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70,810,630 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure%20field%20map | Structure field maps (SFMs) or structure maps are visualizations of the relationship between ionic radii and crystal structures for representing classes of materials. The SFM and its extensions has found broad applications in geochemistry, mineralogy, chemical synthesis of materials, and nowadays in materials informatics.
History
The intuitive concept of the SFMs led to different versions of the visualization method established in different domains of materials science.
Structure field map was first introduced in 1954 by MacKenzie L. Keith and Rustum Roy to classify structural prototypes for the oxide perovskites of the chemical formula ABO3. It was later popularized by a compiled handbook written by Olaf Muller and Rustum Roy, published in 1974 that included many more known materials.
Examples
A structure field map is typically two-dimensional, although higher dimensional versions are feasible. The axes in an SFM are the ionic sequences. For example, in oxide perovskites ABO3, where A and B represent two metallic cations, the two axes are ionic radii of the A-site and B-site cations. SFMs are constructed according to the oxidation states of the constituent cations. For perovskites of the type ABO3, three ways of cation pairings exist: A3+B3+O3, A2+B4+O3, and A1+B5+O3, therefore, three different SFMs exist for each pairs of cation oxidation states.
See also
Goldschmidt tolerance factor
Ramachandran plot
References
Materials science
Crystallography
Scientific visualization
Inorganic chemistry
Mineralogy concepts | Structure field map | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 326 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Materials science",
"Crystallography",
"Condensed matter physics",
"nan"
] |
70,810,712 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V669%20Cassiopeiae | V669 Cassiopeiae or V669 Cas is an OH/IR star, a type of particularly cool red giant, with a spectral type of M9III.
With a mean visual apparent magnitude 17.5, V669 Cassiopeiae varies with an amplitude of about half a magnitude. In the mid-infrared L band, its magnitude range is 1.57 to 3.02. It is listed as a possible Mira variable, but with the extremely long period of 1,994 days.
Jan Herman and Harm Jan Habing reported in 1985 that the star's OH maser emission varied in intensity with a 1994 day period. In 1990, Paolo Persi et al. showed that V669 Cassiopeiae varied in infrared brightness, and for that reason it was given its variable star designation in 1993.
The distance and physical properties of V669 Cassiopeiae are highly uncertain. Based on parallax, it is about 1,600 light years away, but a distance of about 20,000 light years has been derived based on observations of masers around the star. Based on a luminosity derived from its pulsations and spectral energy distribution, it would be at a distance of 6,850 light years.
See also
List of largest known stars
References
Cassiopeia (constellation)
Cassiopeiae, V669
Mira variables
M-type giants | V669 Cassiopeiae | [
"Astronomy"
] | 287 | [
"Cassiopeia (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
70,811,305 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleimia | Gleimia is a genus of bacteria from the family of Actinomycetaceae.
References
Actinomycetales
Bacteria genera
Taxa described in 2018 | Gleimia | [
"Biology"
] | 34 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
70,811,442 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauljensenia%20hongkongensis | Pauljensenia hongkongensis is a Gram-positive, strictly anaerobic and non-spore-forming species of bacteria from the family Actinomycetaceae.
References
Actinomycetales
Monotypic bacteria genera
Bacteria described in 2018 | Pauljensenia hongkongensis | [
"Biology"
] | 54 | [
"Bacteria stubs",
"Bacteria"
] |
70,811,597 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angustmycin%20A | Angustmycin A is a purine antibiotic and metabolite from Streptomyces bacteria with the molecular formula C11H13N5O4. Angustmycin A is also a cytokinin.
References
Further reading
cytokinins
Antibiotics
Purines | Angustmycin A | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 61 | [
"Biotechnology products",
"Organic compounds",
"Antibiotics",
"Biocides",
"Organic compound stubs",
"Organic chemistry stubs"
] |
70,811,730 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endophenazine%20A | Endophenazine A is a phenazine derivative with the molecular formula C18H16N2O2 which is produced by the bacterium Streptomyces anulatus.
References
Further reading
Endophenazine A
Carboxylic acids | Endophenazine A | [
"Chemistry"
] | 55 | [
"Carboxylic acids",
"Functional groups",
"Organic compounds",
"Organic compound stubs",
"Organic chemistry stubs"
] |
70,812,248 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandni%20Chowk%2C%20Kolkata | Chandni Chowk is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is famous for its old and cheap market of computer software products and hardwares, and had been listed as a notorious market in 2009 and 2010 by the USTR for selling counterfeit software, media and goods.
History
Chandni Chowk which is an economical hub and marketplace in North Kolkata, existed as early as 1784. A. Upjohn's map of 1784 of Calcutta describes it as "Chandney Choke Bazar", "Chandney Bazaar ka rastah", "Chandnee Choke" or "Goreeamar Lane". Kolkata Municipal Corporation records show that before 1937, that one of the lanes were called Guriama Lane in local. In February 1937, the name was officially changed to Chandney Approach. In 1938, again it was renamed aas Chandni Chowk Street. It was speculated the name was given after Delhi’s Chandni Chowk as a symbol of acknowledgement for the Mughals whose capital was at Delhi at that time.
W.H. Carey speculates that the name came from the canopies or the semi-permanent roofs (chadna, in Bengali) above shops that had sprung up over the years. The market existed in 19th century. R.J. Minney's "Round about Calcutta" (1922) says that Chandni Chowk contained garment markets, cycle shops, camera shops, pigeon stalls for cigarettes and sherbet. Hawkers and shopkeepers with semi-permanent structures continue to occupy every square inch of the space. In 1907, KMC bought land to widen Chandney Chowk Streets, but that did not help passersby.
In October 1994, Chandni Chowk came under metro corridor as the stretch from Esplanade to Chandni Chowk was authorised for construction.
Market
Chandni Chowk is known for it being the oldest and biggest software and hardware market in West Bengal. Multiple technology companies had their main offices and service centres in Chandni Chowk due to its cheap and nearest facilities.
Transport
Central Ave, which is one the main road connectors between South and North Calcutta, passes through Chandni Chowk. Also Lenin Sarani of Kolkata road passes through Chandni Chowk which connects it directly to Sealdah. Chandni Chowk metro station and Esplanade metro station are nearest metro stations of the North South metro corridor. Esplanade serves also as metro station of the East West metro corridor of Kolkata.
See also
Bidhan Sarani
Boubazar
College Street
Dharmatala
References
Neighbourhoods in Kolkata
Notorious markets
High-technology business districts in India
Information technology places
Information technology in India
Electronics districts
Electronics industry in India | Chandni Chowk, Kolkata | [
"Technology"
] | 571 | [
"Information technology",
"Information technology places"
] |
70,812,295 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX71743 | ADX71743 is a drug which acts as a potent and selective negative allosteric modulator of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 7. Few selective ligands are available for this receptor, and so ADX71743 has played an important role into scientific research into the role of this receptor in various processes such as memory formation, nociception, absence seizures and psychosis.
References
MGlu7 receptor antagonists
Benzoxazoles
Ketones
Glutamate receptor negative allosteric modulators | ADX71743 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 111 | [
"Ketones",
"Functional groups"
] |
70,812,668 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celler%20Perelada | Celler Perelada is a winery building in Peralada.
Building and design
The Celler Perelada project was undertaken by family Suqué Mateu at a price of 40 million €. with standards aimed at achieving the improvement of the quality of its wines, returning to traditional systems. The winery was designed and building activities supervised by Rafael Aranda of RCR Arquitectes, recipients of the Pritzker Prize 2017. The ground-breaking ceremony took place in 2016 and the first vintage was in 2020. Taking advantage of the unevenness of the land, it is half-buried up to 20 metres, which favours energy saving. The deep foundation of the winery allows interaction with geothermal layers. The building has 538 supports at a depth of between 8 and 20 metres, 331 of which are used as heat exchangers with the ground to reduce the consumption of heating, cooling and hot water, thus minimising energy consumption, resulting in a saving of around 37 %. Water consumption is reduced both inside the building through the combination of efficient taps and rainwater, and outside through an efficient irrigation system and the use of rainwater for gardening.
Floor space is 18,200 square meter and provides a production capacity of over two million bottles per vintage.
References
Catalan wine
Sustainable building
Companies based in Catalonia
Wineries of Spain | Celler Perelada | [
"Engineering"
] | 270 | [
"Construction",
"Sustainable building",
"Building engineering"
] |
70,813,113 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship%20of%20Clonmacnoise | The airship of Clonmacnoise is the subject of a historical anecdote related in numerous medieval sources. Though the original report, in the Irish annals, simply mentioned an apparition of ships with their crews in the sky over Ireland in the 740s, later accounts through the Middle Ages progressively expanded on this with picturesque details. First the ships were reduced to one ship over Teltown from which a crewman threw and then recovered a fishing-spear. Then the scene shifted to the abbey of Clonmacnoise, and later to Britain, and the fishing-spear was changed to an anchor which snagged on some feature of a church. The sailor who climbed down to release it was also said to be in danger of drowning in the thicker air of this lower world. The story was retold by Seamus Heaney in a well-known poem collected in his 1991 volume, Seeing Things.
Origins
Several sets of Irish annals, those of Ulster, Tigernach, Clonmacnoise, and the Four Masters, all briefly mention a strange apparition; the Ulster Annals, for example, simply say that "ships with their crews were seen in the air". Though the annals differ as to the precise date, whether it was in 743, 744 or 748/9, they are nevertheless considered to be an early, if possibly second- or third-hand, description of the same event, an occurrence considered remarkable enough to be recorded. Naturally, the precise nature of these supposed ships cannot now be proved, though they have been variously interpreted as an unusual cloud-formation (such as the ship-shaped cloud recorded to have been seen by the 13th-century monks of St. Albans), a display of aurora borealis, or, by many ufologists, as evidence of an alien visitation. Most recently, it has been explained as an ocean mirage, a phenomenon which can make ships at sea appear to be above the horizon.
Evolution of the legend
The story is repeated in the Book of Leinster as part of an account of events at the Teltown assembly: "Another wonder of the same assembly: seeing three ships voyaging in the air above them, when the men of Ireland were celebrating the assembly with Domnall son of Murchad", who reigned from 743 to 763. New details are given by an account in the Book of Ballymote. The ship (rather than ships) still appears at the Teltown fair assembly, but this time in the presence of the 10th-century king Congalach mac Maelmithig, and we are told that one of the crew threw a dart at a salmon, which fell among those gathered there. A man came down to retrieve the dart, but when one of those on the ground held on to it the stranger cried, "I am being drowned". Congalach ordered that the man be let alone, and he returned to the ship, swimming.
Patrick, a late-11th century bishop of Dublin, gives a Latin verse account of the story which closely parallels that in the Book of Ballymote, though leaving out the intervention of Congalach and the man on the ground.
A further development becomes evident in a version of the story preserved in Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Adv. MS 72.1.26. The manuscript is 15th or 16th century, but the text is not so easily dateable: Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson considered it perhaps 14th or 15th century, while John Carey assigned it to the later Middle Irish period, which ended c. 1200. The locale is moved from Teltown to the church at Clonmacnoise, and instead of a fishing-spear it is an anchor that is dropped. The priests seize it, but a man comes swimming down, and when the priests hold on to the anchor he protests that he is drowning. Then he swims back to the ship with his anchor.
The anchor form of the story spread outside Ireland, and can be found both in the chronicle of the late-12th century French abbot Geoffroy du Breuil, where the anchor is supposedly dropped onto London in 1122, and in Gervase of Tilbury's Otia Imperialia (completed c. 1211). Gervase tells us that, when leaving their local church somewhere in Britain one dark and cloudy day, parishioners saw a ship's anchor embedded in a heap of stones in the churchyard and a rope leading down to it from above. He continues:
He ends by telling us that fittings for the church door, made from the anchor, can still be seen there.
Finally, one more medieval retelling is found in the Old Norse Konungs skuggsjá or Speculum regale, a mid-13th century work.
Sources and analogues
The details with which the original story in the annals were progressively embellished appealed to the medieval, and especially medieval Irish, love of miracles, marvels, and inversions of reality. The Celticist Proinsias Mac Cana instanced other Irish stories which, like the airship legend, explore "the relationship between the natural and the supernatural, between this and the other world, together with the ambiguities and relativities of time and space which were implicit in their interaction". These include the meeting of Bran in his ship with Manannán mac Lir in his flying chariot, when Manannán said that what is sea to humans is land to gods. Also the story of Máel Dúin flying his ship "like a cloud" over fields and forests. Flying ships or boats, emblematic of the Church, sailing towards heaven are a motif found on several medieval Irish carved crosses, some dating from as early as the 8th century. The trope of fouling and recovering an anchor in a monastery occurs also in a story referenced in a gloss on an early Irish hymn, "Ní car Brigit buadach bith"; in this story the anchor belongs to an ordinary seagoing ship and the monastery lies at the bottom of the Sea of Wight. John Carey believed this anecdote had been appropriated by the monks of Clonmacnoise and added to their version of the airship legend.
The Merkel incident
During 1896 and 1897, there were many reports across the United States of mysterious airships (then an invention then at an experimental stage of development) seen in the sky, some being vouched for by apparently reliable sources while others were clearly hoaxes. One account, printed in the Houston Post for 28 April 1897, told of churchgoers in Merkel, Texas returning home by night who came across a rope and anchor being dragged across country until it finally snagged on a railway line. The rope, they saw, was attached to an airship with lights shining from its windows. A man climbed down the rope, cut it below him, and was carried away with the airship. The anchor, concludes the report, can now be seen in the local blacksmith's shop. The whole report contains enough similarities to the various versions of the Clonmacnoise story to demonstrate a link, including the returning churchgoers and poor light conditions described by the Otia Imperialia (but not the Speculum Regale), and the display of the anchor and escape of the aeronaut described by the Speculum Regale (but not the Otia Imperialia). Altogether, the precise source of this story and the way in which it reached Texas are not obvious.
Seamus Heaney poem
Seamus Heaney apparently first came across the Clonmacnoise story in a 1983 academic paper by Andrew Foley, and seventeen years later said that he had been entranced by it ever since, seeing it as
His 1991 poetry collection Seeing Things includes a sequence of 12-line poems called "Lightenings". The untitled eighth poem in this sequence, consisting of four three-line stanzas, outlines a new version of the story in which the anchor attaches itself to the church's altar, the sailor who climbs down fails to release it but the monks do so, and the sailor climbs back "out of the marvellous as he had known it". Heaney has variously said that his poem is "about the way consciousness can be alive to two different and contradictory dimensions of reality and still find a way of negotiating between them", and that "It's about the negotiation that goes on in everybody's life between what is envisaged and what is endured – between the dream up there and the doings down here...I think it's about poetry". When Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 this poem was cited by the Swedish Academy as "a crystallisation of much of Heaney's imaginative world: history and sensuality, myths and the day-to-day – all articulated in Heaney's rich language".
Heaney's retelling of the medieval story has itself inspired other artworks. It is the starting-point of Moira Linehan's poem "Against Pilgrimage". It is also the subject of the Peter Sís tapestry Out of the Marvellous, unveiled at Dublin Airport in 2014, which depicts a figure in a tiny ship in the sky which is supported by leaves of paper bearing lines from the poem.
Notes
References
8th century in Ireland
Apparitions
Atmospheric optical phenomena
Irish legends
Legendary ships
Poetry by Seamus Heaney
Supernatural legends
UFO sightings in Europe | Airship of Clonmacnoise | [
"Physics"
] | 1,935 | [
"Optical phenomena",
"Physical phenomena",
"Atmospheric optical phenomena",
"Earth phenomena"
] |
70,816,124 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LF%20Energy | Linux Foundation Energy (known as LF Energy) is an initiative launched by the US-based Linux Foundation in 2018 to improve the power grid. Its aim is to spur the uptake of digital technologies within the electricity sector and adjoining sectors using open source software and practices, with a key application being the smarter grid.
History
LF Energy was formed in 2018. The organization was founded by Shuli Goodman, who served as its executive director. RTE supported the creation of LF Energy since early 2018 and became its first Strategic Member. LF Energy is an umbrella organization that includes energy companies such as Alliander and RTE. Energy company executives such as Arjan Stam (Director of System Operations at Alliander) and Lucian Balea (Director of Open Source) have joined LF Energy as governing board members. LF Energy helped develop Alliander's open source program offices after Alliander joined the organization in 2019.
The organization formally launched in May 2019.
LF Energy launched the open industrial IoT platform GXF (Grid eXchange Fabric) in collaboration with Alliander in February 2020.
LF Energy partnered with GE Renewable Energy, Schneider Electric, National Grid, and RTE (Réseau de Transport d'Électricité) to launch the Digital Substation Automation Systems (DSAS) initiative and the related Configuration Modules for Power Industry Automation Systems (CoMPAS) project in 2020. The DSAS initiative aims to use open-source technology to convert electrical substations into digital substations to accelerate progress towards achieving carbon neutrality. In like manner, CoMPAS provided software modules for automation systems in the power industry.
In 2020, LF Energy launched the second DSAS open-source project SEAPATH, which provided a platform for virtualized automation for power grids and substations.
In 2021, LF Energy collaborated with Sony Computer Science Laboratory on the microgrid initiative Hyphae, which aims to automate peer-to-peer renewable energy distribution. The organization also introduced the SOGNO software initially funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 programs. Its focus is on grid automation using microservices and control rooms.
Microsoft partnered with LF Energy as part of its 100/100/0 program in September 2021.
Google joined LF Energy as a Strategic Member as part of its 24/7 Carbon Free Energy initiative in early 2022.
In early 2022, LF Energy launched the EVerest project, which aims to provide open source software for the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. LF Energy was also one of the organizations that took part in the Carbon Call, an initiative aimed at developing reliable measurement and accounting of carbon emissions.
Shuli Goodman passed away on 3January 2023.
Governing board
Lucan Balea (Strategic Member Representative & Board Chair)
Arjan Stam (Strategic Member Representative & Board Treasurer)
Antonello Monti (Technical Advisory Council Chair)
Maud Texier (Strategic Member Representative - Google)
Audrey Lee (Strategic Member Representative - Microsoft)
Marissa Hammond (General Member Representative - Utilidata)
McGee Young (General Member Representative - WattCarbon)
References
External links
Linux Foundation
Electric power infrastructure in the United States
Energy organizations
501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations | LF Energy | [
"Engineering"
] | 648 | [
"Energy organizations"
] |
70,817,607 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD%20222925 | HD 222925 is a horizontal branch star about 1,470 light years away in the southern constellation Tucana. It is magnitude 9, far below naked-eye visibility. It is an Ap star, a type of chemically peculiar star with an over-abundance of certain metals in its spectrum.
HD 222925 has been referred to as the 'gold standard star' by the media. In 2022, astronomers from the University of Michigan identified 65 elements in the star (including gold), a turning point to help the scientific community understand the rapid neutron capture process. The elements were produced in a massive supernova or a merger of neutron stars early in the universe, and it was ejected into space where it later reformed into the current star.
Gallery
References
External links
Tucana
Horizontal-branch stars
222925
117168
Durchmusterung objects
Ap stars
F-type giants | HD 222925 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 180 | [
"Tucana",
"Constellations"
] |
70,818,221 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubellin%20B | Rubellin B is a phytotoxic chemical responsible for the Ramularia leaf spot disease due to its ability to create reactive radical superoxides. The drug has not been involved in many clinical studies, but has been found to prevent tau aggregation pointing to its potential in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Biosynthesis
The biosynthesis of rubellins involved a Type 1 PKS system to create an anthraquinone base, chrysophanol, which is then dimerized and post-processed to create a multitude of rubellin products. The process begins with a loaded Starter ACP which goes through 7 extension rounds with a KT (ketosynthase), AT (acetyltransferase), PT product template), and ACP (acyl carrier protein) complex using malonyl-CoA as a loading molecule. The complex is then cyclized by a β-lactamase enzyme and decarboxylated by the RccH producing the chrysophanol intermediate. The chrysophanol unit then goes through a de-aromatization with the enzyme RccC, a tetrahydronaphthalenes reductase, TH4N. These two chrysophanol units are then conjugated to one another by a P450 enzyme, RccM, which is unique in the Ramularia collo-cygni. This molecule serves as a precursor for the production of a multitude of rubellins, one being rubellin B. Continuing the pathway to rubellin B, the precursor molecule is hydroxylated by the enzyme RccD, an FAD-dependent monooxygenase. The final step to rubellin B is an oxidation to a seven-membered ring by the enzyme BVMO, RccL in the drawing.
Biosynthesis of conformers
The biosynthesis of all rubellin compounds found in Ramularia collo-cygni has been reported in the literature.
Natural occurrence
Rubellin occurs naturally in a number of fungi and a mix of the rubellins causes the phytotoxic effects named as the Ramularia leaf spot disease. Initially the molecule was discovered due to its presence on a cash crop and was thus isolated from the fungus Mycospharella rubella in 1986. The compound was more recently isolated in Germany due to its presence on diseased leaves from the fungus Ramularia collo-cygni which has paved the way for the classification of the molecule's synthesis and properties.
References
Heterocyclic compounds with 7 or more rings
Lactones
Alcohols
Ketones | Rubellin B | [
"Chemistry"
] | 549 | [
"Ketones",
"Functional groups"
] |
70,819,323 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%20Lynn%20Realff | Mary Lynn Realff (born 1965) is an American mechanical engineer and materials scientist specializing in researching the mechanical properties of textiles. She is an associate professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech, and co-director of the Georgia Tech Center for Women, Science, and Technology. Beyond her research on textiles, she is also known for her explorations of group work in engineering education.
Education and career
Realff graduated in 1987 from Georgia Tech, with a bachelor's degree in textile engineering. She earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering and Polymer Science and Technology in 1992. Mary Lynn Realff became an associate professor at Georgia Tech where she is an instructor for undergraduate and graduate courses regarding textile structures and polymer sciences. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2007, at which time she was a program director for Materials Processing and Manufacturing at the National Science Foundation.
Research/publications
Publications
Looking Ahead: Fostering Effective Team Dynamics in the Engineering Classroom and Beyond (2021)
Fatigue Response and Constitutive Behavior Modeling of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Unreinforced and Nanocomposite Fibers Using Genetic Neural Networks (2012)
Advanced Fabrics (2003)
Objective and Subjective Analysis of Knitted Fabric Bagging (2002)
References
External links
1965 births
Living people
American mechanical engineers
American materials scientists
American women engineers
Textile engineers
Engineering educators
Georgia Tech alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers | Mary Lynn Realff | [
"Engineering"
] | 306 | [
"Textile engineers",
"Textile engineering"
] |
70,819,364 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptopyrrole | Streptopyrrole is an antibiotic with the molecular formula C14H12ClNO4 which is produced by the bacterium Streptomyces armeniacus
References
antibiotics
Benzoxazines
Chloroarenes
Heterocyclic compounds with 3 rings
Diols
Lactams
Propyl compounds | Streptopyrrole | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 65 | [
"Biotechnology products",
"Organic compounds",
"Antibiotics",
"Biocides",
"Organic compound stubs",
"Organic chemistry stubs"
] |
65,091,079 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad-spectrum%20therapeutic | A broad-spectrum therapeutic or broad-spectrum antibiotics is a type of antimicrobial active against multiple types of pathogens, such as an antibiotic that is effective against both bacteria and viruses. The opposite of a broad-spectrum drug is a narrow-spectrum therapeutic, which only treats a specific or very similar set of pathogens.
Such therapeutics have been suggested as potential emergency treatments for pandemics.
See also
Broad-spectrum antibiotic
Broad-spectrum antiviral drug
References
Anti-infective agents | Broad-spectrum therapeutic | [
"Chemistry"
] | 106 | [
"Anti-infective agents",
"Chemicals in medicine"
] |
65,091,372 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavivirus%205%27%20UTR | Flavivirus 5' UTR are untranslated regions in the genome of viruses in the genus Flavivirus.
Background
The Flavivirus positive-oriented, single-stranded RNA genome has a length of 10,000 - 11,000 bases. The genus includes human pathogens like Zika virus, West-Nile virus, Dengue virus, Yellow Fever virus and other.
The 5' UTR of flaviviruses are highly structured, has a length of approximately 100 nucleotides and harbors two conserved RNA secondary structures which are vital for the viral life cycle. During replication, the 5' UTR interacts with the 3' UTR of the genome to initiate synthesis of new viral replicates and viral protein translation. In direct adjacency to the 5' UTR lies the cHP structure, which is essential for the viral replication.
5'SLA
The first structural element is termed 5'SLA and comprises three stems (S1, S2, S3) folded as L-shaped-like stem structure, and a side structure domain (SSD). Its overall length is around 70 nucleotides. Disruption experiments of S1 and S2 led to a stop of viral replication. Further, SLA is the promoter for RNA synthesis and interacts with the viral protein NS5 during circularization of the viral genome. After recruitment of NS5, the two loop regions of S3 (TL) and SSD (SSL) are considered to interact with NS5 to promote polymerase activity. Despite the diversity of SSD, its stable structure is essential for infectivity.
5'SLB
The second element is termed 5'SLB and contains the translation initiation codon at the top region of the stem loop. It further contains the 5'UAR (upstream AUG region), which is essential for the circularization of the genome. The 5'UAR interacts with the 3'UAR, which is located at the 3' UTR of the genome to form a long-range RNA-RNA interaction.
cHP
The capsid-coding hairpin region (cHP) actually lies in the ORF of the viral genome and is followed by the 5'CS (conserved sequence), which forms another long-range RNA-RNA interaction with the 3' UTR (3'CS). The cHP aids in the start codon recognition and viral replication. Studies show that the function of cHP is sequence-independent but structure-dependent.
References
Non-coding RNA
Flaviviridae | Flavivirus 5' UTR | [
"Chemistry"
] | 525 | [
"Biochemistry stubs",
"Molecular and cellular biology stubs"
] |
65,092,662 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders%20Meibom | Anders Meibom (born 9 September 1969) is a Danish interdisciplinary scientist and former football player active in the field of bio-geochemistry. He is a professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he heads the laboratory for biological geochemistry.
Career
Meibom obtained a PhD in physics at the University of Southern Denmark in 1997. He then pursued a two-and-a-half-year postdoc at the Hawaii Institute for Geophysics and Planetology where he studied the mineralogy of primitive chondrotic meteorites. In 2000, he moved to Stanford University as a research associate in the Stanford-USGS ion microprobe laboratory, department of geological and environmental sciences. In 2005, he was appointed as an associate professor at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, where he was promoted to full professor in 2007. From 2006 to 2011, he served as the director of the French National NanoSIMS analytical facility. In 2012, he was named full professor at the EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) in the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC). He has also been full professor ad personam at the University of Lausanne since 2014. From 2015 to 2017, he was the director of the Institute of Environmental Engineering at EPFL.
In 2019, Meibom founded the Transnational Red Sea Center (TRSC), an initiative for scientific diplomacy supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and which aims to promote scientific collaboration in a politically unstable region endowed with fundamental ecological stakes.
Research
Meibom currently leads the laboratory for biological geochemistry at EPFL. Research performed in his laboratory is interdisciplinary in nature, at the interface between isotope geochemistry and biology. Active themes in the laboratory include the use of NanoSIMS to visualize and characterize the diagenesis of biogenic substrates, as well as the study of metabolic processes in symbiotic organisms (notably corals) and how these processes may be influenced by environmental stress, in particular climate change.
Distinctions
In 2008, Meibom was awarded with the Medal for Research Excellence by the European Mineralogical Union for his contributions in the field of cosmochemistry. From 2009 to 2012, he was appointed member of the Comité National Section 18 at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France. In 2009 and 2017, Meibom was awarded two advanced grants by the European Research Council for projects aiming to better understand biomineralization processes by marine organisms (Project BioCarb, 2009), as well as to better understand biocarbonate-based paleo-environmental records for the oceans (Project UltraPal, 2017).
References
Academic staff of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Living people
University of Southern Denmark alumni
21st-century Danish academics
Geochemists
1969 births | Anders Meibom | [
"Chemistry"
] | 591 | [
"Geochemists"
] |
65,092,800 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOIRLab | The National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) is the United States' national facility for ground-based, night-time optical and infrared astronomy. It is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), as a federally funded research and development center.
NOIRLab runs four observatories and a center for scientific software and research data archiving. It provides access to observing time for astronomers affiliated with any US institution.
History
NOIRLab was formed in 2019 by the merger of three predecessor organizations, which were all managed by AURA and funded by NSF. They were:
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which managed Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona, Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile, and the Community Science and Data Center
The Gemini Observatory, which operated Gemini North in Hawaii and Gemini South in Chile
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which was constructing the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile
On October 1, 2019, these three organizations merged their operations to form NOIRLab.
Organization
AURA operates the NOIRLab and its facilities under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Facilities
NOIRLab operates the following facilities:
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
Community Science & Data Center
Gemini Observatory
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Vera C. Rubin Observatory
References
Astronomical observatories in the United States
Astronomical observatories in Chile
Astronomy institutes and departments
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers
Science and technology in the United States
Astronomy in the United States
Organizations based in Tucson, Arizona
National Science Foundation
NOIRLab
Scientific organizations established in 2019
2019 establishments in Arizona | NOIRLab | [
"Astronomy"
] | 334 | [
"Astronomy organizations",
"Astronomy institutes and departments"
] |
65,092,839 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC%2000-69 | The Advisory Circular AC 00-69, Best Practices for Airborne Software Development Assurance Using EUROCAE ED-12( ) and RTCA DO-178( ), initially issued in 2017, supports application of the active revisions of ED-12C/DO-178C and AC 20-115. The AC does not state FAA guidance, but rather provides information in the form of "best practices" complementary to the objectives of ED-12C/DO-178C.
Notably, the guidance of FAA Order 8110.49 regarding "Software Change Impact Analysis" was removed in Revision A of that notice in 2017. The best practices that AC 00-69 now describes for Software Change Impact Analysis are much reduced and less prescriptive than what was removed from Order 8110.49.
This AC clarifies that Data Coupling Analysis and Control Coupling Analysis are distinct activities and that both are required for satisfying objective A-7 (8) of ED-12C/DO-178C and ED-12B/DO-178B, adding that data and control coupling analyses rely upon detailed design specification of interfaces and dependencies between components.
The AC also recommends that error handling (how the software avoids, detects, and handles runtime error) should be defined in explicit, reviewed design specifications rather than implemented ad hoc in the source code.
References
External links
AC 00-69, Best Practices for Airborne Software Development Assurance Using EUROCAE ED-12( ) and RTCA DO-178( )
Avionics
Safety
Software requirements
RTCA standards
Computer standards | AC 00-69 | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 315 | [
"Software requirements",
"Computer standards",
"Avionics",
"Software engineering",
"Aircraft instruments"
] |
65,093,325 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nereistoxin | Nereistoxin is a natural product identified in 1962 as the toxic organic compound N,N-dimethyl-1,2-dithiolan-4-amine. It had first been isolated in 1934 from the marine annelid Lumbriconereis heteropoda and acts by blocking the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Researchers at Takeda in Japan investigated it as a possible insecticide. They subsequently developed a number of derivatives that were commercialised, including those with the ISO common names bensultap, cartap, thiocyclam and thiosultap.
