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78,187,130 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%206644 | NGC 6644 is a bipolar planetary nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius. NGC 6644 was discovered by American astronomer Edward Charles Pickering in 1880. With an apparent visual magnitude of 10.7, a telescope with an aperture of at least 150 millimeters must be used to observe it. The nebula is located about 1.1 degrees northeast of the star Lambda Sagittarii. According to the most recent studies (2010), the distance of NGC 6644 is 6.131 ± 1.226 kpc (∼20,000 light-years).
See also
List of planetary nebulae
References
Planetary nebulae
6644
Astronomical objects discovered in 1880
Sagittarius (constellation) | NGC 6644 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 140 | [
"Sagittarius (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
78,188,753 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniela%20Ferrero | Daniela Ferrero is a mathematician specializing in graph theory, including the degree diameter problem and propagation processes on graphs. Originally from Uruguay, and educated in Uruguay and Spain, she has lived in Taiwan, France, and the US, where she works as a professor of mathematics at Texas State University.
Research
Ferrero's early research concerned asymptotic constructions for the degree diameter problem, the problem of constructing graphs in which all vertices have both low degree and low distance to all other vertices. Her research in this period also concerned fault tolerance in network design.
More recently, her interests have shifted to power domination and zero forcing, topics related to propagation processes in networks. Here, a zero forcing set is a subset of the vertices in a network, with the property that if the set is repeatedly expanded by adding vertices that are the only outside neighbors of vertices already in the set, then the growing set eventually covers all vertices. A goal of research in this area is to find small zero forcing sets; this is closely related to low-rank approximation and to applications in recommender systems. A power dominating set is a variation of a dominating set, defined as a set of vertices whose closed neighborhood forms a zero forcing set.
Education and career
Ferrero grew up in Uruguay, and earned a bachelor's degree in the faculty of engineering at the University of the Republic. Lacking alternatives for continued study in Uruguay, she traveled to the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain for doctoral study in mathematics, completing her Ph.D. in 1999. Her dissertation, Graphs and Hypergraphs as Interconnection Network Models, was supervised by Carles Padró Laimón.
She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Information Science of Academia Sinica in Taiwan, before joining Texas State University as an assistant professor in 2000. She was promoted to associate professor in 2006 and full professor in 2020.
Recognition
Ferrero was named as a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics, in the 2022 class of fellows, "for sustained and impactful mentoring of young women and underrepresented minorities in mathematics; for leadership in creating research opportunities for women in graph theory through the Women in Graph Theory and Applications Research Network; and for promoting the inclusion and visibility of women through organizing conferences and other professional service".
References
External links
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Uruguayan emigrants to the United States
21st-century Uruguayan mathematicians
Uruguayan women academics
21st-century American women mathematicians
21st-century American mathematicians
Graph theorists
University of the Republic (Uruguay) alumni
Polytechnic University of Catalonia alumni
Texas State University faculty
Fellows of the Association for Women in Mathematics | Daniela Ferrero | [
"Mathematics"
] | 525 | [
"Mathematical relations",
"Graph theory",
"Graph theorists"
] |
78,190,572 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical%20chemical%20structure%20recognition | Optical chemical structure recognition (OCSR) is the translation of images that depict chemical structure information into machine-readable formats. It addresses the challenge of translating chemical structures from graphical representations into their corresponding chemical formulas.
In scientific publications, documents, and textbooks, molecular structures are typically represented through images and annotated text. These structural formulas are depicted as chemical graphs, where the vertices represent atoms, and the edges signify bonds between them. However, much of the data from older publications remains undigitised, both in image and descriptive formats. This lack of digitisation makes extracting useful information a time-consuming, manual process. OSCR can also translate digital images of molecules available online and scanned pages of chemical documents.
The development of the first OCSR systems faced limitations due to the computational resources available and the early stages of Computer Vision and machine learning algorithms. These initial systems primarily relied on heuristic and rule-based approaches, supported by classic Artificial Intelligence (AI) and optical character recognition techniques.
However, advancements in hardware, cloud computing, and deep neural networks have revolutionised OCSR. Modern systems now employ attention-based and context-aware image classification models, eliminating the need for separate pre-processing steps like noise removal or image restoration.
References
Machine vision | Optical chemical structure recognition | [
"Engineering"
] | 262 | [
"Machine vision",
"Robotics engineering"
] |
78,190,886 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala%20Anti-Social%20Activities%20Prevention%20Act | The Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA) is a law enacted in Kerala to prevent anti-social activities. The Act was enacted in 2007 and amended in 2014. The term of remand for arrest under this Act is one year. Jail sentence is decided by considering the two categories of gangster and rowdy.
This law precisely defines gangsters and rowdies. Those involved in anti-social activities like illegal sand smugglers, blade gangs who give money on interest, accused in the Abkari case, will be treated as hooligans and those active in extortion and quotation activities as rowdies. Those accused in three cases or convicted in one case are remanded in custody under the Gangster Act.
Those covered by the Act
Those who disturb public security and peace, known gangsters, illegal liquor sellers, traffickers, sellers, and their close relatives, fake note makers, distributors, sand mafia, fake CD makers, distributors, drug manufacturers, smugglers, and sellers all come under the purview of the law. Apart from this, those who smuggle money from foreign countries through hawala transactions, those who attack people for money, those who engage in unethical activities, etc. The law also includes those who, after paying for the blade, take it back with threats and assault. The 2014 amendment also brought under the purview of the Act money-making institutions without the approval of the State Co-operative Act or the Reserve Bank, and those who illegally usurp the land of others or the government.
The DIG or the District Magistrate will be empowered to prevent known hooligans and rowdies from entering certain places for one year. The Act empowers the District Magistrate to order that any area be disturbed. The High Court has clarified that Kappa law can also be imposed on the accused in drug cases.
The High Court has clarified that even if an out-of-court settlement is reached in criminal cases, taking into account the nature of the crime, action can be taken against the accused under the KAAPA Act (Gundas Act).
The Act also provides for an inspection committee headed by a retired judge to intervene and prevent misuse of the provisions of this Act. It also has protective clauses that prevent the defendants from being brought under the ambit of this Act in cases of property disputes and family disputes.
Probabilities of imposing KAAPA
This will consider the case within seven years.
One case punishable by more than five years or two cases punishable by one year to five years. or three cases should be on trial.
References
Anti-social behaviour
Indian criminal law
Kerala state legislation | Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act | [
"Biology"
] | 538 | [
"Anti-social behaviour",
"Behavior",
"Human behavior"
] |
78,191,277 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIP%2094292 | HIP 94292, commonly referred to by its KIC designation KIC 9145955, is a red-giant branch star located in the northern constellation of Lyra.
Description
It has an apparent magnitude of 10.05, which makes it too faint to observe with the naked eye, but readily visible through a 35-mm aperture telescope. Gaia EDR3 parallax measurements place the star some distant, and it is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of +17.4 km/s.
HIP 94292 is an evolved giant star with a spectral type of G8III. It is currently on the red-giant branch (RGB), undergoing the CNO cycle within a hydrogen shell surrounding an inert core made of helium. With a radius 5.6 times that of the Sun and an effective temperature just over , it radiates 18.8 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere. Due to its higher mass of 1.24 , it is further evolved than the Sun despite a similar age of billion years.
The helium core has been precisely measured to have a mass of and a radius of . As expected of RGB stars, HIP 94292 exhibits solar-like oscillations.
See also
KIC 9970396: a similar red giant in an eclipsing binary.
References
G-type giants
Lyra
BD+45 02850
094292
KIC 9145955
J19113253+4531225 | HIP 94292 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 313 | [
"Lyra",
"Constellations"
] |
78,191,488 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologging | Biologging is the use of tags attached to animals to record aspects of their behaviour, physiology or environment.
Description
Often this can just be the location of the animal, e.g. GPS animal tracking but typically has a focus on learning about other features besides the animal's location.
Many sensor types can be used, for example temperature, accelerometers or microphones.
References
Wildlife conservation
Telemetry | Biologging | [
"Biology"
] | 86 | [
"Wildlife conservation",
"Biodiversity"
] |
78,191,707 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker%20theorem | Parker theorem, or the fundamental magnetostatic theorem, was formulated by physicist Eugene Parker in 1972. Parker's theorem describes how magnetic fields behave in perfectly conducting fluids, particularly in space plasmas. The theorem states that three-dimensional magnetic fields naturally form infinitesimally thin current sheets – regions where the magnetic field direction changes abruptly. These sheets arise from the fundamental interaction between magnetic fields that are "frozen" into the conducting fluid.
When different magnetic field regions come into contact, they cannot smoothly merge due to the perfect conductivity of the fluid. Instead, they form sharp boundaries where electric currents flow. This process is analogous to how non-mixing fluids like oil and water form distinct boundaries rather than mixing. The theorem's central claim is that such discontinuities are not exceptional but are the standard feature of magnetic field equilibria in perfectly conducting fluids.
Further reading
References
Plasma theory and modeling
Eponymous theorems of physics | Parker theorem | [
"Physics"
] | 190 | [
"Equations of physics",
"Plasma physics",
"Eponymous theorems of physics",
"Plasma theory and modeling",
"Physics theorems"
] |
78,191,798 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpiropride | Alpiropride (; brand name Revistel, Rivistel, or Rivestel) is a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist of the benzamide group related to sulpiride. It is described as an antihypertensive agent and has been marketed for use as an antimigraine medication in Portugal. The drug was first described by 1980 and was introduced for medical use by 1989. It remained marketed in Portugal as late as 2000.
References
Abandoned drugs
Amines
Antihypertensive agents
Antimigraine drugs
Benzamides
D2 antagonists
Methoxy compounds
Pyrrolidines
Sulfonamides | Alpiropride | [
"Chemistry"
] | 133 | [
"Drug safety",
"Functional groups",
"Amines",
"Bases (chemistry)",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
78,192,087 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%20Smith%20%28chemical%20physicist%29 | David Smith (26 November 1935—15 February 2023) was a British chemical physicist who investigated gas-phase ionic reactions between ions, electrons and molecules. For this work he developed the selected ion flow tube (SIFT) technique, an analytical method that evolved in to the widely used SIFT-mass spectrometry.
Career
In 1991, he took up a professorship at the Innsbruck University Institute for Ion Physics, and returned to the UK in 1996, returning to Keele University, where he would remain until retirement in 2016. His work continued though with collaboration with the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry in Prague.
He was a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
References
Chemical physicists
British physicists
Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry
1935 births
2023 deaths | David Smith (chemical physicist) | [
"Chemistry"
] | 158 | [
"Chemical physicists"
] |
78,193,931 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENX-105 | ENX-105 is an investigational new drug being developed by Engrail Therapeutics for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is currently in the preclinical stage, trailing behind a closely related Engrail compound, ENX-104, which is focused on depression and anhedonia.
The drug is described as a dopamine D2 and D3 receptor antagonist and serotonin 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor agonist. In terms of its serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonism, it is said to not produce the head-twitch response in animals and hence to be putatively non-hallucinogenic.
As with ENX-104, ENX-105 is a deuterated enantiomer of nemonapride.
References
Amines
Benzamides
Benzyl compounds
Chlorobenzene derivatives
D2 antagonists
D3 antagonists
Deuterated compounds
Experimental antidepressants
Experimental non-hallucinogens
Methoxy compounds
Non-hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonists
Pyrrolidines | ENX-105 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 239 | [
"Amines",
"Bases (chemistry)",
"Functional groups"
] |
78,194,245 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylcyclohexane | Ethylcyclohexane is an organic compound with the formula . The molecule consists of an ethyl group attached to a cyclohexane ring. It is a typical naphthene in petroleum. It can be produced by hydrogenation of ethylbenzene and by hydrodeoxygenation of lignin.
References
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbon solvents
Cyclohexyl compounds
Ethyl compounds | Ethylcyclohexane | [
"Chemistry"
] | 89 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Hydrocarbons"
] |
78,194,677 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-term%20recurrence%20relation | In mathematics, and especially in numerical analysis, a homogeneous linear three-term recurrence relation (TTRR, the qualifiers "homogeneous linear" are usually taken for granted) is a recurrence relation of the form
for
where the sequences and , together with the initial values govern the evolution of the sequence .
Applications
If the and are constant and independent of the step index n, then the TTRR is a Linear recurrence with constant coefficients of order 2. Arguably the simplest, and most prominent, example for this case is the Fibonacci sequence, which has constant coefficients .
Orthogonal polynomials Pn all have a TTRR with respect to degree n,
where An is not 0. Conversely, Favard's theorem states that a sequence of polynomials satisfying a TTRR is a sequence of orthogonal polynomials.
Also many other special functions have TTRRs. For example, the solution to
is given by the Bessel function . TTRRs are an important tool for the numeric computation of special functions.
TTRRs are closely related to continuous fractions.
Solution
Solutions of a TTRR, like those of a linear ordinary differential equation, form a two-dimensional vector space: any solution can be written as the linear combination of any two linear independent solutions. A unique solution is specified through the initial values .
See also
Miller's recurrence algorithm
Literature
Walter Gautschi. Computational Aspects of Three-Term Recurrence Relations. SIAM Review, 9:24–80 (1967).
Walter Gautschi. Minimal Solutions of Three-Term Recurrence Relation and Orthogonal Polynomials. Mathematics of Computation, 36:547–554 (1981).
Amparo Gil, Javier Segura, and Nico M. Temme. Numerical Methods for Special Functions. siam (2007)
J. Wimp, Computation with recurrence relations, London: Pitman (1984)
References
Numerical analysis | Three-term recurrence relation | [
"Mathematics"
] | 386 | [
"Computational mathematics",
"Mathematical relations",
"Approximations",
"Numerical analysis"
] |
78,195,155 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diisobutene | Diisobutene (also known as Diisobutylene and Isooctene) refers to a pair of organic compounds with the overall formula C8H16. The isomers have the same carbon skeleton but differ in the location of the C=C bond. Both are colorless liquids with very similar physical properties. These compounds arise via the acid catalyzed dimerization of isobutene, a reaction that proceeds via the carbocation . The process also leads to some triisobutenes and tetraisobutenes.
Applications
Hydrogenation is performed at a significant scale to give isooctane, which is an important fuel additive. Diisobutene is used as precursors to isononylol and octylphenols by hydroformylation/hydrogenation and phenol alkylation, respectively. Both are precursors to plasticizers. The isononylol (3,5,5-trimethyl-hexan-1-ol) is a precursor to 3,5,5-trimethylhexyl acetate, a commercial fragrance. Diisobutenes were once of interest as components for automotive fuels.
See also
1-Octene - the corresponding linear alpha-olefin
References
Alkenes | Diisobutene | [
"Chemistry"
] | 266 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Alkenes"
] |
78,195,468 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila%20Cummings | Sheila Cummings is a Native American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur. Cummings is the founder of Cummings Aerospace Inc., a Native American woman owned business that provides opportunities for young women who are wanting to pursue a career in STEM.
Early life and education
Cummings is a member of the Lumbee Cheraw tribe and grew up in a rural small-town community in Pembroke, North Carolina. Cummings began her educational career at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. In 1995, she transferred to the University of Maryland where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering.
Career
Cummings entered into the engineering industry working as a spacecraft thermal engineer with the focus of advanced technology satellites for the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. She quickly became a government civilian and transferred to the Missile Defense Projects/Agency where she transitioned into becoming a contractor. Cumming's worked on the kinetic energy interceptor program. Along the way, Cummings served as vice president for a small engineering company in Arlington, Virginia and worked on missile defense programs as a systems engineer in Huntsville, Alabama.
Cummings left the missile defense programs to start her own aerospace business, Cummings Aerospace Inc. in 2009, located in Huntsville, Alabama. As of 2009 when the company was established, Cummings is the standing CEO and founder of all operations for the company. Her company specializes in software development, modeling and simulation, digital engineering, and systems engineering. Their focus is technologies and flight science solutions for aerospace systems which helps support the Department of Defense.
Cummings Aerospace Inc. has partnerships with federal defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, & Boeing. Cummings Aerospace Inc. performs direct contract work for the United States Department of Defense. Along with her business, Cummings created a two-week summer camp called Cummings Aerospace Engineering Camp, which helps introduce students to many different STEM related careers such as robotics, 3D printing, coding, & 3D design.
Since 2009, as her company increased, Cummings was able to open multiple locations for her business, such as in Alabama, Largo and Niceville, Florida, and a new location in Tucson, Arizona with over 90 employees spread throughout each location.
Achievements
In 2020, Cummings was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class. Cummings was also named to This is Alabama's List of 25 women who shaped Alabama.
References
Wikipedia Student Program
Native American engineers
American women engineers
Lumbee people
People from Pembroke, North Carolina
Engineers from North Carolina
Native American people from North Carolina
Native American women engineers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Aerospace engineers
21st-century Native American scientists
American technology businesspeople | Sheila Cummings | [
"Engineering"
] | 534 | [
"Aerospace engineers",
"Aerospace engineering"
] |
78,198,484 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yilin%20Wang | Yilin Wang (; born 1991) is a Chinese mathematician whose research has involved complex analysis and probability theory, including Teichmüller theory, the Schramm–Loewner evolution, and Loewner energy. Originally from China, and educated in France and Switzerland, she is a junior professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France and has accepted a position at ETH Zurich in Switzerland starting in July 2025.
Education and career
Wang was born in Shanghai in 1991 and attended Shanghai Foreign Language School where she elected to learn French as a foreign language. In Wang's third year of high school, the French Ministry of Education held a recruiting campaign in China for students who excelled in mathematics. While Wang did not score particularly well on the recruitment exam, she was the only student to answer her questionnaire in French rather than English.This caught the attention of the interviewers and she was eventually accepted into the programme.
After classes prépas at the Lycée du Parc in Lyon, Wang entered the École normale supérieure (Paris) in 2011. She earned a master's degree in fundamental mathematics at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris in 2014 and a second master's degree in probability and statistics at Paris-Sud University in 2015. She completed a Ph.D. at ETH Zurich in 2019 with the dissertation On the Loewner energy of simple planar curves supervised by Wendelin Werner.
She spent three years as a C.L.E. Moore Instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including a one-semester leave as Strauch Postdoctoral fellow at the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute in Berkeley, California. Next, she became a junior professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in 2022, the institute's first junior professor. In 2024, she was appointed to a position as associate professor at ETH Zurich.
Recognition
Wang was a 2022 recipient of the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize, given "for innovative and far-reaching work on the Loewner energy of planar curves".
She is one of two 2024 recipients of the Salem Prize, given "for developing deep novel connections between complex analysis, probability, and mathematical physics, particularly with regards to Teichmuller theory and the theory of the Schramm–Loewner evolution".
References
External links
Home page
1991 births
Living people
French mathematicians
French women mathematicians
Swiss mathematicians
Swiss women mathematicians
Mathematical analysts
Academic staff of ETH Zurich | Yilin Wang | [
"Mathematics"
] | 511 | [
"Mathematical analysis",
"Mathematical analysts"
] |
78,198,746 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystodermella%20granulosa | Cystodermella granulosa, commonly known as the brickbrown powdercap, is a species of mushroom in the genus Cystodermella.
Description
Cystodermella granulosa has a reddish-brown cap that is about 2–5 cm wide, with small bits of veil tissue sometimes hanging down. The stipe is about 3-7.5 cm tall and about 0.3-0.6 cm wide. It is also covered in scales.
The spore print of this mushroom is white.
References
Agaricaceae
Fungus species | Cystodermella granulosa | [
"Biology"
] | 117 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
78,198,766 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunocapitalism | Immunocapitalism describes the ways in which disease outbreaks and the acquisition of immunity are leveraged for economic and political gain. The concept highlights the intersection of health, capitalism, and power, demonstrating how social and economic inequalities are exacerbated by epidemics. In some cases, individuals actively attempt to contract a disease in order to become immune to it, because of resulting benefits to their socioeconomic status.
Origin of term
Santa Clara University anthropologist Mythri Jegathesan states the term was first coined by Stanford historian Kathryn Olivarius. In her paper, "Immunity, Capital, and Power in Antebellum New Orleans," published in The American Historical Review in 2019, Olivarius examined 19th-century New Orleans, where yellow fever outbreaks were rampant. She further explored the concept in her 2022 book, Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom. In both works, Olivarius argues that white New Orleans elites exploited the disease to their advantage, creating a system where immunity, or the lack thereof, became a form of capital. Those who were 'acclimated' to yellow fever, having survived the disease, were granted a form of social and economic capital, while the 'unacclimated', often marginalized groups, were exploited and seen as expendable. This historical context provides a framework for understanding how health inequalities can be exploited for economic and political gain.
It was further used during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Assistant Director of the Britain-based Nuffield Council on Bioethics Pete Mills declaring in a June 2020 report on the "Ethics of immunity testing" that "Economic incentives invite 'immunocapitalism'". Mills highlights the economic factors that prioritize COVID-19 immunity status explaining that employers might favor workers who are believed to be immune, as these individuals are perceived to be less likely to contract the virus, or transmit it to colleagues or customers.
Yellow Fever in New Orleans: As described in Necropolis and Olivarius' earlier article, white elites in 19th-century New Orleans who survived yellow fever (and thus gained immunity) used their status to control the city's economy and politics. Immigrants and enslaved black people, lacking immunity, were seen as expendable and were forced into dangerous working conditions. A white man's perceived immunity became a form of social and economic capital. His health status translated into increased job opportunities, higher wages, easier promotions, and greater access to financial products like credit and insurance. Per Olivarius, different forms of capitalism emerge not solely due to market forces but because those in power leverage available resources to solidify their control. This applies not only to laws, demographics, and politics but also to diseases. In New Orleans, from the first yellow fever epidemic in 1796 to the last in 1905, the city's ruling class exploited disease risk for their benefit. Olivarius believes that this system of "immunocapitalism," resembles Naomi Klein's concept of "disaster capitalism," where governments or regimes capitalize on major disasters to implement policies and systems that would typically face resistance from the population. However, in New Orleans, the "shocks" weren't individual wars or invasions but recurring epidemics.
COVID-19 Pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic brought the concept of immunocapitalism into focus, raising discussions among academic philosophers about the potential for discrimination and commodification of immunity, invoking Olivarius' research. In The Pandemic Information Gap: The Brutal Economics of COVID-19, University of Toronto economist Joshua Gans states that "One could imagine innovative ways of rationing access to [COVID-19] tests when they are scarce, say, by testing in conjunction with blood donations, thereby encouraging that activity as people try to establish their immunocapital" Throughout his book, Gans cites Olivarius' work as a case study in what happens when immunity is commodified whereby lessons learned can be applied to the COVID pandemic.
References
Immunology
Capitalism
2019 neologisms | Immunocapitalism | [
"Biology"
] | 855 | [
"Immunology"
] |
78,199,899 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD%20190655 | HD 190655 (KOI-3886) is a hierarchical triple star system located about away in the northern constellation of Cygnus. It has a combined apparent magnitude of 10.114, making it readily visible using a small telescope with an aperture of 35 mm or larger, but too faint to observe via the naked eye or binoculars.
The system consists of a K-type red giant (HD 190655 A) and a G-type subgiant in a wide binary, with a transiting brown dwarf orbiting the latter. The brown dwarf component is notable in that it is one of the most irradiated objects of its kind, and also the first to be discovered transiting an evolved star. Since it showed planet-like characteristics in a variety of past observations, the brown dwarf has been dubbed the "ultimate planet impostor."
Stellar components
The two stellar components of the system have both evolved past the main sequence, with similar masses of 1.6–1.7 . Because of their similar proper motions and an exceedingly low (0.04%) probability of two unrelated evolved stars being situated at such a small separation, the two stars are almost certainly gravitationally bound, i.e., are in a physical binary system.
The primary star, HD 190655 A, is in the process of ascending the red-giant branch, having expanded to 11 times the girth of the Sun. At an effective temperature of , it radiates close to 45 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere. It is aged about two billion years, less than half the age of the Solar System, but has evolved beyond the main sequence unlike the Sun due to its higher mass. Much like most red giants, the star exhibits solar-like oscillations, strongest at a frequency of about 50 μHz.
The secondary star, situated 270 AU away from the primary, is slightly lighter and less evolved, still at the subgiant stage. It is smaller and hotter than the brighter red giant, with a temperature of , similar to that of the Sun (5,772 K). With a diameter of 3.61 , it shines at a luminosity of 11.5 , about a quarter of the primary star.
