studies found that there was a significant increase in biomass due to the mycorrhizal association with G. macrocarpum. Host plants inoculated with G. macrocarpum were observed to have higher shoot growth than that of the control group after 15 weeks.
Glomus macrocarpum is one fungal species among many whose ability to enhance plant uptake of nutrients is being studied. Worldwide, crops are grown using chemical fertilizers enriched with the required nutrients for plant growth. However, this practice has proven to be unsustainable due to worsening water quality in places where these chemical fertilizers are heavily relied on. G. macrocarpum and others are being considered as a way to lessen the amount of chemical fertilizers necessary for producing crops of economic importance.
Plant host impact
Spore production of G. macrocarpum is influenced by a variety of host plants. Studies have shown that G. macrocarpum spore production significantly increases with bahiagrass as a plant host when compared to corn or sudangrass as plant hosts. Studies indicate that G. macrocarpum spore production will change significantly after at least 14 weeks after planting inoculated host plants.
Habitat and geographical distribution
Glomus species are found in nearly all terrestrial habitats including arable land, deserts, grasslands, tropical forests, mesic forests, and deciduous forests. G. macrocarpum has been identified in over 26 countries in different climates throughout the world, including: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Sweden, and the United States of America.
References
Glomerales
Fungus species | Glomus macrocarpum | [
"Biology"
] | 1,470 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,732,297 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%20David%20Hunt | John David Hunt FRS (12 December 1936 – 8 December 2012) was a British metallurgist. His research career was mainly based at the University of Oxford, from 1966 to 2002.
His legacy includes the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining's John Hunt Medal, awarded for 'outstanding contribution to the science and/or technology of casting and solidification of metals'. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001.
References
1936 births
2012 deaths
British metallurgists
Academics of the University of Oxford
Fellows of the Royal Society | John David Hunt | [
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 110 | [
"Materials science stubs",
"Materials science"
] |
73,732,459 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UWI%20Seismic%20Research%20Centre | The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) is a centre for volcanological, seismic and geophysical research in Trinidad, which has the responsibility for monitoring and studying earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis across the Eastern Caribbean. Part of the University of the West Indies, it is also responsible for providing formal advice, and information, around the volcanic, seismic and tsunami hazards and events across the region, to reduce risk and protect lives and livelihoods. In recent years, UWI-SRC has managed ongoing volcanic unrest at the Soufriere Hills Volcano through the running of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, and the 2020–2021 eruptions of La Soufrière on St Vincent.
History
UWI-SRC was established in 1953, as the Volcanological Research Department of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad. In the early 1960s the department became the Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West Indies, and in 2008 was formally established as a research centre within the university, and took on the name Seismic Research Centre.
Regional seismic network
UWI-SRC manages the largest network of seismometers in the Caribbean, extending across all of the islands of the English-speaking Caribbean, and seventeen known or active volcanoes. The origins of the modern network go back to the early 1950s, when geophysicist Patrick Willmore was sent by the British Colonial Office to investigate a seismic crisis on St Kitts and Nevis which had begun in late December 1950. Willmore arrived in February 1951, but soon realised he had already missed the most significant earthquakes of the crisis. To prevent this happening again, Willmore recommended that a regional network of instruments be established by placing one seismograph on 'each of the major British islands', with data collected at a central office. The first seismograph was installed in Trinidad; followed by others on St Vincent and Dominica, and by 1959 there were stations on eight islands. In 2022, the network extends to more than 60 stations.
Over time, the instruments used in the seismic network have changed radically. The first seismometers installed were analogue seismographs designed by Patrick Willmore, which recorded onto photographic paper. During the 1970s, radio-telemetry was introduced, so that signals could be transmitted from the analogue field stations, to the UWI-SRC headquarters. Tools were developed to digitise and time-stamp the analogue data, and then to record and process the digitised data using an in-house algorithm called "WurstMachine" to calculate the earthquake parameters: hypocentre and magnitude. The current generation of seismometers are fully digital, and networked so that they can stream data to UWI-SRC headquarters. The network includes both broadband, three-component and one-component instruments. Many of the seismic stations are co-located with other monitoring instruments (including accelerometers and continuous GPS receivers), and some are shared with regional monitoring agencies run by UNAVCO, IPGP and others.
Directors
Directors of UWI-SRC include
Geoffrey Robson
John Tomblin (1968-1980)
John Shepherd (1980-1989)
Keith Rowley (1989-1991)
Lloyd Lynch
William Ambeh
John Shepherd (1999-2004)
Richard Robertson (2004-2011)
Joan Latchman (2011-2013)
Richard Robertson (2013-2019)
Erouscilla Joseph (2019-)
Awards
2022 Volcanic Surveillance and Crisis Management Award of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI)
References
Seismic Research Centre
Geology organizations
Volcano observatories
1953 establishments in Trinidad and Tobago
Earthquake and seismic risk mitigation
Tsunami
Volcano seismology
Seismic networks
Seismological observatories, organisations and projects
Volcano monitoring | UWI Seismic Research Centre | [
"Engineering"
] | 776 | [
"Structural engineering",
"Earthquake and seismic risk mitigation"
] |
73,732,597 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coiled-coil%20drug%20delivery | Coiled-coil drug delivery systems refer to drug delivery systems utilizing coiled-coil motifs capable of delivering disease-treating therapies, imaging agents, and vaccines to patients systemically or specifically. These systems are a form of peptide therapeutics and are capable of being engineered and finely tuned into different types of drug delivery vehicles (such as liposomes, nanoparticle drug carriers, polymer hybrid drug carriers, micelles, etc.) based on the specific application required. The goal of a coiled-coil drug delivery system is to deliver cargo such as medication, imaging agents, biological molecules, or vaccines efficiently and specifically, in order to maximize the therapeutic efficacy and minimize unwanted side effects. This is achieved through fine-tuning the factors affecting the coiled coil’s oligomerization, resulting in modular systems that are highly specific for the intended application.
Coiled-coil motifs make up 10% of all protein sequences, and are utilized naturally by various proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes to achieve diverse cellular functions. Coupled with the simple helical structure of coiled coils which has been widely studied and reported on in literature, engineered coiled coil drug delivery systems are capable of improving drug pharmacokinetics, reducing unintentional toxicity during delivery, delivering drugs in a specific manner, controlling cargo release, and maintaining high stability through transport in the body.
History
Coiled-coil research began in 1953 when Dr. Francis Crick first reported on the theory behind the packing formation of α-helices in fibrous proteins at the time, which he proposed to consist of alpha helices composed of heptad repeats, or seven-residue repeats (a-b-c-d-e-f-g), whereby 2 or more alpha helices twist around each other similar to the strands of a rope. In 1972, Dr. Robert Hodges and his colleagues confirmed Dr. Crick’s hypothesis upon sequencing tropomyosin, further discovering that the heptad repeat consists of two hydrophobic residues at the a and d positions, which stabilize coiled coils and are their basis for formation. This confirmation formed the basis for designing engineered coiled-coil proteins to further investigate and better understand coiled-coil interactions, structures, functions, oligomerization, and other properties. Later in 1991, Dr. O’Shea and colleagues obtained the first high-resolution image of a two-stranded coiled-coil at a resolution of 1.8Å.
Dr. Hodges was the first to suggest the use of coiled coils in a drug delivery system in 1996 when he proposed a two-stage targeting and delivery system based on heterodimerization, whereby a drug would be conjugated to chain 1 and an antibody would be conjugated to chain 2, such that chains 1 and 2 would form a heterodimeric coiled coil. In this system, the antibody conjugate would hypothetically be delivered first such that it binds to the target location, followed by the administration of the drug conjugate, whose chain 1 would dimerize with the antibody chain 2, resulting in targeted drug delivery. Since then, hundreds of investigations have been reported in the literature discussing novel drug delivery systems consisting of various coiled coil supramolecular assemblies, such as fibers, hydrogels, and nanostructures.
Design factors
Typically, a coiled-coil motif consists of 2-7 alpha helix strands coiled together, each of which consists of a 7-residue repeat (a-b-c-d-e-f-g) called a heptad. Heptads are unique in that positions a, d are occupied by hydrophobic residues – typically Leu, Ile, or Val. Positions e, g are typically occupied by charged or polar residues – typically Lys or Glu. Through this pattern, individual helices become amphipathic, such that when oligomerized, a hydrophobic core forms between the a, d residues of the helices, along with interhelical ionic interactions that aid in stabilizing the oligomer that forms between the e and g residues of the helices (see figure 1). The number of heptads in a molecule is variable and can be modified based on specific applications of coiled-coil systems. For example, sequences with fewer heptads consisting of a, d hydrophobic residues can prove to be more stable than sequences with more heptads containing a mixture of polar and non-polar residues at the same positions. Thus, the hydrophobic core of a coiled-coil motif is considered a dominant factor affecting the stability of the motif. Additionally, the hydrophobic core residues affect the specificity of the coiled-coil motif, such that the specific pairs of a, d residues determine the number of alpha helices that compose the coiled-coil system. For example, in the case of the GCN4 leucine zipper protein, mutants with the a, d pair of I, L resulted in a two-stranded coiled-coil, while a pair of I, I resulted in a three-stranded coiled-coil and a pair of L, I resulted in a four-stranded coiled coil. Thus, the oligomerization selectivity can be tuned on a coiled-coil motif by choosing the appropriate amino acid residues in positions a, d.
The polar residues on positions e, g of a heptad also contribute to the stability and specificity of the coiled-coil motif due to the electrostatic interactions such as salt bridges with e, g residues on other heptads, though to a lesser extent compared to residues in the a, d positions. However, e, g residues are capable of conferring heterospecific properties to a coiled-coil motif, such that a system can be designed whereby strands prefer hetero-oligomerize as opposed to homo-oligomerize.
Coiled coils may be either left-handed or right-handed coils – although the majority of coiled-coil proteins found in nature consist of heptads and are left-handed since the handedness of coiled coils opposes the handedness of the alpha helices that comprise them. Right-handed coils have been reported in the literature to contain 11 residue repeats known as undecad repeats (a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k) or 15 residue repeats known as pentadecad repeats (a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o), both of which could feature larger hydrophobic cores and larger cavities that would be useful in drug delivery systems to load larger cargo.
Polymer-hybrid delivery systems
Coiled-coils are used as non-covalent polymer-drug conjugates to link drugs to polymer backbones. The goal of these types of systems is to attach multiple drugs to a non-toxic backbone such that drugs can be stably transported throughout the body and released at a controlled rate once at the target location. Doxorubicin, paclitaxel, and campothecin are examples of drugs typically used with polymer-drug conjugate systems. Hetero-dimeric coiled-coils motifs can be utilized in such systems, whereby one strand would be conjugated to the polymer backbone network, while the other strand would be conjugated to the drug of choice. The coiled-coils would then oligomerize, followed by the administration of the drug system into the body, whereby the stability of the coiled-coil in physiological conditions would ensure the intact delivery of the drug to the target. Upon cellular uptake at the target site, coiled-coil system would be exposed to a decrease in pH associated with the acidic environments of endosomes and lysosomes, triggering the dissociation of the coiled-coils, resulting in drug release. Dr. Harm-Anton Klok and colleagues were the first to investigate the usage of coiled coils as linkers in polymer-drug conjugate systems, whereby they utilized the parallel heterodimeric E3/K3 coiled-coil system (known for its stability at physiological pH and dissociation at pH 5, resulting in E3 homotrimers along with K3 unimers) to link cargo to a poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide) (PHPMA)-based polymer backbone. Klok et al. proved the intracellular uptake of cargo via endocytosis, along with cargo release as a result of coiled-coil dissociation. Dr. Ondřej Vaněk and colleagues utilized the same E3/K3-PHPMA system to attach an antibody to the polymer backbone to target the delivery of the drug system, which was successful in vitro.
Coiled-coil polymer hybrid drug delivery systems can also be used in drug-free macromolecular therapeutic (DFMT) applications, whereby a coiled-coil-based system would be used to induce apoptosis in target cells. Specifically, Dr. Jindřich Kopeček and colleagues attempted to induce apoptosis in CD20-positive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma B-cells by mimicking the induction of apoptosis typically caused by the recognition of secondary antibodies to the CD20 antigen. In this case, apoptosis was induced upon the oligomerization of a PHMPA copolymer-conjugated coil to the anti-CD20 FAB fragment-conjugated coil (which would recognize and bind CD20). The coiled-coil motifs used in this system were the anti-parallel heterodimeric CCE/CCK coiled coils, which consist of pentaheptad repeats. This system was found to be successful at inducing apoptosis in those cells in vitro, providing an alternative to the anti-CD20 antibody drug Rituximab. Further studies have shown the efficacy of this system in vivo whereby malignant B-cells implanted in the bone marrow of mice were eradicated completely.
Nanoparticle system
Coiled-coils can be used to create nanoparticle drug delivery systems capable of delivering drugs or other biological molecules with increased targeting and controlled release due to their biocompatibility, stability, and targeting properties. Self-assembled cage-like particles (SAGE) utilize coiled-coils along with disulfide linkers to create hollow nanoparticles of diameters in the range of 100nm. SAGE consists of two separate coiled-coil motifs: a ~20 residue heptad homotrimer motif (CC-Tri3) and a ~20 residue heptad heterodimer motif (CC-Di-A / CC-Di-B). Each CC-Tri3 would be bound to either a CC-Di-A or a CC-Di-B via a disulfide linker, such that each time CC-Di-A and CC-Di-B would oligomerize together, hexagonal networks would form with pores of 5-6nm in diameter: CC-Di-A – CC-Tri3 – CC-Di-A – CC-Di-b – CC-Tri3 – CC-Di-B. Self-assembly would result in further oligomerization between the heterodimer motifs, which would eventually result in the formation of a hollow nanoparticle sphere. The final diameter of the nanoparticle would depend on the length linker used, along with the size of the coiled-coil motifs used. SAGE has been applied in the field of antigen delivery, whereby Dr. Andrew Davidson and colleagues modified 3 SAGE systems described above with the antigenic peptides tetanus toxoid, ovalbumin, and hemagglutinin individually. The investigators found that SAGE systems were nontoxic in vivo, and were capable of eliciting CD4 T cell and B cell responses in the case of the tetanus toxoid and ovalbumin systems while eliciting a CD8 T cell response with the hemagglutinin system. Some advantages to using SAGE systems for antigen presentation include the ability to remain stable and functional after functionalization with cargo, the ability to modify and tune cellular uptake properties, and the modularity of the platform which could potentially be used to present multiple antigens at the same time, resulting in increased antigen immunogenicity.
Another type of coiled-coil nanoparticle system is the self-assembling protein nanoparticles (SAPN). SAPN differs from SAGE in that SAPN utilizes trimeric and pentameric coiled-coil motifs. This change results in the self-assembly of a symmetrical polyhedral 16nm nanoparticle composed of 60 monomer building blocks. The small size of SAPN allows the nanoparticle system to resemble viruses in shape and size, which is beneficial to antigen presentation. Specifically, SAPN has been utilized by Dr. David Lanar and colleagues to develop a P. falciparum malaria vaccine whereby B and CD8-T cell epitopes of the disease were modified into the SAPN coiled-coil motifs. In vivo results showed that a long-lasting immune response was generated in the mice for up to 13 months, capable of preventing malaria infection in vaccine-treated mice.
References
Drug delivery devices | Coiled-coil drug delivery | [
"Chemistry"
] | 2,766 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Drug delivery devices"
] |
73,732,604 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil%20Robertson%20stretcher | A Neil Robertson stretcher (NRS) is a type of rescue stretcher designed for the purpose of safely transferring an injured person by either lowering or lifting them to a place of safety. It is constructed from wooden slats and canvas. It features the patient being wrapped in canvas and secured using robust canvas straps, with a lifting rope affixed to a head-mounted ring and a guideline tied near the ankles, serving to halt the stretcher's movement. It has been utilized by the Royal Navy for nearly a century. The Neil Robertson stretcher has been widely adopted in Australia and other countries, and has been credited with reducing the risk of further injury to patients during transport.
The Neil Robertson stretcher (NRS) is believed to have been influenced by a Japanese stretcher made from bamboo. The NRS was designed with the purpose of packaging casualties into a compact form, allowing for rescue operations in spaces with limited openings and facilitating movement through vertical escape hatches while minimizing slippage. However, the flexibility of the NRS, which can be advantageous in many situations, has raised concerns about its suitability for rescuing individuals with spinal injuries.
The Neil Robertson stretcher is widely used in maritime settings, particularly by naval forces and maritime rescue team. During World War I, the NRS (Neil Robertson stretcher) gained widespread use as the Royal Navy employed it for evacuating casualties from navy vessels that presented significant challenges due to narrow passages and confined spaces, making conventional stretchers impractical for such scenarios. As a result, the wounded were either manually carried or transported using the Neil-Robertson stretcher, which provided secure envelopment for easy maneuverability through steep ladders, small hatchways, and narrow passages. Additionally, the Neil-Robertson stretcher offered the advantage of doubling as a splint.
Unlike some modern counterparts used in cave or field rescues, the NRS was not originally designed to be used in conjunction with other extraction devices such as half boards. However, supporters of the stretcher argue that when used properly and in conjunction with other spinal immobilization techniques, it can be an effective tool for protecting patients with suspected spinal injuries during transport.
References
Medical transport devices
Medical equipment | Neil Robertson stretcher | [
"Biology"
] | 452 | [
"Medical equipment",
"Medical technology"
] |
73,732,813 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgical%20drape | A surgical drape is a sterile sheet used to create a sterile field during surgical procedures with the purpose of preventing the spread of infection from non-sterile to sterile areas and protecting the patient from contamination.
The use of surgical drapes is a standard procedure in modern surgery and is recommended by many professional organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Surgical drapes come in various shapes and sizes, including those that are made of materials resistant to penetration by liquids and microorganisms. The drapes are placed over the patient and surrounding areas to create a sterile field. The edges of the drapes are secured with adhesive tape or other means to prevent the drapes from moving during the procedure. The use of surgical drape not only serves to protect the surgical site, but also expands the sterile field, allowing surgical team members to place sterile supplies onto them.
Some studies have shown that the use of surgical drapes reduces the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs), which are suggested to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in surgical patients, as well as hospitalization costs.
References
Drape
Medical devices
Patient safety
Sterilization (medicine) | Surgical drape | [
"Biology"
] | 248 | [
"Medical devices",
"Medical technology"
] |
73,733,326 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichoderma%20atroviride | Trichoderma atroviride is a filamentous fungal species commonly found in the soil. This fungal species is of particular interest to researchers due to the plethora of secondary metabolites it makes which are used in industry The genus Trichoderma is known for its ubiquity in almost all soils and being easy to culture. Many Trichoderma's are also avirulent plant symbionts.
Taxonomy
This organism has had its DNA sequenced and uploaded to the NCBI database. An abbreviated taxonomic description is as follows: Eukaryota; Fungi; Dikarya; Ascomycota; Pezizomycotina; Sordariomycetes; Hypocreomycetidae; Hypocreales; Hypocreaceae; Trichoderma. The full taxonomic order can be found on the NCBI website. The first description of the genus Trichoderma dates back to 1794, but individual species were not specified, and it was not until 1969 that a framework for identifying Trichoderma species was established. Trichoderma atroviride also has several synonyms and older names which can be found in the species box.
Description
Images of T. atroviride growing on plates show green fruiting bodies and light-responsive conidiation. In these pictures they can also be seen growing in concentric circle zones on the face of the agar (see species box image). Trichoderma species are ubiquitously described as having long filamentous hyphae and the ability to germinate on many different substrates. When the fungus grows it starts off as white, but then becomes various shades of green. Conidiophores are generally irregular in shape and number of conidia release and are also photosensitive and release when exposed to light. Finally, Trichoderma are known for their fast growth rates, and ability to colonize most substrates.
Habitat and ecology
Trichoderma atroviride are fairly ubiquitous organisms, they are found in soils in both tropical and temperate locations around the world. This fungus is found on every continent, and is commonly found in Europe, North and South America and Australia (see range map). T. atroviride is a mycoparasite saprophyte, meaning it parasitizes other fungi and it obtains its food by absorbing dissolved organic matter. T. atroviride are found in many substrates including decaying wood, and fungal fruiting bodies, and are known to be able to use a wide range of substrates for carbon and nitrogen sources. Finally, T. atroviride has a wide temperature survival range from -1 to 35°C.
Relevance to humans
Trichoderma atroviride has many uses that make them relevant to humans. They are used as natural biocontrol agents for both insects and other fungi, they can take up heavy metal pollutants, and they are used as model organisms to better understand the genetic control of light dependent mechanisms.
Fungicide
Insects and pathogenic fungi are significant threats to agriculture around the world. Unfortunately, synthetic pesticides and fungicides can be bad for the environment and are often not very effective long term due to evolution. T. atroviride is a mycoparasite, and thus an effective organism to help deal with fungal plant pathogens. Specifically, T. atroviride can compete for nutrients and produce fungi cell wall degrading enzymes to kill its host fungus. Furthermore, researchers have been experimenting with T. atroviride genome to get it to express even more aggressive fungicide agents. Additionally, T. atroviride are currently being explored as a method to defend crops against insects due to their ability to produce natural insecticides which they protect themselves with, so they are not eaten.
Bioremediation
Pollutants due to industry are a huge environmental problem that is very expensive to remedy. Recently, it has been found that T. atroviride has the capacity to take up some of these heavy metals. This has been observed in vitro in a wastewater treatment plant, and in research setting on a petri plate. This type of bioremediation could be instrumental to solving heavy metal pollution crises.
Genetic model
Understanding biological circadian clocks has always been important to learn about how organisms respond to stimuli. A good model organism for this research is one that has a clear relationship to an abiotic stimulus that's easy to replicate and has an easily manipulable genome. T. atroviride fills both of those requirements, as it releases spores in response to light, and has a conserved genome that can be edited with known genetic tools. This has allowed T. atroviride to be an instrumental model organism in research that aims to understand how organisms respond to stimuli.
References
atroviride
Fungi described in 1892
Fungus species | Trichoderma atroviride | [
"Biology"
] | 1,010 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,598 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomycodes%20ludwigii | Saccharomycodes ludwigii is a yeast species best known for being a contaminant in alcohol and fruit juice production. It is highly resistant to typical environmental stressors such as high temperature, high sugar concentration, and high sulfur dioxide concentration. It is often referred to as the "winemaker's nightmare," as it contaminates products by outcompeting desirable yeast species. However, S. ludwigii strains are currently being tested in the growing low-alcohol beer industry.
Taxonomy
Saccharomycodes ludwigii was first classified by Emil Christian Hansen in 1904.
Description
Saccharomycodes ludwigii is characterized by its lemon-like shape during the asexual phases of its life cycle. It appears similar to common brewers' yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, under a microscope. It undergoes division by bud-fission. For sexual reproduction, its ascospores are small and spherical, with asci commonly composed of 1 to 4 ascospores.
Habitat and ecology
Saccharomycodes ludwigii commonly contaminates bottled wines and fruit juices due to the higher sulfur dioxide and sugar concentrations. In these conditions, S. ludwigii is able to out-compete more desirable brewing yeasts and quickly become the dominant species. S. ludwigii is known to inhabit the skins of fruits, making it difficult to avoid contamination.
Economic uses
Saccharomycodes ludwigii has been identified as a species that is suitable for the production of low-alcohol beer products. This is due to the species' inability to ferment maltose, which leads to a lower alcohol content than other traditional yeast species. However, more studies are needed to validate which strain of S. ludwigii is most suitable for the market by accessing the volatile profile of the product which can indicate the flavor quality.
This yeast is also present in the fermentation of traditional Italian balsamic vinegar (Zygosaccharomyces rouxii together with Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Z. pseudorouxii, Z. mellis, Z. bisporus, Z. lentus, Hanseniaspora valbyensis, Hanseniaspora osmophila, Candida lactis-condensi, Candida stellata, Saccharomycodes ludwigii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
References
Saccharomycetes
Yeasts used in brewing
Fungus species | Saccharomycodes ludwigii | [
"Biology"
] | 503 | [
"Fungus stubs",
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,651 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartalinia%20robillardoides | Bartalinia robillardoides is a species of fungi within the genus Bartalinia and the Sporocadaceae family. Distinguished by their unitunicate asci, containing 3-4 septate, Bartalinia robillardoides species have been found in water samples and growing on medium like flowering shrubs and trees. Collections of this species have been collected in Australia and New Zealand, Europe, South America and Asia. It has been identified to be both endophytic and pathogenic. This species can cause leaf spots that raise concerns to economically valuable plants.
Description
Bartalinia robillardoides, has a flask shaped fruiting body, with fusiform candida, and unitunicate asci. Each ascospore has 3-4 septate, differentiating itself from the Amphisphaerales order of only having 1-septate ascospores. There is no known sexual morph of the species Bartalinia robillardoides. The cell walls of the fruiting structure are dark tolight brown in color moving from the outside of the wall into the conidial hymenium. The cell wall was measured to be 40μm thick and the conidia 10-15μm in length. The conidia itself has basal and apical appendages. The basal appendage is a single, unbranched, filiform structure whereas the apical appendage is split into three divergent structures. These appendages rang from 4-7μm long
Habitat
This species is foliicolous, found growing on leaf vegetation, stem of medicinal plants, and dead aerial spines of Rosa canina. It has been identified as endophytic on the lead of Psidium guajava, but also recognized as a pathogen as it has been seen to cause leaf spotting. Since this species has not been detected on economically valuable crops, there is minimal effort in ridding the fungal species from the plants. The first freshwater sample of this species was collected in 2019 from the Nakdong river, Yeongsan river, and a pond in Korea.
Bioactive compounds
Bartalinia robillardoides has been successfully isolated and cultured in a lab on potato dextrose agar. This species is studied for its production of secondary metabolites like the production of taxol, an anticancer drug, and another antimicrobial compound identified as chlorazaphilone. Chloraziphilone has antimicrobial properties toward Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus lentus, Candida albicans, Trichophyton rubrum, and Septoria tritici''.
References
Amphisphaeriales
Fungi described in 1900
Fungus species | Bartalinia robillardoides | [
"Biology"
] | 559 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,683 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuber%20indicum | Tuber indicum, commonly known as the Chinese black truffle or the Asian black truffle, is an edible fungus known for its hypogean fruiting bodies, characteristic of the Tuber genus. It is found natively in Himalayan India and parts of China, but has also been found invasively in the United States and Italy. It is sold commercially and often confused with Tuber melanosporum.
Taxonomy
The species was originally described in the Himalayas by Cooke and Massee (1892). It is named “indicum,” from the Latin word for “India,” due to the location of discovery. There are multiple species known as the “Asian Black Truffle,” (T. sinense, T. himalayense, T. formosanum and T. pseudohimalayense) which are often confused with T. indicum. Studies suggest that T. sinense is very likely to be the same species, but this is still up for debate. There is also some discussion that some of the other species listed here are the same, but the evidence is not conclusive.
Description
Known for its dark brown, lumpy or round fruiting bodies commonly known as truffles. They are modified apothecia, also known as stereothecia, and each of their asci produce around 3-5 ellipsoid spores with a variety of ornamentation. The peridium has angular warts,
subhexagonal or polygonal in shape. At maturity, the gleba is reddish to purplish black with white veins. The species is genetically diverse and has a lot of morphological variation.
Habitat and ecology
Like other Tuber species, they produce an aroma that attracts animals, leading to the dispersal of their spores through feces. The spores are thick-walled, allowing them to remain intact through the digestive system.
It is a hypogean fungus, with the fruiting bodies growing underground and maturing in winter.
It forms an ectomycorrhizal relationship with various trees such as pines, oaks, and chestnuts (For example, Pinus armandii, Quercus pubescens, and Castanea mollissima). It is known to successfully form a symbiosis with a wide range of hosts, increasing its invasibility.It is also known to have an effect on the surrounding microbial community. For example, one study shows the effects of the species when growing in symbiosis with Quercus aliena. They noted an increase in richness and diversity of prokaryotes, such as Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Chloroflexi in the surrounding soil. At the same time, there was a decrease in richness and diversity of fungal species.
The species can be found natively in Himalayan India and parts of China, as well as invasively in the United States and Italy on trees inoculated with T. melanosporum.
Commerce and use
Because it is nearly identical to T. melanosporum, it is often sold fraudulently to those wishing to purchase the more expensive and highly prized truffle. T. indicum is also valued internationally, but many see it as the inferior species. Its increased popularity has led to habitat destruction.
It has been suggested by one study to screen for certain aromatic compounds in order to prevent fraudulent sale of T. indicum.
The species has also been found growing invasively on trees inoculated with the economically and gastronomically valuable T. melanosporum. Its ability to thrive in non-native soils is a threat to the native species.
Conservation status
The species has been preliminary assessed as Near Threatened on the Global Fungal Red List. It is mainly harvested wild, which has led to overharvesting and habitat destruction as its demand increases. Collection of immature specimens as well as destructive harvesting methods have contributed to their decline.
References
Fungi of China
Fungi of India
indicum
Fungus species | Tuber indicum | [
"Biology"
] | 824 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,768 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletinellus%20monticola | Boletinellus monticola, previously known as Gyrodon monticola, is a bolete fungus in the Boletinellaceae family with a pored hymenium rather than gills. This species can be identified by its common ectomycorrhizal association and therefore close proximity to Alder trees (Alnus acuminata). B. monticola is most commonly found near the equator, specifically in Southern Mexico and stretching into northern South America.
Taxonomy
Originally, B. monticola was associated with the Gryodon genus by Rolf Singer in 1957. However, it was reassigned to the Boletinellus genus due to its closer genetic relation. This reassignment was reinforced by R. Watling in 1997 who analyzed the description of Rolf Singer's observations in Argentina and concluded it to be related closer to the Boletinellus genus. This change in taxonomy also included the change of Gyrodon exiguus and Gyrodon rompelii to the Boletinellus genus as well.
Description
Boletinellus monticola has a yellow-brown cap with a yellow or orange fertile layer. The stalk extends a few centimeters from the ground and is commonly brown. The fertile layer is made up of large and yellow pores and tubes. B. monticola is also known to produce brown sclerotia in soil providing the ability for the fungus to survive under extreme environmental conditions. The flesh of the bolete is soft and often moist or even wet due to its favored climate of warm tropical areas. This species also produces highly differentiated rhizomorphs with brown dolipore hyphae. B. monticola bruises blue then fades to reddish brown then to dark brown.
Edibility
Boletinellus monticola is considered to be likely edible, however there is no record of it being eaten. Boletes are known to be edible and are reasonably safe for human consumption. Some closely related species such as B. merulioides have been known to taste “acidic and unpleasant”, while offering very little nutritional value.
Habitat and distribution
This species is a terrestrial fungi which grows in top-soil. B. monticola is grown in warm tropical climates and in high elevations ranging from 1000 m - 3,800 m above sea level. Due to its ectomycorrhizal association with Alder trees (Alnus acuminata) the fungus is restricted to the range of where these trees grow. Since most Alder trees grow north of the equator and B. monticola is only found in warm tropical climates, the fungus is generally rare due to this small geographical region. More specifically, Alnus acuminata is found in the highlands of Mexico to the Andes mountains. In North America, the fungus can be found in Southern Mexico. Stretching into South America, B. monticola has been found in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.
Ectomycorrhizae
Most of the species in the Boletinellus genus are ectomycorrhizal and B. monticola is no exception. This species is known to have an ectomycorrhizal relationship with Alder trees (Alnus acuminata). According to a study by Pablo Alvarado in 2021 this relationship could have evolved independently from a common ancestor of the Paxillaceae family nearly 98 million years ago. Using sulpho-vanillin the root and Hartig net stain reddish, bleach with NH4OH and lactic acid, while no reaction occurs when exposed to 15% KOH, Melzer's reagent and 70% ethanol. As a result of ITS PCR/RFLP analysis, B. monticola is identified molecularly and morphologically as a symbiont of A. acuminata in native Argentinean forests.
Genome
Using Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), Alejandra Becerra et al. in 2003 identified 895 base pairs in the genome. The genome of B. monticola is what allowed for the reassignment of the species from genus Gyrodon to Boletinellus. The work done by the University of California at Berkeley using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) found the sequences of primers and other codons for specific genes didn't align with other species in the Gyrodon genus. This study found the first atp6 (mitochondrial locus) and cox3 sequences in the order Boletales allowing for the comparison of certain genes changing the distribution of various families under the order. Despite the family Boletinellaceae is in the order Boletales, evidence suggests that the family is more closely related to the order Sclerodermataceae, however there appears to be some species exceptions.
References
Boletales
Fungi of Mexico
Fungi of South America
Fungus species | Boletinellus monticola | [
"Biology"
] | 999 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,828 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtheimia%20ramosa | Lichtheimia ramosa is a saprotrophic zygomycete, typically found in soil or dead plant material. It is a thermotolerant fungus that has also been known to act as an opportunistic pathogen–infecting both humans and animals.
Taxonomy
It was previously known as Absidia ramosa, but has been known by its current name since the Absidia and Lichtheimia genera were differentiated from each other. There has also previously been some disagreement in the scientific community over whether L. ramosa and L. corymbifera were distinct species. But L. ramosa was recently established as a distinct species based on genome sequence analysis.
Description
Asexual reproduction of L. ramosa is done by use of sporangiospore-producing sporangia. The sporangiospores are smooth, lightly colored, and bear a long ellipsoid shape. The sporangia are pear shaped and often sport branched sporangiophores. Sexual reproduction in L. ramosa is achieved through zygospores. These zygospores have been found to have equatorial rings with suspensors and bear no appendages.
Distribution and habitat
It is saprotrophic, most commonly found within dead plant material or in the soil. As this species is thermotolerant, with an optimal growth temperature of around 37 °C, it has now been found in a wide range of habitats around the world–including North America, South America, Central Europe, Africa, and India.
Epidemiology
It is an opportunistic pathogen that has been associated with mucormycosis in both humans and animals. Mucormycosis due to L. ramosa typically only presents in severely immunocompromised patients with a wide range of infections being described; including rhinal, cutaneous, rhinocerebral, pulmonary, renal, and disseminated infections. However, there have been some cases of infection among immunocompetent patients, due to soil contamination of a traumatic injury. Amphotericin B. is the typical course of treatment for an infection by L. ramosa. But if not identified and treated quickly enough, the infection can be fatal.
References
Fungi described in 1903
Zygomycota
Fungus species | Lichtheimia ramosa | [
"Biology"
] | 480 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,891 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizopus%20niveus | Rhizopus niveus is a filamentous fungi that can be found almost anywhere in the world. It is used in industry for the production of enzymes. Rhizopus niveus was originally isolated from Qū for Jiuniang manufactured in Hangzhou, China. Similarly to other Rhizopus species, Rhizopus niveus is saprophytic and grows commonly on many organic substrates. Unlike other Rhizopus species, it has the capacity to ferment galactose.
Taxonomy
Rhizopus niveus was classified by M. Yamazaki in “Some species of Rhizopus from Chinese yeast”, which was published in the Journal of the Society of Agriculture Tokyo in 1919. Reclassification of Rhizopus niveus to Rhizopus delemar (which itself has been reclassified as Rhizopus arrhizus) has been proposed due to the similarity of their DNA.
Description
The sporangiophores of Rhizopus niveus are rare, "do not grow well", and are usually either close to colorless or a pale yellowish-brown. When formed, the sporangiophores have smooth walls, are circinate, and semi-circularly curve from the base. The sporangia of Rhizopus niveus are completely smooth and globose or subglobose, without the spines common to other Rhizopus species. Rhizopus niveus''' columellae are the same color as its sporangiophores (almost colorless or pale yellowish-brown). The walls of columellae are smooth.
Spores of Rhizopus niveus may be faintly striated, or even lacking in striation, and are also usually elliptical shaped. Zygospores of Rhizopus niveus are bag-shaped and pale yellow or yellowish-brown. Rhizopus niveus may rarely form chlamydospores on stolons. Rhizoids are rarely formed by Rhizopus niveus, and when they are formed are very short. As with all Rhizopus species, niveus grows rapidly through stolons, which are typically colorless in young cultures, before darkening to pale yellow or brownish-grey in mature cultures. The turf Rhizopus niveus creates is white or pale yellow, with few sporangia. Rhizopus niveus produces fumaric acid, similarly to Rhizopus oryzae.
Enzymes
As a filamentous fungi, Rhizopus niveus naturally secretes high quantities of a number of varied enzymes.
Ribonuclease
Crystals of ribonuclease Rh were crystallized via a vapor diffusion technique from Rhizopus niveus. There were two distinct types of crystals generated, both of which belong to the orthorhombic space group P212121. Crystals of type I had dimensions of a = 68.3Å, b = 73.0Å, c = 50.0Å, while crystals of type II had dimensions of a = 67.5Å, b = 72.3Å, c = 44.2Å.