Structures and synthesis
Bensultap (R=SO2Ph) was made by the reaction of the sodium salt of benzenethiolsulfonate (PhSO2SNa) with N,N-dimethyl 1,3-dichloro-2-propylamine or N,N-dimethyl 2,3-dichloropropylamine in ethanol.
Bensultap can be converted to nereistoxin by treatment with alkali.
History
Japanese fishermen used the annelid worm Lumbriconereis heteropoda as bait but after accidental human poisonings the chemical agent responsible was identified and named nereistoxin. In the 1960s, researchers at Takeda Chemical Industries synthesised the active material N,N-dimethyl-1,2-dithiolan-4-amine and derivatives in which the sulfur-sulfur bond of the 1,2-dithiolane ring was replaced by alternative sulfur-linked groups. The resulting compounds were in many cases less toxic to mammals than the natural product while retaining good activity on insects. It was subsequently shown that all the compounds which were commercialised acted by being propesticides — breaking down in the environment to nereistoxin or a toxic dithiol.
Mechanism of action
Nereistoxin has chemical similarity to acetylcholine and its mode of action was suggested originally as being possibly by interference with acetylcholinesterase. Later electrophysiological studies using synapses from the cockroach Periplaneta americana showed that it acts by blocking the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor / ion channel complex in the insect central nervous system. This is also the mode of action of the related insecticides, all of which can produce the dithiol corresponding to cleavage of the 1,2-thiolane ring in the parent compound.
Usage
None of the insecticidal analogues of nereistoxin became major products in agriculture and their use was mainly limited to Japanese and Chinese cultivation of rice, where their control of pests such as the rice stem borer Chilo suppressalis was significant. They were not licensed for use in Europe or the USA. The limited success of this group of chemicals was partly due to other compounds having similar modes of action but higher potency and mammalian safety becoming available.
References
Further reading
External links
1,2-Dithiolanes
Insecticides
Neurotoxins
Nicotinic antagonists
Dimethylamino compounds | Nereistoxin | [
"Chemistry"
] | 638 | [
"Neurochemistry",
"Neurotoxins"
] |
65,093,515 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct%20collapse%20black%20hole | Direct collapse black holes (DCBHs) are high-mass black hole seeds that form from the direct collapse of a large amount of material. They putatively formed within the redshift range z=15–30, when the Universe was about 100–250 million years old. Unlike seeds formed from the first population of stars (also known as Population III stars), direct collapse black hole seeds are formed by a direct, general relativistic instability. They are very massive, with a typical mass at formation of ~. This category of black hole seeds was originally proposed theoretically to alleviate the challenge in building supermassive black holes already at redshift z~7, as numerous observations to date have confirmed.
Formation
Direct collapse black holes (DCBHs) are massive black hole seeds theorized to have formed in the high-redshift Universe and with typical masses at formation of ~, but spanning between and . The environmental physical conditions to form a DCBH (as opposed to a cluster of stars) are the following:
Metal-free gas (gas containing only hydrogen and helium).
Atomic-cooling gas.
Sufficiently large flux of Lyman–Werner photons, in order to destroy hydrogen molecules, which are very efficient gas coolants.
The previous conditions are necessary to avoid gas cooling and, hence, fragmentation of the primordial gas cloud. Unable to fragment and form stars, the gas cloud undergoes a gravitational collapse of the entire structure, reaching extremely high matter density at its core, on the order of ~107 g/cm3. At this density, the object undergoes a general relativistic instability, which leads to the formation of a black hole of a typical mass ~, and up to 1 million . The occurrence of the general relativistic instability, as well as the absence of the intermediate stellar phase, led to the denomination of direct collapse black hole. In other words, these objects collapse directly from the primordial gas cloud, not from a stellar progenitor as prescribed in standard black hole models.
A computer simulation reported in July 2022 showed that a halo at the rare convergence of strong, cold accretion flows can create massive black holes seeds without the need for ultraviolet backgrounds, supersonic streaming motions or even atomic cooling. Cold flows produced turbulence in the halo, which suppressed star formation. In the simulation, no stars formed in the halo until it had grown to 40 million solar masses at a redshift of 25.7 when the halo's gravity was finally able to overcome the turbulence; the halo then collapsed and formed two supermassive stars that died as DCBHs of and .
Demography
Direct collapse black holes are generally thought to be extremely rare objects in the high-redshift Universe, because the three fundamental conditions for their formation (see above in section Formation) are challenging to be met all together in the same gas cloud. Current cosmological simulations suggest that DCBHs could be as rare as only about 1 per cubic gigaparsec at redshift 15. The prediction on their number density is highly dependent on the minimum flux of Lyman–Werner photons required for their formation and can be as large as ~107 DCBHs per cubic gigaparsec in the most optimistic scenarios.
Detection
In 2016, a team led by Harvard University astrophysicist Fabio Pacucci identified the first two candidate direct collapse black holes, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The two candidates, both at redshift , were found in the CANDELS GOODS-S field and matched the spectral properties predicted for this type of astrophysical sources. In particular, these sources are predicted to have a significant excess of infrared radiation, when compared to other categories of sources at high redshift. Additional observations, in particular with the James Webb Space Telescope, will be crucial to investigate the properties of these sources and confirm their nature.
Difference from primordial and stellar collapse black holes
A primordial black hole is the result of the direct collapse of energy, ionized matter, or both, during the inflationary or radiation-dominated eras, while a direct collapse black hole is the result of the collapse of unusually dense and large regions of gas. Note that a black hole formed by the collapse of a Population III star is not considered "direct" collapse.
See also
Quasi-star
UHZ1
QSO J0313−1806
GNz7q
CEERS 1019
References
Further reading
Black holes
Supermassive black holes | Direct collapse black hole | [
"Physics",
"Astronomy"
] | 918 | [
"Black holes",
"Physical phenomena",
"Physical quantities",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Supermassive black holes",
"Astrophysics",
"Density",
"Stellar phenomena",
"Astronomical objects"
] |
65,093,532 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focused%20proof | In mathematical logic, focused proofs are a family of analytic proofs that arise through goal-directed proof-search, and are a topic of study in structural proof theory and reductive logic. They form the most general definition of goal-directed proof-search—in which someone chooses a formula and performs hereditary reductions until the result meets some condition. The extremal case where reduction only terminates when axioms are reached forms the sub-family of uniform proofs.
A sequent calculus is said to have the focusing property when focused proofs are complete for some terminating condition. For System LK, System LJ, and System LL, uniform proofs are focused proofs where all the atoms are assigned negative polarity. Many other sequent calculi has been shown to have the focusing property, notably the nested sequent calculi of both the classical and intuitionistic variants of the modal logics in the S5 cube.
Uniform proofs
In the sequent calculus for an intuitionistic logic, the uniform proofs can be characterised as those in which the upward reading performs all right rules before the left rules. Typically, uniform proofs are not complete for the logic i.e., not all provable sequents or formulas admit a uniform proof, so one considers fragments where they are complete e.g., the hereditary Harrop fragment of intuitionistic logic. Due to the deterministic behaviour, uniform proof-search has been used as the control mechanism defining the programming language paradigm of logic programming. Occasionally, uniform proof-search is implemented in a variant of the sequent calculus for the given logic where context management is automatic, thereby increasing the fragment for which one can define a logic programming language.
Focused proofs
The focusing principle was originally classified through the disambiguation between synchronous and asynchronous connectives in linear logic i.e., connectives that interact with the context and those that do not, as a consequence of research on logic programming. They are now an increasingly important example of control in reductive logic, and can drastically improve proof-search procedures in industry. The essential idea of focusing is to identify and coalesce the non-deterministic choices in a proof, so that a proof can be seen as an alternation of negative phases (where invertible rules are applied eagerly) and positive phases (where applications of the other rules are confined and controlled).
Polarisation
According to the rules of the sequent calculus, formulas are canonically put into one of two classes called positive and negative e.g., in LK and LJ the formula is positive. The only freedom is over atoms, which are assigned a polarity freely. For negative formulas, provability is invariant under the application of a right rule; and, dually, for a positive formulas provability is invariant under the application of a left rule. In either case one can safely apply rules in any order to hereditary sub-formulas of the same polarity.
In the case of a right rule applied to a positive formula, or a left rule applied to a negative formula, one may result in invalid sequents e.g., in LK and LJ there is no proof of the sequent beginning with a right rule. A calculus admits the focusing principle if when an original reduct was provable then the hereditary reducts of the same polarity are also provable. That is, one can commit to focusing on decomposing a formula and its sub-formulas of the same polarity without loss of completeness.
Focused system
A sequent calculus is often shown to have the focusing property by working in a related calculus where polarity explicitly controls which rules apply. Proofs in such systems are in focused, unfocused, or neutral phases, where the first two are characterised by hereditary decomposition; and the latter by forcing a choice of focus. One of the most important operational behaviours a procedure can undergo is backtracking i.e., returning to an earlier stage in the computation where a choice was made. In focused systems for classical and intuitionistic logic, the use of backtracking can be simulated by pseudo-contraction.
Let and denote change of polarity, the former making a formula negative, and the latter positive; and call a formula with an arrow neutral. Recall that is positive, and consider the neutral polarized sequent , which is interpreted as the actual sequent . For neutral sequents such as this, the focused system forces one to make an explicit choice of which formula to focus on, denoted by . To perform a proof-search the best thing is to choose the left formula, since is positive, indeed (as discussed above) in some cases there are no proofs where the focus is on the right formula. To overcome this, some focused calculi create a backtracking point such that focusing on the right yields , which is still as . The second formula on the right can be removed only when the focused phase has finished, but if proof-search gets stuck before this happens the sequent may remove the focused component thereby returning to the choice e.g., must be taken to as no other reductive inference can be made. This is a pseudo-contraction since it has the syntactic form of a contraction on the right, but the actual formula doesn't exist i.e., in the interpretation of the proof in the focused system the sequent has only one formula on the right.
References
Logic
Proof theory
Reductionism
Logic programming | Focused proof | [
"Mathematics"
] | 1,138 | [
"Mathematical logic",
"Proof theory"
] |
65,093,856 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine%20permaculture | Marine Permaculture is a form of mariculture that reflects the principles of permaculture by recreating seaweed forest habitat and other ecosystems in nearshore and offshore ocean environments. Doing so enables a sustainable long-term harvest of seaweeds and seafood, while regenerating life in the ocean.
Macroalgae ecosystems restoration
Marine Permaculture comprises a platform from which seaweed ecosystems can be grown, creating the environmental conditions for primary production and habitat for marine life. Using a system of renewably powered pumps, cool, nutrient-rich waters are brought up from a depth of 100-500 meters, below the nutricline, to the ocean surface, thereby replicating natural overturning circulation processes of ocean upwelling and mitigating against marine heatwaves that have led to ocean stratification and decimated natural macroalgae ecosystems in many regions of the world. In addition, artificial structures provide substrate seaweeds require to grow on. The seaweed growth and increased plankton provide critical marine habitat for fish populations to thrive. This type of intervention regenerates overturning circulation and returns mixed layer temperatures to levels closer to those measured pre-industrially.
Ocean regeneration potential
Marine Permaculture has received endorsement from a number of permaculture experts, including Morag Gamble of the Permaculture Education Institute, Matt Powers, David Holmgren and the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, who have recognised its adherence to the principles of permaculture. It has also received considerable attention as a potentially ground-breaking climate solution. It has featured as a “Coming Attraction” solution in the book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming edited by Paul Hawken and was one of the main climate solutions featured in Damon Gameau’s documentary film 2040. Professor Tim Flannery has also highlighted Marine Permaculture’s potential in sequestering gigatons of carbon through hectare scale platforms in the open ocean, an idea that has also received attention from the voluntary carbon market Nori. Marine Permaculture is also mentioned as a climate solution in Burn: Using Fire to Cool the Earth by Albert Bates and Kathleen Draper. Marine Permaculture also features in the MacArthur Foundation's Bold Solutions Network, of the “Top100” innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
Product applications
If deployed at scale, it has the potential to provide food security to billions of people who rely upon the oceans for their primary source of protein, act as a source of blue carbon, while lowering ocean acidification, providing sustainable livelihoods, and restoring marine habitat. To date, Marine Permaculture trials have been conducted in numerous regions of the world including Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Tasmania, where it is being used to regenerate seaweed ecosystems recently decimated from climate change. Harvesting organic kelp may produce ingredients for agriculture, fertilisers, pharmaceutical and textiles: Biostimulants, such as organic soil immprovers, feed supplements for fish and cattle, pulp for cellulose, fibers to replace wood pulp, nanocellulose for water-proofing cardboards, and biomedical molecules with natural anti-septic properties are some of the products elaborated by the marine permaculture projects.
References
Phycology
Aquaculture
Permaculture | Marine permaculture | [
"Biology"
] | 692 | [
"Algae",
"Phycology"
] |
65,101,829 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green%20grabbing | Green grabbing or green colonialism is the foreign land grabbing and appropriation of resources for environmental purposes, resulting in a pattern of unjust development. The purposes of green grabbing are varied; it can be done for ecotourism, conservation of biodiversity or ecosystem services, for carbon emission trading, or for biofuel production. It involves governments, NGOs, and corporations, often working in alliances. Green grabs can result in local residents' displacement from land where they live or make their livelihoods. It is considered to be a subtype of green imperialism.
Definition and purpose
"Green grabbing" was first coined in 2008 by journalist John Vidal, in a piece that appeared in The Guardian called "The great green land grab". Social anthropologist Melissa Leach notes that it "builds on well-known histories of colonial and neo-colonial resource alienation in the name of the environment". Green grabbing is a more specific form of land grabbing, in which the motive of the land grab is for environmental reasons. Green grabbing can be done for conservation of biodiversity or ecosystem services, carbon emission trading, or for ecotourism. Conservation groups might encourage members of the public to donate money to "adopt" an acre of land, which goes towards land acquisition. Companies who engage in carbon emission trading might employ a green grab to plant trees—the resulting carbon offset can then be sold or traded. One program, Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), compensates companies and countries for conserving forests, though the definition of forest also includes forest plantations consisting of a single tree species (monoculture).
Green grabbing can also be done for the production of biofuels. Biofuel production efforts, led by the US and European Union, have been a main driver of land grabbing in general. The International Land Coalition states that 59% of land grabs between 2000 and 2010 were because of biofuels.
Occurrence and affected parties
Green grabbing primarily affects smallholders, and leads to various forms of injustice, conflict, and displacement. Confiscation of land by both local and foreign companies, as well as by rural elites and government bodies, in the name of environmental reasons, often worsens existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in these communities. Areas most vulnerable to green grabs are those in poor economic conditions, developing countries, or on indigenous land.
Indebted governments may be especially vulnerable to green grabs, as they may agree to privatize and sell public assets to avoid bankruptcy. Green grabs involve large tracts of land consisting of thousands or millions of hectares. Green grabs have occurred in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Environmental activists and critics have also warned that the Green New Deal and COP26 could exacerbate green colonialism.
The indigenous Sámi community of northern Scandinavia, as well as Norwegian and Swedish activists, have accused the Norwegian government of green colonialism because of the construction of wind farms on Sámi land.
Actors
Modern green grabs are often enacted through alliances between national elites, government agencies, and private actors. Examples can include international environmental policy institutions, multi-national corporations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These varied actors align to achieve common goals; for example, ecotourism initiatives can result in the alignment of tourism companies, conservation groups, and governments. Conservation groups can also align with military or paramilitary groups to accomplish shared aims. Actors can also include entrepreneurs trying to profit from eco-capitalism, such as companies developing forest carbon offset projects, biochar companies, and pharmaceutical businesses.
Energy
Green grabbing has been prominent in the energy sector. Often, as countries and governments enter transnational climate agreements such as the Paris Agreement or the Kyoto Protocol, they commit to reaching certain sustainability targets. To fulfill these quotes on initiatives such as renewable energy implementation, indigenous or public lands are seized without consideration for local communities. Confiscated lands may be used for solar energy, wind farms, and biofuel.
Under the pretense of environmental preservation, green grabbing borrows from historical stories of colonial resource appropriation. This phenomenon involves a diverse array of participants, including entrepreneurs, activists, and most significantly NGOs. Social anthropologists James Fairhead, Melissa Leach, and Ian Scoones note that conservation initiatives often involve partnerships between international environmental organizations, NGOs, national elites, and multinational corporations. Examples include cases like Rio Tinto's activities in Madagascar, where land acquisition for environmental purposes overlaps with mineral extraction, and collaborations between tourist operators, conservation agencies, and governments to promote ecotourism in countries like Colombia, Tanzania, and South Africa. These collaborations underscore the complex dynamics underlying conservation schemes and the blurring of boundaries between environmental protection and profit-driven exploitation.
Wind
Greece
The drive for wind parks, in post-crisis Greece, has given rise to green grabbing. The argument supporting green energy as a remedy for the nation's economic and environmental problems has gained popularity despite Greece's economic difficulties. The negative socio-ecological effects of wind park growth, such as land expropriation, environmental damage, and the escalation of socioeconomic inequality, are frequently ignored in this narrative.
The wind energy industry is dominated by multinational businesses, which promotes wealth accumulation and green grabbing at the expense of regional communities and ecosystems. In a case study of Greece's wind park development, Christina Zoi details that "Neoliberalisation has instigated green grabbing (land, financial and other resources) with adverse implications on local stock-breeders and farmers, domestic and small business electricity consumers, conservation and local biodiversity. These cannot be considered as negligible even under the face of accelerating climate change and its consequences."
Mexico
The development of the Bíi Hioxo wind park involved not only the physical occupation of the land but also the manipulation of narratives surrounding climate change mitigation and the green economy to legitimize the project. The tactics used to suppress resistance, such as portraying wind energy as a solution to energy and climate crises, reflect a form of greenwashing aimed at pacifying opposition and advancing industrial expansion. Furthermore, the involvement of powerful actors such as Gas Natural Fenosa and local elites highlights how green grabbing operates through alliances between state and corporate interests, leading to the dispossession of local communities and the exploitation of natural resources for profit.
Solar
Morocco
Morocco's solar projects, such as the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station, which employs concentrated solar-thermal power (CSP) technology, diverts water resources away from drinking and agriculture in an already semi-arid region. The construction of the Ouarzazate plant, funded through public-private partnerships and loans from international financial institutions, has resulted in annual deficits and added to Morocco's public debt. The $9 billion project's debt, incurred through loans from international financial institutions like the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, is backed by Moroccan government guarantees. On the local scale, those most affected included pastoralists who did not receive proper compensation for using their property and were not consulted about how the project might affect water supplies.
India
The Indian government's solar energy initiatives, like the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), aim to ramp up solar energy capacity to mitigate climate change and reduce poverty. Yet, the pursuit of solar energy projects often involves the dispossession of agropastoralists from their lands, which are essential for grazing, fodder, and fuelwood collection. These lands, categorized as government-owned "marginal" or "wastelands", are transformed into solar parks through coercive state policies, denying agropastoralists access to vital resources. Agropastoralist communities often encounter difficulties in accessing necessary energy resources, including traditional fuel such as firewood and modern options like solar-generated electricity. This dual deprivation contributes to the marginalization experienced by rural populations.
ICDP in Madagascar
The Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDP) in Madagascar were mostly managed by NGOs supported by the state government. Neoliberalism led to decentralized conservation efforts from the 1990s until the mid 2000s. At that point, there ceased being monetary compensation from the government in favor of conservation efforts being contracted out to North American organizations. The internal division between high status and high paid jobs of North American workers in comparison to the low wage work of Madagascarans as the enforcers of unpopular fortress conservation through the creation of nature reserves. The Malagasy people within Madagascar see the conservation efforts as attempts at green grabbing and neocolonialism. North American NGOs have responded to the claims as ungrounded, placing the lack of acceptance of the reserves system as a failure in the education and understanding of sustainability of residents. In 2009, the presidential administration of Marc Ravalomanana considered a deal with Daewoo Logistics, a South Korean company, to lease 1.3 million hectares of arable land to grow maize and palm oil. This potential deal was seen as another attempt at colonialism, as the land was to be used by and for foreign nations while a large portion of land, up to 10 percent, was being allotted for conservation reserve. Protest against the negotiations was responded to with military action, leading to the removal of Ravalomanana. The deal was not put into effect and the resistance and protest of Madagascarans led to closure of multiple national parks and reserves, allowing the residents to continue their use of the land.
Implications
Green grabbing can result in the expulsion of indigenous or peasant communities from the land they live on. In other cases, the use, authority, and management of the resources is restructured, potentially alienating local residents. Evictions due to palm oil biofuel has resulted in the displacement of millions of people in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and India. The practice has been criticized in Brazil, where the government referred to one land acquisition NGO as eco-colonialist. A shaman of the Yanomami tribe published a statement through Survival International saying, "Now you want to buy pieces of rainforest, or to plant biofuels. These are useless. The forest cannot be bought; it is our life and we have always protected it. Without the forest, there is only sickness." The head of the Forest Peoples Programme Simon Colchester said, "Conservation has immeasurably worsened the lives of indigenous peoples throughout Africa," noting that it resulted in forced expulsion, loss of livelihoods, and violation of human rights.
See also
Fortress conservation
Antarctic Treaty System
References
Ecological economics
Ecotourism
Environmental economics
Indigenous rights
Nature conservation
Neocolonialism
Commodification
Environmental controversies
Environmental racism | Green grabbing | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 2,151 | [
"Environmental economics",
"Environmental social science"
] |
65,114,329 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UKCA%20marking | The UKCA marking (an abbreviation of UK Conformity Assessed) is a conformity mark that indicates conformity with the applicable requirements for products sold within Great Britain. The government intended that it should replace the CE marking for products sold in Great Britain. Both markings continue to be accepted in the UK market.
Applicability of UKCA and CE marks
The UKCA marking became part of UK law at the end of the Brexit transition period, on 31 December 2020, with the coming into force of The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 which was intended to replace the CE marking.
The UKCA marking also intended to replace the reversed epsilon marking used on aerosol sprays and measuring container bottles.
The Government planned for UKCA compliance to be a mandatory requirement since then, but the CE mark was accepted as an alternative, initially for the transition period until 1 January 2022. This deadline for including the UKCA mark was extended to 1 January 2023, then to 31 December 2024, and then on 1 August 2023 the government effectively withdrew the requirement for UKCA, and stated that the CE mark remains acceptable for most goods as a valid sign of conformance.
The scope and procedures of the UKCA scheme initially follow those for CE marking. The Government said that after 31 December 2020 the two schemes may diverge.
Initial guidance regarding UKCA marking was originally published by the Government of the United Kingdom in 2019 ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit but was subsequently withdrawn.
Characteristics of UKCA marking
The height of the UKCA marking must be at least 5mm; it may be larger so long as the proportions are kept. The marking should be "easily visible, legible, and permanently attached to the goods".
The government also intends to bring additional flexibility regarding the placement of the UKCA marking. This may allow the marking to be placed in an accompanying document or sticky label instead, despite the permanent extension of the CE marking in the UK.
Additionally, the Fast-Track UKCA Process will be put into place where businesses may put the UKCA marking under the UK regulations or the CE marking under the EU directives. It is not intended to be a mandatory process.
Northern Ireland
The UKCA marking only applies to products placed on the market in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom that remains aligned to the European Single Market due to the Northern Ireland Protocol, CE marking continues to be required. UK-resident bodies are no longer qualified to carry out CE mark conformity assessments for goods intended for the EU, but under the Northern Ireland Protocol they may do so for Northern Ireland. Where a UK body has carried out the assessment for goods intended for Northern Ireland, the product should display both the CE mark and a UKNI mark (sometimes also called UK(NI)). However, goods intended for export to the EU must be assessed by an EU-resident body and carry a CE mark (and must not carry the UKNI mark).
As part of the British Government's policy of "unfettered access" for "qualifying Northern Ireland goods" to be sold in Great Britain without restriction, goods may be sold in Great Britain using the relevant Northern Ireland markings and without any additional approvals that would be required for the UKCA marking.
Accepted markings on each market
See also
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals#In non-EU countries for the proposed "UK REACH".
European Committee for Standardization and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization: the UK remains a member of these European Standards bodies.
Kitemark - an early British service quality trademark by the British Standards Institute, first implemented in 1903
Notes
References
Certification marks
Brexit replacement schemes
2020 establishments in the United Kingdom
Symbols introduced in 2020 | UKCA marking | [
"Mathematics"
] | 769 | [
"Symbols",
"Certification marks"
] |
65,122,016 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomscrolling | Doomscrolling or doomsurfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative news, on the web and social media. The concept was coined around 2020, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Doomscrolling can also be defined as the excessive consumption of short-form videos or social media content for an excessive period of time without stopping.
Surveys and studies suggest doomscrolling is predominant among youth. It can be considered a form of internet addiction disorder. In 2019, a study by the National Academy of Sciences found that doomscrolling can be linked to a decline in mental and physical health. Numerous reasons for doomscrolling have been cited, including negativity bias, fear of missing out, and attempts at gaining control over uncertainty.
History
Origins
The practice of doomscrolling can be compared to an older phenomenon from the 1970s called the mean world syndrome, described as "the belief that the world is a more dangerous place to live in than it actually is as a result of long-term exposure to violence-related content on television". Studies show that seeing upsetting news leads people to seek out more information on the topic, creating a self-perpetuating cycle.
In common parlance, the word "doom" connotes darkness and evil, referring to one's fate (cf. damnation). In the internet's infancy, "surfing" was a common verb used in reference to browsing the internet; similarly, the word "scrolling" refers to sliding through online content. After 3 years of being on the Merriam-Webster "watching" list, "doomscrolling" was recognized as an official word in September 2023. Dictionary.com chose it as the top monthly trend in August 2020. The Macquarie Dictionary named doomscrolling as the 2020 Committee's Choice Word of the Year.
Popularity
According to Merriam-Webster, the term was first used in 2020. The term continued to gain traction in the early 2020s through events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd protests, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the storming of the U.S. Capitol in 2021, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022, all of which have been noted to have exacerbated the practice of doomscrolling. Doomscrolling became widespread among users of Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has also been discussed in relation to the climate crisis. A 2024 survey conducted by Morning Consult, concluded that approximately 31% of American adults doomscroll on a regular basis. This percentage is further exaggerated the younger the adults are, with millennials at 46%, and Gen Z adults at 51%.
The infinite scroll
Infinite scrolling is a design approach which loads content continuously as the user scrolls down. It eliminates the need for pagination thereby encouraging doomscrolling behaviours. The feature allows a social media user to "infinitely scroll", as the software is continuously loading new content and displaying an endless stream of information. Consequently, this feature can exacerbate doomscrolling as it removes natural stopping points that a user might pause at. The concept of infinite scrolling is sometimes attributed to Aza Raskin by the elimination of pagination of web pages, in favor of continuously loading content as the user scrolls down the page. Raskin later expressed regret at the invention, describing it as "one of the first products designed to not simply help a user, but to deliberately keep them online for as long as possible". Usability research suggests infinite scrolling can present an accessibility issue. The lack of stopping cues has been described as a pathway to both problematic smartphone use and problematic social media use.
Social media's role
Social media companies play a significant role in the perpetuation of doomscrolling by leveraging algorithms designed to maximize user engagement. These algorithms prioritize content that is emotionally stimulating, often favoring negative news and sensationalized headlines to keep users scrolling. The business models of most social media platforms rely heavily on user engagement, which means that the longer people stay on their platforms, the more advertisements they see, and the more data is collected on their behavior. This creates a cycle where emotionally charged content—often involving negative or anxiety-inducing information—is repeatedly pushed to users, encouraging them to keep scrolling and consuming more content. Despite the well-documented negative effects of doomscrolling on mental health, social media companies are incentivized to maintain user engagement through these methods, making it challenging for individuals to break free from the habit.
Explanations
Negativity bias
The act of doomscrolling can be attributed to the natural negativity bias people have when consuming information. Negativity bias is the idea that negative events have a larger impact on one's mental well-being than good ones. Jeffrey Hall, a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, notes that due to an individual's regular state of contentment, potential threats provoke one's attention. One psychiatrist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center notes that humans are "all hardwired to see the negative and be drawn to the negative because it can harm [them] physically." He cites evolution as the reason for why humans seek out such negatives: if one's ancestors, for example, discovered how an ancient creature could injure them, they could avoid that fate.
As opposed to primitive humans, however, most people in modern times do not realize that they are even seeking negative information. Social media algorithms heed the content users engage in and display posts similar in nature, which can aid in the act of doomscrolling. As per the clinic director of the Perelman School of Medicine's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety: "People have a question, they want an answer, and assume getting it will make them feel better ... You keep scrolling and scrolling. Many think that will be helpful, but they end up feeling worse afterward."
Fear of missing out
Doomscrolling can also be explained by the fear of missing out, a common fear that causes people to take part in activities that may not be explicitly beneficial to them, but which they fear "missing out on". This fear is also applied within the world of news, and social media. A research study conducted by Statista in 2013 found that more than half of Americans experienced FOMO on social media; further studies found FOMO affected 67% of Italian users in 2017, and 59% of Polish teenagers in 2021.
Thus, Bethany Teachman, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, states that FOMO is likely to be correlated with doomscrolling due to the person's fear of missing out on crucial negative information.
Control seeking
Obsessively consuming negative news online can additionally be partially attributed to a person's psychological need for control. As stated earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the popularity of doomscrolling. A likely reasoning behind this is that during uncertain times, people are likely to engage in doomscrolling as a way to help them gather information and a sense of mastery over the situation. This is done by people to reinforce their belief that staying informed, and in control will provide them with protection from grim situations. However, while attempting to seize control, more often than not as a result of doomscrolling individuals develop more anxiety towards the situation rather than lessen it.
Brain anatomy
Doomscrolling, the compulsion to engross oneself in negative news, may be the result of an evolutionary mechanism where humans are "wired to screen for and anticipate danger". By frequently monitoring events surrounding negative headlines, staying informed may grant the feeling of being better prepared; however, prolonged scrolling may also lead to worsened mood and mental health as personal fears might seem heightened.
The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) plays an important role in information processing and integrating new information into beliefs about reality. In the IFG, the brain "selectively filters bad news" when presented with new information as it updates beliefs. When a person engages in doomscrolling, the brain may feel under threat and shut off its "bad news filter" in response.
In a study where researchers manipulated the left IFG using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), patients were more likely to incorporate negative information when updating beliefs. This suggests that the left IFG may be responsible for inhibiting bad news from altering personal beliefs; when participants were presented with favorable information and received TMS, the brain still updated beliefs in response to the positive news. The study also suggests that the brain selectively filters information and updates beliefs in a way that reduces stress and anxiety by processing good news with higher regard (see optimistic bias). Increased doomscrolling exposes the brain to greater quantities of unfavorable news and may restrict the brain's ability to embrace good news and discount bad news; this can result in negative emotions that make one feel anxious, depressed, and isolated.
Health effects
Psychological effects
Health professionals have advised that excessive doomscrolling can negatively impact existing mental health issues. While the overall impact that doomscrolling has on people may vary, it can often make one feel anxious, stressed, fearful, depressed, and isolated.