In 2013, the pulsating primary star was examined for the possibility of being part of an eclipsing binary, but was deemed a false positive. The system, however, later did turn out to be an eclipsing binary, but one between a subgiant (B) and a brown dwarf (C) rather than between the red giant and a stellar companion.
Brown dwarf
HD 190655 C was first named as a planetary candidate (KOI-3886.01) in 2012 as part of a collection of 150 promising transit signals. Early estimates gauged its radius at a colossal 21.70 (1.936 ), which would have placed it among the largest exoplanets ever discovered. This was made even more intriguing by the fact that the object was projected to orbit a red giant (A) close to exceeding the Roche lobe, meaning it would have been a rare example of an enormous hot Jupiter in the last few million years of its life before falling into its host star.
In 2021, however, meticulous observations revealed that the object instead orbited a subgiant companion star (B) rather than the red giant primary, and that it was causing radial velocity variations of ~7 km/s, far larger than initially thought, implying a mass much higher than the previous estimate of . Indeed, the mass of HD 190655 C is now thought to be at around 66 , firmly placing it within the brown dwarf mass range.
Due to its vicinity to the subgiant host, HD 190655 C receives 2,100 times as much radiative flux as Earth does. As a result, its atmosphere is puffed up to reach a radius of over 1.5 , making it the most inflated known brown dwarf in 2021.
See also
Iota Draconis: a red giant similar to HD 190655 A, with two confirmed planets.
WD 0032−317 b: another highly irradiated brown dwarf.
Kepler-91b, K2-141b: planets close to their red giant hosts.
References
K-type giants
G-type subgiants
Brown dwarfs
Triple star systems
Eclipsing binaries
Cygnus (constellation)
190655
BD+44 03330
J20041135+4505154
3886 | HD 190655 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 925 | [
"Cygnus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
68,007,496 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blooming%20%28geometry%29 | In the geometry of convex polyhedra, blooming or continuous blooming is a continuous three-dimensional motion of the surface of the polyhedron, cut to form a polyhedral net, from the polyhedron into a flat and non-self-overlapping placement of the net in a plane. As in rigid origami, the polygons of the net must remain individually flat throughout the motion, and are not allowed to intersect or cross through each other. A blooming, reversed to go from the flat net to a polyhedron, can be thought of intuitively as a way to fold the polyhedron from a paper net without bending the paper except at its designated creases.
An early work on blooming by Biedl, Lubiw, and Sun from 1999 showed that some nets for non-convex but topologically spherical polyhedra have no blooming.
The question of whether every convex polyhedron admits a net with a blooming was posed by Robert Connelly, and came to be known as Connelly’s blooming conjecture. More specifically, Miller and Pak suggested in 2003 that the source unfolding, a net that cuts the polyhedral surface at points with more than one shortest geodesic to a designated source point (including cuts across faces of the polyhedron), always has a blooming. This was proven in 2009 by Demaine et al., who showed in addition that every convex polyhedral net whose polygons are connected in a single path has a blooming, and that every net can be refined to a path-connected net. It is unknown whether every net of a convex polyhedron has a blooming, and Miller and Pak were unwilling to make a conjecture in either direction on this question.
Because it is unknown whether every convex polyhedron has a net that cuts only edges of the polyhedron, and not across its faces ("Dürer's conjecture"), it is also unknown whether every convex polyhedron has a blooming that cuts only edges. In an unpublished manuscript from 2009, Igor Pak and Rom Pinchasi have claimed that this is indeed possible for every Archimedean solid.
The problem of finding a blooming for a polyhedral net has also been approached computationally, as a problem in motion planning.
References
Polyhedra
Paper folding | Blooming (geometry) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 469 | [
"Recreational mathematics",
"Paper folding"
] |
68,008,035 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri%20Mikhailovich%20Smirnov | Yuri Mikhailovich Smirnov (Юрий Михайлович Смирнов, September 19, 1921, Kaluga – September 3, 2007, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian mathematician, specializing in topology.
Biography
Yuri M. Smirnov was born in a family of clerical employees. His mother was imprisoned in 1937 for anti-Soviet activity and, as later revealed, was executed by gun shot. While studying at school, Yuri M. Smirnov was interested in mathematics and astronomy and after completing undergraduate study in 1939 entered the astronomy department of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University. However, soon under the influence of A. N. Kolmogorov, he transferred to the mathematical department of the same Faculty.
After his second year of undergraduate study, Smirnov went in autumn 1941 to the front and served as a radio operator in the Northern Fleet until the end of WW II. After demobilization in 1945, he continued his studies at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University and began to participate in the seminars of the famous topologist P. S. Alexandrov. In 1948 Smirnov graduated from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics and entered the graduate school of the same faculty, at the same time starting to work as a junior researcher at the Steklov Institute of Mathematics. In 1951 he defended his Ph.D. (Russian Candidate of Sciences) thesis О топологических пространствах, компактных в данном отрезке мощностей (On topological spaces, compact in a given interval of cardinalities), which was supervised by P. S. Alexandrov. In 1957 Smirnov received his Russian Doctor of Sciences degree with thesis Исследование по общей и равномерной топологии методом покрытий (Investigation of general and uniform topology by the covering method).
From 1945 until the end of his life he worked at the Department of Higher Geometry and Topology of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, from 1953 as an associate professor, and from 1958 as a full professor. He taught courses on analytical geometry, linear algebra and topology, linear algebra and geometry, differential geometry and topology, and the theories of retracts, shapes, and equivariant compactifications.
Smirnov published over a hundred scientific papers, most of which are related to general topology. He is the author of fundamental results on the problem of metrization of topological spaces and in equivariant topology, as well as in dimension theory and in the theories of shapes, retracts, and proximity spaces. His name is associated with the famous Nagata-Smirnov metrization theorem (proved independently by the Japanese mathematician Jun-iti Nagata). The theorem gives necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a metric generating the original topology.
Smirnov gave lectures not only in Russia, but also in Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. He supervised 12 Russian Doctor of Sciences (habilitation) degrees and more than 35 Candidate of Sciences degrees (PhDs).
He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War for his WW II service. In 1962 he was an Invited Speaker with talk Некоторые вопросы равномерной топологии (Some questions of uniform topology) at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Stockholm. He was awarded honorary titles: Honored Professor of Moscow State University (1996), Honored Scientist of the USSR (1981), and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation (2002). In 1995 he received the Wacław Sierpiński Medal jointly from the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Warsaw.
References
External links
Летопись Московского университета (Annals of Moscow University)
Страница Ю. М. Смирнова на сайте кафедры высшей геометрии и топологии (Smirnov's page on the website of the Department of Higher Geometry and Topology)
Smirnov, Yurii Mikhailovich, Math-Net.Ru
Интервью в сборнике «Мехматяне вспоминают» (Interview in the collection "Mechanicians Remember")
1921 births
2007 deaths
20th-century Russian mathematicians
21st-century Russian mathematicians
Soviet mathematicians
Topologists
People from Kaluga
Moscow State University alumni
Academic staff of Moscow State University | Yuri Mikhailovich Smirnov | [
"Mathematics"
] | 1,062 | [
"Topologists",
"Topology"
] |
68,009,575 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MERMOZ | MERMOZ (also, MERMOZ project and Monitoring planEtary suRfaces with Modern pOlarimetric characteriZation) is an astrobiology project designed to remotely detect biosignatures of life. Detection is based on molecular homochirality, a characteristic property of the biochemicals of life. The aim of the project is to remotely identify and characterize life on the planet Earth from space, and to extend this technology to other solar system bodies and exoplanets. The project began in 2018, and is a collaboration of the University of Bern, University of Leiden and Delft University of Technology.
According to a member of the research team, “When light is reflected by biological matter, a part of the light’s electromagnetic waves will travel in either clockwise or counterclockwise spirals ... This phenomenon is called circular polarization and is caused by the biological matter’s homochirality.” These unique spirals of light indicate living materials; whereas, non-living materials do not reflect such unique spirals of light, according to the researchers.
The research team conducted feasibility studies, using a newly designed detection instrument, based on circular spectropolarimetry, and named FlyPol+ (an upgrade from the original FlyPol), by flying in a helicopter at an altitude of and velocity of for 25 minutes. The results were successful in remotely detecting living material, and quickly (within seconds) distinguishing living material from non-living material. The researchers concluded: "Circular spectropolarimetry can be a powerful technique to detect life beyond Earth, and we emphasize the potential of utilizing circular spectropolarimetry as a remote sensing tool to characterize and monitor in detail the vegetation physiology and terrain features of Earth itself."
The researchers next expect to scan the Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) with their detection instruments. One consequence of further successful studies is a possible pathfinder space mission, scheduled to launch in 2024.
See also
Bioindicator
Biosignature
Taphonomy
References
Astrobiology
Astrochemistry
Bioindicators
Biology terminology
Search for extraterrestrial intelligence | MERMOZ | [
"Chemistry",
"Astronomy",
"Biology",
"Environmental_science"
] | 428 | [
"Bioindicators",
"Origin of life",
"Spacecraft stubs",
"Speculative evolution",
"Environmental chemistry",
"Astronomy stubs",
"Astrobiology",
"Astrochemistry",
"nan",
"Biological hypotheses",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines"
] |
68,010,362 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y.3800 | Y.3800 is an ITU-T Recommendation (computer standard) with the long name "Overview on networks supporting quantum key distribution", that gives an overview of networks supporting quantum key distribution (QKD) cryptographic protocols.
The standard provides support for the design, deployment, operation and maintenance for the implementation of QKD networks (QKDNs), in terms of standardized technologies. It extends existing point-to-point system, and allows for QKD networks.
The relevant network aspects of conceptual structure, layered model and basic functions are within the scope of the Recommendation to support its implementation.
As of September 2020, Y.3800 as well as the related Y.3801 is the basis of QKD trials being conducted by Verizon between their 5G lab in Virginia and Washington D.C.
Corrigendum 1
Corrigendum 1 transforms 'IT-secure keys' into 'secure keys' and makes the location of a security
demarcation boundary unspecified.
References
ITU-T recommendations | Y.3800 | [
"Technology"
] | 215 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Computer network stubs"
] |
68,010,706 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set%20Decorators%20Society%20of%20America%20Awards | The Set Decorators Society of America (SDSA) Awards are awards honoring the best set decorators in film and television. The inaugural SDSA Film Awards were held on March 31, 2021, and nominations were announced March 11, 2021. The first SDSA Television Awards took place on July 30, 2021, and the nominations were unveiled on June 16, 2021.
Categories
Film
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Feature Film – Period
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Feature Film – Science Fiction or Fantasy
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Feature Film – Contemporary
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Feature Film – Musical or Comedy
Television
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a One Hour Contemporary Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a One Hour Fantasy or Science Fiction Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a One Hour Period Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Television Movie or Limited Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Half-Hour Single-Camera Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Half-Hour Multi-Camera Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Short Format: Webseries, Music Video or Commercial
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Variety, Reality or Competition Series
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Variety Special
Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Daytime Series
Ceremonies
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
References
External links
Entertainment industry societies
Film organizations in the United States
Guilds in the United States
Scenic design
Set decorators | Set Decorators Society of America Awards | [
"Engineering"
] | 298 | [
"Scenic design",
"Design"
] |
68,011,960 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condensed%20mathematics | Condensed mathematics is a theory developed by Dustin Clausen and Peter Scholze which replaces a topological space by a certain sheaf of sets, in order to solve some technical problems of doing homological algebra on topological groups.
According to some, the theory aims to unify various mathematical subfields, including topology, complex geometry, and algebraic geometry.
Idea
The fundamental idea in the development of the theory is given by replacing topological spaces by condensed sets, defined below. The category of condensed sets, as well as related categories such as that of condensed abelian groups, are much better behaved than the category of topological spaces. In particular, unlike the category of topological abelian groups, the category of condensed abelian groups is an abelian category, which allows for the use of tools from homological algebra in the study of those structures.
The framework of condensed mathematics turns out to be general enough that, by considering various "spaces" with sheaves valued in condensed algebras, one might expect to be able to incorporate algebraic geometry, p-adic analytic geometry and complex analytic geometry.
Liquid vector space
In condensed mathematics, liquid vector spaces are alternatives to topological vector spaces.
Definition
A condensed set is a sheaf of sets on the site of profinite sets, with the Grothendieck topology given by finite, jointly surjective collections of maps. Similarly, a condensed group, condensed ring, etc. is defined as a sheaf of groups, rings etc. on this site.
To any topological space one can associate a condensed set, customarily denoted , which to any profinite set associates the set of continuous maps . If is a topological group or ring, then is a condensed group or ring.
History
In 2013, Bhargav Bhatt and Peter Scholze introduced a general notion of pro-étale site associated to an arbitrary scheme. In 2018, Dustin Clausen and Scholze arrived at the conclusion that the pro-étale site of a single point, which is isomorphic to the site of profinite sets introduced above, already has rich enough structure to realize large classes of topological spaces as sheaves on it. Further developments have led to a theory of condensed sets and solid abelian groups, through which one is able to incorporate non-Archimedean geometry into the theory.
In 2020 Scholze completed a proof of their results which would enable the incorporation of functional analysis as well as complex geometry into the condensed mathematics framework, using the notion of liquid vector spaces. The argument has turned out to be quite subtle, and to get rid of any doubts about the validity of the result, he asked other mathematicians to provide a formalized and verified proof. Over a 6-month period, a group led by Johan Commelin verified the central part of the proof using the proof assistant Lean. As of 14 July 2022, the proof has been completed.
Coincidentally, in 2019 Barwick and Haine introduced a similar theory of pyknotic objects. This theory is very closely related to that of condensed sets, with the main differences being set-theoretic in nature: pyknotic theory depends on a choice of Grothendieck universes, whereas condensed mathematics can be developed strictly within ZFC.
See also
Liquid vector space
Pyknotic set
References
Further reading
https://mathoverflow.net/questions/441838/condensed-vs-pyknotic-vs-consequential
https://mathoverflow.net/questions/tagged/condensed-mathematics
https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/4044728/examples-of-the-difference-between-topological-spaces-and-condensed-sets
External links
Topology
Algebraic geometry
Analytic geometry
Functional analysis | Condensed mathematics | [
"Physics",
"Mathematics"
] | 770 | [
"Functions and mappings",
"Functional analysis",
"Mathematical objects",
"Fields of abstract algebra",
"Topology",
"Space",
"Mathematical relations",
"Geometry",
"Algebraic geometry",
"Spacetime"
] |
68,013,481 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallium%20palladide | Gallium palladide (GaPd or PdGa) is an intermetallic combination of gallium and palladium. It has the iron monosilicide crystal structure. The compound has been suggested as an improved catalyst for hydrogenation reactions. In principle, gallium palladide can be a more selective catalyst since unlike substituted compounds, the palladium atoms are spaced out in a regular crystal structure rather than randomly.
References
Intermetallics
Palladium compounds
Gallium compounds
Iron monosilicide structure type | Gallium palladide | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science"
] | 107 | [
"Inorganic compounds",
"Metallurgy",
"Inorganic compound stubs",
"Intermetallics",
"Condensed matter physics",
"Alloys"
] |
68,013,738 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source%20unfolding | In computational geometry, the source unfolding of a convex polyhedron is a net obtained by cutting the polyhedron along the cut locus of a point on the surface of the polyhedron. The cut locus of a point consists of all points on the surface that have two or more shortest geodesics to . For every convex polyhedron, and every choice of the point on its surface, cutting the polyhedron on the cut locus will produce a result that can be unfolded into a flat plane, producing the source unfolding. The resulting net may, however, cut across some of the faces of the polyhedron rather than only cutting along its edges.
The source unfolding can also be continuously transformed from the polyhedron to its flat net, keeping flat the parts of the net that do not lie along edges of the polyhedron, as a blooming of the polyhedron. The unfolded shape of the source unfolding is always a star-shaped polygon, with all of its points visible by straight line segments from the image of ; this is in contrast to the star unfolding, a different method for producing nets that does not always produce star-shaped polygons.
An analogous unfolding method can be applied to any higher-dimensional convex polytope, cutting the surface of the polytope into a net that can be unfolded into a flat hyperplane.
References
Polygons
Polyhedra
Computational geometry | Source unfolding | [
"Mathematics"
] | 284 | [
"Computational geometry",
"Computational mathematics"
] |
68,014,170 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20plant%20family%20names%20with%20etymologies | Since the first edition of Carl Linnaeus's Species Plantarum in 1753, plants have been assigned one epithet or name for their species and one name for their genus, a grouping of related species. Related are in turn grouped into families. Each family's formal name ends in the Latin suffix -aceae and is derived from the name of a genus that is or once was part of the family.
The table below contains seed-bearing families from Plants of the World by Maarten J. M. Christenhusz (lead author), Michael F. Fay and Mark W. Chase, with two updated families from Plants of the World Online. The second column gives the family's original type genus, unless that name is no longer accepted in taxonomic databases. The fourth column gives an associated meaning, derivation or person.
Key
LG: derived from a Greek word (G), a Latin word (L), another language (–), or a personal name (P)
Ba: listed in Ross Bayton's The Gardener's Botanical
Bu: listed in Lotte Burkhardt's Index of Eponymic Plant Names
CS: listed in both Allen Coombes's The A to Z of Plant Names and William T. Stearn's Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners
Gl: listed in David Gledhill's The Names of Plants
Qu: listed in Umberto Quattrocchi's four-volume CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names
St: listed in Stearn's Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners
Linked numerical citations in the last column refer to Plants of the World.
Except for Plants of the World, these books list genera alphabetically. "Latin plant name" or "Greek plant name" in the fourth column means that the name appears in Classical Latin or Greek or both for some plant, not necessarily the plant listed here.
Families
See also
Glossary of botanical terms
List of Greek and Latin roots in English
List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
List of plant genera named for people: A–C, D–J, K–P, Q–Z
List of plant genus names with etymologies: A–C, D–K, L–P, Q–Z
Notes
Citations
References
See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ for license.
See See https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/data-and-digital/terms-of-use for license.
Further reading
Available online at the Perseus Digital Library.
Available online at the Perseus Digital Library.
Systematic
Greek words and phrases
Systematic
Systematic
Taxonomic lists (families)
Glossaries of biology
Gardening lists
Family names with etymologies
Wikipedia glossaries using tables | List of plant family names with etymologies | [
"Biology"
] | 578 | [
"Lists of biota",
"Lists of plants",
"Plants",
"Glossaries of biology"
] |
68,015,338 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great%20Calcite%20Belt | The Great Calcite Belt (GCB) refers to a region of the ocean where there are high concentrations of calcite, a mineral form of calcium carbonate. The belt extends over a large area of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. The calcite in the Great Calcite Belt is formed by tiny marine organisms called coccolithophores, which build their shells out of calcium carbonate. When these organisms die, their shells sink to the bottom of the ocean, and over time, they accumulate to form a thick layer of calcite sediment.
The Great Calcite Belt occurs in areas of the Southern ocean where the calcite compensation depth (CCD) is relatively shallow, meaning that calcite minerals from the shells of marine organisms dissolve at a shallower depth in the water column. This results in a higher concentration of calcium carbonate sediments in the ocean floor, which can be observed in the form of white chalky sediments.
The Great Calcite Belt plays a significant role regulating the global carbon cycle. Calcite is a form of carbon that is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the ocean, which helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mitigate the effects of climate change. Recent studies suggest the belt sequesters something between 15 and 30 million tonnes of carbon per year.
Scientists have further interest in the calcite sediments in the belt, which contain valuable information about past climate, ocean currents, ocean chemistry, and marine ecosystems. For example, variations in the CCD depth over time can indicate changes in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the ocean's ability to absorb it. The belt is also home to a diverse range of contemporary marine life, including deep-sea corals and fish that are adapted to the unique conditions found in this part of the ocean. The Great Calcite Belt is a region of elevated summertime upper ocean calcite concentration derived from coccolithophores, despite the region being known for its diatom predominance. The overlap of two major phytoplankton groups, coccolithophores and diatoms, in the dynamic frontal systems characteristic of this region provides an ideal setting to study environmental influences on the distribution of different species within these taxonomic groups.
Overview
The Great Calcite Belt can be defined as an elevated particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) feature occurring alongside seasonally elevated chlorophyll a in austral spring and summer in the Southern Ocean. It plays an important role in climate fluctuations, accounting for over 60% of the Southern Ocean area (30–60° S). The region between 30° and 50° S has the highest uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) alongside the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. Knowledge of the impact of interacting environmental influences on phytoplankton distribution in the Southern Ocean is limited. For example, more understanding is needed of how light and iron availability or temperature and pH interact to control phytoplankton biogeography. Hence, if model parameterizations are to improve to provide accurate predictions of biogeochemical change, a multivariate understanding of the full suite of environmental drivers is required.
The Southern Ocean has often been considered as a microplankton-dominated (20–200 μm) system with phytoplankton blooms dominated by large diatoms and Phaeocystis sp. However, since the identification of the Great Calcite Belt (GCB) as a consistent feature and the recognition of picoplankton (< 2 μm) and nanoplankton (2–20 μm) importance in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters, the dynamics of small (bio)mineralizing plankton and their export need to be acknowledged. The two dominant biomineralizing phytoplankton groups in the GCB are coccolithophores and diatoms. Coccolithophores are generally found north of the polar front, though Emiliania huxleyi has been observed as far south as 58° S in the Scotia Sea, at 61° S across Drake Passage, and at 65°S south of Australia.
Diatoms are present throughout the GCB, with the polar front marking a strong divide between different size fractions. North of the polar front, small diatom species, such as Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and Thalassiosira spp., tend to dominate numerically, whereas large diatoms with higher silicic acid requirements (e.g., Fragilariopsis kerguelensis) are generally more abundant south of the polar front. High abundances of nanoplankton (coccolithophores, small diatoms, chrysophytes) have also been observed on the Patagonian Shelf and in the Scotia Sea. Currently, few studies incorporate small biomineralizing phytoplankton to species level. Rather, the focus has often been on the larger and noncalcifying species in the Southern Ocean due to sample preservation issues (i.e., acidified Lugol’s solution dissolves calcite, and light microscopy restricts accurate identification to cells > 10 μm. In the context of climate change and future ecosystem function, the distribution of biomineralizing phytoplankton is important to define when considering phytoplankton interactions with carbonate chemistry, and ocean biogeochemistry.
The Great Calcite Belt spans the major Southern Ocean circumpolar fronts: the Subantarctic front, the polar front, the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current front, and occasionally the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The subtropical front (at approximately 10 °C) acts as the northern boundary of the GCB and is associated with a sharp increase in PIC southwards. These fronts divide distinct environmental and biogeochemical zones, making the GCB an ideal study area to examine controls on phytoplankton communities in the open ocean. A high PIC concentration observed in the GCB (1 μmol PIC L−1) compared to the global average (0.2 μmol PIC L−1) and significant quantities of detached E. huxleyi coccoliths (in concentrations > 20,000 coccoliths mL−1) both characterize the GCB. The GCB is clearly observed in satellite imagery spanning from the Patagonian Shelf across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans and completing Antarctic circumnavigation via the Drake Passage.
Coccolithophores versus the diatom
The biogeography of Southern Ocean phytoplankton controls the local biogeochemistry and the export of macronutrients to lower latitudes and depth. Of particular relevance is the competitive interaction between coccolithophores and diatoms, with the former being prevalent along the Great Calcite Belt (40–60°S), while diatoms tend to dominate the regions south of 60°S, as illustrated in the diagram on the right.
The ocean is changing at an unprecedented rate as a consequence of increasing anthropogenic CO2 emissions and related climate change. Changes in density stratification and nutrient supply, as well as ocean acidification, lead to changes in phytoplankton community composition and consequently ecosystem structure and function. Some of these changes are already observable today and may have cascading effects on global biogeochemical cycles and oceanic carbon uptake. Changes in Southern Ocean (SO) biogeography are especially critical due to the importance of the Southern Ocean in fuelling primary production at lower latitudes through the lateral export of nutrients and in taking up anthropogenic CO2. For the carbon cycle, the ratio of calcifying and noncalcifying phytoplankton is crucial due to the counteracting effects of calcification and photosynthesis on seawater pCO2, which ultimately controls CO2 exchange with the atmosphere, and the differing ballasting effect of calcite and silicic acid shells for organic carbon export.