Glucoamylase Rhizopus niveus creates at least five different glucoamylase forms. Of them, two major forms, termed glucoamylase C and glucoamylase D exhibited specific activities of 8.55 and 9.23 units/mg protein, debranching activities of 0.46 and 0.40, isoelectric points of 8.45 and 9.1, carbohydrate contents of 14.9 and 12.7%, and hydrolysis limits of boiled soluble starch of 62% and 67%, respectively.
Analysis of the hydrolysis of wheat and corn starch by the glucoamylase of Rhizopus niveus indicated the glucoamylase attacked the surface of granules uniformly. The glucoamylase from Rhizopus niveus attacks granules similarly to Rhizopus amagasakiens, forming small pits across the surface of granules. The glucoamylase of Rhizopus niveus was additionally twice as effective as glucoamylase II from Aspergillus niger.
Relevant to the discussion of taxonomy, the glucoamylase conformation of Rhizopus niveus is almost the same as Rhizopus arrhizus (also known as Rhizopus delemar).
Lipase Rhizopus niveus is among the principal producers of fungal microbial lipase in industry. This lipase has successfully been used in the interesterification of butter fat. Specifically, the lipase from Rhizopus niveus has been used to produce cacao butter substitute.
There are at least two distinct types of lipase produced by Rhizopus niveus. Lipase I consists of two polypeptide chains, and is similar to the lipase produced by Rhizopus arrhizus. Lipase II, unlike Lipase I, consists of a single polypeptide chain. The primary structure of Lipase II is very similar to the lipase produced by Rhizomucor miehei. Lipase II is produced from Lipase I by limited proteolysis from a serine protease.
Other potential applications
Given the high capacity for Rhizopus niveus to secrete enzymes, and the ability to modify niveus' DNA, there is potential industrial use for Rhizopus niveus in the production of other enzymes. Barriers to using Rhizopus niveus as such are the time consuming methods of modifying Rhizopus niveus''' DNA and the low-copy number of the introduced DNA per haploid genome.
References
Mucoraceae
Fungus species | Rhizopus niveus | [
"Biology"
] | 1,243 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,733,904 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerals%20Security%20Partnership | The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a stable supply of raw materials for their economies. The MSP is composed of 14 countries and the EU: Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Members profess a commitment to high Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) standards.
History
According to the inaugural announcement made at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in June 2022, the goal of the MSP "is to ensure that critical minerals are produced, processed, and recycled in a manner that supports the ability of countries to realize the full economic development benefit of their geological endowments."
India was inducted into the MSP in June 2023. Estonia joined the MSP in early March 2024.
Activities
The governments of Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia met with the MSP members at Investing in African Mining Indaba on 7 February 2023.
Criticisms
The head of the Alaska Miners Association on 1 November 2022 said that "I worry that the MSP will prompt decision makers within the federal administration to prioritize mining in other countries in an attempt to walk a line between getting the minerals we must have but not developing ones in America under the name of conservation."
References
Mining
Materials
Minerals | Minerals Security Partnership | [
"Physics"
] | 298 | [
"Materials",
"Matter"
] |
73,733,940 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thecaphora%20frezzii | Thecaphora frezzii, commonly referred to as peanut smut, is a species of smut fungus of the genus Thecaphora and the family Glomosporiaceae. It is a basidiomycete fungus that infects peanut plants (Arachis hypogaea). It is currently only found in South America, more specifically in Argentinian peanut farms.
Taxonomy
Thecaphora frezzii was described by J.M. Carranza and J.C. Lindquist in 1962. It was originally spelled as "frezii" but was later changed to "frezzii."
Description
Physical description
An infected host's pod will have hypertrophic cells in the form of galls and a spongy consistency. The cells of the grains inside the pods are destroyed and replaced by reddish-brown teliospores. Something characteristic of all Thecaphora species is that they all produce sori in the host plant. For T. frezzii, these sori are produced on the peanut seeds and are composed of 1 to 10 tightly bound spores.
Lifecycle
Thecophora frezzii is a biotrophic obligate parasite of peanut plants. It is monocyclic, so an infection cycle occurs once per growing season. The fungus causes a partial or total destruction of the peanut fruit. Throughout the biological cycle of the fungus, there are three main structures: teliospores, basidiospores, and hyphae.
Teliospores
The teliospores are present during the state of dormancy and act as resistance structures. They have thick walls allowing the fungus to survive in the soil and crop residue until germination. Teliospores germinate in response to the plant root exudates, therefore infection occurs once the peanut peg enters the soil. Teliospores disperse most commonly via wind or machinery when peanuts are harvested and remain dormant until germination is triggered.
Basidiospores
Following the germination of teliospores, the probasidum forms. The probasidium has two haploid nuclei which fuse to form a diploid nucleus. From this nucleus, the basidium arises, which forms basidiospores via meiosis. During basidiospore germination, compatible haploid germ tubes fuse.
Hyphal stage
Germination of the basidiospores leads to the formation of a dikaryotic mycelium, which is the infection structure of Thecaphora frezzii. The mycelium infects the host by penetrating the gynophore. It uses effectors to suppress the host's immune responses to insure successful penetration and infection.
Habitat and range
Thecaphora frezzii is only found in South America. Cases of peanut smut on domesticated peanuts are only reported in Argentina, while wild peanuts were found to be infected in other parts of the continent. The fungus never breaches to the surface and remains in humid soils. Prevalence of the fungus is higher in soils in which crop rotation is rare and peanut farming has been the only usage for an extended period.
Thecaphora frezzii infection of Argentinian peanut farms
T. frezzii was first detected in 1955 in the Córdoba Province. By 2011, the fungus had reached 100% prevalence in production fields, with disease incidence reaching up to 52% of plants. In 2016, the reported total yield loss was equal to $14,151,800 for Argentina.
Many methods of management have been attempted but have proven to be ineffective against the fungus. The most effective method reported is cultivating resistant strains of peanut. While cultivated peanut plants have low genetic diversity, T. frezzii has high genetic variability making it difficult to cultivate resistant plants.
Recent studies have begun testing biological control options by using other organisms such as bacteria or fungi to control the fungus. One organism that has been tested in Argentina is Trichoderma harazianum .
References
Ustilaginomycotina
Fungus species | Thecaphora frezzii | [
"Biology"
] | 835 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,734,121 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nek5000 | Nek5000 is a highly scalable spectral element computational fluid dynamics code for solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on 2D quadrilateral and 3D hexahedral meshes. Nek5000 was awarded the 1999 Gordon Bell Prize and a 2016 R&D 100 Award.
History
Related and derived codes
Gslib
Nekbone
Neko
NekCEM
NekLBM
NekROM
NekRS
ParRSB
References
Computational fluid dynamics
Free science software
Free computer-aided design software
Scientific simulation software | Nek5000 | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 108 | [
"Computational fluid dynamics",
"Fluid dynamics",
"Computational physics"
] |
69,285,571 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleofauna%20of%20the%20Eocene%20Okanagan%20Highlands | The paleofauna of the Eocene Okanagan Highlands consists of Early Eocene arthropods, vertebrates, plus rare nematodes and molluscs found in geological formations of the northwestern North American Eocene Okanagan Highlands. The highlands lake bed series' as a whole are considered one of the great Canadian Lagerstätten. The paleofauna represents that of a late Ypresian upland temperate ecosystem immediately after the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, and before the increased cooling of the middle and late Eocene to Oligocene. The fossiliferous deposits of the region were noted as early as 1873, with small amounts of systematic work happening in the 1880-90s on British Columbian sites, and 1920-30s for Washington sites. Focus and more detailed descriptive work on the Okanagan Highlands site started in the last 1970's. Most of the highlands sites are preserved as compression-impression fossils in "shales", but also includes a rare permineralized biota and an amber biota.
Extent
The series of lacustrine deposits are located across the Central British Columbia, Canada southeast to northern central Washington state, United States. grouped informally into "Northern", "Central", and "Southern" sites. The Northern sites consist of unnamed Ootsa Group formations which outcrop as the "Driftwood shales" near Smithers, British Columbia, the "Horsefly shales", of an unnamed formation and unnamed group which outcrop around Horsefly, British Columbia, and possibly sites now considered lost in the Quesnel, British Columbia area, The Central sites represent Kamloops Group formations with the McAbee Fossil Beds, Tranquille River site and Falkland site, all in the Tranquille Formation, the Quichena site and Stump Lake site in the Coldwater Beds and outcrops of the Chu Chua Formation near Barriere, British Columbia. The Southern sites include the Princeton Group Allenby Formation sites surrounding Princeton, British Columbia, such as "Nine Mile Creek", "One Mile Creek", "Pleasant Valley", "Thomas Ranch", "Vermilian Bluffs", and "Whipsaw Creek". The Penticton Groups Kettle River, Marama and Marron Formations in the Boundary District along the Canada-United States border are closely correlated with the Klondike Mountain Formation across the border. The most southerly of the Okanagan Highlands lakes, the Klondike Mountain Formation in Northern Ferry County, Washington include the "Boot Hill site", "Corner Lot site", "Gold Mountain site", "Knob Hill site", and "Mount Elizabeth site".
There is debate as to the affiliation of the, potentially lost, Quesnel sites with the Greater Okanagan Highlands. Archibald et al. (2018) in a monograph of the Highlands Hymenoptera families included them as part of the series. However the certainty for the placement was questioned earlier by Eberle et al. (2017) and Archibald and Cannings (2022) who opted to tentatively exclude Quesnel from the highlands while discussing the history of field colleting in the region.
Paleofauna
The Okanagan highlands represent a snapshot of lake, wetlands, and montane forest animal life which existed approximately after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The temperate upland lakes hosted insects, fish, birds, and mammals with the notably well preserved megafossils often retaining insect colour patterns, gnat wing membrane hairs, and whole bird feathers. In some cases the fine detail preservation of soft parts allows for the preservation of internal anatomy.
Archibald and Makarkin (2006) suggested the disjunct distribution of genera between the Danish western Limfjord coasts Fur Formation and the Okanagan highlands may have been enabled by rising crust elevations in the northern Atlantic region and subsequent increase in landmass during the Late Paleocene which linked Northern Europe with Greenland until at least the Early Eocene. Several land bridge routes may have acted as migration corridors for biotic interchange, the northern De Geer land bridge from Fennoscandia to North America via northern Greenland, and the southern Thulean land bridge from northern Britain though the Faroe Islands and then Greenland and North America. Several insect genera share disjunct distributions between the highlands and Limfjord including the mecopteran Cimbrophlebia, the giant lacewing Palaeopsychops, the green lacewing Protochrysa, the bull dog ant Ypresiomyrma.
The Hat Creek Amber deposits in the central region provide evidence for small and microbiotic elements of the Okanagan Highlands forests though entombed organisms such at terrestrial nematodes and microwasps that otherwise would likely not be preserved in the lake environments. The highlands as a whole have been described as one of the "Great Canadian Lagerstätten" based on the diversity, quality and unique nature of the biotas that are preserved. The highlands temperate biome, preserved across a large transect of lakes, recorded many of the earliest appearances of modern genera, while also documenting the last stands of ancient lines. David Grimaldi et al. (2018) during discussion of inclusions in Alaskan Chickaloon amber, noted the Okanagan Highlands record of latitudinal extinctions, specifically the modern southern hemisphere endemic groups Eomeropidae mecopterans and Myrmeciinae bulldog ants.
Lithology
The majority of the lake deposits are compression fossils in lake bed sediments noted for both the paleofauna and paleofloras, with an additional pair of important non-compression biotas. A permineralized chert flora, the Princeton Chert is found along the Similkameen River interbedded with coal deposits of the Ashnola shale unit, Allenby Formation known for anatomically preserved plants. In the Central sites, subbituminous coal of the Hat Creek Coalfield around Hat Creek hosts an entombment biota, the Hat Creek amber, which preserves highlands faunal elements that are not found in the compression biotas. Initial discussion of the amber presented by George Poinar, Jr. et al. (1999) suggested the Hat Creek amber producing tree was likely to be an araucarian tree in the genus Agathis, based on unreported magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis and earlier reports of the genus in Mesozoic Canada. A purported occurrence of Araucaria at the McAbee site was used as additional support for the ambers origin. The Agathis origin for Canadian Mesozoic amber was later called into question by Ryan McKellar and Alexander Wolfe (2010) based on a lack of any araucarian macrofossil history in the northern hemisphere the McAbee fossils having been already reidentifed as from the cupressaceous Cunninghamia. Based on Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic analysis and associated amber inclusion fossils, they suggested the Mesozoic ambers of Canada to be from the extinct cupressaceous genus Parataxodium. The origin of the Hat Creek ambers was further noted as likely from a cupressaceous source by Grimaldi et al. (2018) who call out a primary floral component of the host coal being Metasequoia and that the coeval Puget Group Tiger Mountain amber of Washington state is also of Metasequoia origins. They hypothesize that the major amber producing plant of the Paleocene Pacific Northwest forests as Metasequoia, but note that further investigation of Chickaloon, Hat Creek, Coalmont, and Tiger Mountain ambers would be needed.
Mollusks
Mollusks are a rare component of the highlands, usually being mentioned only in passing, such as by Mark Wilson (1977, 1978), and with fossils being reported from three sites only. A series of species were described from several Allenby Formation sites around Princeton by Russell (1957), who documented 4 gastropod species, and tentatively identified to genus another gastropod and a bivalve. Additional unidentified small bivalve fossils were mentioned from the Pleasant Valley site by Wilson (1977) and the Quilchena site by Wilson (1987), while unidentified gastropods were briefly mentioned by Kathleen Pigg et al. (2018).
Nematodes
In the initial description of Hat Creek Amber, Poinar et al. make note of nematode specimens found in the deposit, with a brief commentary regarding them as the oldest terrestrial free-living nematode fossils to have been found up to that point, but did not give any specific taxonomic identification beyond that.
Arachnids
A single arachnid has been described fully from the Okanagan highlands, the Nursery web spider Palaeoperenethis thaleri, known from an adult male. This spider was likely aquatic as are the other members of the family, and based on morphological similarities, it was possibly closer in relation to African and Asian species in the Perenethis genus group then to the only modern genus in British Columbia Dolomedes. Another spider specimen, University of Alberta 5007 was noted by Wilson (1977) from the Kamloops area, while various spiders have been attributed to the McAbee fossil beds. Undescribed male and female orb-web spiders were figured by Wehr (1998) from the Princeton area. Unspecified spider compression fossils were mentioned as occurring in passing by David Greenwood et al. (2005) while discussing the increasing taxonomic richness of the highlands, but without specific site information. Additionally, undiscussed amber fossils were mentioned by Poinar et al. (1999) in their initial report of Hat Creek amber inclusions. Other arachnid evidence has been recovered in the form of fossil hymenopterans placed in families known predate or parasitize spiders. A diverse undescribed fauna of the "parasitoid" wasp family Ichneumonidae is known, some species of which are known to parasitize eggs or adult spiders. Another family, Sphecidae, which is a documented opportunistic predator of spiders and certain insets is known from a few isolated fossils at McAbee and Republic. Lastly the vespoid family Pompilidae has been found at both McAbee and Republic. This family, known as spider wasps, are behaviorally specialized as predators of spiders and a few other arachnids, provisioning newly laid eggs with a single spider as a larder to feed on while developing. Galling preserved on Acer species leaf fossils has been attributed to mites in the family Eriophyidae.
Crustaceans
The earliest report of Crayfish from the highlands was by Wesley Wehr and Lisa Barksdale (1995). In a short Washington Geology article they reported the first identified occurrence of feathers from the Klondike Mountain Formation and crayfish from both there and the McAbee site. At that time, the moulted carapace section from Republic was not identified further than as a freshwater crayfish. The McAbee specimen was tentatively identified, from photograph, as being a possible Procambarus species fossil by malacologist Rodney M. Feldmann. Subsequently an additional series of over ten fossils were recovered from McAbee and described in 2011 as Aenigmastacus crandalli by Feldmann, Carrie Schweitzer, and John Leahy. A. crandalli was placed in the southern hemisphere superfamily Parastacoidea based on several morphological characters, and they noted this species to be the only northern hemisphere member of the superfamily.
At the Quilchena site, brief mention was reported in 2016 of ostracod fossils, though no further discussion or description has happened.
Insects
Blattodea
In the initial description of Hat Creek Amber, Poinar et al. make note of a single adult Corydiinae cockroach specimen found in the amber, with a brief commentary on the modern tropical-subtropical distribution of that subfamily and a lack of any native cockroach species in western Canada, but did not give any specific taxonomic identification for the specimen beyond that.
Coleopterans
The order Coleoptera is divided into four major lineages, Adephaga, Archostemata, Myxophaga, and Polyphaga, with the last group being the most species diverse of the four. Hat Creek amber has provided one fully described beetle species Prionocerites tattriei, which is known from a larval stage specimen first reported by Poinar et al. (1999). The species and genus were the first North American taxon from the family to be described.
Adephaga
Archostemata
Polyphaga
Cucujiformia
Elateriformia
Scarabaeiformia
Staphyliniformia
Dermapterans
Earwig fossils were first noted from republic by paleoentomologist Standley Lewis (1992) in his initial report of the insect diversity at Republic. He noted the fossils to be some of the oldest Eocene demapterans in North America at that time and figured one undescribed specimen consisting of a females abdomen section and cerci. Lewis (1994) tentatively identified the earwigs as members of family Forficulidae based on the shape of the cerci, and illustrated four female fossils, identified as such from the simple straight nature of the cercus. Lewis also suggested two different species were present, based on the differing lengths of the female cerci.
Dipterans
The most common animal fossils at many of the highlands sites are bibionid march flies, with over twenty species from the genera Penthetria and Plecia described. The modern diversity of the family is greatest in lower latitudes, and Plecia only reaches northward to the warm temperate areas of southeastern North America. In the initial description of Hat Creek Amber, Poinar et al. make note of dipteran inclusions found in the deposit but did not give any specific taxonomic identification of taxa or illustrate any specimen.
Brachycera
Nematocera
The highlands have been noted for the number of Bibionid taxa named in the early work on British Columbian sites. Over 25 unique species have been ascribed to the fossils, with the current count sitting at 22, but doubt has been raised as to the true number of species present and around the generic affinities. The first species was described by Scudder (1879 from the Allenby Formation, while the largest number of species were named by Handlirsch (1910). Following the practice of the time, both Scudder and Handlirsch placed their species in the genus Penthetria. Harrington Molesworth Anthony Rice (1959) reviewed the British Columbian bibionids, notably deeming the majority of species as belonging to Plecia or an undescribed extinct genus and not Penthetria. This placement decision has been questioned however, with Giuseppe Gentilini (1991) asserting the majority of highlands species should be returned to Penthetria. Rice, noted to be a "splitter", also noted the large overlap between the morphology of two species groups and mused that larger collection samples may reveal each group to be single species. He called out in the species discussions the similarities between Plecia avus, P. canadensis, P. dilatata, P. pictipennis, P. pulchra, and P. transitoria, and the similarities between P. curtula, P. nana, P. pulla, and P. reducta.
Ephemeropterans
Lewis (1992) listed one species of Heptageniidae and three specimens that he did not place to family from Republic. The next year Lewis and Wehr (1993) gave a slightly more detailed description of the specimens again identifying one to Heptageniidae, possibly in the genera Heptagenia or Stenonema. The specimens were later examined by Nina D. Sinitchenkova (1999) who described one as a squaregill mayfly and the oldest member of the genus Neoephemera, confirmed the Heptageniidae
identification but that it was unidentifiable to genus. The last specimen she confirmed as an ephemeropteran, but unidentifiable below order level.
Hemipterans
Greenwood et al. (2005) briefly discussed the prevalence of Aphid fossils at highlands sites where the taphonomic factors allowed for fine detail preservation such as in the Driftwood shales. Poinar et al. (1999) made note of hemipteran specimens found in Hat Creek Amber but did not give any specific taxonomic identification or illustrate any specimens.
Auchenorrhyncha
Heteroptera
Sternorrhyncha
Unidentified
Hymenopterans
Archibald, Mathewes, & Aase (2023) reported a Titanomyrma species ant queen from Allenby Formation, and noted the range extension for Formiciinae into the highlands, as the subfamily was previously considered a strictly thermophilic ant group. Due to complications arising from preservational distortion during diagenesis, they were unable to determine the correct size of the queen in life. If the distortion was lateral, then compression to bilateral symmetry yielded an adult length of approximately , placing it the same range as Formicium berryi and F. brodiei, known only from wings, and suggested as possible males. Conversely stretching the fossil to bilateral symmetry results in a larger length estimate, placing it as comparable to queens of T. lubei and T. simillima.
Symphyta
Parasitoida
Non-apoidean Aculeates
Formicoidea
Apoidea
Lepidoptera
A solitary complete adult female lepidopteran fossil has been recovered, but no full descriptive work has been published on the specimen, aside from a single PhD dissertation. Early examination placed the moth in the family Geometridae, but later work has identified it as the oldest member of the tiger moth subfamily Arctiinae. Two additional isolated wing fossils have been found with one tentatively placed within Noctuidae based on the wing venation and structure, while the second has not been placed beyond order level. Laval mining and hole feeding damage on leaves has been attributed to the families Coleophoridae, Gracillariidae, Heliozelidae, Incurvariidae, and Nepticulidae
Mecopterans
Neuropterans
Odonata
Trace fossil evidence of damselflies has been recorded from oviposition scars on various leaves from the Klondike Mountain Formation that have been placed in the ichnogenus Paleoovoidus. Lewis and Carrol (1991) originally identified the damage on an Alnus parvifolia leaf as caused by leaf beetles of the genus Altica. This was later questioned by Conrad Labandeira who noted the scar patterns did not match modern Altica egg laying behaviour.
Orthoptera
Phasmatodea
Plecoptera
Psocodea
The only reported Psocodea fossils from the highlands are known from Hat Creek amber. They were mentioned, as "Psocoptera", in passing by Poinar et al. (1999) who did not give any finer taxonomic detail or illustrate any specimens.
Raphidiopterans
Thrysanoptera
Poinar et al. (1999) illustrated a Thrips specimen in Hat Creek amber and noted the presence of the order in the fossils they examined, however they did not provide any finer taxonomic details on the affinities of the fossils.
Trichoptera
Trichopterans are known mainly from laraval cases and occasional isolated wings.
Vertebrates
"Fish"
The first fish to be described from the Okanagan Highlands were recovered from Allenby Formation shales and subsequently studied by Edward Drinker Cope who named Amyzon brevipinne in 1894. The next descriptive work for a fish came in 1916 with the naming of "Lucious" rosei by Louis Hussakof from Tranquille Formation fossils collected at "Red point" on Kamloops Lake in 1914. "Lucious" rosei was redescribed in 1966 by Ted Cavander, who moved the species to a new genus Eohiodon placed into the mooneye family Hiodontidae. The largest body of work for fish of the Highlands was by Mark Wilson (1977) who published a monograph detailing the Canadian highlands formations fish fauna, naming four new species in three new genera, plus redescribing both "Amyzon" brevipinne and "Eohiodon" rosei. The monograph added the families Salmonidae with Eosalmo driftwoodensis, Libotoniidae with Libotonius blakeburnensis, and Moronidae with Priscacara aquilonia. A year later the first species from the Republic area, "Eohiodon" woodruffi was described by Wilson, and the second Republic species Libotonius pearsoni followed in 1979. in 1982 the final new fish species named from the highlands, Amia hesperia, was described, being initially placed by Wilson in the modern bowfin genus Amia. This placement was later questioned by Lance Grande and William Bemis (1998), who noted that due to preservational orientation of the A. hesperia holotype, generic placement of the species was problematic. Phylogenetic analysis of Amiidae fossils by Grande and Bemis found the fossil as a member of the amiinae subfamily, but with key mouth anatomy missing, were unable to determine if Amia or the extinct genus Cyclurus was correct. In 2021 fossils of "Amyzon" brevipinne were redescribed by Juan Liu based on the holotype and additional fossils from the Allenby Formation, and based on the anatomical differences between the species and the type species of Amyzon mentale determined that the Princeton fossils were part of a different genus. As such Liu moved the species to the new genus Wilsonium.
Reptiles
The only reptile fossils known from the Okanagan highlands come from the Allenby Formation. A soft-shelled turtle is known from the "Ashnola shales" unit and unidentified turtle bone are known from the interbedded Princeton Chert. The soft shelled turtle was first discovered by James Basinger from dark shale layers above the chert and reported by Wilson (1982). The unidentified turtle bones were found preserved within the chert layers and first reported by Stockey and Pigg (1994). In his 1995 Masters thesis, G. Guthrie listed an isolated tooth from the Quilchena site as from a crocodile, which would have been the only instance of a crocodylian in the highlands. The taxonomic affinity was later revised after further examination and Mathewes et al. (2016) listed the specimen as an unidentified fish tooth.
Birds
A small avifauna is known from the Okanagan Highlands, but due to the incomplete nature of the fossils, placement of studied specimens has been tentative at best. Gerald Mayr et al. (2019) published an initial overview of the fossils with descriptions and commentary of the material, noting the taxa identified were all previously unknown to Northwestern North American Eocene sites. Despite the tentative nature of the fossil identifications, the Highlands sites are the richest Paleogene avifauna described from Canada. Mayr et al. (2019) posited that the fossils likely represent the more common species in the avifauna of the Highlands, but at the same time, include taxa that are considered rare or absent in the most studied avifaunas from the same time frame. Additional evidence of birds at some sites consists of preserved egested bird pellets, which are composed of randomly grouped fish bone clumps, occasionally including multiple fish or insects.
Isolated feathers are also known from several of the sites and have not described in detail.
Mammals
Eocene mammals are exclusively known from sites in, or possibly in, the Okanagan Highlands. The earliest reported mammals were of teeth from the Princeton area in 1935, with one of the fossils subsequently being "lost". More recent work in 2014 and 2017 on fossils from Driftwood and Princeton have expanded the mammal families to three, possibly four, and an undescribed Quilchena fossil being identified as a "lipotyphla". The record of Brontotheriidae is uncertain due to the split opinion regarding inclusion of the Quesnel area sediments as part of the Highlands.
Trace fossils
Pellets of fish bone and other animal material which were likely eaten by larger predators and then regurgitated have been reported from the Quilchena and Republic sites. These traces, called regurgitalites, have so far been understudied, with only a few passing mentions in Okanagan highlands literature.
Quesnelian fauna
If the Quesnel sites are included as part of the Greater Okanagan Highlands per Archibald et al. (2018) the fauna of the region is expanded by a number of insect taxa, an additional arachnid, and a brontothere.
Quesnelian Arachnids
Quesnelian Coleopterans
Quesnelian Dipterans
Quesnelian Hemipterans
Quesnelian Hymenopterans
Quesnelian Neuroptera
Quesnelian Mammals
References
Geology of the Rocky Mountains
Paleogene geology of Washington (state)
Paleontology in Washington (state)
Ypresian North America
Paleontology in British Columbia
Eocene Okanagan Highlands | Paleofauna of the Eocene Okanagan Highlands | [
"Biology"
] | 5,249 | [
"Cenozoic paleobiotas",
"Prehistoric biotas"
] |
69,285,945 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erick%20Simpson | Erick Simpson is an American author who writes about the managed service provider field.
Early life and education
Born in California, United States, Simpson was educated at the Loara High School. For his further education, he attended California State University, Fullerton and received a degree in business administration.
Career
After his graduation, he worked at Dreyer's in peronnel department. Later, he founded a trucking company which he owned until 1991.
Simpson is the co-founder of SPC International, a company which sells training in IT business improvement.
Simpson created the MSP Mastered Methodology to enhance the productivity of managed service providers and co-founded one of the first pure play MSPs.
Awards and recognition
SMB Nation's SMB Award
Time ChannelPro 20/20 Visionaries
Time MSP Mentor
Bibliography
The Guide to a Successful Managed Services Practice (2006)
References
Information technology education
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people | Erick Simpson | [
"Technology"
] | 190 | [
"Information technology",
"Information technology education"
] |
69,287,506 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/2019%20S%201 | S/2019 S 1 is a natural satellite of Saturn. Its discovery was announced by Edward Ashton, Brett J. Gladman, Jean-Marc Petit, and Mike Alexandersen on 16 November 2021 from Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope observations taken between 1 July 2019 and 14 June 2021.
S/2019 S 1 is about 5 kilometres in diameter, and orbits Saturn at an average distance of in 443.78 days, at an inclination of 44° to the ecliptic, in a prograde direction and with an eccentricity of 0.623. It belongs to the Inuit group of prograde irregular satellites, and is among the innermost irregular satellites of Saturn. It might be a collisional fragment of Kiviuq and Ijiraq, which share very similar orbital elements.
This moon's eccentric orbit takes it closer than to Iapetus several times per millennium.
References
Inuit group
Irregular satellites
Moons of Saturn
20211116
Moons with a prograde orbit | S/2019 S 1 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 198 | [
"Astronomy stubs",
"Planetary science stubs"
] |
69,287,588 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elainabella | Elainabella is a 560 million-year-old fossil of the first multicellular alga. It was discovered in 2014 in Nevada by Steve Rowland and Margarita Rodriguez, a paleontologist and alumna duo from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The specific species name for the Elainabella fossil found is E. deepspringensis. Elainabella is named after Elaine Hatch Sawyer, Rodriguez's mentor, and deepspringensis is named after the Deep Spring Formation, that being the rock layer where the fossils were found. The fossil is from the Ediacaran Period and was found near Gold Point, Esmeralda County, Nevada in the Deep Spring Lagerstatte. The Elainabella holotype is housed in the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas.
Soft tissue is normally not preserved in fossils. However, Elainabella shows cellular structure. The fossil is quite small, only one millimeter wide and has subsidiary, thinner branches. It was interpreted as being the thallus of a multicellular alga. It does not have any shell; its preservation represents a case of soft-bodied preservation. Rowland believes that, when alive, Elainabella would have lived as part of a microbial reef community. These reefs occurred on the West Coast of North America, which was near the equator at the time.
Elainebella does not comfortably fit into any known Ediacaran or metazoan taxon. While it is similar to some green algae, like in having similar segmented branches, the discoverers did not place Elainabella with them because of differences such as in size. The cellular structure of Elainabella is unlike that of any siphonous taxon.
References
Fossil algae
Fossils of Nevada | Elainabella | [
"Biology"
] | 349 | [
"Fossil algae",
"Algae"
] |
69,289,283 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger%20Regiment%20%28United%20Kingdom%29 | The Ranger Regiment is a special operations-capable unit of the British Army which was formed on 1 December 2021 under the Future Soldier reform and is part of the Army Special Operations Brigade previously called the Specialised Infantry Group. It is intended to be used primarily in an unconventional warfare and foreign internal defence capacity in a similar manner to the US Green Berets.
History
On 22 March 2021, the Defence in a Competitive Age paper was released underlining the future of the British Armed Forces. As part of a wider reorganisation of the British Army, the following was announced:
Initially, the regiment is planned to be "based on four Infantry Battalions but selecting personnel from across the Army". The regiment's task will be as follows: "[It will be] designed to support and conduct special operations discreetly in high-risk environments". According to a reporter of Forces News, the regiment will "conduct missions traditionally carried out by United Kingdom Special Forces (Special Air Service and Special Boat Service)". During an interview with the (then) Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, the rangers will be "special forces" and will "go beyond training, advising, and assisting" to "support local operations". He also stated the Ranger's functions will be similar to the United States Army's "Green Berets", a nickname for the US Army Special Forces.
The regiment was initially due to form in August 2021, however this was subsequently postponed to 1 December 2021. In early 2022 soldiers from the regiment deployed as part of a UK government support package to Ukraine. In February 2022 soldiers from the regiment deployed to Ghana to conduct training with the Ghanaian Special Operations Brigade, in preparation for a major exercise as well as to help them eliminate threats originating from their border regions.
Elements of the Ranger Regiment deployed to Ukraine in 2022 to provide anti-tank training. In October 2022 elements of the 3rd Battalion conducted exercises with the 193rd Jägarbataljonen, part of the Norrland Dragoon Regiment, specialised arctic light infantry.
In March 2024, the Armed Forces Minister, James Heappey, said that the Ranger Regiment had deployed 691 times since 2021 and that, as of , it consisted of 1,040 regular Army personnel.
Regimental organisation
The regiment was formed on 1 December 2021 through the renaming of four of the existing Specialised Infantry battalions. All four battalions were formed on 1 December 2021 and fall under the Army Special Operations Brigade, operationally they are aligned to regions around the globe.
A gun-metal grey beret and stable belt are worn by the Regiment. The four battalions of the Ranger Regiment each consist of ≈ 250 personnel.
1st Battalion
The 1st Battalion, Ranger Regiment (1 RANGER) was previously the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. The battalion is based at Palace Barracks in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is regionally aligned to West Africa.
2nd Battalion
The 2nd Battalion, Ranger Regiment (2 RANGER) was previously the 2nd Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). The battalion is based at Keogh Barracks, Ash Vale, Surrey. It is regionally aligned to East Africa.
3rd Battalion
The 3rd Battalion, Ranger Regiment (3 RANGER) was previously the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border). The battalion is currently based at Elizabeth Barracks, Pirbright, but will move to Aldershot Garrison in 2027. It is regionally aligned to Europe.
4th Battalion
The 4th Battalion, Ranger Regiment (4 RANGER) was previously the 4th Battalion, The Rifles. The battalion is based at Normandy Barracks, Aldershot Garrison. It is regionally aligned to the Middle East.
Reinforcement companies
The regiment also includes a pair of Gurkha reinforcement companies. These were raised as part of the plan to reform the 3rd Battalion, Royal Gurkha Rifles, which would be the fifth battalion assigned to the Specialised Infantry Group. A (Coriano) Company was formed on 31 January 2020 as the first sub-unit of the new battalion. The formation of the new battalion's second company was planned for 18 November 2021. However, prior to this taking place, the formation of the new battalion was cancelled, with the two companies instead to be used as independent units attached to other battalions of the new Ranger Regiment. Upon the formation of the Rangers, the second formed company, F (Falklands) Company, was attached to 2 RANGER, while the original company, renamed as G (Coriano) Company, was attached to 4 RANGER. A third company was formed in September 2024, to operate as part of 1 RANGER, becoming the first Gurkha unit to be stationed in Northern Ireland.
Team organisation
The Ranger Regiment is organised into "teams" of 11 personnel similar to United States Army Special Forces ODAs, which consist of 12 soldiers, each of whom has a particular specialist role. Ranger teams consist of:
Team Commander (Captain / Lieutenant)
Team Operations Officer (Sergeant)
Team Logistics (Sergeant)
Team Comms (Corporal)
Team Manoeuvre Support (Corporal)
Team Fires (Corporal)
Team Weapons (Corporal)
Team Medic (Corporal)
Team Medic Bravo (Lance Corporal)
Team Intelligence (Lance Corporal)
Team Force Protection (2 x Privates)
Training and selection
The Ranger battalions are planned to be "all-arms" battalions and thus be open to anyone serving in the Army, providing that they have served for 18 months from completing basic training. All applicants to the ranger regiment have to undertake a two-week Ranger assessment cadre (RAC), followed by a ten week All Arms Ranger course (AARC) before joining their battalion.
Ranger assessment cadre (RAC)
Brigadier Gus Fair, then commander of the Ranger Regiment, said the RAC involves "protracted periods of time under duress" and seeks to select applicants with emotional intelligence, resilience, calmness, and self-awareness.
Cap badge controversy
After it was revealed to the public, the cap badge of the Ranger Regiment was the subject of a controversy after some commentators claimed it bore a resemblance to the badge of the Selous Scouts, a special forces unit of the Rhodesian Army which operated during the Rhodesian Bush War. A Daily Telegraph article claimed that several British Army officers who were privy to the discussions over the creation of the Ranger Regiment's beret were concerned that the new cap badge was potentially based on the badge of the Selous Scouts and unsuccessfully attempted to change the design. An anonymous source in the Ministry of Defence told the Daily Telegraph that "An officer said he had seen an email saying that it was actually based on the Selous Scouts... There's obvious differences but it's fucking close and clearly based on it." However, the British Army rejected such claims, with an army spokesman stating that "The Ranger Regiment cap badge has been designed around the peregrine falcon. Any comparison or association to the osprey depicted in the Selous Scouts’ cap badge is completely inaccurate. The Ranger Regiment is very proud of its new cap-badge which takes inspiration and spirit from the peregrine falcon; fast, agile and fiercely loyal to its partner, it operates around the world in all environments including deserts, mountains and cities."