Research
Professors of psychology at the University of Sussex conducted a study in which participants watched television news consisting of "positive-, neutral-, and negative valenced material". The study revealed that participants who watched the negative news programs showed an increase in anxiety, sadness, and catastrophic tendencies regarding personal worries.
A study conducted by psychology researchers in conjunction with the Huffington Post found that participants who watched three minutes of negative news in the morning were 27% more likely to have reported experiencing a bad day six to eight hours later. Comparatively, the group who watched solutions-focused news stories reported a good day 88% of the time.
News avoidance
Some people have begun coping with the abundance of negative news stories by avoiding news altogether. A study from 2017 to 2022 showed that news avoidance is increasing, and that 38% of people admitted to sometimes or often actively avoiding the news in 2022, up from 29% in 2017. Some journalists have admitted to avoiding the news; journalist Amanda Ripley wrote that "people producing the news themselves are struggling, and while they aren't likely to admit it, it is warping the coverage." She also identified ways she believes could help fix the problem, such as intentionally adding more hope, agency, and dignity into stories so readers don't feel the helplessness which leads them to tune out entirely.
In 2024, a study by the University of Oxford's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism indicated that an increasing number of people are avoiding the news. In 2023, 39% of people worldwide reported actively avoiding the news, up from 29% in 2017. The study suggests that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East may be contributing factors to this trend. In the UK, interest in news has nearly halved since 2015.
See also
References
External links
Article on Medium.com
Article on Metro News
Article on The Star
2010s neologisms
2020s neologisms
Digital media use and mental health
Information society
Internet manipulation and propaganda
Internet terminology | Doomscrolling | [
"Technology"
] | 2,318 | [
"Computing terminology",
"Computing and society",
"Information society",
"Internet terminology"
] |
65,123,578 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentenoic%20acid | Pentenoic acid is any of five mono-carboxylic acids whose molecule has an unbranched chain of five carbons connected by three single bonds and one double bond. That is, any compound with one of the formulas (2-pentenoic), (3-pentenoic), or (4-pentenoic). In the IUPAC-recommended nomenclature, these acids are called pent-2-enoic, pent-3-enoic, and pent-4-enoic, respectively. All these compounds have the empirical formula .
Pentenoic acids are technically mono-unsaturated fatty acids, although they are rare or unknown in biological lipids (fats, waxes, phospholipids, etc.). A salt or ester of such an acid is called a pentenoate.
Geometric isomers
There are actually two 2-pentenoic acids, distinguished by the conformation of the two single C–C bonds adjacent to the double bond: either on the same side of the double bond's plane (cis or Z configuration) or on opposite sides of it (trans or E configuration).
Likewise, there are two 3-pentenoic acids. On the other hand, there is only one 4-pentenoic acid, since the two hydrogen atoms on the last carbon are symmetrically placed across the double bond's plane.
The full list of pentenoic acids is, therefore:
cis-2-pentenoic or (2Z)-pent-2-enoic acid (CAS 16666-42-5, Nikkaji J97.998H, PUBchem 643793).
trans-2-pentenoic or (2E)-pent-2-enoic acid (CAS 13991-37-2, FDA 1RG66883CF, Nikkaji J97.997J, Beilstein 1720312, PUBchem 638122, JECFA 1804, FEMA 4193). MP ~10 °C; BP ~108 °C at 17 torr, ~198 °C; odor cheesy, sour. Occurs in banana, beer. Flavoring agent.
cis-3-pentenoic or (3Z)-pent-3-enoic acid (CAS 33698-87-2, Nikkaji J98.001C, PUBchem 5463134).
trans-3-pentenoic or (3E)-pent-3-enoic acid (BP ~52 °C at 4 torr) (CAS 1617-32-9, Nikkaji J98.000E, PUBchem 5282706). BP ~187 °C.
4-pentenoic or pent-4-enoic acid, 3-vinylpropionic acid (CAS 591-80-0, FDA D4S77Y29FB, Nikkaji J53.731D, Beilstein 1633696, PUBchem 61138, JECFA 314, FEMA 2843). Dens ~0.975 at 25 °C; IoR ~1.428; MP ~ -23 °C; BP ~83 °C at 12 torr, ~188 °C; sol. water, slightly; odor cheese, mustard. Toxic.
Esters
Esters of pentenoic acids include:
Ethyl cis-2-pentenoate (CAS 27805-84-1, Nikkaji J181.277G, PUBchem 11332473).
Ethyl trans-2-pentenoate (CAS 24410-84-2, Nikkaji J181.274B, PUBchem 5367761) BP ~150 °C.
Butyl 2-pentenoate (CAS 79947-84-5, Nikkaji J2.425.129B, PUBchem 5463534).
Ethyl trans-3-pentenoate (CAS 3724-66-1, Nikkaji J500.934K, PUBchem 5463078).
ethyl cis-3-pentenoate (CAS 27829-70-5, Nikkaji J746.757E, PUBchem 10997059).
isopropyl 3-pentenoate (CAS 62030-41-5, Nikkaji J746.761C, PUBchem 5463374).
Butyl 3-pentenoate (CAS 19825-93-5, PUBchem 5462980) Odor of chamomile. Flavoring agent.
Derivatives
Some derivatives of pentenoic acid include:
2-Oxopent-4-enoic acid, transient species possibly produced by Azotobacter vinelandii
2-Amino-5-chloro-4-pentenoic acid, found in the mushroom Amanita cokeri
2-Methyl-3-pentenoic acid. Some esters are berry fruit flavors.
2-Propyl-trans-2-pentenoic acid (2-en-valproic acid), major metabolite of anticonvulsant valproic acid.
cis-2-methyl-2-pentenoic acid 2-methyl-(2Z)-pent-2-enoic acid. (CAS 1617-37-4, FDA 07B8HQZ433, Nikkaji J421.583D, PUBchem 6436344) BP ~214 °C. Flavoring agent.
trans-2-Methyl-2-pentenoic acid 2-methyl-(2E)-pent-2-enoic acid. (CAS 16957-70-3, FDA 44I99E898B, Nikkaji J150.063E, PUBchem 5365909) dens ~0.987; IoR ~1.46; MP ~25 °C; BP ~124 °C at 30 torr, ~214 °C; odor fruity, strawberry. Flavoring agent.
2-Methyl-2-pentenoic acid, cis/trans mix (CAS 3142-72-1, JECFA 1210, FEMA 3195, PUBchem 18458, US patent 3976801). Dens ~0.983 at 25 °C; IoR ~1.46; MP ~25 °C; BP ~124 °C at 30 torr, ~112 °C at 12 torr; sol. water, slightly; odor acidic, fruity, sweaty. Flavoring and perfuming agent.
2-Methyl-4-pentenoic acid, 2-methyl-pent-4-enoic acid. The hexyl ester (CAS 58031-03-1, FDA MGQ3MUU64F, FEMA 3693, PUBchem 53426766, US patents 3966799,3976801) is a flavoring agent for chewing-gum, candy, beverages; .
Gallery
See also
Valeric acid or pentanoic acid
Pentynoic acid
Pentenedioic acid
hexenoic acid
Butenoic acid
References
Carboxylic acids | Pentenoic acid | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,546 | [
"Carboxylic acids",
"Functional groups"
] |
65,125,393 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PF-04479745 | PF-04479745 is a research ligand developed by Pfizer. It is related to lorcaserin, and acts as a potent and selective agonist for the 5-HT2C receptor, with lower affinity and antagonist action at the related 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptor subtypes.
References
Serotonin receptor agonists | PF-04479745 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 83 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
65,127,972 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer%20%28meteorological%29 | A meteorological observer, or weather observer, is a person authorized by a weather authority to make or record meteorological observations. They are technicians who are responsible for the accurate observation, rapid measurement, timely collection, recording, and timely submission of meteorological parameters and information and various atmospheric phenomena to the Meteorological Center. Surface, upper air, radar, and satellite are all forms of weather observations.
Role
Meteorological observers play a key role in many flood, drought, environmental and water resources applications. Whilst rainfall observations are most widely used, other parameters of interest include air temperatures, humidity and wind speeds. The main measurement techniques include raingauges, weather stations and weather radar, with satellite precipitation estimates playing an important role in data-sparse regions.
METARs are generated by both government-owned and privately contracted facilities. The collection of weather data can be automated by machines, such as the AWOS, and the ASOS. These automated facilities help gather large amounts of data.
Surface observations provide specific and relevant information around an airport. The FAA recommends this guideline of information in a report:
type of report: interval update, or update for rapid changes
station identifier: 4 letter code
date and time: date is the first two digits; last four digits are the time in UTC
modifier: denotes report came from an automated source, or was manually corrected
wind: first three digits are direction (in tens of degrees), last two digits are wind speed measured in knots
visibility: reported in statute miles, runway visibility is also reported
weather phenomena: intensity, proximity, description
sky condition: amount, height, vertical visibility
temperature and dew point: measured in Celsius, "M" denotes negative temperature
altitude: measured in inches of mercury, Hg
The information can be obtained manually or automatically. Although the individual reports cover a small radius, when combined together, they create a larger map of the general area.
Tasks
A weather observer responsibilities are to collect, record, and map weather conditions. The job usually requires monitoring conditions at all times, so work is usually distributed on shifts around the clock, on weekends, and on holidays as necessary. It is an all weather job, gathering weather information in good as well as in poor weather. Thus, it requires the ability to work in the heat, cold, rain, wind, or other environmental conditions.
The weather observer may research information about other weather station observations to help users plan their activities (such as briefing for pilots) and discuss with meteorologists at central services about weather warnings. Many weather observers specialize in particular areas, such as supporting the military or local news stations, and specialization can affect future career options.
Qualifications
A weather observer needs a technical training and certification from an organization like the National Weather Service. Some use internships or similar experiences to practice observing weather before applying for a full-time job.
Fulfilling the duties of a weather observer requires excellent eyesight, attention to detail, and presentation skills. For certain positions, the ability to direct assistants or support staff is also helpful.
Salary
In 2021, the average salary for a weather observer in the United States is $52,452 per year, or $25 per hour. The top 10 percent make over $108,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent earn under $32,000 per year. In Canada, the average salary is CAD$54,174 per year or CAD$26 per hour. Entry level positions start at CAD$39,791 per year, while most experienced workers make up to CAD$66,135 per year.
In other countries, the average observer surface weather gross salary in Yanbu'al Bahr, Saudi Arabia is 200,612 SAR, while in South Africa, the entry level of a weather observer is R245,126, and a senior level weather observer (8+ years of experience) earns an average R407,412.
See also
Association of American Weather Observers
Citizen Weather Observer Program
Cooperative Observer Program
References
Branches of meteorology
Climate and weather statistics
Technicians
Meteorological data and networks | Observer (meteorological) | [
"Physics"
] | 811 | [
"Weather",
"Physical phenomena",
"Climate and weather statistics"
] |
65,134,828 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki%20F%20engine | The Suzuki F engine is a series of inline three- and four-cylinder internal combustion petrol engines manufactured by Suzuki Motor Corporation and also licensed by many manufacturers for their automobiles. This engine was Suzuki's first four-stroke car engine when it first appeared in 1977.
Three-cylinder
F5A
The smallest F engine family with 543 cc of displacement, bore and stroke size is 62 mm × 60 mm. The F5A was basically a three-cylinder version of the F8A four-cylinder engine, without the fourth cylinder and the stroke reduced from 66 to 60 mm. Available in various versions with 6, 9, or 12 valves and SOHC or DOHC head designs, carburettor or fuel injection and naturally aspirated, turbocharged, or supercharged.
Max power:
Max torque:
Applications:
SOHC 6-valve
1980–1988 Suzuki Alto SS40/CA71
1980–1989 Suzuki Carry/Every ST40/DA71
1981–1988 Suzuki Fronte SS40/CB71
1982–1988 Suzuki Cervo SS40C
1983–1988 Suzuki Mighty Boy SS40T
SOHC 6-valve with turbocharger
1985–1987 Suzuki Cervo SS40C
1985–1988 Suzuki Alto CA71
1986–1990 Suzuki Jimny JA71
1987–1989 Suzuki Every DA71V
SOHC 9-valve
1987–1989 Suzuki Every DA71V
SOHC 9-valve with supercharger
1987–1989 Suzuki Carry DA71T
DOHC 12-valve
1987–1988 Suzuki Alto CA71
1987–1988 Suzuki Fronte CB71
DOHC 12-valve with turbocharger
1987–1988 Suzuki Alto Works CA71
F5B
This 547 cc engine is the successor of the earlier F5A engine, with the bore and stroke size increased to 65 x 55 mm. It was available with 6 or 12-valve SOHC/DOHC head designs. Naturally aspirated and also turbocharged models, with an available intercooler, were on offer. These engines were only used between 1989 and 1990, after which the Japanese government changed the maximum displacement for kei cars up to 660 cc.
Max power: at 6500 to 7500 rpm
Max torque: at 4000 to 6000 rpm
Applications:
SOHC 6-valve
1989–1990 Autozam Scrum DG41
1989–1990 Suzuki Carry/Every DA41
1988–1990 Suzuki Alto CL11
SOHC 6-valve with turbocharger
1989–1990 Autozam Scrum DG41
1989–1990 Suzuki Carry/Every DA41
1988–1990 Suzuki Alto Works S CL11
SOHC 12-valve
1989–1990 Autozam Carol AA5
1988–1990 Suzuki Alto CL11
1988–1990 Suzuki Cervo CG72
1988–1989 Suzuki Fronte CN11S
DOHC 12-valve
1988–1990 Suzuki Alto CL11
DOHC 12-valve with turbocharger
1988–1990 Suzuki Alto Works RS CL11
F6A
This 657 cc engine was introduced in 1990. Based on the old 550 cc F5B engine, it retains the 65 mm bore, but with new 66 mm stroke size.
Max power: at 6000 to 7000 rpm
Max torque: at 3500 to 4000 rpm
Applications:
SOHC 6-valve
1990–1998 Autozam/Mazda Scrum DG51
1990–1998 Autozam/Mazda Carol AA6/AC6
1990–1998 Suzuki Alto CL22/HA11
1990–1998 Suzuki Carry/Every DA/DC51
1994–1998 Suzuki Cervo Mode CN21
SOHC 6-valve with turbocharger
1990–1998 Suzuki Cervo Mode CN21
1990–1998 Suzuki Jimny JA11/12
1990–2000 Autozam/Mazda Scrum DG51/52
1990–2000 Suzuki Carry/Every DA/DC/DE51-52
1999–2000 Suzuki Carry DA/DB52
1991–2000 Autozam/Mazda Carol AA64/AC6P/HB12
1991–2000 Suzuki Alto Works i.e. CL21/HA11-12
1993–1998 Suzuki Wagon R CT21
1998–2000 Suzuki Kei HN11S/Mazda Laputa HP11S
SOHC 12-valve
1990–1998 Suzuki Cervo Mode CN22
1990–2000 Autozam/Mazda Carol AA64/AC6/HB12
1990–2000 Suzuki Alto CL22/HB11-12
1996–2000 Mitsuoka Ray
1997–2000 Autozam/Mazda Scrum DL51/DG52
1997–2000 Suzuki Carry/Every DA51/52
1993–1998 Suzuki Wagon R CT21
DOHC 12-valve with turbocharger
1991–1994 Suzuki Alto Works RS CL22
1992–1994 Autozam AZ-1 PG66SA/Suzuki Cara PG66SS
1991–1995 Suzuki Cappuccino EA11R
F8B
A SOHC 6-valve 796 cc engine, bore and stroke size is 68.5 mm × 72 mm. This engine has never been offered in Japan and was originally intended for export models of the Suzuki Alto. This engine has since become widely available in India, Pakistan, and China, where it has been installed in a wide variety of vehicles.
Max power: at 5000 to 5500 rpm
Max torque: at 3000 rpm
Applications:
1981–1994 Suzuki Alto 800 SS80/SB308/CA91
1983–1988 Suzuki FX (Pakistan)
1983–2014 Maruti 800
1983–present Suzuki Bolan/Ravi (Pakistan)
1984–2019 Maruti Omni (India)
1988–2019 Suzuki Mehran (Pakistan)
1990s Jilin JL1010/63xx (China)
1990s–2000s Changan SC10xx/63xx (China)
1990s–2001 Xi'an Qinchuan Alto (China)
1992–2008 Changan Alto (China)
1994–2001 Anhui Anchi MC6330E (China)
2000s–2010s Jiangnan Alto/Zotye TT (China)
F8C
Licensed F8B engine by Daewoo Motors for their own vehicles, as a part of technical tie-up between Suzuki and Daewoo in 1991.
Max power: at 5500 to 6000 rpm
Max torque: at 2500 to 4500 rpm
Applications:
1991–2001 Daewoo Tico/Fino
1991–2021 Daewoo Damas/Labo/Attivo (also labelled as Chevrolet CMV/CMP)
1998–2010 Daewoo Matiz/Chevrolet Spark
F8D
The SOHC 12-valve version of F8B engine, developed by Maruti Suzuki in India, introduced in 2000. This engine is also the cleanest in the family, as it was able to meet Bharat Stage VI emission standard in April 2020, which is equivalent to Euro 6 emission standard.
Max power: at 6000 rpm
Max torque: at 3500 rpm
Applications:
2000–2011 Maruti 800
2000–2022 Maruti Suzuki Alto 800
Four-cylinder
F6B
The 658 cc F6B engine is the smallest four-cylinder engine in the family and also the only one with DOHC 16-valve valvetrain design. This engine is also the only one with turbocharger and intercooler within the four-cylinder variant. The bore and stroke size is . This engine shared the same 65 mm bore size of the three-cylinder F6A, although the stroke was shortened to 49.6 mm to keep the displacement nearly the same as the three-cylinder F6A, even with the additional fourth cylinder.
Max power: at 7000 rpm
Max torque: at 3500 rpm
Application:
January 1990–May 1997 Suzuki Cervo Mode SR-Four CN31
F8A
A 797 cc with 62 mm x 66 mm bore and stroke size. The cylinder head design is SOHC 8-valve. This was Suzuki's first four-stroke car engine and also the oldest in the family.
Max power: at 5500 rpm
Max torque: at 3500 rpm
Applications:
1977–1981 Suzuki Jimny 8 (SJ20/LJ80)
1977–1989 Suzuki Carry ST80-90/SK408
1977–1982 Suzuki Cervo SC80 (Chile)
1980s Jilin JL110 (China)
1980s–2000s Changan SC10xx/63xx (China)
1985–1992 Ford Pronto (Taiwan)
F10A
This is a 970 cc, SOHC 8-valve engine version of F engine. The bore and stroke size is 65.5 mm x 72 mm. F10A is also the longest running F engine family. Debuted in 1978 Suzuki SC100, but most of the applications were ceased at least until late 1990s for international market with stricter emission regulation, such as in Europe. In 2005, this engine was upgraded with fuel injection and catalytic converter to meet Euro 2 emission standard for Indonesian market Suzuki Carry 1.0. In 2017, this engine was upgraded again to meet the Euro 4 emission standard for Vietnamese market Suzuki Super Carry. As of December 2020, F10A is still available in Vietnam and Myanmar.
Max power: at 5500 rpm
Max torque: at 3000–4000 rpm
Applications:
1978–1982 Suzuki SC100
1982–2006 Suzuki Jimny 1000/Samurai 1.0/Katana/Potohar SJ410
1983–present Suzuki Carry ST100/SK410
1985–2000 Maruti Gypsy (India)
1985–1986 Holden Scurry (Australia)
1986–1990 Suzuki Forsa SA410 (Indonesia)
1986–1999 Bedford/GME/Vauxhall Rascal (United Kingdom/Europe)
1990–2000 Maruti 1000 (India)
1992–1999 Ford Pronto (Taiwan)
1999–2006 Suzuki Karimun SL410R (Indonesia)
2000–2012 Suzuki Alto RA410 (Pakistan)
The 970 cc F10A engine as well as 870 cc (62 mm x 72 mm) DA/LJ462 and 1051 cc (65.5 mm x 78 mm) DA/LJ465Q versions are available in China and produced by numerous Suzuki's former business partners such as Jilin, Jiefang, Changan, Changhe or Hafei and used in a wide number of small vehicles, mostly based from Suzuki Carry, Suzuki Alto or even Daihatsu Hijet.
F10D
The Suzuki F10D engine is an inline four-cylinder engine that was developed in India by Maruti Suzuki for the domestic market. It was debuted in the Maruti Wagon-R in India in 2001. It was briefly installed in Maruti Alto and it was the engine that the first Maruti Zen Estilo came with. This engine is very similar to the three-cylinder F8D 12-valve engine that was optional on the Maruti 800 at the time. The bore and stroke of F10D is the same as that of the smaller sibling and shares quite a few parts like pistons, rings, connecting rods, and valves. The cast-iron engine block is very similar to that of the older F10A engine that powered the earlier Maruti Gypsy and Maruti 1000. Both F10A and F10D shares the same stroke length; but interchangeability of parts between these two engines is limited, and in some cases unknown, with current findings listed below:
Likeness:
F10A/F10D transmission bellhousing bolt patterns and diameters are the same, and it is possible to swap transmissions between A and D engines.
F10A/F10D both have the same engine mounting points threaded into the side of the engine block.
F10A/F10D have identical oil filter mounting points, the extended oil filter housing from the D can be fitted to the A, or the oil filter spigot from the A fitted to the D
Differences:
F10A intake and exhaust manifolds will not fit the F10D engine (or vice versa) due to difference in the cylinder head bolt patterns and port spacing.
F10A oil dipstick tube is located in the centre of the block on the right-hand side, the F10Ds is front mounted on the right hand side with no port drilling in the centre of the block.
The F10D got a contemporary SOHC alloy cylinder head with 4 valves per cylinder and MPFI. The earlier engines made and the late model 32-bit ECU raised it to . It is very respectable performance for naturally aspirated 1.1 L engine. Maruti re-engineered and optimized the F10D after a few years of its introduction. This "low friction engine" as it was called has a revised engine block, lighter crank and revised oil pump.
The head is much longer than the F10A version, with a three-inch overhang over the gearbox, due to a sensor on the end of the camshaft in place of a traditional distributor, and with a cast aluminium coolant outlet bolted onto the block, consisting of a thermostat, protruding even further.
The FWD F10D sump is different shape and length, the block has differing bolt hole arrangement. The oil pick up pipe and it's mounting points are completely dissimilar on the RWD F10A, and both have different cranks and bearing caps
While the F10A and F10D could bolt to each other's FWD/RWD gearboxes and engine mounts, the F10D occupies more space and would need an updated oil feed system.
Maruti announced in September 2009 that the F10D would not meet upcoming Euro 4 emissions norms and was to be phased out in 2010. It was replaced by the new 3- and 4-cylinder K-series engines.
Bore/stroke ratio : 0.95
Unitary capacity : /cylinder
bmep :
Specific torque : /litre
Main bearings : 5
Applications:
1999–2010 Maruti Suzuki Wagon R (India)
2001–2010 Suzuki/Maruti Alto
2006–2009 Maruti Zen Estilo/Suzuki Karimun Estilo (India/Indonesia)
See also
List of Suzuki engines
Notes
References
Suzuki engines
Automobile engines | Suzuki F engine | [
"Technology"
] | 2,865 | [
"Engines",
"Automobile engines"
] |
65,135,613 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%2C%CE%B2-Unsaturated%20carbonyl%20compound | α,β-Unsaturated carbonyl compounds are organic compounds with the general structure (O=CR)−Cα=Cβ−R. Such compounds include enones and enals, but also carboxylic acids and the corresponding esters and amides. In these compounds, the carbonyl group is conjugated with an alkene (hence the adjective unsaturated). Unlike the case for carbonyls without a flanking alkene group, α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are susceptible to attack by nucleophiles at the β-carbon. This pattern of reactivity is called vinylogous. Examples of unsaturated carbonyls are acrolein (propenal), mesityl oxide, acrylic acid, and maleic acid. Unsaturated carbonyls can be prepared in the laboratory in an aldol reaction and in the Perkin reaction.
Classifications
α,β-Unsaturated carbonyl compounds can be subclassified according to the nature of the carbonyl and alkene groups.
Acryloyl group
α,β-Unsaturated carbonyl compounds featuring a carbonyl conjugated to an alkene that is terminal, or vinylic, contain the acryloyl group (); it is the acyl group derived from acrylic acid. The preferred IUPAC name for the group is prop-2-enoyl, and it is also known as acrylyl or simply (and incorrectly) as acryl. Compounds containing an acryloyl group can be referred to as "acrylic compounds".
α,β-Unsaturated acids, esters, and amides
An α,β-unsaturated acid is a type of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compound that consists of an alkene conjugated to a carboxylic acid. The simplest example is acrylic acid (). These compounds are prone to polymerization, giving rise to the large area of polyacrylate plastics. Acrylate polymers are derived from but do not contain the acrylate group. The carboxyl group of acrylic acid can react with ammonia to form acrylamide, or with an alcohol to form an acrylate ester. Acrylamide and methyl acrylate are commercially important examples of α,β-unsaturated amides and α,β-unsaturated esters, respectively. They also polymerize readily. Acrylic acid, its esters, and its amide derivatives feature the acryloyl group.
α,β-Unsaturated dicarbonyls are also common. The parent compounds are maleic acid and the isomeric fumaric acid. Maleic acid forms esters, an imide, and an anhydride, i.e. diethyl maleate, maleimide, and maleic anhydride. Fumaric acid, as fumarate, is an intermediate in the Krebs citric acid cycle, which is of great importance in bioenergy.
Enones
An enone (or alkenone) is an organic compound containing both alkene and ketone functional groups. In an α,β-unsaturated enone, the alkene is conjugated to the carbonyl group of the ketone. The simplest enone is methyl vinyl ketone (butenone, ). Enones are typically produced using an aldol condensation or Knoevenagel condensation. Some commercially significant enones produced by condensations of acetone are mesityl oxide (dimer of acetone) and phorone and isophorone (trimers). In the Meyer–Schuster rearrangement, the starting compound is a propargyl alcohol. Another method to access α,β-unsaturated carbonyls is via selenoxide elimination. Cyclic enones can be prepared via the Pauson–Khand reaction.
Cyclic enones
The cyclic enones include cyclopropenone, cyclobutenone, cyclopentenone, cyclohexenone, and cycloheptenone.
Enals
An enal (or alkenal) is an organic compound containing both alkene and aldehyde functional groups. In an α,β-unsaturated enal, the alkene is conjugated to the carbonyl group of the aldehyde (formyl group). The simplest enal is acrolein (). Other examples include cis-3-hexenal (essence of mowed lawns) and cinnamaldehyde (essence of cinnamon).
Reactions of α,β-unsaturated carbonyls
α,β-Unsaturated carbonyls are electrophilic at both the carbonyl carbon as well as the β-carbon. Depending on conditions, either site is attacked by nucleophiles. Additions to the alkene are called conjugate additions. One type of conjugate addition is the Michael addition, which is used commercially in the conversion of mesityl oxide into isophorone. Owing to their extended conjugation, α,β-unsaturated carbonyls are prone to polymerization. In terms of industrial scale, polymerization dominates the use of α,β-unsaturated carbonyls. Again because of their electrophilic character, the alkene portion of α,β-unsaturated carbonyls is good dienophiles in Diels–Alder reactions. They can be further activated by Lewis acids, which bind to the carbonyl oxygen. α,β-Unsaturated carbonyls are good ligands for low-valent metal complexes, examples being (bda)Fe(CO)3 and tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0).
α,β-Unsaturated carbonyls are readily hydrogenated. Hydrogenation can target the carbonyl or the alkene (conjugate reduction) selectively, or both functional groups.
Enones undergo the Nazarov cyclization reaction and in the Rauhut–Currier reaction (dimerization).
α,β-Unsaturated thioesters
α,β-Unsaturated thioesters are intermediates in several enzymatic processes. Two prominent examples are coumaroyl-coenzyme A and crotonyl-coenzyme A. They arise by the action of acyl-CoA dehydrogenases. Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is a required co-factor.
Safety
Since α,β-unsaturated compounds are electrophiles and alkylating agents, many α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are toxic. The endogenous scavenger compound glutathione naturally protects from toxic electrophiles in the body. Some drugs (amifostine, N-acetylcysteine) containing thiol groups may protect from such harmful alkylation.
See also
2-alkenal reductase
Dicarbonyls
Enol
References
Functional groups
Conjugated ketones
Alkene derivatives | Α,β-Unsaturated carbonyl compound | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,535 | [
"Functional groups"
] |
65,136,124 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury%20pressure%20gauge | A mercury pressure gauge is a type of manometer using mercury as the working fluid. The most basic form of this instrument is a U-shaped glass tube filled with mercury. More complex versions deal with very high pressure or have better means of filling with mercury.
Description
The instrument consists of a glass U-tube half-filled with mercury. One end is connected to the vessel whose pressure is being measured. The other may be either left open or sealed. If it is left open, the pressure measured is relative to air pressure, which is variable. If it is sealed, the pressure measured is the absolute pressure. The tube is sealed during manufacture with the sealed end containing a vacuum. Mercury is a useful material to use in a manometer because of its high density. This means that a much shorter column is needed compared to water. For instance, the pressure represented by a column of of water is just under of mercury (mmHg).
The pressure is determined by measuring the difference in height between the reference column and the column connected to the item under test. Calibration marks are usually provided to aid in this measurement and in laboratories a cathetometer might be employed for accuracy. When relative pressure is being measured the difference may be negative, meaning the test pressure is below the reference pressure. The ubiquity of this instrument led to mmHg becoming a common unit of measure of pressure. It is also related to another unit of pressure, the torr. The mmHg is not an SI unit but is still sometimes found in use, particularly in medicine. In SI units, is approximately .
Filling with mercury
The initial filling of a sealed gauge with mercury can be problematic. One method involves fusing the glass of the gauge to a vessel of mercury, pumping out the air and boiling the mercury. After filling, the gauge is then cut away again. Further, the vacuum in the gauge eventually deteriorates due to slow diffusion of gases through the mercury, making the device inaccurate.
In 1938, Adolph Zimmerli (1886–1967) invented a gauge that overcame the filling problems, at least for pressures below ambient pressure. Zimmerli's gauge consists of three relatively wide columns. Referring to the diagram, the columns in the centre and on the right function as a standard U-tube gauge. Additionally, the top of the centre column is connected to the bottom of the third column on the left with a capillary tube. The centre column is initially completely filled with mercury, as is the connecting capillary. The other two columns are partially filled. The top of both the main column on the right and the reservoir column on the left are connected together and to an inlet for the pressure to be measured. When the test pressure is applied, the mercury rises in both the left and right columns and falls in the centre column. The mercury at the top of the capillary breaks and a vacuum forms there. The pressure is then measured in the usual way by the difference between the heights of the right and centre columns.
Since a new vacuum is formed each time a measurement is made, there is no problem with the vacuum becoming contaminated. Any bubbles that do form in the capillary are easily removed by inverting the gauge and shaking or tapping.