Calcifying coccolithophores and silicifying diatoms are globally ubiquitous phytoplankton functional groups. Diatoms are a major contributor to global phytoplankton biomass and annual net primary production. In comparison, coccolithophores contribute less to biomass and to global NPP.
However, coccolithophores are the major phytoplanktonic calcifier. thereby significantly impacting the global carbon cycle. Diatoms dominate the phytoplankton community in the Southern Ocean, but coccolithophores have received increasing attention in recent years. Satellite imagery of particulate inorganic carbon (PIC, a proxy for coccolithophore abundance) revealed the "Great Calcite Belt", an annually reoccurring circumpolar band of elevated PIC concentrations between 40 and 60°S. In situ observations confirmed coccolithophore abundances of up to 2.4×103 cells mL−1 in the Atlantic sector (blooms on the Patagonian Shelf), up to 3.8×102 cells mL−1 in the Indian sector, and up to 5.4×102 cells mL−1 in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean with Emiliania huxleyi being the dominant species. However, the contribution of coccolithophores to total Southern Ocean phytoplankton biomass and NPP has not yet been assessed. Locally, elevated coccolithophore abundance in the GCB has been found to turn surface waters into a source of CO2 for the atmosphere, emphasising the necessity to understand the controls on their abundance in the Southern Ocean in the context of the carbon cycle and climate change. While coccolithophores have been observed to have moved polewards in recent decades, their response to the combined effects of future warming and ocean acidification is still subject to debate. As their response will also crucially depend on future phytoplankton community composition and predator–prey interactions, it is essential to assess the controls on their abundance in today's climate.
Top-down and bottom-up approaches
Coccolithophore biomass is controlled by a combination of bottom-up (physical–biogeochemical environment) and top-down factors (predator–prey interactions), but the relative importance of the two has not yet been assessed for coccolithophores in the Southern Ocean. Bottom-up factors directly impact phytoplankton growth, and diatoms and coccolithophores are traditionally discriminated based on their differing requirements for nutrients, turbulence, and light. Based on this, Margalef's mandala predicts a seasonal succession from diatoms to coccolithophores as light levels increase and nutrient levels decline. In situ studies assessing Southern Ocean coccolithophore biogeography have found coccolithophores under various environmental conditions, thus suggesting a wide ecological niche, but all of the mentioned studies have almost exclusively focused on bottom-up controls.
However, phytoplankton growth rates do not necessarily covary with biomass accumulation rates. Using satellite data from the North Atlantic, Behrenfeld stressed in 2014 the importance of simultaneously considering bottom-up and top-down factors when assessing seasonal phytoplankton biomass dynamics and the succession of different phytoplankton types owing to the spatially and temporally varying relative importance of the physical–biogeochemical and the biological environment.
In the Southern Ocean, previous studies have shown zooplankton grazing to control total phytoplankton biomass, phytoplankton community composition, and ecosystem structure, suggesting that top-down control might also be an important driver for the relative abundance of coccolithophores and diatoms. But the role of zooplankton grazing in current Earth system models is not well considered, and the impact of different grazing formulations on phytoplankton biogeography and diversity is subject to ongoing research.
The diagram on the left shows the spatial distribution of different types of marine sediments in the Southern Ocean. The greenish area south of the Polar Front shows the extension of the subpolar opal belt where sediments have a significant portion of silicous plankton frustules. Sediments near Antarctica mainly consist of glacial debris in any grain size eroded and delivered by the Antarctic Ice.
See also
Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt
Milky seas effect
References
Chemical oceanography | Great Calcite Belt | [
"Chemistry"
] | 2,607 | [
"Chemical oceanography"
] |
68,015,730 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentaphenylantimony | Pentaphenylantimony is an organoantimony compound containing five phenyl groups attached to one antimony atom. It has formula Sb(C6H5)5 (or SbPh5).
Structure
The structure of pentaphenylantimony has been the subject of several studies, and a definite ground state remains uncertain. The molecule adopts a roughly square pyramidal shape in the unsolvated crystal. In crystals of the solvate with cyclohexane or tetrahydrofuran, the compound adopts a trigonal bipyramid shape. When dissolved, molecules are also trigonal bipyramidal. According to solution NMR measurements, the phenyl groups all appear to be equivalent, indicating fluxionality.
Solid pure pentaphenylantimony forms triclinic crystals in the P space group. The unit cell has a=10.286 b=10.600 and c=13.594 Å, α=79.20° β=70.43° γ=119.52°. The basal Sb-C bond length is 2.216 Å whereas the apex Sb-C length is 2.115 Å.
Reactions
Pentaphenylantimony reacts with a variety of protic reagents (hydrogen halides, carboxylic acids, methanol, etc). Benzene is one product as well as a tetraphenylantimony(V) compound:
Ph5Sb + HOR → PhH + Ph4SbOR
Ph5Sb + HX → PhH + Ph4SbX
Halogens also cleave one Sb-phenyl bond:
Ph5Sb + X2 → PhX + Ph
When heated, pentaphenylantimony forms triphenylstibine, biphenyl and p-quaterphenyl.
A reaction with carbon tetrachloride yields tetraphenylstibonium chloride, chlorobenzene, and benzene. Some of these reactions may proceed by radical pathways.
Formation
Pentaphenylantimony can be formed by reacting dichlorotriphenylantimony with phenyl lithium.
References
Further reading
Organoantimony compounds
Hypervalent molecules
Triclinic crystals | Pentaphenylantimony | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 473 | [
"Molecules",
"Hypervalent molecules",
"Matter"
] |
68,016,367 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaurodon%20aeruginascens | Amaurodon aeruginascens is a species of fungus belonging to the family Thelephoraceae. It is native to Central America.
References
Thelephorales
Fungi described in 1988
Fungi of Central America
Taxa named by Leif Ryvarden
Fungus species | Amaurodon aeruginascens | [
"Biology"
] | 55 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
68,017,635 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacks%20blockchain | Stacks, formerly Blockstack, is a layer-2 blockchain that extends the use of Bitcoin to include smart contracts, decentralized finance ("DeFi"), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized apps ("DApps"), while still maintaining Bitcoin finality. Stacks, like the Lightning Network, Merlin Chain, Rootstock Infrastructure Framework (RIF) and Dovi, is aimed at improving the functionality of Bitcoin.
History
The Blockstack project was originally founded by Muneeb Ali and Ryan Shea in 2013 at the Princeton Computer Science department. The two co-founders took their new start-up through the Y Combinator accelerator program in 2014 and raised $1.33 million in seed investment from Union Square Ventures (known for investing in Twitter, Stripe, Coinbase and more as start-ups), alongside Naval Ravikant and SV Angel. By 2017, Blockstack locked in two additional funding rounds totalling $4 million. In 2017, Blockstack went on to launch an initial coin offering (ICO) which raised close to $53 million. BlockStack PBC (now called Hiro PBC) was the first to launch a SEC qualified token offering in July 2019. The start-up spent almost a year to ensure they met the SEC qualifications and consequently raised another $15.5 million in capital from the token offering.
In October 2020 the community rebranded the Blockstack network and application ecosystem to the Stacks ecosystem and the Blockstack PBC company rebranded to Hiro PBC. After the rebrand, Hiro PBC changed its aim from guiding the Stacks blockchain to focusing on developing tools for the Stacks network.
With the introduction of the Stacks Blockchain 2.0 on 14 January 2021, Hiro PBC revoked their sole control of the network. Due to this, the Stacks token could no longer be viewed as a security under SEC Regulation A+ qualifications and filed an exit report.
Design
At its inception, Blockstack aimed to offer solutions to the problems of internet privacy, security and data breaches (especially in cloud storage). It did so through offering a decentralized internet platform where users could completely own and control their personal information through a network of compatible browsers. With Blockstack, users have choice on what data they share with other users and applications and no longer have to upload data to an external site. By using the decentralized security Bitcoin offers, an user would receive digital private keys to create their internet identity on the Blockstack network.
After rebranding Blockstack to Stacks and releasing the Stacks Blockchain 2.0, Hiro PBC moved their focus to securing Stacks transactions on Bitcoin, build experiences for the community, offering smart contracts on Bitcoin built on the Clarity programming language and offering developer tools to grow the functionality of Bitcoin and other chains through dApps.
Applications
DeFi
The potential of decentralized finance with Bitcoin security has brought attention to Stacks. Companies like Velar and AlexLab offer Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) among other products that allows trading of SIP-10 tokens and stablecoins. Zest Protocol is another example of a company using Stacks to offer borrowing and lending services. The Nakamoto upgrade has brought more secured and faster transactions to Stacks.
CityCoins
In 2021, the CityCoins project launched fungible tokens for the cities of Miami and New York City. In September 2021, Miami's city commissioners voted to accept the protocol treasury, valued at $21 million at the time. MiamiCoin's value crashed, and so Stacks donated $5.25M to the City of Miami.
As of March 2023, Bloomberg was reporting that CityCoin was facing a "quiet demise" as liquidity issues and a lack of interest caused both the New York City and Miami coins to be delisted from the OkCoin cryptocurrency exchange.
References
Blockchains
Computing platforms
Cryptocurrencies | Stacks blockchain | [
"Technology"
] | 837 | [
"Computing platforms"
] |
68,019,918 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20wooden%20synagogues | The list of wooden synagogues shows destroyed and extant synagogues, the builders of which adapted an architecture traditional in Central and Eastern Europe to the requirements of Jewish worship. All the large, representative wooden synagogues were destroyed by the end of World War II. Today only a few simple wooden synagogues exist, most of them in Lithuania. Synagogues that no longer exist are recorded as far as they are more precisely known from drawings or photographs.
If years are given in italics, then these are approximate values.
The use of wood as a building material for synagogues was obvious in a wooded region; churches were also initially built as wooden structures. However, a synod in Piotrków in the 16th century demanded that synagogues always be made of wood, not stone, so that stone buildings for Jewish communities were only possible with special permission. Wooden synagogues remained the norm at a time when Christian churches were mostly built as stone. The political space in which wooden synagogues with typical construction features and painting patterns developed was the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth (1569–1795), in which the Jewish Council of the Four Lands existed (1580–1764).
Navigation: A B C D G H I J K
L M N O P R S T U
V W Z
List by country and then sorted by place
Belarus
Germany
Latvia
Lithuania
Poland
Russia
Ukraine
Reception in the modern synagogue building
Since the publication of the book Wooden Synagogues by Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka (1959), some American architects have referred to the formal language of Polish wooden synagogues:
Replicas
There is a replica of the Wołpa Synagogue is in Bilgoraj, and another replica of the synagogue (Połaniec) is in Sanok.
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw has a partial reconstruction of the Gwoździec Synagogue. The ceiling painting of the synagogue in Chodoriw was reconstructed for the ANU - Museum of the Jewish People (Beit Hatefusot) in Tel Aviv.
In the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (Museum of Jewish Art and History) in Paris there are models of several wooden synagogues.
Further reading
Alois Breier, Max Eisler, Max Grunwald: Holzsynagogen in Polen. Sohar, 1934.
Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Sergey Kravtsov, Vladimir Levin, Giedrė Mickūnaitė, Jurgita Šiaučiūnaitė-Verbickienė: Synagogues in Lithuania A–M: A catalogue. Vilnius Academy of Arts Press, Vilnius 2010.
Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Sergey Kravtsov, Vladimir Levin, Giedrė Mickūnaitė, Jurgita Šiaučiūnaitė-Verbickienė: Synagogues in Lithuania N–Ž: A catalogue. Vilnius Academy of Arts Press, Vilnius 2012.
Maria Piechotka, Kazimierz Piechotka: Heaven's Gates: Masonry Synagogues in the Territories of the Former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Warsaw 2004.
Mathias Bersohn: Kilka słów o dawniejszych bóżnicach drewnianych w Polsce. 3. Warsaw 1903.
References
External links
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme: Plan of the synagogue.
Lithuanian Jewish Community: Wooden Synagogues: Lithuania's Unique Ethnic Architectural Legacy.
Lithuanian wooden synagogues.
Bilder, Kurzbeschreibung litauischer Holzsynagogen: Wooden synagogues in Lithuania
European Routes of Jewish Heritage: The Wooden Synagogues of Central and Eastern Europe.
Ashkenazi Jews topics
Wooden list
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Sacral architecture
Polish-Lithuanian | List of wooden synagogues | [
"Engineering"
] | 762 | [
"Sacral architecture",
"Architecture"
] |
75,189,862 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonyl%20diazide | Carbonyl diazide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . In terms of its structure, it can be described as two azide groups covalently attached to the carbonyl group by single bonds. It can be prepared by way of the reaction between triphosgene and tetra-n-butylammonium azide, in a dimethyl or diethyl solution.
The first synthesis of carbonyl diazide was reported in 1894, although there have been multiple alternative syntheses since then.
References
carbonyl | Carbonyl diazide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 107 | [
"Explosive chemicals",
"Azides",
"Inorganic compounds",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
75,190,377 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji-Ping%20Huang | Ji-Ping Huang (alternative spelling forms: J. P. Huang or Jiping Huang; simplified Chinese: 黄吉平；born 8 January 1977) is a Chinese theoretical physicist known for his invention of the concept of diffusion metamaterials.
Education
Huang obtained a BSc and MSc from the Department of Physics at Soochow University, China, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. He earned his PhD from the Department of Physics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, in 2003.
Career
Huang was a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany, from 2003 to 2004. He then held the position of a Humboldt Research Fellow at the same institute from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, he assumed the role of a professor in the Department of Physics at Fudan University, China.
Research
His research area encompasses thermodynamics, statistical physics, and complex systems, with a particular emphasis on transformation thermotics and its extended theories, thermal metamaterials and their engineering applications, diffusionics, diffusion metamaterials, and diffusion control.
Thermal cloak, thermal metamaterials, and diffusion metamaterials
In 2008, Huang introduced the concept of a thermal cloak. During that period, he formulated the steady-state transformation thermotics theory, drawing inspiration from the transformation optics theory. He introduced the novel idea of a thermal cloak, drawing parallels with optical and electromagnetic cloaks. The term "thermal cloak" refers to a protective shell enveloping an object, enabling the unobstructed passage of heat while preserving the temperature and heat flow patterns in the surrounding background.
Subsequently, the concept of the thermal cloak underwent significant extensions. First, it evolved from the thermal cloak to thermal metamaterials. Second, it further advanced from thermal metamaterials to diffusion metamaterials. The description of diffusion metamaterials employs transformation theory and extended theories, a field referred to as diffusionics. According to the categorization of governing equations, diffusion metamaterials constitute the third branch of metamaterials to emerge, setting themselves apart from the two previously established branches: electromagnetic/optical (transverse) wave metamaterials pioneered by Sir John Brian Pendry, and other (longitudinal/transverse) wave metamaterials pioneered by Ping Sheng. Currently, these three branches represent the comprehensive framework of the thriving field of metamaterials. For diffusion metamaterials that regulate diverse diffusion processes, the characteristic length coincides with the diffusion length, which is dependent on time but independent of frequency. Conversely, for wave metamaterials that manipulate various wave propagation modes, the characteristic length corresponds to the wavelength of incident waves, which is independent of time but dependent on frequency. In essence, the characteristic length of diffusion metamaterials stands in contrast to that of wave metamaterials, exhibiting a complementary relationship.
For more in-depth information, please consult Section I.B of Ref.
References
Living people
1977 births
Theoretical physicists
Chinese physicists
Soochow University (Suzhou) alumni | Ji-Ping Huang | [
"Physics",
"Materials_science"
] | 623 | [
"Metamaterials scientists",
"Theoretical physics",
"Theoretical physicists",
"Metamaterials"
] |
75,191,233 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth%20of%20the%20spat-on%20Vietnam%20veteran | There is a persistent myth or misconception that many Vietnam War veterans were spat on and vilified by antiwar protesters during the late 1960s and early 1970s. These stories, which overwhelmingly surfaced many years after the war, usually involve an antiwar female spitting on a veteran, often yelling "baby killer". Most occur in U.S. civilian airports, usually San Francisco International, as GIs returned from the war zone in their uniforms.
No unambiguous documented incident of this behavior has ever surfaced, despite repeated and concerted efforts to uncover them. The few dubious examples brought forward have been the object of much debate and controversy. Only 1 percent of Vietnam veterans themselves, according to a Veterans Administration-commissioned Harris Poll conducted in 1971, described their reception from friends and family as "not at all friendly", and only 3 percent described their reception from people their own age as "unfriendly". More, there is ample and well documented evidence of a mutually supportive, empathetic relationship between GIs, veterans and antiwar forces during the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to this in his April 1967 speech, "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence", when he chastised "those who are seeking to make it appear that anyone who opposes the war in Vietnam is a fool or a traitor or an enemy of our soldiers".
Origins
The origins of the spitting myth have been the topic of much scholarly investigation and public debate over the years. There are three general categories of these investigations and exchanges which often interpenetrate but generally fall into: 1) scholarly studies published in academic journals and one book, 2) finding and evaluating old press reports, and 3) Vietnam veteran anecdotal stories.
Studies
There have been numerous studies of returning Vietnam veterans, a number of which have attempted to pinpoint the origins of the perception that the anti-Vietnam War movement was anti-troop or spat on veterans. Notably in this context, the earliest studies and polls related to Vietnam veterans don't even have this issue on their radar. The 1971 Harris Poll mentioned above, which found that only 1 percent of veterans perceived an unfriendly reception from friends and family, also interviewed a cross section of households and employers and summarized their findings saying, "The public and prospective employers clearly feel that veterans are deserving of the same respect and the warm reception accorded to returning veterans of previous wars." In 1974 the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the U.S. Senate gathered together almost 1,000 pages of "Source Material on the Vietnam Era Veteran." Not one source in this large volume mentions antiwar forces spitting on veterans. A 1975 academic study of Vietnam veteran "Adjustment Patterns and Attitudes" asked no questions about treatment by antiwar forces or being spat on. What this study did reveal, however, was that participation in the war significantly changed the men's attitudeswhereas 67% of them were for the war prior to entering the military, 75% came back against it. So, not only has no evidence been uncovered by scholars of "I was spit on" stories, during the war period, or shortly after, but "there is no evidence that anyone at the time thought they were occurring", or felt it needed to be investigated.
Academic papers
It wasn't until over a decade after the war that spat-upon veteran stories began to appear in movies, the media and anecdotally from veterans, and even longer before it surfaced as an academic question to be studied. A 1995 study by three prominent sociologists (Thomas D. Beamish, Harvey Molotch and Richard Flacks), who carefully examined "press accounts of protests between 1965-1971", concluded that media reports showing the antiwar movement "directly or purposely" targeting troops "are virtually nonexistent." They did, however, find frequent instances of government officials and military leaders falsely labeling the antiwar movement as anti-troop, which they present as one source of the later developing myth. A 2004 study situated the myth's origins in the early efforts by President Johnson's administration to portray antiwar demonstrations as anti-troop, including the staging of a counter demonstration to 'Support Our Boys in Vietnam' parade in New York City" on May 13, 1967. By the end of 1969, according to this study, government officials and politicians were becoming "more shrill", with the New York City mayoral candidate accusing the then Mayor, John Lindsay, who was an opponent of the war, of having "planted a dagger in the back of American servicemen in Vietnam." Then California Governor Ronald Reagan took it even further by saying that the November 1969 antiwar Moratorium would cause some Americans to "die tonight because of the activity in our streets."
Jerry Lembcke
The most extensive and comprehensive study of this phenomenon, The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam, written by sociology professor and Vietnam veteran Jerry Lembcke, situates the origins in "Nixon's haranguing of war protesters for their disloyalty to the troops." Lembcke shows how the Bush administration and American media used support for the soldiers as a primary motivator to rally the country to support the Gulf War in 1990–91. A prominent part of this was the yellow ribbon campaigns and the image of the "spat-upon Vietnam veteran", with newspapers like the New York Times quoting a soldier saying "if I go back home like the Vietnam vets did and somebody spits on me, I swear to God I'll kill them." According to Lembcke, "it was the image of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran that figured most prominently in the rhetoric of those supporting the Gulf War.
He also points out that during the Vietnam War years there were several newspaper accounts of pro-war demonstrators spitting on anti-war demonstrators, and suggests that these oral accounts could easily have been reinterpreted and inverted and made into stories about activists spitting on veterans. Perhaps one of the most well known of these spitting incidents was directed at antiwar activist and ex-Marine, Ron Kovic, who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. At the 1972 Republican National Convention he and two other wounded vets shouted "Stop the bombing!" as Nixon accepted the nomination for president, and were promptly spat on by a man wearing a Four More Years button.
Lembcke also traces the myth's development through film and the media over the years. He identified and viewed "approximately 120 films portraying relations between Vietnam veterans and the anti-war movement", and reveals that from the "late 1970s on, Hollywood produce[d] more and more films portraying anti-war movement hostility toward soldiers and veterans." The movie Tracks, in 1977, "contains the first clear inference that anti-war activists spat on Vietnam veterans."
Perhaps Lembcke's most important contribution to this debate, however, has been to situate the "spitting image" within its historical context. Acknowledging that it's difficult to prove innocence, to show that something did not happen, he examines the era and shows "that the anti-war movement was supportive of Vietnam veterans and that, in turn, many veterans joined the opposition to the war." Given that, he argues, "it is highly unlikely that that same movement could have simultaneously been acting in a hostile fashion toward Vietnam veterans." He has also extensively investigated media from the war period, as well as several hundred anecdotal veteran stories of being spit on (more on this below). He may also be the only scholar to dig into police reports and court records in search of arrest or trial accounts, pointing out that anyone today spitting on political or religious groups would certainly be arrested. He found "not a hint of hostility between anti-war activists and military personal or veterans" in these records.
Lembcke acknowledges that he cannot prove the negative—that no Vietnam veteran was ever spat on—saying it is hard to imagine there not being expressions of hostility between veterans and activists:
Other
In 1992, the Director of the Connelly Library and curator of the Vietnam War Collection at LaSalle University listed the spitting myth as one of the "Top Six Myths" from the Vietnam era, and observed it "derives from the mythopoeic belief that returning GIs were routinely spat upon at some time during their repatriation to the USA. This particular round of tales has become so commonplace as to be treated reverently even among otherwise wisely observant veterans." In 1994, scholar Paul Rogat Loeb wrote, "to consider spitting on soldiers as even remotely representative of the activist response is to validate a lie", and noted that myths like that of antiwar activists spitting on soldiers have rewritten or "erased history". Clarence Page, the well known journalist, Vietnam veteran and member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board interviewed Lembcke and Bob Greene, who published a book of veterans' anecdotal stories (see below), and observed, "the stories have become so widely believed, despite a remarkable lack of witnesses or evidence, that ironically the burden of proof now falls on the accused, the protesters; not their accusers, the veterans. Antiwar protesters must prove the episodes didn't happen, instead of the veterans having to prove they did."
All of the academic sources who have studied the origins of the spitting myth agree that it was the pro-Vietnam War and then pro-Gulf War forces which promoted and sustained a false narrative.
Press reports
Several academic studies and some individuals have searched extensively for media stories of spitting incidents reported during the war or around that time period. All the academic studies have come away essentially empty handed, with no verifiable contemporaneous story matching the basic theme of an antiwar protester spitting on a Vietnam veteran. In 2007, Northwestern Law School professor and libertarian blogger James Lindgren claimed to have uncovered "[m]any 1967-72" spitting incidents in the press, and was critical of Lembcke's and others' research. Others, however, critiqued Lindgren's methods and pointed out that he had included a number of unrelated spitting incidents into his list of "many", seriously undermining his claim. For example, he cited as a prominent example press coverage of two sailors who were spit on and attacked with a knife by a group of men who were not identified as antiwar or even political. He also included reports of World War II and First World War veterans being spit on, plus reports of spitting on police and flags. Lembcke wrote an 18-point response to Lindgren's list of reported incidents which was linked in an article in the online magazine Slate. He felt two or three of the incidents were of interest and worth looking into, but maintained his larger thesis that a few possible incidents don't make the overall myth true. Especially since there is ample historical evidence and documentation of friendly relations between antiwar forces and veterans. Jack Shafer, writing for Slate, examined these back and forth exchanges and concluded that "Lindgren has failed so far to produce a contemporaneous news accountor other corroborative evidenceof a protester ambushing a returning veteran with a gob of spit, which I take as the main point of Lembcke's book".