References
21st-century military history of the United Kingdom
Future Soldier
British Army
Military units and formations established in 2021
Infantry regiments of the British Army
British Army Rangers | Ranger Regiment (United Kingdom) | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,517 | [
"Military projects",
"Future Soldier"
] |
69,290,079 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data%20for%20Black%20Lives | Data for Black Lives (D4BL) is an American non-profit organization with the mission of using data science to create concrete and measurable change in the lives of black people. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Data for Black Lives was founded by Yeshimabeit Milner and Lucas Mason-Brown. Milner attended Brown University; having encountered discrimination towards the black community, she organized a group of scientists to combat the mistreatment of black people within data algorithms.
History
D4BL began in November 2017 as statistical research project, and expanded into working with a team of people on data analysis. The formation of D4BL was initiated by Yeshimabeit Milner, who witnessed racial discrimination, watching her peers suffer from police brutality. Milner discovered through research that black children were getting suspended at a much higher rate than white children. After graduating from Brown University, Milner incorporated her passion for data science into social activism.
D4BL has regional organization chapters, including a group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Additionally there is a community of other organizations working towards the same goals, including Data and Society, Algorithmic Justice League, and the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR).
Between 2019 and 2021, D4BL was awarded a grant by the MacArthur Foundation for broad operating support.
See also
Algorithmic Justice League
Black in AI
References
Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts
Data activism
Data and information organizations
Think tanks established in 2017
Social justice organizations
Politics and technology
Ethics of science and technology
Diversity in computing
Information ethics
2017 establishments in the United States | Data for Black Lives | [
"Technology"
] | 313 | [
"Diversity in computing",
"Data and information organizations",
"Data",
"Computing and society",
"Data activism",
"Ethics of science and technology",
"Information ethics"
] |
69,290,671 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnett%20double-quartet%20theory | Linnett double-quartet theory (LDQ) is a method of describing the bonding in molecules which involves separating the electrons depending on their spin, placing them into separate 'spin tetrahedra' to minimise the Pauli repulsions between electrons of the same spin. Introduced by J. W. Linnett in his 1961 monograph and 1964 book, this method expands on the electron dot structures pioneered by G. N. Lewis. While the theory retains the requirement for fulfilling the octet rule, it dispenses with the need to force electrons into coincident pairs. Instead, the theory stipulates that the four electrons of a given spin should maximise the distances between each other, resulting in a net tetrahedral electronic arrangement that is the fundamental molecular building block of the theory.
By taking cognisance of both the charge and the spin of the electrons, the theory can describe bonding situations beyond those invoking electron pairs, for example two-centre one-electron bonds. This approach thus facilitates the generation of molecular structures which accurately reflect the physical properties of the corresponding molecules, for example molecular oxygen, benzene, nitric oxide or diborane. Additionally, the method has enjoyed some success for generating the molecular structures of excited states, radicals, and reaction intermediates. The theory has also facilitated a more complete understanding of chemical reactivity, hypervalent bonding and three-centre bonding.
Historical background
The cornerstone of classical bonding theories is the Lewis structure, published by G. N. Lewis in 1916 and continuing to be widely taught and disseminated to this day. In this theory, the electrons in bonds are believed to pair up, forming electron pairs which result in the binding of nuclei. While Lewis’ model could explain the structures of many molecules, Lewis himself could not rationalise why electrons, negatively-charged particles which should repel, were able to form electron pairs in molecules or even why electrons can form a bond between atoms.
Lewis’ theory has been seminal in the understanding of the chemical bond. Yet despite this, it was formulated before the discovery of electron spin, a key intrinsic property of electrons which manifests itself through inter-electronic interactions. While spin was known about ever since the publication of Stern and Gerlach's results in 1922, with the Pauli exclusion principle being formulated in 1925, the importance of 'spin correlation' for understanding when and why electrons form pairs in molecules was not understood until the work of Lennard-Jones in the 1950s. During the latter decade, J. W. Linnett and his students began to explicitly study the role of spin in determining the electronic structures of various molecules. This resulted in Linnett's landmark 1961 publication, and subsequent 1964 book, in which he outlined what became known as “Linnett double-quartet” theory.
Linnett continued to expand on his theory through a number of publications until his death in 1975. In these writings, Linnett recognised the continued importance of the Lewis model of bonding and the importance of satisfying the octet rule. However, he also argued that this view overemphasises the importance of electron pairing in the formation of chemical bonds. Hence, his theory sought to introduce spin into the conventional model of bonding and hence rectify some of the problems associated with Lewis’ theory. While LDQ theory is a relatively simple extension of Lewis’ bonding theory, the additional freedom of the electrons to separate into two sets, differentiated by their spins, has bestowed upon the theory exquisite agreement with the results of many experiments.
In its nascent years, LDQ theory attracted the interest of many researchers, furnishing greater insights into the structures of many molecules. However, LDQ theory began to fade from the spotlight in the 1970s and was mostly abandoned by researchers in the United States, Great Britain and Europe by the mid-1980s.
Formulation of Linnett double-quartet theory
Basic principles
A key trait of LDQ theory that is shared with Lewis theory is the importance of using formal charges to determine the most important electronic structure. LDQ theory produces the spatial distributions of the electrons by considering the two fundamental physical properties of said electrons:
The mutual repulsion of electrons with like spins, in accordance with the Pauli exclusion principle. Hence, electrons with like (parallel) spins tend to keep as far away from each other as possible by refusing to occupy the same spatial region, while electrons with unlike (antiparallel) spins can occupy the same spatial region. This effect is known as ‘spin correlation’.
The mutual Coulombic repulsion between electrons. This effect tends to keep electrons as far away from each other as possible, regardless of their relative spins. This is known as ‘charge correlation’.
In Linnett's interpretation, correlation is “the mutual effect the electrons have on one another’s spatial positions”. In the absence of charge correlation, the situation would be as follows:
If an equal number of both spins is present, the electrons will tend to pair up.
If an unequal number of spins is present, then the probability distribution of the possible structures is independent of the mutual disposition of the two spin sets.
When one adds the effects of charge correlation, the situation is modified somewhat:
For electrons with the same spin, charge correlation works in tandem with spin correlation to yield a strong repulsion between the electrons.
For electrons of opposite spin, charge correlation effects will work against spin correlation effects.
Given these rules, it is found that:
The four electrons in the same spin set will always keep apart as they experience a negative charge correlation and a negative spin correlation.
Electrons in different spin sets can pair up (occupy the same spatial region) as they experience a negative charge correlation (which tends to keep them apart) but a positive spin correlation (which favours the spatial proximity of electrons with unlike spins).
Consequences of electron correlation effects
An octet is any arrangement which results in a given nucleus having a total of eight valence electrons around it. In Lewis' bonding model, the electrons tend to pair up in bonds such that an atom has a total of four chemical bonds and lone pairs associated with it: thus, the atom can satisfy its octet. LDQ theory also acknowledges that the elements in the ‘first short period’ of the periodic table tend to attain an octet of electrons surrounding them. However, in contrast with Lewis' view, Linnett argued that due to the combined effects of charge correlation and spin correlation, it is physically more meaningful to consider the octet as the sum of two tetrahedral quartets of electrons. Each quartet consists of electrons of one spin only, and these electrons can act and orient themselves independently. One can then obtain molecular structures by arranging the electrons in such a way as to maximise the separations between the electrons, hence minimising the mutual inter-electronic repulsions, while simultaneously ensuring that the basic geometry of the spin sets is not altered. Additionally, Linnett stressed that due to the Pauli exclusion principle, one should prioritise separating electrons of the same spin when considering the overall electronic structure.
Influence of nearby nuclei
In chemical bonding, the presence of additional nuclei causes the electrons to seek to maximise their attractive electrostatic interactions with all nearby nuclei. This can result in the formation of coincident or ‘close-paired’ electron pairs, in accordance with Lewis’ bonding model. Thus, it has previously been argued that the following should also be included in the basic postulates of LDQ theory:
The attraction between the nuclei and the electrons tends to distort the electronic geometry. This distortion acts to force a maximum number of electrons into the internuclear (bond axis) region, helping to efficiently bind the nuclei together.
The presence of any additional nearby nuclei can partially relax the influence of correlation effects on the electronic geometry. Therefore, it is possible for two electrons of opposite spin to come together and occupy the same spatial region, effectively forming the classical Lewis electron pair. This can serve to strengthen the binding between the nuclei by increasing the net electron density in the internuclear region. The exact disposition of the electrons is determined by the relative electronegativities of the constituent elements.
The electron pairing can result in a greater net binding between the nuclei, but this is not necessarily the case in all molecules. In his discussions, Linnett notes that due to the opposing effects of charge and spin, the correlation between the two spin quartets should be small and so the individual spin tetrahedra can be treated as being partly independent from each other. This then facilitates electron pairing since nearby nuclei can easily force the two electrons together. Linnett also argues that a relatively small deviation from the strictly regular tetrahedra of the rigorous LDQ theory approach could be energetically favourable in some cases.
Balancing the intramolecular interactions
The structure obtained from applying LDQ theory balances the three principal interactions in the molecule: electron-electron, electron-nuclear and nuclear-nuclear. Much like Lewis’ bonding model, LDQ theory assumes that the dominant contributions result from electron-electron and electron-nuclear interactions. However, it has previously been shown that the introduction of nuclear-nuclear interactions into LDQ theory can explain some trends in bond angles and bond lengths. In particular, Firestone produced an extensive discussion of the effects of moving bonding electron density out of the internuclear region and highlighted that sometimes such a distortion is necessary to produce a more satisfactory arrangement of the spin sets. Due to the decreased shielding of the nuclear-nuclear interactions and the decreased electron-nuclear interactions associated with this change, the net energy of the molecule tends to increase: this is known as “L-strain” (see section on reactivity later).
Examples of the application of the theory
Understanding structures using LDQ
As an example of the application of LDQ theory to molecular bonding, take the case of the fluoride ion. By using LDQ theory, the electronic structure shown below is obtained.
The two spin sets are under the action of only one nucleus and so there is no net interaction which will cause the electrons to pair up. Hence, unlike the Lewis model which predicts four lone pairs, all electrons in the fluoride ion are spatially separated. Therefore, the following statement by Luder is found to be true for all mononuclear species:“In an isolated atom, no valence electron is close-paired with another”.
If a proton then approaches the fluoride ion, the proton's attractive potential can distort the electronic geometry. Two electrons of opposite spin (necessary to complete the duplet of the hydrogen atom) are attracted to the proton and this attractive potential pulls them together to yield an electron pair localised to the internuclear region. This is illustrated in the LDQ structure of hydrogen fluoride shown below.
Again, while the Lewis picture would predict four coincident electron pairs, the LDQ theory treatment yields only one close pair and two staggered spin tetrahedra that share a vertex. This makes sense as the other six electrons, unlike the two bonding electrons, do not significantly experience the attractive influence of the proton and hence their inter-electronic repulsions keep them separated.
Example: molecular oxygen
One of the major triumphs of LDQ theory over the traditional Lewis view is the ability of the former to generate an electronic structure which explains the paramagnetism of the ground state (3Σg− state) of molecular oxygen (O2). The LDQ structure of the ground state of O2 does not involve any electron pairs, in contrast with the Lewis structure of the molecule. Instead, the electrons are arranged as shown below.
There are seven valence electrons of one spin which occupy two tetrahedra that share a common vertex (purple spheres), and the remaining five valence electrons of the other spin occupy two tetrahedra which share a common face (green spheres). Linnett postulated that this electronic arrangement reduces the magnitude of the inter-electronic repulsions in comparison with the case where the two spin sets have six electrons each. This arrangement results in a bond order of 2 and an excess of one electron spin, giving rise to the molecule's paramagnetism: both observations are in agreement with molecular orbital theory treatments of the molecule. In effect, the LDQ structure is equivalent to the combination of a two-centre one-electron bond (purple spin set) and a two-centre three-electron bond (green spin set).
Example: methane
Not all LDQ structures differ from those produced using Lewis’ bonding model. For example, an alkane such as methane has both spin tetrahedra totally coincident, resulting in four close-pairs of electrons as in the Lewis picture.
Simplification of the theory: 2D structures
The above three-dimensional LDQ structures are useful for visualising the molecular structures, but they can be laborious to construct. Hence, Linnett introduced two-dimensional structures, analogous to Lewis structures, that used dots and crosses to represent the relative spin states of electrons. An example is shown on the right for molecular oxygen.
Further, Linnett also modified the lines used in Lewis structures to account for electron coincidence and/or non-coincidence: a thin line represents an electron pair that is not close-paired, while a thick line represents a close-pair of electrons. This is exemplified best in the case of the hydrogen fluoride molecule, the dot-and-cross diagram of which is shown on the right. Here, the Lewis structure drawn on the left of the image is compared with the LDQ line structure on the right of the image. The LDQ structure thus expands on the Lewis structure by denoting if the electrons are coincident (thick line) or if they are spatially separated (thin lines).Additionally, by adding a dot or cross above/below the bond line, one can denote an odd number of electrons which are involved in the bond. This is illustrated well in the structure of nitric oxide (NO) shown below:
More details about the LDQ structures of radicals such as NO are given in the section ‘Theoretical Description of Radicals’.
Example: benzene
LDQ theory has been lauded for its ability to produce an accurate electronic structure of benzene. The LDQ structure for benzene is shown below.
In this model, each carbon atom is bonded to its neighbouring carbon atoms by three non-coincident electrons, two of one spin (e.g. green spheres) and one of the other spin (e.g. purple spheres). Thus, LDQ theory is able to predict the 1.5 bond order of the carbon-carbon bonds in benzene, the equivalence of all six carbon-carbon bonds and the stability of benzene due to the fact that none of the electrons in the carbon-carbon bonds are close-paired. This is in contrast with the valence bond picture which must invoke resonance between the two Kekulé forms of benzene in order to predict the non-integral bond order. Hence, the LDQ structure is lower in energy than either of the Kekulé forms due to a reduction in the magnitude of the inter-electronic repulsions in the former.
The 2D LDQ structures of benzene using both the full dot-and-cross diagram and the simplified diagram are shown on the right. Again, the bonding situation determined using LDQ theory is in good agreement with molecular orbital theory results. This also highlights that the additional degree of freedom afforded by having two distinct spin sets in the LDQ approach allows a single electron in a bond to be shared equally between two atoms, which produces the above structure for benzene.
Theoretical description of excited states
The ability of LDQ theory to describe electronic distributions in terms of independent spin sets has facilitated studies of the excited states of various molecules, producing excited state electronic structures that are in agreement with experiments. This sets LDQ theory apart from both valence bond theory and Lewis bonding theory as these have not been previously utilised to study excited state electronic structures. Further, the LDQ theory approach to studying excited states produces three-dimensional redistributions of the electron density, in contrast with the single-electron vertical transitions produced using molecular orbital methods.
Example: excited states of molecular oxygen
As outlined previously, Linnett found that disposing the electrons into two spin sets, one with seven electrons and the other with only five electrons, produced the electronic structure of the ground state of O2 (see above). In contrast, one can look at the case where the two spin sets both contain six electrons to generate the excited states of O2. When the spin sets are non-coincident, the electronic structure shown below is produced.
In this case, each spin set is the same but there is no correlation between them, giving rise to a cubic arrangement of the electrons. As the average distance between the electrons is shorter than in the ground state case, this disposition of the electrons thus results in a greater net magnitude of the inter-electronic repulsion energy as compared to the ground state. Hence, the above structure corresponds to the first excited state (1Δg state) of O2. If one further increases the degree of inter-electronic repulsions by forcing the electrons into coincident pairs, the electronic structure shown below is generated.
This corresponds to the electronic structure of the second excited state of O2 (1Σg+ state), and also corresponds to the (incorrect) Lewis structure of the ground state of O2. Thus, a comparison of the magnitude of the inter-electronic repulsions in a series of possible molecular structures can be used to assess their relative energies and hence determine the ground and excited states.
Additionally, it is found that in all three electronic structures, the net bond order is 2 as they all have four electrons in the spatial region between the oxygen nuclei. Thus, we see that this example clearly demonstrates that “not all double bonds are created equal”.
Example: excited states of acetylene
Linnett also used the example of acetylene to illustrate the power of the LDQ approach for understanding the structures of the excited states of molecules. The dot-and-cross diagrams for both the ground state and the first excited state of acetylene are shown below.Upon excitation of the acetylene molecule, there is a net depletion of electron density from the bond region. This is captured in the above figure on the right as three electrons are withdrawn from the internuclear region and localised to the individual carbon atoms: resonance needs to be invoked in this case to explain how the three electrons can be distributed among the two carbon centres. Linnett rationalises this three-electron redistribution by arguing that it is required by the need to both form the two carbon-hydrogen bonds and retain the tetrahedral disposition of the electrons of a given spin. Interestingly, the excited state does not obey the octet rule as the carbon atoms have an average 6.5 valence electrons surrounding them. Further, the internuclear region contains only three electrons, the same as in the benzene molecule (see above), and this explains why the carbon-carbon bond length in the excited state of acetylene is the same as that in benzene. Most strikingly, the molecule changes its geometry upon excitation, going from a simple linear symmetry to a trans-bent structure. This is in excellent agreement with both the landmark results of Ingold and King, which were the first demonstration of an excited state having a qualitatively different geometry than the ground state, and the results from molecular orbital theory methods. Thus, this example illustrates that LDQ theory can be a powerful tool for understanding the geometric rearrangements that occur when excited states are formed.
Theoretical description of radicals
A major drawback of Lewis’ bonding theory is its inability to predict and understand the structures of radicals due to the presence of unpaired single electrons. LDQ theory has seen great success in explaining the structures of open shell systems such as nitric oxide or ozone due to the additional degree of freedom associated with having two independent spin sets. In the cases of nitric oxide and ozone, the maxima of the electron density of the localised orbitals result in distributions which closely mirror the dot-and-cross diagrams produced using LDQ theory.
Example: nitric oxide
The typical example of a radical that cannot be treated satisfactorily using Lewis structures is nitric oxide (NO). By allowing the electrons in the two spin sets to separate from each other, the LDQ structure for NO can be generated as shown below.
Hence, the NO molecule is held together by a perfectly symmetric two-centre five-electron bond, made up of three electrons of one spin (green spheres) and two electrons of the other spin (purple spheres). This bonding arrangement satisfies the octet for both the nitrogen and oxygen atoms and results in a bond order of 2.5, in excellent agreement with the molecular orbital theory treatment of NO.
Stability of radicals against dimerisation
It has previously been highlighted that, from applications of LDQ theory, there exist two distinct classes of radicals: (a) radicals which do not have enough electrons to satisfy the octets of their constituent atoms and (b) radicals which obey the octet rule. Radicals of type (a) are thus highly reactive fragments which want to gain electrons to satisfy the octet rule, while radicals of type (b) are stable species by virtue of satisfying the octets of their constituent atoms.
As an example, the cyanide (CN) radical shown below is a type (a) radical that has ten bonding electrons, while the cyanogen molecule (a dimeric combination of two CN radicals) has 14 bonding electrons.
Hence, the dimerisation of CN to cyanogen is favourable as it increases the degree of bonding in the overall system and reduces the total energy. In contrast, the NO molecule is a type (b) radical, also with ten electrons. However, the dimeric N2O2 molecule likewise has ten bonding electrons, and hence there is no significant energetic benefit from the formation of the dimer. In fact, the formation of the nitrogen-nitrogen bond leads to an increase in the number of close-paired electrons and hence an increase in the total system energy, and so isolated NO molecules are stable against dimerisation in the gas phase.
Application to chemical reactivity
LDQ theory has enjoyed some success in studies of chemical reactivity, in particular organic reactions, as it can furnish one with the ability to predict chemical reactivity from analyses of the relevant reactant and transition state structures. Firestone's extensive work constitutes the most significant application of LDQ theory to chemical reactivity thus far. Firestone has previously used the concept of L-strain (see above) to analyse the activation energies in SN2, SH2 and E2 reactions, since the movement of electron density out of the internuclear region is commonly associated with the formation of transition states.
Example: reactivity among different families of hydrocarbons
LDQ structures, in particular the coincidence of electron pairs, can be used to rationalise and explain the stability and reactivity of certain families of molecules such as hydrocarbons.
As shown for ethane, the electrons reside in two coincident tetrahedra which share a common vertex, and hence all the electrons are in close-pairs as expected from Lewis’ bonding model. However, compare this with the situation in ethylene: again, all the electrons are in close-pairs but now there is no electron density along the internuclear axis. The result is that the energy required to overcome charge correlation and pair the electrons up is compensated to a lesser extent by the bonding in ethylene as compared with ethane. Thus, in agreement with experiments, the ethylene molecule should be highly reactive with respect to addition reactions. Finally, the above can be compared with the situation in acetylene. Here, the six electrons involved in bonding are all anti-coincident and so the energy cost associated with charge correlation is minimised. Indeed, in agreement with experiment, carbon-carbon triple bonds are far less reactive with respect to addition reactions than carbon-carbon double bonds as transforming carbon-carbon triple bonds into double bonds also involves the formation of close-pairs of electrons, an energetically costly process.
Application to hypervalent and three-centre bonding
The strengths of LDQ theory have been applied to understand the structures and bonding modes of various molecules which, in the valence bond method, are described using the terms ‘hypervalent’ and ‘three-centre bonding’.
Hypervalent molecules
In the case of phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5), the example shown on the right, the central phosphorus atom is bonded to five chlorine atoms. In the traditional Lewis view, this violates the octet rule as the five phosphorus-chlorine bonds would result in a net ten electrons around the phosphorus atom. Thus, the molecule is assumed to expand its bonding beyond the octet, a situation known as hypervalent bonding.
LDQ theory, however, presents a different view of the bonding in this molecule. The three equatorial chlorine atoms each form two-electron bonds with the central phosphorus atom. The remaining two axial chlorine atoms each contribute only one electron to a bond with the phosphorus atom, leaving a single electron to reside exclusively on the chlorine atom. Thus, the LDQ structure for PCl5 consists of three two-centre two-electron bonds and two two-centre one-electron bonds, thus satisfying the octet rule and dispensing with the need to invoke hypervalent bonding. This LDQ structure is also in good agreement with quantum chemical calculations.
Three-centre bonding
LDQ theory has facilitated a more rigorous analysis of bonding in compounds which have conventionally been described in terms of three-centre two-electron bonding. For example, compare the various ways shown below to represent the bonding in the Lewis acid-base adduct of the hydride anion (H−) and borane (BH3) shown below.
The LDQ approach thus enables each electron to localise in one of the boron-hydrogen internuclear bond regions, rather than being delocalised over the entire three-centre boron-hydrogen-boron moiety. This arrangement of the bonding electrons into two two-centre one-electron bonds benefits from a lowering of the net magnitude of the inter-electronic repulsions in the system. In comparison, as described by Linnett:“By allowing the two electrons independent ‘movement’ in a three-centre system, the three-centre bond allows the electrons a fairly considerable chance of being near one another”.Similarly, the resonance forms shown above also increase the degree of inter-electronic repulsions as the electrons are paired up in the boron-hydrogen bonds. Thus, a more complete description of the bonding in B2H7− is obtained using LDQ theory as it can utilise two two-centre one-electron bonds, in comparison with the awkward three-centre two-electron bond or the resonance structures derived from the valence bond method.
The situation is similar for diborane (B2H6), the archetypal example used to explain three-centre two-electron bonding.
The above demonstrates that the structure produced using LDQ theory again yields the lowest degree of inter-electronic repulsions.
Indeed, the separation of the electrons into two distinct spin sets has enabled the theory to expand the set of possible bonding arrangements, with two-centre one-electron, two-centre three-electron and two-centre five-electron bonding patterns all possible in the theory.
Quantitative extension of Linnett double-quartet theory
Along with the qualitative picture outlined above, LDQ theory has also been applied to computational studies. This quantitative extension is known as the non-pairing spatial orbital (NPSO) theory. In the NPSO method, the constituent wave functions are based on the corresponding qualitative LDQ structures. This approach has previously been shown to produce lower energies as compared to valence bond or molecular orbital wave functions derived from Lewis structures for molecules such as benzene, diborane or ozone. Hence, by the variational principle, the wave functions produced by NPSO methods are often a better approximation than those generated using molecular orbital theory methods.
Relation to the electron localisation function
It is possible to visualise the reality of disposing the two spin sets separately. Recent investigations have shown that the electron localisation function (ELF) can be successfully applied to understand the disposition of the electrons in a number of molecules.
Example: acetylene
The ELF of acetylene has been studied by a number of authors. The results of this analysis are indicated in the figure below.
The ELF of acetylene thus contains a toroidal basin surrounding the carbon-carbon bond axis, rather than three discrete concentrations of electron density as would be expected from the Lewis structure for a triple bond. This is directly comparable to the bonding picture produced using LDQ theory (see above), highlighting that the theory can accurately reflect the bonding situation in multiply-bonded species.
Example: digermyne
A recent report on the disilyne and digermyne molecules has shown that their ELFs also result in a toroidal basin surrounding the internuclear axis.
The toroidal basin represents the six electrons which are involved in the bonding between the two germanium centres in this molecule. The LDQ structure is in excellent agreement with these computational results: the toroid is angled in comparison with the case in acetylene due to the perturbation caused by the off-axis hydrogen atoms.
Example: chlorine trifluoride
In the VSEPR structure of chlorine trifluoride (ClF3), the molecule adopts a trigonal bipyramidal structure with the central chlorine atom violating the octet rule. This is typically rationalised by invoking d orbital participation in the bonding of the sp3d hybridised chlorine centre. The ELF of ClF3 is presented below.
The ELF analysis of ClF3 indicates that there is a single toroidal-shaped basin at the 'back' of each fluorine atom, corresponding analogously to the three lone pairs arranged in a ring as generated for the HF molecule (see above). This is in contrast with the Lewis structure which would place the fluorine lone pair electrons into discrete coincident pairs. Further, the lone pairs of electrons associated with the central chlorine atom reside in two kidney-shaped lobes which lie in the equatorial plane along with one of the fluorine atoms. This structure, consistent with the LDQ structure of the molecule, is also consistent with the VSEPR structure as the more diffuse chlorine lone pairs distort the molecular geometry and result in the bent planar geometry seen. In contrast, the bonding situation described by LDQ theory differs greatly from that produced using valence bond theory. Rather than having three two-centre two-electron bonds and two lone pairs, necessitating the invocation of hypervalent bonding for the chlorine atom, the LDQ structure instead allows the axial fluorine atoms to form two-centre one-electron bonds. This, when combined with a two-centre two-electron bond to the equatorial fluorine atom and the two chlorine lone pairs, restores the octet of the chlorine atom. As exemplified by the increased bond length of the axial fluorine-chlorine bonds as compared to the equatorial fluorine-chlorine bond, LDQ theory is able to more accurately describe the electronic structure of ClF3 as compared to valence bond theory.
Strengths and weaknesses of the theory
Strengths of the approach
One of the main benefits is that many molecular structures, such as molecular oxygen and ozone, can be represented using a single LDQ structure without invoking any resonance structures. This lesser reliance on resonance structures is favourable as, according to Linnett, resonance structures are not satisfactory descriptions of bonding as the ‘resonance stabilisation energy’ is not easily attributable to any particular molecular feature.
Several other strengths of the approach include:
It can be used to generate the electronic structures of species with π systems, affording greater precision for systems where there are partial charges associated with the constituent atoms.
It is able to treat individual molecular features, such as π systems, separately from the rest of the structure. This is in contrast with molecular orbital theory approaches which often require the simultaneous treatment of σ and π systems.
It can be used to understand and predict the relative bond strengths of a single species in cases where a number of structures with different bond orders are possible.
The success of LDQ theory in elucidating structures akin to those generated using quantum chemical calculations has also afforded a better understanding of the meaning of the dots and crosses used in the theory. Accordingly, the dots and crosses have been associated with the centroids of charge of the localised orbitals, while also making the distinction between the two sets of spins in the charge analyses.
Weaknesses of the approach
LDQ theory greatly diminishes, but does not completely remove, the need for invoking resonance structures to explain the bonding in certain molecules. While the need for resonance structures is reduced, it is still necessary to invoke resonance for certain molecules such as semiquinones, nitryl chloride or nitrogen dioxide.
Additionally, like its Lewis theory progenitor, the theory ignores the energy differences between s and p orbitals. This has garnered criticism from authors who have dismissed LDQ theory as it was seen to invoke "the inert gas magic". Other authors have also claimed that LDQ theory cannot be easily extended "to larger systems for which its use generally becomes very intuitive" and that its results are "as ambiguous as those of resonance theory".
Luder’s extension of Linnett double-quartet theory – electron-repulsion theory
Linnett's vision of double-quartet theory was limited to elements which did not expand their valence beyond the octet: this produced the familiar spin tetrahedra. However, later work by W. F. Luder extended the principles of LDQ theory to produce electronic structures with more than four electrons in each spin set. This extension, called “electron repulsion theory” by Luder, could be applied to elements of the d and f blocks in the periodic table.
For example, the structure of the zinc atom produced using electron-repulsion theory is shown above. The author asserts that the s electrons occupy the axial positions, leaving the d electrons to occupy the positions at the vertices of two pentagonal bases of the two constituent pyramids. The electronic structure of the ytterbium atom can be constructed similarly. The s electrons are again assumed to occupy the axial positions while the f electrons occupy the positions at the vertices of two heptagonal bases of the two constituent pyramids.
While these results are interesting, they have been contested in the scientific literature due to Luder's abandonment of the octet rule and the author's controversial views on spin correlation. Indeed, one author notes that Luder's works “[do] a great disservice to Linnett and his method”.
Recent applications of Linnett double-quartet theory
Recently, there has been a modest resurgence of LDQ theory in the scientific literature, especially among theoretical chemists. For example, a recent study found that there is a qualitative correspondence between the molecular structures produced using LDQ theory and those suggested by dynamic Voronoi metropolis sampling.
Another recent example is the correspondence of the results obtained using LDQ theory to those produced using the Fermi-Löwdin orbital self-interaction correction (FLO-SIC) method. It was shown that this method generates structures which can successfully house two electrons of one spin in a given ‘spin channel’, and the remaining single electron can be housed in the other spin channel: this can be directly related to the LDQ structures of many radicals (see for instance NO above). Further, the electronic geometries for many ground state molecules, such as carbon dioxide, produced via FLO-SIC methods were found to generally agree with those derived from LDQ theory. In a subsequent publication, the authors posited that the Fermi orbital descriptors utilised in their work can be correlated to the electron spins generated in LDQ analyses. The authors also noted that the use of LDQ theory to produce model electronic structures of molecules for quantum calculations results in calculated dipole moments that agree more closely with experiments.
References
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Molecules
Chemical bonding | Linnett double-quartet theory | [
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69,290,830 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condici%C3%B3n%20suspendida | Condición suspendida is an outdoor sculpture by Gonzalo Lebrija, installed in Zapopan, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. It is a high hand that holds a spinning top with the index finger. It is found outside Zapopan Centro station of the Guadalajara light rail system, in front of the Arcos de Zapopan.
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Outdoor sculptures in Jalisco
Zapopan
Colossal statues | Condición suspendida | [
"Physics",
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] | 92 | [
"Quantity",
"Colossal statues",
"Physical quantities",
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69,291,606 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu%20V12%20F1%20engine | Isuzu made an experimental 75-degree, four-stroke, naturally-aspirated, V-12 racing engine, dubbed the P799WE, designed for Formula one racing; between 1989 and 1991. The experimental unit was used in the Lotus 102B and Lotus 102C.
Background
The 102B enabled the team to equal their 1990 points total of three points. With increased sponsorship and the delay of the 107 it was to continue racing for the first four races of the 1992 season in D specification. The C specification incorporated an Isuzu P799WE (Japanese edition) V12 engine that had been developed throughout the season but never raced. The new engine produced impressive power, with rumours of around 750bhp reported. In the engine's one and only track test, the car was six seconds off the pace however. Ultimately, Peter Collins, team principal of Team Lotus, decided against a deal to use the unproven engine and Isuzu decided against entering Formula One anyway.
Specifications
Overall length: 690mm
Overall width: 580mm
Overall height: 495mm
Number of cylinders: V-type 12 cylinders
Cylinder bank angle (°): 75°
Displacement: 3,493cc
Maximum horsepower: 646 hp @ 12,000rpm (early), 765 hp @ 13,500rpm (late)
Maximum torque: 41.0 kg·m (296.5 lb-ft) @ 10,000 rpm (initial), 42.5 kg·m (308 lb-ft) @ 11,500 rpm (late)
Piston: bore 85mm
Stroke: 51.3mm
Compression ratio: 13.0: 1
Weight: 158 kg (348 lbs.)
Applications
Lotus 102B
Lotus 102C
References
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Formula One engines | Isuzu V12 F1 engine | [
"Technology"
] | 375 | [
"Engines",
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] |
69,291,954 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel%20niobate | Nickel niobate is a complex oxide which as a solid material has found potential applications in catalysis and lithium batteries.
Properties
Complexes
Nickel niobate has been added to other elements forming bismuth nickel niobate (), providing a dense ceramic body at low sintering temperatures. Cubic pyrochlore, tetragonal pyrochlore, and other unknown phases were found.
Single-phase perovskite ceramics of (PNN) have been prepared by the columbite precursor method. Dielectric studies showed that ceramic is a typical relaxor ferroelectric with properties like those of its single-crystals.
Applications
Nickel niobate has been examined for use as a catalyst to reduce 4-nitrophenol due to a photo-synergistic effect that exploits the synergy between thermal active sites and photogenerated electrons.
Nickel niobate has also been examined in an "open and regular" crystalline form for use as the anode in a lithium ion battery. It forms a porous, nano-scale structure that eliminates the dendrite formation that can cause short circuits and other problems. The material offers energy density of 244 mAh g−1 and retains 80%+ of its capacity across 20k cycles. The manufacturing process is straightforward and does not require a clean room. The anode offers a diffusion coefficient of 10−12 cm2 s−1 at 300 K, which allows fast charging/dischargine at high current densities, yielding capacities of 140 and 50 mAh g−1 for 10 and 100C respectively.
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Niobates | Nickel niobate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 337 | [
"Catalysis",
"Catalysts",
"Chemical kinetics"
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69,293,992 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narluga | A narluga (portmanteau of narwhal and beluga) is a hybrid born from mating a female narwhal and a male beluga whale. Narwhals and beluga whales are both cetaceans found in the High Arctic and are the only two living members of the family Monodontidae.
Discovery
The existence of narlugas had been hypothesized for decades before its discovery. There are 20 known cetacean hybrids in existence, with 7 of those occurring only in captivity. In 1990, the researcher Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen
spoke to an Inuk hunter who'd captured an unusual hybrid animal that had both beluga and narwhal anatomy. He noted seeing two other anomalous individuals, but no part of them was retained. When Heide-Jørgensen was shown that skull, he determined that it belonged to an unknown Monodontidae. Through analysis of anatomical characters, he and a colleague found that the specimen had some descriptive properties which fell between a narwhal and a beluga. In particular, the characteristic narwhal 'horn' is anatomically a tooth; the unidentified specimen lacked a single narwhal tusk, but its teeth were spiraled, like the tusk of a narwhal. The specimen had 18 teeth, an intermediate number when compared to the beluga (40 teeth) and the narwhal (one tooth). However, not all characters fell between those of narwhals and belugas; the potential hybrid had a skull larger than is usual for either species.
The hybrid genetics of the narluga was confirmed in 2019 when the genome of the specimen was sequenced. Carbon/nitrogen isotopic analysis also found that narlugas have a greater C/N concentration than both parent species.
Feeding
Narwhals and beluga whales are both pelagic feeders, with the largest portion of their diet consisting of Arctic cod. Through analysis of stable isotopes, Skovrind et al. determined that the hybrid had isotopic carbon readings consistent with that of a benthic foraging strategy. The hybrid had outward-facing teeth in its bottom jaw which may have aided in this benthic foraging strategy, allowing it to capture prey more effectively, scooping it off the ocean floor. This proposed foraging strategy differs from that of the gray whale, which rolls on its side on the ocean floor to consume benthic prey. This may fill the niche left open by the anthropogenically extinct Atlantic gray whale, a relative of the benthically feeding Pacific gray whale.
Species compatibility
Despite being each other's closest living relative phylogenetically, narwhals and beluga whales diverged an estimated four million years ago; however, it is predicted that gene flow continued until 1.25–1.65 million years ago. Narwhals and beluga whales have overlapping ranges in the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As a result of climate change, Arctic cetaceans are at high risk for range contraction, which is likely to increase interspecific interaction between narwhals and belugas whales. Both species exhibit seasonal migrations, and they are most likely to overlap with one another in their summering grounds.