High pressure measurement
For extremely high pressures, the column can still be very high, even when using mercury. Gauges for measuring pressure in the range have been built. A 23-metre-tall mercury column is difficult to read and suffers from inaccuracies caused by different parts of the column being at different temperatures. A more compact mercury pressure gauge suitable for high pressure was built by Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, the discoverer of superconductivity. This consisted of a series of mercury filled U-tubes connected together with inverted U-tubes. The inverted U-tubes contain compressed air at a pressure designed to bring the instrument into the pressure range of interest. The pressure is found from this instrument by summing together the difference in column heights in each of the U-tubes.
History
The parent of all mercury pressure gauges is the mercury barometer invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643. An early engineering application of the mercury pressure gauge was to measure pressure in steam boilers during the age of steam. The first use on steam engines was by James Watt while developing the Watt steam engine between 1763 and 1775. This engine was a development of the popular Newcomen atmospheric engine. A gauge for use on steam engines very similar to the later Kamerlingh-Onnes gauge was patented in 1858 by Thomas Purssglove. Like the Kamerlingh-Onnes device, it had multiple U-tubes connected in series. The connecting tubes were filled with an incompressible fluid.
The instrument was formerly widely used in education, laboratories, and medical measurements as well as its industrial applications. However, the toxicity of mercury and the risk of spills, through broken glassware, has led to its decline. It is also easier to interface other types of sensor to electronic systems. By 1991 it had mostly been replaced by other technologies.
Use as a standard
Mercury gauges are commonly used as the primary standard for pressure by national measurement standards laboratories. For instance, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US uses a gauge that is three metres tall and contains of mercury. For precision, ultrasonics are used to measure the mercury column height. However, in 2019 the backup gauge was decommissioned after being out of service for years. It was so large that it could not be removed by normal means; a hole was cut in the ceiling to extract it. The decommissioning was part of an international move to stop using mercury in standards laboratories for environmental reasons. NIST will eventually also take the main mercury gauge out of service after a portable photonic device is installed to replace it.
See also
McLeod gauge, a type of mercury pressure gauge used for calibrating electronic pressure gauges
References
Bibliography
COWI Consulting Engineers and Planners, Mercury: A Global Pollutant Requiring Global Initiatives, Nordic Council of Ministers, 2002 .
Hála, Eduard; Pick, Jiří; Fried, Vojtěch; Vilím, O.; Standart, George (trans), Vapour–Liquid Equilibrium, Pergamon Press, 1967 (Elsevier reprint, 2013 ).
Herman, Irving, Physics of the Human Body, Springer Science & Business Media, 2007 .
Kopp, Brian, "Industrial telemetry", ch. 18 in, Telemetry Systems Engineering, Artech House, 2002 .
Kotz, John C.; Treichel, Paul M.; Townsend, John R., Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity, vol. 1, Cengage Learning, 2008 .
Lechevalier, Hubert A., "The Waksman Institute of Microbiology, 1954 to 1984", The Journal of the Rutgers University, vol. 49–51, pp. 20–45, Associated Friends of the Library of Rutgers University, 1987.
Lee, Jennifer Lauren, "No longer under pressure: NIST dismantles giant mercury manometer", NIST, 28 June 2019/15 January 2020, retrieved and archived 29 August 2020.
Lindh, Wilburta Q.; Pooler, Marilyn S.; Tamparo, Carol D.; Dahl, Barbara M., Delmar's Clinical Medical Assisting, Cengage Learning, 2009 .
Mack, Donald M., Instrumentman 1 & C, United States Government Priniting Office, 1990 (1973 edition ).
Purssglove, Thomas Paramore, "Pressure gauge", English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1858, 2675-2752, patent no. 2739, filed 1 December 1858, issued 31 May 1859.
Singh, Sarbjit, Experiments in Fluid Mechanics, PHI Learning, 2012 .
Stein, Benjamin, Building Technology: Mechanical and Electrical Systems, John Wiley & Sons, 1996 .
Suski, J.; Puers, R.; Ehrlich, C.D.; Schmidt, J.W.; Abramson, E.H.; Sutton, C.M., "Pressure", ch. 3 in, Goodwin, A.R.H.; Marsh, K.N.; Wakeham, W.A. (eds), Experimental Thermodynamics (vol. 6): Measurement of the Thermodynamic Properties of Single Phases, Elsevier, 2003 .
Zimmerli, Adolph, "An improved mercury U-gage", Industrial & Engineering Chemistry: Analytical Edition, vol. 10, iss. 5, pp. 283–284, 1 May 1938.
Pressure gauges | Mercury pressure gauge | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 1,780 | [
"Pressure gauges",
"Measuring instruments"
] |
65,136,309 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear%20ensemble%20approach | The Nuclear Ensemble Approach (NEA) is a general method for simulations of diverse types of molecular spectra. It works by sampling an ensemble of molecular conformations (nuclear geometries) in the source state, computing the transition probabilities to the target states for each of these geometries, and performing a sum over all these transitions convoluted with shape function. The result is an incoherent spectrum containing absolute band shapes through inhomogeneous broadening.
Motivation
Spectrum simulation is one of the most fundamental tasks in quantum chemistry. It allows comparing the theoretical results to experimental measurements. There are many theoretical methods for simulating spectra. Some are simple approximations (like stick spectra); others are high-level, accurate approximations (like those based on Fourier-transform of wavepacket propagations). The NEA lies in between. On the one hand, it is intuitive and straightforward to apply, providing much improved results compared to the stick spectrum. On the other hand, it does not recover all spectral effects and delivers a limited spectral resolution.
Historical
The NEA is a multidimensional extension of the reflection principle, an approach often used for estimating spectra in photodissociative systems. With popularization molecular mechanics, ensembles of geometries started to be also used to estimate the spectra through incoherent sums. Thus, different from the reflection principle, which is usually done via direct integration of analytical functions, the NEA is a numerical approach. In 2012, a formal account of NEA showed that it corresponded to an approximation to the time-dependent spectrum simulation approach, employing a Monte Carlo integration of the wavepacket overlap time evolution.
NEA for absorption spectrum
Consider an ensemble of molecules absorbing radiation in the UV/vis. Initially, all molecules are in the ground electronic state
Because of the molecular zero-point energy and temperature, the molecular geometry has a distribution around the equilibrium geometry. From a classical point of view, supposing that the photon absorption is an instantaneous process, each time a molecule is excited, it does so from a different geometry. As a consequence, the transition energy has not always the same value, but is a function of the nuclear coordinates.
The NEA captures this effect by creating an ensemble of geometries reflecting the zero-point energy, the temperature, or both.
In the NEA, the absorption spectrum (or absorption cross section) σ(E) at excitation energy E is calculated as
where e and m are the electron charge and mass, c is the speed of light, ε0 the vacuum permittivity, and ћ the reduced Planck constant. The sums run over Nfs excited states and Np nuclear geometries xi. For each of such geometries in the ensemble, transition energies ΔE0n(xi) and oscillator strengths f0n(xi) between the ground (0) and the excited (n) states are computed. Each transition in the ensemble is convoluted with a normalized line shape function centered at ΔE0n(xi) and with width δ. Each xi is a vector collecting the cartesian components of the geometries of each atom.
The line shape function may be, for instance, a normalized Gaussian function given by
Although δ is an arbitrary parameter, it must be much narrower than the band width, not to interfere in its description. As the average value of band widths is around 0.3 eV, it is a good practice to adopt δ ≤ 0.05 eV.
The geometries xi can be generated by any method able to describe the ground state distribution. Two of the most employed are dynamics and Wigner distribution nuclear normal modes.
Molar extinction coefficient ε can be obtained from absorption cross section through
Because of the dependence of f0n on xi, NEA is a post-Condon approximation, and it can predict dark vibronic bands.
NEA for emission spectrum
In the case of fluorescence, the differential emission rate is given by
.
This expression assumes the validity of the Kasha's rule, with emission from the first excited state.
NEA for other types of spectrum
NEA can be used for many types of steady-state and time-resolved spectrum simulations. Some examples beyond absorption and emission spectra are:
two-dimensional
differential transmission
photoelectron
ultrafast Auger
X-ray photo-scattering
Limitations of NEA
By construction, NEA does not include information about the target (final) states. For this reason, any spectral information that depends on these states cannot be described in the framework of NEA. For example, vibronically resolved peaks in the absorption spectrum will not appear in the simulations, only the band envelope around them, because these peaks depend on the wavefunction overlap between the ground and excited state. NEA can be, however, coupled to excited-state dynamics to recover these effects.
NEA may be too computationally expensive for large molecules. The spectrum simulation requires the calculation of transition probabilities for hundreds of different nuclear geometries, which may become prohibitive due to the high computational costs. Machine learning methods coupled to NEA have been proposed to reduce these costs.
References
Theoretical chemistry | Nuclear ensemble approach | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 1,063 | [
"Quantum chemistry",
"Quantum mechanics",
"Theoretical chemistry",
" molecular",
"nan",
"Atomic",
" and optical physics"
] |
65,136,828 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton%20transfer | Chemical reactions | Proton transfer | [
"Chemistry"
] | 4 | [
"nan"
] |
65,137,013 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination%20in%20Brazil | Vaccination in Brazil includes all the practice and social issues related to vaccines in Brazil.
The National Program for Immunization (Programa Nacional de Imunizações, or PNI) of the Unified Health System is the national government agency overseeing vaccination in Brazil. Historically coverage has been high, reaching a national rate higher than 90%.
Brazil has an established pool of scientists and doctors who are prepared to do vaccine research and development. The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil had the effect of providing Brazil an opportunity to conduct some of the world's most important COVID-19 vaccine research.
As of November 2021, Brazil has the lowest level of vaccine hesitancy in Latin America. Experts ascribe this to long-standing vaccination programs run by the public health system and to the inclusion of a vaccination requirement in social welfare programs. At the same time, vaccination coverage has been decreasing since 2011, mainly among rural families and people with low education.
Routine vaccinations
Vaccination coverage includes
For children
BCG vaccine, Intradermal, at birth
Hepatitis B vaccine, at birth, 1 and 6 months
Pentavalent vaccine, DTP (whole cell pertussis component), HB, and Hib, administered at 2, 4, and 6 months, with a booster (DTP) at 15 months and 4 years.
Polio vaccine (inactivated), at 2 and 4 months
Polio vaccine (oral), at 6 and 15 months
Rotavirus vaccine (monovalent oral human rotavirus vaccine) at 2 and 4 months
Pneumococcal vaccine 10-valent conjugate vaccine d at 2, 4, 6, and 10 months
Yellow fever vaccine at 9 months and booster every 10 years
MMR vaccine at 12 months and 4 years
Meningococcal vaccine at 3, 5, and 15 months
Influenza vaccine, annually
MMRV vaccine, after 1 year of age
Hepatitis A vaccine, at 0 and 6 to 12 months
For adults:
Seasonal influenza vaccines are freely available once a year for those above 60 years of age, first responders, security personnel, postpartum women and to those with select health conditions. Adults also have access to the Hepatitis B, human papillomavirus (HPV), and Yellow Fever vaccines.
Economics
Since 2008 there has been much more research in Brazil on the economic costs and benefits of vaccination programs. A 2014 study found favorable benefits of the HPV vaccine in Brazil while also explaining that economically the consequences are not simple to explain. A 2012 study considered the financial costs and health benefits of providing hepatitis A vaccines nationally to children in Brazil.
Other issues
A 2020 review of social research on vaccination in Latin America found that about half of the research papers were about Brazil.
A review of meningococcal vaccine use in Brazil from 2005 to 2017 found that the vaccination program lowered the number of cases of the disease while also the number of deaths from the disease did not change much.
In 2018 Brazil began a large campaign to provide about 70 million people with the yellow fever vaccine.
References
External links
Travel Health Notices - Brazil from the Centers for Disease Control
Healthcare in Brazil
Brazil | Vaccination in Brazil | [
"Biology"
] | 657 | [
"Vaccination by country",
"Vaccination"
] |
65,137,159 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine%20Safety%20Net | Vaccine Safety Net (VSN) is a global network of websites aimed at helping people judge the quality of online information on vaccine safety. It was established in 2003 by the World Health Organization (WHO), which had previously set up the independent Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), prompted by concern from public health officials regarding the dissemination of potentially harmful health information via the web. By appraising websites, using credibility and content criteria defined by GACVS, the VSN has been developed to deliver information that is easy to access and up-to-date. As of 2020, the initiative has 89 member sites in 40 countries and 35 languages.
Prior to inclusion in the list, each website is assessed for its credibility, accessibility, content and design. A peer-reviewed study of 26 websites listed by VSN in 2008 noted "the transparency of financing, the lack of links to the pharmaceutical industry, the transparency of site management and responsibility and the proven scientific quality and constant updating of contents" of its assessed resources.
Purpose
The WHO's VSN is a "trusted" website for reliable vaccine related sources. The purpose of the VSN is to evaluate the variable reliability of on-line vaccine related information and address concerns caused by websites which circulate partially complete or misleading content, including speculative rumours or falsified research, which may consequently damage vaccination programmes. It aims to regularly review the vaccine related content disseminated on-line by different health-related organizations around the world, thereby validating them by including them on their list as websites that observe "good information practices".
History and membership
In developed countries, more than 90% of young people use the internet regularly, running the potential for misinformation related to vaccination reaching a large proportion of society. This has also been challenging in low and middle income countries. In 1999, concern from public health officials regarding the dissemination of potentially harmful health information via the web led the WHO to establish the 'Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety' (GACVS), the purpose of which is to deliver an assembly of independent professionals that can advise both the public and those involved in national vaccine policy, after assessing evidence pertaining to vaccine safety concerns that require a quick and impactful response. In 2003, the WHO created the VSN, devised to "help counteract misinformation about vaccines" and deliver easily accessible information to up-to-date accurate evidence, by appraising websites that provide material on vaccination. The credibility and content criteria are defined by GACVS. As a result, the reliability and standards set by WHO's GACVS and available at VSN has been created to help people judge the quality of the website information they read.
In the year of its creation, the VSN approved 23 websites as members in languages including English, French, Dutch, Italian, German and Spanish. In March 2009, the VSN listed a total of 29 websites that had been approved as containing "sound and credible" vaccine safety information. As of 2021 the initiative has 98 member sites in 42 countries and 36 languages.
Recommendations of good practice for vaccine websites are published by the WHO's GACVS. Some member sites refer to their inclusion in the VSN list as a kind of quality certification.
Members
Websites are included to the VSN list following evaluation of their credibility, accessibility, content and design. As listed on the official website, there are currently 99 members which include:
American Academy of Pediatrics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Vaccine Education Center
Robert Koch Institute
HPV Prevention and Control Board
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
Immunize Canada
Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
NHS Inform
Government of Canada
I Boost Immunity
Kids Boost Immunity
Ministry of Health (Argentina)
Paul-Ehrlich-Institut
Ghana Food and Drugs Authority
Public Health Agency of Canada
Public Health Agency of Sweden
Regional Assembly of Murcia
Vaccine Knowledge Project
Vaccinate Your Family
Vaccine Confidence Project
Health Feedback
Evaluation
In 2008 a peer-reviewed study of 26 websites included in the VSN list by April 2007 noted "the transparency of financing, the lack of links to the pharmaceutical industry, the transparency of site management and responsibility and the proven scientific quality and constant updating of contents" of its assessed resources, unlike websites critical of vaccination. 84.6% of sites recorded contact details, 73.1% noted which data protection procedure they used and that the data would not be sold or forwarded to third parties. Most sites used English. About one in five provided contact details of vaccination centres and 63.6% of sites were targeted at the general public and health care professionals. 84.6% of sites were quoted as having information on side effects.
In 2017 the VSN's Web Analytics Project (VSN-WAP) was launched to evaluate the behaviour of people using websites listed at VSN.
Media
Misinformation about vaccines is a concern for the VSN, especially on social media. In 2019, the social media platform Pinterest partnered with the VSN to address the issue. VSN is consistently listed by publications as a source for battling misinformation about vaccinations.
References
External links
Vaccine Safety Net (VSN)
Health advocacy groups
Vaccination-related organizations
World Health Organization
Internet properties established in 2003 | Vaccine Safety Net | [
"Biology"
] | 1,084 | [
"Vaccination-related organizations",
"Vaccination"
] |
65,137,589 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline%20of%20early%20independent%20Vietnam | This is a timeline of Early Independent Vietnam, covering the period of Vietnamese history from the rise of the Tĩnh Hải circuit ruled by the Khúc clan (r. 905–923/930) to the kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt ruled by the Early Lê dynasty (980–1009).
10th century
11th century
Gallery
Citations
References
Vietnam history-related lists
Historical timelines
10th century in Vietnam | Timeline of early independent Vietnam | [
"Physics"
] | 84 | [
"Wikipedia timelines",
"Spacetime",
"Physical quantities",
"Time"
] |
65,138,718 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zscaler | Zscaler, Inc. () is an American cloud security company based in San Jose, California. The company offers cloud-based services to protect enterprise networks and data.
History
Zscaler was founded in 2007 by Jay Chaudhry and K. Kailash. The company launched its cybersecurity platform in 2008. In August 2012, Zscaler secured $38 million in funding from investors. The company's second funding round, led by TPG Capital, raised $100 million in August 2015. In March 2018, the company had an initial public offering (IPO) in which it raised $192 million. The company is traded on the Nasdaq using the symbol ZS. Zscaler stock was added to the Nasdaq-100 index on December 17, 2021.
Zero Trust Exchange
Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange platform features cyberthreat protection, data protection, zero trust connectivity, and business analytics. It was first announced at Zenith Live in June 2023.
In January 2024, the company announced Zscaler Zero Trust SASE (secure access service edge), enabling it to offer its first single-vendor SASE. It is built on the company's AI-powered SSE platform to securely connect users, locations, and cloud services through its Zero Trust Exchange. It also offers a cloud-based cybersecurity platform, Zscaler Internet Access.
Acquisitions
Zscaler acquired the AI and machine-learning technology of TrustPath in August 2018; the browser security company Appsulate for $13 million in May 2019; cloud security posture management startup Cloudneeti in April 2020; and microsegmentation firm Edgewise Networks in May 2020. The company purchased cybersecurity startup Trustdome in April 2021; Indian cybersecurity startup Smokescreen Technologies in May 2021; and cloud security firm ShiftRight for $25.6 million in September 2022.
On February 14, 2023, Zscaler announced it would acquire Israeli application security company Canonic, a company focused on protecting against attacks that target software as a service. In March 2024, the company acquired Israel-based data security startup Avalor, which uses AI to analyze data in search of identifying security vulnerabilities, for $310 million; and network segmentation startup Airgap Network, for an undisclosed amount.
References
External links
Computer security companies specializing in botnets
Computer forensics
Content-control software
Companies based in San Jose, California
Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
American companies established in 2007
Cloud computing providers
2007 establishments in California
Software companies established in 2007
Computer security companies
2018 initial public offerings
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Software companies of the United States | Zscaler | [
"Engineering"
] | 550 | [
"Cybersecurity engineering",
"Computer forensics"
] |
65,138,820 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/County%20home%20%28Ireland%29 | In the Irish Free State and Republic of Ireland, the county home () was an institution which replaced workhouses from 1922 onwards.
County homes were total institutions housing a wide variety of people, mostly poor: the elderly, the chronically ill, the mentally ill, children, the intellectually disabled and unmarried mothers.
History
The county homes were founded in the early 1920s after the formation of the Irish Free State. After the abolition of the existing system of workhouses, administration was centralised under the
county councils, with the following model:
a central county home for the aged and infirm
a separate infirmary section to deal with chronic and long term cases,
a county hospital for major surgery, medical cases and abnormal midwifery
district hospitals for medical cases, minor surgical cases and midwifery
fever hospitals for infectious diseases
These reforms were retrospectively legalised by the Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1923. The county homes were generally run by Catholic religious orders and financed by the state.
Girls and women pregnant outside of marriage were sometimes sent to Magdalene asylums and Mother and Baby Homes, where they were required to perform heavy labour and often received substandard care; they were often forced to place their children for adoption. Women who kept their children were often not wanted by their families and struggled to find employment or housing, so a large number of unmarried mothers were forced to live in county homes. Orphans and illegitimate children were often placed in county homes for a long period of time; they were used as "dumping grounds" until children could be transferred to other institutions like industrial schools. A report of 1947–48 notes that many children were abandoned in the county home by their mothers.
A Poor Law Commission's report of 1927 stated that County Homes were unsuitable for unmarried mothers and babies.
In 1943, about 8,000 people were living in county homes.
From the 1950s onwards, county homes were reformed and standards of care improved. By the 1990s, they had been abolished, with the buildings now serving as normal hospitals.
List
There was one in each of the twenty-seven counties of the Republic of Ireland (Tipperary was at that time divided into North and South), except that there was none in County Louth and three in County Cork.
Athy (County Kildare): St. Vincent's Hospital
Carlow (County Carlow): located in a former British Army cavalry barracks; renamed Sacred Heart Home in 1952
Cavan (County Cavan): St. Felim's Hospital, a former workhouse
Cashel (South Tipperary): St Patrick's Hospital
Castlebar (County Mayo): Mayo County Home
Castleblayney (County Monaghan): St Mary's Hospital
Clonakilty (West County Cork): West Cork County Home
Cork City (East County Cork): St Finbarr's
Dublin (County Dublin): St Kevin's Institution (modern St. James's Hospital)
Dungarvan (County Waterford): St Joseph's Hospital
Edenderry (County Offaly): Ofalia House
Ennis (County Clare): St. Joseph's County Home
Enniscorthy (County Wexford): St Senan's Hospital
Killarney (County Kerry): St. Columbanus’ Hospital
Longford (County Longford): St. Joseph's Hospital
Loughrea (County Galway): St Brendan's Hospital
Manorhamilton (County Leitrim): Our Lady's Hospital
Mountmellick (County Laois / Queen's County): St. Vincent's
Mallow (North County Cork): Mallow Union Workhouse (now Mallow General Hospital)
Mullingar (County Westmeath): Midland Regional Hospital
Newcastle West (County Limerick): St Ita's Hospital
Rathdrum (County Wicklow): St Colman's Hospital
Roscommon (County Roscommon): Sacred Heart Hospital
Sligo (County Sligo): St John's Hospital
Stranorlar (County Donegal): St Joseph's
Thomastown (County Kilkenny): St Columbkille's County Home
Thurles (North Tipperary): Community Hospital of the Assumption
Trim (County Meath): St Joseph's Hospital
Tullamore (County Offaly / King's County): Midlands Regional Hospital
Tullamore (County Offaly / King's County): Riada House
Cultural depictions
As a symbol of the failure of the newly independent state to provide for the needs of its people, the county home has occasionally featured in fiction.
Sebastian Barry's 1995 play The Steward of Christendom takes place in a county home, depicting the fractured memories of a mentally-ill former policeman.
The expression "Goodnight Ballivor, I'll Sleep in Trim", famous in County Meath, is possibly a reference to the Trim county home.
In Colm Tóibín's 2009 novel Brooklyn, the main character notes that New York's "forgotten Irish" remind her of "men from the County Home;" she is a native of Enniscorthy, where the Wexford county home was sited.
Niamh Boyce wrote Kitty, a sequence of poems about her grandaunt, a seamstress in the Athy county home.
John MacKenna mentions the "county home" in a poem in his 2012 collection Where Sadness Begins.
References
Total institutions
Types of health care facilities
1922 establishments in Ireland | County home (Ireland) | [
"Biology"
] | 1,104 | [
"Behavioural sciences",
"Behavior",
"Total institutions"
] |
75,097,707 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl-2%2C2%27-bipyridine | Dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine can refer to many isomers of 2,2'-bipyridine containing two methyl substituents. All have the formula , but the most common are symmetrical derivatives listed below. These compounds are used as ligands in coordination chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. They are white or colorless. Most are solids except the 3,3' isomer which is a liquid.
References
Chelating agents
Bipyridines | Dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine | [
"Chemistry"
] | 101 | [
"Chelating agents",
"Process chemicals"
] |
75,097,879 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosamine%20formation%20during%20digestion | In biochemistry, nitrosamines are a class of compounds that can form during food digestion. The presence of their precursors, nitrites, in cured meats, is controversial, because of a small connection to cancer risk.
Background
Nitroso compounds react with primary amines in acidic environments to form nitrosamines, which human metabolism converts to mutagenic diazo compounds. Small amounts of nitro and nitroso compounds form during meat curing; the toxicity of these compounds preserves the meat against bacterial infection. After curing completes, the concentration of these compounds appears to degrade over time. Their presence in finished products has been tightly regulated since several food-poisoning cases in the early 20th century, but consumption of large quantities of processed meats can still cause a slight elevation in gastric and oesophageal cancer risk today.
For example, during the 1970s, certain Norwegian farm animals began exhibiting elevated levels of liver cancer. These animals had been fed herring meal preserved with sodium nitrite. The sodium nitrite had reacted with dimethylamine in the fish and produced dimethylnitrosamine.
The effects of nitroso compounds vary dramatically across the gastrointestinal tract, and with diet. Nitroso compounds present in stool do not induce nitrosamine formation, because stool has neutral pH. Stomach acid catalyzes nitrosamine compound formation and is the main location of the reaction during digestion.
The formation process is inhibited when amine concentration is low (e.g. a low-protein diet or no fermented food). The process may also be inhibited in the case of high vitamin C (ascorbic acid) or erythorbic acid concentration (e.g. high-fruit diet). However, when 10% of the meal is fat, the effect reverses, and ascorbic acid markedly increases nitrosamine formation. Vitamin C and erythorbic acid are already commonly used in the meat industry because they enhance the binding of nitrite to myoglobin, encouraging the formation of the desired pink color.References
Digestive system
Nitrosamines | Nitrosamine formation during digestion | [
"Biology"
] | 445 | [
"Digestive system",
"Organ systems"
] |
75,098,287 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuomas%20Sandholm | Tuomas Sandholm is the Angel Jordan University Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and a serial entrepreneur with a research focus on the intersection of artificial intelligence, economics, and operations research.
Early life and education
Sandholm was born in Finland. He earned a Dipl. Eng. (M.S. with B.S. included) with distinction in Industrial Engineering and Management Science. He continued his education in the United States, where he obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Career and research
Sandholm has contributed to several domains including AI, game theory, and real-world applications like organ exchanges and electronic marketplaces. His achievements in AI and game theory include the development of Libratus and Pluribus, AI systems that have defeated top human players in poker, attracting global attention.
He has impacted practical applications by implementing algorithms for national kidney exchange and founded several companies, including CombineNet, Inc., and Strategy Robot, Inc., that have applied his research to sectors like advertising and defense.
Awards and honors
Sandholm's work has garnered numerous awards, such as the IJCAI John McCarthy Award and the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the ACM, AAAI, INFORMS, and AAAS.
Personal life
In his early years, Sandholm was a pilot second lieutenant in the Finnish Air Force. Additionally, he attained recognition in sports, securing the #1 ranking in windsurfing in Finland in 1987.
References
American computer scientists
Finnish computer scientists
Artificial intelligence researchers
Game theorists
Carnegie Mellon University faculty
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence | Tuomas Sandholm | [
"Mathematics"
] | 348 | [
"Game theorists",
"Game theory"
] |
75,098,357 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotetrahydrocannabinol | Isotetrahydrocannabinol (iso-THC) is a phytocannabinoid similar in structure to cannabicitran which has been identified as a trace component of Cannabis, but is more commonly found as an impurity in synthetic THC which has been made from cannabidiol. iso-THC is present with other isomers with the double bond in a different position and the saturated dihydro derivative. iso-THC can be described as the upper cyclization product of CBD, while THC is the lower cyclization product of CBD. Its pharmacology has not been studied, though it is commonly found as a trace impurity in commercially marketed Δ8-THC products.
See also
Abeo-HHC acetate
Cannabicyclol
Cannabielsoin
Cis-THC
Exo-THC
References
Benzochromenes
Phytocannabinoids
Oxygen heterocycles
Heterocyclic compounds with 3 rings
Isopropenyl compounds | Isotetrahydrocannabinol | [
"Chemistry"
] | 215 | [
"Isopropenyl compounds",
"Functional groups"
] |
75,099,095 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwackhiomyces%20echinulatus | Zwackhiomyces echinulatus is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Xanthopyreniaceae. Thus fungus exclusively colonises the lichen species Physconia distorta. This fungus is notable for specific structural features that distinguish it from other members of its genus, and for its niche habitat found only in particular regions of Sicily, Italy.
Taxonomy
It was dormally described as a new species in 2008 by Wolfgang von Brackel. The etymology of the species name echinulatus is inspired by the (spiny) ornamentation of its spores, which bears resemblance to those of Pronectria echinulata. The type specimen was found in Sicily, in the Bosco della Ficuzza region near Palermo, growing on the bark of Quercus pubescens hosting the lichen Physconia distorta.
Description
The fungus possesses that are black, globular structures growing superficially on its host, measuring between 100 and 250 μm in diameter. These structures have walls that are dark brown externally and castaneous brown centrally. The asci, which contain the spores, are cylindrical in shape, typically containing four spores, although instances with six to eight spores have been observed. These spores are hyaline (translucent), later turning a pale brownish hue. Their unique feature, which gives the fungus its name, is an echinulate ornamentation. They measure approximately 24.0–27.4 μm in length and 9.3–11.0 μm in width. This fungus is differentiated from others in its genus by the combination of its 4-spored asci and the specific size of its spores.
Habitat and distribution
Zwackhiomyces echinulatus has a very specialised habitat, being found exclusively on the lichen Physconia distorta. This lichen grows on trees such as Quercus pubescens, Q. cerris and Pyrus amygdaliformis within mixed coppice forests. The fungus has been recorded in a few locations within Sicily, specifically in the Bosco della Ficuzza near Corleone and between Mistretta and Nicosia in the Monti Nebrodi. The presence of this fungus does not seem to harm its lichen host.
References
Xanthopyreniaceae
Fungi described in 2008
Fungi of Europe
Lichenicolous fungi
Fungus species | Zwackhiomyces echinulatus | [
"Biology"
] | 498 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
75,099,341 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo%20Palatinus | Leo Palatinus (Latin for Palatine Lion) was a constellation created by the astronomer Karl-Joseph König in 1785. He created the constellation to honor the patrons, Count Palatine Charles Theodore and Countess Palatine Elizabeth Auguste, of the observatory in Mannheim, Germany, where he worked. However, the constellation failed to attract attention from contemporary and subsequent astronomers, and it was never depicted in a chart aside from the 1785 description.
Leo Palatinus was made of two non-contiguous groups of stars: a scattering of fourth-magnitude stars in far northwestern Aquarius made a crowned lion, and second part of even fainter stars west of Equuleus made a monogram CTEA (the combined initials of König's patrons) above the lion.
See also
Former constellations
References
Former constellations | Leo Palatinus | [
"Astronomy"
] | 162 | [
"Former constellations",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Constellations"
] |
75,099,468 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne%20van%20den%20Nouweland | Anne van den Nouweland is a Dutch-American game theorist specializing in cooperative game theory, the game-based formation of complex networks, and their application in the design of communication networks. She works as a professor of economics at the University of Oregon.