Shafer, however, continued to dig into this story and a month later became convinced that he had uncovered one likely and credible CBS news report from December 27, 1971, where Vietnam veteran Delmar Pickett Jr. tells of being spit on at the Seattle airport. Picket told CBS, "these two dudes walked upone of them spit at me." Shafer contacted Pickett by phone and confirmed the essence of the story with minor differences. Pickett said he was discharged from the Army at Fort Lewis, Washington in April 1971 but wore his uniform to the airport. He said he and four other GIs in uniform passed by four young men at the airport. One of them, who according to Picket was about 19 and had long hair and a "shabby T-shirt, said something to the GIssomething about 'killers'and then spat, missing Pickett." This story still fails to make the case because the men at the airport were not identified as antiwar protesters or demonstrators.
One press story uncovered by Lindgren comes the closest to fitting the complete image portrayed by the classic spitting storyan antiwar protester spitting on a Vietnam veteran or GI. According to a front-page story in The New York Times, a "small number" of militant antiwar demonstrators, among a larger group of around 50,000 at the March on the Pentagon on October 21, 1967, "spat on some of the soldiers in the front line at the Pentagon and goaded them with the most vicious personal slander." It was not reported whether any of these soldiers were Vietnam veterans, although even as early in the war as 1967, it's possible. But, how likely is it potential spitters would be questioning soldiers about their war time experience. It is more likely any spitting that occurred was related more to tense confrontations that took place between a small group of demonstrators and troops as a few protesters tried to enter the Pentagon and were met with tear gas, bayonets and rifle butts.
In his 2009 book War Stories, historian and Vietnam veteran Gary Kulik devoted a chapter to the myth of "Spit-Upon Veterans". He also criticized Lindgren's research, "Lindgren's evidence includes only one single first-person ("I was spit upon") account—the stories that are at the heart of Lembcke's book—and it appears that none of the accounts he cites were actually witnessed by a reporter. Moreover, Lindgren does not cite a single case of a Vietnam veteran spit upon as he returned home, and that was the story that would ultimately be repeated and believed." Kulik concluded that the spitting stories were formulaic and unbelievable, and were propagated to serve the political goals of those who wished to vilify the anti-war movement. "The image of 'hippie' men and women hawking up gobs of phlegm to hurl at the ribbons of veterans, as a pervasive and commonplace act, is surely false."
After all the investigation and debate, there is scant published media evidence of antiwar protesters spitting on vets or GIs. Even with one or a few possible incidents somewhat like the myth, there is not sufficient confirmation to substantiate it as an accurate portrayal of the overall relationship between the antiwar movement and returning Vietnam veterans, much less maintain it as a powerful and accepted truth over decades.
Anecdotal stories
The most prevalent and oft cited sources used currently to defend the spitting myth are anecdotal stories told by people claiming to be Vietnam veterans who say they were spat on. These personal narratives have surfaced over the years since the war, almost all appearing many years later. Several scholars who have examined these have pointed out that spitting incidents were essentially non-existent in early interviews, polls or memoirs. Kulik reviewed all of "the most popular early memoirs", "reportage" and "oral histories" by Vietnam veterans, including: Tim O'Brien's If I Die in a Combat Zone (1973), Ron Kovic's Born on the Fourth of July (1983), Robert Mason's Chickenhawk (1983), John Sack's M (1967), Michael Herr's Dispatches (1977), Al Santoli's Everything We Had (1981), Wallace Terry's Bloods (1984) and Mark Baker's Nam (1981). He said none of them contained "any mention of returning veterans being spit upon". Specialist in civil-military relations and advisor to the National Institute of Military Justice, Diane Mazur, also looked closely into this subject and concluded: "There is no contemporaneous evidence that Americans who opposed the war expressed those beliefs by spitting on or otherwise assaulting returning Vietnam Veterans." More, she said, "The idea...that spitting on or mistreating Vietnam veterans was in any way typical or representative of anything in that era is completely false." Lembcke wrote, that almost all reports by Vietnam veterans themselves "came years after the incidents were alleged to have occurred, while in the actual time frame in which men came home from Vietnam there are no such reports."
The anecdotal stories have been collected in a book, appeared in letters to the editor, news articles, and online blogs.
The book of stories
Homecoming: When the Soldiers Returned from Vietnam, a 1989 book by Bob Greene, has the most extensive public collection of stories, with 60 veterans claiming they were spat on, 68 saying it never happened to them, and 19 more recalling "only acts of kindness". For Greene, the stories revealed "jarring truths" and proved "that American civilians actually did spit upon returning American soldiers." Other experts on this topic, however, have been sharply critical of his methods and conclusions. One large issue was verifiability. Greene's admission that he couldn't be sure the veterans' letters were "real" did not inspire confidencehe had found a "source in the Veterans Administration" who checked out "a limited number of names".
Kulik noted the contradictory nature of the stories in Greene's book and concluded that Greene arrogantly dismissed the "surprising number" of veterans who "refuse to believe" the spitting stories. He concluded, "Greene was not just incredulous, but negligently irresponsible." Lembcke was critical of Greene's survey methodology and pointed out that he asked a "leading question: 'Were you spat upon?' Had he asked a more neutral question such as, 'What were your homecoming experiences?' the veterans' responses would be much more valid." He also noted, as have others examining these stories, that "many of Greene's spat-upon veterans claimed the spitter was a girl or a woman," which flies in the face of the cultural and social norm that women and girls generally don't spit publicly. Lembcke quoted a "psychologist friend...who works in women's studies", "It's gotta be a myth, girls don't spit." Krulik said, "how many of us can recall even seeing a woman spit in public, for any reason, in this period?" And also critiqued Greene's method, saying "It was not a question that would qualify as a good oral-history technique," noting Greene had presented a sample incident "in a way that could only elicit predictable responses" by posing a possible story of a returning soldier at an airport being "spat upon by hippies." He then received back many similar stories. Kulik also observed that, "Even the stories that are not obviously false contain clear warning signs. The vast majority of them cannot be corroborated. There are no named witnesses, none. You would think that at least one of these stories would involve two or more veterans who were friends and who could be remembered and named." He even described his own 1968 discharge from the Marines and the transition from the base to a civilian airport, saying it was "not a one at a time activity". No GI would have been alone at West Coast civilian airports "at the mercy of vicious 'flower children' or spitting waitresses and grandmothers."
Online stories
In February 2007, Jack Shafer, writing in Slate, appealed to anyone who could "point me to a documented case of a returning Viet vet getting spat upon". He received 62 postings from people claiming to be Vietnam veterans, 39 of whom said, yes, it happened to them, while 19 others reported witnessing spitting incidents. Shafer observed that many of the "spit assaults" supposedly took place at San Francisco Airport and yet none resulted in a cop or reporter being called after a fistfight. He also asked, "Why does it always end with the protester spitting and the serviceman walking off in shame? Most servicemen would have given the spitters a mouthful of bloody Chiclets instead of turning the other cheek like Christ. At the very least, wouldn't the altercations have resulted in assault and battery charges and produced a paper trail retrievable across the decades?" Lembcke followed, and even weighed into the online debate that ensued. He called it "the largest single data set we have for the study of the spitting stories" since Greene's book. He again observed "exaggeration and clichés" with gender and sexual themes. He pointed out, for example, stories of multiple spittings, including one veteran's claim of being spat on "two and three times per day" at Colorado State University. Many of the spitters were also "female or male hippies", as in one story about a group of GIs who had to be "escorted through the San Francisco airport by cops" as a mob of "long hairs" threw "bags of feces on us, eggs, & other trash at us." Among the group of "long hairs" was a filthy girl holding a dog in an American flag while giving it a "blow job." Again, no credible, documented or documentable cases emerged, and no attempt to verify whether the responses were from actual Vietnam veterans.
Tracking the stories
Lembcke has been tracking and attempting to verify the emerging anecdotal stories and in 2017 wrote in The New York Times that he had "a spreadsheet with about 220 first-person 'I was spat on' accounts." "These stories have to be taken very seriously", he says, "but as historical evidence they are problematic." In addition to the long delay before their appearance and lack of contemporary evidence, many of the stories contain exaggerations and "implausible details, like returning soldiers deplaning at San Francisco Airport, where they were met by groups of spitting hippies." One of the earliest stories of this kind was quoted in Time magazine in April 1979: Alan Fitzgerald, who was in Vietnam in 1970 said, "When I came back and landed at San Francisco airport with 200 others, we were spit on and kicked at." As Lembcke and others have documented, however, return flights from Vietnam didn't land at civilian airports like San Francisco, but at military bases such as Travis Air Force Base, which would have barred civilian protesters. Once landed and processed through at a military base, GIs heading home on leave or discharged could then end up in civilian airports, usually with a few buddies, some still in uniform, but there never would have been 200 uniformed GI landing at and walking together through a civilian airport. And the idea of a small group of demonstrators fearlessly spitting at and kicking 200 GIs, with none of the soldiers responding, strains credulity. Lembcke's favorite example of implausibility was published in his local paper, the Worcester, Massachusetts Telegram and Gazette: "In a November 11, 1998 Veterans Day story, James Collins claimed his plane from Vietnam was met at Clark Airforce Base north of San Francisco by 'thousands of protesters throwing Molotov cocktails.' Like many of the stories, Collins' had details that were factually wrong (e.g. There is no Clark Airforce Base in the Bay Area) or too implausible to be believed." Lembcke is also critical of the journalistic ethics involved in printing such stories.
Karl Marlantes
Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes first wrote about his reception upon coming home in his biographical non-fiction book, What It Is Like to Go to War, published in 2011. He described being jeered and called names by antiwar protesters while walking the streets of Washington, DC in his uniform. He also told of being on a train in his uniform when "a nice-looking woman" came down the aisle: "She was looking right at me, lips pressed tight. She stood in front of me and spit on me." He was also interviewed for the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick 2017 PBS documentary, The Vietnam War, where he talked about being heckled by antiwar protestors as he exited Travis Air Force Base after returning from Vietnam. Others who have viewed the documentary have commented that "the footage from the scene shows a protest sign that read: 'Active Duty GIs Against the War' and a vest worn by a veteran with the same slogan." This was a common sight outside Travis during the war as there were active GI and veteran antiwar groups organizing there from 1969 to 1973. Historian Jeremy Kuzmarov wondered, "If many of the people protesting were veterans, perhaps they were shouting at Marlantes to join them. It is unlikely that active duty soldiers would berate one of their own or tolerate others doing so." In his book, Marlantes concedes the "frequency of spitting incidents is a raging controversy." And says, "I think the number was very small. None of my friends experienced it. The image of being spit on, however, became a metaphor for what happened to returning Vietnam veterans. I think that this is what fuels the belief that spitting was a more common occurrence than it was, in reality." As with almost all the stories of this type, his surfaced many years after the war. In Lembcke's review of the Burns/Novick documentary, he points out that Vietnam War scholars were intentionally excluded in favor of the view of the war from ordinary people. He continues, "Ground-up views are susceptible, especially after 40 years, to the very myths they are supposed to belie. Memories that are 40 years old are too influenced by movies, novels, newspapers, and television". He called Marlantes memories "betrayal fantasies".
An antiwar activist in the San Francisco airport
Steve Rees, an antiwar activist and photographer who organized GIs in the San Francisco Bay Area and frequently sold copies of the GI underground newspaper Up Against the Bulkhead at San Francisco International Airport, might seem a likely candidate to have participated in a spitting incident or perhaps to have seen one of the many supposedly occurring there. He told his story in They Should Have Served that Cup of Coffee: Seven Radicals Remember the '60s, a collection of essays by Vietnam era activists published in 1999. As Rees described it, when they approached returning soldiers, "We were sometimes the first civilians they saw.... We were generally something of a surprise". They might have heard "on Armed Forces Radio that the folks back home weren't duly appreciative of the job they were doing, many GIs came in from Vietnam thinking mobs of antiwar militants would be waiting to spit on them." As a result, "many were naturally a bit uneasy" because "we were the first long-hairs to walk right up and talk with them". As Rees remembered it, "Four out of five took the paper." And, "not one of them ever swung on us, railed at us called us traitors, or any of it." He described no spitting incidents, either way. The Bulkhead newspaper would publish many letters from GIs, often expressing agreement, not hostility, towards the antiwar movement. Here's one example: "The peace demonstrations the beginning of this month were very encouraging to most of us in Viet Nam. It's a relief to at least know that the people cannot be bullshitted by the government. Please, keep it up. Mac, 584th Eng Co (LE) 25 November 1971."
GIs, veterans and the antiwar movement
Vietnam GIs and veterans were among the earliest resisters to the war, and played a prominent role in the antiwar movement throughout. As early as 1965 they were starting to speak out and protest. Lt. Henry Howe, who was then stationed at the Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas, marched in an antiwar protest in his civilian clothes on November 6, 1965. On November 20, 1965, recently discharged Green Beret Master Sergeant Donald Duncan spoke at an antiwar rally in Berkeley, California. Three months later he appeared on the cover of the February 1966 issue of Ramparts magazine where he announced "I quit...The whole thing was a lie!" On June 30, 1966, three U.S. Army soldiers, the Fort Hood Three, refused orders to Vietnam and gave public statements to the press in New York City. Their statements, which were reproduced in leaflets and pamphlets and used extensively by the broader antiwar movement, said in part: "We have been in the army long enough to know that we are not the only G.I.s who feel as we do.... We oppose the criminal waste of American lives and resources. We refuse to go to Vietnam!!!!!!!"
Within a few years tens of thousands of GIs and veterans were openly resisting the war and hundreds of thousands were deserting their postsmany were joining the antiwar movement and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). In June 1971, the Armed Forces Journal ran an article by retired Marine Colonel Robert Heinl called "The Collapse of the Armed Forces." The article "landed like a bombshell" and was called a "stunning exposé". It declared, "The morale, discipline and battle worthiness of the U.S. armed forces are, with a few salient exceptions, lower and worse than at any time in this century and possible in the history of the United States." David Cortright, a Vietnam veteran, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, and the preeminent scholar on GI resistance during the Vietnam War said, the "unrest and dissension undermining American forces throughout the world surged together and were magnified in the crucible of Vietnam combat, effectively crippling U.S. military operations." As noted above, GIs produced over 400 underground antiwar newspapers. By the early 70s, VVAW had tens of thousands of members and, according to history professor Andrew E. Hunt's book length study of the organization, it "transformed" the antiwar movement "by placing Vietnam veterans in the forefront of the nationwide struggle to end the Vietnam War."
While the antiwar sentiment and activism among troops was widespread, there were, of course, many pro-war and undecided Vietnam GIs and veterans, some of whom were interviewed, sent letters to editors and wrote war memoirs. As discussed above, these have been examined by scholars with the same pattern emergingoverwhelmingly the spat-on claims did not begin to be seen until years after the war. In addition, among pro-war veterans, there was "scant evidence of organized pro-war sentiment."
Why the myth persists
As discussed above, the Bush administration and media used support for the soldiers as a primary motivator to rally citizens to support the Gulf War. This became paired with the image of the "spat-upon Vietnam veteran", which, even though it never really happened, must now never happen again. As U.S. wars continued in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the promises to "rebuild America", the spitting myth was repeated and embedded deeper into the social consciousness of the country. The ongoing wars also necessitated rebuilding U.S. troop strength and loyalty after the near collapse of both during the Vietnam War. Instead of the actual historical image of the many rebellious GIs and veterans supporting and supported by the antiwar movement, we would now hear repeatedly about antiwar forces at odds with and spitting on Vietnam veterans and GIs. As time went on the real rebel GIs and veterans of the Vietnam war would be "pushed out of memory" by the mythical "good" GI Joe like figures who had been spit on by the "bad" antiwar activists. New U.S. soldiers would rarely, if ever, read or hear about their rebel predecessor. The larger populace, in turn, would be presented a cartoon GI Joe version of that historical period, obscuring "the real war in which 3,000,000 Vietnamese died fighting for national independence", while tens of thousands of U.S. GIs and veterans tried to prevent it, along with millions of other in the U.S. and around the world.
And the myth keeps getting reset. When television host Jay Leno returned to the air a week after the 9/11 attacks, his invited guest was the then Arizona Senator and Vietnam POW John McCain. As Leno talked with McCain he said that when McCain's generation of veterans came home "the best you got was indifference and the worst you got was literally spat-on." McCain nodded in agreement. Currently, it is common to find the spat-on Vietnam veteran appearing in everything from political commentary to children's books. When Dr. Deborah Wilson Overstreet, an associate professor of Language Arts Education, examined young adult fiction written from 1967 to 2018 with the Vietnam war as a subject, she found most of the novels equated "antiwar sentiment with aggressive anti-soldier action". She concluded that, these inaccurate "representations, combined with images of protesters ubiquitously spitting on veterans and shouting 'baby killer' at them, have served to discredit the antiwar movement and the young people involved in it." Overall, she said, "antiwar activists and antiwar ideas are routinely vilified, denigrated, and dismissed."
See also
Homecoming: When the Soldiers Returned from Vietnam
GI Coffeehouses
GI Underground Press
Sir! No Sir!, film about the soldier and sailor resistance during the Vietnam War
Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War, book about soldier and sailor resistance during the Vietnam War
Vietnam stab-in-the-back myth
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
References
Urban legends
Vietnam War in popular culture
Historiography of the Vietnam War | Myth of the spat-on Vietnam veteran | [
"Biology"
] | 6,979 | [
"Excretion",
"Spitting"
] |
75,191,911 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrosyl%20perchlorate | Nitrosyl perchlorate is the inorganic compound with the formula . A hygroscopic white solid, it is the salt of the nitrosonium cation with the perchlorate anion. It is an oxidant and strong electrophile, but has fallen out of use with the availability of the closely related salt nitrosonium tetrafluoroborate .
Preparation
Nitrosyl perchlorate was first produced in 1909 by passing dinitrogen trioxide gas into concentrated perchloric acid:
A standard laboratory preparation involves treating a mixture of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide with concentrated perchloric acid:
It can also be prepared by passing dinitrogen trioxide gas into a mixture of sodium perchlorate and sulfuric acid. A much purer product can be produced by reacting dichlorine heptoxide with anhydrous nitric acid.
Structure
The structure of NOClO4 has not been elucidated by X-ray crystallography. However, the Raman spectroscopy of NOClO4 suggests that nitrosyl perchlorate consists of distinct NO+ and ClO4– ions.
Properties
Nitrosyl perchlorate decomposes at 100 °C to nitronium perchlorate, which then subsequently decomposes into chlorine and nitrogen oxides.
This compound hydrolyzes in water to form nitrous acid and perchloric acid:
NOClO4 + H2O → HNO2 + HClO4
With a strong base, such as sodium hydroxide, it produces perchlorate, nitrite, nitrate, nitric oxide, and water. This reaction was used to calculate the heat of formation of nitrosyl perchlorate. As a strong oxidizer, nitrosyl perchlorate reacts explosively with various organic compounds, such as ethanol, acetone, ether, and aniline.
Uses
Nitrosyl perchlorate is used in the laboratory as a perchlorating agent. Although it has been investigated as a potential rocket propellant, it has not been commercialized.
References
Further reading
nitrosyl
Nitrosyl compounds | Nitrosyl perchlorate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 448 | [
"Perchlorates",
"Salts"
] |
75,192,485 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amylin%20receptor | The amylin receptors (AMYRs) are heterodimers of the calcitonin receptor that are bound to by amylin with high affinity and consist of AMY1, AMY2, and AMY3. Amylin mimetics that are agonists at the amylin receptors are being developed as therapies for diabetes and obesity, and one, pramlintide, has been FDA approved. The AMY1 receptor may be activated by both amylin and the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and could play a role in the effects of CGRP receptor antagonists developed for migraine. Dual agonists of the amylin and calcitonin receptors (DACRAs) are under development for obesity. Amylin and its receptors are believed to play a role in Alzheimer's disease.
References
Receptor heteromers | Amylin receptor | [
"Chemistry"
] | 179 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
75,192,529 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual%20amylin%20and%20calcitonin%20receptor%20agonists | Dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists (DACRAs) are a class of drugs that act as agonists at the amylin receptor and calcitonin receptor that are under development as therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Examples are cagrilintide, Petrelintide, ACCG-2671 and the KBP family derived from salmon calcitonin, including KBP‐042, KBP-066A, KBP-089, and KBP-336.
References
Amylin receptor agonists
Experimental diabetes drugs | Dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists | [
"Chemistry"
] | 123 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
75,192,533 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/292%20%28number%29 | 292 is the natural number following 291 and preceding 293.
In mathematics
292 is an even composite number with two prime factors.
292 is a noncototient number meaning that phi(x) cannot result in 292.
292 is an untouchable number meaning that the proper divisors of any number do not add up to 292.
292 is a repdigit in base 8 with it being 444.
In the simplified continued fraction for pi, 292 is the 5th number.
References
Integers | 292 (number) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 100 | [
"Elementary mathematics",
"Integers",
"Mathematical objects",
"Numbers"
] |
75,192,550 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/295%20%28number%29 | 295 is the natural number following 294 and preceding 296.
In mathematics
295 is an odd composite number with two prime factors.
295 is a centered tetrahedral number meaning that it can be represented as a tetrahedron.
295 Is a structured deltoidal hexecontahedral number which can be represented as a deltoidal hexecontahedron.
295 can be written as the sum of 4 nonzero perfect squares.
References
Integers | 295 (number) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 95 | [
"Elementary mathematics",
"Integers",
"Mathematical objects",
"Numbers"
] |
75,192,857 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maridebart%20cafraglutide | Maridebart cafraglutide (also known as MariTide; developmental name AMG 133) is an investigational drug developed by Amgen for the treatment of obesity. It is an agonist of the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and an antagonist of the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR). Namely, MariTide consists of a monoclonal antibody against GIPR conjugated to two peptidic GLP-1R agonist molecules via amino acid linkers. In a preliminary trial, AMG 133 resulted in a 14.5 percent weight loss after 12 weeks at the highest dose tested.
References
GLP-1 receptor agonists
Peptide therapeutics
Amgen | Maridebart cafraglutide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 158 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
75,193,454 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain-melted%20state | The chain-melted state is a state of matter in which a substance, typically a metal, notably potassium, behaves both in the liquid and solid state at the same time. This is done by applying extreme pressure and temperature, causing the metal to become solid and molten simultaneously. It was confirmed to be a state of matter in 2019 by a group of researchers at the University of Edinburgh using artificial intelligence to analyse the results of subjecting potassium to high temperatures and pressure, when the potassium began exhibiting properties where it was apparently both solid and liquid. The phenomenon was observed by a group of other researchers in 2014; however, it was only thought to be a transitioning state. The chain-melted state has also been observed in other elements, such as sodium and rubidium. Some other elements, like bismuth, are also capable of being in the chain-melted state.
Properties
Substances in the chain-melted state display properties of both a solid and a liquid. The co-author of a study regarding the chain-melted state, Andreas Hermann, stated that if the matter were hypothetically to be handled by a person, it would be like holding a wet sponge that is leaking water, while the sponge itself is actually made of water. Described more formally, the potassium metal developed two internal structures, a chain-like lattice that dissolved, and a stronger Bravais lattice that remained in a solid state. This is a type of host–guest chemistry where, in this case, the host lattice of metal atoms remains solid while some of the material binds weakly and resembles a liquid.
Real world examples
Metals in Earth's inner core could possibly be in the chain-melted state, as suggested by several simulations, where metals such as titanium and iron displayed partially molten states, or quasi-solid properties. It is also possible that Earth's mantle may contain metals like potassium in the chain-melted state; however, potassium is usually not found in pure form.
These suggestions may also possibly be proven by the Kola superdeep borehole, where according to declassified documents, the rock at the bottom of the borehole was found to be in a texture between solid and liquid.
Applications
No applications have been found thus far, although physicist Andreas Hermann states that if the state of matter could be recreated in other materials, it could have many different applications.
References
Phases of matter | Chain-melted state | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 480 | [
"Phases of matter",
"Matter"
] |
75,194,179 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NNC9204-1706 | NNC9204-1706 or NN9423 is a GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor triple agonist developed by Novo Nordisk. It was evaluated in a clinical trial; adverse effects such as "dose-dependent increases in heart rate and reductions in reticulocyte count, increases in markers of inflammation and hepatic disturbances, and impaired glucose tolerance at the highest dosages" meant that the drug was declared to have an inadequate safety profile and discontinued.