Beluga whales and narwhals use high frequency vocalizations for echolocation; while beluga whales typically utilize higher frequency vocalizations than do narwhals, their vocalization ranges are overlapping. Both species show evidence of context-dependent vocalizations. This indicates possible social compatibility between the two species. However, narwhals also show evidence of pod-specific vocalizations, potentially serving as a barrier to hybridization with beluga whales. The two parental species share a spring mating season, but their mating systems differ. Beluga whales are thought to be more monogamous, whereas narwhals operate under a more polygamous mating system, further differentiating the two socially. Current data on narwhals, beluga whales, and their hybrids is not sufficient to state definitively, but the prevailing thought is that the hybrid would likely not be reproductively viable. In spite of their potential for social incompatibility, the last recorded sighting of the two species comingling was in 2018, when a narwhal was captured via drone footage schooling with a pod of beluga whales.
References
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Mammal hybrids
Intergeneric hybrids | Narluga | [
"Biology"
] | 929 | [
"Intergeneric hybrids",
"Hybrid organisms"
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69,295,113 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abarca%20Prize | The Doctor Juan Abarca International Award in Medical Sciences, known as the Abarca Prize, is an award that recognises research and innovation through a biomedical finding of global significance.
Background
Created in 2020 by the Fundación de Investigación HM Hospitales, it is awarded to the scientific or medical career of a person who has made a significant contribution to the protection, improvement or rehabilitation of people's health.
The award, endowed with 100,000 euros, is inspired by the Spanish surgeon Juan Abarca Campal, founder of HM Hospitales. The jury, appointed by the Fundación de Investigación HM Hospitales, is made up of members of the scientific community.
Abarca Prize
2021
The first edition of the award was held in October 2021. The award ceremony was chaired by King Felipe VI. The jury was headed by Alberto Muñoz, professor at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Madrid (IIBM) and included Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, Silvia G. Priori, scientific director of the ICS Maugeri Hospital, palaeoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, and Federico de Montalvo, former president of the Spanish Bioethics Committee. The Abarca Prize was awarded to Professor Jean-Laurent Casanova for his findings in the field of human infections and the genetic variations that affect a person's ability to fight them. Dr. Casanova is a researcher at Rockefeller University Hospital in New York and director of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics and Infectious Diseases.
2022
In 2022 the prize was awarded to Professor Philippe J. Sansonetti of the Pasteur Institute for his research on Shigellosis or bacillary dysentery. This diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Shigella causes thousands of deaths annually in developed countries, mainly affecting children. The jury was composed of Professors Juan Luis Arsuaga, Silvia Priori, Jean-Laurent Casanova and Federico de Montalvo, and was chaired by Professor Alberto Muñoz, from the Institute of Biomedical Research of Madrid (IIB- CSIC). The award was presented by the Spanish Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón.
2023
Professor Douglas A. Melton, won the III Abarca Prize in its 2023 call, for his advances towards a cure for diabetes. Douglas A. Melton is co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, a Howard Hughes Institute of Medicine investigator and an investigator at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Melton's research has pioneered the process of converting stem cells into insulin-producing beta cells, which would enable cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes. The award was presented by the Spanish Minister of Health, José Miñones.
2024
The immunologist Carl H. June, director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania, was awarded the fourth prize for the discovery of a revolutionary therapy for treating blood cancers based on cellular engineering. The CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor) cell therapy harnesses the body's own immune system to fight cancer. Carl H. June is the Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy at the Vague School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2024, his scientific team is working to apply this treatment to other solid neoplasms, autoimmune diseases (such as lupus) and other non-oncological diseases. The jury for the 4th edition was made up of Professors Silvia Priori, who chaired the jury, Philippe J. Sansonetti, Pura Muñoz-Cánoves, Sandra Myrna Diaz, Federico de Montalvo, Juan Luis Arsuaga and the winner of the 2023 call, Professor Douglas A. Melton. Dr June was received by King Felipe VI after the award ceremony, together with Juan Abarca Cidón, President of HM Hospitales, Elena Abarca Cidón, Vice-President of HM Hospitales, and Alberto Muñoz Terol, President of the HM Hospitales Research Foundation.
Abarca Prize Calls
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Abarca Prize
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Medicine awards | Abarca Prize | [
"Technology"
] | 848 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Medicine awards"
] |
69,296,068 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstarite | Northstarite is an immensely rare lead-tellurite-thiosulfate mineral with an ideal formula of Pb6(Te4+ O3)5(S6+O3S2-). Northstarite was first discovered in 2019 by Charles Adan in the North Star Mine of the Tintic Mining District, Juab County, Utah, USA. Northstarite received its name after this type locality where it was originally discovered, the North Star Mine. Northstarite is the fourth thiosulfate mineral that exists on Earth, and although all thiosulfates have essential lead components, northstarite is the first thiosulfate species containing groups of both thiosulfate and tellurite (Te4+O3).
Occurrence
Northstarite is a mineral found in the oxidation zone of Earth, meaning that it is found near the Earth's surface and formed as a result of the chemical decomposition of other minerals that are unstable at the surface. Northstarite occurs in small rock cavities with quartz, baryte, enargite, and pyrite, but is also associated with anglesite, azurite, chrysocolla, fluorapatite, plumbogummite, tellurite, zincospiroffite, and a type of copper-tellurite that possesses poor crystallization. Northstarite is associated with another new mineral called adanite, which was also discovered in the North Star Mine and shares a similar chemical composition as northstarite. The holotype specimen of northstarite originated from the holotype specimen of adanite.
Physical properties
The crystals of northstarite are about 1 mm in length and are short and prismatic, with pyramidal terminations. The irregular or uneven faces of the crystals avert accurate measurements, but rough measurements have been recorded as {100}, {101}, and {101} based on the general appearance of the crystals and the Donnay-Harker Law. The crystals display no twinning or cleavage, and have an uneven fracture. Northstarite is very brittle. Based on scratch tests, the hardness of northstarite is approximately 2 on the Mohs scale of hardness. Northstarite displays an adamantine luster and has transparent to translucent crystals with a beige color and a white streak.
Optical properties
Northstarite is a nonpleochroic and uniaxial negative mineral. The calculated average index of refraction for northstarite is 2.15 based on the empirical formula of Pb5.80Sb3+0.05Te4+5.04S6+1.02O18.
Chemical properties
Northstarite is a thiosulfate mineral that contains tellurite. The empirical formula of northstarite is Pb5.80Sb3+0.05Te4+5.04S6+1.02O18. When simplified, this formula becomes an ideal formula of Pb6(Te4+ O3)5(S6+O3S2-). Chemically, northstarite resembles adanite, schieffelinite, and also eztlite to an extent. Northstarite is indicated to be an anhydrous mineral. When introduced to concentrated hydrochloric acid at room temperature, the crystals of northstarite are slowly soluble.
Chemical composition
* The measured SO3 in parentheses is allocated as SO3 and S based on S6+:S2– = 1:1
X-ray crystallography
Northstarite is in the hexagonal crystal system with a space group of P63. The unit cell dimensions are a= 10.253 Å and c= 11.6747 Å with a standard unit cell volume of 1061.50 Å3.
Powder diffraction data:
See also
List of minerals
References
Wikipedia Student Program
Lead minerals
Tellurite minerals
Thiosulfates
Mixed anion compounds
Hexagonal minerals
Minerals in space group 173
Minerals described in 2020 | Northstarite | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 829 | [
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69,296,107 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balliranoite | Balliranoite ((Na,K)6Ca2(Si6Al6O24)Cl2(CO)3) is a mineral that was discovered at Monte Somma – Vesuvio volcanic complex, Campania, Italy. This mineral is named in honor of Paolo Ballirano (b. 1964), Italian crystallographer and professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Rome ‘‘La Sapienza’’, who has made important contributions to the crystal chemistry of cancrinite-group minerals.
Occurrence
Balliranoite is found in an alkaline skarnlike rock composed of orthoclase, phlogopite, clinohumite, calcite, diopside, pargasite, haüyne, apatite and balliranoite, as product of the metasomatic interactions between alkaline magma and limestone. These chemical alterations by hydrothermal and other fluids replace elements in the chemical structure, changing the mineral composition of the rock.
Mineral properties
The idealized formula for balliranoite is (Na,K)6Ca2(Si6Al6O24)Cl2(CO3), and the empirical formula based on 12 Si atoms with isomorphic substitution by Al atoms is: Na4.70Ca2.53K0.73(Si6.02Al5.98O23.995)Cl2.34(CO3)0.82(SO40.27*0.12H2O. This is a uniaxial (+) mineral with w = 1.523(2), e = 1.525(2), composed of the following compounds:
X-ray crystallography
The powder diffraction data for balliranoite is:
See also
List of minerals
References
Hexagonal minerals
Chlorine-containing natural products
Mixed anion compounds | Balliranoite | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 391 | [
"Ions",
"Matter",
"Mixed anion compounds"
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69,296,350 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edoylerite | Edoylerite is a rare mercury-containing mineral. Edoylerite was first discovered in 1961 by Edward H. Oyler, whom the mineral is named after, in a meter-sized boulder at the Clear Creek claim in San Benito County, California. The Clear Creek claim is located near the abandoned Clear Creek mercury mine. The material from the boulder underwent several analyses including, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), a single crystal study, and a preliminary electron microprobe analysis (EMA). Using these analyses it was determined that this was a new mineral but the nature of the material at the time prevented further investigation. It was not until 1986, with the discovery of crystals large enough for a crystal structure determination and a sufficient quantity for a full mineralogical characterization, that the study was renewed. The new edoylerite crystals were found in the same area at the Clear Creek claim but were situated in an outcrop of silica-carbonate rock. This silica-carbonate rock was mineralized by cinnabar following the hydrothermal alteration of the serpentinite in the rock. Edoylerite is a primary alteration product of cinnabar. Though found with cinnabar, the crystals of edoylerite do not typically exceed 0.5mm in length. The ideal chemical formula for edoylerite is Hg32+Cr6+O4S2
Occurrence
Edoylerite is found in association with cinnabar, terlinguaite, mercury, wattersite, deanesmithite, and opal. When found with these minerals, it means that the edoylerite crystals form on the surface of the other minerals after the mercury mineralization. The minerals formed during the mercury mineralization, in rough order of abundance, are cinnabar, mercury, edgarbaileyite, metacinnabar, montroydite, eglestonite, calomel, an unidentified yellow massive cryptocrystalline mercury mineral, edoylerite, wattersite, giannellaite, mosesite, deanesmithite, and one occurrence of szmanskiite. Edoylerite most commonly occurs with cinnabar and is a primary alteration product of cinnabar. Edoylerite is a rare mineral, as it has only been found at one locality, the Clear Creek claim in San Benito County, California near the Clear Creek mine. At the edoylerite locality, the host hock is composed of quartz, chalcedony, opal, ferroan magnesite, dolomite, goethite, and minor chlorite. In spite of a considerable search, only microgram quantities of edoylerite have been found since the mineral was originally discovered in 1961.
Physical properties
Edoylerite is a canary yellow to orangish-yellow mineral, with an adamantine luster. The crystals are transparent to translucent, but a large grouping of the, massive, material appears opaque. The average length of a crystal is 0.2mm. Edoylerite occurs as acicular to prismatic crystals that are elongated on the [101] axis which gives it a slender, needle-like crystal shape or a tabular/platy crystal shape. Its crystals are characterized by the {010}, {11}, {001}, and {101} faces. Edoylerite is brittle and inflexible with very good cleavage along the {010} and a fair cleavage on {101} planes. It exhibits subconchoidal fractures and is nonfluorescent and nonmagnetic. The measured density of edoylerite is 7.13 g/cm3.
Optical properties
Edoylerite is optically biaxial, which means it will refract light along two axes. The refractive indices are all greater than 1.78. It displays weak pleochroism and strong bireflectance and absorption. In polished sections, Edoylerite is weakly bireflectant and weakly pleochroic with light gray colors. In plane-polarized light, edoylorite is bluish-gray to gray with brilliant pale yellow internal reflections. The pleochroism changes color in the direction it is viewed. In the x-direction, the color is a lemon-yellow, the y-direction exhibits a lemon-yellow color and in the z-direction, the color is a darker lemon-yellow.
Chemical properties
In cold mineral acids, edoylerite is insoluble or only slightly soluble, but in aqua regia it dissolves slowly. After 24 hours in aqua regia at a constant temperature of 115oC under infrared radiation, the mineral turns greenish yellow. At higher temperatures in the same conditions, the mineral loses its mercury (Hg) and sulfur (S) atoms resulting in a change of color to yellowish-black. Upon cooling, it changes from yellowish black to a dark green. The green residue from this experiment gives the X-ray powder diffraction pattern of Cr2O3 (the synthetic equivalent of eskolaite. Edoylerite is photosensitive and will turn an olive-green after several months of exposure to visible light.
Chemical composition
The empirical chemical formula for edoylerite is Hg3.262+Cr0.976+O4S2.16. Simplified, the formula is Hg32+Cr6+O4S2 Wattersite, Hg1+4Hg2+Cr6+O6, and deanesmithite, Hg1+2Hg2+3Cr6+O5S2, are related species of edoylerite and are chemically similar, however their bonds . The difference between wattersite and edoylerite is the bonds. There are no Hg-S chains in the structure. The difference between deanesmithite and edoylerite is that three of the four Hg2+ are in distorted octahedral coordination. This equates to the unit cell dimension being similar but not exact.
X-ray Powder Diffraction Data
Edoylerite is in the monoclinic crystal system, with space group P21/a. The unit cell dimensions are a=7.524(7) Å, b=14.819(8) Å, c=7.443(5) Å, α=90.00°, β=118.72(5)°, γ=90.00°.
See also
List of minerals
References
Mercury minerals
Monoclinic minerals
Chromate minerals
Minerals in space group 14
Mixed anion compounds | Edoylerite | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 1,355 | [
"Ions",
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69,296,620 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic%20stability | Strategic stability is a concept in the international relations indicating a lack of incentives for any party to initiate the nuclear first strike; the term is also used in a broader sense of the state of the international environment helping to avoid a war. Strategic stability characterizes the degree of the deterrence provided by the mutual assured destruction and depends on the survivability of the strategic forces after the first strike.
Definition
The meaning of the term depends on the context. Edward Warner, a U.S. Secretary of Defense's representative at the New START talks, has observed that the strategic stability can be defined at multiple levels, from the narrowest to the broadest:
The most narrow sense, described in the rest of this article – making the first strike less tempting in the event of a crisis (also known as crisis stability) and absence of incentives to build up the nuclear arsenals (avoiding the arms race instability) – is used by the nuclear-weapon states, including the United States, Even in this narrowest sense there is no universally agreed-upon definition of the strategic stability or ways to quantify it, as the vulnerabilities are country-specific;
A broader sense describes the condition of no armed conflict between the nuclear powers;
In its broadest sense strategic stability defines an international situation, not necessarily global, which is not conducive to an outbreak of a war.
The governments, sometimes intentionally, make confusing references to the strategic stability:
the most consistent is the US government that typically uses the term in the context of reducing incentives to strike first, although occasionally the term is still used in a broader sense;
the Russian government uses all three meanings listed above interchangeably;
the position of China ranges from refusing to acknowledge the applicability of the term to the PRC (since, in the Chinese view, the stability requires at the minimum the nuclear balance) to the statements that the disarmament efforts shall have strategic stability and indivisibility of security as their goals.
Evolution
Although the traditional view of the impact of the strategic stability, "to make a first strike less plausible", was clearly articulated only in 1990 in a joint US-Soviet statement, the corresponding ideas date back to the early 1950s (the exact roots are hard to identify, as many authors were "circling around" the topic at the time). During the development of the concept (until the early 1960s) the adjective "strategic" was rarely used, most authors used the term "stability" instead, mostly in the sense of the modern crisis stability. The early thinking that evolved into the discussion of stability dates as early as 1946, when the dueling views of Bernard Brodie and William L. Borden were expressed. Brodie considered the nuclear bombs to be an effective weapon when used against the cities, while Borden argued that in the almost inevitable future nuclear war the prime target should be the nuclear forces of the enemy, as "attacking cities ... can so easily be carried out later", and the "assets of surprise and the initiative" should not be squandered on them. In combination, these views reflect both sides of the strategic stability framework: the problem of the vulnerability of the strategic forces to a surprise attack and protecting the ability for a nuclear retaliation as a solution. US discourse in the early 1950s was concentrated on the vulnerability of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) forces to a surprise Soviet attack due to the concentration of its airplanes and atomic bombs at a few densely packed airfields, with proposed solutions involving both making the US nuclear forces more survivable and launching US nuclear bombers preemptively in the case of an imminent attack by the USSR, with the emphasis on preemption. In the words of Eisenhower, US strategic force "once in the air could be recalled ... if it stayed on the ground it might never get off".
A glimpse of the concept of mutual assured destruction (MAD) can be seen in the National Security Council Report 162/2 (NSC-162/2) of October 30, 1953: "a stage of atomic plenty and ample means of delivery [for both sides] ... could create a stalemate, with both sides reluctant to initiate general warfare". The Killian Report of the Science Advisory Committee predicted in 1955 the arrival in the middle of 1960s of the "Period IV", when "neither country can derive a winning advantage, because each country will possess enough multimegaton weapons and adequate means of delivering them." However, the authors of the report did not figure out that MAD can lead to strategic stability, declared instead that the period IV will be "fraught with danger" due to instability and recommended measures to delay its arrival. The report concentrated on the unilateral American moves (like building a large quantity of intercontinental ballistic missiles) and completely ignored the possibility of negotiating arms control agreements or other security-building measures with the USSR. Eisenhower disliked an idea of building a lot of missiles and fighting the war when "Russians can fire 1000 [missiles] at us and we can fire 1000 a day at them" and in 1955 proposed the "Open Skies agreement" that would enable each side to perform aerial reconnaissance over the territory of the other side thus checking that there are no preparations for a surprise attack underway. The "counterintuitive" idea that the Americans are safer when Soviets know that the US is not getting ready for a first strike was an important step towards development of the concept of strategic stability (although not yet labeled as such). USSR had rejected the proposal, arguing that the information gathered can actually facilitate a surprise attack. On the American side, the importance of arms control agreements was stressed in 1957 in the Gaither Report. US Navy, while competing for government funds with the SAC and land-based missiles, advanced the thinking on the crisis stability by introducing a concept of "finite deterrence": a small number of missiles on highly survivable submarines not only can provide the same deterrence as a much larger number of land-based missiles, but more time for making decisions becomes available in the moment of crisis, as the retaliation strike loses its launch-now-or-never quality.
By 1958 USSR had recognized the dangers of the fear of the first strike by an opponent. However, the US-USSR Surprise Attack Conference (Geneva, November 10th to December 18th, 1958) was a failure due to divergent goals: Americans were looking to identify the technical solutions for preventing the first strike, while Soviets tried to include broader issues, like reducing the presence of US forces in Germany. During the preparations for the conference, one of the earliest official applications of the term "stability" in the nuclear strike context, defined as "freedom from the threat of surprise attack", appeared in an American document.
The 1950s also witnessed the development of another aspect of the strategic stability - focusing on interactions between the states and taking potential thinking of the other side into consideration. The American experts then assumed that the Soviet approach is identical to the American one. This logical leap of an adversary being a "mirror image" of self was taken despite the official rhetoric about the aggressive aims of the USSR and dangers of its ideology, and the validity of this assumption is impossible to verify due to the Russian archives on the subject being still closed (as of 2013). Foundations of the strategic stability reached the wide audience through an article by Albert Wohlstetter in the Foreign Affairs magazine, The Delicate Balance of Terror (1958). Wohlstetter's ideas have influenced Thomas Schelling, who in December 1958 had published a RAND article “Surprise Attack and Disarmament where he argued that the important condition for the deterrence is "is not the ‘balance’ — the sheer equality or symmetry in the situation — ... it is the stability of the balance". Therefore, per Schelling, the "good" weapons are the ones targeting the opponent's society at large and useless against his strategic forces, while the "bad" ones are able to reduce the opponent's ability to strike back, thus providing a "premium on haste" and increasing the chance of a nuclear war.
The concept of strategic stability became widespread among experts in the early 1960s, while the US government had accepted it later, when "the stability of our deterrent" language appeared in the annual Draft Presidential Memorandum on Strategic Offensive and Defensive Forces in 1969.
In the post-Cold War situation the concept of strategic stability, along with the arms control, appeared to have lost its significance. With Russia no longer considered a peer competitor, constraints on the American behavior did not look justified, especially when the new threats from the regional adversaries and China were considered. Due to the new balance of forces the survivability of forces after the first strike became much less of an issue for the USA than for Russia. Dall’Agnol and Cepik argued in 2021 that the U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty in 2001 began the erosion of the institutional foundations of strategic stability in the 21st century. Brustlein suggests that in this environment Europeans are the ones to be worried about the strategic stability.
Crisis stability and arms race stability
Traditional definition of the crisis stability belongs to Schelling: the crisis is stable "if neither side has or perceives an incentive to use nuclear weapons first out of the fear that the other side is about to do so". Crisis instability is one pathway through which a political or conventional armed conflict can turn nuclear.
James M. Acton defines the arms race stability as "the absence of perceived or actual incentives to augment a nuclear force ... out of the fear that in a crisis an opponent would gain a meaningful advantage by using nuclear weapons first". Acton goes further by arguing that the crisis stability and arms race stability are two views of the same "concern that an adversary might use nuclear weapons first in a crisis", observed on different timescales, with the classic crisis stability corresponding to the shortest decision times, and the arms race instability to the longest ones.
Acton considers the following timescales and corresponding force posture adjustments:
the decision for the first ("preemptive") strike needs to be takes in minutes to few days. While never used, both Americans and Soviets clearly used this option in the war planning in the past and rightfully expected the other side to harbor similar plans;
raising the alert level of the nuclear forces (dispersing the planes and submarines, mating the nuclear warheads to their carriers) takes hours to days. Despite the inevitable escalatory nature and increased probability of an accidental launch, this change in posture has been utilized few times by the USSR (during the Caribbean crisis and Able Archer 83), USA (in August 1978 when two Soviet ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) had approached the East Coast of the United States), and China (during the Sino-Soviet border conflict);
moving the weapons (for example, the deployment of Soviet missiles to Cuba in 1962) takes months to years;
building up the arsenal (arms race instability) requires years and is frequently driven by the survivability concerns.
Critique
The value of strategic stability was questioned from the very beginning. Brustlein points to two negative effects of achieving the strategic stability:
adversaries might be actually encouraged to initiate or expand low-level conflicts due to being certain that a nuclear escalation is unfeasible (cf. the Stability–instability paradox);
limiting military spending can be elusive, as deterrence requires credibility and the latter is impossible without the means to win a nuclear war, "arms control can only function when it is not needed".
Notes
References
International relations theory
Nuclear warfare | Strategic stability | [
"Chemistry"
] | 2,363 | [
"Radioactivity",
"Nuclear warfare"
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69,296,710 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shobita%20Parthasarathy | Shobita Parthasarathy is an American academic, author, and contributor to the field of Science and Technology Studies based at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She is the director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, a research, education, and policy engagement center concerned with questions at the intersection of science, technology, policy, and society. She has received numerous prominent awards and grants for her work and has provided expert advice on technology, equity, and policy to civil society groups, international organizations, and governments around the world, including testimony to the U.S. Congress.
Career and research
Parthasarathy was the founding director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program at the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy from 2006 to 2011, and currently serves as its director, in addition to holding a faculty appointment as Professor. At U-M, she is also affiliated with the Department of Women's Studies, the Science/Technology/Society Program, Institute for Data Science, Precision Health Initiative, the Organizational Studies Program, and the Centers for European Studies and South Asian Studies; she sits on the Internal Advisory Board for the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing. She has served on the governing councils of the Society for the Social Studies of Science and Science and Democracy Network. Parthasarathy currently serves on two committees for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Science for Judges - Development of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 4th Edition, and Creating a Framework for Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation in Health and Medicine.
Parthasarathy has been a fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, and the American Bar Foundation. Her research has been funded by grants from the Ford Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the National Science Foundation, the Public Interest Technology University Network, and various programs and organizations at the University of Michigan.
Her current research projects focus on rethinking innovation systems that privilege social equity and justice, examining inclusive innovation for international development, and comparing the development and governance of diagnostic testing for COVID-19 in the United States, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Singapore. Through University of Michigan's Technology Assessment Project (TAP), she is developing an analogical case study approach to better anticipate and address the social, ethical, and equity dimensions of emerging technologies. TAP has analyzed facial recognition technologies, vaccine hesitancy, and large language models.
Notable work
Parthasarathy is best known for her work on the development and governance of technological innovation and the politics of evidence and expertise in policy making, all in an international and comparative framework. She has authored numerous articles and two books. Her first book, Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care (MIT Press, 2007) informed the landmark 2013 United States Supreme Court case regarding gene patents (Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.); her second book, Patent Politics: Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe (University of Chicago Press, 2017) won the 2018 Robert K. Merton Prize from the American Sociological Association.
Outreach
Parthasarathy provides expert advice to technical and civil society organizations, legislators, advisory bodies, policy stakeholders, and courts. In February 2021 she testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies on strategies for energy and climate innovation, and in July 2021 she testified before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Energy on the topic of Fostering Equity in Energy Innovation. She is a non-resident fellow of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Her writings have appeared in the popular press, including but not limited to The New York Times, Slate, Nature, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Since 2019 Parthasarathy has co-hosted The Received Wisdom, a podcast focused on science, technology, and society.
Selected works
Patent Politics: Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 2017.
Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 2007.
Cameras in the Classroom: Facial Recognition Technology in Schools. Technology Assessment Project, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program. University of Michigan. 2020.
"Ensuring Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines," Issue Memos for an Incoming Administration, Ford School of Public Policy. University of Michigan. January 21, 2021.
References
External links
Shobita Parthasarathy
Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program
Living people
Science and technology studies scholars
American social scientists
American women social scientists
University of Chicago alumni
Cornell University alumni
University of Michigan faculty
21st-century American women
Year of birth missing (living people)
American academics of Indian descent | Shobita Parthasarathy | [
"Technology"
] | 1,025 | [
"Science and technology studies",
"Science and technology studies scholars"
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69,297,278 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional%20Democratic%20Party%20of%20Japan | The is a liberal political party in Japan. It is the primary centre-left party in Japan, and as of 2024 is the second largest party in the National Diet behind the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
It was founded in October 2017 as a split from the Democratic Party ahead of the 2017 general election. In late 2020, the party was re-founded following a merger with majorities of the Democratic Party For the People and the Social Democratic Party as well as some independent lawmakers.
The party's platform supports raising the minimum wage, expanded welfare policies, the legalization of same-sex marriage, increased gender equality, renewable energy policies, decentralization, a multilateral foreign policy, the revision of the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement, tax reform and electoral reform. The party strongly opposes efforts to amend the Japanese Constitution to reinterpret Article 9 or codify the status of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and also opposes nuclear power.
History
Formation and 2017 election
The party was formed in the run up to the 2017 general election from a split of the centre-left wing of the opposition Democratic Party (DP). Prior to the election on 28 September 2017, the DP House of Representatives caucus dissolved in order for party members to stand as candidates for Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope or as independents in the upcoming election.
The new party was launched on 2 October 2017 by DP deputy leader Yukio Edano at a press conference in Tokyo for liberals and left-leaning members of the DP who do not wish to, or were rejected for, contesting the election as candidates for the Party of Hope.
On 3 October 2017, it was announced that the new party would not contest seats where former Democrats were running as Party of Hope candidates, a gesture which was not returned when the Party of Hope ran a candidate in Edano's incumbent district. The Japanese Communist Party (JCP), in turn, pulled their own candidate from running in Edano's district so as to not take away votes from him. The party won a total of 55 seats, becoming the leading opposition party and leading the pacifist bloc (including the JCP and Social Democratic Party) to become the largest opposition bloc.
In July 2020, the CDP became an observer affiliate of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.
2020 merger and refoundation
On 19 August 2020, the CDP announced that it would merge with the majority of the Democratic Party For the People (DPP) as well as some independent Diet members in September of that year.
On 10 September 2020, the new party elected Edano as leader and voted to retain the CDP name. Following the merger, the new CDP had 149 members and held 107 seats in the House of Representatives, compared to 156 members and 96 seats held by the Democratic Party in 2016. The independents who joined the CDP in this merger included former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Several conservative DPP members, including DPP president Yuichiro Tamaki, did not join the CDP and instead continued to lead a rump DPP independent of the CDP.
On 14 November 2020, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) voted to agree to a merger arrangement with the CDP, allowing SDP members to leave the party and join the CDP. SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima was opposed to the merger agreement and as a result remained in the Social Democratic Party.
The CDP contested the 2021 general election in an electoral pact co-operating with the JCP, Reiwa Shinsengumi and continuing DPP and SDP parties in fielding single opposition candidates in single-seat constituencies. Edano resigned as party leader following the election on 2 November 2021, due to poorer than expected electoral results, in which the CDP fell from 110 to 96 seats.
Kenta Izumi was elected as the leader of the CDP in the 2021 Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leadership election on 30 November 2021. Formerly a member of the DPP, he said that the two parties are regarded by the public as "close" and "thought to be like brothers" and "expressed support for a tie-up" between the two.
On 23 September 2024, former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was elected party president on the party leadership election, with Junya Ogawa chosen as party general secretary.
In the 2024 general election held on 27 October 2024, the CDP greatly increased their seat count in the House of Representatives to 148, depriving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of their majority.
Ideology and platform
The CDP has been described as liberal and social-liberal, and in favour of constitutionalism. The party has also been described as centre-left, progressive, and left-wing populist. Following its enlargement in 2020, the party has variously been described as liberal, centrist, or centre-left. Within the CDP, as with its predecessor the Democratic Party of Japan, there are conservative politicians, as well as politicians from social-democratic backgrounds.
At launch in 2017, the CDP opposed the proposed revision of Article 9 of Japan's postwar constitution. The party supports the phasing out of nuclear energy in Japan, and government investment in renewable energy. The party does not support the legalization and maintenance of casinos. The party supports "building a society that supports each other and makes full use of individuality and creativity." In their 2017 political programme, the party expressed support for grassroots democracy and diplomatic pacifism.
In 2019, the party pledged to support LGBT rights and the legalization of same-sex marriage in Japan, and in March 2023, promoted a parliamentary bill for Japan to legally recognise such couplings.
The party supported a freeze in the increase of the consumption tax as of 2017, and supports a temporary consumption tax cut as of 2020, along with higher taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals. In the run-up to the 2021 general election, party leader Edano stated his party's support for redistribution of wealth. The 2021 election platform offered support for progressive taxation, a pledge for additional welfare payments for citizens on low incomes, and raising the capital gains tax rate to 25% by 2023.
The CDP's 2024 platform supported raising the minimum wage, the abolition of tuition fees, free school meals, gender equality legislation and reform of laws regulating use of surnames following marriage in Japan. The party also abandoned its previous policies of freezing or lowering the consumption tax rate.
Policies
The following policies are set forth under the title "Enrich your life with a change of government: Seven promises of the Constitutional Democratic Party." For the following policies, please refer to the "2024 Government Policies List and Policy Collection 2024" on the Constitutional Democratic Party's official website. For details on government policies, including detailed policy items, please refer to the PDF version. Also see Basic Policies and Constitutional Democratic Party Policy Collection 2024.
Political Reform
Make political funds completely transparent and do not tolerate slush funds or tax evasion
Prohibit corporate and group donations, abolish policy activity expenses, and revise the Political Funds Control Law again to put an end to money-driven corrupt politics
Limit the hereditary succession of political funds for Diet members, diversify the pool of politicians, and reflect public opinion in politics
Make the use of tax money completely transparent and efficient
Prevent scandals involving "politics and money" Investigate the truth and thoroughly pursue the responsibility of those involved
Proceed with clarifying and disclosing the use of the old correspondence expenses (research, public relations, and accommodation expenses)
Introduce a quota system to achieve parity (an equal number of men and women in parliament)
Introduce internet voting and lower the age of eligibility to run
Reexamine the civil service system, including the Cabinet Personnel Bureau, to ensure there is no favoritism
Thoroughly reduce wasteful spending of tax money, such as arbitrary use of reserve funds
Price and economic measures
Set the minimum wage at 1,500 yen or more and raise the bottom line of workers' wages by passing on appropriate prices, etc.
Support wage increases through thorough "investment in people" such as reskilling and recurrent education
Implement fundamental reforms to contract and temporary workers so that those who wish can work as regular employees
Focus on investing in green, life, local, and digital (GLLD), which will be the pillars of growth
Encourage cutting-edge industries such as semiconductors and generative artificial intelligence to locate domestically, and encourage companies to
Boldly support the digitalization and greening of the world.
Strengthen support for Japan's world-class arts, traditional culture, and content industries.
Aim to achieve carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy as soon as possible to fulfill our responsibility to the future of the climate crisis.
Limit temporary workers to jobs that truly demonstrate the worker's expertise, and contract workers to temporary employment, etc.
Eliminate unreasonable discrimination such as the wage gap between men and women by realizing equal pay for equal work.
Foreign Affairs and Security
We will be committed to an exclusively defensive defense policy, pursue stable foreign and security policies based on the Japan-US alliance, and resolutely protect our people and our homeland.
We will enact the Basic Law on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strengthen our efforts to address global issues such as climate change, poverty, and global health, and strongly pursue human rights diplomacy.
We will carefully examine the sharply increased military expenditures and defense budget, and will not increase taxes on defense.
We will promote dialogue and diplomacy, security cooperation and exchanges with countries that share basic values, and advance solidarity.
We will integrate military power in new domains (cyberspace, outer space, etc.). Strengthen defense capabilities and improve fighting capabilities
Improve the treatment of SDF personnel and work to secure personnel
Establish effective economic security policies, such as strengthening the supply chain, ensuring superiority in cutting-edge technology, and strengthening infrastructure security
Respect the will of the people of Okinawa, halt construction on the Henoko relocation site, where issues such as soft ground have been identified, and ask the United States of America to renegotiate the status of bases in Okinawa and the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement
There is no time to waste in resolving the issue of Japanese abductions by North Korea, and make every effort to rescue all abductees
Social Security
Current paper health insurance cards will continue to be used until certain conditions, such as the elimination of public anxiety, are met
Improve the working conditions of those working in childcare, nursing care, and disability welfare, etc., one after another
Establish a system to pay a fixed amount on top of the pensions of low-income elderly people
Establish a "Japanese version of the family doctor system" to realize a welfare state with "100 years of health"
Improve the quality and quantity of nursing care services to eliminate people leaving their jobs to care for their loved ones
Promptly review the reduction in basic remuneration for home care
Introduce an "employment support benefit system" to fill the "1.3 million yen barrier" with benefits, etc.
Further expand coverage so that more part-time workers can join the Employees' Pension Insurance
Childcare and education
Make school lunches free for public elementary and junior high schools
Make tuition fees free for national and public universities, and implement an equivalent reduction in the burden for private universities and vocational schools
Provide child allowances of 15,000 yen per month and 180,000 yen per year for all children up to age 18
Improve the working conditions of elementary and junior high school teachers, correct long working hours, and promote smaller classes
Promote free preschool education and childcare, including for children aged 0 to 2
Abolish income restrictions on high school tuition fees, making them completely free
Support those who want to study by expanding public vocational training for re-learning and establishing a vacation system.
Support repayment of loan-type scholarships by deducting the repayment amount from income, expanding the repayment exemption system, and exempting interest.
Radically expand Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research and University Operating Expenses to promote the development of research personnel based on stable employment.
Enhance the budget for basic research so that it can be carried out widely and continuously, not just in areas where short-term results are expected.
Regional revitalization
Introduce a mechanism to encourage public interest investment ("impact investment") by companies and investors toward a sustainable society
Increase the autonomy of local governments by restoring lump-sum grants, etc., and create vibrant regions
In order to ensure food security, upgrade the Farmers' Individual Income Compensation System and establish a new direct payment system focusing on farmland
Utilize digital technology, etc. to revitalize regions with medical care, nursing care, transportation, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and energy resources
In response to the extreme decline in the farming population, Support the regeneration and revitalization of local communities, including mountainous areas, by creating a system that makes it easier for city workers to switch to agriculture and creating a strong flow of people from cities to rural areas.
To accelerate the return to rural areas, implement migration measures that are tailored to the younger generation, working generation, and elderly.
Promote pre-disaster prevention measures such as earthquake resistance, river improvement, forest conservation, and maintenance and renewal of aging infrastructure, and an inclusive disaster prevention system that leaves no one behind.
Accelerate the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, focusing on the regeneration of livelihoods and communities, and working closely with victims and affected areas.
Coexistence Society
Realize a selective separate surnames for married couples system at an early date
Steadily promote gender equality, which allows people to fully demonstrate their individuality and abilities regardless of gender
Realize a legal system that allows same-sex marriage
Work to create systems and infrastructure that take into account the needs of people with disabilities so that they can live independently in their communities with peace of mind, regardless of the type and degree of disability, age, or gender
Aim to eliminate all discrimination, such as gender, buraku, ethnicity, disability, and nationality
Realize a multicultural coexistence society in which citizens and foreign residents respect and support each other
Prohibit all harassment, including sexual harassment, power harassment, maternity harassment, and patahara
Aim to create a society in which no one is driven to suicide. In particular, strengthen suicide prevention measures for children.