Education and career
Van den Nouweland studied mathematics as an undergraduate at Nijmegen University in the Netherlands, graduating in 1984, and earned a master's degree there in 1989. Her master's thesis research applied intuitionism to the understanding of the Riemann–Stieltjes integral, supervised by Arnoud van Rooij and Wim Veldman. After two more years as a teaching assistant in the mathematics department at Nijmegen, she moved to the econometrics department at Tilburg University, also in the Netherlands, completing her Ph.D. there in 1993. Her doctoral dissertation, Games and Graphs in Economic Situations, was promoted by Stef Tijs.
After completing her doctorate, she stayed on at Tilburg as an assistant professor and member of the CentER for Economic Research. She moved to the University of Oregon in 1996, was tenured there as an associate professor in 2001, and was promoted to full professor in 2007.
Book
Van den Nouweland is the coauthor of Social and Economic Networks in Cooperative Game Theory (with Marco Slikker, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001).
References
External links
Home page
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Dutch emigrants to the United States
21st-century Dutch economists
Dutch mathematicians
Dutch women economists
Dutch women mathematicians
American economists
American mathematicians
American women economists
American women mathematicians
Game theorists
Radboud University Nijmegen alumni
Tilburg University alumni
Academic staff of Tilburg University
University of Oregon faculty | Anne van den Nouweland | [
"Mathematics"
] | 357 | [
"Game theorists",
"Game theory"
] |
75,101,121 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-nut%20clarity | Post-nut clarity is a term describing the feeling of being clear-headed or mentally "reset" after orgasm in sexual intercourse or masturbation. Feelings of disgust with oneself, as well as guilt, have also been associated with the term. Disgust and regret with the act of intercourse or with one's sexual partner has also been documented.
Etymology and usage
The word "nut" is found in the slang phrase busting a nut, which refers to an orgasm. The term "post-nut clarity" has been noted to be particularly used in online discussions. GQ reported that one Twitter user posted about the term in 2012. The rough term can be traced back to 2006 in Urban Dictionary. On the Japanese textboard 2channel, the term kenjataimu or "sage time", referring to the same concept, appeared as early as October 2005.
The phrase has been referenced in songs by Dr. Dre, Drake and Alemeda.
Coverage and research
Various Internet media writers have described "post-nut clarity" as akin to an "aha" moment for men following intercourse. Media coverage of post-nut clarity often associates men with being able to anecdotally relate to having experienced it, though women have also been documented experiencing the phenomenon.
While noted as similar to post-coital dysphoria (or post-coital tristesse), post-nut clarity has been discussed as a different phenomenon. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, a professor of relational and sexual communication at Cal State Fullerton has stated "The scientific studies are talking about post-coital dysphoria as a condition".
See also
Anagnorisis
Eureka effect
Post-coital tristesse
Refractory period (sex)
References
2010s neologisms
Mental health
Orgasm
Sexual health | Post-nut clarity | [
"Biology"
] | 368 | [
"Behavior",
"Sexuality stubs",
"Sexuality"
] |
75,102,643 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy%20on%20Mercury | Astronomy on Mercury is the sky as viewed from the planet Mercury. Because Mercury only has a thin atmosphere, the sky will be black.
Sun
Due to the proximity of Mercury to the Sun, Mercury on average receives an energy flux from the Sun that is about 7 times the solar constant, but may reach nearly 11 times at maximum and about 4.5 times at minimum. The Sun will have an angular diameter of 1.733 to 1.142°. From perihelion to aphelion, the size of the Sun increases almost 66%, as does the brightness. This is due to the high eccentricity of Mercury's orbit around the Sun.
Due to tidal locking, three rotations of Mercury, is equal to two revolutions around the Sun. Because of this, the method of plotting the Sun's position at the same time each day would yield only a single point. However, the equation of time can still be calculated for any time of the year, so an analemma can be graphed with this information. The resulting curve is a nearly straight east–west line.
During a Mercurian day, the Sun would be seen rising in the east, move up for a while, stop in the sky, head backwards for a while, and then resume going forwards again. This peculiar movement is due to the orbit of Mercury. If the retrograde motion happens within few hours from sunrise, an observer would see two sunsets and two sunrises, in the same day. The Sun would be seen rising, stopping midway, going back down and setting, rise again, and continue its normal journey. Approximately four (Earth) days before perihelion, the angular speed of Mercury's orbit exactly matches its rotational velocity, so that the Sun's apparent motion stops. At perihelion, Mercury's orbital angular velocity slightly exceeds the rotational velocity, making the Sun appear to go retrograde. Four days after perihelion, the Sun's normal apparent motion resumes.
From the moment the top of the Sun can be seen to the moment someone can see a full circle, a sunrise would take almost 6 hours.
Planets and Stars
Apart from the Sun, Venus would be the brightest celestial body. Venus will be brighter from Mercury, than from Earth. The reason for this is that when Venus is closest to Earth, it is between the Earth and the Sun, so only its night side is seen. Even when Venus is brightest in the Earth's sky, humans see only a narrow crescent. For a Mercurian observer, on the other hand, Venus is closest when it is in opposition to the Sun and is showing its full disk. The apparent magnitude of Venus is as bright as −7.7.
The Earth and the Moon also will be very bright, their apparent magnitudes being about −5 and −1.2, respectively. The maximum apparent distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 15′. Which means that an observer on Mercury could differentiate between Earth and Moon as two separate dots in the sky. The Moon will come closer and closer towards Earth, eventually transiting Earth and moving over to the other side. This movement is because of the revolution of Moon around Earth. It is also possible to observe the Moon undergoing a total lunar eclipse which the MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit around Mercury did for the October 8, 2014 lunar eclipse. All other planets are visible just as they are on Earth, but somewhat less bright at opposition with the difference being most considerable for Mars.
The zodiacal light will be more prominent than it is from Earth. Mercury has a southern pole star, α Pictoris, a magnitude 3.2 star. It is fainter than Earth's Polaris. Omicron Draconis is its north star. Furthermore, the Sun is so bright that it is still impossible to see stars during the daytime, unless the observer is well shielded from sunlight (direct or reflected from the ground).
Solar System portrait
On February 18, 2011, a portrait of the Solar System was published on the MESSENGER website. The mosaic contained 34 images, acquired by the MDIS instrument during November 2010. All the planets were visible with the exception of Uranus and Neptune, due to their vast distances from the Sun. The MESSENGER "family portrait" was intended to be complementary to the Voyager family portrait, which was acquired from the outer Solar System by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990.
See also
References
Mercury (planet)
Observational astronomy | Astronomy on Mercury | [
"Astronomy"
] | 911 | [
"Observational astronomy",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines"
] |
75,103,072 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holzwarth%20gas%20turbine | The Holzwarth gas turbine is a form of explosion, or constant volume, gas turbine where an air–fuel mixture is admitted, ignited and then exhausted from combustion chambers controlled by valves. The Holzwarth gas turbine is named after its developer Hans Holzwarth (1877–1953) who designed several prototype engines used for testing and experimental service in Germany and Switzerland between 1908 and 1943.
Early efforts to build practical gas turbines struggled with the low efficiency of contemporary turbo compressors as these consumed almost all of the energy supplied by the turbine. In a Holzwarth gas turbine, high compressor efficiency is not needed since almost all the pressure rise takes place in sealed combustion chambers. The drawback of this approach is the high heat losses to the surrounding water jacket and correspondingly low cycle efficiency.
The last and largest Holzwarth gas turbine was a unit supplied to the Thyssen steelworks in Hamborn during 1938. The turbine was run experimentally until 1943 when it was damaged during an air raid. The machine was not repaired, and no further Holzwarth gas turbines were built.
Design and development
After completing his studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Stuttgart, Hans Holzwarth spent a short period of time working for the manufacturing company MAN before joining Hooven-Owens-Rentschler in the United States where he worked on the design of steam turbines. It was in 1903, while he was an employee of Hooven-Owens-Rentschler, that Holzwarth first patented his design for an explosion, or constant volume, gas turbine. Holzwarth went on to dedicate his career to the development of the explosion gas turbine and was granted nearly 200 patents, the last being published posthumously in 1957. Between 1906 and 1908, Holzwarth built a small demonstration machine at the Körting Brother's workshop in Hanover. This first machine is now on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
In modern constant pressure gas turbines, a compressor is needed to deliver pressurized air to the combustion chamber while also being efficient enough not to drain too much of the turbine's power. The relatively poor efficiency of early centrifugal compressors made building a commercially viable constant pressure gas turbine impractical. In Holzwarth's constant volume design, combustion takes place in a closed chamber where the air–fuel mixture is ignited electrically in a manner similar to the Otto cycle in spark-ignition engines. Since the pressure rise is driven primarily by the explosive expansion of gasses in the combustion chamber, an efficient compressor is not needed.
Holzwarth's design attracted the attention of Brown, Boveri & Cie. who had collaborated on the 1906 Armengaud-Lemale gas turbine which had been unable to generate usable power in part due to poor compressor efficiency. From 1909, Holzwarth worked with Brown, Boveri & Cie to build a market-ready gas turbine however output and efficiency were below expectations and Brown, Boveri & Cie withdrew from the project in 1912.
Holzwarth continued to work on his design while he was employed as chief engineer for gas turbines at Thyssen. In 1923, a prototype machine was delivered to the Prussian state railway where it was used to drive a generator for several years. During this period tests were carried out using coal dust fuel which was found to burn acceptably in the combustion chamber but produced exhaust particles which damaged turbine blades. In 1927, Hans Holzwarth left Thyssen & Co and founded his own company, Holzwarth Gasturbinen GmbH.
In 1927, Aurel Stodola tested a oil-fired Holzwarth gas turbine and found that only 8% of the fuel's energy was transformed into mechanical energy with most of the remaining energy being lost to the cooling water jacket. Brown, Boveri & Cie's engineers recognized that the heat lost to the cooling water could be used to drive a steam turbine. This led to the development of the commercially-successful Velox boilers, which in turn led to the development of the first modern industrial gas turbines.
In 1928, Holzwarth once again collaborated with Brown, Boveri & Cie to build a version of his gas turbine with two sets of combustion chambers connected in series. These two-stage machines used a compressor driven by a steam turbine which was fed from the evaporation of water from the cooling water jacket. In 1933, a two-stage machine driving a generator was installed at the Thyssen steelworks in Hamborn where it was initially operated with fuel oil and later with blast furnace gas.
The last Holzwarth gas turbine was an experimental machine built by Brown, Boveri & Cie's Mannheim factory in 1938 for the Hamborn steelworks. Fuel for combustion was blast-furnace gas compressed to about . The gas turbine had hydraulically operated valves working at 60–100 cycles per minute. The unit was only infrequently run and was not part of the steelwork's regular equipment. In 1943, the gas turbine was damaged during an Allied bombing raid after which no further test runs were made. After World War II ended, interest in the Holzwarth design declined and no further units were built.
Operation
The combustion chamber (A) is filled intermittently with an air–fuel mixture supplied by the gas chamber (C) and the air chamber (B). The air–fuel mixture is ignited by a spark after which the explosion of the mixture causes an increase in pressure throwing open the nozzle valve (F), allowing the compressed gases to flow through the nozzle (G) to the turbine wheel (H) on which the work is to be performed. While passing through the nozzle, the gases are expanded to the pressure of the exhaust (J). The nozzle valve (F) is kept open by fresh air throughout the expansion and subsequent scavenging and cooling.
When the expansion has been completed, the air is blown, or drawn, in at a slight pressure through the valve (D). This scavenging air throws any residual gases left in the combustion chamber through the nozzle, into the exhaust, after which the nozzle valve and the air valve (D) are positively closed. At this point the combustion chamber (A) is filled with pure, relatively cold air, into which the pure fuel (gas or atomized oil) is blown through the valve (E), thus forming the explosive air–fuel mixture which is ignited by a spark. In order to make the impulses imparted to the turbine wheel more uniform, several combustion chambers working alternately are arranged in a circle around the turbine wheel (H).
In early Holzwarth machines, gas and air were supplied at a relatively low pressure around in later models a gas compressor was used to supply fuel at pressures up to . The gas compressor was driven by a steam turbine fed from the evaporation of water from the gas turbine cooling jacket which required the addition of a surface condenser package.
The two Holzwarth gas turbines built by Brown, Boveri & Cie after 1928 used two stages of combustion chambers and a "two stoke" version of the cycle where gas admission and exhaust took place simultaneously. The first stage comprised the final charging of the combustion chamber, the explosion, the delivery of heat and energy in the steam generator and gas turbine. The second stage comprised the scavenging and the pre-charging. The residual exhaust gases escaped through an economizer to the atmosphere.
Surviving example
This first prototype Holzwarth gas turbine is on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
References
Gas turbines
Gas engines | Holzwarth gas turbine | [
"Technology"
] | 1,571 | [
"Engines",
"Gas turbines"
] |
75,103,460 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrosion%20Engineering%2C%20Science%20and%20Technology | Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of IOM3 covering corrosion engineering, corrosion science, and corrosion control.
History
The journal was founded in 1965 as the British Corrosion Journal (BCJ). It was launched as a publication of the British Joint Corrosion Group, which represented the interests of a number of professional organisations, including the Institute of Metals (later known the Metals Society and the Institute of Materials), to promote corrosion as an independent area of expertise. In this way, BCJ contrasted with existing journals in this field, namely Corrosion Science, which represented a more academic background.
In 1979, the Metals Society established the annual Guy Bengough Medal and Prize, which would be awarded to the best paper published in BCJ from the previous two years.
In 2001, the Institute of Materials (IoM) outsourced publication of 13 journals including BCJ to Maney Publishing. The next year, IoM merged into the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (IOM3).
BCJ had initially sourced the majority of its papers from the United Kingdom and the rest of the Commonwealth although increasingly drew from more international sources over time. In 2003, the journal was renamed to Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology to reflect the international nature of the journal.
In 2015, Maney was acquired by Taylor & Francis Group, which continues to publish CEST.
The journal is currently edited by Stuart B. Lyon.
Abstracting and indexing
Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology is abstracted and indexed in:
Chemical Abstracts Service
Science Citation Index Expanded
Essential Science Indicators
Inspec
Scopus
According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2022 impact factor of 1.8.
Notes
References
External links
Taylor & Francis academic journals
Academic journals established in 1965
Materials science journals
Hybrid open access journals | Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology | [
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 377 | [
"Materials science stubs",
"Materials science journals",
"Materials science journal stubs",
"Materials science"
] |
75,103,540 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C18H22N2O | {{DISPLAYTITLE:C18H22N2O}}
The molecular formula C18H22N2O (molar mass: 282.38 g/mol, exact mass: 282.1732 u) may refer to:
B777-81
PD 144418
SF-6847 | C18H22N2O | [
"Chemistry"
] | 66 | [
"Isomerism",
"Set index articles on molecular formulas"
] |
75,105,358 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonic%20myths | Masonic myths occupy a central place in Freemasonry. Derived from founding texts or various biblical legends, they are present in all Masonic rites and ranks. Using conceptual parables, they can serve Freemasons as sources of knowledge and reflection, where history often vies with fiction. They revolve mainly around the legendary stories of the construction of Solomon's temple, the death of its architect Hiram, and chivalry. Some of the original mythical themes are still part, to a greater or lesser extent and explicitly, of the symbols that make up the corpus and history of speculative Freemasonry. Some myths, however, have had no real posterity, but can still be found in some high grades, or in the symbolism of some rituals. Others borrow from the medieval imagination or from religious mysticism, and do not bother with historical truths to create legendary filiations with vanished guilds or orders.
Myths and Freemasonry
Myths in Freemasonry appear to be fundamental elements in the construction of ideas and feelings that are transmitted within the corpus of Masonic lodges and Freemasons. They contribute to their expression and ensure continuity for each Freemason, between the rite, practices and Masonic culture. As with other mythologies, the importance and quality of the combination of story elements is greater than the facts themselves. As a result, there is no one true or official version of Masonic myths, their richness often deriving from the multitude of possible interpretations.
They follow a certain chronological narrative, which is completed with more or less marked variations, the fundamental principles repeating themselves regularly. Three great myths make up the main corpus of speculative Freemasonry: that of the construction of the temple, which, without assuming a primordial place, offers continuity and centrality; that of the legend of Hiram, which stems from the possibility for Freemasonry to reach an anthropological universal and remains the main legend of Freemasonry; and that of medieval chivalry, with its human values of solidarity, loyalty and virtue.
The main point to emerge from all the Masonic myths is that the legends make use of targeted psychological research "tools" that revolve mainly around moral and spiritual self-improvement, self-building, brotherhood and death. The myths are linked, as they evolve, by a heroic figure who is never mentioned at first, and who unfolds in Masonic rituals. This heroic figure is portrayed and staged by the recipient at the first grade initiation ceremony, and the other degrees deepen this process by bringing out biblical heroes who link the degrees together, energizing and fertilizing the imagination and personal research.
Main myths
The construction myth
The myth of construction is consubstantial with Freemasonry; it draws part of its symbolism from the history of various constructions, real or legendary, such as the pyramids, the Tower of Babel, the Temple of Jerusalem or cathedrals. While the model of Solomon's temple is the one adopted by Masonic mythology, the construction practiced by speculative Freemasons is part of a broader movement that historian Yves Hivert-Messeca described in 2017 as "Masonic constructivism". This constructivism is based on the principles of building, deconstructing and freely rebuilding a man or woman, a spiritual edifice and a better world, all at the same time. The myth thus takes two complementary directions, one epistemological, philosophical and spiritual, the other cultural, philanthropic and critical. This myth, with its multiple and adaptable interpretative force, proposes a set of interpretations to be patiently worked out, alone or with others.
The construction myth does not appear in the anciens devoirs (old charges) of the Regius manuscript (1390), where King Solomon is mentioned only once. The Cooke manuscript (1410), on the other hand, offers a mythological account that became the basis of the operative legend of Solomon's temple. This vulgate is taken up almost identically by the Grand Lodge n°1 manuscript (1583) and the Watson manuscript (1687). The Drumfries manuscript (1710) and the Graham manuscript (1726) follow the same pattern, adding details to emphasize the Christian character and religiosity of the mythical tale.
In the first edition of Anderson's constitutions in 1723, the myth appropriates biblical elements, but proposes the purpose of the construction as the building of a "place of prayer for all nations", giving a dimension of universality to the temple that tends to join Masonic universalism. In the 1738 edition, the Masonic character of the myth and construction is accentuated by making Solomon the Grand Master Mason in Jerusalem, and the construction and its protagonists are showered with numerous virtues. The 1738 edition recovers biblical writings without concern for historical veracity, with the aim of glorification, anteriority and legitimization.
In the 18th century, the myth of construction around the Masonic temple was used to create a space for inter-denominational exchange and debate. The constitutions evoke the idea of a building site where the search for the supposed vestiges of Masonry and the transmission of a distant Masonic tradition by the Freemasons of the premier Grand Lodge of England served to invent a language made up of signs and words of recognition, as well as a word that enabled the protagonists of the building site to recognize each other, to work and to continue the work in harmony.
The myth of Hiram
A fundamental myth of Freemasonry and the guiding thread of the Master's grade, it appeared in the 1730s. The Hiram myth completely transformed early Masonry, which knew only two grades, by adding a new legend that greatly changed the meaning of initiation. Quickly erasing that of Noah, it became universally established in speculative Freemasonry.
The character of Hiram and the myth that would accompany his legend do not appear in the original or first-generation manuscripts, Régius and Cook, of operative masonry in the 14th century. The mention of an architect "master of geometry and chief of all masons" does appear in the second-generation manuscripts in Grand Lodge n°. 1, but his identity is not clearly established. Hypotheses have been put forward to explain these variations, ranging from a simple spelling error by the texts' reproducers, to the corruption of a primitive Hiram legend and its reinstatement during the eighteenth century.
In 1723, the first version of Anderson's constitutions refers to "a prince of architects" by the name of Hiram Abiff. This appointment was made in conjunction with the appearance of a Master's grade based on the figure of Hiram in the manuscripts of the old charges of the Spencer family, notably between 1725 and 1729.
While the legend's sources remain difficult to establish, 21st-century historians generally opt for a composite myth, made up of several stories based on the Bible: a story about Noah's sons who sought to relieve their father in order to learn his secret; a story about Bezalel and the teaching of the art of building, the secrets surrounding it and which he lavished on the two sons of a king; finally, a story about King Solomon and the building of the temple, in which the architect Hiram appears as the son of a Tyrian and a widow from the tribe of Naphtali. The first story comes from the Graham manuscript, which was the first text to mention the recovery of a body and a secret lost through the death of the holder; the second recounts the marvellous talents and qualities of Bezalel and his secrets of the art, which were to be "kept in the heart"; and finally, the third evokes Hiram as the wisest overseer and transmitter of the signs giving rights to masons. The superimposition of these three myths almost gives the full account of the Hiram legend given in Samuel Prichard's 1730 book La Maçonnerie disseéquée.
The myth and the legend of Hiram that derive from it differ greatly from other Masonic myths or legends of the builder's trade, which evolve over time and are adapted as times and transmissions change. It appears to be a deliberate construction designed to structure another grade and encourage a more aristocratic type of Masonry, but also to develop a new and different vision of Freemasonry. The Hiram myth revealed a work of scholarship in its constitution that was also, in its time and according to historian Roger Dachez, a political instrument of the young and premier Grand Lodge of England. It brought to the rituals the same innovations and literary qualities as Anderson's constitutions when they were first published for the birth of obediential Freemasonry, both creations stemming from the same movement.
The myth of chivalry
Although the chivalric myth developed mainly in France, it made its first appearance in the first constitutions in 1723: in a short passage, Anderson established a link between chivalry and Freemasonry.
Following a process of integration that historians trace back the development of the old chivalry to the speech given by the Scottish chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay in 1736, the ancient chivalry became a founding Masonic myth. Sword, cordon and the initiation ceremony are a direct descendant of chivalry, where fraternity of arms reflects fraternity in the lodge. The number of chivalrous ranks multiplied from 1740 onwards. The chivalric myth, through this legendary filiation, anchors the nascent Freemasonry in a form of immemorial legitimacy, with masonry and chivalry attributed ancient origins. The myth also offers a way forward for Freemasons wishing to combine action and spirituality.
From the second half of the eighteenth century onwards, it took on crucial importance in Freemasonry, particularly in its high ranks. At the height of the Age of Enlightenment, when rationalism was slowly gaining ground, it was seen as a movement to re-sacralize the faith, tinged with various currents of mysticism, Christianity and occultism. The appropriation of chivalric myths was facilitated by original rituals, such as the medieval ritual of initiation, which has been fully adopted by some chivalric Masonic grades. In France, the oldest attested grade to use chivalric myth is that of "Chevalier de l'Orient", dating from 1748. The legendary plot revolves around the rebuilding of the Second Temple, with a terminal vocation in the eighteenth century as part of a Freemason's journey.
This myth also makes the knight mason a worker who claims a filiation with the stonemasons and cathedral builders, proposing that he now works "with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other", in the image of the 3rd Order of the French Rite. In this dual role, he asserts himself as a fighter concerned with the fate of the world, but also in search of spirituality. He anchors himself in the ideal of a sublimated past and towards a better future, summing up his action in a dialectic between tradition and progress. Nevertheless, his evolution away from the original operative and workers' references is certainly less rewarding. It is closer to a model where the rules and pomp of a religious and military order give additional prestige and grounds for flattery, sometimes vanity, to a few aristocrats and notables who easily gain access to the ranks that symbolize it.
Original myths
The Euclid myth
The importance of Euclid in the manuscripts of the Old Charges of English operative masonry is apparent from the very first lines, in the opening formula, "Here begin the statutes of the art of geometry according to Euclid". Through the mythical narrative evoked by the Regius manuscript, Euclid instituted the seven liberal arts, another name for the seven sciences, and the primary reference of the myth. In his writings, Euclid is the most learned of all the crafts, and the one who taught them in Egypt and other countries, where he spread geometry and the various trades. The Cook manuscript takes up the myth, but integrates it into the biblical story that makes Euclid one of Abraham's pupils, and where he is the first to designate geometry under his name. The second-generation manuscripts of the Old Charges from 1583 onwards retain Euclid as the main myth of their moral regulation: in 1710, manuscript Dumfries n°. 4, without much difference to the preceding writings, grants him the additional gift of prophecy, thus taking a further step in the construction of the myth, with the divinatory arts entering into the idea of transcendence, whether religious or not. The myth of Euclid thus serves the praise heaped in these founding texts on geometry, considered a superior science and the principal instrument of economic, artisanal and political management.
The gradual disappearance of references to Euclid began in the last manuscripts of the old charges, which no longer evoked him as the inventor and disseminator of the liberal sciences, while retaining the central function of geometry in the myth of the operatives. The first edition of Anderson's Constitutions in 1723 of so-called speculative Freemasonry, retained the liberal arts, but gave only a more restricted place to Euclid, described as "admirable". It removed him from the fundamental role conferred on him by operative masonry, in favor of the biblical figure of Adam. The Greek geometer and his myth gradually disappeared from the mythology of Freemasonry, as the rationalist spirit, based on reasoning and measurement, seemed to clash with the biblical and religious component that came to the fore in the first constitutions governing the organization of the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
The myth of Noah
The first-generation manuscripts of the old charges, between 1390 and 1420, mention Noah only briefly, with the evocations focusing more clearly on the great Flood, which serves as a historical time reference for the construction of the myth. The second-generation manuscript Grand Lodge no. 1 (1583) completes the positioning of the Flood to evoke the before and after of the event. Speculative Freemasonry evokes it briefly in the historical section and in the first two chants of Anderson's constitutions, in the first version in 1723. In this evocation, Noah and his three sons are recognized as "authentic Masons", who continue the dissemination and transmission of antediluvian arts and traditions.
In 1738, the second edition of the Constitutions gave greater prominence to the figure of Noah, presenting him for the first time as the father of Masonry. Masons are expected to act as "true sons of Noah", who built the ark with the help of his three sons. The myth proposed by the constitutions in this version is that of a world whose origin is Masonic, and whose first Masons are called "Noachides". Chevalier Ramsay, in his speech in 1736, exalts the same myth, describing the patriarch as the order's first Grand Master and inventor of naval architecture. These founding texts of Freemasonry reinforce and attempt to establish Noachism in Masonic legend, which is now based on a universal myth that predates all religious dogma.
In a founding text from 1726, the Graham manuscript, the characters of Noah and his three sons are portrayed in substituted forms, positions and words, clearly foreshadowing the scenes described in the legend of Hiram, which eventually took precedence over the legend of the Master Mason grade. The myth of Noah lives on, however, through adopted masonry, whose ceremonial focus is on access to Noah's ark. The myth can also be found in the 20th degree of the Order of the Royal Secret, under the name of "Grand Patriarch", precursor of the 21st degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, under the name of "Prussian Chevalier or Noachite".
The myth of Babel
The myth of the Tower of Babel has several interpretations in Masonic texts. A moralistic biblical version, an opposing one that proposes a positive vision of the tower's construction, and Anderson's constitutions, which synthesize both. The Régius manuscript of operative masonry includes the story of the Tower of Babel in its religious prescriptions. The meaning remains close to that of the biblical texts: a manifestation of man's pride in God, which is undone by the confusion of languages. A few centuries later, this more guilt-ridden version is found in the legend of a high grade of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the 21st degree. The myth is also to be found in adopted Masonry, in the form of a fault committed by the "children of the earth".
Other founding texts, while taking up the myth of the tower, do not retain the fault as the main element, but give a more positive interpretation. This is already the case in the Cooke manuscript (1420), as well as in the old second-generation charges , from 1580 onwards, which exalt the craft and the desire to build, retaining neither pride nor fault in the behavior of men who loyally pass on the rules of the craft to one another.
Anderson's version of the constitutions is a synthesis of the old charges and the Old Testament version. In the legendary account of the constitutions, the name of the Tower of Babel is not explicitly mentioned, but the myth is clearly evident. While the punishment remains the same, it is merely a consequence of the fact that, in spite of it all, mankind acquired exceptional skills in the art of building, and the fault led to great progress. In this version, it's an accepted idea, but it doesn't constrain the progress of the human race around Freemasonry, bringing out the idea that the Babel myth symbolizes excessive disorder, whereas the construction of the temple, which prevails in the Freemasonry legend, represents a symbolic building site of unity and universality.
The myth of Eve
While Anderson's constitutions, in their 1723 version, trace the first Masonic lodge back to the Earthly Paradise, where Adam and his two sons are present, Eve is not mentioned in this evocation. This exclusion was not effective in Europe throughout the eighteenth century, where many aristocratic women were received as "freemasons", through adopted Masonry, where the rite of adoption incorporated the myth of Eve. Ritualized in various forms, the myth of Eve is most often used for the second grade, and is linked to the apple and the serpent. The first woman appears alongside Adam on tracing boards, where the tree of knowledge appears in the heart of the terrestrial Paradise. In the second grade, recipients are invited to experience the story of Eve in a different symbolic way, by biting into the apple that gives them the knowledge of good and evil. This myth suggests that women of this century should use their reason and will to make choices with knowledge of the first state, and thus be capable of practicing the virtues. What it proposes is, in this symbolism, a gesture that is no longer a fault but a desire for knowledge and the possibility of choice. In this way, the myth of Eve brings women into Freemasonry from its earliest manifestations.
Romanesque myths
The operative myth
The operative myth has long been alive in the imagination of Freemasonry, making speculative Masons the heirs of the cathedral builders. According to a fairly simple hypothesis, speculative Freemasons, while no longer using the tools of the operative Masons in a practical way, have inherited them and the symbols, rules and secrets that go with them. Historical documentation from the seventeenth century and into the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries provides several records of "freemasons" and "lodges" in England and Scotland on major medieval building sites. The similarity of the semantics employed suggests a continuity. Until the 20th century, this mythical legacy enjoyed a tenacious success, being explained by the theory of transition, which, in the space of a few years, would have transformed disaffected operative lodges into speculative lodges where the construction of cathedrals was replaced by that of intellectual edifices, thanks to the acceptance of gentleman masons as protectors and donors.
However, the proven non-existence of operative lodges, which disappeared as early as the end of the 15th century for political reasons during the Tudor period in England, and the first accepted Freemasons ("gentlemen masons"), who are only attested to at the beginning of the 17th century in Scotland and England, render this transition and the myth of Freemasons as heirs to the builders of cathedrals ineffective. In Scotland, these admissions of non-operational notables, which are rare but clearly documented, are mainly symbolic receptions of notables in operative lodges governed by Schaw statutes, who never or very rarely set foot in their reception lodge again. Without taking part in the work of lodges that generally meet only once a year, no transformation or mutation is possible. The operative myth, with its use of signs, symbols and coded languages provided by the ancient Masonic brotherhoods, was nevertheless used to develop speculative Freemasonry, borrowing some of its codes. The nobility of the architecture and possible philosophical evolutions, supported by the vast and abundant literature of the Renaissance, were to bring together notables and intellectuals who wished, above all, to live in harmony, in an era of religious confrontation.