References
GLP-1 receptor agonists
Peptide therapeutics
GIP receptor agonists
Glucagon receptor agonists
Abandoned drugs | NNC9204-1706 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 134 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
75,195,513 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National%20Satellite%20Launch%20Base | National Satellite Launch Base (), also called Chabahar Space Base (), is an Iranian low Earth orbit launch base in Chabahar, Sistan province.
The site is around 5x5 hectare. It is run by the Iranian Space Agency.
Phase 1 is planned to be opened in 2025.
In Phase 2, the launch site is planned to be open for space launch of foreign countries' satellites too. Phase 3 will enable launch of rockets with solid fuel launch vehicles.
In line with the ISA's 10-year space program, the Chabahar Space Center is scheduled to be fully operational and capable of carrying out international space launches by the end of March 2031, the spokesperson added.
References
Rocket launch sites in Iran
Chabahar | National Satellite Launch Base | [
"Astronomy"
] | 154 | [
"Outer space stubs",
"Outer space",
"Astronomy stubs"
] |
75,195,633 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan%20Nagib | Hassan M. Nagib is a mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and academic. He is the John T. Rettaliata Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology and was also the Founding Director of the institute's Fluid Dynamics Research Center.
Nagib is most known for his research in fluid mechanics, turbulent flow, and flow management and control. His research encompasses a range of topics, including fundamental aspects of fluids, applied turbulence, hydrodynamic stability and transition, wind engineering, and atmospheric diffusion. He is the recipient of Robert T. Knapp Award, the NASA Langley Achievement Award, and the IIT Professional Achievement Award.
Nagib is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Education
Nagib earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). In 1969, he completed his master's degree in the same field and subsequently pursued his doctoral studies, obtaining his Ph.D. in December 1972 from the same institute.
Career
Nagib began his academic career as an instructor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1970, a role he held until 1972. Subsequently, he assumed the role of assistant professor in 1973 and continued his career within the institution, holding the position of associate professor from 1975 to 1979, becoming professor in August 1979. He also held the role of Affiliated Professor at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology from 2008 to 2014. Since 1981, he has been serving as the John T. Rettaliata Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at IIT.
Nagib served as the department chair and Director for the Fluid Dynamics Research Center (FDRC) from 1978 to 1999. He served as a Chairman of the MAE Department for ten years starting in 1985. Additionally, he took on the roles of Academic Vice President for the Main Campus and Dean of Armour College from 1995 to 1998. An article about his career appeared in the ILLINOIS TECH magazine in the Winter of 2007, 40 years after he relocated to the USA from Egypt, where he was born.
Research
Nagib's research is primarily centered on fluid dynamics, with a specific emphasis on turbulent flows and flow management. He has contributed to the field, publishing numerous papers on topics such as applied turbulence, the mixing of unsteady flows, wind tunnel flow quality, wind engineering and atmospheric diffusion.
Turbulence manipulation and channel flow
Nagib's research in fluid dynamics has explored turbulent boundary layers and wall-bounded flow behavior. He used flow visualization and hot wire measurements to assess downstream impact on skin friction distribution to explore the effects of introducing a parallel-plate turbulence manipulator into a boundary layer. In collaboration with Jens M. Österlund, Arne V. Johansson and Michael H. Hites, he examined turbulent boundary layer behavior through oil-film interferometry revealing that the parameters under investigation exhibited no significant dependence on Reynolds number, and that the traditionally used values of the von Kármán constant were not supported by their results. In subsequent research, he focused on flat plate turbulent boundary layers in zero-pressure-gradient conditions, shedding light on Reynolds number trends concerning the outer velocity defect and explaining relevant scale relations and asymptotic behavior. By conducting experiments in turbulent pipe and channel flows, he performed a comparative analysis of the von Kármán coefficient (κ) and the wake parameter (Π) in relation to Reynolds number concluding that the Kármán coefficient is not universal. He participated in the development and operation of the Center for International Cooperation in Long Pipe Experiments (CICLoPE) at the University of Bologna, Forli.
In 2009, Nagib's research culminated in the estimation of a wall skin-friction relation, specifically for fully developed turbulent plane-channel flow. This research employed two approaches to derive the relationship. He also conducted research on the challenges within the theory and experimental methods employed in the study of wall-bounded turbulent flows highlighting modern advancements that challenged established conventional wisdom. Additionally, his investigations have encompassed the study of distant wake structures generated by the von Kármán street of vortices shed from a cylinder, with findings indicating that neither the magnitude nor frequency of these vortices significantly alter the remote wake structure. His research with Peter Monkewitz confirmed the non-universality of the von Kármán coefficient explaining that the overlap layer of wall-bounded flow is not a pure logarithmic function but includes a linear term, with a coefficient dependent on the pressure gradient of the flow.
Wind tunnel simulation and management for atmospheric boundary layer flows
Nagib's research efforts have focused on enhancing wind tunnel design to achieve superior flow quality while minimizing free-stream turbulence, and he has also delved into the utilization of wind tunnel flow for modeling atmospheric boundary layers. His research about the simulation of the neutral atmospheric layers discussed long and short wind tunnel methods highlighting that the atmospheric layers being simulated are not uniform but instead consist of a series of quasi-equilibrium boundary layers that diffuse within older boundary layers. In 1976, he further developed on the technique to generate thick turbulent boundary layers over short distances by introducing significant momentum defects at the wall using upstream-oriented spanwise discrete wall jets in the I.IT. Environmental Wind Tunnel (M. V. Morkovin Wind Tunnel). Furthermore, he and his colleagues employed a vertically oriented wire in wind tunnels to implement the smoke wire technique allowing them the controlled introduction of smoke streaklines with flow visualization.
Nagib investigated methods to eliminate swirls in wind tunnels and duct flows, testing conditions with screens, grids, and honeycombs, highlighting their significance in wind tunnel design and operation. In his research on wind tunnel simulation, he discussed a novel technique for removing sound contamination from low-level pressure signals, enhancing the accuracy of unsteady pressure distribution measurements. Moreover, he extended his studies to transonic wind tunnels by demonstrating boundary-layer transition models showcasing how these concepts could be applied to enhance existing wind tunnels, such as the NASA-Ames 11-foot and the AEDC 16T for improved performance. His activities on wind tunnels culminated in the design, construction, and operation of the National Diagnostic Facility (NDF) at Illinois Institute of Technology.
Awards and honors
1972 – The Large Wind Tunnels Working Group of AGARD, Advisory Group of Aerospace Research & Development of NATO
1976 – Robert T. Knapp Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
1982 – NASA Langley Achievement Award, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
1995 – Professional Achievement Award, Illinois Institute of Technology
Selected articles
Loehrke, R. I., & Nagib, H. M. (1976). Control of free-stream turbulence by means of honeycombs: a balance between suppression and generation. ‘’ J. Fluids Eng.”, 98(3): 342–351.
Tan-atichat, J., & Nagib, H. M. (1982). Interaction of free-stream turbulence with screens and grids: a balance between turbulence scales. ‘’Journal of Fluid Mechanics” 114, 501–528.
Cimbala, J. M., Nagib, H. M., & Roshko, A. (1988). Large structure in the far wakes of two-dimensional bluff bodies. ‘’Journal of Fluid Mechanics’’, 967, A15.
Wark, C. E., & Nagib, H. M. (1991). Experimental investigation of coherent structures in turbulent boundary layers. ‘’Journal of Fluid Mechanics” 230, 183–208.
Österlund, J. M., Johansson, A. V., Nagib, H. M., & Hites, M. H. (2000). A note on the overlap region in turbulent boundary layers. ‘’Physics of Fluids’’, 12(1), 1-4.
Zanoun, E. S., Durst, F., & Nagib H. M. (2003) Evaluating the law of the wall in two-dimensional fully developed turbulent channel flows. ‘’Physics of fluids”, 15 (10), 3079–3089.
Nagib, H. M., Chauhan, K. A., & Monkewitz, P. A. (2007). Approach to an asymptotic state for zero pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers. ‘’Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences’’, 365(1852), 755-770.
Monkewitz, P. A., Chauhan, K. A., & Nagib, H. M. (2007). Self-consistent high-Reynolds-number asymptotics for zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers. ‘’Physics of Fluids” 19 (11).
Nagib, H. M., & Chauhan, K. A. (2008). Variations of von Kármán coefficient in canonical flows. ‘’Physics of fluids’’, 20(10).
Chauhan, K. A., Monkewitz, P. A., & Nagib, H. M. (2009). Criteria for assessing experiments in zero pressure gradient boundary layers. ‘’Fluid Dynamics Research’’, 41(2), 021404.
Marusic, I., McKeon, B. J., Monkewitz, P. A., Nagib, H. M., Smits, A. J., & Sreenivasan, K. R. (2010). Wall-bounded turbulent flows at high Reynolds numbers: Recent advances and key issues. ‘’Physics of fluids’’, 22(6).
Monkewitz, P. A., & Nagib, H. M., (2023). The hunt for the Kármán ‘constant’ revisited. ’’Journal of Fluid Mechanics’’, 190, 265–298.
Baxerres, V., Vinuesa, R., & Nagib, H., (2023). Evidence of quasi equilibrium in pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layers. "arXiv:2311.11675v1 [physics.flu-dyn]".
References
Mechanical engineers
Aerospace engineers
Illinois Institute of Technology faculty
Illinois Institute of Technology alumni
Living people
Date of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people) | Hassan Nagib | [
"Engineering"
] | 2,161 | [
"Mechanical engineers",
"Mechanical engineering",
"Aerospace engineers",
"Aerospace engineering"
] |
75,196,638 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather%20of%202003 | The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2003. The most common weather events to have a significant impact are blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones. The deadliest event of the year was a European heatwave that killed 72,210 people, which broke several nationwide temperature records.
Overview
The year began with El Niño conditions, which meant that sea surface temperatures over the equator over the eastern Pacific Ocean were anomalously warm.
Deadliest events
Types
The following listed different types of special weather conditions worldwide.
Cold snaps and winter storms
Floods
Heat waves and droughts
In the summer of 2003, there was a severe heatwave across Europe, considered the warmest summer on the continent since 1540. The heat and drought killed 72,210 people across 15 countries, making it the sixth deadliest disaster worldwide in the first two decades of the 21st century. Most of the deaths occurred in Italy and France. Several nationwide temperature records were broken during the heatwave, with a peak temperature of recorded in France on August 12.
There was also a heat wave across the United States from March through November that killed 35 people.
Tornadoes
Throughout the year, there were 1,374 tornadoes in the United States. In a one week period in May, a severe weather outbreak produced 335 tornadoes across 26 U.S. states, which set the record for the most twisters in a single week. There were 51 deaths related to the event.
Tropical cyclones
There was two tropical cyclones active as the year began – Cyclone Zoe in the southern Pacific Ocean, which quickly transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, and Tropical Storm Delfina, which moved across Mozambique and Malawi. There were seven named storms that developed within the South Pacific during the year. In the South-West Indian Ocean, there were 13 named storms, including a series of four simultaneous storms in February. The strongest cyclone in 2003 was Cyclone Inigo, which in April became one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded in the Australian basin. Inigo was one of nine named storms in the basin during the year, along with an unnamed storm.
In the northern hemisphere, the western Pacific featured 21 named storms, including Typhoon Maemi, which was the strongest storm on record to hit South Korea, resulting in 120 deaths and damage estimated at ₩5.52 trillion won (KRW, US$4.8 billion). In the northern Indian Ocean, there were five cyclonic storms, including one in May that produced flooding across Sri Lanka, killing 260 people. The Atlantic hurricane season lasted from April to November with 16 named storms. These included Fabian and Juan, the strongest hurricanes to hit Bermuda and Nova Scotia, respectively, in several decades. In the eastern Pacific, there were also 16 named storms, several of which affected Mexico.
Wildfires
In January, high winds and lightning ignited bushfires in Canberra, Australia's capital city, which burned 70% of the territory's nature areas before being contained. The fires killed four people and caused 435 injuries. Throughout the northern hemisphere summer, wildfires burned 10% of Portugal's territory, killing 19 people.
Extratropical cyclones and other weather systems
Timeline
This is a timeline of deadly weather events during 2003.
January
December 2002 to February 2003 – An ongoing cold wave affected southern India, with more than 740 deaths related to cold temperatures in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.
January 8–21 – Bushfires in Canberra, Australia's capital city, killed four people and caused 435 injuries. The fires also burned 70% of the territory's nature areas.
January 9–15 – Cyclone Ami moved through Fiji, killing 14 people.
January 19–February 5 – Cyclone Beni trekked through the South Pacific for 18 days, eventually dissipating offshore the Australian state of Queensland. There was one death related to Beni.
January 21 – Intense rainfall produced flooding in Bolivia's capital, La Paz, killing four people.
February
February 5–15 – Cyclone Gerry passed near Mauritius, killing one person.
February 14–22 A blizzard across eastern North America caused more than 20 deaths after it dropped of snow.
February 25–March 6 – Cyclone Japhet struck Mozambique and crossed into Zimbabwe, killing 25 people.
February 27–March 1 – Cyclone Graham moved ashore western Australia, resulting in one fatality.
March
March 1–November 30 – A heat wave across the United States killed 35 people and resulted in US$5 billion in agriculture losses.
March 1–17 – Cyclone Erica hit New Caledonia, killing two people.
March 30–April 8 – Cyclone Inigo developed over Indonesia, causing at least 50 fatalities. It later became one of the most intense cyclones in the region, before weakening and striking Western Australia.
April
April 4–7 – A severe weather outbreak killed three people across the southern United States.
April 9–25 – Typhoon Kujira developed near the Federated States of Micronesia and later moved through southern Japan, killing three people.
April 20–27 – Swells from Tropical Storm Ana capsized a boat in Florida, killing two people.
April 28 – Flooding in Argentina's Santa Fe Province killed 23 people, described as the worst since records began 1573.
May
May 2–13 – Cyclone Manou brushed southeastern Madagascar, resulting in 89 deaths.
May 3–10 – A severe weather outbreak in the eastern half of the United States killed 51 people. With 335 tornadoes across 26 U.S. states, the outbreak set the record for the most twisters in a single week. Damage totaled US$4.1 billion.
May 10–20 – A very severe cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal produced significant rainfall across Sri Lanka. Destructive floods killed 260 people and displaced about 800,000 people.
May 25–June 2 – Tropical Storm Linfa developed west of the Philippines and later moved through Japan, causing 41 fatalities.
June
June–August – A heatwave across Europe, considered the hottest since 1540, killed 72,210 people, particularly across France and Italy.
June 11–24 – Typhoon Soudelor moved from the Philippine Sea and eventually passed between South Korea and Japan, causing 14 deaths along its path.
June 26–27 – Tropical Storm Carlos struck southern Mexico, killing nine people.
June 29–July 3 – Tropical Storm Bill moved ashore the U.S. state of Louisiana and produced a tornado outbreak across the southeastern United States. There were four deaths related to the storm.
July
July 8–17 – Hurricane Claudette moved through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico before striking the U.S. state of Texas, causing three deaths.
Mid to late July – Heavy rainfall produced widespread flooding in Sudan, killing 12 people.
July 15–23 – Tropical Storm Koni traversed the Philippines, southern China, and Vietnam, resulting in five fatalities.
July 15–25 – Typhoon Imbudo made landfall in the northern Philippines and later the Chinese province of Guangdong, killing 85 people.
July 21–23 – A derecho across the southern United States killed seven people and left over US$1 billion in damage, with the worst impacts in Memphis, Tennessee.
July 31–August 4 – Tropical Storm Morakot hit Taiwan and southeastern China, resulting in three fatalities.
August
August 2–9 – Typhoon Etau developed near the Federated States of Micronesia and later struck Japan, causing 20 deaths.
August 13–26 – Typhoon Krovanh hit the northern Philippines and southern China, resulting in four fatalities.
August 14–14 – Hurricane Erika hit northeastern Mexico, with two people killed by floodwaters.
August 22–27 – Hurricane Ignacio struck Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, killing four people. Ignacio was the first hurricane of the annual season, the latest date for the season's first hurricane since reliable satellite observation began in 1966.
August 24 – A squall with gale-force winds struck The Gambia, killing two people and damaging hundreds of buildings.
August 27–September 3 – Typhoon Dujuan struck the Chinese province of Guangdong while also affecting the Philippines and Taiwan, resulting in 44 deaths.
August 27–September 10 – Hurricane Fabian became the strongest hurricane to hit Bermuda since 1963, while also producing high waves along the eastern coastline of North America. Fabian caused eight deaths as well as US$300 million in damage, the most destructive storm on Bermuda since 1926.
September
September 1–November 30 – Wildfires in the U.S. state of California killed 22 people, with damage estimated at US$3.9 billion.
September 5–16 – Typhoon Maemi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in South Korea since records began in 1904. Maemi also affected Japan, with 120 fatalities along its path.
September 6–20 – Hurricane Isabel became a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale before weakening and striking the U.S. state of North Carolina, resulting in 51 deaths across the eastern United States.
September 18–24 – Hurricane Marty hit Mexico's Baja California peninsula, killing 12 people.
September 24–29 – Hurricane Juan made landfall in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, becoming the strongest hurricane to hit Halifax since 1893. Juan killed eight people across Atlantic Canada.
October
October 1–6 – Tropical Storm Larry hit the Mexican state of Tabasco, causing five deaths.
October 6–10 – A depression in the Bay of Bengal moved ashore eastern India, killing 21 people.
October 9 – A lightning strike on a school in Bikoro, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killed 11 people, with 85 injured.
October 10–13 – A subtropical low moved through Japan, resulting in four deaths.
October 14–November 14 – Floods in Vietnam, related to two heavy rainfall events, killed at least 103 people.
October 21–24 – Tropical Depression Ursula killed one person while moving through the Philippines.
October 29–November 5 – Severe Tropical Storm Melor, known locally as Viring, moved through the Philippines, causing four fatalities.
November
November 2 – Flash floods in Indonesia killed at least 180 people in the tourist town of Bukit Lawang, after 450 buildings were swept away.
November 11–19 – Typhoon Nepartak, known locally as Weng, crossed the central Philippines, killing 13 people.
November 14– December – Floods in the Dominican Republic killed at least ten people.
December
December – Monsoonal floods killed more than 200 people in the Philippines.
December – Intense rainfall across Colombia produced flash floods and landslides that killed 42 deaths.
December 4–9 – Tropical Storm Odette caused ten fatalities when it struck the Dominican Republic. Odette was the first recorded December Atlantic tropical storm in the Caribbean.
December 11–16 – A cyclonic storm made landfall in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, resulting in 83 fatalities.
December 20–22 – Floods in Haiti killed 38 people.
December 28–30 – A winter storm in Utah killed at least two people from traffic accidents.
References
Notes
Weather by year
Weather-related lists
2003-related lists
2003
2003 meteorology | Weather of 2003 | [
"Physics"
] | 2,225 | [
"Weather",
"Physical phenomena",
"Weather-related lists",
"Weather by year"
] |
75,197,128 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Amino-1-pentanol | 5-Amino-1-pentanol is an amino alcohol with a primary amino group and a primary hydroxy group at the ends of a linear C5-alkanes. As a derivative of the platform chemical furfural (that is easily accessible from pentoses), 5-amino-1-pentanol may become increasingly important in the future as a building block for biodegradable polyesteramides and as a starting material for valerolactam — the monomer for polyamides.
Occurrence and preparation
The complete hydrogenation of furfural (furan-2-aldehyde) yields tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (2-hydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran), which undergoes ring expansion upon dehydration to give dihydropyran. Dihydropyran reacts with ammonia in a reductive amination under ring opening to produce 5-amino-1-pentanol.
Product yields of up to 85% can be achieved with a continuous process using a nickel-hydrotalcite catalyst.
Similarly, the hemiacetal 2-hydroxytetrahydropyran that is formed from dihydropyran with hydrochloric acid can be converted to 5-amino-1-pentanol by reductive amidation with ammonia and hydrogen upon water elimination.
Properties
5-Amino-1-pentanol forms white crystalline clumps at solidification temperatures around 35 °C, which dissolve in water, ethanol, and acetone. The aqueous solution (500 g-l−1) reacts strongly alkaline (pH 13.2 at 20 °C).
Reactions
Amino alcohols such as 5-amino-1-pentanol have been studied for their suitability of absorption of carbon dioxide.
5-Amino-1-pentanol dehydrates when heated over ytterbium(III) oxide (Yb2O3) to give 4-penten-1-amine (I). Also formed piperidine (II), 2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine (III), and 1-pentylamine (IV).
Being bifunctional, 5-amino-1-pentanol reacts in a polycondensation reaction with esters of dicarboxylic acids (or their cyclic acid anhydrides, such as succinic anhydride) to give polyesteramides. These polymers have been investigated as biodegradable plastics, e.g. absorbable sutures. During the reaction, the succinic anhydride reacts initially with the nucleophilic amino group to form an ω-hydroxycarboxylic acid, which is subsequently polycondensed with carbodiimides, such as the hydrochloride of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimides (EDC-HCl).
In a dehydrogenation, catalyzed by rhodium and ruthenium complexes, valerolactam, the δ-lactam of 5-aminopentanoic acid, is formed from 5-amino-1-pentanol in high (94%) yield.
Valerolactam could be of relevance for polyamide 5. Polyamide 5 has garnered little attention so far but is of interest due to its ferroelectricity.
References
Amino alcohols | 5-Amino-1-pentanol | [
"Chemistry"
] | 728 | [
"Organic compounds",
"Amino alcohols"
] |
75,197,145 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood%E2%80%93saliva%20barrier | The blood–saliva barrier (BSB) is a biological barrier that consists of the epithelial cell layers of the oral mucosa and salivary glands, and provides physiological separation between blood vessels and the saliva in the oral cavity. In Russian academic literature the barrier is usually called the hematosalivary or hematosalivarian barrier.
Structure
The blood–saliva barrier is primarily formed by the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels and the epithelial cells lining the oral mucosa, and also has a connective tissue layer. The epithelial cells of the blood–saliva barrier present in gingival epithelium (lining the gums) and junctional epithelium (that surrounds teeth at their base where they emerge from gums).
Function
The blood–saliva barrier is a protective mechanism that helps maintain the integrity and stability of the blood and prevents the exchange of certain substances between the bloodstream and saliva, such as electrolytes, small-molecular-weight proteins, metabolic products, and specific/non-specific defense factors.
The blood–saliva barrier also plays a role in immune defense mechanisms within the oral cavity. Immune cells, such as macrophages and lymphocytes, are contained within the connective tissue layer beneath the barrier.
Salivary glands are well-perfused organs due to the presence of numerous arterio-venous anastomoses with sphincters. When these sphincters close, they increase the pressure in the capillaries of salivary glands, facilitating the movement of various metabolites from the capillary lumen into secretory epithelial cells for saliva formation. Salivary glands exhibit high selectivity in their activity, confirming the functioning of the barrier which regulates its permeability in response to physiological or pathological changes within the body. Substance entry through the barrier mainly occurs via simple passive diffusion (paracellular), active transport, or endocytosis, primarily determined by lipophilicity, charge, and size of substances being transported. Proteinaceous substances are thought to be primarily transported across the mucosa via a paracellular mechanism facilitated by passive diffusion.
The blood–saliva barrier changes permeability under the influence of the autonomic nervous system and humoral factors.
Clinical significance
In vitro models of the blood–saliva barrier are used to investigate and understand the transport of salivary biomarkers from blood to saliva.
The ability of blood–saliva barrier of preventing the transport of certain molecules from blood to saliva while allowing the transport of the other has a practical application in measuring levels of steroids which are unbound ("free") and have biological activity. An example of such molecule is cortisol, which is lipophilic, and is transported bound to transcortin (also known as corticosteroid-binding globulin) and albumin, while only a small part of the total serum cortisol is unbound and has biological activity. This binding of cortisol to transcortin is accomplished through hydrophobic interactions in which cortisol binds in a 1:1 ratio. Serum cortisol assays measure total cortisol, and such results may be misleading for patients with altered serum protein concentrations. The salivary cortisol test avoids this problem because only free cortisol can pass through blood–saliva barrier due to the fact that transcortin particles are too large to pass through the barrier.