Other
Here are excerpts from the "Major Policy Items" of the PDF version of the Government Policy 2024 that mainly relate to important policies.
Finance and Taxation
Aim for fiscal soundness in the medium to long term by reforming both expenditures and revenues, such as securing financial resources through tax reform to correct disparities, allocating budgets in response to changes in administrative needs, appropriate execution, and increasing tax revenues through strengthening growth potential.
The Bank of Japan's price stability target will be changed from "2%" to "above 0%, and the government and the Bank of Japan will set a joint goal of "increasing real wages."
Regarding income tax, in order to revive a "thick middle class," the progressive tax rate will be strengthened, taking into full consideration concerns such as a decline in motivation to work and the outflow of human resources overseas. In light of the rise in nominal wages, necessary measures will be taken, such as raising minimum taxable income.
For financial income tax, we will keep the separate taxation system for the time being and introduce an excess progressive tax rate, and in the medium to long term we will introduce a comprehensive tax system.
For corporate tax, we will reform the tax system so that corporations are required to pay a proportionate share according to their profits. We will make the corporate tax rate reduction (15%) for small and medium-sized enterprises the standard.
To address the regressive nature of consumption tax, instead of the reduced tax rate system, we will introduce a tax credit with benefit (consumption tax refund system) that will tax credit with benefit a portion of the consumption tax paid by low- and middle-income earners, and provide a payment for the amount that cannot be deducted.
The invoice system will be abolished immediately.
With regard to trigger clauses for fuel tax, etc., we will temporarily lift the freeze for the necessary period, taking into consideration the financial resources for reconstruction, so that they can be reliably activated when crude oil prices rise. The national government will compensate for the loss of local tax revenues (local gasoline tax, diesel collection tax) that will result from the activation of the law.
Foreign Affairs and Security
On December 20, 2022, the Constitutional Democratic Party released a document titled "Directions for Foreign Affairs and Security Strategy," which outlines the party's systematic foreign and security policies. Please also refer to this document..
Regarding the current Security Legislation, based on constitutionalism and the pacifism of the Constitution, necessary measures will be taken, such as abolishing unconstitutional parts, and a peaceful and realistic national security based on exclusively defensive defense will be established building diplomatic and security policies
We will adhere to the three non-nuclear principles. As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during war, we will work toward the abolition of nuclear weapons through such means as observer participation in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
NATO-style nuclear sharing is not realistic, either in terms of capabilities or in light of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and will not be accepted. We will deepen Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Consultations.
There is no doubt, historically or under international law, that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of our country's territory, and Japan currently has effective control over them. There are no territorial issues surrounding the islands that need to be resolved, and we will continue to maintain and manage them peacefully and stably. We will resolutely respond to any attempts to change the status quo by force.
As for the Northern Territories, which are our country's inherent territory, we will continue to seek negotiations with Russia based on the various agreements between Japan and Russia to date and the principles of law and justice, in order to resolve the issue of the attribution of the four islands and conclude a peace treaty.
As for the issue of Takeshima, which is our country's inherent territory, we will persistently seek a peaceful resolution in accordance with international law.
The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is closely related to the peace and stability of our country, and it is of utmost importance that the cross-strait issue be resolved peacefully. To that end, we will advance diplomatic efforts, security cooperation in peacetime, constant surveillance of the areas surrounding our country, information gathering, and high-level information exchange.
Social Security
Create a new rent subsidy system to ensure peace of mind in housing
Review the upper limit of social insurance contributions and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share
Work Style
Enact the Basic Labor Law (tentative name) and make "direct employment without fixed term" the basic principle of employment
Aim to enact the "Basic Law for Supporting the Ice Age Generation"
Energy
Strongly promote climate crisis countermeasures, aiming for 50% of electricity generation from renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2050, and aim to achieve carbon neutral without relying on fossil fuels or nuclear power generation as soon as possible by 2050
No new construction of nuclear power plants will be permitted. Establish a system to carry out decommissioning work under national control.
Develop an effective evacuation plan, and do not allow the restart of nuclear power plants without local consent
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Shift from the "neoliberal agricultural policy" led by the Prime Minister's Office that the LDP administration has implemented, and promote regional policies rooted in the unique characteristics of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries and the history of our country's rural agricultural, mountain and fishing communities in conjunction with business stabilization measures
Constitution and Imperial Succession
On November 19, 2020, the Constitutional Democratic Party also compiled a stance paper on constitutional reform titled "Guidelines for constitutional debate," which can also be found here.
We will advance "constitutional debate" based on the basic principles of the current constitution and constitutionalism. We will actively engage in discussions that will limit state power and contribute to expanding the rights of the people.
We will deepen the discussion on restrictions on the dissolution of the House of Representatives by the Cabinet, specifying the deadline for convening an extraordinary Diet session, strengthening each House's right to investigate national affairs, the government's obligation to disclose information, and strengthening local autonomy.
The LDP proposal to leave the current Article 9 of the Constitution intact and specify the Self-Defense Forces will come into play, as the basic principle of legal interpretation that later laws take precedence over earlier laws will come into play, and Article 9, paragraph 2, which stipulates that military forces will not be possessed and the right to wage war will lose its legal binding force, and it could become possible to exercise even the full-scale right of collective self-defense, which will nullify pacifism and we oppose it.
In order to ensure the fairness and impartiality of the national referendum and to create an environment in which the public can make decisions based on accurate information, we will regulate advertising broadcasts, paid internet advertising, campaign funds, donations from foreigners, etc., and will also regulate the national investment. Amend the National Referendum Law to include measures to ensure the proper use of the Internet for voting.
In the event of an emergency that occurs when the House of Representatives is dissolved or the term of office expires and there are no members of the House of Representatives, Article 54, Clause 2 of the Constitution of Japan provides that an emergency session of the House of Councillors can substitute for the functions of the Diet. In addition, individual laws have been established to deal with emergencies, such as the Basic Disaster Countermeasures Act, so there is no need to include new emergency clauses in the Constitution, including the extension of the term of office of members of parliament.
To ensure stable succession to the Imperial Throne and the creation of a female Imperial family, hold discussions to carefully, rather than hastily, reach a consensus among the people based on the "summary of issues" of the Constitutional Democratic Party's "Committee on Stable Imperial Succession."
Leadership
As of 24 September 2024.
List of the Leaders
Election results
House of Representatives
House of Councillors
See also
Liberalism in Japan
List of liberal parties
Japan Socialist Party, the main opposition party in the "1955 System" against the LDP until the 1990s.
Right Socialist Party of Japan
Japan New Party
Democratic Party of Japan
List of major liberal parties considered centre-left
Notes
References
External links
2017 establishments in Japan
Anti-nuclear organizations
Centre-left parties in Asia
Centrist parties in Japan
LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Japan
Liberal parties in Japan
Political parties established in 2017
Political parties in Japan
Social liberal parties
Left-wing politics in Japan | Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan | [
"Engineering"
] | 4,653 | [
"Nuclear organizations",
"Anti-nuclear organizations"
] |
69,298,815 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish%20astrology | Astrology in Jewish antiquity () is the belief that celestial bodies can influence the affairs of individuals and of entire nations upon the earth. This involves the study of the celestial bodies' respective energies based on recurring patterns that change by the hour, by the week, month, year or by several years (time categories). In each of these time categories one of the seven planetary spheres, or what are known as the seven classical planets: the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, or Mars, along with the month's current Zodiac constellation, come into play and influence the sublunary world. At times, it involves a complex combination of several of these factors working together. In Judaism this belief is expressed by the biblical affirmation: "Do you know the laws of heaven / Or impose its authority on earth?" (Job 38:33), from which statement the Sages of Israel have inferred, "There is no single herb below without its corresponding star above, that beats upon it and commands it to grow."
Complementary to the records of past civilisations, the corpus of Jewish literature has preserved many of the details instructive of the determining factors involved in rendering any astrological forecast, although astrology in terms of modern science is understood to be a pseudoscience.
Rabbinic belief
A famous meme that underscores the importance with which Judaism views the influences of the horoscope is found in the Idra of the Zohar:
In the Babylonian Talmud, a controversy is presented among the sages of Israel as to whether the zodiac signs affect a person's destiny. The supportive opinions are of Joshua ben Levi, who lists the types of people according to the various zodiac signs, and of Hanina bar Hama, who believes that the astrological constellations (mazzal) can make a person wise and can even make a person wealthy. Conversely, Johanan bar Nappaha held the view that "Israel is not bound by the effects of the changing horoscopes." He assayed to bring proof from a verse taken from the prophet Jeremiah: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them."
The opinions of Abba Arikha, of Samuel of Nehardea and of Rabbi Akiva, however, seem to be supportive of applied astrology, even though the people of Israel are not bound by the influences of the constellations. Other rabbis have vaunted their knowledge of applied astrology. Said Samuel of Nehardea, "I know the pathways of heaven as I do the pathways of Nehardea, excepting the comet, about which I know nothing."
In several places in the Talmud it is stated that every man has a celestial body (mazzal), i.e. a particular star which is his patron from conception and birth (Shabbat 53b; Baba Kama 2b) and which perceives things unknown to the man himself (Megillah 3a; Sanhedrin 94a). Two people born under the same star are also said to have a bodily and spiritual kinship (Nedarim 39b; Baba Metzia 30b).
Rava says, "Duration of life, progeny, and subsistence are dependent upon the constellations."
The great men of Israel in the Middle Ages, viz., Saadia Gaon, in his commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah; Solomon ibn Gabirol in his Keter Malkhut, and Abraham bar Hiyya, ha-Nasi and Abraham ibn Ezra considered astrology to be true wisdom and even expressed this belief in their works. Judah Halevi also acknowledges in his magnum opus, the Kuzari, that the celestial bodies have an influence on earthly affairs, but does not admit that the astrologers have the ability to determine the mode of operation of the star systems on human beings and other living creatures in the terrestrial world.
Maimonides, who lived in the late twelfth century, took a more critical approach to the topic of astrology, ruling that man was entirely incapable of foretelling futurities by observing the celestial bodies, especially if those same astrological formulae were faulty. He, therefore, cancelled its practice altogether. Among the early rabbis, Maimonides was the sole rabbinic antagonist of such practices.
One of his contemporaries and disputants, Abraham ben David, in his glosses to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (Hil. Teshuvah 5:5), asserts the influence of the stars upon destiny, while contending that by faith in God man may overcome this influence.
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, during the Age of Enlightenment and although never actually having used his knowledge of the occult to foretell futurities, speaks about the influences of the stars in his book, Derekh Hashem (II, chapter 7 – The Influence of Stars).
Proscription against idolatry
The rabbis have distinguished between gaining an occult knowledge of the stars' influences on human beings (which is permitted) and the actual worshipping of the stars (which is prohibited), a view that is also met with the Scripture; cf. [the stars and all the host of heaven] "which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations" (Deut. 4:19), that is to say, the stars, which God appointed to be the means of governing His creatures, and not the objects of man's worship.
The Midrash HaGadol (on Deuteronomy 4:19) clarifies what is meant by, "[And beware] lest you raise your eyes to heaven, etc." It is hereby inferred that you are not to say, 'since these stars and constellations govern the world, and they provide light unto the entire universe, and they serve before their Creator on High, it is fitting that we serve them and bow down unto them, just as the king would want [all] human beings to behave with respect towards his servants and ministers.' For this reason it says, lest you raise your eyes to heaven, beware that you do not err in this manner, on account of what [is written], which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations. They (i.e. the astrological horoscopes) have been delivered into the hands of the nations, so that they may live [thereby] and their beings be sustained [thereby], [without] suffering loss, as is the custom of the world. But you (i.e. the nation of Israel) have been given over to me, and I do not behave towards you as is customarily practised with all the world, as it says, But the Lord has taken you (Deut. 4:20), etc. Likewise he says, Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the gentiles are dismayed at them (Jer. 10:2). The nations of the world are alarmed by them, but Israel is not alarmed by them."
A similar theme is found in other rabbinic literature concerning Abraham the patriarch, who, although wise in the astrological sciences, and who saw thereby that he would not beget any children, was reprimanded by God who said to him: "Break away from your astrological speculations, for [the people of] Israel are not bound by the influences of the horoscope." By this Rashi learnt that through prayers, repentance and meritorious deeds (sometimes also through a change of name), they are able to alter what has been determined for them.
The people of Israel are prohibited by Jewish law to consult the astrologers and star-gazers for guidance, but are commanded to be perfect in their awe of God and to consult him for guidance, even when they are told by astrologers what might happen.
Astral influences and how they are determined
The day is divided into 12 equal hours. The night, likewise, is divided into 12 equal hours. In both cases, the method of configuration used in measuring the hour is known as the Relative hour. To determine the length of each relative hour, one needs but simply know two variables: (a) the precise time of sunrise, and (b) the precise time of sunset. Although in Talmudic literature one begins to reckon the beginning of a day some 72 minutes before sunrise and where each day ends 13½ minutes after the sun has already set, here, in the case of astrological computations, it was only necessary to reckon the day from the moment of sunrise. Rashi, however, alludes to the day beginning at dawn (). By collecting the total number of minutes in any given day (from daylight hours) and dividing the total number of minutes by 12, the quotient that one is left with is the number of minutes to each hour. In summer months, when the days are long, the length of each hour during daytime can be as much as 77 minutes or more, whereas the length of each hour during nighttime can be less than 42 minutes.
To each hour of the day and night is assigned one of the seven planets or spheres, which same planet governs the world during that hour. The names of these planets are: Saturn (shabtai), Venus (nogah), Jupiter (tzedek), Mercury (kokhav), Mars (ma'adim), Moon (levanah) and the Sun (ḥamah). [Note: The ancients conceived that there were only seven primary planets. The moon, although a satellite rather than a planet, was also numbered among them; the sun, which is a star rather than a planet, was also numbered among them. The earth was not numbered among them since it was central to the rest. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, as well as the other recently discovered planets and satellites, were not known to the ancients, and therefore are considered trivial to the rest]. The star or planet that begins the first diurnal hour of a particular weekday, or the first nocturnal hour of a particular weeknight, it is the same star or planet that broadly governs that entire day or night.
The observance and reckoning of the movements of the 12 constellations are believed by some scholars to have been learnt from Hellenistic culture, after first being divested of influences that were deemed idolatrous.
Accordingly, it was believed that God determined that each of the seven planets be subordinate to the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, and work in conjunction with them. For example, the Sun is directly subservient to the influences emanating from the constellation known as Leo, while the Moon is subservient to the influences emanating from the constellation known as Cancer. Mars is subservient to the influences emanating from two constellations, namely, Aries and Scorpio. The planet Venus is also subservient to the influences emanating from two constellations, namely, Taurus and Libra. The planet Mercury is, likewise, subservient to two constellations, drawing its influences from them, namely, that of Gemini and Virgo. The planet Saturn is subservient to two constellations, those being Capricorn and Aquarius, whence it draws its influences. Finally, the planet Jupiter is directly subordinate to the influences emanating from Sagittarius and Pisces.
Weekly duties (by night): Each of the seven planets takes turn governing one day of the week, with the active involvement of all the planets on that same day working in concert, hour after hour, day by day, night by night, such that on the evening that commences Sunday (i.e. Saturday night), the night is governed by Mercury (kokhav), which begins its turn of duty in the first hour of the night, followed by all the other planets one after the other. On the evening that commences Monday (i.e. Sunday night), the night is governed by Jupiter (tzedek), which begins its turn of duty in the first hour of the night, followed by all the other planets one after the other. And so it is in this manner all throughout the week, the evening that commences Tuesday (i.e. Monday night) is governed by Venus (nogah); the evening that commences Wednesday (i.e. Tuesday night) is governed by Saturn (shabtai); the evening that commences Thursday (i.e. Wednesday night) is governed by the Sun (ḥamah); the evening that commences Friday (i.e. Thursday night) is governed by the Moon (levanah); the evening that commences Saturday (i.e. Friday night) is governed by Mars (ma'adim). The mnemonic used to denote this order is .
Hourly duties: Since each planet takes its turn of duty in the 12-hour night, the order taken in their hourly rotation is as follows: When Mercury (kokhav) finishes the 1st hour of the night, it is joined by the Moon (levanah) who takes up the 2nd hour of the night, followed by Saturn (shabtai) who takes up the 3rd hour of the night, followed by Jupiter (tzedek) who takes up the 4th hour of the night, followed by Mars (ma'adim) who takes up the 5th hour of the night, followed by the Sun (ḥamah) whose influence takes up the 6th hour of the night, followed by Venus (nogah) who takes up the 7th hour of the night, and in this order it is repeated until the 12-hour night has concluded for each of the seven nights. This hourly rotation is denoted by the mnemonic . Fixing their rotation in such a way, hour by hour, was seen as vital in order to determine the character of the child who is born at any given hour of the night, based on the hour's acting "mazzal" (astrological influence), in accordance with the principle laid out by Rabbi Hanina: "Not the constellation of the day but that of the hour is the determining influence."
Weekly duties (by day): As in the night, so, too, each of the 12-hour weekdays has a set order pre-determined for it, while each of the seven planets rotating and serving in its respective hour. However, the planet that began to serve in the first hour of the night is not the same planet that begins in the first hour of the day. During the weekdays, the first hour of the first day of the week (Sunday), starts with the influences of the Sun (hence: Sunday); the first hour of the second day of the week (Monday) starts with the influences of the Moon (hence: Monday); the first hour of the third day of the week (Tuesday) with Mars, and the first hour of the fourth day of the week (Wednesday) with Mercury, while the first hour of the fifth day of the week (Thursday) with Jupiter, and the first hour of the sixth day of the week (Friday) with Venus, and lastly, the first hour of the seventh day of the week (Saturday) with Saturn. The mnemonic used to denote this order is .
Hourly duties: When the Sun finishes the 1st hour of the day on Sunday, it is joined by Venus who takes up the 2nd hour of the day on Sunday, followed by Mercury who takes up the 3rd hour of the day on Sunday, followed by the Moon whose influence takes up the 4th hour of the day on Sunday, followed by Saturn who takes up the 5th hour of the day on Sunday, followed by Jupiter who takes up the 6th hour of the day on Sunday, followed by Mars who takes up the 7th hour of the day on Sunday, and in this order it is repeated until the 12-hour day has concluded. Again, fixing their rotation in such a way, hour by hour, was seen as vital in order to determine the character of the child who is born at any given hour of the day. The mnemonic used by the Sages of Israel to remember their order of rotation is = ShaTzaM ḤaNKaL (shabtai [= Saturn] → tzedek [= Jupiter] → ma'adim [= Mars] → ḥamah [= Sun] → nogah [= Venus] → kokhav [= Mercury] → levanah [= Moon]).
Although each of the seven planets will rotate one after the other on an hourly basis, whether by day or whether by night, it is only the planet or orb that began to serve in the first hour, whether by day or whether by night, that is considered the principal planet and master of that entire day (if it began its turn of duty in the first hour of the day), or the principal planet and master of that entire night (if it began its turn of duty in the first hour of the night). The participation of all the other planets on that same day or that same night is inconsequential to the fact that the mazzal (= astral influences) for that day, or what is called mazzal yom, belongs to the planet that began serving in the first hour of the day, or in the first hour of the night, while the other planets are only concerned with their specific hour, or what is called mazzal sha'ah.
Since the Moon begins its turn of duty in the first hour of every Monday morning, and Jupiter begins its turn of duty in the first hour of every Thursday morning, and since both these planets are considered planets possessing good influences, it follows that Mondays and Thursdays are considered auspicious days in the Jewish calendar.
Energies emanating from the seven classical planets
By saying, "on the night of such-and-such a weekday," the sense here is to the idea in Jewish tradition, where nightfall ushers-in a new day, as is written (Gen. 1:5): "And the evening and the morning were the first day." Therefore, the "night of Sunday" is to be understood as beginning on Saturday night, when the first three stars appear in the night sky; the "night of Saturday" is, likewise, to be understood as beginning on Friday night, when the first three stars appear in the night sky, and so forth, and so on.
Other factors taken into consideration
To accurately determine the time in which each of the classical planets are in their respective line of duty, per hour, one must either have access to a printed lunar calendar showing the Jewish months, and know the precise starting point for each day and night, or else be familiar with the ever-changing aspects of the Jewish months, as the planetary influences will change with the conjunction of the moon with the sun, also known as the New Moon (occurring every 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts of an hour), as also with the intercalation of the lunar month during a Jewish Leap Year (occurring seven times in a 19-year period), when the lunar month Nisan and its influences will be delayed by one month on account of an additional lunar month Adar. Moreover, the length of each 12-hour day fluctuates, depending on summer and winter. Several online websites provide conversion tables for converting a known date in the Gregorian calendar with the corresponding weekday, day and month in the Hebrew calendar.
Events attributed to the influences of the constellations
In Jewish thought, the destruction of, both, the First and Second Temples which happened in the lunar month of Av is linked to the astrological influences of Leo (arieh), which are generally considered to be bad. For this reason, the use of the rabbinic dictum, "When Av ushers-in, happiness is diminished" (), is commonly heard in the mouths of the Jewish people. The month is marked by the Ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av) fast day. During the same lunar month and its astral influences, the Jewish populous of Betar met their destruction under the Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd-century CE.
King Edward I of England issued his decree (Edict of Expulsion) on 18 July, in the year 1290 CE (a date corresponding with the 9th-day of the lunar month Av when the month's influences were under the sign of the Zodiac Leo), that all Jews in his kingdom will be expelled from the country, and whosoever remained in the country beyond November of that same year would be executed.
The outbreak of World War I began on 28 July, 1914 (a date corresponding with the 5th-day of the lunar month Av when the month's influences were under the sign of the Zodiac Leo); the Austro-Hungarian Empire having then declared war on Serbia. On the 7th-day of the lunar month Av, Russia joined the war. On the 9th-day of the lunar month Av, Germany joined the war.
Kabbalah
The Kabbalist and rabbi Hayyim ben Joseph Vital explained the seven classical planets in a more conceptual and esoteric sense. While ranking ten spheres (realms) () from the highest to the lowest, he describes the Ninth Sphere as having nothing in it, and which rejects the presence of any star. As for the Eighth Sphere (), he states that all the stars of the universe, with the 12 constellations of the Zodiac, are contained therein, being below the Ninth Sphere, while each of the Seven classical planets occupies a space or realm below them: In the Seventh Sphere there is only one planet, Saturn (shabtai); in the Sixth Sphere there is only one planet, Jupiter (tzedek); in the Fifth Sphere there is only one planet, Mars (ma'adim); in the Fourth Sphere there is only one star, the Sun (ḥamah); in the Third Sphere there is only one planet, Venus (nogah); in the Second Sphere there is only one planet, Mercury; and in the First Sphere there is only the Moon (levanah). Hayyim Vital does not speak about their physical distance in relation to the earth, seeing that, besides the Moon (a satellite), the planet Venus is the closest planet, physically, to the earth. Rather, everything is expressed in relative spiritual distances, by virtue of their rank.
Hayyim Vital, when speaking of their relative influences, wrote: "It has already been explained in the books on the science of astrology that all the changing occurrences which take place and which appear anew in the world, they are in accordance with the encounter of one of the Seven Planets standing in proximity to a certain star () of the twelve astrological constellations () located in the Eighth Sphere, or else in accordance with the encounter of some of those planets which belong to the Seven, when they are found together in one place. Moreover, any encounter of the Seven Planets with the other [celestial] forms found in the [vast] open space of the Eighth Sphere will cause a little of the instructions [relegated unto it] to surge, although not with the same vigor as in the place of those twelve astrological constellations that are synchronous with the Eighth Sphere."
One of the more arcane and mystical writings on the subject, Sefer Yetzirah "Book of Creation", a book that endeavors to show the interconnection between all things, says that God created the classical planets by means of seven Hebrew letters, which are (being the sole double-sounding consonants in the Hebrew alphabet), and that the 12 constellations of the Zodiac were also created by means of 12 ordinary Hebrew letters. The author of this work, without divulging the influences of the horoscopes, names simply those things created by means of the letters, naming also the weekdays, seven groupings of words and their opposites (life and death; peace and evil disturbances; wisdom and foolishness; wealth and poverty; fertility and desolation; beauty and ugliness; governance and servitude), among other things. According to Judah Halevi, the seven planets and the 12 constellations, and the various other examples mentioned in the book, are the means by which man is capable of understanding the unity and omnipotence of God, which are multiform on one side and, yet, uniform on the other.
Fatalism
While astrology in Jewish thought is generally acknowledged to mean that "every happening related to man, whether small or great, has been delivered into the power of the stars by the blessed Creator," it still allows for self-determination and free will of the individual in what concerns his choice of right and wrong actions, in spite of fate governing other aspects of man's life. This is expressed by the rabbinic dictum: "Everything is determined by heaven, except one's fear of heaven," meaning, everything in a person's life is predetermined by God —except that person's choice to be either good or bad; righteous or wicked, which is left up entirely to his own free will. Under this principle, as articulated by 13th-century rabbinic scholar, Menachem Meiri, a man that is born under the influences of Mars will have a default inclination to shed blood, and if he were the son of a king born under the same Martian influence, he will grow-up to wage wars on other countries, and when victorious, he will sentence the defeated enemy to be executed. Even so, an ordinary man that is born under such influences should be instructed to take-up the profession of ritual slaughter, or livestock butcher, or similar skill crafts (e.g. mohel, surgeon). So, too, with all the other signs of the Zodiac which incline to a certain unwanted trait, man is able to choose between right and wrong, and between good and bad.
In some instances, a person can alter what has been seen by an astrologer concerning his fate, simply by performing a charitable deed. The Jerusalem Talmud relates a story where two men were saved by giving a portion of their bread to a hungry man. In other cases, a person's fortune may be altered by a change of place or by a change of name. Rabbi and philosopher Joseph Albo (c. 1380–1444) wrote in his Sefer ha-Ikkarim that "the stars determine the destiny at some point, but can be changed by free will or merit."
See also
Beth Alpha – Astrological symbols found at Beth Alpha synagogue
Hebrew astronomy
Hebrew calendar
Jewish views on astrology
Mazzaroth
Relative hour
Western astrology
Zodiac
Zodiac mosaics in ancient synagogues
References
Notes
Bibliography
, s.v. Deuteronomy 4:19
(reprinted from Jerusalem editions, 1907, 1917 and 1988)
, responsum no. 118
, s.v. Psalm 19
, Shabbat 156a, s.v.
(reprinted from 1880 edition)
Further reading
[Solomon Alconstantin (or Alcostantin) is the author of the book Megalleh ʿAmuqot, which exists in manuscript only and consists of two parts. The first and shorter part, written in 1352 in Burgos, defends the legitimacy of astrology; its text appears at the end of this paper].
External links
Jewish Encyclopedia (1906) – Astrology
David Clive Rubin, Astrology in the Torah: A Comparative Study of Astrological Themes in the Hebrew Bible and Babylonian Talmud, Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of an M.A. in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, University of Wales Trinity Saint David (January 2019)
History of astrology
Pseudoscience literature
Pseudoscience
Astrological texts
Jewish belief and doctrine | Jewish astrology | [
"Astronomy"
] | 5,757 | [
"History of astrology",
"History of astronomy"
] |
69,299,015 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert%20Glaeser | Robert Martin Glaeser (born July 20, 1937) is an American biochemist. He is a professor emeritus of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in Berkeley, California, US. His main research area is electron diffraction and membrane models.
Glaeser is known for his pioneering work in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), where he established how radiation damage was a limiting factor for imaging resolution and how freezing hydrated specimens allowed for more tolerance to radiation damage. He also pushed electron imaging microscopy resolution and contrast by studying the effect of beam-induced movement on the resolution and developed methods for weak-phase imaging.
Glaeser studied at the University of Wisconsin – Madison (B.A. 1959) and the University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1964). He was then a postdoc at the University of Oxford (1963/64) and University of Chicago (1964/65). In 1988/89 he was a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich, and later a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Awards
2021: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lifetime Achievement award
2018: Glenn T. Seaborg Medal
2016: member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences
1983: Guggenheim Fellowship of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
References
1937 births
Living people
Structural biologists | Robert Glaeser | [
"Chemistry"
] | 304 | [
"Structural biologists",
"Structural biology"
] |
69,299,479 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-drop%20microextraction | Single-drop microextraction (SDME) is a sample preparation technique in chemical test or analytical chemistry. SDME uses only a single drop of solvent to isolate and preconcentrate analytes from a sample matrix. The extremely low solvent use of SDME makes it cost-effective and less harmful to the environment, subscribing to the principles of green analytical chemistry.
In many chemical test procedures, sample preparation, often the time- and cost-determining step, is designed to isolate analytes from interferences and to provide (typically through enrichment) an analyte concentration suitable for detection. Liquid−liquid extraction (LLE) has long been a widely used technique for the preparation of aqueous samples. Numerous efforts have been made to improve upon the LLE technique for decades.
SDME using only one microdrop of organic solvent to perform LLE was first described in 1996 in Analytical Chemistry. Liu and Dasgupta described a microdrop LLE system with a drop (~1.3 microliter) of chloroform at the tip of a tube suspended in an aqueous drop to perform automatic drop-in-drop extraction and in situ optical detection. Jeannot and Cantwell introduced a method with a single drop (8 microliter) of n-octane at the end of a Teflon rod in a stirred aqueous sample solution to extract the analyte into the organic drop for GC analysis. Since its introduction, SDME has become a popular LLE technique because it is inexpensive, easy to operate, and uses only minuscule amount of solvent.
References
Chemical tests | Single-drop microextraction | [
"Chemistry"
] | 337 | [
"Chemical tests"
] |
69,299,500 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT%20trauma | LGBT trauma is the distress an individual experiences due to being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer person or from possessing another minoritized sexual or gender identity. This distress can be harmful to the individual and predispose them to trauma- and stressor-related disorders.
Prevalence
Academic research implies that sexual and gender minorities are exposed to a heightened number of trauma-related stressors. These traumatic experiences appear to be related to reports from clinicians and epidemiological data from research that LGBTQ+ individuals generally deal with higher levels of interpersonal victimization that have the potential to prove traumatizing. These interpersonal traumas are often experienced by a large portion of sexual and gender minorities. When comparing heterosexual siblings to their same-sex lesbian, gay, or bisexual siblings, it was found that the sexual minority sibling was victimized at a higher rate across each of the types of interpersonal violence. This included partner violence and both childhood and adult physical and sexual assault. Furthermore, it has been found that 54.8% of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals experience childhood abuse compared to 19.5% of cisgender individuals surveyed. One review that looked at the rates of sexual assault amongst sexual minorities found that up to 54% of men that identify as gay or bisexual and up to 85% of women who identify as either a lesbian or bisexual have endured some level of sexual assault.
Identification
Researchers have found essential cultural considerations when attempting to determine whether an LGBTQ+-identified individual has experienced trauma. The method of asking an individual about trauma can decide whether or not they report their experiences accurately. In one study of sexually minoritized men who reported enduring childhood experiences that are typically defined as abusive, only 54% of those men agreed with the statement “I was physically abused." This shows that people will often experience trauma but not mentally recognize it. What was further found was that regardless of whether the men recognized what they experienced was abuse or not, they shared the same rate of mental health problems. This phenomenon implies that the experience of abuse and not the recognition of something being abusive is what leads to poorer mental health outcomes. Considering the above helps inform why it is essential to ask individuals specific questions about experiences they have had or behaviors of those around them when assessing for abusive experiences, instead of relying upon the person's perception or opinion exclusively. This method is critical when working with sexual or gender minority individuals. The shame and stigma around their experience can make them avoid conceptualizing what they went through as abuse.
Treatment
Mental health professionals find it essential to identify trauma responses in their clients because ignoring or overlooking trauma can lead to a misdiagnosis or ineffective treatment approach. Furthermore, some recommend that if the trauma is to the level of the individual having PTSD, that the PTSD should be prioritized in therapy. The idea is that even if an LGBTQ+-identified individual comes in for concerns related to gender, sexuality, depression, or anxiety that PTSD results in such acute distress that any work on other areas would be ineffective. Furthermore, PTSD can be the source of some of the symptoms the client is experiencing. Thus if they come in for depression and have PTSD, treating the PTSD may solve both problems, whereas only treating the depression may solve neither mental health concern.
Some people fear talking to LGBTQ+ people about their traumatic experiences, often fearing that discussing what someone endured will somehow worsen the trauma. However, people who have been traumatized or have diagnosable PTSD can spend a lot of time thinking about their traumas. Thus, it has been found that many of those individuals find relief when talking about their experiences, particularly in a therapeutic setting with a mental health professional. Multiple studies have shown that it is beneficial when a therapist takes the time to explore a client's prior experiences of domestic violence and other forms of abuse.
One of the ways to explore an individual's traumatic experience is for mental health professionals to ask their client to describe the traumatic event they experienced while including as many details they can recall as possible (i.e., physical sensations, emotions experienced, and thoughts they had at the time). Researchers have found that in doing this, clients feel less shame surrounding the experience and report having more insight into the experience.
Cultural considerations
Due to the high rates of various trauma types, gender, and sexual minority people endure, it is recommended that mental health professionals ask directly about exposure to events that could be considered traumatic and the client's conceptualization of those experiences. The heightened level of discrimination and victimization LGBTQ+ folks experience is theorized to increase a person's susceptibility to trauma responses and exacerbate symptoms compared to the general population. To not influence their responses, therapists are advised to ask broad and open-ended questions to understand better how the client views their experience. Understanding a client's conceptualization of their experience helps the clinician avoid underestimating or overestimating a client's distress related to their sexual and gender minority status. Both making a person's gender or sexuality central to their trauma treatment when it is irrelevant to them or ignoring it when they view it as central to their trauma are considered problematic approaches that invalidate the client's thoughts and experiences.
Specific responses
Some mental health professionals think that the DSM-5's inclusion of reckless or self-destructive behaviors can help provide context for some traits seen in sexual and gender minority populations. Specifically, it may help explain the high rate of sexual risk-taking and substance use amongst LGBTQ+ people. Studies have shown that men with a history of sexual abuse in childhood are more likely to report substance abuse, depression, and engagement in unprotected sex. Research on sexual minority men and trans women has shown a relationship between sexual risk-taking and psychosocial difficulties. The above trends lead some psychologists to endorse what is called a syndemic framework, “whereby co-occurring psychosocial problems common among sexual minority and transgender and gender nonconforming individuals produce an adverse synergistic effect on health.
References
Stress (biological and psychological)
Abuse
Harassment and bullying
Clinical psychology
Counseling
Anxiety disorders
Trauma types
Adverse childhood experiences | LGBT trauma | [
"Biology"
] | 1,260 | [
"Behavior",
"Abuse",
"Behavioural sciences",
"Harassment and bullying",
"Aggression",
"Clinical psychology",
"Human behavior"
] |
69,300,656 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgravity%20bioprinting | Microgravity bioprinting is the utilization of 3D bioprinting techniques under microgravity conditions to fabricate highly complex, functional tissue and organ structures. The zero gravity environment circumvents some of the current limitations of bioprinting on Earth including magnetic field disruption and biostructure retention during the printing process. Microgravity bioprinting is one of the initial steps to advancing in space exploration and colonization while furthering the possibilities of regenerative medicine.
General principle
The main function microgravity bioprinting has over the other 3D bioprinting techniques is the utilization of a zero gravity environment. All other techniques of 3D bioprinting have been tested in space including extrusion-based printing, lithography-based printing, laser-based printing, droplet-based printing, magnetic field-based printing, and magnetic levitation-based printing. The optimal microgravity bioprinting technique is to utilize formative biofabrication, which is a combination of utilizing a magnetic and acoustic levitation field to fabricate tissues and organs. The magnetic and acoustic levitation field creates a zone that acts like a scaffold to provide support for the bioprinting process. Bioinks used in microgravity bioprinting are specifically low viscosity compounds that can contain biomaterials and biological substances. They function similarly to other 3D bioprinting processes but are optimized for zero gravity settings. Limitations of microgravity bioprinting are shared amongst other 3D bioprinting techniques. An added challenge is sending biomaterials and bioinks to space when the supply on board the ISS has been extinguished.
History
2016
An American-based company named Techshot printed the first cardiac and vascular tissue in a microgravity environment using a bioink consisting of adult human stem cells and a nScrypt bioprinter developed specifically for zero gravity use. Techshot begins developing a specific microgravity use bioprinter to send to the International Space Station (ISS).
2017
A Skolkovo-based company named 3D Bioprinting Solutions began manufacturing and developing a space specific bioprinter that utilized magnetic levitation technology.