The Templar myth
The myth of the founding Order of the Temple surviving through Freemasonry was to become an autonomous part of the Masonic heritage, late in the middle of the eighteenth century, by which time Freemasonry had established clear practices and structures of its own. The myth of the Templars was first established in response to an aristocratic public which, apart from the chivalric myth of Ramsay's speech, from which the Templars were absent, showed a renewed interest in the history of chivalric orders in general, and the Order of the Temple in particular, on which various authors produced works from the end of the 17th century, such as Pierre Dupuy's Histoire de la condamnation des Templiers, published in 1654 and reprinted several times until 1751.
In the 1740s, a Masonic system was established in Germany, which took the name of Templar Strict Observance and enjoyed considerable success for almost twenty years. This system took the Templar myth to its logical conclusion, teaching and asserting that Freemasonry, under the guise of a peaceful fraternity, was none other than the concealed Order of the Temple, which had survived persecution by taking refuge in the operative lodges of Scotland. This "neo-Templar" system later became one of the founding components of the Rectified Scottish Rite, whose structure is partly based on it. The Freemasonry heir to the Templar chevaliers is also rooted in a terminal grade of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the Knight Kadosh. In the Francken manuscripts of 1764, the legendary story of the Templars is used extensively in the ritual of the grade.
However, 20th- and 21st-century scholars and masonologists have been unanimous in their refutation of the idea of a Templar origin, even a remote one, as this is a matter for the fictional history of Freemasonry, and the claim that this chivalric order survived within Masonry is considered a fabrication.
The alchemist and Rosicrucian myth
Alchemists and Rosicrucians are also part of the romanesque myths of Freemasonry, sometimes cited as hidden founders. The seventeenth century saw the appearance of three manifestos known as the "Order of the Rosicrucian", mainly written by members of the Tübingen Cenacle, all Lutheran theology students. These young idealists imagined and hoped for the advent of a more tolerant, more peaceful world, reconciling faith and emerging science, and expressed this hope in the form of allegorical tales. Kabbalistic doctrines, moral emblems, alchemical and Hermetic symbols were integrated into these manifestos. Later, the existence of a number of symbols in Masonic initiation rituals, such as mercury and sulfur in the chamber of reflection, or the air, water and fire tests of first-degree initiation in certain rituals, enabled comparisons to be made without historicity. These approximations, which appear in the latter half of the 18th century, add a romanesque myth to the story of the creation of Freemasonry, a myth that is not part of its original legends. Rosicrucian mysticism, successful in a period of intellectual effervescence, was nevertheless to influence the young Freemasonry, which borrowed several symbols from its corpus and imbued this new legend with a Masonic grade whose first rituals appeared around 1760, that of Sovereign Rosicrucian Prince or Knight Rosicrucian.
See also
Myth
Masonic manuscripts
Notes
References
La Chaîne d'union, HS n°6, 2017:
François Cavaignac, Les Mythes maçonniques revisités (in French), 2016:
Roger Dachez et Alain Bauer, La Franc-maçonnerie (in French), 2016:
Pierre Mollier, La Chevalerie maçonnique (in French), 2005:
Bibliography
.
.
Freemasonry
Masonic organizations
Origin myths
History of Freemasonry
Masonry | Masonic myths | [
"Engineering"
] | 5,158 | [
"Construction",
"Masonry"
] |
75,106,061 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/268%20%28number%29 | 268 (two hundred [and] sixty-eight) is the natural number following 267 and preceding 269.
In mathematics
268 is an even composite number with two prime factors, but one of the prime factors is repeated: 268 = 67*2*2.
268 is the smallest number whose product of digits is 6 times the sum of its digits.
268 is untouchable which means that it is not the sum of the proper divisors of any number
268 is the sum of the consecutive primes 131 and 137.
References
Integers | 268 (number) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 108 | [
"Elementary mathematics",
"Integers",
"Mathematical objects",
"Numbers"
] |
75,106,621 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20species%20that%20have%20landed%20on%20the%20Moon | Although many species have been to space, only a few have landed on the Moon. This is a list of species that have landed on the Moon, only including landings in which the payload survived. This list currently contains 10 species. Before 2019, only animals (in particular one species, Homo sapiens) landed on the Moon; in January 2019, plants and fungi also landed on the Moon.
List
Future missions
These are future missions that plan to send additional organisms to the Moon.
Artemis 3
In 2025, NASA plans to send four astronauts to the Moon, would include the first woman and the first person of color to land on the Moon. They would be the first human landing on the Moon in more than 50 years, since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. In January 2024, NASA officially delayed the Artemis 3 mission to no earlier than September 2026.
ALEPH-1
After the failed landing of Beresheet in 2019, which resulted in a crash, spilling thousands of tardigades onto the Moon, Lunaria One, an Australian organization, plans to send plants such as resurrection grass with the Israeli spacecraft Beresheet 2 to the Moon in 2025.
Species that have orbited or circled the Moon without landing
Humans and other animals have orbited or circled the Moon without landing. These include tortoises on Zond 5 (September 1968), Zond 6 (November 1968), and Zond 7 (August 1969), fruit flies on Zond 5, and five mice, Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, and Phooey, who traveled in the 1972 Apollo 17 Command Module America and, along with astronaut Ronald Evans, still hold the record for the most orbits of the Moon (75).
See also
Animals in space
Colonization of the Moon
List of space travelers by nationality
List of Apollo astronauts
Plants in space
Tardigrades in space
Notes
Some species are not specified due to inadequate information.
The number of some species is not specified due to inadequate information.
ALEPH-1 is the mission, Beresheet 2 is the spacecraft.
References
Moon-related lists
Colonization of the Moon
Space missions
Animals in space | List of species that have landed on the Moon | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 434 | [
"Animal testing",
"Space-flown life",
"Animals in space"
] |
75,109,626 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antica%20Farmacia%20Sant%27Anna | The Antica Farmacia Sant'Anna (Italian for “Ancient Pharmacy of Saint Anne”) is a pharmacy and herbal medicine dispensary in Genoa, Italy, located in the quarter of Castelletto. Founded by the Discalced Carmelites friars of the annex Convent of Sant’Anna in 1650, it is the oldest commercial establishment still operating in Genoa and the only instance in Italy of a fully licensed pharmacy owned and operated by a religious institution. While its ancient furniture and instruments are listed and protected as cultural heritage, its modern laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art technology for the preparation of medicines, Galenic formulations, herbal medicine products, lotions, cosmetics and dietary supplements under the supervision of legally qualified personnel.
History
The origins
The Convent of Sant’Anna is the first foundation of the Discalced Carmelites outside of Spain, established in 1584 under the impulse of father Nicolas of Jesus and Mary Doria, a descendant of the prominentDoria family. Returned from Spain twenty years after the reformation of the Carmelite Order operated by Saint Theresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross, Father Doria established a monastery in his native city with the financial support of the noble families Doria, Cattaneo, Spinola e Pallavicini.
Soon after the foundation of the convent, the friars opened the pharmacy. At the end of the 16th century, one of the cloisters of the convent, presently known as 'the Cloister of the Roses', was used for the cultivation of curative herbs. Potatoes imported from the Americas were planted there for the very first time on Italian soil, after the founder Father Doria had seen them at the court of Philip II King of Spain.
The 17th century
In the 17th century, noble and wealthy citizens usually resorted to a medical doctor in case of illness, while the underprivileged layers of society would usually seek medical support from religious institutions. By the mid-century Sant'Anna likely had a high influx of patients: testimony thereof is the construction of a large wing dedicated to the preparation and dispensation of medicines, separate from the friar's quarters.
The oldest document mentioning the pharmacy, dated 1650, is stored at the Vatican Apostolic Archives. Another document, dated 1652 and stored in the archives of the Convent of Sant'Anna, shows that the chief chemist, brother Martino of Saint Anthony (1638–1721), would "go out every day to procure the ingredients for the medications [...], many patients came to him and not everyone could be healed in the same way [...], hence it was necessary to prepare different potions, medicines,and poultices".
The 18th century
According to the historical registers of the pharmacy, a contract redacted in 1778 mentions that the Genoese surgeon and chemist Lorenzo Robello was tasked to procure ingredients for the pharmacy, prepare the medicines and administer them "to the friars and to external patients". At that time it was not possible to find a friar with the necessary qualifications; the resolve of the Carmelite Order, however, remained that the pharmacy was to be run primarily by friars and, by 1792, the fully-qualified chemist friar Giovanni della Croce assumed the direction of the pharmacy, updated its equipment and furnished the dispensary room with the boiserie which is still visible today.
The 19th century
After the annexation of the Republic of Genoa to the Kingdom of Sardinia at the beginning of the 19th century, the pharmacy was further refurbished by brother Bernardino di Sant'Anna.
In those years, the Pharmacy started a cooperation with the famous Parisian surgeon Louis Le Roy, author of the treatise Healing Medicine, aka Purgation, translated in Italian for the first time in Bologna in 1824. Although its content was later superseded by improvement in scientific research, the treatise enjoyed a great success at the time and was reprinted several times. A Genoese reprint in 1885 mentioned the cooperation with Sant'Anna's pharmacy in the back cover.
A document stored in the library of the Convent shows that brother Modesto, whose lay name was Stefano Montabone, received his diploma of chemist in 1840, granting him permission to practice his profession in Genoa and all other territories of the Kingdom of Sardinia in accordance to letter patents issued by King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy. In 1882, however, the difficulties in securing chemist friars with appropriate legal qualifications appeared insurmountable. Therefore, keen to remain licensed according to the law, the Convent of Sant'Anna decided to enact a compromise solution and appointed a lay chemist "to ensure the regular preparation and administration of the medicines", while the business administration of the pharmacy remained entrusted to a friar.
At the end of the 19th century, the pharmacy had several prominent clients, including the main hospital of Genoa, the hospital of Pammatone. At the time, the most sought after products were white sugar, quinine, English salts, cinnamomum, rosolio, poppyseed oil, medicines against parasites and a medicine against demodicosis.
The 20th and 21st centuries
At the end of the 19th century, the construction of the wealthy neighborhood of Circonvallazione a Monte significantly altered the area, when Corso Magenta and the Sant'Anna funicular were built immediately to the South of the convent. The religious buildings and the quaint village in which they are located have nonetheless remained intact and quiet to this day.
The Pharmacy is still active today. Several ancient recipes are still prepared and updated when necessary. The laboratories have been refurbished to reflect modern needs and the latest regulatory requirements.
After 1933, the Convent, the church and the pharmacy of Sant'Anna are accessible also with an elevator from the tunnel which connects Corso Magenta with the Elevator Magenta-Crocco.
Gallery
See also
Genova
Castelletto
Farmacia
Chiesa di Sant'Anna
Arcidiocesi di Genova
Carmelitani Scalzi
Funicolare Sant’Anna
Ascensore Magenta-Crocco
References
Bibliography
Lauro Magnani, Chiesa di Sant’Anna Guide di Genova, 90, Genova, SAGEP Edizioni, 1979,
Antonio Corvi ed Ernesto Riva, La farmacia monastica e conventuale, Pacini Editore, 1996.
Antonio Corvi, "La Medicina curativa di Le Roy", in Atti e Memorie dell'Associazione Italiana Storia Della Farmacia, XIV n. 2 1997 p. 137
Osservatorio Civis, Genova, guida alle botteghe storiche, De Ferrari & Devega Editori, Genova, 2002.
Paolo Oliveri, La Farmacia di Sant'Anna dei Padri Carmelitani Scalzi in Genova, in Rivista di Storia della Farmacia, XXV, n. 1., Aprile 2008.
Corinna Praga, Andar per creuse oltre il centro storico 2, Itinerari dal Portello, dal Vico della Croce Bianca e da via Balbi verso la Porta delle Chiappe, Italia Nostra, Genova, ERGA, 2016.
Ezio Battaglia e Silvia Piacentini, Il Convento di Sant'Anna e la sua Antica Farmacia a Genova, SAGEP Editori, Genova 2020.
Catalogo Generale dei Beni Culturali, Bottega storica, Farmacia, Antica Farmacia Sant'Anna.
External links
https://www.erboristeriadeifrati.it/|Official website: Antica farmacia-erboristeria Sant'Anna
https://www.botteghestorichegenova.it/it/le-botteghe/antica-farmacia-santanna/|Antica farmacia Sant'Anna
https://cna.ge.it/portfolio_item/farmacia-frati-carmelitani-scalzi/|Antica Farmacia Sant’Anna dei Frati Carmelitani Scalzi
https://www.museionline.info/genova-musei-e-monumenti/antica-farmacia-sant-anna|Antica Farmacia Sant’Anna
https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/07iccd_modi_0377013144061|Bottega storica, Farmacia, Antica Farmacia Sant'Anna
Pharmacology
Companies established in the 17th century | Antica Farmacia Sant'Anna | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,789 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Medicinal chemistry"
] |
75,109,790 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belapectin | Belapectin (also known as GR-MD-02) is a galectin-3 inhibitor developed by Galectin Therapeutics that failed phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
References
Lectins
Experimental drugs developed for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease | Belapectin | [
"Chemistry"
] | 64 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
75,111,694 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain%20Manceau | Alain Manceau, born September 19, 1955, is a French environmental mineralogist and biogeochemist. He is known for his research on the structure and reactivity of nanoparticulate iron and manganese oxides and clay minerals, on the crystal chemistry of strategic metals and rare-earth elements, and on the structural biogeochemistry of mercury in natural systems, animals, and humans.
Biography
Manceau is a former pupil of the École Saint-Martin-de-France in Pontoise, then of the Lycée Henri IV in Paris where he completed his preparatory classes before entering the École Normale Supérieure de Saint-Cloud (now École Normale Supérieure de Lyon) in 1977. He obtained the agrégation in natural sciences in 1981, then his doctorate in 1984 at the University Paris VII (now Université Paris Cité) under the direction of George Calas. He spent his entire academic career at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), first as a research fellow from 1984, then as a research director from 1993 to 2022.
From 1984 to 1992, he worked at the Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC) in Paris, and from 1993 to 2022 at the Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre) of the Grenoble Alpes University. He was appointed emeritus CNRS Researcher at the ENS-Lyon in 2022, and research scientist at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in 2023. In 1997, he was a visiting professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, then Adjunct professor until 2001. He was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley from 2001 to 2002.
Scientific works
Environmental mineralogy and geochemistry
Minerals play a key role in the biogeochemical cycling of the elements at the Earth's surface, sequestering and releasing them as they undergo precipitation, crystal growth, and dissolution in response to chemical and biological processes. Manceau's research in this field focuses on the structure of disordered minerals (clays, iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) oxides, including ferrihydrite and birnessite), on chemical reactions at their surface in contact with aqueous solutions, and on the crystal chemistry of trace metals in these phases.
In 1993, he established in collaboration with Victor Drits a structural model for ferrihydrite based on the modeling of the X-ray diffraction pattern. This model was confirmed in 2002 by Rietveld refinement of the neutron diffraction pattern, and in 2014 by simulation of the pair distribution function measured by high-energy X-ray scattering.
In 1997, he and Victor Drits led the synthesis and resolution of the structure of hexagonal and monoclinic birnessite, and they showed in 2002 that the monoclinic form possesses a triclinic distortion. The hexagonal form prevails at the Earth's surface and owes its strong chemical reactivity to the existence of heterovalent Mn4+-Mn3+-Mn2+ substitutions and Mn4+ vacancies in the MnO2 layer. The Mn4+-Mn3+ and Mn3+-Mn2+ redox couples confer to this material oxidation-reduction properties used in catalysis, electrochemistry, and in the electron transfer during the photo-dissociation of water by photosystem II, while the vacancies are privileged sites for the adsorption of cations. He has characterized and modeled a number of chemical reactions occurring at the birnessite-water interface, including those of complexation of transition metals (Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd...), and oxidation of As3+ to As5+, Co2+ to Co3+, and Tl+ to Tl3+. The oxidative uptake of cobalt on birnessite leads to its billion-fold enrichment in marine ferromanganese deposits compared to seawater.
From 2002 to 2012, he applied the knowledge base acquired on the crystal chemistry of trace metals and biogeochemical processes at mineral surfaces and the root-soil interface (rhizosphere) to the phytoremediation of contaminated soils and sediments, and abandoned mine sites. He contributed to improving the Jardins Filtrants® (Filtering Gardens) process for treating wastewater and solid matrices by phytolixiviation, phytoextraction, and rhizofiltration developed by the Phytorestore company.
In 2022, he extended his research on the crystal chemistry of trace metals to processes responsible for the 106 to 109 times enrichment of strategic rare-earth elements (REE) and redox-sensitive elements (cerium, thallium, platinum) in marine deposits relative to seawater. REE are associated with fluorapatite in marine sediments, whereas redox metals are oxidatively scavenged by birnessite in manganese nodules and crusts.
Structural biogeochemistry of mercury
Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that is generated both by natural sources, such as volcanic eruptions and wildfires, and human activities, such as coal combustion, gold mining, and the incineration of industrial waste. In aquatic and terrestrial food chains, mercury accumulates as methylmercury (MeHg), a potent toxin that affects the function of animal's and human's brain and reproductive system. Understanding the internal detoxification processes of MeHg in living organisms is essential for protecting wildlife and humans, and designing treatments against mercury poisoning.
In 2015, Manceau led foundational studies on the structural biogeochemistry of mercury in bacteria, plants, animals, and humans using X-ray emission spectroscopy at the ESRF. In 2021, he found that the Clark's grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) and the Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) from California, the southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus) and the south polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki) from the Southern Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific blue marlin (Makaira mazera) from French Polynesia, detoxify the organic methylmercury-cysteine complex (MeHgCys) in inorganic mercury-selenocysteine complex (Hg(Sec)4). A few months later, he extended this result to long-finned pilot whale from the analysis of 89 tissues (liver, kidney, muscle, heart, brain) from 28 individuals stranded on the coasts of Scotland and the Faroe Islands.
This body of work shed light on how birds, cetacea, and fishes manage to get rid of methylmercury toxicity. Demethylation of the MeHgCys complex to Hg(Sec)4 and very poorly soluble inorganic HgSe is catalyzed by selenoprotein P (SelP) within which nucleate clusters of Hgx(Sec,Se)y that grow, likely by self-assembly of mercurial proteins as is common in biomineralization processes, to form in fine inert, non-toxic mercury selenide (HgSe) crystals.
The new Hg(Sec)4 species identified by Manceau and his collaborators was the main “missing intermediate” in the chemical reaction that helps animals to survive high levels of mercury. However, because Hg(Sec)4 has a molar ratio of selenium to mercury of 4:1, four selenium atoms are required to detoxify just one mercury atom. Thus, Hg(Sec)4 severely depletes the amount of bioavailable selenium. Selenium deficiency can affect the function of animals’ brain and reproductive system, as selenoproteins serve critical antioxidant functions in the brain and testes. His works on the Hg-Se antagonism won him the ES&T 2021 Best Paper Award.
The stepwise MeHgCys → Hg(Sec)4 + HgSe demethylation reaction is accompanied by the fractionation of the 202Hg and 198Hg isotopes, denoted δ202Hg. The δ202Hg fractionation measured on whole animal tissues (δ202Hgt) is the sum of the fractionations of the MeHgCys, Hg(Sec)4, and HgSe species, weighted by their relative abundance:
δ202Hgt = f(Spi)t × δ202Spi
where δ202Spi is the fractionation of each chemical species, and f(Spi) their relative abundance, or mole fraction. Manceau and his co-authors found that δ202Spi can be obtained by mathematical inversion of macroscopic isotopic and microscopic spectroscopic data.
The combination of isotopic and spectroscopic data on birds and cetacea revealed that dietary methylmercury and the Hg(Sec)4-SelP complex are distributed to all tissues (liver, kidney, sketetal muscle, brain) via the circulatory system with, however, a hierarchy in the tissular percentage of each species. Most of the detoxification process is carried out in the liver, whereas the brain, which is particularly sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of mercury, is distinguished from other tissues by a low mercury concentration and a high proportion of inert HgSe. These results appear to be transposable to humans.
Publications
Manceau has published more than 200 scientific papers in Science Citation Index journals totalizing more than 24,000 citations and garnering an h-index over 90. In 2020, he was ranked 111th out of a total of 70,197 researchers in Geochemistry/Geophysics in a bibliometric study by scientists of the Stanford University based on the Elsevier Scopus database.
Awards and honors
1989, Bronze Medal, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
2002, Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA).
2003, Brindley Lecture, The Clay Minerals Society (CMS).
2006, George Brown Lecture, Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (MinSoc).
2010, Silver Medal, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).
2011, EcoX Équipex Grant.
2022, Elected member of the Academia Europaea.
2022, European Research Council Advanced Grant.
2022, ES&T 2021 Best Paper Award.
2023, Léon Lutaud Price and Georges Millot Medal, Académie des sciences (France).
Online conference and research highlight
Phytotechnology in the Present and Future: Remedies for Contaminated Soil and Water
From Antarctica to California : how birds detoxify mercury
References
French mineralogists
French geochemists
1955 births
Living people
Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research
Members of Academia Europaea | Alain Manceau | [
"Chemistry"
] | 2,309 | [
"Geochemists",
"French geochemists"
] |
75,112,394 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6%3A2-Fluorotelomersulfonic%20acid | 6:2-fluorotelomersulfonic acid (6:2-FTS) is a chemical compound that belongs to the group of fluorotelomersulfonic acids within the broader class of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAS). Due to its structural similarity to perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), it is also called H4PFOS.
Production
6:2-Fluorotelomersulfonic acid is produced via telomerization. In addition, it is also formed, for example, from some perfluorocarboxybetaines after their splitting.
Usage
6:2-Fluorotelomersulfonic acid and its derivatives are used as a replacement product for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) or its salts in fire-fighting foams. 6:2-FTS has also been used in the chromium plating industry to reduce mist formation during plating.
References
Perfluorinated compounds
Chemours
Chemical processes | 6:2-Fluorotelomersulfonic acid | [
"Chemistry"
] | 227 | [
"Chemical process engineering",
"Chemical processes",
"nan"
] |
75,113,333 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William%20Nicholas%20Hitchon | William Nicholas Guy Hitchon (22 October 1957 – 23 July 2023), commonly known as Nick Hitchon, was a nuclear fusion scientist and professor at the University of Wisconsin.
Early life and education
Hitchon was born in Skipton, West Riding of Yorkshire (now North Yorkshire), the eldest of three sons to Iona (née Hall) and Guy Hitchon. He was educated at Ermysted's Grammar School from 1968 to 1975. Later, he earned a bachelor's and master's degree in physics from Oxford University and a D.Phil. in engineering science from the same university.
Hitchon's personal life included two marriages, first to Jacqui Bush in 1979, which ended in divorce, and later to Cryss Brunner in 2001.
Career
In 1964, Hitchon was featured as a child in the Seven Up! documentary for ITV's World in Action series. His life was periodically revisited in subsequent episodes by director Michael Apted until 2019.
In 1982, Hitchon joined the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the department of electrical and computer engineering. He became a professor in 1994 and served as the department chair from 1999 to 2002. In 2022, he took retirement. During his tenure, he authored three books.
Bibliography
Plasma Processes for Semiconductor Fabrication
References
1957 births
2023 deaths
People from Skipton
Alumni of the University of Oxford
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
British emigrants to the United States
British scientists | William Nicholas Hitchon | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 294 | [
"Nuclear fusion",
"Nuclear physics"
] |
75,113,609 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lova%20Marline | Lova Marline is a tropical ecologist, especially of taxonomy and ecology of tropical bryophytes in Madagascar. She compiled the first check-list of bryophytes in Madagasgar.
Early life and education
Lova Marline (also known as Lovanomenjanahary Marline) was born in Madagascar. She studied at University of Antananarivo for her B.Sc. and master's degrees, specialising in botany and ecology. In 2018 she completed her doctorate at University of Cape Town on the bryophytes of Madagascar.
Career
In 2014 she was a Green Talent awardee of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Following short post-doctoral fellowships in South Africa and Germany, Marline joined the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She compiled the first check-list of the bryophytes of Madagascar that is now being used to test for changes in their diversity or distribution and for planning conservation.
She is involved in an international collaboration to monitor and manage air pollution in Madagascar. As part of this she is attached to Association Vahatra in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar while based at the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre on Madagascar.
Publications
Her scientific publications include:
Alexandre Antonelli et al. (74 authors) 2022. Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use. Science 378, eabf0869
Marline L., Ah-Peng C. & Hedderson T. 2020. Bryophyte diversity and range distributions along an elevational gradient in Marojejy, Madagascar. Biotropica 00: 1–12.
Ah-Peng C., Flores O., Wilding N., Bardat J., Marline L., Hedderson T. & Strasberg D. 2014. Functional diversity of subalpine bryophyte communities in an oceanic island (La Réunion). Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 46(4):841-851.
Lovanomenjanahary Marline, Roger Lala Andriamiarisoa, Jacques Bardat, Min Chuah-Petiot, Terry A.J. Hedderson, Catherine Reeb, Dominique Strasberg, Nicholas Wilding, Claudine Ah-Peng. 2012. Checklist of the Bryophytes of Madagascar Cryptogamie, Bryologie 33(3), 199-255
Honours and awards
In 2023 Marline was awarded the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer research grant for early-career scientists working on to African challenges.
References
Living people
Ecologists
Malagasy scientists
Botanists active in Kew Gardens
Botanists active in Africa
21st-century botanists
Bryologists
Year of birth missing (living people) | Lova Marline | [
"Environmental_science"
] | 568 | [
"Ecologists",
"Environmental scientists"
] |
75,113,634 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie%20Lopez%20del%20Puerto | Marie Lopez del Puerto is a condensed matter physicist whose research concerns the computational study of the electronic, optical, and quantum properties of nanocrystals and nanostructures. As a physics educator, she has worked to integrate computational physics into the undergraduate physics curriculum. Educated in Mexico and the US, she works in the US as a professor of physics and chair of the physics department at the University of St. Thomas, a private Catholic university in Minnesota.
Education and career
Lopez del Puerto earned a licenciatura in Physics from the Universidad de las Américas Puebla in Mexico in 2002. She began her work in physics education that year, teaching physics at a local college for a term between the end of her undergraduate and the beginning of her graduate program. She went to the University of Minnesota for graduate study in physics, earning a master's degree in 2004 and completing her Ph.D. there in 2008, supervised by James R. Chelikowsky. Chelikowsky moved to the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin in 2005, and Lopez del Puerto continued to work with him there, but earned her degree through the University of Minnesota.
She became a faculty member at the University of St. Thomas in 2008.
Recognition
Lopez del Puerto was a 2023 recipient of the Excellence in Physics Education Award of the American Physical Society (APS), for her work with the Partnership for Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Physics, a multi-university physics education project which she joined in 2012. She was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2023, after a nomination from the APS Forum on Education, "for impactful work on integrating computation into the physics curriculum, for leadership in the Partnership for Integrating Computation into Undergraduate Physics, and for service to the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers".
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Mexican emigrants to the United States
Mexican physicists
Mexican women physicists
American physicists
American women physicists
American condensed matter physicists
Hispanic and Latino American physicists
Computational physicists
Physics educators
University of Minnesota alumni
Fellows of the American Physical Society | Marie Lopez del Puerto | [
"Physics"
] | 433 | [
"Computational physicists",
"Computational physics"
] |
78,072,647 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPTP | HPTP is a monoaminergic neurotoxin related to MPTP. It is the dehydration product of haloperidol. The agent is specifically a dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotoxin. HPTP is a prodrug of HPP+, which mediates its monoaminergic neurotoxicity. This is analogous to how MPP+ mediates the neurotoxicity of MPTP. Other related compounds include RHPTP and RHPP+.
References
4-Chlorophenyl compounds
4-Fluorophenyl compounds
Monoaminergic neurotoxins
Prodrugs
Pyridines | HPTP | [
"Chemistry"
] | 146 | [
"Chemicals in medicine",
"Prodrugs"
] |
78,073,387 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91-Methyl-5-hydroxytryptophan | α-Methyl-5-hydroxytryptophan (α-Me-5-HTP) is a synthetic tryptamine derivative, an artificial amino acid, and a prodrug of α-methylserotonin. It is the α-methylated derivative of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), while αMS is the α-methylated analogue of serotonin. Along with α-methyltryptophan (α-MTP), α-Me-5-HTP has been suggested for potential therapeutic use in the treatment of conditions thought by some authors to be related to serotonin deficiency, such as depression.
αMS is a non-selective serotonin receptor agonist, including of the serotonin 5-HT2 receptors, and has been described as a "substitute neurotransmitter" of serotonin. However, whereas αMS itself is too hydrophilic to efficiently cross the blood–brain barrier, thus being peripherally selective, α-MTP and α-Me-5-HTP are able to cross the blood–brain barrier and, following transformation, deliver αMS into the brain. Besides αMS, α-methylmelatonin can be formed in small amounts from α-Me-5-HTP.
In addition to their serotonergic activity, α-Me-5-HTP and αMS have been found to act as norepinephrine releasing agents similarly to α-methylphenylalanine and to other α-alkylated tryptamines. Moreover, α-Me-5-HTP is also a tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor similarly to α-methyltyrosine, as well as an aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AAAD) inhibitor, and has been found to deplete levels of brain norepinephrine in animals, although not levels of brain dopamine. Because of these actions, α-Me-5-HTP shows antihypertensive effects and reduces locomotor activity in animals.
See also
O-Acetylbufotenine (O-acetyl-N,N-dimethylserotonin)
α-Methylphenylalanine
Metirosine (α-methyltyrosine)
Methyldopa (α-methyl-DOPA)
Neurotransmitter prodrug
References
Alpha-Alkyltryptamines
Alpha-Amino acids
Antihypertensive agents
Human drug metabolites
Hydroxyarenes
Monoamine-depleting agents
Monoamine releasing agents
Prodrugs
Serotonin receptor agonists
Tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitors | Α-Methyl-5-hydroxytryptophan | [
"Chemistry"
] | 564 | [
"Chemicals in medicine",
"Human drug metabolites",
"Prodrugs"
] |
78,073,566 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91-Methylmelatonin | α-Methylmelatonin, also known as α-methyl-5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine, is a synthetic tryptamine derivative and analogue of the monoamine neurotransmitter melatonin. It is a metabolite of α-methyltryptophan, α-methyl-5-hydroxytryptophan, and α-methylserotonin that can be formed in small amounts via aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT). α-Methyltryptophan and α-methyl-5-hydroxytryptophan are prodrugs of α-methylserotonin that have serotonergic actions and have been suggested for potential therapeutic use. However, while formation of α-methylmelatonin can occur from these compounds, α-alkylated tryptamines show 95% reduced suitability as substrates for AANAT compared to non-α-alkylated tryptamines in vitro and no α-methylmelatonin could be detected with administration of α-methyltryptophan in vivo in animals. α-Methyl-N-acetylserotonin is an intermediate is the formation of α-methylmelatonin from α-methylserotonin.