History
A key milestone in the study of the blood–saliva barrier in medicine was reached when Soviet physiologist Lina Stern introduced the concept of "histohematological barriers" in 1929, highlighting their plasticity and their ability to regulate internal environment homeostasis through interactions with exogenous and endogenous physiological compounds. While working at the University of Geneva, Stern published a series of studies demonstrating the existence of the blood–brain barrier with colleague Raymond Gautier. In a 1934 paper, Stern also introduced the notions of barrier selectivity and barrier resistance, realizing that the blood–brain barrier both selectively allows certain substances to enter the brain and protects the internal milieu of the brain from that of the blood. The study of the blood–brain barrier contributed to the subsequent studies of the other anatomical barriers. A significant place in understanding of the barrier mechanisms is occupied by the placental barrier, which exists between maternal blood and fetal tissues. Following extended research, the blood–saliva barrier was described for the first time in 1977 by a Soviet physician Yurii Alexandrovich Petrovich as "hematosalivary barrer".
Research directions
In recent years, significant progress has been made in studying different aspects blood–saliva barrier function using advanced tools such as molecular biology techniques, confocal microscopy, immunofluorescence staining methods, and transcellular migration assays. These studies elucidate cellular interactions involved in creating tight junctions between endothelial cells lining capillaries within salivary glands.
Furthermore, experimental models utilizing cell cultures have demonstrated potential applications for tissue engineering approaches aimed at developing artificial salivary glands or improving treatments for conditions associated with reduced salivation.
See also
References
Saliva
Exocrine system | Blood–saliva barrier | [
"Biology"
] | 1,061 | [
"Exocrine system",
"Organ systems",
"Saliva",
"Excretion"
] |
75,199,310 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI%20Safety%20Summit | The AI Safety Summit was an international conference discussing the safety and regulation of artificial intelligence. It was held at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, on 1–2 November 2023. It was the first ever global summit on artificial intelligence, and is planned to become a recurring event.
Background
The prime minister of the United Kingdom at the time, Rishi Sunak, made AI one of the priorities of his government, announcing that the UK would host a global AI Safety conference in autumn 2023.
Venue
Bletchley Park was a World War II codebreaking facility established by the British government on the site of a Victorian manor and is in the British city of Milton Keynes. It has played an important role in the history of computing, with some of the first modern computers being built at the facility.
Outcomes
28 countries at the summit, including the United States, China, Australia, and the European Union, have issued an agreement known as the Bletchley Declaration, calling for international co-operation to manage the challenges and risks of artificial intelligence.
The Bletchley Declaration affirms that AI should be designed, developed, deployed, and used in a manner that is safe, human-centric, trustworthy and responsible.
Emphasis has been placed on regulating "Frontier AI", a term for the latest and most powerful AI systems. Concerns that have been raised at the summit include the potential use of AI for terrorism, criminal activity, and warfare, as well as existential risk posed to humanity as a whole.The president of the United States, Joe Biden, signed an executive order requiring AI developers to share safety results with the US government. The US government also announced the creation of an American AI Safety Institute, as part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and Sunak did a live interview on AI safety on 2 November on X.
2nd Summit
The next AI Safety Summit was hosted by South Korea on 21–22 May 2024. A third summit is planned to be held in France on the 10th-11th Feb 2025.
Notable attendees
The following individuals attended the summit:
Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Charles III, King of the United Kingdom (attending virtually)
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, owner of X, SpaceX, Neuralink, and xAI
Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
Nick Clegg, former British politician and president of global affairs at Meta Platforms
Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind
Michelle Donelan, UK secretary of state for Science, Innovation and Technology
Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s vice-president for Values and Transparency
Gina Raimondo, United States secretary of commerce
Wu Zhaohui, Chinese vice-minister of science and technology
References
AI safety
Artificial intelligence conferences
2023 conferences
November 2023 events in the United Kingdom
Bletchley Park
Regulation of artificial intelligence
Premiership of Rishi Sunak | AI Safety Summit | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 633 | [
"Safety engineering",
"AI safety",
"Computing and society",
"Regulation of artificial intelligence"
] |
75,199,432 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloplaca%20hafellneri | Caloplaca hafellneri is a rare species of lignicolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in South Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt. The type specimen was collected from north of Kingoonya, where it was found growing on wood. The species epithet honours Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner, "in recognition to the knowledge of the representatives of the genus Caloplaca in Australia, as well as his contributions to lichenology in general". The species is only known from the type collection.
See also
List of Caloplaca species
References
hafellneri
Lichen species
Lichens described in 2009
Lichens of Australia
Taxa named by Sergey Kondratyuk
Taxa named by Ingvar Kärnefelt
Species known from a single specimen | Caloplaca hafellneri | [
"Biology"
] | 194 | [
"Individual organisms",
"Species known from a single specimen"
] |
75,199,655 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOI-813 | TOI-813 (also known as TIC 55525572 and 2MASS J04504658-6054196) is a bright subgiant G-type star located away from planet Earth. It is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. TOI-813 has a mass of 1.32 solar masses, a radius of 1.95 solar radii and a luminosity of 4.3 times the solar luminosity.
Planetary system
The star has one known exoplanet orbiting it named TOI-813 b, a Neptune-like gas giant.
References
Dorado
G-type subgiants
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
J04504658-6054196
CD-61 00970
813
55525572 | TOI-813 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 168 | [
"Dorado",
"Constellations"
] |
75,200,195 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sounds%20of%20North%20American%20Frogs | Sounds of North American Frogs is a 1958 album of frog vocalizations narrated by herpetologist Charles M. Bogert. The album includes the calls of 57 species of frogs in 92 separate tracks. The album was released on the Folkways Records label as part of its Science Series. By the 1990s, the album had developed a cult following and was featured on college radio stations.
Bogert, who was then the chair of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Amphibians and Reptiles, collected field recordings for the album from 1953 to 1957. His 1960 paper "The influence of sound on the behavior of amphibians and reptiles" elaborated on the themes from the album's booklet and marked the beginning of modern bioacoustic research into Anuran vocalization.
Background and release history
From 1953 to 1957, herpetologist Charles Mitchill Bogert, chair of the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Amphibians and Reptiles, collected field recordings of frog calls in "swamps, lakes, woods, creeks, and roadside ditches" of the United States and Mexico. Bogert compiled the recordings and provided narration for the album. Sounds of North American Frogs was released on vinyl in 1958 on the Folkways Records label as part of its Science Series. The album was produced by Bogert and Moses Asch and the cover was designed by Ronald Clyne.
Bogert went on to elaborate on the themes he put forward in the album's booklet in his major 1960 paper "The influence of sound on the behavior of amphibians and reptiles". The paper marked the beginning of modern bioacoustic research into Anuran vocalization.
Sounds of North American Frogs was not the first album to feature frog calls. The 1948 album Voices of the Night was among the first and included recordings of 26 species of frogs from the eastern United States. It was produced by Arthur A. Allen and Peter Paul Kellogg of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Folkways Records followed Sounds of North American Frogs with the similarly narrated 1960 album Sounds of Insects by entomologist Albro T. Gaul.
In 1998, on the 50th anniversary of the founding of Folkways Records, Smithsonian Folkways issued a digitally remastered version of Sounds of North American Frogs. The reissue included a 41-page booklet, an introduction by herpetologist Richard G. Zweifel, and a mention of the decline in amphibian populations. The album was reissued in 2023.
Contents
Sounds of North American Frogs includes the calls of 57 species of frogs in 92 separate tracks. A "profusely illustrated" 17-page booklet accompanied the 1958 album, along with an essay by Bogert entitled The Biological Significance of Voice in Frogs. The annotated track listing from the booklet provides the species that can be heard as well as the exact location and date that each track was recorded.
Bogert's narration describes the production and function of frog vocalizations. Different categories of calls, such as advertisement calls (mating calls), territorial calls, release calls (warning calls), and choruses, are illustrated with all of the families of North American frogs. The narration discusses the role of frog vocalization in species recognition and the effect of phylogenetics on call structure. In a description of the relationship between body size and pitch, Bogert explains that the frequency of the marine toad's call is about 600 cycles per second while that of the oak toad is about 5200 cycles per second. To illustrate, the album includes a sequence of seven calls, with the species decreasing in size as the frequency increases.
Reviews and legacy
In a 1958 review of the album in the journal Copeia, herpetologist James Arthur Oliver called its accompanying booklet "the best and most comprehensive review of vocalization in amphibians that I have seen." A 1959 issue of Sports Illustrated praised the album, calling it the "last word in frog recording, not a rock 'n' roll approach but a faithful capturing of solos and symphonies, with a masterly interpretation by Mr. Bogert, the Toscanini of the frog world".
The album developed a cult following and by the 1990s, college radio stations were featuring a frog "call of the day" from the album. In its October 1998 issue, CMJ New Music Monthly named the record its Weird Album of the Month, noting that the barking tree frog's hypnotic chirp "wouldn't sound out of place on an Oval record". A review in Pitchfork noted that the warning vibration of the southern toad "sounds like an outtake from an Aphex Twin record". Musician David Toop, in his 1999 book Exotica, mentions Sounds of North American Frogs as one of his favorites, describing Bogert's narration as "unwittingly comical" and "froglike".
A 1999 review in Copeia of Sounds of North American Frogs by Kentwood Wells found that the 1958 album "remains the most comprehensive work to date, both in the number of species included and the variety of call types presented". The review noted that the dated commentary, such as the old taxonomic categorization and the terminology used to describe calls, could cause confusion for the general public and students.
Track listing
See also
List of amphibians of Northern America
References
External links
Sounds of North American Frogs at the Internet Archive
Sounds of North American Frogs booklet (1998)
Sounds of North American Frogs, Smithsonian Folkways
Frogs
1958 albums
Smithsonian Folkways albums
Field recording
Animal sounds
Folkways Records albums
Zoomusicology | Sounds of North American Frogs | [
"Engineering",
"Biology"
] | 1,118 | [
"Behavior",
"Field recording",
"Animal sounds",
"Ethology",
"Audio engineering"
] |
75,200,703 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma%20P%C3%A9rez%20Ferreira | Emma Victoria Pérez Ferreira (2 April 1925 – 28 June 2005) was an Argentine physicist who contributed immensely to the advancement of science in Argentina. She was the first female president of the country's National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA).
Life and work
Pérez Ferreira was born in Buenos Aires on 2 April 1925 and studied Physico-Mathematical Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), earning her bachelor's degree in 1952 and becoming a teacher at the university's Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences. She received her doctorate in Physics from UBA in 1960 with her dissertation titled, The production of pions by pions at energies of around 1 Bev. She then took postgraduate courses at the University of Durham in England and University of Bologna in Italy, receiving a scholarship from the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). She was one of the first scientists at this institution and held positions of high responsibility, initially dedicating herself to scientific research in high energy nuclear physics. She served as head of the Department of Nuclear Physics for ten years and then Director of research and development.
In 1976, she was appointed head of the project called TANDAR (for TANDem ARgentino), to build a 20 MeV tandem-type accelerator for heavy ions. From 1985 to 1989, she was a member of the Council for the Consolidation of Democracy created by President Raúl Alfonsín. In the period from 1987 to 1989 she was president of the country's National Atomic Energy Commission.
In 1990 she began serving as director of the RETINA (Red Teleinformática Académica or Academic Teleinformatics Network) project, an academic network developed before commercial Internet networks existed, to link computers between universities and facilitate communications among them. When the speed of this network was no longer sufficient, she participated in the implementation of advanced academic networks to integrate Argentina into the newer Internet, which at that time was an advanced North American academic network that allowed large volumes of data to be transferred at higher speeds. In December 2001, Argentina was integrated under a program known as RETINA2.
At the Konex 2003 Science and Technology Awards, Pérez Ferreira received a special mention for her role in Argentine science and technology. At the Constituent Atomic Center of the National Atomic Energy Commission, a public space is named after her: the Emma Pérez Ferreira Auditorium.
She died at the age of 80 in Buenos Aires on 28 June 2005.
Bibliography
Pérez Ferreira E. & Waloscheck P. J. (1956). Medición de intensidades totales de neutrones rápidos con placas nucleares y su aplicación a la determinación de la distribución angular de los neutrones de la reacción li (d. n).
References
1925 births
2005 deaths
Argentine physicists
University of Buenos Aires alumni
20th-century Argentine physicists
20th-century Argentine women scientists
20th-century women physicists
Particle physicists | Emma Pérez Ferreira | [
"Physics"
] | 595 | [
"Particle physicists",
"Particle physics"
] |
75,200,750 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/296%20%28number%29 | 296 is the natural number following 295 and preceding 297.
In mathematics
296 is an even composite number with two prime factors.
296 is a refactorable number meaning that it is divisible by its number of divisors.
296 is a unique period in base 2.
296 is the number of regions formed by drawing the line segments connecting any two of the 12 outer points in a 2 by 4 grid.
296 is the number of surface points on a 83 cube.
References
Integers | 296 (number) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 99 | [
"Elementary mathematics",
"Integers",
"Mathematical objects",
"Numbers"
] |
75,200,819 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/297%20%28number%29 | 297 is the natural number following 296 and preceding 298.
In mathematics
297 is an odd composite number with two prime factors.
297 is the number of integer partitions of 17.
297 is a decagonal number which applies the properties of triangular numbers to decagons.
297 is a Kaprekar number which means that it can be rewritten as the singular sum of the digits in its square in the same order.
References
Integers | 297 (number) | [
"Mathematics"
] | 88 | [
"Elementary mathematics",
"Integers",
"Mathematical objects",
"Numbers"
] |
75,201,717 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder%20of%20Kristin%20Lardner | On May 30, 1992, 21-year-old Kristin Lardner was murdered in Boston, Massachusetts by her ex-boyfriend Michael Cartier, who later killed himself.
The incident was also known as the Brookline murder. Cartier stalked and shot Lardner, who had a restraining order against him, before shooting himself.
Lardner's father George later released a book about the murder, called The Stalking of Kristin: A Father Investigates the Murder of His Daughter, receiving a Pulitzer Prize.
Cartier was a punk rock enthusiast who, a month prior to the murder, had tried to attack Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill at a show. He was described as "a nightclub bouncer with a short fuse".
References
1992 deaths
1992 murders in the United States
May 1992 crimes in the United States
People murdered in Massachusetts
Stalking
1992 in Boston
Women in Boston
Violence against women in Massachusetts | Murder of Kristin Lardner | [
"Biology"
] | 180 | [
"Behavior",
"Aggression",
"Stalking"
] |
69,403,091 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerica%20Corporation | Numerica Corporation is an air and missile defense company.
History
Numerica was founded by Aubrey B. Poore, an applied mathematics professor at Colorado State University, in 1996. It is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, with a second office in Colorado Springs, and a third also in Fort Collins. It has around 70 employees.
In 2022, the Space Division of Numerica was acquired by Slingshot Aerospace.
Facilities
Numerica has a worldwide network of around 20 ground-based optical telescopes to track satellites, with around 130 optical sensors. These include telescopes with apertures of , and , which operate both at night and during daylight. Originally targeted at geostationary satellites, they were upgraded in 2021 so that they could be used to track low Earth orbit satellites. The use of optical telescopes is aimed at complementing existing radar tracking facilities to provide surveillance and tracking data. It has been contracted by the UK Space Agency to provide information about UK-licensed satellites in orbit, and is also contracted by the United States Air Force.
In November 2021 it imaged the debris cloud from the destruction of Kosmos 1408 by a Russian anti-satellite missile.
It also sells short-range radar systems, including to the United States Army.
References
Space organizations
1996 establishments in Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado | Numerica Corporation | [
"Astronomy"
] | 264 | [
"Astronomy organizations",
"Space organizations"
] |
69,404,632 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipole%20glass | A dipole glass is an analog of a glass where the dipoles are frozen below a given freezing temperature Tf introducing randomness thus resulting in a lack of long-range ferroelectric order. A dipole glass is very similar to the concept of a spin glass where the atomic spins don't all align in the same direction (like in a ferromagnetic material) and thus result in a net-zero magnetization. The randomness of dipoles in a dipole glass creates local fields resulting in short-range order but no long-range order.
The dipole glass like state was first observed in Alkali halide crystal-type dielectrics containing dipole impurities. The dipole impurities in these materials result in off-center ions which results in anomalies in certain properties like specific heat, thermal conductivity as well as some spectroscopic properties. Other materials which show a dipolar glass phase include Rb(1-x)(NH4)xH2PO4 (RADP) and Rb(1-x)(ND4)xD2PO4 (DRADP). In materials like DRADP the dipole moment is introduced due to the deuteron O-D--O bond. Dipole glass like behavior is also observed in materials like ceramics, 3D water framework and perovskites.
Random-bond-random-field Ising model (RBRF)
The model describing the pseudo-spins (dipole moments) is given by the Hamiltonian as:
,
where is the Ising dipole moments. The refers to the random bond interactions which are described by a gaussian probability distribution with mean and variance . The second term provides a description of the interactions of the pseudo-spins in presence of random local fields where are represented by an independent gaussian distribution with zero mean and variance . The final term denotes the interaction in presence of an external electric field .
The replica method is used to obtain the glass order parameter:
.
where is the gaussian measure and under the assumption that the free energy is given by:
.
where and with .
The term is zero in case of magnetic spin glasses and with no presence of an external electric field this model reduces to the Edwards–Anderson model which is used to describe spin glasses. This model has been used to give quantitative description of DRADP type systems.
References
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetic compatibility
Types of magnets | Dipole glass | [
"Physics",
"Engineering"
] | 501 | [
"Electromagnetic compatibility",
"Electromagnetism",
"Physical phenomena",
"Radio electronics",
"Fundamental interactions",
"Electrical engineering"
] |
69,406,325 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather%20of%202019 | The following is a list of weather events in 2019.
Global conditions
2019 was Earth's second-warmest year on record, which goes back to 1880. It was the 43rd consecutive year of above-average temperatures. The year was 0.95 °C (1.71 °F) above the 20th century average, and 0.07 °C (0.04 °F) behind 2016, which was the warmest year on record. 2019 fell to the third-warmest year on record when the following year surpassed it. In 2019, Australia and the U.S. state of Alaska recorded their warmest years on record.
There is a previous El Niño episode continuing from last year, and new El Niño episode started this year, lasting until 2020.
Summary by weather type
Winter storms and cold waves
From January 16 to 19, a winter storm crosses the United States, killing ten. Then, from January 24 into February, a cold wave brought record low temperatures to the United States. Illinois set a statewide record low temperature. Twenty-two people die as a result of the cold. Then, in mid-March, another cross country storm came to the United States, which killed a man in Colorado, left 140,000 without power in Texas, and contributed to the 2019 Midwestern U.S. floods, which caused two deaths in Nebraska and one in Iowa. Another blizzard struck the United States in April 2019. In October 2019, record cold and near-record cold come down over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Plains. In particular, with a mean statewide temperature of , Idaho realized its coldest October on record. The next major winter storm in the United States came next season, when a cold wave that kills at least seven people. The last notable blizzard is the November 26 – December 3, 2019 North American blizzard. Eight people die due to the storm, and over 80,000 people in the New York Metropolitan Area lose power.
Floods
In late January and early February, the Australian city of Townsville experienced record flooding when a stalled but very active monsoon trough that was bought down by Tropical Low 13U, caused an overflowing of the Ross River Dam. Approximately 3300 homes were damaged by floodwaters, and about 1500 homes rendered uninhabitable. As many as 30,000 insurance claims were filed in the aftermath of the event, with damages estimated to be $1.243 billion AUD based on insurance losses. 5 deaths were attributed to the event. The event came after Townsville experienced a drought prior to the flooding. One year prior to the floods, the dam level was at 13%, and during the floods the dam peaked at 244%, before water was released.
Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires
Tornadoes
An EF4 tornado in Havana in January 2019, becomes the strongest in Cuba since 1940. Eight people are killed and 190 are injured. Later on February 23–24, a tornado outbreak across the United States kills one and causes $1.4 billion in damages. Then, on March 3, a deadly tornado outbreak spawns 41 tornadoes. One of them, the 2019 Beauregard tornado, becomes the deadliest tornado since the 2013 Moore tornado and kills 23 people, and injures 97. On March 31, a tornado strikes Nepal. This tornado is responsible for 28 deaths and $800,000 in damage. It was later identified as the first confirmed case of a tornado in Nepal. Then, on April 13–15, 2019, a tornado outbreak in the Southeastern United States kills three. A few days later, another tornado outbreak tied for Mississippi's largest tornado outbreak, As the squall line tracked east, numerous reports of damaging wind gusts were received across the Southeast United States. and also became Virginia's third largest outbreak in a single day. In the second half of May, the United States experienced a record breaking tornado outbreak sequence. On June 29, a rare hybrid tornado struck Allen, South Dakota. A few months later, an EF3 tornado in Dallas became the costliest tornado in Texas history. In November, another tornado outbreak caused a fatality in the Southeastern US. The death was due to an EF2 in Louisiana. The last major tornado outbreak of the year occurs on December 16–17, 2019, which cause 3 deaths, plus one non-tornadic.
Tropical cyclones
As the year began, five tropical cyclones that formed in 2018 were still active. Cyclone Penny was moving over Queensland, Cyclone Mona was developing in the eastern Australian region, a tropical depression and a tropical disturbance was in the South Pacific, and Tropical Storm Pabuk was in the South China Sea.
In the south-west Indian Ocean, there were 14 tropical cyclones, including several powerful cyclones. Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique in March and caused widespread flooding across southeast Africa. The cyclone killed at least 1,297 people, becoming one of the deadliest recorded tropical cyclones in Africa, with a damage total of over US$2 billion, the costliest cyclone on record in the basin. In April, Cyclone Kenneth struck northern Mozambique as the most intense storm on record to hit the country. It killed 52 people in the Comoros and Mozambique. In December, Cyclone Ambali attained 10 minute winds of 220 km/h (140 mph) after the most significant rapid deepening events ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. In the Australian region, there were 15 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Veronica, which caused A$2 billion (US$1.4 billion) in damage when it struck Western Australia. There were 11 tropical cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean during the year. In the south Atlantic Ocean, there was a rare short-lived tropical storm – Iba – which formed in March off the coast of Brazil.
In the north-west Pacific Ocean, there were 49 tropical cyclones that formed after Pabuk. In August, Typhoon Lekima killed 105 people and caused CN¥65.37 billion (US$9.26 billion) in damage when it struck southeastern China. Also in August, Typhoon Faxai struck Japan, causing US$10 billion in damage, followed less than two months later by Typhoon Hagibis, which hit Tokyo. Hagibis killed 98 people and caused US$15 billion in damage. In the North Indian Ocean, there were 12 tropical cyclones, including Cyclone Pabuk, which moved from the South China Sea into the Bay of Bengal in early January. The season's strongest storm was Cyclone Kyarr in October, which attained winds of 240 km/h (150 mph) in the Arabian Sea. Also during the season, Cyclone Fani struck eastern India, killing 89 people and causing US$8.1 billion in damage.
In the north Atlantic Ocean, there were 18 tropical cyclones and two subtropical cyclones. In September, Hurricane Dorian became the strongest storm on record to hit The Bahamas, with 1 minute sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h). Dorian devastated the country as it moved slowly through the island group, causing US$3.4 billion in damage and at least 74 deaths, with hundreds missing. In September, Tropical Storm Imelda moved ashore southeastern Texas and left US$5 billion in damage after dropping of rainfall. Also in September, Hurricane Lorenzo attained 1 minute sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Lorenzo capsized a ship, the Bourbon Rhode, killing 11 crew members, and the storm later struck the Azores, causing €330 million (US$367 million) in damage. In the north-east Pacific Ocean, there were 21 tropical cyclones.
Timeline
This is a timeline of weather events during 2019. Please note that entries might cross between months, however, all entries are listed by the month they started with an exception for Tropical Storm Pabuk which was ongoing when 2019 began. Dates listed in parentheses mean the start and end dates are not specifically listed in the articles.
January
December 31, 2018 – January 8, 2019 – Tropical Storm Pabuk, also referred to as Cyclonic Storm Pabuk, kills ten people and caused $157.2 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Natuna Islands, Vietnam, Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Andaman Islands.
January 16–21 – A winter storm strikes the United States, killing ten.
January 22–24 – Tropical Storm Eketsang kills 27 people and caused damage across Madagascar.
January 24 – Four tornadoes in Turkey killed four people and caused damage.
January 24 – February (14) – A cold wave across the American Midwest and Great Lakes region killed 22 people.
January 27 – A nighttime EF4 tornado in Havanna, Cuba kills eight people and injured 193 others. This was the strongest tornado to hit Cuba since 1940.
February
February 18 – March 2 – Typhoon Wutip, also known as Tropical Depression Betty, caused $3.3 million (2019 USD) in damage across Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia,and the Northern Mariana Islands.