2018
3D Bioprinting Solutions had successfully printed a mouse thyroid aboard the International Space Station (ISS) using their magnetic bioprinter.
2019
The bioprinted mouse thyroid was sent back to Earth in early 2019 for analysis. Biofabrication Facility, a microgravity bioprinter developed and produced by Techshot, was sent and installed onto the ISS. The Facility is designed to gradually print thicker tissues over time and conduct drug reformulation research. 3D Bioprinting Solution's first human cell bioprinting was attempted in late 2019 aboard the ISS. They successfully printed human bone tissue fragments using a magnetic nanoparticle mixture consisting of living human cells and calcium phosphate ceramics.
Applications
Soft tissue printing
The microgravity environment enables the possibility of printing soft and delicate tissue structures such as the blood vessels. On Earth, the fragility of blood vessels result in the structure collapsing due to the cell weight combined with the force of gravity. Veins and arteries bioprinted in zero gravity do not require structural support and suspend in space during the print process. This allows the delicate tissues to maintain their structure and shape throughout the entire printing process. Before sending the bioprints back to Earth, the tissues are conditioned using cell culturing systems to further strengthen the tissue for self-support. Skipping the cell culturing will result in the soft tissue collapsing under gravitational force and cellular weight due to lack of cell stability. Once the cell culturing process is complete, the printed delicate tissue structures are expected to be functionally no different from their natural counterparts.
Complex tissue and organ printing
Complex organs can be fabricated solely out of cells and biological matter without the need of any support system. Zero gravity environment solves the mechanical load and structural requirement limitation that is common with 3D bioprinting on Earth. The ISS currently runs multiple microgravity focused bioprinters to print cardiovascular tissues and structures . The bioprinted tissues and structures are used as models for various research involving therapy development to treat heart diseases and repair damaged heart tissue.
Biomedical research
Biofabricated organs such as livers have been used as in vitro models to test and treat specific liver diseases due to their increased mimicry in physiological conditions. Current liver models are limited to smaller tissue slices due to the increasing complexity of printing a larger liver construct. Microgravity bioprinting can potentially fabricate a larger and more complex liver construct that can function on par with natural livers.
A handheld device called the Bioprint FirstAid Handheld Bioprinter (Bioprint FirstAid) is being developed as a next generation handheld bioprinter that functions in both Earth and space. The bioprinter aims to print a band-aid patch made out of bioinks containing cells of respective patients. The entire printing process takes about 10 minutes and relies purely on mechanical printing through a fed ink cartridge. This research is a start to developing portable and easy-to-use bioprinters that can function under any circumstance.
Pharmaceutical research
Chemical compounds can be fabricated with uniquely edited surface properties and characteristics in space that cannot be achieved on Earth. Specially made compounds can be tested during research to note their effectiveness compared to compounds found on Earth. Zero gravity environment provides more efficient chemical compound manufacturing processes than regular manufacturing procedures. This effects further optimizations and increased productions of drugs.
Impact
Microgravity Bioprinting utilizes the advantages of the zero gravity to print organ and tissue structures that are sensitive to gravitational and cellular weight. High viscosity bioinks are frequently used for bioprinting to allow cells to retain and form a 3D structure. The high viscosity counteracts the force of the Earth's gravity but generates a high amount of shear stress. The increasing stress on these high viscosity bioinks during the printing process results in frequent cell death. The microgravity environment enables usage of low viscosity bioinks while still allowing the bioprint to form a fully cell based 3D structure. This removes the necessity of creating a scaffold for support since the cells are printed in a suspended state. As microgravity bioprinting improves and evolves, the possibility of printing artificial organs presents an opportunity to further space exploration and colonization. Regenerative medicine is expected to improve drastically as Earth based biofabrication techniques become more refined based on the improvements and breakthrough from microgravity bioprinting.
See also
3D bioprinting
3D printing
Magnetic 3D bioprinting
Micro-g environment
Bio-ink
Space exploration
Regenerative medicine
References
Wikipedia Student Program
3D printing
Biomaterials | Microgravity bioprinting | [
"Physics",
"Biology"
] | 1,358 | [
"Biomaterials",
"Materials",
"Matter",
"Medical technology"
] |
61,402,955 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantharellus%20coccolobae | Cantharellus coccolobae is a species of Cantharellus from Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Florida, United States.
References
External links
coccolobae
Fungi described in 2016
Fungus species | Cantharellus coccolobae | [
"Biology"
] | 45 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
61,406,091 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition%20of%20a%20module | In abstract algebra, a decomposition of a module is a way to write a module as a direct sum of modules. A type of a decomposition is often used to define or characterize modules: for example, a semisimple module is a module that has a decomposition into simple modules. Given a ring, the types of decomposition of modules over the ring can also be used to define or characterize the ring: a ring is semisimple if and only if every module over it is a semisimple module.
An indecomposable module is a module that is not a direct sum of two nonzero submodules. Azumaya's theorem states that if a module has an decomposition into modules with local endomorphism rings, then all decompositions into indecomposable modules are equivalent to each other; a special case of this, especially in group theory, is known as the Krull–Schmidt theorem.
A special case of a decomposition of a module is a decomposition of a ring: for example, a ring is semisimple if and only if it is a direct sum (in fact a product) of matrix rings over division rings (this observation is known as the Artin–Wedderburn theorem).
Idempotents and decompositions
To give a direct sum decomposition of a module into submodules is the same as to give orthogonal idempotents in the endomorphism ring of the module that sum up to the identity map. Indeed, if , then, for each , the linear endomorphism given by the natural projection followed by the natural inclusion is an idempotent. They are clearly orthogonal to each other ( for ) and they sum up to the identity map:
as endomorphisms (here the summation is well-defined since it is a finite sum at each element of the module). Conversely, each set of orthogonal idempotents such that only finitely many are nonzero for each and determine a direct sum decomposition by taking to be the images of .
This fact already puts some constraints on a possible decomposition of a ring: given a ring , suppose there is a decomposition
of as a left module over itself, where are left submodules; i.e., left ideals. Each endomorphism can be identified with a right multiplication by an element of R; thus, where are idempotents of . The summation of idempotent endomorphisms corresponds to the decomposition of the unity of R: , which is necessarily a finite sum; in particular, must be a finite set.
For example, take , the ring of n-by-n matrices over a division ring D. Then is the direct sum of n copies of , the columns; each column is a simple left R-submodule or, in other words, a minimal left ideal.
Let R be a ring. Suppose there is a (necessarily finite) decomposition of it as a left module over itself
into two-sided ideals of R. As above, for some orthogonal idempotents such that . Since is an ideal, and so for . Then, for each i,
That is, the are in the center; i.e., they are central idempotents. Clearly, the argument can be reversed and so there is a one-to-one correspondence between the direct sum decomposition into ideals and the orthogonal central idempotents summing up to the unity 1. Also, each itself is a ring on its own right, the unity given by , and, as a ring, R is the product ring
For example, again take . This ring is a simple ring; in particular, it has no nontrivial decomposition into two-sided ideals.
Types of decomposition
There are several types of direct sum decompositions that have been studied:
Semisimple decomposition: a direct sum of simple modules.
Indecomposable decomposition: a direct sum of indecomposable modules.
A decomposition with local endomorphism rings (cf. #Azumaya's theorem): a direct sum of modules whose endomorphism rings are local rings (a ring is local if for each element x, either x or 1 − x is a unit).
Serial decomposition: a direct sum of uniserial modules (a module is uniserial if the lattice of submodules is a finite chain).
Since a simple module is indecomposable, a semisimple decomposition is an indecomposable decomposition (but not conversely). If the endomorphism ring of a module is local, then, in particular, it cannot have a nontrivial idempotent: the module is indecomposable. Thus, a decomposition with local endomorphism rings is an indecomposable decomposition.
A direct summand is said to be maximal if it admits an indecomposable complement. A decomposition is said to complement maximal direct summands if for each maximal direct summand L of M, there exists a subset such that
Two decompositions are said to be equivalent if there is a bijection such that for each , . If a module admits an indecomposable decomposition complementing maximal direct summands, then any two indecomposable decompositions of the module are equivalent.
Azumaya's theorem
In the simplest form, Azumaya's theorem states: given a decomposition such that the endomorphism ring of each is local (so the decomposition is indecomposable), each indecomposable decomposition of M is equivalent to this given decomposition. The more precise version of the theorem states: still given such a decomposition, if , then
if nonzero, N contains an indecomposable direct summand,
if is indecomposable, the endomorphism ring of it is local and is complemented by the given decomposition:
and so for some ,
for each , there exist direct summands of and of such that .
The endomorphism ring of an indecomposable module of finite length is local (e.g., by Fitting's lemma) and thus Azumaya's theorem applies to the setup of the Krull–Schmidt theorem. Indeed, if M is a module of finite length, then, by induction on length, it has a finite indecomposable decomposition , which is a decomposition with local endomorphism rings. Now, suppose we are given an indecomposable decomposition . Then it must be equivalent to the first one: so and for some permutation of . More precisely, since is indecomposable, for some . Then, since is indecomposable, and so on; i.e., complements to each sum can be taken to be direct sums of some 's.
Another application is the following statement (which is a key step in the proof of Kaplansky's theorem on projective modules):
Given an element , there exist a direct summand of and a subset such that and .
To see this, choose a finite set such that . Then, writing , by Azumaya's theorem, with some direct summands of and then, by modular law, with . Then, since is a direct summand of , we can write and then , which implies, since F is finite, that for some J by a repeated application of Azumaya's theorem.
In the setup of Azumaya's theorem, if, in addition, each is countably generated, then there is the following refinement (due originally to Crawley–Jónsson and later to Warfield): is isomorphic to for some subset . (In a sense, this is an extension of Kaplansky's theorem and is proved by the two lemmas used in the proof of the theorem.) According to , it is not known whether the assumption " countably generated" can be dropped; i.e., this refined version is true in general.
Decomposition of a ring
On the decomposition of a ring, the most basic but still important observation, known as the Wedderburn-Artin theorem is this: given a ring R, the following are equivalent:
R is a semisimple ring; i.e., is a semisimple left module.
for division rings , where denotes the ring of n-by-n matrices with entries in , and the positive integers , the division rings , and the positive integers are determined (the latter two up to permutation) by R
Every left module over R is semisimple.
To show 1. 2., first note that if is semisimple then we have an isomorphism of left -modules where are mutually non-isomorphic minimal left ideals. Then, with the view that endomorphisms act from the right,
where each can be viewed as the matrix ring over , which is a division ring by Schur's Lemma. The converse holds because the decomposition of 2. is equivalent to a decomposition into minimal left ideals = simple left submodules. The equivalence 1. 3. holds because every module is a quotient of a free module, and a quotient of a semisimple module is semisimple.
See also
Pure-injective module
Notes
References
Frank W. Anderson, Lectures on Non-Commutative Rings , University of Oregon, Fall, 2002.
Y. Lam, Bass's work in ring theory and projective modules [MR 1732042]
R. Warfield: Exchange rings and decompositions of modules, Math. Annalen 199(1972), 31–36.
Module theory | Decomposition of a module | [
"Mathematics"
] | 2,005 | [
"Fields of abstract algebra",
"Module theory"
] |
61,407,104 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleohydrology | Paleohydrology, or palaeohydrology, is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth during previous periods of its history. The discipline uses indirect evidence to infer changes in deposition rates, the existence of flooding, changes in sea levels, changes in groundwater levels and the erosion of rocks. It also deals with alterations in the floral and faunal assemblages which have come about in previous periods because of changes in hydrology.
Background
Past hydrological changes on our planet have had enormous effects on the environment. Over most of geologic time, the long-term mean sea level has been higher than today. Only at the Permian-Triassic boundary ~250 million years ago was the long-term mean sea level lower than today. Long term changes in the mean sea level are the result of changes in the oceanic crust, with a downward trend expected to continue in the very long term. Twenty thousand years ago, the sea level was lower than at present with vast amounts of water being locked up as ice; in the northern hemisphere, there was twenty times more ice than the present volume.
The climate of the Sahara, for example, has undergone enormous variations between wet and dry over the last few hundred thousand years, believed to be caused by long-term changes in the North African climate cycle that alters the path of the North African Monsoon. Paleohydrological studies of sediments in the Fazzan Basin in Libya show that humid conditions once prevailed there that were capable of creating a lake with a surface area of around . Before the abrupt desertification of North Africa about five thousand years ago, the Sahara was the home of Neolithic men and supported verdant vegetation and diverse wildlife.
Methods
Paleohydrological study usually starts in the field with observations, measurements and the collection of samples; it continues with analysing the samples in the laboratory, recording the data, collating it, modelling systems, time-system analyses and eventually making inferences. A major step is the dating of the material. Methods here include using radioactive isotopes, considering the geological development of the area, the presence or absence of certain organisms and the identification of fossil pollen. Paleohydrology makes use of indirect methods that give an indication of the climatological conditions prevailing at the time.
Paleo hydrology uses methods that include using direct and indirect climatic data; these can be used to assess the variability in the hydrological cycle. Direct data encompasses measured and historical information, including streamflow records, flood occurrences, and drought events. In certain regions such as Egypt and China, direct data can extend back thousands of years, offering a rich historical perspective, while globally, it commonly spans approximately two centuries. Complementing direct data, indirect data—often referred to as proxy data—serves to extend climatic and hydrological insights. For instance, the analysis of tree rings allows for the reconstruction of past precipitation and temperature patterns, while deep-sea sediment cores contribute to predictions of long-term global temperatures. Proxy data is instrumental in providing evidence for prehistoric floods, with its traces commonly preserved in sedimentological deposits within streambeds and botanical evidence. This collective data is crucial for forecasting the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts in specific geographic areas.
Applications
The methodologies outlined in the methods section facilitate the determination of flood occurrences, magnitude, and ages. Through these techniques, paleoflood data can be extended back over thousands of years, enriching the precision of flood-frequency curves. This extended historical perspective is invaluable in contemporary flood-frequency analysis, significantly amplifying the effective length of the record. The incorporation of historical flood data enhances the analysis, offering a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics and patterns involved in flooding events.
Paleohydrological data serves as a valuable tool in unraveling the climatic variability of the past. Evidence of climatic changes is seen in lake and ocean sediment, as well as in the mass balance of glaciers. Over the last 10,000 years, the climate has undergone significant fluctuations, impacting floods, droughts, and hydrologic patterns. Understanding this historical climatic variability is crucial for predicting future climate changes. Take, for instance, the Colorado River, a vital freshwater source for the southwestern United States. By analyzing data from past droughts, it becomes evident that recent climatic variability could potentially reduce streamflow by 35 percent. This knowledge is indispensable for informed future planning, ensuring water availability for the populations that depend on it.
Hydrological fluctuations are linked to the factors causing them, and paleohydrological data can be used to validate climate models. On the orbital time scale, paleohydrological data reflects variations in the Earth's orbit and the cycle of glacial periods and interglacials. For example, variations in the water level of Lake Lisan correlates with data showing temperature fluctuations collected from polar ice core samples. On a shorter time scale, minuscule climatic variations can have large hydrological effects as when excess rainwater entering the North Atlantic was linked with a serious drought in the eastern Mediterranean. The Little Ice Age in northern Europe was linked with drought in East Africa, heavy rains in the African lakes, and persistent El Niño–Southern Oscillation conditions in the Pacific.
Another application is in the quantification of erosion caused by rivers under differing climatological conditions. Increased erosion rates following deforestation, and pollution resulting from lead-mining activities by the Romans show up in lake sediments.
See also
Study of ancient life, often involving fossils and pollen (palynology).
References
Hydraulic engineering
Environmental engineering
Environmental science
Environmental history | Paleohydrology | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"Engineering",
"Environmental_science"
] | 1,148 | [
"Hydrology",
"Chemical engineering",
"Physical systems",
"Hydraulics",
"Civil engineering",
"nan",
"Environmental engineering",
"Hydraulic engineering"
] |
61,408,330 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STAT%20inhibitors | STAT inhibitors are drugs which target signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins, a family of cytoplasmic induction factors. Inhibitors of STAT proteins are being developed for use in cancer therapy.
See also
JAK-STAT signaling pathway
References
Enzyme inhibitors | STAT inhibitors | [
"Chemistry"
] | 57 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
61,408,357 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersection%20type%20discipline | In mathematical logic, the intersection type discipline is a branch of type theory encompassing type systems that use the intersection type constructor to assign multiple types to a single term.
In particular, if a term can be assigned both the type and the type , then can be assigned the intersection type (and vice versa).
Therefore, the intersection type constructor can be used to express finite heterogeneous ad hoc polymorphism (as opposed to parametric polymorphism).
For example, the λ-term can be assigned the type in most intersection type systems, assuming for the term variable both the function type and the corresponding argument type .
Prominent intersection type systems include the Coppo–Dezani type assignment system, the Barendregt-Coppo–Dezani type assignment system, and the essential intersection type assignment system.
Most strikingly, intersection type systems are closely related to (and often exactly characterize) normalization properties of λ-terms under β-reduction.
In programming languages, such as TypeScript and Scala, intersection types are used to express ad hoc polymorphism.
History
The intersection type discipline was pioneered by Mario Coppo, Mariangiola Dezani-Ciancaglini, Patrick Sallé, and Garrel Pottinger.
The underlying motivation was to study semantic properties (such as normalization) of the λ-calculus by means of type theory.
While the initial work by Coppo and Dezani established a type theoretic characterization of strong normalization for the λI-calculus, Pottinger extended this characterization to the λK-calculus.
In addition, Sallé contributed the notion of the universal type that can be assigned to any λ-term, thereby corresponding to the empty intersection.
Using the universal type allowed for a fine-grained analysis of head normalization, normalization, and strong normalization.
In collaboration with Henk Barendregt, a filter λ-model for an intersection type system was given, tying intersection types ever more closely to λ-calculus semantics.
Due to the correspondence with normalization, typability in prominent intersection type systems (excluding the universal type) is undecidable.
Complementarily, undecidability of the dual problem of type inhabitation in prominent intersection type systems was proven by Paweł Urzyczyn.
Later, this result was refined showing exponential space completeness of rank 2 intersection type inhabitation and undecidability of rank 3 intersection type inhabitation.
Remarkably, principal type inhabitation is decidable in polynomial time.
Coppo–Dezani type assignment system
The Coppo–Dezani type assignment system extends the simply typed λ-calculus by allowing multiple types to be assumed for a term variable.
Term language
The term language of is given by λ-terms (or, lambda expressions):
Type language
The type language of is inductively defined by the following grammar:
The intersection type constructor () is taken modulo associativity, commutativity and idempotence.
Typing rules
The typing rules , , , and of are:
Properties
Typability and normalization are closely related in by the following properties:
Subject reduction: If and , then .
Normalization: If , then has a β-normal form.
Typability of strongly normalizing λ-terms: If is strongly normalizing, then for some and .
Characterization of λI-normalization: has a normal form in the λI-calculus, if and only if for some and .
If the type language is extended to contain the empty intersection, i.e. ,
then is closed under β-equality and is sound and complete for inference semantics.
Barendregt–Coppo–Dezani type assignment system
The Barendregt–Coppo–Dezani type assignment system extends the Coppo–Dezani type assignment system in the following three aspects:
introduces the universal type constant (akin to the empty intersection) that can be assigned to any λ-term.
allows the intersection type constructor to appear on the right-hand side of the arrow type constructor .
introduces the intersection type subtyping partial order on types together with a corresponding typing rule.
Term language
The term language of is given by λ-terms (or, lambda expressions):
Type language
The type language of is inductively defined by the following grammar:
Intersection type subtyping
Intersection type subtyping is defined as the smallest preorder (reflexive and transitive relation) over intersection types satisfying the following properties:
Intersection type subtyping is decidable in quadratic time.
Typing rules
The typing rules , , , , , and of are:
Properties
Semantics: is sound and complete wrt. a filter λ-model, in which the interpretation of a λ-term coincides with the set of types that can be assigned to it.
Subject reduction: If and , then .
Subject expansion: If and , then .
Characterization of strong normalization: is strongly normalizing wrt. β-reduction, if and only if is derivable without rule for some and .
Principal pairs: If is strongly normalizing, then there exists a principal pair such that for any typing the pair can be obtained from the principal pair by means of type expansions, liftings, and substitutions.
References
Type theory
Type systems
Lambda calculus
Theory of computation
Polymorphism (computer science) | Intersection type discipline | [
"Mathematics"
] | 1,095 | [
"Polymorphism (computer science)",
"Mathematical structures",
"Mathematical logic",
"Mathematical objects",
"Type systems",
"Type theory"
] |
61,409,068 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MessageMe | MessageMe was a messaging app and platform for the iPhone and Android. It launched in March 2013 and grew to 5 million users within 3 months. The app allowed users to send and receive videos, photos, stickers, and voice messages in addition to text.
MessageMe was acquired and shutdown by Yahoo in 2014 for a price rumored between $30 million and $40 million.
History
MessageMe was founded in 2012 in by Arjun Sethi, Alexander Chee, Justin Rosenthal and Vivek Tatineni and based out of San Francisco, California. It raised a $1.9 million seed round from First Round Capital, Google Ventures, SV Angel and Andreessen Horowitz, among others.
It launched in March 2013 on iOS and Android and reached 1 million users within 10 days. In May 2013, MessageMe announced that it raised an additional $10 million in funding from Greylock Partners and that Greylock partner John Lilly had joined the board of directors.
MessageMe reached 5 million users within 75 days of launch.
Controversy
Shortly after MessageMe's March 2013 launch, Facebook revoked MessageMe's access to the Facebook Platform's "Find Friends" functionality that allowed MessageMe users to connect to Facebook and find their Facebook friends on MessageMe. Facebook cited its policy that allowed it to revoke access to developers who "replicate[] a core Facebook product or service without [Facebook's] permission." Leaked internal discussions showed that Facebook revoked MessageMe's access over concern that MessageMe was becoming too popular and competitive with Facebook messaging.
In an internal March 2013 email thread, Justin Osofsky, former Facebook director of platform partnerships, wrote:
In 2018, the question of Facebook's use of platform data in anticompetitive ways against companies like MessageMe, Vine and Voxer resurfaced as part of the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. At the same time that Facebook cut off data to apps like MessageMe, it shared private user data with important Facebook partners like Amazon, Netflix and Spotify.
In December 2018, Facebook officially ended the platform policy it used to revoke MessageMe's platform access.
Features
MessageMe along with WhatsApp, Kik and others led the movement of mobile messaging in the United States away from text-based SMS and towards richer text messaging which included audio, video, doodles, stickers, location and more in addition to text. Global startups that led this trend included WeChat in China, Line in Japan, and KakaoTalk in Korea.
Messaging apps like MessageMe, Path and Lango were the first to bring stickers to the United States mobile messaging market. Line's success with stickers in Asia inspired those apps to bring stickers to the United States. MessageMe offered free and paid sticker packs that could be purchased through the app.
Acquisition
Yahoo acquired MessageMe for between $30 million and $40 million in October 2014. Other potential acquirers were Snapchat and Truecaller.
The acquisition happened as part of CEO Marissa Mayer's strategy of reinvigorating legacy products by acquiring top startup talent via small acquisitions. Yahoo bought startups like MessageMe, shut down their products and then put those teams to work on existing or new Yahoo products.
In July 2015, Yahoo launched its first mobile messaging app, Livetext, which was built internally by the MessageMe team on top of MessageMe technology. Yahoo shut down Livetext in March 2016.
References
Discontinued software
IOS software
Android (operating system) software
Yahoo! acquisitions
Internet properties established in 2012
Instant messaging
Instant messaging clients | MessageMe | [
"Technology"
] | 729 | [
"Instant messaging",
"Instant messaging clients"
] |
61,410,076 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria%20Ant%C3%B2nia%20Canals | Maria Antònia Canals (15 November 1930 – 29 April 2022) was a Spanish mathematician. Her work in recreational mathematics served as the basis for the eponymous Canals Project. Among other honors, she has been awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi and the .
Biography
María Antònia Canals completed her teaching studies in 1950, and three years later earned a licentiate in exact sciences at the University of Barcelona. She began working at the Lycée Français and at the Talitha School. From 1956 to 1962, she implemented a method of pedagogical renewal in early childhood education, following the Montessori model. As part of that task, she devoted herself to the creation of all necessary materials in the field of mathematical games.
In October 1962 she founded the Ton i Guida school, working in an area of Barcelona with a need for greater attention, with students who were immigrants and had very poor living conditions. Its techniques differed from those of most schools in Francoist Spain, more closely resembling ones from the Second Republic, and classes were taught in Catalan rather than Spanish. The endeavor got off to a difficult start, especially in regard to financing, but between 1972 and 1975 it had more than 400 students and was considered a model school. Canals was also the creator and member of various associations of teachers and professors, including the "Perímetre" teacher's group. She taught mathematics education at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Escola de Mestres de Vic.
She retired on 30 September 2001, but had continued to work in education. She was named a professor emeritus at the University of Girona, and remained active in its Gabinet de Materials i de Recerca per a la Matemàtica a l'Escola (GAMAR) research center.
Canals Project
An undertaking of the Descartes Network, the Canals Project () attempts to digitize the large amount of educational materials created by María Antònia Canals. Emphasis is placed on the use of information and communications technology and how to integrate it with didactic tools.
Publications
La higiene psíquica del niño: resultado de una experiencia montessoriana (1981), with María Goudeli, Ediciones Hispano-Griegas,
Viure les matemàtiques de 3 a 6 anys (2000), Associació de Mestres Rosa Sensat,
"Material manipulativo y aprendizaje de las matemáticas en la escuela primaria" (2001) in Maestros, Vol. 7, no. 17, pp. 41–44
Vivir las matemáticas (2001), Octaedro,
Coversaciones matemáticas con Maria Antònia Canals o Cómo hacer de las matemáticas un aprendizaje apasionante (2008), with Puri Biniés, Editorial Graó,
Documents de treball de Maria Antònia Canals (2009), with Tomàs Queralt and Onofre Monzó del Olmo, València Federació Espanyola de Societats de Professors de Matemàtiques,
Proyecto Canals: recursos interactivos de matemáticas (2011), ITE D.L.,
GAMAR series published by the Associació de Mestres Rosa Sensat
Estadística, combinatòria i probabilitat (2009), / Estadística, combinatoria y problemas (2009),
Fraccions (2009), / Fracciones (2009),
Lògica a totes les edats (2009), / Lógica a todas las edades (2009),
Primers nombres i primeres operacions (2009), / Primeros números y primeras operaciones (2009),
Superfícies, volums i línies (2009), / Superficies, volúmenes y líneas (2009),
Transformacions geomètriques (2009), / Transformaciones geométricas (2009),
Problemes i més problemes (2010), / Problemas y más problemas (2010),
Els Reglets (2010), / Las regletas (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 1 (2011), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 1 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 2 (2011), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 2 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 3 (2011), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 3 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 4 (2011), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 4 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 5 (2011), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 5 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 6 (2011), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 6 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 7 (2012), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 7 (2011),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 8 (2012), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 8 (2012),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 9 (2012), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 9 (2012),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 10 (2012), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 10 (2012),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 11 (2012), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 11 (2012),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 12 (2012), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 12 (2012),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 13 (2013), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 13 (2013),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 14 (2013), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 14 (2013),
Matemàtiques. Quadern 15 (2013), / Matemáticas. Cuaderno 15 (2013),
Nombres i operacions II (2013), / Números y operaciones II (2013),
Mesures i geometria (2016), / Medidas y geometría (2016),
Recognitions
(1986)
Mestres 68 Award (1994)
Gold Insignia of the University of Vic (2000)
Creu de Sant Jordi (2006)
Gonzalo Sánchez Vázquez Award (2007)
(2009)
Member of the Periodic Table of Scientists (2019)
References
External links
Canals Project
1930 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Spanish mathematicians
20th-century Spanish women writers
20th-century women mathematicians
21st-century Spanish women writers
21st-century women mathematicians
Academic staff of the Autonomous University of Barcelona
Recreational mathematicians
Spanish women academics
University of Barcelona alumni | Maria Antònia Canals | [
"Mathematics"
] | 1,384 | [
"Recreational mathematics",
"Recreational mathematicians"
] |
61,410,527 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TL-599 | TL-599, also known as SB-8, is an extremely potent carbamate class acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
See also
Neostigmine
Miotine
T-1123
T-1152
T-1194
TL-1238
Physostigmine
References
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
Aromatic carbamates
Quaternary ammonium compounds
Phenol esters
Isopropyl compounds
Iodides
Carbamate nerve agents | TL-599 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 98 | [] |
61,411,039 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoepitope | Neoepitopes are a class of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) bounded peptides. They represent the antigenic determinants of neoantigens. Neoepitopes are recognized by the immune system as targets for T cells and can elicit immune response to cancer.
Description
Epitopes, also referred to as antigenic determinants, are parts of an antigen that are recognized by the immune system. A neoepitope is an epitope the immune system has not encountered before. Therefore it is not subject to tolerance mechanisms of the immune system. As the mutant gene product is only expressed in tumors and is not found in non-cancerous cells, neoepitopes may evoke a vigorous T cell response. Tumor Mutational Burden (TMB, the number of mutations within a targeted genetic region in the cancerous cell's DNA) correlates with the number of neoepitopes, and have been suggested to correlate with patient survival post immunotherapy, although the findings about the neoantigen/immunogenicity association are disputed.
Neoepitopes arise from post-translational modifications. The mRNA translates information from the DNA into polypeptide composed of 20 standard amino acids and then proteins. Several of the standard amino acids can be posttranslationally modified by enzymatic processes, or can be altered through spontaneous (nonenzymatic) biochemical reactions.
There is increasing evidence that immune recognition of neoepitopes produced by cancer-specific mutations is a key mechanism for the induction of immune-mediated tumor rejection. Opportunities for therapeutic targeting of cancer specific neoepitopes are under investigation.
As target for immunotherapy
Cancer is a patient-specific disease, and no two tumors are alike. Thus, the immunogenicity of each tumor is unique. A novel strategy against cancer is epitope selection for mutanome-directed individualized cancer immunotherapy.
Individualized cancer immunotherapy leverages the adaptive immune system by targeting T cells to tumor cells that have a tumor specific mutant antigen (neoantigen) with neoepitopes recognized by a receptor on T cells. One challenge is to identify the neoepitopes that trigger a suitable immune response, that is, to find out which neoepitopes in the individual tumor are highly immunogenic.
Cancer vaccines
Individualized cancer immunotherapy includes vaccination with tumor mutation-derived neoepitopes. The concept is based on a mapping of the tumor-specific individual mutanome with identification of a range of suitable neoepitopes for a patient-specific vaccine. It is expected that the neoepitopes in the vaccine will trigger T cell responses to the specific cancer. For the concept of individualized cancer vaccination first data are available.
References
Medical genetics
Biotechnology
Applied genetics
Genomics
Immunology
Cancer vaccines | Neoepitope | [
"Biology"
] | 599 | [
"Immunology",
"Biotechnology",
"nan"
] |
61,415,624 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel%204 | The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are a pair of Android smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Google as part of the Google Pixel product line. They collectively serve as the successors to the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. They were officially announced on October 15, 2019 at the Made by Google event and released in the United States on October 24, 2019. On September 30, 2020, they were succeeded by the Pixel 5.
History
Google confirmed the device's design in June 2019 after renders of it were leaked online.
In the United States, the Pixel 4 is the first Pixel phone to be offered for sale by all major wireless carriers at launch. Previous flagship Pixel models had launched as exclusives to Verizon and Google Fi; the midrange Pixel 3a was additionally available from Sprint and T-Mobile, but not AT&T, at its launch. As with all other Pixel releases, Google is offering unlocked U.S. versions through its website.
The phones were officially announced on October 15, 2019 and released in the United States on October 24, 2019. On January 10, 2020, Pixel 4 price dropped below the Black Friday prices. They were discontinued in August 2020.
Specifications
Design and hardware
The Pixel 4 and 4 XL are constructed using an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass 5. The devices are available in Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange colors, with the white and orange models having a matte, "soft touch" glass finish, and the black model having a glossy finish. The frame is painted black on all models, while the power button is accented and made from plastic.
The USB-C connector at the bottom of the device is used for charging and audio output, though neither USB-C headphones nor a USB-C to 3.5mm jack adapter are included in the box. Both have stereo speakers, but unlike the Pixel 3, only one of the speakers is front-firing, with the other speaker located to the right of the USB-C port. Neither model includes a fingerprint reader; facial recognition (using a dot projector, infrared emitters and cameras along the top bezel of the device) is the only biometric authentication method offered by the Pixel 4.
Both models use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 system-on-chip (consisting of eight Kryo 485 CPU cores, an Adreno 640 GPU and a Hexagon 690 DSP), with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Models are available with 64 or 128GB of non-expandable internal storage. Battery sizes differ, with the Pixel 4 using a 2800mAh cell and the Pixel 4 XL using a 3700mAh cell. Both are capable of fast-charging at up to 18W, and support Qi wireless charging. Like their predecessors, the phones have a water protection rating of IPX8 under IEC standard 60529. The Pixel 4 also features the Pixel Neural Core and Knowles 8508A audio processor. The Pixel Neural Core is the successor to the Pixel Visual Core; it, too, uses the Edge TPU architecture.
The Pixel 4 features an OLED display manufactured by Samsung with HDR support, that operates at a refresh rate of up to 90Hz; it dynamically adjusts depending on content to preserve battery life. Both models use a wider 19:9 aspect ratio, with the Pixel 4 using a 1080p panel, and the 4 XL using a 1440p panel. Unlike the Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel 4 XL's display does not contain a cutout, or notch.
The Pixel 4 includes dual rear-facing cameras located within a raised square module. It houses a wide 28mm 77° 1.7 lens with the same Sony Exmor IMX363 12.2-megapixel sensor as on the Pixel 3 and 3a, and a second telephoto 48mm 2.4 lens with a 16-megapixel sensor. Both are capable of recording video at 4K resolution, but can only do so at 30fps whereas most competitors support 60fps as well. In a tweet, Google stated that "We find that the majority of users stick with 1080p, so we focus our energy on improving our quality in this mode, versus enabling a 4k 60fps mode that could use up to half a gigabyte of storage every minute". Google claims the Pixel 4 can capture 8x zoom at near-optical quality. Additionally, it uses Google Camera 7.1 with software enhancements, including Live HDR+ with dual exposure controls, improved Night Sight with Astrophotography mode and improved Portrait Mode with more realistic Bokeh. It includes a single ultra wide (90°) front-facing camera with an 8-megapixel sensor, unlike the Pixel 3 which included ultra wide (97°) and wide (75°) front-facing cameras, both of which also had 8-megapixel sensors. The Pixel 4's astrophotography mode is able to stack together 16 exposures, each with an exposure time of 15 seconds.
Motion Sense
The Pixel 4 marks the introduction of Motion Sense, a radar-based gesture recognition system. It is based on the Project Soli technology developed by Google ATAP as an alternative to light-based systems such as infrared. Motion Sense can be used for detecting a user's proximity to the device to activate the always-on display or power the screen on, and waving gestures that can be used in supported apps (such as skipping tracks in the music player, and an interactive Pokémon demo app).
Due to its use of 60GHz frequency bands, Google was required to obtain specific regulatory approval for the radar system in all countries that the Pixel 4 is being sold. As such, the feature is geoblocked if the device is detected to be in an unsupported country. On launch, Google stated that support for the feature was currently limited to Australia, Canada, "most European countries", Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States, but that Japan was "coming soon". Google stated that it had no plans to sell the Pixel 4 in India, with the company officially stating a preference to continue marketing the Pixel 3a in the region; media outlets noted that civilian use of the 60GHz frequency is prohibited in India, unlike in the U.S. and some other countries, where it is considered unlicensed spectrum.
Software
The Pixel 4 ships with Android 10 and Google Camera 7.1. The devices feature several features powered by their Pixel Neural Core (the successor to the Pixel Visual Core) and Knowles 8508A audio processor. In addition to its existing use for computational photography image processing, they are used by the new Recorder and Live Transcribe apps. Recorder is a voice recorder with live transcription, classification and searchable sounds. Also the "new" Google Assistant, which contains enhancements to allow for increased client-side recognition of commands that are local to the device (rather than querying Google servers).
After Google demonstrated astrophotography sample photos, a scene of San Francisco with the Moon blown out and the woods underexposed was shown. Marc Levoy explained that the difference in light between the Moon and woods was too significant, requiring 19 stops of dynamic range which no phone or DSLR camera was currently capable of performing. He reaffirmed Google's commitment to improving the camera with software updates (a signature of the Pixel line) and said to stay tuned.
Reception
The Pixel 4 received an overall score of 112 from DXOMARK, a 10-point improvement over its predecessor. It had a photo score of 117, a video score of 101, and a selfie score of 92. The camera was particularly praised for its performance in low light situations.