References
Acetamides
Alpha-Alkyltryptamines
Human drug metabolites
Methoxy compounds
Mexamines | Α-Methylmelatonin | [
"Chemistry"
] | 300 | [
"Chemicals in medicine",
"Human drug metabolites"
] |
78,073,875 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebicapone | Nebicapone (developmental code name BIA 3-202) is a catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor which was under development for the treatment of Parkinson's disease but was never marketed. It is a nitrocatechol and is structurally related to entacapone, nitecapone, and tolcapone. The drug shows peripheral selectivity and does not significantly act in the brain. In contrast to the centrally penetrant tolcapone, nebicapone does not potentiate the psychostimulant-like effects of amphetamine in animals. Nebicapone was found to be effective for Parkinson's disease in clinical trials. However, it also showed hepatotoxicity, including elevated liver enzymes. As a result, its development was discontinued by 2014. Nebicapone was first described in the scientific literature by 2000.
References
Abandoned drugs
Antiparkinsonian agents
Catechols
Catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors
Hepatotoxins
Nitrophenol derivatives
Peripherally selective drugs | Nebicapone | [
"Chemistry"
] | 231 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,074,141 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNCOVER-BD-1 | UNCOVER-BD-1 (also known as Abell2744-BD1, A2744-BD1) is a distant brown dwarf. It is the most distant T dwarf discovered to date (about 4.5 or 4.8 kpc).
UNCOVER-BD-1 was discovered in a deep James Webb Space Telescope field called UNCOVER (Ultradeep NIRSpec and NIRCam ObserVations before the Epoch of Reionization), which targets the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 and is primarily used to study galaxies. As the name says, the UNCOVER team used NIRCam to take images and NIRSpec multiobject prism spectroscopy to take spectra of any object detected in the field. The object was independently discovered by two teams. Both teams also discovered two other distant T-dwarfs.
Langeroodi & Hjorth concluded from its position and distance that UNCOVER-BD-1 likely is located outside the thin disk of the Milky Way. Burgasser et al. found a high probability (76%) of it being a thick disk member, and a moderate probability (24%) of it being a halo member. This team also found that it is likely a subdwarf and comparison with the extreme subdwarf WISEA 1810−1010 produced a better fit to the widened 1.1 μm absorption feature. This could also mean that UNCOVER-BD-1 is colder and closer than currently estimated. The spectrum in their work has several absorption features from molecules labelled. Those are methane (CH4), water vapor (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO) and collision induced absorption by hydrogen molecules (H2). Langeroodi & Hjorth find a low mass of around 5 , but they also do not consider it as a subdwarf, which might influence the estimates of physical properties.
References
Discoveries by the James Webb Space Telescope
T-type brown dwarfs
Sculptor (constellation) | UNCOVER-BD-1 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 406 | [
"Constellations",
"Sculptor (constellation)"
] |
78,074,461 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markarian%20876 | Markarian 876 (Mrk 876) known as PG 1613+658, is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation of Draco. With a velocity relative to the cosmic microwave background of 36,302 ± 60 kilometers per seconds, the galaxy is located 1.75 billion light years from Earth. It is a Seyfert galaxy.
Characteristics
Markarian 876 is classified as a large galaxy with a distorted morphology. It has tidal tails extending out from the galaxy by more than 50 arcsecs or 85 kiloparsecs (kpc). The structure of the galaxy appears lopsided and complicated with a secondary nucleus or knot of light located 1.6 arcsec west of the main nucleus. A barred spiral galaxy companion is found lying at the same redshift, indicating the peculiar structure in Markarian 876 might be directly caused by a strong gravitational interaction with the object. However the companion galaxy is located 23 arcsecs north and doesn't seem to tidally connect with Markarian 876, therefore the latter's distorted morphology is likely caused by a galaxy merger.
The mass of the black hole in the center of Markarian 876 is estimated to be (2.2 ± 1.0) x 108 Mʘ based on an optical reverberation campaign.
An emission line is found connected with the source of the galaxy with a rest-frame energy of 4.80+0.05-0.04 keV.
References
External links
Mrk 876 on SIMBAD
0876
Seyfert galaxies
Active galaxies
Elliptical galaxies
Draco (constellation)
057553 | Markarian 876 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 330 | [
"Constellations",
"Draco (constellation)"
] |
78,074,512 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark%20I%20Perceptron | The Mark I Perceptron was a pioneering supervised image classification learning system developed by Frank Rosenblatt in 1958. It was the first implementation of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) machine. It differs from the Perceptron which is a software architecture proposed in 1943 by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts, which was also employed in Mark I, and enhancements of which have continued to be an integral part of cutting edge AI technologies like the Transformer.
Architecture
The Mark I Perceptron was organized into three layers:
A set of sensory units which receive optical input
A set of association units, each of which fire based on input from multiple sensory units
A set of response units, which fire based on input from multiple association units
The connection between sensory units and association units were random. The working of association units was very similar to the response units. Different versions of the Mark I used different numbers of units in each of the layers.
Capabilities
In his 1957 proposal for funding for development of the "Cornell Photoperceptron", Rosenblatt claimed:"Devices of this sort are expected ultimately to be capable of concept formation, language translation, collation of military intelligence, and the solution of problems through inductive logic."With the first version of the Mark I Perceptron as early as 1958, Rosenblatt demonstrated a simple binary classification experiment, namely distinguishing between sheets of paper marked on the right versus those marked on the left side.
One of the later experiments distinguished a square from a circle printed on paper. The shapes were perfect and their sizes fixed; the only variation was in their position and orientation. The Mark I Perceptron achieved 99.8% accuracy on a test dataset with 500 neurons in a single layer. The size of the training dataset was 10,000 example images. It took 3 seconds for the training pipeline to go through a single image. Higher accuracy was observed with thick outline figures compared to solid figures, likely because outline figures reduced overfitting.
Another experiment distinguished between a square and a diamond for which 100% accuracy was achieved with only 60 training images, with a Perceptron having 1,000 neurons in a single layer. The time taken to process each training input for this larger perceptron was 15 seconds. The only variation was in position of the image, since rotation would have been ambiguous.
In that same experiment, it could distinguish between the letters X and E with 100% accuracy when trained with only 20 images (10 images of each letter). Variations in the images included both position and rotation by up to 30 degrees. When variation in rotation was increased to any angle (both in training and test datasets), the accuracy reduced to 90% with 60 training images (30 images of each letter).
For distinguishing between the letters E and F, a more challenging problem due to their similarity, the same 1,000 neuron perceptron achieved an accuracy of more than 80% with 60 training images. Variation was only in the position of the image, with no rotation.
References
1950s computers
Artificial intelligence engineering | Mark I Perceptron | [
"Engineering"
] | 630 | [
"Software engineering",
"Artificial intelligence engineering"
] |
78,076,558 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat%20Guard | A rat guard is a device used to prevent rats from boarding ships or entering buildings via ropes, cables, or wires. These guards are typically conical or disc-shaped and are designed to stop rats from climbing by creating a physical barrier they cannot pass. Rat guards are essential in maritime environments and areas where rats pose a threat to goods, vessels, and infrastructure. In summary, rat guards serve as a crucial tool in protecting vessels, storage facilities, and offshore installations from rats, preventing potential damage and health risks caused by these pests.
Design and Function
Rat guards work by creating an obstacle that prevents rats from climbing along lines such as mooring ropes or cables. The guards are generally made from metal or durable plastic and feature a smooth, sloped surface that rats cannot grip or climb. When installed correctly, the shape of the guard causes rats attempting to climb to slip off, preventing them from reaching the other side.
The rat guards are positioned on ropes or cables a few feet away from the dock or vessel to stop rats from bypassing the guard by jumping across. These devices are particularly effective because they exploit the rats' inability to navigate the smooth, conical surface of the guard.
Common Uses
Rat guards are primarily used in maritime and industrial settings where rats pose a risk of infestation or damage. Common places where rat guards are used include:
Ships and Ports: Rat guards are installed on mooring lines to prevent rats from climbing aboard vessels when docked. This helps protect cargo, reduce the risk of disease, and prevent damage to the ship's infrastructure.
Docks and Harbors: Ports often have large rat populations due to abundant food and shelter. Rat guards are placed on mooring lines to block rats from accessing docked vessels.
Marinas: Pleasure boats and yachts moored at marinas also use rat guards to avoid rodent infestations.
Warehouses and Storage Facilities: Warehouses near ports or in areas with high rat activity may use rat guards on cables or wires to prevent rats from entering the facility.
Fishing Boats: Fishing vessels use rat guards to protect food supplies and maintain the cleanliness of the catch.
Oil Platforms and Offshore Installations: Offshore platforms and oil rigs use rat guards on mooring lines to prevent rats from boarding via supply vessels.
Military Vessels: Naval ships use rat guards to protect against rodent infestation while docked.
Materials and Installation
Rat guards are commonly made from steel, aluminum, or strong plastic materials to ensure durability and to prevent rats from chewing through them. The guards are installed a short distance away from where the cable connects to the ship, dock, or building to ensure rats cannot bypass the guard.
See also
Pandemic
References
Pest control
Mammal pest control | Rat Guard | [
"Biology"
] | 544 | [
"Pests (organism)",
"Pest control"
] |
78,077,427 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coniophora%20puteana | Coniophora puteana (commonly known as a cellar fungus) is a wet rot (specifically brown rot fungus belonging to the division Basidiomycota. It has the appearance of large brown patches surrounded by white edges typically found in humid areas on pine as well as hardwood.
The mycelium of C. puteana is not always present and often leaves a very thin layer of healthy wood making the fungus very difficult to detect before the structure becomes instable. Contrary to most brown rot fungi C. puteana behaves more like a white-rot fungi in the way it decays, such as the thinning of the cell walls and leaving cavities within the substrate. Unlike other common wet rot fungi, C. puteana is a fungus that requires high humidity averaging around 50-60%. Because of this C. puteana can be found in wood near water leakage or naturally humid areas not limiting it to the common areas such as cellars.
Coniophora puteana has a very widespread distribution being found on most continents including North America, South America, Europe, India, Africa, Australia, and Asia. C. puteana is most predominantly found in eastern North America as well as western Europe. C. puteana is most commonly found during autumn in the month of October.
Damage
Coniophora puteana unlike other brown-rot fungi can completely degrade the secondary cell wall of its substrate through the 2 types of hyphae that it possesses. While one type of hyphae can completely degrade the entire cell wall the other can only modify the lignin within. Given the vast ability to degrade the entire cell wall C. puteana can cause immense damage to the substrate leading to structural instability especially in old buildings that are made mostly out of wood. Given the difficulty of detecting C. puteana it can lead to severe instability before being noticed. The lack of visible mycelium can actually make C. puteana easier to identify if noticed before it widely spreads. The high humidity requirement for growth makes C. puteana grow predominantly near water leaks or areas with high humidity or high precipitation. Due to the unique requirements for growth C. puteana rarely grows in nature but rather under the circumstances of man made buildings making it an issue for many people around the globe.
References
Coniophoraceae
Fungus species
Wood-decay fungi | Coniophora puteana | [
"Biology"
] | 494 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
78,078,932 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tepirindole | Tepirindole (; developmental code names RU-27592, HR-592) is a tryptamine-related atypical antipsychotic and major tranquilizer which was never marketed. It is similar in structure to tryptamines but is not technically a tryptamine itself and is instead a piperidinyl indole. The drug is said to act on dopamine D2, serotonin 5-HT2, and α1-adrenergic receptors. It is a potent dopamine receptor antagonist but reportedly has little propensity to cause catalepsy and has been said to potentially be useful in treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The drug may also act as a potent serotonin receptor agonist. Tepirindole was first described in the literature by 1979.
See also
Ciclindole
Flucindole
Sertindole
References
Abandoned drugs
Atypical antipsychotics
Chloroarenes
Dopamine antagonists
Indoles
Pyridines
Serotonin receptor agonists | Tepirindole | [
"Chemistry"
] | 222 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,079,444 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neluxicapone | Neluxicapone () is a catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor which has not been marketed as of 2024. The drug is a nitrocatechol and is structurally related to other catechol COMT inhibitors like entacapone, tolcapone, and nebicapone. COMT inhibitors are used in conjunction with levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Neluxicapone was first described in the literature by 2018. Its was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019.
References
Catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors
Catechols
Experimental drugs
Nitriles | Neluxicapone | [
"Chemistry"
] | 141 | [
"Nitriles",
"Functional groups"
] |
78,079,535 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzotript | Benzotript (), also known as N-(p-chlorobenzoyl)-L-tryptophan, is a muscle relaxant that inhibits gastric secretion and was never marketed. It is a tryptamine derivative and the N-(4-chlorobenzoyl) analogue of the amino acid tryptophan. Similarly to proglumide (N2-benzoyl-N,N-dipropyl-α-glutamine), the drug acts as a competitive and non-selective cholecystokinin receptor antagonist. Other more potent tryptophan derivatives have also been developed as cholecystokinin (CCK) antagonists.
References
4-Chlorophenyl compounds
Abandoned drugs
Amino acids
Cholecystokinin antagonists
Muscle relaxants
Tryptamines | Benzotript | [
"Chemistry"
] | 181 | [
"Amino acids",
"Biomolecules by chemical classification",
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,080,876 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrofemine | Dextrofemine (), sold under the brand names Marsyl and Dysmalgine, is a uterine spasmolytic and muscle relaxant of the amphetamine family. It is the dextrorotatory enantiomer of racefemine. The drug acts as a β-adrenergic receptor agonist and sympathomimetic. It was marketed in France in 1966 but appears to no longer be marketed. Other tocolytics with similar chemical structures as phenethylamines or amphetamines include bedoradrine, buphenine, fenoterol, hexoprenaline, isoxsuprine, ritodrine, and terbutaline.
References
Abandoned drugs
Beta-adrenergic agonists
Substituted amphetamines
Sympathomimetics
Tocolytics | Dextrofemine | [
"Chemistry"
] | 181 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,080,922 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racefemine | Racefemine (), sold under the brand names Dysmalgine and Evalgin, is a uterine spasmolytic and muscle relaxant of the amphetamine family. It is the racemic threo form of dextrofemine. The drug acts as a β-adrenergic receptor agonist and sympathomimetic. It appears to no longer be marketed. Other tocolytics with similar chemical structures as phenethylamines or amphetamines include bedoradrine, buphenine, fenoterol, hexoprenaline, isoxsuprine, ritodrine, and terbutaline.
References
Abandoned drugs
Beta-adrenergic agonists
Substituted amphetamines
Sympathomimetics
Tocolytics | Racefemine | [
"Chemistry"
] | 173 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,081,324 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradromics | Paradromics is an American brain–computer interface (BCI) company headquartered in Austin, Texas with a second office located in Oakland, California.
Overview
The company is building a high data-rate brain-computer interface. The interface consists of a fully implantable system that collects neural data and transfers that data wirelessly through the skin to an external system, which in turn translates the data into the user's intended speech or computer inputs in real time. Seamless data and power transfer are supported by a secure near-infrared optical data link and inductive power coupling. Paradromics aims to treat severely motor-impaired people with irreversibly debilitating conditions like spinal cord injury, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS.
History
Paradromics was founded in 2015 by CEO Matt Angle to translate neural recording technology from the lab at Stanford University to a fully-implantable, wireless form factor for use as a commercial medical device. Within its first two years, Paradromics secured a NIH SBIR and a DARPA contract, collectively worth US$15 million. This early validation enabled the development of its core technology and the raise of venture funds in 2018.
In late 2019, Paradromics transformed from a technology-focused company that was developing core capabilities to a product-focused company that was building a marketable medical device, the Connexus Direct Data Interface (DDI).
In 2021, Paradromics was awarded a $3.2 million Phase II SBIR grant from the NIH to develop high-density intracortical microelectrode arrays for clinical applications. This grant included collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, highlighting Paradromics' commitment to advancing clinical research and applications of its technology.
In 2023, the company raised a US$33 million venture round led by Prime Movers Lab with participation from Westcott Investment Group, Dolby Family Ventures, and Green Sands Equity. The Connexus DDI was granted its first Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which provides an expedited review process for transformative medical devices with the potential to treat irreversibly debilitating conditions. The first application of the Connexus DDI is an assistive communication device that translates brain signals into speech and movement in real time, restoring social connection and enabling independent engagement with technology.
In 2024, The Connexus DDI was granted a second Breakthrough Device Designation that will enable individuals with severe motor deficits treated with the Connexus DDI to control computer devices. Paradromics was also accepted into the U.S. FDA's newest program for innovative devices, the TAP (Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program) Pilot. The FDA states that this program is intended to "help spur more rapid development and more rapid and widespread patient access to safe, effective, high-quality medical devices of public health importance".
Technology
The company is building a brain–computer interface capable of recording from single neurons. The interface, called the Connexus DDI, consists of the Cortical Module, Internal Transceiver, and a connecting lead. The Cortical Module is surgically placed by a neurosurgeon onto the surface of the brain located in the motor cortex. The system utilizes a surgical technique similar to that of DBS. The Cortical Module consists of a 421-channel microwire electrode array, with 421 electrodes approximately 1.55 mm long (0.06 inches) that extend just below the brain's surface to directly gather neural signals. The microelectrodes are thinner than a strand of human hair (<40 μm electrode diameter). The system supports up to four Cortical Modules, totalling up to 1684 intracortical electrodes.
This data passes from the Cortical Module to the Internal Transceiver along a thin, flexible lead. It is then wirelessly transmitted from the Internal Transceiver to a wearable External Transceiver via a secure infrared data link that supports 100 Mbit/s. The system is continuously powered via inductive coupling. This continuous stream of data then passes to a small computational unit that applies AI, machine learning, and advanced language models for real-time interpretation of the user's intended speech or computer inputs.
Altogether, the system will work by reading a patient's brain signals to interpret their intended speech.
Testing
Paradromics is currently in the preclinical trials testing phase of clinical research.
References
Neurotechnology
Medical devices
Health care | Paradromics | [
"Biology"
] | 950 | [
"Medical devices",
"Medical technology"
] |
78,081,518 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emestedastat | Emestedastat (proposed brand name Xanamem; developmental code name UE-2343) is a steroidogenesis inhibitor which is under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and fragile X syndrome. It specifically acts as a centrally penetrant inhibitor of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) and thereby inhibits the synthesis of the glucocorticoid steroid hormone cortisol. As of August 2024, emestedastat is in phase 2 clinical trials for major depressive disorder and Alzheimer's disease and is in the preclinical stage of development for fragile X syndrome. Clinical effectiveness for Alzheimer's disease has been mixed. It was originated by the University of Edinburgh and is being developed by Actinogen Medical.
References
11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase inhibitors
Experimental antidepressants
Experimental drugs
Experimental drugs for Alzheimer's disease
Hydroxyarenes
Ketones
Pyrazoles
Pyrimidines
Thiophenes | Emestedastat | [
"Chemistry"
] | 224 | [
"Ketones",
"Functional groups"
] |
78,081,657 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C12H9NO2 | {{DISPLAYTITLE:C12H9NO2}}
The molecular formula C12H9NO2 (molar mass: 199.21 g/mol) may refer to:
Indophenol
4-Nitrobiphenyl | C12H9NO2 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 54 | [
"Isomerism",
"Set index articles on molecular formulas"
] |
78,082,094 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%205719 | NGC 5719 is an intermediate or barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is located at a distance of 94 million light years from Earth. It was first discovered by William Herschel in April 1787, but also observed by John Herschel in April 1828 and by George Phillips Bond in March 1853, who catalogued the object as NGC 5658 under the New General Catalogue.
The luminosity class of NGC 5719 is I-II and it has a broad HI line. Additionally, it is a narrow line active galaxy (NLAGN). In far infrared (40-400 ɥm), the luminosity of NGC 5719 is 1.70 x 1010 Lʘ (1010.23 Lʘ) while its total luminosity in infrared (from the 8-1000 ɥm range) is 2.24 x 10 Lʘ (1010.35 Lʘ).
Characteristics
NGC 5719 is classified as an Sab galaxy found almost edge-on. It is interacting with a nearby face-on Sbc companion, NGC 5713. The dust lane of the galaxy is tilted, as well as bent significantly and inclined to its major axis.
The galaxy has two HI tidal bridges which loop around it and are connecting with NGC 5713. There is a detection of two HI tidal tails leaving NGC 5713. Inside the disk of the galaxy (NGC 5719), ionized and neutral hydrogen are present. Both are counter-rotating in respect to the main stellar disk. When measuring the kinematics of both counter-rotating stellar disks and the ionized-gas disk, they extend by about 40 arcsec (4.3 kpc) from NGC 5719's center.
NGC 5746 group
NGC 5719 is part of the NGC 5746 group according to A.M. Garcia. In this galaxy group there are 31 members including NGC 5636, NGC 5638, NGC 5668, NGC 5690, NGC 5691, NGC 5692, NGC 5701, NGC 5705, NGC 5713, NGC 5725, NGC 5740, NGC 5746, NGC 5750, IC 1022, IC 1024 and IC 1048. Together the NGC 5719 group is part of the Virgo III cluster, one of the clusters in the Virgo Supercluster.
References
5719
Virgo (constellation)
Astronomical objects discovered in 1787
Discoveries by William Herschel
14383-0006
+00-37-024
052455
09462
Intermediate spiral galaxies | NGC 5719 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 511 | [
"Virgo (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
78,082,546 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD%2015337 | HD 15337 (TOI-402) is a star with two orbiting exoplanets in the southern constellation of Fornax. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.09, making it too faint to be observed by the naked eye from Earth, but readily visible using a small telescope. It is located distant based on stellar parallax, and is currently heading towards the Solar System with a radial velocity of −3.9 km/s.
The star is about 15% smaller than the Sun in both mass and radius and radiates slightly less than half the Sun's luminosity from its photosphere. It has a spectral type of K1V and an effective temperature of , giving the star an orange hue. It is billion years old, making it much older than the Solar System. The star has a solar-like metallicity and displays similar amounts of stellar activity to the Sun, though when the star was only 150 million years old, it may have emitted between 3.7 and 127 times the high-energy luminosity of the Sun in the present day.
Planetary system
In May 2019, a pair of exoplanets were discovered to revolve around HD 15337 through transit observations by the TESS space telescope, namely HD 15337 b and c. The two planets are far closer to their host star than Mercury is to the Sun (0.3871 AU), which heats them up to equilibrium temperatures of and , respectively, both of which are hot enough to melt lead ( ).
The inner planet, HD 15337 b, has a radius of 1.770 and a mass of 6.519 . This places its density at , meaning it is denser than Earth () and very likely to be a rocky super-Earth. The outer planet, c, is only slightly more massive than b at 6.792 , but possesses a radius over 40% larger, which makes it much less dense at , suggesting a mini-Neptune-like composition with a thick (>0.01 ) gaseous envelope probably consisting of hydrogen and helium. This striking difference in the structure of the two planets in spite of their similar masses implies that the two planets are on opposite sides of the small planet radius gap, making the HD 15337 system a prime target for research in planetary formation and evolution.
In 2024, the planetary parameters of both planets were precisely gauged through photometric observations by CHEOPS and radial velocity measurements by HARPS. As a result, the uncertainties of HD 15337 b's mass and radius were each reduced to less than 2% and 7%, which put the planet among the most accurately characterized terrestrial exoplanets at the time. Additionally, the radius of HD 15337 c was constrained to within a 3% margin of error.
See also
Kepler-93b: another precisely characterized hot super-Earth.
Notes
References
K-type main-sequence stars
Planetary systems with two confirmed planets
Fornax
CD-28 00784
015337
011433 | HD 15337 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 618 | [
"Fornax",
"Constellations"
] |
78,083,586 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar%20System%20%28TV%20series%29 | Solar System is a 2024 documentary TV mini series produced by the BBC and narrated by Brian Cox. The first episode was shown on BBC Two on 7 October 2024, with the remaining four episodes made available on BBC iPlayer on the same date. It follows Cox's previous series Wonders of the Solar System, shown in 2010, and The Planets, shown in 2019. The programme is focused on explaining our scientific knowledge of the Solar System in simple terms, using a combination of earth-based experiments, CGI, and real footage.
Episodes
References
External links
2024 British television series debuts
2024 British television series endings
Science education television series
Documentary films about outer space
Documentary television series about astronomy
BBC television documentaries about science
Television series by BBC Studios
British English-language television shows
Astronomy education television series | Solar System (TV series) | [
"Astronomy"
] | 160 | [
"Documentary films about outer space",
"Space art",
"Documentary television series about astronomy",
"Works about astronomy"
] |
78,084,251 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misinformation%20about%20the%202024%20Atlantic%20hurricane%20season | Late in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, misinformation and conspiracy theories spread about the nature of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and about the post-storm disaster recoveries. False information was spread by several American right-wing personalities and politicians, including Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. These widespread rumors caused significant difficulties for first responders and official recovery workers, hampering rescue efforts, and some officials were subject to threats of violence. The White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued statements in response to these claims.
Background
In early 2024, hurricane forecasters predicted a highly-active season, citing the La Niña effect and warm sea surface temperatures. After the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane on record, Hurricane Beryl, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintained this prediction through August. In what was expected to be the peak season, however, there were few storms, and some called the season a "bust".
In late September and early October, Hurricanes Helene and Milton developed as Category 4 and 5 hurricanes, respectively, breaking the lull. Helene caused extensive damage across the Southeastern United States, becoming the deadliest hurricane to strike the US mainland since Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the hurricane caused flooding in western North Carolina, hundreds of miles from the coast; NOAA described this unusually high inland rainfall as a "worst-case scenario" for the region. Milton broke the National Weather Service's record for rapid intensification, strengthening to a Category 5 and increasing its wind speeds by in 24 hours. The season became the second costliest in history, with $190 billion in damages, and broke records for amount of storm activity in the later period of a hurricane season.
Claims
Weather modification
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia's 14th congressional district claimed in a tweet on October 3 that it is possible to use weather modification to influence hurricanes. Three days later, Greene made another post claiming weather modification was possible and in use. Prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made claims that Hurricanes Milton and Helene were "weather weapons" created by the US government. Meteorologists Matthew Cappucci, Katie Nickolaou, and James Spann claimed to have received threats, accusing them of concealing that the US government was controlling the hurricane.
Claims that the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) research project in Alaska can modify the weather have existed since at least 2012. Agence France-Presse reported on popular social media posts claiming that the device created the storm; however, a research scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which runs the project, stated that is too low-powered to control weather. Likewise, the nationwide weather radar system known as Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) was the subject of claims that it could be used to control weather patterns. As a radar system it emits only a small amount of energy, which NOAA's Hurricane Research Division states is too low to influence weather.
In research prior to the 2024 season, researchers have considered the social and ethical impacts of hurricane modification. In 2012, a survey found that proposals for weather modification to redirect hurricane paths induced feelings of anger in Florida residents. The US government retired hurricane seeding experiments in 1963 after attempts proved futile and in 1998 the American Meteorological Society adopted an official position considering it unfeasible.
FEMA blocking aid
USA Today reported on viral social media posts claiming that law enforcement in North Carolina were seeking to arrest Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff for allegedly hindering relief work, a claim denied by state officials. Elon Musk faced criticism from The Atlantic, NPR, and Politico for amplifying claims without evidence that FEMA had been expropriating aid shipments, blocking private citizens from rendering aid, and that sheriffs in North Carolina had threatened to arrest FEMA staff. The Twitter account for fake news website Real Raw News falsely claimed that the United States Marine Corps were using snipers to kill FEMA employees. US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, FEMA Director of Public Affairs Jaclyn Rothenberg, and Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer received antisemitic attacks online and claimed to have feared for their safety in response work. FEMA received credible threats of violence directed at its staff, including calls for militias to shoot emergency responders. One armed man acting alone was arrested in Rutherford County, North Carolina, on October 14, 2024 for making threats against FEMA employees; as a result, aid workers relocated their work from the county.
On November 9, 2024, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell released an official statement announcing that a FEMA employee had "advise[d] her survivor assistance team to not go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Trump". Criswell referred to the act as "reprehensible". The alleged discrimination occurred in Florida, and the employee was fired for these alleged actions. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a federal lawsuit against FEMA in response to the allegation of discrimination.
Land acquisition
PBS News Hour reported on a belief that the US government was using the disaster to seize land, in particular destroyed homes. Following Hurricane Helene, rumors spread online that Chimney Rock, North Carolina, had been intentionally abandoned by relief officials so that the federal government could mine lithium after evacuating the residents or after leaving the residents for dead. County officials denied any plans of the sort. In Florida, WUSF reported similar rumors that spread in the days leading up to Hurricane Milton's landfall, which caused the governor's office to rebut claims of FEMA seizing Floridians' homes.
Expenditure of relief funds on migrants
On October 3, Donald Trump accused the Biden administration of spending FEMA disaster relief funds on housing for "illegal migrants", and he claimed that the agency had run out of funding for disaster recovery efforts. Ohio Representative Jim Jordan similarly claimed that disaster funds had gone to house migrants. Elon Musk amplified the claim on Twitter, indicating that he viewed FEMA's alleged expenditures on migrants as "treason" and endorsing a call for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be arrested. The Washington Post found no evidence that FEMA had redirected any disaster relief funding to migrant resettlement, and the agency stated that it had continued to spend money towards relief efforts.
AI-generated images
On social media, multiple viral AI-generated images spread supposedly depicting the hurricane and its response. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported on one image of a flooded town that was claimed to be Gatlinburg, Tennessee, prompting a response from town officials that the town was not flooded and safe to visit.
After Helene, an AI-generated image of a girl holding a puppy while sitting in a boat floating on flooded waters circulated among Republicans, who used it as evidence of alleged failures of the Biden administration to respond to the disaster. The Atlantic noted that some politicians did not retract the image after learning it was fake, "insisting that it's real on some deeper level". Another image cited by USA Today depicted Donald Trump wading through floodwaters to rescue people, despite Trump wearing different clothing during his visit to the area. Following Milton's track across Florida, AI-generated images depicting flooding in Walt Disney World posted to Telegram by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti were republished by Russian news networks. AI- and computer-generated images supposedly documenting the October 9 tornado outbreak were widely shared, including by British tabloid The Mirror. Reuters quoted an anonymous US intelligence official who claimed Russian and Chinese influence operations spread AI-generated misinformation related to the hurricanes.
Risk of dam collapse in Cuba
The Cuban Army reported that false rumors were spreading online surrounding the collapse of the Pozo Azul Dam in San Antonio del Sur after Hurricane Oscar. However, official military and water experts stated that the dam never reached full capacity nor sustained any damage from the hurricane.
Effects
Multiple commentators alleged that Republican Party politicians' promotion of these claims was intended to gain an advantage in the 2024 United States presidential election. Jim Puzzanghera in The Boston Globe claimed that the party was "seeking [an] edge" in hurricane-battered Georgia because it is a swing state, "exploiting the trauma" by using claims about the Biden administration's response efforts to reduce support for the Kamala Harris's campaign. The Guardian misinformation reporter Rachel Leingang argued that misinformation was likely so prevalent due to the proximity to the election, quoting a fellow at the American Immigration Council who claimed that "there's no question that this level of falsehoods would not be spread were there not an election a month away".