February 23 – An EF3 tornado in Mississippi kills one person and injured 19 others.
March
March 3 – A severe and deadly tornado outbreak across the Southeastern United States results in 23 fatalities and 103 injuries from 41 tornadoes.
March 3 – An EF4 tornado during the Tornado outbreak of March 3 kills 23 people and injured 90 others and caused $1.75 million (2019 USD) in damage across its 68.73 mi (110.61 km) path.
March 4–21 – Cyclone Idai kills 1,303 with more than 2,262 missing and caused more than $2.2 billion (2019 USD) in damage across Mozambique, Malawi, northern Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. Idai is the deadliest tropical cyclone recorded in the South-West Indian Ocean basin and in the Southern Hemisphere, which includes the Australian, South Pacific, and South Atlantic basins, Idai ranks as the second-deadliest tropical cyclone on record.
March 8–16 – A blizzard, tornado outbreak, and floods across North America killed four people (1 blizzard and 3 flooding) and caused over 140,000 power outages. The storm system spawned 38 tornadoes and a wind gust of 109 mph (175 km/h) was recorded at Northeast Texas' Grand Prairie Airport.
March 8–24 – Cyclone Savannah kills ten people with one missing and caused $7.5 million (2019 USD) in damage across Bali, Java, Christmas Island, and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
March 15–26 – Cyclone Trevor caused $700,000 (2019 USD) in damage across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Queensland, and Northern Territory, Australia.
March 18–31 – Cyclone Veronica caused $1.65 billion (2019 USD) in damage across Timor and Western Australia, becoming the Fourth-costliest tropical cyclone in the Australian region basin.
March 19 - Monthly record highs were set across much of Alaska, British Columbia and Washington State. Seattle's high of was the warmest for the November to March period. Some places saw highs that would set records even in April.
March 31 – A deadly and powerful F4 Tornado hits Nepal which kills between 28 and 50 people and caused $800,000 (2019 USD) in damage. This was the first ever recorded tornado in Nepal.
April
April 4–6 – The Goseong Fire kills two people, injured 30 others, burned 1,307 acres, and caused $4.6 million (2019 USD) in damage in South Korea.
April 10–14 – A blizzard in the United States caused over 139,000 power outages and had wind gusts as high as 107 mph (172 km/h) at Pueblo West, Colorado.
April 13 – An EF3 tornado in China kills one person and injured five others.
April 13–15 – A tornado outbreak in the United States kills nine people (3 tornadic and 6 non-tornadic) and injured 65 others from 71 tornadoes.
April 17–19 – A tornado outbreak in the South Central and Southeastern United States kills four people (all non-tornadic) from 96 tornadoes.
April 21–29 – Cyclone Kenneth kills 52 people and caused $188 million (2019 USD) in damage across Seychelles, Comoros, Mayotte, northern Madagascar, northern Mozambique, southern Tanzania, and Malawi.
April 26 – May 5 – Cyclone Fani kills 89 people and caused $8.1 billion (2019 USD) in damage across Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, East India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Cyclone Fani became the worst tropical cyclone to strike the Indian state of Odisha since 1999.
April 30 – An EF3 wedge tornado in Oklahoma kills two people and injured nine others.
May
May 4–11 – Cyclone Lili caused damage Eastern Indonesia, East Timor, and Top End.
May 17–30 – A 14-day long tornado outbreak sequence in the United States kills 14 people (8 tornadic and 6 non-tornadic) and injured 288 others from 392 tornadoes.
May 27 – An EF4 tornado during the tornado outbreak sequence of May 2019 killed one person indirectly and injured 166 others. The National Weather Service issued a particularly dangerous situation and tornado emergency for the tornado as it entered Dayton, Ohio.
May 18 – June 14 – The Arkansas River Flood of 2019 kills five people and caused $3 billion (2019 USD) in damage across Arkansas and Oklahoma.
May 31 – An F2 tornado in Chile kills one person and injured 23 others.
June
June 8–15 – The Sand Fire of 2019 injured two people and burned 2,512 acres in California.
June 10–18 – Cyclone Vayu kills eight people and caused $140,000 (2019 USD) in damage across Maldives, India, Pakistan, and Oman.
July
July 3 – An EF4 Stovepipe tornado in China kills six people and injured 190 others.
July 11–19 – Hurricane Barry kills two people and caused $600 million (2019 USD) in damage across the United States and Canada. Hurricane Barry was the wettest tropical cyclone on record in Arkansas and the fourth-wettest in Louisiana.
July 14 – With a low of , Miami set a record for their warmest night on record.
July 14–21 – Tropical Storm Danas kills six people and caused $6.4 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.
July 28 – A F2 tornado in Italy kills one person. This tornado was part of a small 11 tornado outbreak in Europe.
July 30 – August 4 – Tropical Storm Wipha kills 27 people and caused $76.8 million (2019 USD) in damage across South China, Vietnam, and Laos.
July (31)–August (8) – Floods in Vadodara killed 8 people.
August
August 1–11 – Typhoon Francisco kills two people and caused damage across Japan, Korean Peninsula, and Russia's Far East.
August 1–29 – Floods in Karnataka, India kills 61 people with 15 missing and caused $4.95 billion (2019 USD) in damage.
August 2–14 – Typhoon Lekima, also known as Typhoon Hanna, kills 105 people and caused $9.28 billion (2019 USD) in damage across the Caroline Islands, East China, the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Typhoon Lekima was the second-costliest typhoon in Chinese history.
August 8–29 – Severe Floods in Kerala, India kills 121 people.
August 24 – September 7: Hurricane Dorian kills 84 people with 245 missing and caused $5.1 billion (2019 USD) in damage across the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas (especially the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama), the Eastern United States (especially Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina), and Eastern Canada. Hurricane Dorian became the strongest hurricane on record to hit The Bahamas.
August 29 – An EF2 tornado in China kills eight people and injured two others.
August 29 – September 12 – Typhoon Faxai, known in Japan as Reiwa 1 Bōsō Peninsula Typhoon, kills three people and caused $10 billion (2019 USD) in damage across Wake Island and Japan.
August 31 – September 8 – Typhoon Lingling kills eight people and caused $236 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Russia.
September
September 3–5 – Tropical Storm Fernand kills one person and caused $11.3 million (2019 USD) in damage across Northern Mexico and South Texas.
September 13–20 – Hurricane Humberto kills two people and caused over $25 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Bahamas, the East Coast of the United States, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and Atlantic Canada.
September 17–19 – Tropical Storm Imelda kills seven people and caused $5 billion (2019 USD) in damage across Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Tropical Storm Imelda was the fourth-wettest tropical cyclone on record in the U.S. state of Texas.
September 22–27 – Tropical Storm Karen caused $3.53 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Windward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
September 23 – October 7 – Hurricane Lorenzo, also known as Storm Lorenzo, kills 20 people and caused $367 million (2019 USD) in damage across West Africa, Cape Verde, the Lesser Antilles, the Eastern United States, Azores, the British Isles, France, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Hurricane Lorenzo was the easternmost Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record.
September 25–28 – The 2019 Pune Flood kills 22 people and caused damage across Pune, India.
September 27 – October 5 – Typhoon Mitag, also known as Typhoon Onyok, kills 17 people and caused $816 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, East China (particularly Zhoushan), and South Korea.
September 29 – October 1 – Tropical Storm Narda kills six people and caused $15.2 million (2019 USD) in damage across Western Mexico, the Baja California Peninsula, and the Southwestern United States.
October
October 1–3 – A rare, record breaking October heatwave hits the Eastern US. Some places, like Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi, soar above for the first time in October. Several other locations in the Southeast tied or set monthly record highs on 3 consecutive days. Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Delaware, Tennessee, Maryland and Washington DC break their monthly record high for October, which was also tied in New Jersey, New York and Kentucky. The hottest state was Alabama, which hit . The Northeast's cooldown was more abrupt then the Southeast, as by October 3, temperatures in LaGuardia Airport dropped from (where the state monthly high was tied), down to . Raleigh saw their hottest temperature of the year and their latest in season temperatures above .
October 4–22 – Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Reiwa 1 East Japan Typhoon, kills 98 people with 7 missing and caused $15 billion (2019 USD) in damage across the Mariana Islands, Japan, Russia, Alaska. Typhoon Hagibis became the costliest Pacific typhoon in recorded history (when unadjusted for inflation), the strongest typhoon to strike mainland Japan in decades, the deadliest typhoon to strike Japan since 1979, and one of the largest typhoons ever recorded, with a peak gale-force diameter of 825 nautical miles.
October 18–21 – Tropical Storm Nestor kills three people and caused $150 million (2019 USD) in damage across Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Southeastern United States.
October 20–22 – A tornado outbreak in the South Central and Southeastern United States caused $2 billion (2019 USD) in damage from 36 tornadoes.
October 20 – An EF 3 tornado in Texas during the Tornado outbreak of October 20–22 caused $1.55 billion (2019 USD) in damage across its 15.76 mi (25.36 km) path, making this the costliest tornado event in Texas history.
October 25–26 – According to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, a heavy massive rain, following flash flood hit in around Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, A Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report, 13 persons died and 13 persons were injured,
October 25–27 – Tropical Storm Olga kills two people and caused $400 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Central United States and the Great Lakes region.
October 25–29 – Hurricane Pablo caused damage across the British Isles, Portugal (Azores, Madeira), and France and became the farthest east-forming hurricane in the North Atlantic tropical cyclone basin on record.
October 28 – November 11 – Tropical Storm Matmo and Cyclone Bulbul kill 43 people and caused a combined damage total of $3.54 billion (2019 USD) across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Eastern India, and Bangladesh. Cyclone Bulbul is only the second storm to make landfall on Bangladesh as a Category 1 hurricane-equivalent cyclone, the first being another Cyclone in October 1960.
November
November 4–11 – Typhoon Nakri kills six people and caused $35.6 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Philippines and Vietnam.
November 12 – A tornado in South Africa kills two people and injured several more.
November 24 – December 6 – Typhoon Kammuri, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Tisoy, kills 17 people and caused $116 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Caroline Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Philippines.
November 26–27 An EF2 tornado in Louisiana kills one person.
November 26 – December 3 – A winter storm causes 8 deaths.
December
December 2–14 – Cyclone Belna kills nine people and caused over $25 million (2019 USD) in damage across Seychelles, Mayotte, Comoros, and Madagascar.
December 16–17 – A tornado outbreak across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia kills four people (3 tornadic and 1 non-tornadic) and injured more than 14 others from 40 tornadoes.
December 18 - During an extreme heatwave, Australia recorded its hottest ever day, with the national average temperature reaching . This broke the record set only a day prior, when the average temperature reached .
December 19–29 – Typhoon Phanfone, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ursula kills 50 people with 55 missing and caused $67.2 million (2019 USD) in damage across the Caroline Islands and the Philippines.
December 19 – A snow squall on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania caused 2 deaths. The same snow squall forced Interstate 390 to close as well.
December 23, 2019 – January 2, 2020 – Cyclone Sarai kills two people and caused $2.3 million (2019 USD) in damage across Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Niue, and the Cook Islands.
See also
Weather of 2020
References
Weather by year
2019 meteorology
2019-related lists | Weather of 2019 | [
"Physics"
] | 4,691 | [
"Weather",
"Physical phenomena",
"Weather by year"
] |
69,406,398 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pafolacianine | Pafolacianine, sold under the brand name Cytalux, is an optical imaging agent used in fluorescence-guided surgery. Pafolacianine is a fluorescent medication that binds to folate receptor (FR)-expressing cells.
The most common side effects of pafolacianine include infusion-related reactions, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, flushing, dyspepsia, chest discomfort, itching and hypersensitivity.
It was approved for medical use in the United States in November 2021. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers it to be a first-in-class medication.
Medical uses
Pafolacianine is indicated as an adjunct for intraoperative identification of malignant lesions in people with ovarian cancer. It is also indicated to assist identifying lung cancer lesions in adults with known or suspected lung cancer.
History
Scientists from Purdue University designed and developed OTL38 and licensed it to On Target Laboratories in 2013. The safety and effectiveness of pafolacianine was evaluated in a randomized, multi-center, open-label study of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer or with high clinical suspicion of ovarian cancer who were scheduled to undergo surgery. Of the 134 women (ages 33 to 81 years) who received a dose of pafolacianine and were evaluated under both normal and fluorescent light during surgery, 26.9% had at least one cancerous lesion detected that was not observed by standard visual or tactile inspection.
The safety and effectiveness of pafolacianine was evaluated in a randomized, multicenter, open-label study (NCT04241315) of participants with known or suspected lung cancer who were scheduled to undergo surgery. Of the 110 participants who received a dose of pafolacianine and were evaluated under both normal and fluorescent light during surgery, 24% had at least one cancerous lesion detected that was not observed by standard visual or tactile inspection.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the application for pafolacianine orphan drug, priority review, and fast track designations. The FDA granted the approval of Cytalux to On Target Laboratories, LLC.
Figures
References
External links
Optical imaging
Orphan drugs
Ovarian cancer
Carboxylic acids
Sulfonic acids
Sulfonates
Pteridines | Pafolacianine | [
"Chemistry"
] | 486 | [
"Carboxylic acids",
"Functional groups",
"Sulfonic acids"
] |
69,407,151 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineering%20information%20management | Engineering information management (EIM) is the business function within product development and specifically systems engineering that allows engineers to collaborate on a single source of truth of engineering data.
Contrary to product data management (PDM) and product lifecycle management (PLM), its main purpose is not storage of CAD-related drawings and files, but rather the full execution of the V-model for hardware development, complementing and integrating to the above mentioned systems.
Scope
EIM systems enable collaboration on all important aspects of the engineering lifecycle, such as:
Requirements management
Functional design
Product architecture
Detailed systems design and simulation
Verification and validation
Documentation
EIM systems implement the activities on both sides of the engineering V-model. Instead of being purely a data storage, it focuses also on the human interaction with the models and data, thus enabling concurrent engineering.
EIM therefore enables the optimization of products and engineering processes, where traditional methodologies have become ineffective in keeping up with rising product and process complexity.
Interactions with the other engineering management systems
EIM systems do directly and indirectly interact with other tools in the engineering information infrastructure, such as:
Computer simulation tools
Automated hardware testing tools
Product lifecycle and product data management systems
Enterprise resource planning tools
Manufacturing execution systems
Computer-aided design (MCAD) and electronic design automation (ECAD) tools
References
Product development
Systems engineering
Information management | Engineering information management | [
"Technology",
"Engineering"
] | 270 | [
"Systems engineering",
"Information systems",
"Information management"
] |
69,407,761 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Said%20Adrus | Said Adrus (born 1958) is an Ugandan-born British multidisciplinary artist. Adrus has lived in the UK, Switzerland, and other countries in Europe.
Biography
Adrus was born to Gujarati Muslim parents in 1958 in Kampala, Uganda, in what was at the time known as ‘British East Africa’. His family moved there being part of the British colonial project of moving South Asian people to East Africa to build railways. They then moved to Switzerland, where they still live. Adrus then moved to Britain, due to Idi Amin expelling the descendants of Gujarati indentured labourers, many of whom moved to the UK.
Adrus has a BA(Hons) in Fine Art awarded by the Nottingham Trent Polytechnic. He is a polyglot, speaking German, French, Hindi, Gujarati and English.
During the 1980s, his imagery has been described as computer paintings on canvas. He later turned to mixed media and multi-media ways of working, experimenting with the moving image and screen projection. Since 2015, he's been combining his digital media work with various materials that allude to his voyage from African and Asian coastlines to the Western hemisphere, describing migration and emigration in the modern setting.
He references Andy Warhol as an influence to his collage work, comparing Warhol's parodying of Western art conventions to his pushing of the boundaries of painting while keeping its elements.
Works
Group exhibitions
1985: Eastern Views: Works by Young Asian Artists from the Midlands
1985: Three Asian Artists
1988: Black Art: Plotting the Course
1988: Paintings by Said Adrus - Ceramics by Louise Block, Horizon Gallery, London.
1990: In Focus
1990: In Sight, in View
1990: "Let the Canvas Come to Life with Dark Faces”
1991: History and Identity: Seven Painters
1992: Black People and the British Flag
1992: Crossing Black Waters
1993: Transition of Riches
2008: Next We Change Earth
2011: Recreating the Archive
Reviews, articles, and texts
1990: ‘It Ain’t Ethnic’, Black Arts in London, no. 128, (1–30 September), 5.
Talks and events
2016: Straight Outta Gyri
References
1958 births
Living people
Alumni of Nottingham Trent University
People from Kampala
Multimedia artists
Ugandan artists
British people of Ugandan descent | Said Adrus | [
"Technology"
] | 469 | [
"Multimedia",
"Multimedia artists"
] |
69,408,284 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael%20Laufer | Michael Swan Laufer (sometimes styled as Mixæl Laufer) is the de facto leader of the open-source anarchist biohacking network, Four Thieves Vinegar Collective. Laufer is notable for creating the EpiPencil, an open source alternative to the Epipen.
Education
Laufer has a Ph.D. in mathematics and physics from the CUNY Graduate Centre.
Career
Laufer is the director of mathematics at Silicon Valley's Menlo College, and a part time teacher of mathematics at San Quentin State Prison, California. Laufer is also a Senior Research Fellow at the UNESCO Crossings Institute.
In 2008 Laufer went to El Salvador where he saw hospitals that had run out of birth control medicine, he founded the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective shortly afterwards.
Laufer publicly shared videos in 2016 that illustrated how to manufacture generic version of the Epi-Pen epinephrine auto-injector from components readily available to the public.
Laufer is working on a DIY controlled lab reactor that he calls the Apothecary MicroLab that will allow people to manufacture their own pharmaceuticals at home. The first version is able to manufacture pyrimethamine, the same drug that in 2016 increased in price in USA from $13 to $750 in 2019. Laufer's work is both about access to medicine and about the right to personal autonomy and information, seeking to undo a trend that has put healthcare decision-making in the control of financially motivated private actors. Laufer believes that providing lifesaving medication to those in need justifies violation of intellectual property rights. He wants to find simple ways to produce emergency contraceptives and common medications for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
In 2019 Laufer co-created a mesh-network sub-dermal implant that costs less than US$50, allowing humans to internally carry wireless routers. Soon after, he had one implanted in himself.
See also
Jo Zayner
Open Source Medical Supplies
References
Living people
Hackers
Open source advocates
Open source people
Menlo College
San Quentin State Prison
Intellectual property activism
Citizen science
Do it yourself
21st-century American people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American anarchists | Michael Laufer | [
"Technology"
] | 441 | [
"Lists of people in STEM fields",
"Hackers"
] |
69,409,543 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric%20Franklin%20Wood | Eric Franklin Wood (1947 – 3 November 2021) was a Canadian-American hydrologist.
Wood was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1947. He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of British Columbia in 1970, and completed a doctor of science degree in the subject at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974. He joined the Princeton University faculty in 1976, was later named Susan Dod Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and retired in 2019 with emeritus status. He was a fellow and 2010 awardee of the American Meteorological Society's Jule G. Charney Award. The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering also granted Wood fellowship in 2010. Wood was selected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2013, received the European Geosciences Union's in 2014, elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2015, "[f]or development of land surface models and use of remote sensing for hydrologic modeling and prediction," and elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017. The American Geophysical Union awarded fellowship, and in 2017, the Robert E. Horton Medal to Wood.
Wood died of cancer on 3 November 2021.
References
1947 births
2021 deaths
Canadian hydrologists
American hydrologists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Scientists from Vancouver
Princeton University faculty
University of British Columbia alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
20th-century American engineers
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
21st-century American engineers
20th-century Canadian engineers
21st-century Canadian engineers
Canadian civil engineers
American civil engineers
Environmental engineers
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellows of the American Geophysical Union
Fellows of the American Meteorological Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
Deaths from cancer in New Jersey | Eric Franklin Wood | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering"
] | 362 | [
"Environmental engineers",
"Environmental engineering"
] |
69,410,668 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian%20Airlines%20Flight%20403 | Indian Airlines Flight 403 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad to Bangalore. On 17 December 1978, the Boeing 737-2A8 crashed during takeoff, killing one passenger and causing three additional ground casualties.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-2A8 with serial number 20485 and construction number 277, registered as VT-EAL. The plane was seven years and ten months old at the time of the crash. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A turbojet engines.
Accident
During takeoff from Runway 09 at Begumpet Airport, the aircraft entered a stall. The flight crew aborted the takeoff and attempted a wheels-up landing. The aircraft skidded , overshooting the runway and breaking the airport's perimeter fence before coming to a stop in flames. One passenger was killed, along with three more people who were cutting grass near the airport fence at the time of the accident.
Investigation
Investigators determined that the leading edge devices were not extended during rotation due to a technical fault.
See also
China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119
References
History of Telangana
Transport in Telangana
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1978
Aviation accidents and incidents in India
Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Original
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure | Indian Airlines Flight 403 | [
"Materials_science"
] | 257 | [
"Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure",
"Mechanical failure"
] |
69,410,709 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain%20worship | is a faith that regards mountains as sacred objects of worship.
Overview
Mountain worship, as a form of nature worship, is thought to have evolved from the reverence that ethnic groups closely associated with mountains have for mountainous terrain and the natural environment that accompanies it. In mountain worship, there is a belief in the spiritual power of mountainous areas and a form of using the overwhelming feeling of the mountains to govern one's life.
These faiths are mainly found in the cultures of inland mountainous regions, where mountains with inhospitable, rugged terrain are essential for their development.
In areas with such beliefs, people depend on the river flowing from the mountains and the forest spreading at the foot of the mountains for all their food, clothing, and shelter, and are constantly being blessed by the mountains they see. On the other hand, the people who hold these beliefs are in an environment where even the slightest carelessness in the rugged terrain and natural environment can lead to the loss of life. It is thought to be passed on as knowledge for one's own safety.
Mountain worship by area
In Japan
In Japanese Ko-Shintō, due to the blessings obtained from water sources, hunting grounds, mines, forests, and awe and reverence for the majestic appearance of volcanos and mountains, these geographic feature are believed to be where the God resides or descends, and are sometimes called Iwakura or Iwasaka, the edge of the everlasting world (the land of the gods or divine realm). There is also the idea of , in which the Soul (Ancestral Spirit) of the deceased returns to the mountains (others include and ). These traditions also remain in Shinto shrines, and there are some cases where the mountain itself is worshipped, such as Mount Ishizuchi, Suwa-taisha, and Mount Miwa. In rural areas, there is a belief that Yama-no-Kami descends to the village in Spring to become Ta-no-Kami, and returns to the mountain after the autumn harvest, in relation to being a divine water source.
In Buddhism, a high mountain called Mount Meru is believed to rise at the center of the world, and Kūkai founded Mount Kōya and Saichō founded Mount Hiei. Due to these beliefs, the reverence for mountains grew even deeper. This is the reason why Buddhist temples, even in the plains, have Sangōji.
In Vajrayana Buddhism, holy mountains are also objects of worship, but the faith is dedicated to the mountain itself, and climbing the mountain is often considered forbidden. In Japan, on the other hand, it is noteworthy that reaching the top of a mountain is considered important. Of course, the Japanese have faith in the mountain itself, but they also have a strong tendency to appreciate the God's Light that is worshipped early in the morning, probably because they have faith in what lies beyond the top of the mountain (the other world). In Japan, Sun worship as Animism is connected with mountain worship.
Later, Shugenjas and Yamabushis, who were descended from Esoteric Buddhism and Taoism, went deep into the mountains to practice asceticism in order to disconnect from the mundane world and achieve Enlightenment. This later gave rise to Shugendō and spell-like religions.
Mountain gods are often linked to Sea gods in Japan. Examples including Konpira Gongen. The logic behind it is that mountains are often used for navigation in the sea, so mountain deities help sailors. There's a "Sea Shugendo" in which many mountain traditions are applied to the sea, notably centering around Oarai Isosaki Shrine.
Main forms
The main forms of mountain worship in Japan can be summarized as follows.
Belief in volcanoes: Mount Fuji, Mt. Aso, Mt. Chokai, and other volcanoes are believed to have gods because of the fear of volcanic eruptions. Chōkaisan Ōmonoimi Shrine is located on Mount Chokai for this reason.
Belief in the mountain as a source of water: Belief in mountains, such as Mt. Hakusan, which can be a source of water to enrich the surrounding area.