The Pixel 4 and 4 XL were praised by critics for their photography capabilities, the move to 6GB of RAM from 4GB, and the 90Hz refresh rate screen. They were criticized for their poor battery life (especially on the smaller Pixel 4), the low amount of non-expandable storage, the lack of an ultra-wide angle camera lens, the removal of the fingerprint sensor in favor of the secure Face Unlock, the lack of 4K 60fps video recording, the lack of headphones or an adapter in the box, the Motion Sense system's poor detection, and the high price compared to other flagship smartphones. Google was also criticized for not providing unlimited uncompressed photo and video cloud storage like its Pixel predecessors had.
Ars Technica gave the device a mixed pre-release review, noting that the etched finish of the orange and white models felt stronger than that of the Pixel 3 without compromising its "soft" and "grippy" feel, but that the screen bezels looked "lopsided". The Motion Sense system was panned for its reliance on hand waving gestures that were "so big that it's a cumbersome, tiring, annoying thing to do." This was contrasted with early demonstrations of the technology being able to detect "sub-millimeter motions at high speed and accuracy", noting that Google's admitted need to downsize the radar chip in order to fit into a smartphone may have compromised its capabilities. Ars Technica's in-depth review concluded that "This year, the Pixel 4 feels like a bunch of software decisions designed to prop up hardware that has been cost-cut to death".
Issues
Fixed issues
Videos recorded with third-party apps like Instagram and Snapchat have odd clicking noises in the background.
The Pixel 4 did not require eye contact with the phone when using facial recognition to unlock the device, raising privacy concerns since the device could be unlocked even if the user's eyes were closed. Google released an update in April 2020 that added the option for eyes open requirement in face unlock.
The Pixel 4 automatically lowers the display's refresh rate to 60Hz if the screen brightness is set below 75 percent. Google released a fix for this in the November 2019 update.
In certain lighting conditions, the Pixel 4's white balance "fix" could result in photos with inaccurate color representation. Google released a fix in the November 2019 update.
References
External links
Android (operating system) devices
Discontinued flagship smartphones
Foxconn
Google hardware
Google Pixel
Mobile phones introduced in 2019
Mobile phones with 4K video recording
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras | Pixel 4 | [
"Technology"
] | 2,138 | [
"Discontinued flagship smartphones",
"Flagship smartphones"
] |
76,693,047 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC%203528 | IC 3528 is spiral galaxy located 660 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It lies near to another spiral galaxy NGC 4540, although the two of them are quite far. The object was discovered by Royal Harwood Frost on May 7, 1904. Although listed as a member in the Virgo Cluster Catalogue as VCC 1593, it is not a member of the Virgo cluster but a background galaxy.
Physical characteristics
IC 3528 is classified a narrow-line Seyfert 1.5 type galaxy. Containing X-ray emission, the galaxy shows strong evidence of non-gravitational outflow kinematics in its [O III] λ5007 emission feature. In addition, IC 4528 contains broad emission lines with widths measuring Hβ FWHM ≤ 2000 km s−1 and is a type-1 active galactic nucleus (AGN) hosted inside a lower-luminosity galaxy that is found having a higher incidence of pseudo-bulges, with barred morphology, and considered less disturbed. This suggests narrow-line Type 1 AGNs like in the case of IC 3528, experiences a more quiescent evolutionary history that is driven primarily by internal secular evolution rather than external dynamical perturbations.
Starburst activity
IC 3528 has an estimated star formation rate of ≳6 M⊙ yr−1 It is a dusty starburst galaxy exhibiting a strong Hδ line in absorption and modest [O II] emission, whom researchers found the galaxy is affected by reddening. Based on star formation rates derived from the FIR luminosities with the estimates based on the Hα line, they found the values obtained from these optical emission lines in IC 3528 are a factor of 10-70 (Hα) and 20-140 ([O II]) lower than the FIR estimates (50-300 Msolar yr−1).
Metallicity
IC 3528 has a low gas fraction and higher oxygen abundance, making a it gas-poor galaxy and metal-rich, which demonstrates the idea that removal of gas from the outskirts of spirals increases the observed average metallicity by ~0.1 dex.
Supernova
SN 2001Z, a Type II supernova was discovered in IC 3528 by astronomers Modjaz and Li, whom they saw it on an unfiltered image taken with KAIT on Mar. 3.5 UT. The supernova was located at R.A. = 12h34m55s.87, Decl. = +15o34'07".5 (equinox 2000.0), which was located 0".5 west and 11".2 north of the nucleus. SN 2001Z was also captured by other astronomers named Phillips, Martin and Valladares who obtained its spectrum on Mar. 5.37 UT with the Baade telescope. They found the spectrum has a weak, relatively narrow H-alpha and H-beta emission lines on a strong, blue continuum and consistent with a type-II supernova caught at a very early epoch. The redshift of the emission lines is z = 0.045.
Black hole
Initially having an estimated range between 105.1- 1010.3 {M}⊙ with an Eddington ratio varying from -3.3 to 1.3 in logarithmic scale, IC 3528 has a low-mass black hole (BH) of BH masses M BH ~ 106-108 M⊙, powered by accretion matter. Similar to IC 750, the budge-mass and stellar mass is found to be (7.3 ± 2.7) × 108 M⊙ and 1.4 × 1010 M⊙ respectively, which the mass upper limit of the BH decreses by two orders of magnitude below the MBH-σ* relation and roughly one order of magnitude below the MBH-MBulge and MBH-M* relations. This is found larger than the relations' intrinsic scatters of 0.58 ± 0.09 dex, 0.69 dex, and 0.65 ± 0.09 dex.
References
3528
041882
Coma Berenices
Spiral galaxies
Seyfert galaxies
041882
J12345592+1533561
Astronomical objects discovered in 1904
Discoveries by Royal Harwood Frost | IC 3528 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 882 | [
"Coma Berenices",
"Constellations"
] |
76,693,494 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel%E2%80%93Dini%E2%80%93Pringsheim%20theorem | In calculus, the Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem is a convergence test which constructs from a divergent series a series that diverges more slowly, and from convergent series one that converges more slowly. Consequently, for every convergence test based on a particular series there is a series about which the test is inconclusive. For example, the Raabe test is essentially a comparison test based on the family of series whose th term is (with ) and is therefore inconclusive about the series of terms which diverges more slowly than the harmonic series.
Definitions
The Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem can be given for divergent series or convergent series. Helpfully, these definitions are equivalent, and it suffices to prove only one case. This is because applying the Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem for divergent series to the series with partial sum
yields the Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem for convergent series.
For divergent series
Suppose that is a sequence of positive real numbers such that the series
diverges to infinity. Let denote the th partial sum. The Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem for divergent series states that the following conditions hold.
For all we have
If also , then
Consequently, the series
converges if and diverges if . When , this series diverges less rapidy than .
For convergent series
Suppose that is a sequence of positive real numbers such that the series
converges to a finite number. Let denote the th remainder of the series. According to the Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem for convergent series, the following conditions hold.
For all we have
If also then
In particular, the series
is convergent when , and divergent when . When , this series converges more slowly than .
Examples
The series
is divergent with the th partial sum being . By the Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem, the series
converges when and diverges when . Since converges to 0, we have the asymptotic approximation
Now, consider the divergent series
thus found. Apply the Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem but with partial sum replaced by asymptotically equivalent sequence . (It is not hard to verify that this can always be done.) Then we may conclude that the series
converges when and diverges when . Since converges to 0, we have
Historical notes
The theorem was proved in three parts. Niels Henrik Abel proved a weak form of the first part of the theorem (for divergent series). Ulisse Dini proved the complete form and a weak form of the second part. Alfred Pringsheim proved the second part of the theorem. The third part is due to Ernesto Cesàro.
References
Convergence tests | Abel–Dini–Pringsheim theorem | [
"Mathematics"
] | 572 | [
"Theorems in mathematical analysis",
"Convergence tests"
] |
76,693,507 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGC%204653 | UGC 4653 known as Arp 195, is a trio of interacting galaxies located 763 million light-years away from the solar system in the Lynx constellation. The galaxies are being distorted through gravitational interactions with each other. The first known reference for this object, was in 1959 where B.A. Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov compiled it inside the Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov Interacting galaxies, as VV 243.
This image of UGC 4653 was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxies make up the 195th object in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies created by Halton Arp. They fall into the category of galaxies with material ejected from nuclei.
UGC 4653 has active nuclear regions which produce infrared (IR) emissions. These appear to be more like AGNs than HII regions.
A study published in 2023, confirmed all three galaxies of the UGC 4653 system are spirals. The southern galaxy is a face-on galaxy hosting a bright core, while the central is edge-on but no clear distinction whether it is an early or late-type galaxy. The northern galaxy has a tidal tail and is of late-type morphology. With the exception of the third, both galaxies contain presence of strong emission lines.
Supernova
Type Ia supernova, SN 2008bv was discovered in UGC 4653 with a magnitude of 18.3. It was located 1".7 east and 3".9 south of the nucleus.
References
Lynx (constellation)
Interacting galaxies
Luminous infrared galaxies
04653
195
024981
+06-20-012
024981
J08535462+3508439 | UGC 4653 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 350 | [
"Lynx (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
76,694,680 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%207393 | NGC 7393 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Aquarius. It is estimated to about 120 million light-years from the Milky Way and about 70,000 light-years in diameter. NGC 7393 belongs to the class of spiral galaxies with separated sections in the Arp catalog. Astronomer Halton Arp divided his catalog of unusual galaxies into groups based on purely morphological criteria. NGC 7393 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on October 5, 1785.
Gallery
See also
Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies
List of NGC objects (7001–7840)
References
External links
NGC 7393 at SEDS USA
NGC 7393 at NASA/IPAC
Barred spiral galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Aquarius (constellation)
7393
015
69874
-01-58-002
Astronomical objects discovered in 1785
Discoveries by William Herschel | NGC 7393 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 172 | [
"Constellations",
"Aquarius (constellation)"
] |
76,694,689 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Anxious%20Generation | The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness is a 2024 book by Jonathan Haidt which argues that the spread of smartphones, social media and overprotective parenting have led to a "rewiring" of childhood and a rise in mental illness.
Haidt argues that the combination of the decline of play-based childhoods, exacerbated by what he describes as overprotective parents, and increasing smartphone use has been harmful to children since the late 2000s. In an interview during the WSJ's Future of Everything Festival, he advocates banning smartphones in schools, arguing for flip-phones with limited features instead.
Summary
Part 1 – A Tidal Wave
Haidt examines statistics for those under 18 on a number of mental health criteria, including mental health diagnoses such as anxiety disorders and major depression, self-harm episodes, and suicide rates. For each, there was a sudden uptick around 2010 when smartphones became widely available. Haidt notes that the same effects were greatly reduced for those 30 or older and were seen worldwide in other developed countries. He also rules out the 2007–2008 financial crisis as a cause given that similar financial crises of the past did not produce such an uptick.
Part 2 – The Backstory: The Decline in Play-Based Childhood
Drawing inspiration from the book Antifragile, Haidt argues that children are "antifragile" and require some level of adversity and challenge early in life in order to handle difficult situations as adults. Without that experience, adults are prone to anxiety, depression, and other maladies due to an inability to cope. Historically, childhood adversity and challenge has occurred through play, in which children took risks, tested their limits, and learned to cope with failure.
Building on research from his coauthored book The Coddling of the American Mind, Haidt argues that risk-taking has been discouraged by "safetyism" where parents, educators, and other caregivers are overprotective and have minimized the physical and mental risks that children take. An example is playground equipment in recent decades being much less likely to allow behavior that results in cuts and bruises, but also that is not stimulating or challenging for older children, and don't allow them to test their limits.
Furthermore, the amount of play that children experience daily has been reduced for the last several decades due to schools reducing the amount of recess in favor of more time studying, as well as urban design favoring automobiles over pedestrian traffic limiting children's abilities to travel to friends' houses or public spaces such as parks.
These two things encourage children to spend time on solitary indoor activities, such as watching TV or using a computer. With few or no viable alternatives for play or ability to spend time in person with friends, children since the advent of smartphones are more likely to spend large amounts of time using them, especially through social media.
Part 3 – The Great Rewiring: The Rise of the Phone-based Childhood
Four foundational harms of social media are named: social deprivation, sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, and addiction.
Citing information from the 2021 Facebook leak, Haidt notes that Facebook (now Meta) was aware of the harm Facebook and Instagram has on teenagers, especially girls. Furthermore, the leaks showed the company was researching ways to further encourage teenagers' continued use of their products.
Among the harms of social media, Haidt shows statistics that in the decade following the introduction of smartphones, the number of minutes spent daily with friends steeply declined since 2010, the number of students getting less than 7 hours of sleep has increased, and the number of teens reporting they have at least a few close friends has decreased. These changes did not occur for those older than 30 and affected girls more than boys.
The concept of social media leading to "spiritual degradation" is explored. While an atheist himself, Haidt notes how spiritual practices include common human experiences, such as collective rituals, being in the same location as others ("embodiment"), silence, transcending oneself, being slow to anger and quick to forgive, and finding awe in nature. All of these are largely lacking in social media, and thus children heavily exposed to it are deprived an essential part of human experience. Haidt links the concept of anomie to surveys showing teens being less satisfied with their life.
Part 4 – Collective Action for a Healthier Childhood
Haidt notes that collective action is required, since many parents feel pressured to give their children smart phones in order to not be left out. He provides a number of proposed solutions for governments, tech companies, schools, and parents.
Government solutions include adopting provisions like the British Children's Code to other countries and increasing the ages protected by the American COPPA from under 13 to under 16. Haidt also calls for governments to enforce laws that prohibit companies from allowing accounts to be opened by children under a certain age.
Tech company solutions include having smartphone platforms such as iOS and Android provide additional parental controls limiting usage and access. He proposes having smartphones with child restrictions on them be able to preemptively notify social media sites that the user is not old enough to create an account.
School solutions include banning phone use during school time. Haidt also calls for an increase in recess time and encouraging more risky play as was possible in the past, which would provide children alternatives for screen time and social media while also building resiliency and making them "antifragile."
Parent solutions include building resiliency by being less overprotective, encouraging playtime, allowing time away from parental supervision, and encouraging children to accomplish tasks on their own. Haidt suggests a staggered age-based technology option, such as giving children "dumb phones" at younger ages and only providing more feature-capable phones when they are older. To avoid children feeling left out, Haidt encourages parents to collectively agree to not give their children smartphones until a certain age, giving the "Wait Until 8th" pledge as an example.
Reception
As of September 2024, the book has spent 23 consecutive weeks on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. It topped the list four times.
The book received endorsements from Oprah Winfrey and Jessica Seinfeld. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders sent a copy of the book to the governor of each U.S. state and territory, urging them "to come together to limit social media and screen use for kids and encourage outdoor play to combat America's mental health crisis."
Academic reviews
Candice Odgers, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, and Duke University, published a review of the book in Nature arguing that most empirical evidence on social medial and mental health did not find a large or consistently negative effect and suggesting that the correlation of rising social media use and mental health problems might reflect reverse causation. Odgers also accused Haidt of fear-mongering and warned that "rising hysteria could distract us from tackling the real causes" of youth mental health struggles.
Haidt responded to Odgers' criticism, arguing that he and his co-researcher, Zach Rausch, have compiled numerous experimental studies, most of which support his claims. Haidt also emphasised that, while there are many correlational studies, his research also includes evidence for causality. He rejected Odgers' suggestion that the 2008 financial crisis and other societal issues are the primary causes of the mental health crisis, noting that its timing and international scope point more directly to the rise of smartphones and social media.
Journalistic reception
In the New York Times, David Wallace-Wells acknowledged Haidt's influence in shaping the narrative on social and mental health. However, he emphasized that teenage mental health trends vary between countries and need to be interpreted cautiously. He specifically took issue with Haidt's interpretation of increases in recorded emergency room visits for self-harm, because changes to the guidelines for mental health screenings (in 2011) and recording the intentionality of injury (in 2015) can also explain the increase. He also noted that life satisfaction has not deteriorated. Wallace-Wells cited researchers like Amy Orben and Andrew Przybylski, who argue that the evidence connecting smartphones to declining well-being is weak and contested. Wallace-Wells concludes that while smartphones may contribute to emotional distress for some teenagers, attributing the rise in depression and anxiety solely to technology oversimplifies a much more nuanced issue.
Writing for The Guardian, Sophie McBain praised the book, describing it as "an urgent and persuasive warning" about the danger of phone-based childhoods. However, she questioned Haidt's downplaying of global issues, like climate change and political instability, and their media coverage as contributing factors to youth anxiety. McBain also found Haidt's theory of overprotective parenting to be "much less substantiated" compared to his research on smartphones.
Helen Rumbelow of The Times gave the book a positive review, while acknowledging criticism it faced from some academics for relying "heavily" on correlation studies.
Political reception
News agency Reuters said the book served as the catalyst for Australia's Online Safety Amendment, a proposed law which aims to restrict the use of social media by minors under the age of 16.
See also
Youth mental health crisis
Digital media use and mental health
References
2024 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
Books about mental health
Developmental psychology
Digital media use and mental health
English-language non-fiction books
Penguin Press books
Works about children
Works by Jonathan Haidt | The Anxious Generation | [
"Biology"
] | 1,965 | [
"Behavioural sciences",
"Behavior",
"Developmental psychology"
] |
76,695,528 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte%20Bjerre%20Knudsen | Lotte Bjerre Knudsen (born 10 March 1964) is a Danish scientist and university professor. She led the development of liraglutide and oversaw the development of semaglutide, two notable drugs approved for indications in the treatment of diabetes and obesity.
Early life and education
Knudsen originally studied chemical engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, and obtained a doctorate in scientific medicine (DMSc) from the University of Copenhagen in 2014.
Career
Knudsen began work as a scientist at the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in Denmark in 1989. As of December 2015, she was being referred to as Scientific Vice President for Global Research at Novo-Nordisk. She served as an adjunct faculty member at Aarhus University from 2015-2020, as a professor in translational medicine.
Knudsen has been employed as a Chief Scientific Advisor in Research and Early Development at Novo Nordisk.
Contributions
While still a student, Knudsen worked at Novo Nordisk, initially working on laundry detergent enzymes. Alongside fellow student Shamkant Patkar, she discovered an enzyme capable of removing microscopic strands of cotton that pill up on clothing from repeated wear.
After this project, Knudsen joined full-time as part of a research group at Novo Nordisk that aimed to identify new treatments for diabetes, by developing small molecule drugs targeting specific metabolic pathways. One project revolved around glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone that stimulates the production of insulin but has a short half-life of minutes in the body.
GLP-1 had been previously identified by researchers such as Jens Juul Holst in Denmark, who joined Novo Nordisk as a consultant, and Joel Habener, Daniel J. Drucker, and Svetlana Mojsov at Massachusetts General Hospital. Knudsen's team screened numerous chemical compounds to identify whether they could bind to the GLP-1 receptor sufficiently to stimulate insulin secretion.
Eventually, they developed a new compound called liraglutide, which is an agonist for the GLP-1 receptor. It is a chemical analogue of GLP-1, with a fatty acid and spacer attached. These modifications increased its ability to dissolve in water and bind to albumin, which increase its bioavailability—its lifetime in the bloodstream, and so the duration of its action in the body. Liraglutide was approved as a treatment for diabetes under the brand name Victoza in the United States in 2010.
Knudsen’s team, specifically Jesper Lau and Thomas Kruse, then worked on what became semaglutide, which had greater stability and affinity to albumin, lengthening its duration of action further to a once-weekly drug.
Semaglutide was approved in the United States under the brand name Ozempic as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2017, and under the brand name Wegovy, as a first injectable (at 2.4 mg once weekly), for chronic weight management in June 2021.
Impact
Martin Müller and Alexander Preker, writing for Der Spiegel in January 2024, have referred to Knudsen discovery in inventing the semaglutide weight-loss injections as "revolutionary", with the "drug Wegovy... [having] changed the world," and having made Novo Nordisk "Europe's most valuable company, [more valuable] than Daimler, Bayer, Lufthansa and BMW combined".
Honors and recognition
Knudsen received the 2023 Paul Langerhans Medal by the German Diabetes Society for her work developing liraglutide. In October 2023, she received the STAT Biomedical Innovation award, and in 2024, she received the Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award. In 2024 she received the Lasker Award in clinical research. In 2024, Knudsen received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, presented by Awards Council member Robert S. Langer.
Further reading
References
External links
The German Wikipedia page for Lotte Bjerre Knudsen.
An unofficial source listing the publications of Knudsen.
A formal source of patents issued to Knudsen.
The 2022 Danish TV mini-series, "The Story of GLP-1", focused on the work of Knudsen.
1964 births
Living people
Academic staff of Aarhus University
Biotechnologists
Danish chemical engineers
Novo Nordisk people
Technical University of Denmark alumni
University of Copenhagen alumni
Women biotechnologists
Women chemical engineers | Lotte Bjerre Knudsen | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 941 | [
"Women chemical engineers",
"Biotechnologists",
"Chemical engineers",
"Women biotechnologists"
] |
76,695,870 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20important%20publications%20in%20data%20science | This is a list of important publications in data science, generally organized by order of use in a data analysis workflow.
See the list of important publications in statistics for more research-based and fundamental publications; while this list is more applied, business oriented, and cross-disciplinary.
General article inclusion criteria are:
Papers from notable practitioners or notable professors, either with a Wikipedia page or reference to their notability
Common knowledge all data professionals should know, with references validating this claim
Highly cited applied statistics and machine learning publications
Discussion-facilitating papers on the field of data science as a whole (for example, the Attention Is All You Need paper is arguably a landmark paper that can be added here, but it is specific to generative artificial intelligence, not for all practitioners of data)
Some reasons why a particular publication might be regarded as important:
Topic creator – A publication that created a new topic
Breakthrough – A publication that changed scientific knowledge significantly
Influence – A publication which has significantly influenced the world or has had a massive impact on the teaching of data science.
When possible, a reference is used to validate the inclusion of the publication in this list.
History
Statistical Modeling: The Two Cultures (with comments and a rejoinder by the author)
Author: Leo Breiman
Publication data:
Online version: https://projecteuclid.org/journals/statistical-science/volume-16/issue-3/Statistical-Modeling--The-Two-Cultures-with-comments-and-a/10.1214/ss/1009213726.pdf
Description: Describes two cultures of statistics, one using a parsimonious and generative stochastic model, while the other is an algorithmic model with no known mechanism for how the data is generated. Breiman argues that while statistics has traditionally favored using the stochastic model, there is value in expanding the methods that statisticians can use to study phenomenon.
Importance: Influence on the philosophies of statisticians right before the increased use of machine learning and deep learning methods. In a 20-year retrospective on this article, "Breiman's words are perhaps more relevant than ever". Notable statisticians at the time wrote opinion pieces about the publication. Although overall critical of the publication, David Cox writes that the publication "contains enough truth and exposes enough weaknesses to be thought-provoking." Bradley Efron commented that this publication is a "stimulating paper". Emanuel Parzen also comments about this publication that "Breiman alerts us to systematic blunders (leading to wrong conclusions) that have been committed applying current statistical practice of data modeling".
50 Years of Data Science
Author: David Donoho
Publication data:
Online version: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10618600.2017.1384734
Description: Retrospective discussion paper on the history and origins of data science, with a number of commentary from notable statisticians.
Importance: This has been described as "the first in the field to present such a comprehensive and in-depth survey and overview", and helps to define the field that has many definitions.
The Composable Data Management System Manifesto
Author: Pedro Pedreira, Orri Erling, Konstantinos Karanasos, Scott Schneider, Wes McKinney, Satya R Valluri, Mohamed Zait, Jacques Nadeau
Publication data:
Online version: https://www.vldb.org/pvldb/vol16/p2679-pedreira.pdf
Description: The vision paper advocating for a paradigm shift in how data management systems are designed using standard, composable, interoperable tools rather than siloed software tools.
Importance: A paradigm shifting view on how future data science software tools should be designed for more efficient workflows, the principles of which "will be especially crucial for addressing fragmentation, improving interoperability, and promoting user-centricity as data ecosystems grow increasingly complex".
Data collection and organization
Tidy Data
Author: Hadley Wickham
Publication data:
Online version: https://www.jstatsoft.org/article/view/v059i10/ https://vita.had.co.nz/papers/tidy-data.pdf
Description: Describes a framework for data cleaning that is summarized in the quote, "each variable is a column, each observation is a row, and each type of observational unit is a table". This allows a standard data structure for which data analysis tools can be consistently built around.
Importance: Cited over 1,500 times, this effort for tidy data has been described by David Donoho as having "more impact on today’s practice of data analysis than many highly regarded theoretical statistics articles". In the context of data visualization, this publication is said to support "efficient exploration and prototyping because variables can be assigned different roles in the plot without modifying anything about the original dataset".
Data Organization in Spreadsheets
Author: Karl W. Broman and Kara H. Woo
Publication data:
Online version: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00031305.2017.1375989
Description: This article offers practical recommendations for organizing data in spreadsheets, like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, to reduce errors and lower the barrier for later analyses due to limitations in spreadsheets or quirks in the software.
Importance: Influences teaching both data and non-data practitioners to create more analysis-friendly spreadsheets, and has been described to outline "spreadsheet best practices".
Data visualizations
Quantitative Graphics in Statistics: A Brief History
Author: James R. Beniger and Dorothy L. Robyn
Publication data:
Online version: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2683467
Description: Outlines history and evolution of quantitative graphics in statistics, going through spatial organization (17th and 18th centuries), discrete comparison (18th and 19th centuries), continuous distribution (19th century), and multivariate distribution and correlation (late 19th and 20th centuries).
Importance: Helps put into perspective for learning data practitioners the recency of graphics that are used. A later publication "Graphical Methods in Statistics" by Stephen Fienberg in 1979 writes that his publication "owes much to the work of Beniger and Robyn".
Tooling
Hidden Technical Debt in Machine Learning Systems
Author: D. Sculley, Gary Holy, Daniel Golovin, Eugene Davydov, Todd Phillips, Dietmar Ebner, Vinay Chaudhary, Michael Young, Jean-François Crespo, Dan Dennison
Publication data:
Online version: https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper_files/paper/2015/file/86df7dcfd896fcaf2674f757a2463eba-Paper.pdf
Description: This paper argues that it is "dangerous to think of [complex machine learning] quick wins as coming for free" and overviews risk factors to account for when implementing a machine learning system.
Importance: All authors worked for Google, article is cited over 1,000 times, and helped practitioners thinking about quickly implementing a machine learning tool without understanding the long-term maintenance of the tool.
A few useful things to know about machine learning
Author: Pedro Domingos
Publication data:
Online version: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2347736.2347755 https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~pedrod/papers/cacm12.pdf
Description: The purpose of this paper is to distill inaccessible "folk knowledge" to effectively implement machine learning projects because "machine learning projects take much longer than necessary or wind up producing less-than-ideal results".
Importance: Cited over 4,000 times to influence the common set of knowledge for data practitioners using machine learning.
Teaching data science
The Introductory Statistics Course: A Ptolemaic Curriculum
Author: George W. Cobb
Publication data:
Online version: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6hb3k0nz
Description: This paper argues for a rethinking of how teachers of statistics should structure their introductory statistics courses away from the technical machinery based on the normal distribution and towards simpler alternative methods based on permutations done on computers.
Importance: Cited over 300 times, this paper influenced teachers of statistics in the 21st century to reconsider teaching the mere mechanics of statistics, while the use of computers can be leveraged for doing more with less.
See also
Lists of important publications in science
References
External links
Papers and tech blogs by companies sharing their work on data science and machine learning in production.
Data science
Computing-related lists | List of important publications in data science | [
"Technology"
] | 1,824 | [
"Computing-related lists"
] |
76,696,568 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGC%201775 | UGC 1775 or Arp 10 is a ring galaxy in the constellation Cetus. The galaxy lies about 400 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that UGC 1775 is approximately 220,000 light years across. The galaxy is included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in the galaxies with split arms category.
Characteristics
The galaxy features a bright ring with a faint bar. Its nucleus is off-centre and it is surrounded by a bright ring of HII regions where new stars are formed. One fainter outer ring or shell also hosts a faint arc of HII regions. The hydrogen emission of the galaxy shows a large disturbed hydrogen disk extending for 2.7 times the optical diameter of the galaxy and features shells. The galaxy has a high star formation rate, which was estimated based on the H-alpha emission to be 5.4 per year, while based on the infrared luminosity, it is 11.2 per year. The mid-infrared emission is associated with the nucleus and the star forming regions of the ring.
The ring is considered to have been created by another galaxy passing through the disk of the galaxy near its centre about 85 million years ago. As there are no similar mass galaxies visible in the vicinity of UGC 1775 it has been proposed that the non-linear kinematics of the gas in the galaxy are the result of the accretion of a smaller galaxy by a gas-rich spiral galaxy. However more detailed observations indicate that the smaller galaxy is visible as a knot next to the nucleus of the main galaxy. Another small galaxy lying along the minor axis of the galaxy is a background object.
The galaxy is seen nearly face-on, at an inclination of 22 degrees.
Supernova
One supernova has been observed in UGC 1775, SN 2000dx. SN 2000dx was a type Ia supernova discovered a few days before maximum located 7".9 east and 12".3 south of the
nucleus of UGC 1775. It had an apparent magnitude of 17.1 to 17.3 upon discovery.
References
External links
Ring galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Starburst galaxies
Cetus
01775
010
08802
+01-06-062
02158+0525 | UGC 1775 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 462 | [
"Cetus",
"Constellations"
] |
76,697,957 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zermelo%27s%20categoricity%20theorem | Zermelo's categoricity theorem was proven by Ernst Zermelo in 1930. It states that all models of a certain second-order version of the Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms of set theory are isomorphic to a member of a certain class of sets.
Statement
Let denote Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory, but with a second-order version of the axiom of replacement formulated as follows:
, namely the second-order universal closure of the axiom schema of replacement.p. 289 Then every model of is isomorphic to a set in the von Neumann hierarchy, for some inaccessible cardinal .
Original presentation
Zermelo originally considered a version of with urelements. Rather than using the modern satisfaction relation , he defines a "normal domain" to be a collection of sets along with the true relation that satisfies .p. 9
Related results
Dedekind proved that the second-order Peano axioms hold in a model if and only if the model is isomorphic to the true natural numbers.pp. 5–6p. 1 Uzquiano proved that when removing replacement form and considering a second-order version of Zermelo set theory with a second-order version of separation, there exist models not isomorphic to any for a limit ordinal .p. 396
References
Set theory
Theorems in the foundations of mathematics
Model theory | Zermelo's categoricity theorem | [
"Mathematics"
] | 286 | [
"Foundations of mathematics",
"Set theory",
"Mathematical logic",
"Model theory",
"Mathematical problems",
"Mathematical theorems",
"Theorems in the foundations of mathematics"
] |
76,698,539 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arp%20251 | Arp 251 is a group of three spiral galaxies. The galaxies (2MASX J00534840-1351148, 2MASX J00534765-1351358 and 2MASX J00533671-1349541) are visible in the constellation Cetus. Arp 251 is cataloged in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, which is a catalog of unusual galaxies put into groups based on purely morphological criteria. Arp 251 belongs to the class of galaxies with signs of splitting.
Galaxies
Source:
2MASX J00534840-1351148
2MASX J00534 is the northernmost galaxy in Arp 251. It spans 30 arc-seconds in apparent view, which corresponds to a diameter of 170,000 light years. The upper arm is disturbed, meaning that galaxy interaction may be present.
2MASX J00534765-1351358
2MASX J005347 is the southernmost galaxy out of the triplet and has a magnitude of 15.1. It's visual magnitude is unknown.
2MASX J00533671-1349541
2MASX J005446 has a magnitude of 16.4 and a redshift distance of 700 million+ light-years. It has a larger angular size than the other galaxies making up Arp 251.
See also
Halton Arp
Hickson 40
Lists of galaxies
References
Galaxy clusters
251
Cetus
Spiral galaxies
Peculiar galaxies | Arp 251 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 300 | [
"Galaxy clusters",
"Astronomical objects",
"Cetus",
"Constellations"
] |
76,700,010 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGC%201840 | UGC 1840, also known as Arp 145, are a pair of interacting galaxies located 250 million light-years away from the Solar System in the Andromeda constellation. The earliest known reference to the pair of galaxies is in part 2 of the Morphological Catalogue of Galaxies, published in 1964, where it is listed as MCG +07-06-002.
Made up of two galaxies, UGC 1840 NED01 (PGC 9060) and UGC 1840 NED02 (PGC 9062), the two galaxies had recently collided with each other in which the elliptical galaxy has penetrated through the spiral galaxy's nucleus leaving a hole in its middle, thus forming a ring galaxy. With a diameter of 1.3 arc minutes, close to 100,000 thousand light-years, they are roughly the same size as the Milky Way.
Both galaxies are listed as Arp145 in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies which was created by Halton Arp. They fall under the category of objects that have emanating material and both classified as galaxies that have ring systems.
References
01840
Andromeda (constellation)
009060
Ring galaxies
Interacting galaxies
+07-06-002
145
Peculiar galaxies
J02231142+4122047 | UGC 1840 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 259 | [
"Andromeda (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
76,700,066 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectangular%20Micro%20QR%20Code | Rectangular Micro QR Code (also known as rMQR Code) is two-dimensional (2D) matrix barcode invented and standardized in 2022 by Denso Wave as ISO/IEC 23941. rMQR Code is designed as a rectangular variation of QR code and has the same parameters and applications as original QR code. But rMQR Code is more suitable for the rectangular areas and has difference between width and height up to 19 in R7x139 version. In this way it can be used in places where 1D barcodes are used. rMQR Code can replace Code 128 and Code 39 barcodes with more effective data encoding.
rMQR Code consists of black squares and white square spaces arranged in a square grid on a white background. It has one finder pattern in left-top corner the same as in QR Code and small finder sub-pattern in right-bottom corner. Also, it has alignment and timing patterns to help with recognition. rMQR Code has Reed–Solomon error correction with ability to restore data from corrupted barcodes. As other 2D matrix barcodes it can be read with camera-based readers.
As original QR code, rMQR Code can encode Unicode characters with Extended Channel Interpretation feature, bytes array and can natively encode Japanese characters in kanji encoding. In maximal R17x139 version rMQR Code can encode up to 361 numeric, 219 alphanumeric, 150 bytes and 92 kanji characters.
History and application
rMQR Code was invented by Denso Wave company in 2022 and standardized as ISO/IEC 23941. It is an extension of QR Code for rectangular areas and designed to be a replacement of 1D barcodes.
rMQR Code is a novel barcode and at this time it not widely used, but it can unite QR Code features like error correction and Unicode encoding and 1D barcodes features like effective usage of rectangular areas. At this time rMQR Code yet is not widely supported by hardware printers and scanners but it is already supported by barcode libraries. In this way rMQR Code can be used in:
Advertisement;
Automatic data identification in document processing;
Automatically identified hyperlinks to internet pages;
Food and goods tracking in retail;
In airports, bus / railroad stations for automatic tickets and passenger documents identification;
Package tracking;
Patient or medicine identification in healthcare services or industry.
Main advantages of rMQR Code are:
Ability to encode Japanese characters with embedded methods;
Effective usage of rectangular areas and full replacement of 1D barcodes.
Encoding GS1 Data;
Extended Channel Interpretation support;
Reed–Solomon error correction with ability to restore data from corrupted barcodes.
Barcode design
Rectangular Micro QR Code is designed for the better utilization of rectangular areas with all features of QR code. The symbology consists of black squares and white square spaces arranged in a square grid on a white background. Additionally, the barcode has inverse version with black background with inverse (luminance) color of elements.
rMQR Code has minimal height of 7X and minimal width of 27X, where maximal height is 17X and maximal width 139X. rMQR Code has 32 versions with different combinations of height and width. Reed–Solomon error correction has two levels and allows to restore from 15% to 30% of corrupted data.
rMQR Code symbol is constructed from the following elements:
Finder pattern on top-left corner with 1X separator on bottom-right space, the same as in QR Code;
Finder sub pattern in bottom-right corner;
Corner finder patterns on top-right and bottom-left barcode sides, width and height variable and maximal can be 3x3;
Alignment patterns, variable count, depends from version width: 0 in R11x27 version, 8 in R11x139 version;
Timing patterns which are used as border around barcode;
Format information region around finder pattern and finder sub pattern;
Data encoding region;
Quiet zone 2X.
Here are some samples of Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR Code):
Versions
Rectangular Micro QR Code can be encoded in 32 versions with height from 7X to 17X and width from 27X to 139X. All versions have two Error correction levels: M and H, which have influence on possible encoded data size and error correction. All of Rectangular Micro QR Code versions and their features can be watched in the following table:
Finder patterns
Rectangular Micro QR Code has three types of finder pattern:
Finder pattern on top-left corner with 1X separator on bottom-right space;
Finder sub pattern in bottom-right corner;
Possible corner finder patterns on top-right and bottom-left barcode corners.