Local officials and relief workers have had to expend resources combatting misinformation that might otherwise have been used toward first response work. FEMA and White House officials have expressed concern that survivors and others impacted by the storms may be less likely to seek relief from the agency due to the misinformation. In response, the White House directed federal agencies to engage with the public on social media with evidence the government was on the ground helping relief efforts. FEMA added a page on its website to rebut claims. Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, who represents North Carolina's 11th congressional district which was heavily affected by Hurricane Helene, released a statement to his constituents rebutting several claims. Writing in The Atlantic, former US Department of Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem gave particular criticism to Twitter under Elon Musk, where she argued recent changes to content moderation had made it more difficult to discern reliable sources.
See also
References
Bibliography
Academic works
Newspapers
Web sources
Primary sources
External links
2024 controversies in the United States
2024 natural disasters in the United States
Hurricane season 2024
Hurricane season 2024
Hurricane season 2024
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Milton
Hurricane season 2024
Right-wing politics in the United States
Weather modification in North America | Misinformation about the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season | [
"Technology"
] | 2,028 | [
"Earth science conspiracy theories",
"Science and technology-related conspiracy theories"
] |
78,084,413 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private%20city | A private city is a for-profit, private enterprise with no elected city councilors.
See also
Charter city
Private town
Songdo
Forest City, Johor
References
Further reading
Jiaolong: Sichuan's Privately-run City
Private city east of Bay Area could be a game-changer
What is the most private city in the world?
Types of towns
Urban planning
Urban studies and planning terminology | Private city | [
"Engineering"
] | 79 | [
"Urban planning",
"Architecture"
] |
78,084,891 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RQOPS | Reliable Quantum Operations Per Second (rQOPS) is a metric that measures the capabilities and error rates of a quantum computer. It combines several key factors to measure how many reliable operations a computer can execute in a single second: logical error rates, clock speed, and number of reliable qubits.
The quantities included in rQOPS can be measured in all quantum computer architectures, allowing different architectures to be compared with one standard metric. A larger rQOPS measurement indicates a faster and more accurate device capable of solving more complex problems.
Microsoft suggest that a machine with 1 million rQOPS qualifies as a quantum supercomputer.
Alternative benchmarks include quantum volume, cross-entropy benchmarking, Circuit Layer Operations Per Second (CLOPS) proposed by IBM and IonQ's Algorithmic Qubits. However, as opposed to considering qubit performance alone, rQOPS measures how capable a quantum system is at solving tangible problems.
Definition
rQOPS is calculated as rQOPS=Q x f, at a corresponding logical error rate pL., where Q is the number of logical qubits and f is the hardware's logical clock speed. Microsoft has selected this metric for the higher quantum computing implementation levels as it encompasses scale, speed, and reliability.
rQOPS =[Q][f]
See also
Noisy intermediate-scale quantum era
Quantum error correction
Threshold theorem
References
Units of frequency
Quantum computing | RQOPS | [
"Mathematics"
] | 284 | [
"Quantity",
"Units of frequency",
"Units of measurement"
] |
78,085,410 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European%20Conference%20on%20Composite%20Materials | The European Conference on Composite Materials is an international scientific conference covering research on composite materials. The conference is organized by the European Society For Composite Materials and is held biannually, usually in alternance with the International Conference on Composite Materials. The topics represented at the conference include, among others, fracture and damage, multiscale modeling, durability, aging, process modeling, simulation, additive manufacturing, bio-sourced composites, material recycling and reuse of parts, and environmental impacts.
History
The conference was organized for the first time in September 1985 by the European Association of Composite Materials, created one year earlier. When this association was succeeded by the European Association of Composite Materials in 1998, it assumed the conference organization.
References
Academic conferences | European Conference on Composite Materials | [
"Physics",
"Materials_science",
"Engineering"
] | 151 | [
"Materials science stubs",
"Composite materials",
"Materials science",
"Materials",
"Matter"
] |
78,086,043 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SB269652 | SB269652 is an experimental dopamine D2 and D3 receptor negative allosteric modulator. It is of interest in the potential development of novel antipsychotics for treatment of schizophrenia with reduced side effects, such as extrapyramidal symptoms. The drug is described as a dual orthosteric and allosteric (i.e., bitopic) modulator of the dopamine D2 and D3 receptors, as an atypical allosteric modulator of these receptors, and as specifically targeting D2–D3 receptor dimers. SB269652 was first described in the scientific literature by 1999. It was originally thought to act purely as an antagonist of the dopamine D2 and D3 receptors, but was serendipitously found to be a negative allosteric modulator of these receptors in 2010. It was the first dopamine D2 and D3 receptor negative allosteric modulator to be discovered. More potent analogues of SB269652 have been developed.
References
Abandoned drugs
Carboxamides
Cyano compounds
Cyclohexanes
D2 antagonists
D3 antagonists
Dopamine receptor modulators
Experimental drugs developed for schizophrenia
Isoquinolines
Indoles | SB269652 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 262 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
69,303,299 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM%20Eagle | IBM Eagle is a 127-qubit quantum processor. IBM claims that it can not be simulated by any classical computer. It is two times bigger than China's Jiuzhang 2. It was revealed on November 16, 2021 and was claimed to be the most powerful quantum processor ever made until November 2022, when the IBM Osprey overtook it with 433 qubits. It is almost twice as powerful as their last processor, the 'Hummingbird', which had 65 quantum bits and was created in 2020. IBM believes that the processes used in creating the 'Eagle', will be the backbone for their future processors.
References
External links
IBM’s roadmap for scaling quantum technology
Quantum computing
IBM microprocessors | IBM Eagle | [
"Technology"
] | 151 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Computer hardware stubs"
] |
69,304,107 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yandex%20Cloud | Yandex Cloud is a public cloud platform developed by the Russian internet company Yandex. Yandex Cloud provides private and corporate users with infrastructure and computing resources in an ‘as a service’ format.
History
Yandex's plans to enter the public cloud market have been known since 2016, but the first news about the development of the service appeared in 2017 when Yan Leshchinsky, who had previously worked on cloud platforms at Microsoft, Salesforce and AWS, joined the company. Closed testing of Yandex Cloud began in April 2018 with the participation of over 50 large Russian and international companies, including Tinkoff Bank, X5 Retail Group, S7 and Skyeng. The platform was presented in a technical preview in September 2018. The user base and revenue of the platform grew consistently, so in October 2020, Yandex moved Yandex Cloud from an experimental direction to an independent business unit.
Structure
The Yandex Cloud platform uses the same infrastructure as the main Yandex services and is located in the same data centers. Many Yandex Cloud components are based on the company's internal tools, originally developed for in-company use. Open-source software is also used: KVM for the hypervisor, Tungsten Fabric (OpenContrail) for software-defined networking, etc. As the first Russian partner of Nvidia GPU Cloud (NGC), Yandex Cloud provides access to specialized applications which are optimized for Nvidia GPUs[6] for working with artificial intelligence, machine learning, neural networks and high-performance computing.
Services
Yandex Cloud includes infrastructure and data management services, tools for developing cloud applications and machine learning models, as well as proprietary ML-based services:
Infrastructure and Network
Compute Cloud (VMs and disks)
Object Storage (scalable data storage)
Cloud Interconnect (dedicated network connections)
API Gateway (integration with Yandex Cloud services via the API)
Network Load Balancer
Application Load Balancer
Virtual Private Cloud (cloud network management)
DDoS Protection
Сloud DNS (domain name management)
Data Platform
Yandex Managed Service (MS) for PostgreSQL
MS for ClickHouse
MS for MySQL
MS for Redis
MS for MongoDB
MS for Elasticsearch
MS for Apache Kafka.
MS for SQL Server
MS for Greenplum
Data Proc (Apache Hadoop cluster management)
Data Transfer (database migration)
Message Queue (queues for messaging between applications).
Container-based Development
Managed Service for Kubernetes (Kubernetes cluster management)
Container Registry (docker image management)
Serverless Computing
Cloud Functions (running code as a function)
Database (distributed, fault-tolerant NewSQL DBMS)
Yandex IoT Core (Internet of Things solutions)
Security
Key Management Service (encryption key management)
Certificate Manager (TLS certificate management)
Lockbox (creation and storage of confidential information)
Resources and Management
Monitoring (gathering and visualization of metrics)
Identity and Access Management (for cloud resources)
Resource Manager (for catalogues and clouds)
Machine Learning
DataSphere (development of ML models)
SpeechKit (speech recognition and synthesis)
Translate (machine translation supporting over 90 languages)
Vision (image analysis with ML models)
Brand Voice Call Center (speech synthesis to create unique voices of virtual call center operators)
Business Tools
Tracker (teamwork organization)
DataLens (data analysis and visualization)
Security
Yandex Cloud complies with the requirements of ISO/IEC information security standard 27001:2013 and is the first cloud platform in Russia and the CIS countries to be certified in accordance with the information security standard ISO/IEC 27017:2015 and the standard for the protection of personal data ISO/IEC 27018:2019, which take into account the specifics of cloud services.
Yandex Cloud's hardware base is located in the same data centers as Yandex's other services, but physically separated by hardware firewalls. Inside Yandex Cloud, a HIPS is used, and ACL access control is applied at the top-of-rack switch level. For virtual machines, the QEMU/KVM assembly is used with a minimum set of code and libraries, and all processes are launched under the control of AppArmor.
The platform complies with the requirements of the European Union's GDPR and ensures the level of protection of personal data according to Russian Federal Law No. 152 "On Personal Data" up to Security Level 1, complies with the GOST R 57580 security standard established by the regulations of the Bank of Russia. Yandex Cloud is also the first public cloud in Russia that has confirmed compliance with the PCI DSS standard for all categories of services: IaaS, SaaS, PaaS and serverless computing.
Management and Financial Indicators
Yan Leshchinsky became the first head of Yandex Cloud. In June 2020, he was replaced by Alexey Bashkeev, who had previously led the development of cloud infrastructure for Yandex's own services, including those that later became components of Yandex Cloud. By the beginning of 2021, Yandex Cloud was serving 9700 commercial customers (a 1.4X increase), including 270 large companies, providing about half of its 1 billion RUB revenue. 60% of revenue came from infrastructure services, followed by ML (14%) and data technologies (12%).
References
Yandex
Cloud computing providers
Cloud infrastructure
Cloud platforms
Web services
Online companies of Russia | Yandex Cloud | [
"Technology"
] | 1,135 | [
"Cloud infrastructure",
"Cloud platforms",
"Computing platforms",
"IT infrastructure"
] |
69,305,147 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protollin | Protollin is a drug initially formulated as a vaccine adjuvant. It is composed of lipopolysaccharides derived from the Shigella flexneri or Pleisiomonas shigelloides bacterium combined with hydrophobic outer membrane proteins derived from Neisseria meningitidis.
On November 16, 2021, Brigham and Women's Hospital announced that it was beginning a Phase I clinical trial of Protollin as a nasally-delivered vaccine to activate the body's immune response against amyloid proteins that form in the brain and are thought to contribute to the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
References
Protollin
Adjuvants
Treatment of Alzheimer's disease | Protollin | [
"Chemistry"
] | 141 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Products of chemical industry",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs",
"Chemicals in medicine",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Drugs"
] |
69,305,303 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%20Federation%20of%20Energy%20and%20Chemistry%20Workers%27%20Unions | The Japan Federation of Energy and Chemistry Workers' Unions (, JEC RENGO) is a trade union representing workers in various related industries in Japan.
The union was founded in October 2002, with the merger of the Japanese Federation of Chemistry Workers' Unions, the National Organization of All Chemical Workers, the Japan Confederation of Petroleum Industry Workers' Unions, and the National Federation of Cement Workers' Unions of Japan. Like all of its predecessors, it has been affiliated with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation. In 2009, it had 158,958 members, but by 2020 this had fallen to 104,038.
References
Chemical industry trade unions
Energy industry trade unions
Trade unions established in 2002
Trade unions in Japan | Japan Federation of Energy and Chemistry Workers' Unions | [
"Chemistry"
] | 141 | [
"Chemical industry trade unions"
] |
69,306,109 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan%20VEJ30%20engine | The Nissan VEJ30 is a 90-degree, turbocharged, four-stroke, gasoline-powered, sports car racing engines, built by Nissan Motor Company, in the 1980s. All VEJ30 engines are in a V8 configuration, and use forced induction turbocharging.
Overview
In 1987, Nissan began work on an engine exclusively for race use; the result was the VEJ30 engine, developed by Yoshikazu Ishikawa. This engine was based on old technology, and was not a success. For 1988, the VEJ30 was improved by Yoshimasa Hayashi and renamed the VRH30. Changes included increasing the displacement to .
Specifications
Nissan VEJ30, V8 (90°) cyl, 4-stroke, gasoline engine
2996cc, 85 × 66 mm (bore x stroke)
750-800 hp
Aluminum-alloy block and head
forged steel crankshaft with 5 main bearings
DOHC, 4 Valves/cylinder - 32 valves total
aspiration, 2 x IHI turbochargers with multipoint electronic fuel injection
firing order 1 - 8 - 7 - 3 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 2
dry sump
March 87T, 5 speed Manual gearbox
Applications
Nissan R87E
See also
List of Nissan engines
Nissan VRH engine
Nissan VH engine
Nissan VK engine
Nissan
References
External links
VEJ30
World Sportscar Championship engines
V8 engines
Engines by model
Gasoline engines by model
Group C | Nissan VEJ30 engine | [
"Technology"
] | 290 | [
"Engines",
"Engines by model"
] |
69,306,742 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual%20migration%20of%20red%20crabs%20in%20Australia | The annual migration of red crabs in Australia begins in October/November each year. Millions of red crabs Gecarcoidea natalis migrate from the Australian islands to the Indian Ocean during this one to two-week-long period. The purpose of migration is to go underwater and lay eggs and breeding has to be made possible. During this migration season, the routes of arrival and departure of crabs are closed with barriers so that they can be protected from any kind of damage.
References
External links
Red crab migration by parksaustralia.gov.au
Animal migration
October
November | Annual migration of red crabs in Australia | [
"Biology"
] | 116 | [
"Ethology",
"Behavior",
"Animal migration"
] |
69,307,539 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanoperedens%20nitroreducens | Methanoperedens nitroreducens (from Latin: methano, meaning "methane", peredens, meaning "consuming", nitro, meaning "nitrate", and reducens, meaning "leading back") is a candidate species of methanotrophic archaea that oxidizes methane by coupling to nitrate reduction.
Morphology
M. nitroreducens are irregular cocci with a diameter of 1-3 μm.
Metabolism
Ideal conditions for M. nitroreducens growth consist of temperatures around and neutral to slightly basic pH of 7-8. M. nitroreducens has been cultured in a bioreactor, but a pure culture has not yet been cultivated.
M. nitroreducens is one of only two organisms that are currently known to be able to couple methane oxidation with nitrate or nitrite reduction, the other being Methylomirabilis oxyfera. M. nitroreducens utilizes the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), a process which serves as an important sink of environmental methane, lowering the gas' overall impact on climate change. This process was originally discovered to be paired with sulfate reduction, but is now known to also be paired with nitrate and metal ion (Mn4+ or Fe3+) reduction. M. nitroreducens uses reverse methanogenesis with nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor.
M. nitroreducens is the first anaerobic methanotrophic archaea found to have genes for the full reverse methanogenesis pathway. The full pathway of acetyl-CoA has also been found in M. nitroreducens. It has been suggested that AOM is facilitated by Borgs, unusual large extrachromosomal DNA elements found in Methanoperedens.
Ecology
M. nitroreducens survives in oxygen-free environments and can typically be found in deeper down in freshwater ecosystems. M. nitroreducens is more likely to exist and be competitive in an environment enriched in nitrate as opposed to sulfate or other potential terminal electron acceptors. M. nitroreducens competes against other organisms who reduce nitrate with other carbon sources.
Requiring both methane and nitrate, this organism is commonly found in the area between oxic and anoxic zones. While originally known as an anaerobic species, it has oxygen tolerance mechanisms. When it is in contact with oxygen, M. nitroreducens will up-regulate genes needed to protect against oxidative stress. This differs from other anaerobic species who suffer irreversible damage when exposed to oxygen, hinting at future applications for this archaeal species.
Discovery
M. nitroreducens was first described by Haroon et al. in 2013 after adding methane, ammonium, and nitrate to a bioreactor, which led to a single organism proliferating.
References
Euryarchaeota
Methane
Nitrates | Methanoperedens nitroreducens | [
"Chemistry"
] | 611 | [
"Methane",
"Nitrates",
"Oxidizing agents",
"Salts",
"Greenhouse gases"
] |
69,308,477 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground%20level%20enhancement | A Ground Level Enhancement or Ground Level Event (GLE), is a special subset of solar particle event where charged particles from the Sun have sufficient energy to generate effects which can be measured at the Earth's surface. These particles (mostly protons) are accelerated to high energies either within the solar atmosphere or in interplanetary space, with some debate as to the predominant acceleration method. While solar particle events typically involve solar energetic particles at 10–100 MeV, GLEs involve particles with energies higher than about 400 MeV.
Definition
The definition of a GLE is as follows: "A GLE event is registered when there are near-time coincident and statistically significant enhancements of the count rates of at least two differently located neutron monitors including at least one neutron monitor near sea level and a corresponding enhancement in the proton flux measured by a space-borne instrument(s)."
There is a subclass of GLEs called sub-GLE: "A sub-GLE event is registered when there are near-time coincident and statistically significant enhancements of the count rates of at least two differently located high-elevation neutron monitors and a corresponding enhancement in the proton flux measured by a space-borne instrument(s), but no statistically significant enhancement in the count rates of neutron monitors near sea level."
Description
Charged particles from the Sun generally do not possess the energy required to penetrate the Earth's magnetic field or Upper atmosphere. However, a small number of solar events produce charged particles which are able to penetrate these layers, causing an air shower. This particle shower reaches ground level, where effects are measured, leading to the name "Ground Level Enhancement". These effects are usually measured as elevated levels of neutrons and muons. These events can increase the radiation dose of an individual at sea level or while in an aircraft, though not by enough to significantly increase an individual's lifetime risk of cancer.
GLEs are distinct from individual cosmic rays because multiple charged particles enter the Earth's atmosphere simultaneously, leading to a synchronized event over a wide area. The term GLE refers to this wider event rather than an individual particle shower. A GLE is indicated by an increase in levels of neutrons and muons at one or more monitoring stations occurring over a period of 15 min or longer, followed by a longer decay to previous levels.
GLEs are associated with intense solar flares; for example, the GLE which occurred on May 17, 2012, was associated with an M-Class flare which occurred 20 minutes prior. As GLE-causing particles have such high kinetic energies, they travel very quickly and can be used to predict the arrival of solar energetic particle (SEP) events (with lower-energy, slower particles). The method by which solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produce such high-energy particles is still uncertain, with some studies suggesting that they are produced mostly by a CME shock wave, by strong flare events or some combination, or related to the connection between the active solar region and the magnetic field of the Earth.
Ground level enhancements are usually accompanied by a solar radiation storm. GLE occurrence rate was 29% for S2 or larger storms, 36% for S3 or larger, and 40% for S4 when correlated with the S-scale (related to the number of >10MeV protons measured at geosynchronous orbit).
GLEs are uncommon. At present, 76 GLE events have been observed since the 1940s.
The most recent GLE #74 took place on 21st Nov 2024. GLEs are more frequent around solar maximum.
See also
Heliophysics
List of solar storms
Solar energetic particles
Space weather
Solar particle event
Particle shower
Air shower (physics)
References
Astroparticle physics | Ground level enhancement | [
"Physics"
] | 772 | [
"Astroparticle physics",
"Particle physics",
"Astrophysics"
] |
69,308,946 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cator%20Park | Cator Park is a park in Kidbrooke, Greenwich. It has been won awards for placemaking, biodiversity, and landscape.
It was resigned by HTA Design in collaboration with the London Wildlife Trust and opened to the public in 2019. The park is made up of multiple biophilic spaces including lakes, wetlands and ponds. It is a protected space for wetland birds. The park also includes sports facilities and a 3000m³ play space at the park most elevated point.
References
Parks in England
Greater London
Biodiversity | Cator Park | [
"Biology"
] | 105 | [
"Biodiversity"
] |
69,310,432 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantification%20%28machine%20learning%29 | In machine learning and data mining, quantification (variously called learning to quantify, or supervised prevalence estimation, or class prior estimation) is the task of using supervised learning in order to train models (quantifiers) that estimate the relative frequencies (also known as prevalence values) of the classes of interest in a sample of unlabelled data items.
For instance, in a sample of 100,000 unlabelled tweets known to express opinions about a certain political candidate, a quantifier may be used to estimate the percentage of these tweets which belong to class `Positive' (i.e., which manifest a positive stance towards this candidate), and to do the same for classes `Neutral' and `Negative'.
Quantification may also be viewed as the task of training predictors that estimate a (discrete) probability distribution, i.e., that generate a predicted distribution that approximates the unknown true distribution of the items across the classes of interest. Quantification is different from classification, since the goal of classification is to predict the class labels of individual data items, while the goal of quantification it to predict the class prevalence values of sets of data items. Quantification is also different from regression, since in regression the training data items have real-valued labels, while in quantification the training data items have class labels.
It has been shown in multiple research works
that performing quantification by classifying all unlabelled instances and then counting the instances that have been attributed to each class (the 'classify and count' method) usually leads to suboptimal quantification accuracy. This suboptimality may be seen as a direct consequence of 'Vapnik's principle', which states:
In our case, the problem to be solved directly is quantification, while the more general intermediate problem is classification. As a result of the suboptimality of the 'classify and count' method, quantification has evolved as a task in its own right, different (in goals, methods, techniques, and evaluation measures) from classification.
Quantification tasks
The main variants of quantification, according to the characteristics of the set of classes used, are:
Binary quantification, corresponding to the case in which there are only classes and each data item belongs to exactly one of them;
Single-label multiclass quantification, corresponding to the case in which there are classes and each data item belongs to exactly one of them;
Multi-label multiclass quantification, corresponding to the case in which there are classes and each data item can belong to zero, one, or several classes at the same time;
Ordinal quantification, corresponding to the single-label multiclass case in which a total order is defined on the set of classes.
Regression quantification, a task which stands to 'standard' quantification as regression stands to classification. Strictly speaking, this task is not a quantification task as defined above (since the individual items do not have class labels but are labelled by real values), but has enough commonalities with other quantification tasks to be considered one of them.
Most known quantification methods address the binary case or the single-label multiclass case, and only few of them address the multi-label, ordinal, and regression cases.
Binary-only methods include the Mixture Model (MM) method, the HDy method, SVM(KLD), and SVM(Q).
Methods that can deal with both the binary case and the single-label multiclass case include probabilistic classify and count (PCC), adjusted classify and count (ACC), probabilistic adjusted classify and count (PACC), and the Saerens-Latinne-Decaestecker EM-based method (SLD).
Methods for multi-label quantification include regression-based quantification (RQ) and label powerset-based quantification (LPQ).
Methods for the ordinal case include Ordinal Quantification Tree (OQT), and ordinal versions of the above-mentioned ACC, PACC, and SLD methods.
Methods for the regression case include Regress and splice and Adjusted regress and sum.
Evaluation measures for quantification
Several evaluation measures can be used for evaluating the error of a quantification method.
Since quantification consists of generating a predicted probability distribution that estimates a true probability distribution, these evaluation measures are ones that compare two probability distributions. Most evaluation measures for quantification belong to the class of divergences. Evaluation measures for binary quantification and single-label multiclass quantification are
Absolute Error
Squared Error
Relative Absolute Error
Kullback-Leibler divergence
Pearson Divergence
Evaluation measures for ordinal quantification are
Normalized Match Distance (a particular case of the Earth Mover's Distance)
Root Normalized Order-Aware Distance
Applications
Quantification is of special interest in fields such as the social sciences,
epidemiology,
market research, and ecological modelling,
since these fields are inherently concerned with aggregate data. However, quantification is also useful as a building block for solving other downstream tasks, such as improving the accuracy of classifiers on out-of-distribution data,
performing word sense disambiguation,
allocating resources,
and measuring classifier bias.
Resources
LQ 2021: the 1st International Workshop on Learning to Quantify
LQ 2022: the 2nd International Workshop on Learning to Quantify
LQ 2023: the 3rd International Workshop on Learning to Quantify
LQ 2024: the 4th International Workshop on Learning to Quantify
LeQua 2022: the 1st Data Challenge on Learning to Quantify
LeQua 2024: the 2nd Data Challenge on Learning to Quantify
QuaPy: An open-source Python-based software library for quantification
QuantificationLib: A Python library for quantification and prevalence estimation
References
Machine learning | Quantification (machine learning) | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,237 | [
"Artificial intelligence engineering",
"Machine learning"
] |
69,311,964 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM%20ThinkPad%20X40 | The IBM ThinkPad X40 is a laptop from the ThinkPad line that was manufactured by IBM, announced in October 5, 2004.
Reception
CNET rated the X40 as "very good" with an 8.5 out of 10.
References
External links
IBM.com - IBM ThinkPad X40
ThinkPad X40
X40
Computer-related introductions in 2004 | IBM ThinkPad X40 | [
"Technology"
] | 74 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Computer hardware stubs"
] |
69,312,278 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM%20ThinkPad%20T43 | The ThinkPad T43 is a laptop computer manufactured by IBM and later by Lenovo. It was released in October 2005 and discontinued in 2006.
Specifications
The ThinkPad T43 features an Intel Pentium M processor, ATI Mobility Radeon X300 or X300SE graphics, and a 14.1-inch TFT display. It supports up to 2GB of DDR2 memory and storage options ranging from 40GB to 100GB HDD.
Connectivity
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, and modem. The laptop is equipped with various ports including 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, S-Video, and a PC Card slot.
Operating System Support
The ThinkPad T43 originally shipped with Windows XP but also supports Windows Vista and Linux distributions.
Dimensions and Weight
The laptop measures and weighs approximately .
Legacy
The ThinkPad T43 was praised for its durability, keyboard quality, and overall performance. It remains a popular choice among vintage laptop enthusiasts.
References
External links
Thinkwiki.de - T43
ThinkPad T43 recovery discs
ThinkPad T43
T43
Computer-related introductions in 2005 | IBM ThinkPad T43 | [
"Technology"
] | 233 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Computer hardware stubs"
] |
69,312,376 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PANoptosis | PANoptosis is a prominent innate immune, inflammatory, and lytic cell death pathway initiated by innate immune sensors and driven by caspases and receptor-interacting protein kinases (RIPKs) through multiprotein PANoptosome complexes. The assembly of the PANoptosome cell death complex occurs in response to germline-encoded pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) sensing pathogens, including bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, as well as pathogen-associated molecular patterns, damage-associated molecular patterns, and cytokines that are released during infections, inflammatory conditions, and cancer. Several PANoptosome complexes, such as the ZBP1-, AIM2-, RIPK1-, and NLRC5- and NLRP12-PANoptosomes, have been characterized so far.
Emerging genetic, molecular, and biochemical studies have identified extensive crosstalk among the molecular components across various cell death pathways in response to a variety of pathogens and innate immune triggers. Historically, inflammatory caspase-mediated pyroptosis and RIPK-driven necroptosis were described as two major inflammatory cell death pathways. While the PANoptosis pathway has some molecular components in common with pyroptosis and necroptosis, as well as with the non-lytic apoptosis pathway, these mechanisms are separate processes that are associated with distinct triggers, protein complexes, and execution pathways. Inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis involves inflammatory caspases, including caspase-1 and caspase-11 in mice, and caspases-1, -4, and -5 in humans, and is executed by gasdermin D. In contrast, necroptosis occurs via RIPK1/3-mediated MLKL activation, which is downstream of caspase-8 inhibition. On the other hand, PANoptosis is [TDK1] driven by caspases and RIPKs and is executed by gasdermins, MLKL, NINJ1, and potentially other yet to be identified molecules cleaved by caspases. Moreover, caspase-8 is essential for cell death in PANoptosis but needs to be inactivated or inhibited to induce necroptosis.
Summary of the different morphologies, mechanisms and outcomes of apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and PANoptosis
Clinical Relevance
PANoptosis has also been implicated in inflammatory diseases, neurological diseases, and cancer. Additionally, activation of PANoptosis can clear infected cells for host defense, and it has shown preclinical promise as an anti-cancer strategy.
Viral Infections
PANoptosis has now been identified in a variety of infections, incluiding influenza A virus, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), and coronavirus. For example, PANoptosis is important for host defense during influenza infection through the ZBP1-PANoptosome and during HSV1 infections through the AIM2-PANoptosome. Studies with beta-coronaviruses have shown that IFN can induce ZBP1-mediated PANoptosis during SARS-CoV-2 infection, thereby limiting the efficacy of IFN treatment during infection and resulting in morbidity and mortality. This suggests that inhibiting ZBP1 may improve the therapeutic efficacy of IFN therapy during SARS-CoV-2 infection and possibly other inflammatory conditions where IFN-mediated cell death and pathology occur.
Bacterial Infections
In Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infections, PANoptosis is induced through the RIPK1-PANoptosome, and the deletion of caspase-8 and RIPK3 prevents cell death. During Francisella novicida infection, PANoptosis occurs through the AIM2-PANoptosome. PANoptosis has also been observed in Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes infections, where the combined loss of caspases and RIPK3 significantly protects cells from death.
Fungal Infections
PANoptosis also occurs in fungal infections, including those caused by Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus.
Cancer
Treatment of cancer cells with the PANoptosis-inducing agents TNF and IFN-γ can reduce tumor size in preclinical models. The combination of the nuclear export inhibitor selinexor and IFN can also cause PANoptosis and regress tumors in preclinical models.
Hematologic disorders
More recent evidence suggests that NLRC5- NLRP12-mediated PANoptosis is activated by heme, which can be released by red blood cell lysis during infection or inflammatory disease, in combination with specific components of infection or cellular damage. Deletion of NLRP12 protects against pathology in animal models of hemolytic disease, suggesting this could also act as a therapeutic target. Similarly, the NLRC5-PANoptosome, which also contains NLRP12, was identified as a response to NAD+ depletion downstream of heme-containing triggers. Deletion of NLRC5 protects against not only hemolytic disease models, but also colitis and HLH models.
Fever
Additionally, PANoptosis can be induced by heat stress (HS), such as fever, during infection, and NINJ1 is a key executioner in this context. Deletion of NINJ1 in a murine model of HS and infection reduces mortality; furthermore, deleting essential PANoptosis effectors upstream completely rescues the mice from mortality, thereby identifying NINJ1 and PANoptosis effectors as potential therapeutic targets.
Therapeutic Potential
The regulation of PANoptosis involves numerous PANoptosomes, which include multiple sensor molecules such as NLRP3, ZBP1, AIM2, NLRC5, and NLRP12, along with complex-forming molecules such as caspases and RIPKs. These components activate various downstream cell death executioners and play a role in disease. Therefore, modulating the components of this pathway has potential for therapy. However, excessive activation of PANoptosis can lead to inflammation, inflammatory disease, and cytokine storm syndromes. Treatments that block TNF and IFN-γ to prevent PANoptosis have provided therapeutic benefit in preclinical models of cytokine storm syndromes, including cytokine shock, SARS-CoV-2 infection, sepsis, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, suggesting the therapeutic potential of modulating this pathway.
References
Cell biology | PANoptosis | [
"Biology"
] | 1,355 | [
"Cell biology"
] |
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