Main finder pattern is used to detect the barcode on image and its corruption can make barcode unrecognizable.
Finder pattern has vertical and horizontal size 1-1-3-1-1. Finder sub pattern helps to detect bottom-right corner of the barcode. Finder sub pattern does not have guard zone and has vertical and horizontal size 1-1-1-1-1.
Corner finder patterns allows to detect top-right and bottom-left corners and in some version of the rMQR Code can be cut or absent. Corner finder pattern looks like corner with white dot in the center with size 3-3.
Alignment and timing patterns
Rectangular Micro QR Code has alignment and timing patterns which help to detect misaligned cells damage. Alignment pattern is represented as black rectangle 3X size rounding 1X white dot. Alignment pattern in some versions can be absent and number of alignment patterns depends from version, up to 8 alignment patterns.
Timing patterns boarding the barcode where area is clean from finder and alignment patterns and additionally split the barcode vertically in the area of alignment patterns.
Format Information
Rectangular Micro QR Code places format information in the area of finder pattern and finder sub pattern. Format information is built as 18-bit sequence containing 6 data bits, 12 error correction bits calculated using the (18, 6) Extended BCH code. Format information is masked with 011111101010110010 sequence which is placed around finder pattern and 100000101001111011 for finder sub pattern.
The first data bit defines error correction level and the second 5 data bits defines version indicator.
Error correction
Rectangular Micro QR Code uses Reed–Solomon error correction and has two error correction levels M and H which can restore around 15 and 30% of damaged barcode area. All data in the barcode is split into error correction blocks (can be from 1 to 4 blocks) and error correction codewords are added to every block. After this, the blocks are united into single stream.
rMQR Code use Reed–Solomon error correction over the finite field or , the elements of which are encoded as bytes of 8 bits; the byte with a standard numerical value encodes the field element where is taken to be a primitive element satisfying . The primitive polynomial is , corresponding to the polynomial number 285, with initial root = 0.
Data masking and placement
Rectangular Micro QR Code places data in the same way as QR code in two-module wide columns commencing at the lower right corner of the symbol and running alternately upwards and downwards from the right to the left.
Before the placement the data is masked with single type of mask (instead of 8 types in QR Code):
, where
i is a row position;
j is a column position.
Codeword sequence as a single bit stream is placed (starting with the most significant bit) in the two-module wide columns alternately upwards and downwards from the right to left of the symbol. In each column the bits are placed alternately in the right and left modules, moving upwards or downwards according to the direction of placement and skipping areas occupied by function patterns, changing direction at the top or bottom of the column. Each bit shall always be placed in the first available module position.
When the data capacity of the symbol is such that it does not divide exactly into a number of 8-bit symbol characters, the appropriate number of remainder bits (1 to 7) shall be used to fill the symbol capacity. These remainder bits shall always have the value 0 before data masking.
Encoding
Rectangular Micro QR Code can encode 361 numeric, 219 alphanumeric, 150 bytes and 92 kanji characters in the maximal version R17x139. Additionally, it allows to encode Unicode data with Extended Channel Interpretation feature and encode GS1 data.
rMQR Code can encode data in 8 modes where 4 modes are data encoding modes and 3 modes are indicator modes, like ECI. Also, every encoding sequence must be completed with special Terminator mode.
rMQR Code usually encodes data in mixed mode which is a combination of existing modes for better compactification or special selectors like ECI designator.
Every compaction mode depends on version to select number of bits which are used as encoded characters (numbers, letters, bytes) counter. The number of bits required for every version can be watched in the following table.
Numeric mode
Rectangular Micro QR Code encodes digits 0–9 in numeric mode. The number sequence is split into 3 digits which converted to 10 bits (000 - 999). Last 2 and 1 numbers are encoded in 7 and 4 bits. rMQR Code in numeric mode encodes 001 as mode indicator, then numbers counter and then numbers sequence converted into bits.
Alphanumeric mode
Rectangular Micro QR Code encodes 2 alphanumeric characters from the table into 11 bits stream with the following formula:
Final character is encoded into 6 bits. rMQR Code in alphanumeric mode encodes 010 as mode indicator, then alphanumeric counter and then bits stream which represents encoded characters.
Byte mode
Rectangular Micro QR Code adds mode indicator 011 and bytes counter (version dependent) before the byte stream, converted into 8-bit sequence.
Kanji mode
Rectangular Micro QR Code encodes characters from 2 bytes JIS X 0208 2-byte character set into 13 bits with the following rules:
For characters with Shift JIS values from 0x8140 to 0x9FFC:
subtract 0x8140 from Shift JIS value;
multiply most significant byte of result by 0xC0;
add least significant byte to product from step 2;
convert result to a 13-bit binary string.
For characters with Shift JIS values from 0xE040 to 0xEBBF:
subtract 0xC140 from Shift JIS value;
multiply most significant byte of result by 0xC0;
add least significant byte to product from step 2;
convert result to a 13-bit binary string.
rMQR Code adds mode indicator 100 and characters counter before the encoded kanji sequence.
Unicode encoding with ECI
Rectangular Micro QR Code encodes Unicode characters with Extended Channel Interpretation. Previously it encodes ECI designator which defines encoding charset. After this, it encodes byte array of Unicode characters encoded into byte stream with mix of numeric-text-byte modes. The default ECI designator is \000003(ISO/IEC 8859-1).
ECI designator is encoded with mode indicator 111 and ECI assignment number which can be encoded in 8, 16 or 24 bits by rules from the following table.
GS1 encoding
Rectangular Micro QR Code can encode GS1 Data with FNC1 in first position. Encoding mode indicator 101 switch the barcode symbol in GS1 Application Identifiers mode. FNC1 cannot be used as split FNC1 character like in Code 128 symbol. Instead of this, % character should be used in alphanumeric mode or GS (0x1D) in byte mode. To encode % character in alphanumeric mode the character should be doubled %% and after decoding it should be transmitted as single % character.
FNC1 in second position
FNC1 in second position at this time has historical value and is not used. It was used to encode (obsolete at this time) mode identifier as first data codeword in Code 128 when FNC1 character is encoded in the second codeword (second position). More detail description you can read in ISO/IEC 15417 Annex B.
Rectangular Micro QR Code encodes FNC1 in second position as mode indicator 111, 8-bit application identifier (AIM, but I am not sure) and any other mode/modes after this.
See also
Automated identification and data capture (AIDC)
Barcode
Denso Wave
Extended Channel Interpretation
QR code
References
External links
Free Rectangular Micro QR Code generator
Free Rectangular Micro QR Code reader
Rectangular Micro QR Code description
Automatic identification and data capture
Barcodes
Encodings
Japanese inventions | Rectangular Micro QR Code | [
"Technology"
] | 2,643 | [
"Data",
"Automatic identification and data capture"
] |
76,700,518 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGC%202812 | UGC 2812 known as Arp 219, are a pair of interacting galaxies located 470 million light-years away in the Eridanus constellation. Both galaxies appeared to be distorted and tangled with each other which suggests their inevitable merging to form an elliptical galaxy. Moreover, they present a near-infrared spectra which could result from starbursts. Both objects are part of Atlas of Peculiar galaxies, where they are categorized under galaxies that have adjacent loops which are a manifestation of structures that were formed by gravitational interactions.
References
Interacting galaxies
Eridanus (constellation)
02812
219
+00-10-009
IRAS catalogue objects
013489
Peculiar galaxies | UGC 2812 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 135 | [
"Eridanus (constellation)",
"Galaxy stubs",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Constellations"
] |
76,700,591 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambiz%20Vafai | Kambiz Vafai is a mechanical engineer, inventor, academic and author. He has taken on the roles of Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of Bourns College of Engineering Online Master-of-Science in Engineering Program at the University of California, Riverside.
Vafai is most known for his pioneering work in phenomenological description, modeling and analysis for single and multiphase transport through porous media. He is a highly ranked scholar on Research.com and ScholarGPS and has been named in Elsevier/Stanford's list of World's Top 2% Scientists multiple times. His publications include journal articles and books such as Porous Media: Applications in Biological Systems and Biotechnology and the Handbook of Porous Media. Additionally, he is the recipient of the 75th Anniversary Medal of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Heat Transfer Division in 2013, the 2006 ASME Memorial Award, and the 2011 International Society of Porous Media (InterPore) Honorary Lifetime Membership Award.
Vafai is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), the World Innovation Foundation, and Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He has taken on the roles of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Porous Media and Special Topics and Reviews in Porous Media, Editor of International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer and has held positions on the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, Numerical Heat Transfer Journal, International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid Flow, Experimental Heat Transfer Journal, and editorial board of the International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow.
Education
Vafai graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1972, and went on to earn a Master of Science in 1977 and a PhD in 1980 from the University of California, Berkeley. Following this, he became a Postdoctoral Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at Harvard University from 1980 to 1981.
Career
Vafai began his academic career as an assistant professor at The Ohio State University in 1981, later becoming associate professor in 1986 and Professor in 1991. In 2000, he joined the University of California, Riverside as a Presidential Chair Professor, and was appointed Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2014.
Vafai took on the position of Director of Bourns College of Engineering Online Master-of-Science in Engineering Program at the University of California, Riverside in 2015.
Vafai provided consulting services to various companies and laboratories and engaged in research collaborations with several countries. He also served as a Principal or Co-principal Investigator and led research projects funded by organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) Aircraft Brake Systems Corporation (ABSC), BFGoodrich, Bell Labs and the Department of Energy (DOE).
Research
Vafai has contributed to the field of mechanical engineering by studying heat and mass transfer and fluid mechanics, particularly focusing on porous media transport, natural convection, condensation, multiphase transport, aircraft brake housing heat transfer, electronic cooling and biomedical applications.
Works
Vafai has published works on the use of porous media and heat transfer, along with many book chapters and symposium volumes across different subjects. He edited the first, second and third editions of the Handbook of Porous Media, which compiled research on heat and mass transfer in porous media, covering topics like applied models, forced convection, and advancements in fundamental and applied research. In related research, his book, Porous Media: Applications in Biological Systems and Biotechnology, explored the applications of biomedical fields, showcasing collaborations among scientists and engineers to address challenges and potential advancements in biological systems.
Porous media
Vafai's research on porous media focused on fluid flow, heat transfer and mass transfer. He pioneered the analysis of fundamental aspects in the study of fluid flow and heat transfer through a saturated porous medium. He also lent to the understanding of non-equilibrium heat and mass transfer in porous media and the thermal interactions between solid and fluid phases. His works included a comprehensive review and simulation of multiphase transport through porous media, where key principles regarding local thermal equilibrium, dimensionality effects, and phase change effects were established.
In a paper that introduced the Vafai number in Physics of Fluids, the Darcy–Bénard convection in a porous medium was examined incorporating phase-lag effects to derive an extended model to gain insights into the transition from local thermal non-equilibrium to equilibrium.
Biomedical applications
Vafai has been engaged in biomedical applications, including the simulation of macromolecule transport through arteries, the study of biofilms, and the utilization of magnetic resonance imaging for early brain stroke detection. He contributed to developing biosensors for biological detection and modeling tissues and organs and introduced a four-layer model for LDL transport in arterial walls, discussing its effectiveness in checking atherosclerosis initiation under different conditions. Additionally, he holds patents for research in initiating control over flow, heat, and mass transfer inside thin film fluidic cells to mitigate flow and thermal disturbances on sensor surfaces. He devised a Rapid Microfluidic Thermal Cycler for Nucleic Acid amplification using a microfluidic heat exchanger and porous medium, alongside a method and system for noninvasive treatment of neurodegenerative disorders through magnetothermal stimulation of neuron cells in the brain.
Vafai led the establishment of a thorough simulation of biofilms incorporating the involved physical issues, investigating biofilm resistance to biocide treatment, considering physical attributes and providing correlations to predict microbial survival. He examined how biofilm formation alters porosity and permeability in porous matrices using multispecies biofilm models and a modified Kozeny-Carman framework, focusing on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and developed a multidimensional, multispecies, heterogeneous biofilm model using balance equations, exploring the effects of changing biofilm surface geometries and porous media conditions. In a paper with Sara Abdelsalam that received an honorable mention for the Bellman Prize-Elsevier (2020–2021), he pointed out the influence of Womersley number and occlusion on flow characteristics in small blood arteries, providing insights into the Segré–Silberberg effect.
Flat-shaped heat pipes and microchannels
Vafai studied heat pipes and microchannels to assess their heat transfer capabilities. His research group has found that flat-shaped heat pipes outperform cylindrical ones, especially in adapting to various geometries, ideal for asymmetrical heating/cooling in electronics and spacecraft where cylindrical pipes struggle with limited heat sources and sink use. He analyzed multichannel heat pipes for the first time and established that flat-shaped heat pipes substantially improve heat dissipation, offer higher heat transfer capabilities, and provide multiple condensate return paths, thus overcoming prospect of a dry out condition crucial for managing high heat transfer applications. Furthermore, he demonstrated that flat-shaped heat pipes create surfaces with minimal temperature variations, eliminating hot spots and ensuring uniform component temperatures, making them valuable for maintaining consistent operating conditions for electronic components. He also came up for the first time with the concept and detailed evaluation of disk-shaped heat pipes which have an even higher heat removal capability.
In a joint study with Lu Zhu, Vafai proposed for the first time, the design and implementation of double and multi-layer microchannels, aiming to alleviate two primary drawbacks of these devices which are high-temperature gradients and the amount of required pumping power.
Buoyancy induced flows
Vafai has conducted research on the interrelationship between Nusselt number oscillations, temperature distribution, fluid flow patterns, and vortex dynamics. He has identified various cell structures within moderate and narrow gap annuli, including the existence of an odd number of cells for the first time, and distinct flow structures and heat transfer characteristics, including spiral vortex secondary flow and transverse vortices, which provide quantitative descriptions of three-dimensional convection patterns and unicellular flow development in buoyancy-induced convection. Looking into buoyancy-driven convection in an open-ended cavity, he underscored the importance of irregular vortex behavior and the limitations of two-dimensional assumptions in transient flow and temperature fields.
Vafai provided a detailed and thorough review of free surface flows with and without the presence of a porous medium through modeling, experimentation, and finite difference and finite element simulations. He collaborated with S.C. Chen to research various aspects of free surface transport phenomena in porous media, including the effects of surface tension, comparative analysis of numerical methods, experimental investigation of transport within hollow glass ampules, and momentum and energy transport. They proposed novel analytical and numerical methods, giving insights for applications such as glass processing and optical fiber production.
Electronic cooling
Vafai and his students and his research scholars have conducted research on the 3D integrated circuit, introducing optimized thermal performance through integrated double-layer microchannels (DLMC) and multi-layer microchannels (MLMC). He assessed key attributes of a 3D integrated chip structure, including critical features such as substrate size, heat sink, device layer, through silicon vias (TSVs), thermal interface material (TIM), and the arrangement of core processors and TSVs. In addition, he conducted in-depth study of the variation of thermal conductivity, total heat dissipation, and power distribution within the device layers and core processors and showed the effects of varying features of the 3D Integrated Circuit (IC) structure on thermal hotspots, along with an optimization route for hotspot reduction.
Vafai has been granted US patents related to the innovative 3D chip cooling, the configuration of a thin film microchannel to result in less coolant flow, and enhanced thin film cooling through flexible complex seals in response to temperature or thermal load increases and electronic cooling. Furthermore, his inventions encompass devices with multi-compartment fluidic cells, flexible seals, and complex seals with closed cavities, aimed at controlling fluid flow rates, enhancing insulation properties, and regulating thermal conditions.
Awards and honors
1999 - Classic Paper Award, ASME Heat Transfer Division
2006 – Heat Transfer Memorial Award, ASME
2011 – Honorary Lifetime Membership Award, International Society of Porous Media (InterPore)
2013 – 75th Anniversary Medal, ASME Heat Transfer Division
Bibliography
Selected books
Porous Media: Applications in Biological Systems and Biotechnology (2010) ISBN 978-1420065411
Handbook of Porous Media, third edition (2015) ISBN 978-1439885543
Heat Transfer Enhancement with Nanofluids (2015) ISBN 978-1482254006
Convective Heat Transfer in Porous Media (2019) ISBN 978-0367030803
The Role of Nanofluids in Renewable Energy Engineering (2023) ISBN 978-3036593821
Selected articles
Vafai, K., & Tien, C. L. (1981). Boundary and inertia effects on flow and heat transfer in porous media. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 24(2), 195–203.
Amiri, A., & Vafai, K. (1994). Analysis of dispersion effects and non-thermal equilibrium, non-Darcian, variable porosity incompressible flow through porous media. International journal of heat and mass transfer, 37(6), 939–954.
Khanafer, K., Vafai, K., & Lightstone, M. (2003). Buoyancy-driven heat transfer enhancement in a two-dimensional enclosure utilizing nanofluids. International journal of heat and mass transfer, 46(19), 3639–3653.
Khaled, A. R., & Vafai, K. (2003). The role of porous media in modeling flow and heat transfer in biological tissues. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 46(26), 4989–5003.
Khanafer, K., & Vafai, K. (2017). A critical synthesis of thermophysical characteristics of nanofluids. In Nanotechnology and energy (pp. 279–332). Jenny Stanford Publishing.
Fazeli, K., & Vafai, K. (2024). Analysis of optimized combined microchannel and heat pipes for electronics cooling. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 219, 1–15.
References
Living people
Mechanical engineers
Inventors
Engineering academics
Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
University of Minnesota alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni
University of California, Riverside faculty
Year of birth missing (living people) | Kambiz Vafai | [
"Engineering"
] | 2,642 | [
"Mechanical engineers",
"Mechanical engineering"
] |
76,700,902 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC%203505 | IC 3505 is a barred spiral galaxy located 640 million light-years away from the Solar System in the Coma Berenices constellation. With an apparent size of 0.95 by 0.35 arcmin, IC 3505 has an estimated diameter of 170,000 light-years, making it slightly larger compared to the Milky Way. It is categorized as a LINER galaxy with an active galactic nucleus emitting weak emission-lines.
IC 3505 was discovered by Royal Harwood Frost on May 7, 1904. According to Frost when he saw the object for the first time, he listed it as a type SBc at right ascension "12 34 10.3" and declination "+15 58 07". Despite being listed in the Virgo Cluster catalogue as VCC 1542, it is not part of the Virgo Cluster but a background galaxy.
Two supernovae have been discovered in IC 3505. SN 2019iaz (Type Ia, mag: 19.6) was discovered on June 21, 2019, by C. Fremling from Caltech on behalf on Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and AT 2023gpz (unknown, mag: 20.2) which was discovered by K. De (also from ZTF) on April 21, 2023.
References
3505
Coma Berenices
Barred spiral galaxies
041792
041792
+03-32-070
IRAS catalogue objects
J12341031+1558058
Astronomical objects discovered in 1904
Discoveries by Royal Harwood Frost | IC 3505 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 315 | [
"Coma Berenices",
"Constellations"
] |
76,701,158 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%203445 | NGC 3445 is a Magellanic spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 75 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 3445 is approximately 35,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 8, 1793.
Characteristics
The galaxy is included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in the one-armed spiral galaxies category. The galaxy has a thick arm pattern with many HII regions. A large spiral arm is visible at the south part of the galaxy while a weaker one is visible in infrared at the north. Radio emission is observed along the arms. At the end of the main spiral arm there is a smaller galaxy, lying 1.2 arcminutes from the nucleus of NGC 3445, connected with a weak bridge.
In the infrared are visible four bright locations of active star formation. The brightest of these infrared knots hosts five young massive star clusters, all being formed by a single giant molecular cloud. The age of the clusters was determined to be 3 to 5 million years and their mass to be around . Another large star cluster lies at the nucleus of the galaxy and could be in the process of forming a bulge. The total star formation rate of the galaxy is estimated to be around 1 per year. The star formation as well as the shape of the galaxy could be the result of interaction with other galaxies.
Nearby galaxies
NGC 3445 forms a triplet with NGC 3440, which lies 9.9 arcminutes away, and NGC 3458, which lies 14 arcminutes away. These galaxies comprise the LGG 226 group. It belongs to the same galaxy cloud as NGC 3610.
References
External links
Intermediate spiral galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Starburst galaxies
Ursa Major
3445
06021
024
+10-16-023
32772
Discoveries by William Herschel
Astronomical objects discovered in 1793
Peculiar galaxies
Magellanic spiral galaxies | NGC 3445 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 398 | [
"Ursa Major",
"Constellations"
] |
76,701,213 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political%20Declaration%20on%20Responsible%20Military%20Use%20of%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20and%20Autonomy | The Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy is an international norms and arms control proposal by the U.S. government for artificial intelligence in the military.
It was announced at the Summit on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain by Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control. As of January 2024, fifty-one countries have signed the declaration. The US government sees it as an extension of the Department of Defense Directive 3000.09 which is the current US policy on autonomous weapons.
It covers areas such as Lethal autonomous weapons and weapons decision-making.
References
International law
Regulation of artificial intelligence | Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy | [
"Technology"
] | 125 | [
"Computing and society",
"Regulation of artificial intelligence"
] |
76,701,484 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGC%203730 | UGC 3730 or Arp 141 is a ring galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. The galaxy lies about 130 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that UGC 3730 is approximately 110,000 light years across. The galaxy is included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in the elliptical galaxies emanating material category.
UGC 3730 has been the result of galaxy interaction. The interaction has led one galaxy to turn into an asymmetric ring. The companion, a lenticular galaxy, lies along the major axis of the ring and it is estimated to have a larger mass than the ring galaxy. The nucleus of the ring galaxy lies between the ring and companion galaxy. Emission has been observed in the interior of the ring as well as between the ring galaxy and the companion galaxy and stars have been tidally stripped from the ring galaxy. The star formation rate of the ring galaxy is estimated to be 0.26 per year. The total stellar mass of the galaxy is estimated to be and the total gas mass to be .
UGC 3730 forms a pair with UGC 3705 which lies 9.4 arcminutes away. Both galaxies are part of the LGG 141 galaxy group, which also includes UGC 3697, UGC 3714, UGC 3804, UGC 3838, UGC 3878, UGC 3626, UGC 3644, and UGC 3701.
References
External links
Ring galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Camelopardalis
03730
141
20460 | UGC 3730 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 322 | [
"Camelopardalis",
"Constellations"
] |
76,701,540 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi%20Jewish%20intelligence | Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence, often colloquially referred to as "Jewish genius", is the stereotype that Ashkenazi Jews tend to have a higher intelligence than other ethnic groups.
Background
Measures of intelligence often exhibit cultural bias.
In response to controversy sparked by the publication of The Bell Curve in 1994, a 1995 task force by the American Psychological Association found that racial and ethnic groups often have just as much or more variability of intelligence test performance within groups than between groups.
Over the course of subsequent decades, a consensus has emerged in the scientific community that ethnic or racial differences in average intelligence test performance are not due to genetic differences between these groups. Growing evidence indicates that sociocultural factors explain such differences.
Analysis
Jewish success in many intellectual fields often prompts the stereotype. Many who argue for Jewish intelligence have pointed out the List of Jewish Nobel laureates amassing 22% of Nobel Prizes across all scientific categories while Jewish people comprise only 0.2% of global population at roughly 14 million people. Even a small increase in average IQ would represent significant representation of outliers. One psychologist, commenting on the state of research, says "it is fair to say that most, though not all, studies give Ashkenazi descendants a higher IQ than non-Jewish whites", but argues that the effect size remains contentious and unknown. Many studies in the literature are often done by disreputable researchers, which may make assessing the size of difference difficult.
Selected studies
A 2004 paper by self-professed "scientific racist" Richard Lynn reported that American Jews obtained significantly higher verbal IQ scores than the average white gentile, and even higher scores compared to black peoples.
Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence
In 2006, a controversial paper titled "Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence" proposed a biological basis for Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence. The paper was authored by Gregory Cochran, Jason Hardy and Henry Harpending; who have been linked to theories described as "scientific racism". The authors hypothesize that Ashkenazi Jews as a group inherit higher verbal and mathematical intelligence on the basis of inherited diseases, selective pressure from the peculiar economic situation of Ashkenazi Jews in the Middle Ages, and supposed lack of intermarriage with outside groups. This paper suggested that the average IQ score of Ashkenazi Jews fall in a range of 108–115 under some studies, which would be significantly higher than that of any other ethnic group in the world. The paper received widespread coverage in media.
The paper attracted significant criticism and controversy. Steven Pinker described the paper's central theory as "tentative", stating that it "could turn out to be mistaken" and cautioning that "any characterization of Jews in biological terms smacks of Nazi pseudoscience". David Reich has argued that contrary to selective pressure theory, some of the inherited diseases that Ashkenazi Jews suffer may be more likely due to genetic drift. Adam Rutherford argues that some of these diseases may have been commonplace during the Middle Ages, and that genetic studies may indicate the bottleneck that caused the accumulation of disease occurred before the Medieval period. Sander Gilman has argued it is problematic to paint Jews with tropes of being physically enfeebled geniuses, with the idea of hereditary illnesses in Ashkenazi Jews being due to consanguinity, having been previously suggested by 19th century French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot.
Bret Stephens cited the study in a New York Times op-ed, suggesting that Jewish genius is innate to culture instead of biology, which later led to an editor's note apologizing for referencing the study at all. Adam Shapiro has argued that while praising Jewish genius may seem to combat antisemitism, Stephens was actually attempting to co-opt White supremacy ideals by using race science. Shapiro and other commentators also argue that using intelligence tests to divide and describe specific ethnic groups, even when to prove superiority of one group, is still linked to eugenics.
2019 polygenic score paper
A controversial 2019 paper by Dunkel et al. suggested that a Jewish sample had polygenic scores for higher educational attainment and cognitive ability than other religious groups. Political scientist Evan Charney argued that this paper displays methodological flaws similar to early candidate gene studies.
According to Panofsky et al., purported indicators of a Jewish genotypic advantage predict average IQ scores "four standard deviations above non-Jews" rather than the "slightly above average" results actually observed, which they argue shows the limitations of such purported indicators. Jordan et al. say that the relatively invariant nature of polygenic scores cannot account for changes in Jewish intellectual achievement over time.
Sociological explanations
Bret Stephens has opined in The New York Times that the intellectual rigor of religious studies, especially in the context of constant upheaval, has allowed intellectual flexibility. Malcolm Gladwell similarly argues in Outliers that the rigorous Talmud schools may foster intellectualism and perseverance in Jewish students. Cochran et al. say that Sephardic and Oriental Jews "do not have high average IQ test scores" compared to Ashkenazi, arguing that any theory of Ashkenazi intelligence must explain why this is.
Criticism
Some have argued that the elevation of Jewish intelligence based on both biology or sociology may feed into model minority myths that harm both Jewish and black peoples. Matt Yglesias has written that the idea is used to legitimise scientific racism, including that the idea that Black people in particular are genetically inferior.
Sander Gilman has argued that racializing intelligence is particularly problematic for Jews as it may feed into multiple antisemitic tropes and other categorization of a vast group of people. Gilman also argued that pointing out identity when attributing success is only helpful for tribalism, and does nothing to point out social situations that allow such success to occur. Gilman also says that implicit assumptions of Jewish intelligence may help fuel fear and common stereotypes of Jews controlling higher professions such as law.
See also
Ashkenormativity
Philosemitism
Racism in Jewish communities
References
Further reading
Sander Gilman Smart Jews: The Construction of the Image of Jewish Superior Intelligence, University of Nebraska Press 1997
Notes
Ashkenazi Jews topics
Race and intelligence controversy
Philosemitism
Scientific racism
White supremacy | Ashkenazi Jewish intelligence | [
"Biology"
] | 1,264 | [
"Biology theories",
"Obsolete biology theories",
"Scientific racism"
] |
76,701,549 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC%20831 | IC 831 is a type E-S0 elliptical galaxy located 300 million light-years away from the Solar System in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It is estimated to be 60,000 light-years in diameter and was first discovered on 25 February 1892 by Rudolf Spitaler, an Austrian astronomer. It is not known whether it has an active galactic nucleus.
Supernova
Type Ia supernova, iPTF14atg was discovered in IC 831 on May 3, 2015, which was similar to SN 2002es that exploded prior to that, in UGC 2708, a lenticular galaxy. The progenitor type was a white dwarf, in which when it exploded, some of the shockwaves impacted its companion star. It was discovered by Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory in California.
References
0831
Elliptical galaxies
Coma Berenices
043708
043708
Astronomical objects discovered in 1892
J12524408+2628135
+05-30-113 | IC 831 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 204 | [
"Coma Berenices",
"Constellations"
] |
76,701,812 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%207828 | NGC 7828 is a peculiar galaxy in the constellation Cetus. The galaxy lies about 300 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 7828 is approximately 75,000 light years across. It was discovered by American astronomer Francis Leavenworth in 1886. NGC 7828 forms a pair with its neighbor NGC 7829. The galaxy is included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in the elliptical galaxies emanating material category as Arp 144.
NGC 7828 is interacting with NGC 7829, lying about 30 arcseconds from its nucleus. The interaction of the two galaxies, which have similar mass, has led to the creation of an empty ring in NGC 7828. The nucleus of NGC 7828 is obscured in visual light, but it is more visible in the infrared. The ring appears to be partial in H-alpha. The star formation rate of the ring galaxy is estimated to be 6.86 per year. The two galaxies are surrounded by a neutral hydrogen gas cloud extending to the southeast for 6 arcminutes and 3 arcminutes to the west.
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 7828, AT2018ewx and SN 2021ocs. SN 2021ocs was a type Ic supernova discovered around maximum magnitude. Its spectrum was unusual, being dominated by oxygen and magnesium emission lines. It was discovered on May 30, 2021, by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) astronomical survey and had an apparent magnitude of 17.7.
See also
Interacting galaxy
List of NGC objects (7001–7840)
Lists of galaxies
References
External links
NGC 7828 at SIMBAD
Ring galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Cetus
7828
144
-02-01-025
00483
Discoveries by Francis Leavenworth
Astronomical objects discovered in 1886
00038-1341 | NGC 7828 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 382 | [
"Cetus",
"Constellations"
] |
76,701,947 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%207829 | NGC 7829 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Cetus. NGC 7829 was discovered by American astronomer Francis Leavenworth in 1886. NGC 7829 forms with its neighbor NGC 7828 a pair of gravitationally interacting galaxies. The pair appears in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 144.
See also
Interacting galaxy
List of NGC objects (7001–7840)
External links
NGC 7829 at SIMBAD
References
Lenticular galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Cetus
7829
144
Discoveries by Francis Leavenworth
Astronomical objects discovered in 1886
00488
J00062900-1325140
Peculiar galaxies | NGC 7829 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 128 | [
"Cetus",
"Constellations"
] |
76,702,005 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sludge%20theory | Sludge in behavioral economics refers to any form of design, administrative, or policy-related friction that systematically impedes individuals' actions or decisions. It encompasses a range of frictions such as complex forms, hidden fees, and manipulative defaults that increase the effort, time, or cost required to make a choice, often benefiting the designer at the expense of the user's interest.
The concept of sludge highlights the importance of transparent and user-friendly design in promoting welfare, efficiency, and equity in decision-making processes.
Sludge was popularized by behavioral economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein. They introduced it as the "dark cousin" of nudging in their book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.
See also
Nudge theory
References
Behavioral economics | Sludge theory | [
"Biology"
] | 165 | [
"Behavior",
"Behavioral economics",
"Behaviorism"
] |
76,702,336 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%205278 | NGC 5278 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1789.
NGC 5278 is in gravitational interaction with the galaxy NGC 5279. This pair of galaxies appears in the Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies under the symbol Arp 239. The luminosity class of NGC 5278 is II. The nucleus of this galaxy presents a burst of star formation (SBNG starburst nucleus galaxies) and it is an active Seyfert 2 type galaxy. In addition, NGC 5278 is possibly a LINER galaxy, a galaxy whose nucleus presents an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms. NGC 5278 is also a galaxy whose core shines in the ultraviolet spectrum. It is listed in the Markarian catalog under the reference Mrk 271 (MK 271).
Supernovae
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 5278: SN2001ai (typeIc, mag. 17.6) and SN2019cec (typeII, mag. 18.26a).
See also
List of NGC objects (5001–6000)
New General Catalogue
References
External links
NGC 5278 at SIMBAD
NGC 5278 at LEDA
Spiral galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Ursa Major
Discoveries by William Herschel
Astronomical objects discovered in 1789
5278
08677
Markarian galaxies
239
048473
Peculiar galaxies
+09-22-101 | NGC 5278 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 306 | [
"Ursa Major",
"Constellations"
] |
76,702,542 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%205279 | NGC 5279 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1789. NGC 5279 is in gravitational interaction with the galaxy NGC 5278. This pair of galaxies appears in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies under the designation Arp 239. The luminosity class of NGC 5279 is I1. NGC 5279 is a galaxy whose core shines in the ultraviolet region. It is listed in the Markarian catalog under the designation Mrk 271 (MK 271).
NGC 5278 Group
According to Abraham Mahtessian, NGC 5278 and UGC 8671 form a pair of galaxies. Mahtessian further mentions that NGC 5278 and NGC 5279 form a pair of galaxies. In reality, these galaxies therefore form a trio of galaxies, the group of NGC 5278. The other galaxy in the same region of the celestial sphere is PGC 48439. With a radial speed of 11,939 km/s, this galaxy is almost two times further away than the members of this trio.
See also
List of NGC objects (5001–6000)
Lists of galaxies
Astrophysics
References
External links
NGC 5279 at NASA/IPAC
NGC 5279 at SIMBAD
Ursa Major
5279
239
Spiral galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Astronomical objects discovered in 1789
Discoveries by William Herschel
Interacting galaxies | NGC 5279 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 295 | [
"Ursa Major",
"Constellations"
] |
76,702,848 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%203995 | NGC 3995 is a Magellanic spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 100 million light years away from Earth based on the Tully–Fisher relation, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 3995 is approximately 80,000 light years across, while based on redshift it lies 170 million light years away. It was discovered by Heinrich d'Arrest on February 5, 1864.
NGC 3995 forms a triplet of galaxies with NGC 3994, which lies 1.9 arcminutes, and NGC 3991, which lies 3.7 arcminutes away. The triplet has been included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 313. Both NGC 3995 and NGC 3991 have disturbed appearances while NGC 3994 does not. The triplet is part of the NGC 3966 Group or LGG 259. Other members include NGC 3966, NGC 3935, NGC 3986, IC 2973, UGC 6892, IC 2978, and IC 2979.
The star formation rate of NGC 3995 is estimated to be per year, with higher rates observed near the centre of the galaxy. The nucleus of the galaxy has emission that resembles an HII region. The spectrum of the galaxy has Wolf-Rayet features, indicative of recent star formation. Hubble Space Telescope detected 46 star formation knots in the galaxy, most of them having ages less than 20 million years.
Supernovae
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 3995:
SN 1988ac (type unknown, mag. 16.5) was discovered by Michael Richmond on 30 December 1988.
SN 2000ez (type II supernova, mag. 16.8) was discovered by Mark Armstrong on 24 November 2000.
See also
List of NGC objects (3001–4000)
References
External links
Unbarred spiral galaxies
Magellanic spiral galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Ursa Major
3995
06944
313
+06-26-061
037624
Discoveries by Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
Astronomical objects discovered in 1864 | NGC 3995 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 436 | [
"Ursa Major",
"Constellations"
] |
76,703,569 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%203994 | NGC 3994 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 160 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 3994 is approximately 70,000 light years across. It was discovered by Heinrich d'Arrest on April 6, 1864.
NGC 3994 forms a triplet of galaxies with NGC 3995, which lies 1.9 arcminutes, and NGC 3991, which lies 3.7 arcminutes away. The triplet has been included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 313. Both NGC 3995 and NGC 3991 have a disturbed appearance while NGC 3994 does not. The triplet is part of the NGC 3966 Group or LGG 259. Other members include NGC 3966, NGC 3935, NGC 3986, IC 2973, UGC 6892, IC 2978, and IC 2979.
The nucleus of the galaxy has been found to be active, and based on its spectral lines it is a composite object with LINER and HII region characteristics. The nucleus lacks central ultraviolet emission when observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Star formation knots are visible along the spiral arms, most of them with ages less than 20 million years, with no correlation between location and age. The star formation rate of NGC 3995 is estimated to be per year, with higher rates observed near the centre of the galaxy.
References
External links
Unbarred spiral galaxies
Interacting galaxies
Peculiar galaxies
Ursa Major
3994
06946
313
+06-26-059
37616
Discoveries by Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
Astronomical objects discovered in 1864 | NGC 3994 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 351 | [
"Ursa Major",
"Constellations"
] |
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