Belief in a mountain where the spirits of the dead are said to gather: In Japan, there are many mountains such as Osorezan, Tsukiyama, Tateyama, Kumano Sanzan, etc. where the spirits of the dead are believed to go after death, and these mountains are sometimes the object of worship.
Belief in mountains where divine spirits are said to be: In the Buzen Province, Mount Miwa is the inner shrine of Usa Jingū, Ōmiwa Shrine, and Mount Ōmine is said to have been founded by En no Gyōja. Mount Sobo, located on the border between Bungo Country and Hyūga Country, has had an upper shrine on the summit and eight lower shrines at the foot of the mountain since the middle of the 7th century, according to Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, Emperor Jimmu's grandmother, Toyotama-hime, who appears in the Yamayokohiko and Umiyokohiko myths, is also said to be of the Okami lineage.
The birth of Shugendō
It is worth mentioning that in Japan, mountain worship was combined with belief in ancient Shinto and Buddhism (especially esoteric Buddhist traditions such as Tendai-shu and Shingon-shu) to create a unique religion called "Shugendō". Shugendō is the practice of giving people the spiritual power of the mountains absorbed through ascetic practices, and is said to have been founded by Yaku Shokaku. Even today, ascetic monks (called Yamabushi or Shugenja) of the "Honzan" (Tendai sect) or "Tohzan" (Shingon sect) schools practice traditional Shugendō.
History
Mountain worship originally evolved from Animism of Nature worship, and took the form of Shinbutsu-shūgō until the end of the Edo period, when Shinbutsu-shūgō was banned by the Meiji Government. However, since the Separation of Buddhism and Shinto after the Meiji era, temples and shrines have been separated, including in the Three Mountains of Dewa where Shugen of the Shingon esoteric Buddhism type was originally established. Many of the main body of beliefs survived in the form of shrines.
While the mountains were the object of worship as the divine realm, they also developed as the other realm where the spirits of the dead gathered, and where offerings to ancestral spirits, such as Itako's Kuchiyose, were made. In addition, it is customary for people to climb mountains as a manifestation of their faith, and even today many people climb mountains, including those that are considered sacred sites.
In China
The most renowned mountains regarded as deities in China, called the Five Great Mountains (), are Tai Shan, Song Shan, Hua Shan, Heng Shan in Hunan and Heng Shan in Shanxi. The worship of these mountains is considered to have originally involved belief in the mountains themselves, but now it's related to the various gods of Taoism through its association with Pangu mythology and the Five Elements. One exception isMount Tai, which is a sacred place according to Taoism, but also retains different forms of mountain worship such as the Tai Temple and Shigandang.
Others
Other cultures concerned with mountain worship include:
Korean people, Yanbian Korean people
Chinese people
Tibetan people
Manchurian people
Yamato people
Vietnamese people
Nepal
Ladakh
Andean civilizations
Impact of tourism and modern mountaineering
Areas that respect mountain faith, such as Mount Everest and Uluru, have been affected by the advent of mountaineering, which has become easier with the development of transportation and the availability of tools and equipment, allowing people from all walks of life to enter the sacred terrains of the mountains for the purpose of tourism, sports or competition. This can impose a psychological as well as economic burden on residents of these areas. In some cases they expressed beliefs of fear of being punished because of violations to religious prohibitions involving their faith in the mountains, such as littering and climbing accidents due to overconfidence, and have held large-scale festivals to appease the mountains.
See also
Lords of the Three Mountains, Taoist deities representing three mountains in Southern China
Sansin, Korean mountain deities
Sacred mountains
Three Mountains of Dewa
References
Bibliography
Taro Wakamori, A Study of the History of Shugendō, Heibonsha [Toyo Bunko], 1972. . Kawade Shobo, 1943.
Miyake, Jun, Shugendō: Its History and Practice, Kodansha [Kodansha Academic Library], 2001. .
Miyake, Jun, Studies in Omine Shugendō, Kosei Shuppansha, 1988.
Jun Miyake, Shugendō and Japanese Religion, Shunjusha, 1995.
Jun Miyake (ed.), An Invitation to Mountain Shugen: Spiritual Mountains and the Experience of Asceticism, Shinjin-Oraisha, 2011, .
Gorai Shigeru, Religion in the Mountains, Awakosha, 1970.
Akihide Suzuki, Shugendō: A Collection of Historical and Ethnographic Essays, 3 volumes, Hozokan, 2003–2004.
Kesao Miyamoto, Tengu to Shugenja (Tengu and Shugenja), Jinbunshiin, 1989.
Yasuaki Togawa, A Study of Dewa Sanzan Shugendō, Kosei Shuppansha, 1973.
Haruki Kageyama, Shintai-zan (Mt. Shintai), Gakusei-sha (New edition), 2001 (1971) (in Japanese).
Satoru Nagano, A Historical-Geographical Study of Hidehiko-yama Shugendō, Meishu Shuppan, 1987.
Masataka Suzuki, Mountains, Gods and People: The World of Mountain Belief and Shugendō, Awakosha, 1991.
"Mountain Beliefs: Exploring the Roots of Japanese Culture," by Masataka Suzuki, Chuokoron Shinsha [Chuko Shinsho], 2015.
Masataka Suzuki, "Mountain Beliefs in Japan," Takarajimasya [Bessatsu Takarajima 2373], 2015.
Akihide Suzuki, Shugendō Historical and Ethnographic Review, 3 volumes, Hozokan, 2003–2004.
Iwashina Koichiro, "History of Fuji-kō," Meisho Shuppan, 1985.
"Studies in the History of Mountain Religions," 18 volumes, Meisho Shuppan, 1975–1984.
"History of Wazuka Town," Vol. 1.
External links
Definition of sangaku shinkō (mountain worship) at kotobank.jp (in Japanese)
日本山岳修験学会 – official website of the Association for the Study of Japanese Mountain Religion (in Japanese)
Shinto
Pages with unreviewed translations
Shinto cults
Shinbutsu shūgō
Religious practices
Japanese folk religion
Cultural anthropology | Mountain worship | [
"Biology"
] | 2,281 | [
"Behavior",
"Religious practices",
"Human behavior"
] |
69,412,864 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom%20simulating%20reflector | Bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) are, on seismic reflection profiles, shallow seismic reflection events, characterized by their reflection geometry similar to seafloor bathymetry.
. They have, however, the opposite reflection polarity to the seabed reflection, and frequently intersect the primary reflections.
Cause of Reflection
Seismic reflection is a sound wave bounced back from subsurface at the interface between media with different acoustic properties (density and wave velocity). In geology, the reflections normally occur at the contacts between different rocks, for example, between layers of sedimentary rocks (stratification). The acoustic properties of sedimentary rocks are influenced by their rock materials, pore space and fluid content. Reflections are generally parallel to sedimentary layering or bedding surfaces. Fluid content in pore space, however, sometimes becomes the dominant influence factor for the acoustic properties, therefore, reflections in such case, may not be parallel to bedding surfaces. BSRs are such a case of crossing bedding surfaces.
Drilling results show BSRs approximately marking the base of gas hydrated sediments below the seafloor and the reflection is primarily caused by the free gas contained in sediments below the gas hydrated section. Gas presence in sediments is well known for its drastically lowering the sediment acoustic impedance and hence, generates high amplitude reflection at the interface of gas bearing formation. Formation of gas hydrate in deep sea sediments depends on its ambient pressure and temperature, both which are largely influenced by the depth below seafloor. This is the primary reason for BSRs grossly parallel to the seafloor reflection on seismic profiles.
Formation and Occurrence
Gas hydrates are made of molecules of natural gas, mostly biogenic or thermogenic methane, contained in solid water molecule lattice. They are formed by combining methane with water under elevated pressures and at relatively low temperatures. Hence BSRs are widespread in arctic permafrost regions and in shallow sedimentary columns below seabed in deepwater continental margins
Application
Geological hazard studies
Identification of natural gas hydrate in deep sea sediments is crucial for offshore petroleum exploration. Without adequate equipment installed prior to drilling, blowout may occur if penetrating the gas hydrate sediments. Furthermore, presence of gas hydrates in marine sediments may alter sea floor stability, and induce submarine slumping.
Alternative energy resource
Although current production technology has not been proven to be commercially viable, gas hydrates’ global occurrence in deep sea sediments, have still been considered as a potential alternative energy resource. It should be pointed out that areal distribution of BSRs alone is not adequate to properly estimate the potential reserve, since other techniques are needed to address the thickness of sedimentary columns which contain the hydrates. In addition, seismic acquisition parameters and acoustic properties of sediments with free gas in pores may all influence acoustic impedance contrast, which inevitably affects the reflection amplitude. This would cause the uncertainty of the relationship between BSRs and the presence of gas hydrate.
Climatic impact
Because gas hydrates are only stable in a range of low temperatures and moderate pressures, atmospheric and ocean warming may trigger the hydrates instability and release significant amounts of methane from both permafrost and marine sediments. This could aggravate the greenhouse effect on the earth climate.
References
Geophysics | Bottom simulating reflector | [
"Physics"
] | 648 | [
"Applied and interdisciplinary physics",
"Geophysics"
] |
69,415,263 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Hydroxybenzylamine | 2-Hydroxybenzylamine (2-HOBA, marketed as Hobamine) is a natural product found in Himalayan tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum). It acts as an antioxidant and scavanger of free radicals and isolevuglandins and is sold as a dietary supplement.
References
2-Hydroxyphenyl compounds | 2-Hydroxybenzylamine | [
"Chemistry"
] | 82 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
69,415,639 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ-Soma%20Differentiation | Germ-Soma Differentiation is the process by which organisms develop distinct germline and somatic cells. The development of cell differentiation has been one of the critical aspects of the evolution of multicellularity and sexual reproduction in organisms. Multicellularity has evolved upwards of 25 times, and due to this there is great possibility that multiple factors have shaped the differentiation of cells. There are three general types of cells: germ cells, somatic cells, and stem cells. Germ cells lead to the production of gametes, while somatic cells perform all other functions within the body. Within the broad category of somatic cells, there is further specialization as cells become specified to certain tissues and functions. In addition, stem cell are undifferentiated cells which can develop into a specialized cell and are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. Due to the differentiation in function, somatic cells are found only in multicellular organisms, as in unicellular ones the purposes of somatic and germ cells are consolidated in one cell.
All organisms with germ-soma differentiation are eukaryotic, and represent an added level of specialization to multicellular organisms. Pure germ-soma differentiation has developed in a select number of eukaryotes (called Weismannists), included in this category are vertebrates and arthropods- however land plants, green algae, red algae, brown algae, and fungi have partial differentiation. While a significant portion of organisms with germ-soma differentiation are asexual, this distinction has been imperative in the development of sexual reproduction; the specialization of certain cells into germ cells is fundamental for meiosis and recombination.
Weismann barrier
The strict division between somatic and germ cells is called the Weismann barrier, in which genetic information passed onto offspring is found only in germ cells. This occurs only in select organisms, however some without a Weismann barrier do present germ-soma differentiation. These organisms include land plants, many algaes, invertebrates, and fungi whose germ cells are derived from prior somatic cells as opposed to stem cells. The Weismann barrier is essential to the concept of an immortal germline, which passes down genetic information through designated germ cells.
Organisms with germ-soma differentiation but no Weismann barrier often reproduce through somatic embryogenesis.
Benefits and Detriments of Differentiation
There is no single widely accepted theory on the origins of somatic-germline differentiation, however of those that do exist many are based on the evolutionary advantage of differentiated multicellularity which has allowed it to survive. These theories include the development of colonial organization structures in which the division of labor between cells allowed for improvements in fitness.
The division of labor within multicellular organisms can offer significant advantages over unicellular counterparts. Division can allow organisms to become larger, or interact with the environments (and thus fill different niches) that increase fitness. In addition to internal benefits, there is evidence that these also improve defenses against predation. On the other hand, multicellularity comes with increased energy use devoted to maintaining homeostasis instead of to reproduction.
Dirty Work Hypothesis
One major theory as to the proliferation of organisms with cell differentiation is the dirty work hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that when an organism has differentiated cells, somatic cells are able to devote energy solely to maintaining homeostasis instead of reproduction while germ cells do the opposite. One reason proposed for the relative success of the "dirty work" system of organization is that it helps manage the detrimental effects of metabolic activity, and allow for more efficient energy distribution throughout an organism. The other major reason proposed is that it prevents metabolic activity within the cell from damaging genetic material. Said activity in mitochondria and chloroplasts creates mutagenic byproducts, so in organisms with differentiation where germ cells do not engage in metabolic activity the germline is not impacted.
Uncertainty
Due to the nature of research around the origin of life and multicellularity, it has been difficult to obtain a case study that is optimal for observing somatic-germline differentiation. One case that has been extensively studied is that of organisms in the Volvocacaeae family. Within volvocavea, there is much diversity in organizational structure, with some organisms being unicellular, colonial, or (arguably) multicellular. Within volvocine algae three genes have been identified as crucial to the development of soma cells which regulate coding for asymmetric division of cells, preventing reproductive development of soma cells, and preventing the development of somatic characteristics in germ cells (such as those meant for mobility or metabolic activity).
References
Cellular processes | Germ-Soma Differentiation | [
"Biology"
] | 968 | [
"Cellular processes"
] |
69,415,675 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm%20Tina%20%28well%29 | Umm Tina (), also called Biʾir al-ʿUmrānī (), was among the most crucial and ancient wells in the former Migrin neighborhood of present-day Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was called Umm Tina because a huge fig-tree standing next to it. It was frequently mentioned in several poems and historical documents from 18th and 19th centuries.
References
Water wells
Buildings and structures in Riyadh
Geography of Riyadh
Water supply and sanitation in Saudi Arabia | Umm Tina (well) | [
"Chemistry",
"Engineering",
"Environmental_science"
] | 99 | [
"Hydrology",
"Water wells",
"Environmental engineering"
] |
69,416,170 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friederike%20Mengel | Friederike Mengel (born March 27, 1979) is a German economist who is a Professor of economics at the University of Essex.
Education and career
Friederike Mengel earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Mainz in 2003, followed by a PhD in economics from the University of Alicante in 2008, under the supervision of Fernando Vega Redondo. After her PhD, she joined Maastricht University where she was an Assistant Professor from 2008 to 2011 and an Associate Professor from 2011 to 2013. After a period at the University of Nottingham, she joined the University of Essex in 2012 where she has been a Professor since 2015. In 2019 she received the Philipp Leverhulme Prize in Economics.
Research
Mengel's research areas are (evolutionary) game theory, learning, behavioral economics, social networks and experimental economics. She developed a theory of learning across games, where agents might partition a set of all games into categories. Learning across games can destabilize strict Nash equilibria even for arbitrarily small reasoning costs and even if players distinguish all the games at the stable point. The model is also able to explain a number of experimental findings.
Mengel has also done work on social identity and on how people learn in social networks. Her work uncovered that people pay attention to others network position when learning, but only partially and they do not update in a Bayesian way. Their work with J. Kovarik and J. Romero was awarded the Best Paper Award by the Econometric Society in 2019.
Selected publications
References
1979 births
Living people
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni
University of Alicante alumni
Academic staff of Maastricht University
Academics of the University of Essex
German women economists
Game theorists | Friederike Mengel | [
"Mathematics"
] | 353 | [
"Game theorists",
"Game theory"
] |
69,416,798 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakub%20Haberfeld | Jakub Haberfeld (original spelling: Jakób Haberfeld or Jakob Haberfeld) – one of the oldest Polish alcohol factiories, founded in 1804 in Oświęcim producing vodka and liqueurs. The company was reactivated in June 2019.
History
The Haberfeld family settled in Oświęcim in the second half of the XVIIIth century. Jakub, son of Simon and Jacheta, founded in 1804 the Factory of Vodka and Liqueurs. After his death, the business was inherited by his son, also Jakub (1839–1904). In 1906 Emil Haberfeld became the new owner. The Haberfelds were a progressive Jewish family who were involved in social life; many served on the town council and participated in charity initiatives.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the factory poured beer for the Jan Götz brewery in Okocim. From around 1906 until the end of the interwar period, it partnered with the Żywiec Brewery. At the beginning of the 20th century, the factory expanded and obtained new buildings, including spaces in the Oświęcim castle bought by the family from the city, chiefly warehouses.
In August 1939, Alfons Haberfeld and his wife Felicja participated in the 1939 New York World's Fair, presenting their products at the Polish pavilion. On the way back, at the outbreak of World War II, the ship was stopped and directed to Scotland, preventing them from returning to German-occupied Poland. Their five years old daughter Franciszka Henryka and her grandmother were murdered 1942 by the Germans in the death camp Bełżec (https://auschwitz.net/en/stolen-lives-in-auschwitz-the-haberfelds/). Alfons and Felicja returned to the USA. In 1952, along with other Holocaust survivors, they founded an organization in Los Angeles called Club 1939. They both died in Los Angeles, Alfons in 1970, and Felicja in 2010.
After the end of hostilities in 1945, the house and factory buildings were taken over by the State Treasury. In the years 1945–1947 the factory was called "Jakub Haberfeld's Factory under state administration", and after 1947 it had been called “Oświęcimskie Zakłady Przemysłu Terenowego", " Non-alcoholic Beverage Factory and Beer Bottling Plant in Oświęcim ". After 1989, the bottling plants were declared bankrupt, and the remaining factory property was plundered. In 1992, a bricked-up cellar was discovered containing several thousand bottles ready for production.
By decision of September 25, 1995. the factory complex and the Haberfeld family house was entered in the register of monuments of the Bielsko Province. By 2003, the factory buildings and the Haberfeld family home, displaced and not renovated, fell into ruin. In 2003, it was decided to demolish the tenement house and the factory.
Production
The drinks were made on the basis of natural juices. They were produced and stored in the cellars of the "Monopol" restaurant, which was located in the family house next to the factory premises. The drinks were poured into characteristic, brand and porcelain glass bottles, made to order. For the orangeade and soda water bottles, porcelain stoppers were used. All products of the factory had original labels, which were produced, among others, in Bielsko and in Opava. The factory produced several dozen types of vodkas and liqueurs in several hundred varieties. The specialties of the factory were "Magister", "Basztówka" and "Zgoda".
During World War I, the factory produced vodka for the Austrian army, which was part of the soldier's equipment. This drink was called "Kaizerschutze" (Imperial Gunner). The factory also had a warehouse and sales of products in Kęty, run by Mr. Hoffmann, and a warehouse in Krakow. Haberfeld also had many salesmen who advertised his products. For example, in Silesia it was Franciszek Kehl
According to the industry questionnaire submitted by the owners in 1934, the factory was called "Vodka and liqueur factory and fruit juice press", it was a general partnership. The average wage of a manual worker was 750 zloty, and office worker - 2000 zloty.
The factory, apart from selling products locally, also exported them to Italy, Austria, Germany and Hungary. Haberfeld also exhibited his products at various foreign exhibitions, where he was awarded with diplomas and medals.
During the German occupation, the factory was taken over by the occupant, and a German named Handelmann became a receivership (so-called treuhänder). The Germans then used the following labels: "Haberfeld unter Verwaltung Treuhändler", and production during this period was continued on a smaller scale. All the factory property and the family house remained intact and survived the period of the Nazi occupation.
Vodka Museum
On June 30, 2019, on the premises of the former Jacob Haberfeld Vodka and Liqueur Factory, the Vodka Museum was opened, commemorating the achievements of this family from Oświęcim, their contribution to the development of the liquor industry both in the region and in the country. The museum shows the history of a family that not only became famous in the world as a significant brand of vodkas and liqueurs, but also outstanding figures for the city. Few people know that Alfons Haberfeld was the only Oświęcim shareholder of the first Polish car factory "Oświęcim-Praga", which was used by such celebrities as Jan Kiepura or Wojciech Kossak. The Jakob Haberfeld brand was also resumed with the introduction of six kosher vodkas and liqueurs, which are made in cooperation with the production plant of the Nissenbaum Family Foundation in Bielsko-Biała.
The exhibition is also a story about the fate of one of the two most influential Jewish families in Oświęcim. The fate was dramatically interrupted by the outbreak of World War II and the murder of 5-year-old Franciszka Henryka Haberfeld in the death camp in Bełżec.
References
External links
Jakob Haberfeld Story Vodka Museum&Music Pub
The Haberfeld mansion at www.oszpicin.pl
Oświęcim
Distilleries
Companies based in Lesser Poland Voivodeship | Jakub Haberfeld | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,350 | [
"Distilleries",
"Distillation"
] |
73,851,158 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD%2027563 | HD 27563, also known by the Bayer designation d Eridani, is a single star in Eridanus, in the direction of the Orion–Eridanus Superbubble, that is faintly visible to the naked eye at a magnitude of about 5.84. classifies this star as spectral type B5III, but catalog it as B7II.
It was used as a comparison star for 46 Eridani in four separate runs at La Silla Observatory in the 1970s and 1980s, but in 1989, both stars were found to be variable with similar periods of about four days, and HD 27563 assigned the designation EM Eridani. Despite the lack of reliable comparisons for EM Eridani, it was found that the power spectrum of its light curve is remarkably noisy, with two or four prominent oscillation periods centered around , and is classified as a slowly pulsating B-type star.
References
Eridanus (constellation)
Eridani, d
Eridani, 210
B-type giants
B-type bright giants
Slowly pulsating B-type stars
020271
027563
1363
BD–07 798
Eridani, EM
J04204283−0735329 | HD 27563 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 257 | [
"Eridanus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
73,851,380 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic%20admittance | Acoustic admittance is the measure of the flow of acoustic energy. It is measured in cubic meters per second (), per pascal (). By nature, acoustic impedance is the reciprocal of acoustic admittance. Immittance is a concept which combines both acoustic admittance and acoustic impedance.
Acoustic admittance is widely used in bioacoustics where immittance is indispensable for its ability to assist with differential diagnosis of middle ear disease using tympanometry. Acoustic admittance also has applications in construction and engineering, and has been utilized to research and develop an open-cell polyurethane foam that had mean pore sizes of 0.01 - 0.08 cm and a fibrous structure.
References
Sound
Hearing
Waves
Acoustics | Acoustic admittance | [
"Physics"
] | 156 | [
"Physical phenomena",
"Classical mechanics",
"Acoustics",
"Waves",
"Motion (physics)"
] |
73,851,558 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lov%C3%A1sz%E2%80%93Woodall%20conjecture | In graph theory, the Lovász–Woodall conjecture is a long-standing problem on cycles in graphs. It says:
If is a -connected graph and is a set of independent edges in , then has a cycle containing , unless is odd and is an edge cut.
It was proposed independently by László Lovász in 1974 and by D. R. Woodall in 1977.
Background and motivation
Many results in graph theory, starting with Menger's theorem, guarantee the existence of paths or cycles in a -connected graph. For 2-connected graphs, Menger's theorem is equivalent to the statement that any two vertices lie on a common cycle. A theorem of G. A. Dirac generalizes this claim: if a graph is -connected for , then for every set of vertices in the graph there is a cycle that passes through all the vertices in the set.
Another corollary of Menger's theorem is that in 2-connected graphs, any two edges lie on a common cycle. The proof, however, does not generalize to the corresponding statement for edges in a -connected graph; rather, Menger's theorem can be used to show that in a -connected graph, given any 2 edges and vertices, there is a cycle passing through all of them.
There is one obstacle to the stronger claim that in a -connected graph , given any set of edges, there should be a cycle containing . Suppose that the edges in form an edge cut: the vertices of can be separated into two sets and such that the edges in all join a vertex in to a vertex in , and are the only edges to do so. Then any cycle in can only use an even number of edges of : it must cross from to and from back to an equal number of times. If is odd, this means that no cycle can contain all of .
The Lovász–Woodall conjecture states that this is the only obstacle: given any set of edges, there is a cycle containing , except in the case that is odd and is an edge cut.
Woodall proposed the conjecture as one of several possible statements that would imply a conjecture made by Claude Berge: given a -connected graph with independence number , and any subgraph of with at most edges whose components are all paths, has a Hamiltonian cycle containing . In 1982, Roland Häggkvist and Carsten Thomassen proved Berge's conjecture by proving one of the weaker statements proposed by Woodall.
Partial results
As mentioned above, the case of the Lovász–Woodall conjecture follows from Menger's theorem. The case was given as an exercise by Lovász. After the conjecture was made, it was proven for by Péter L. Erdős and E. Győri and independently by Michael V. Lomonosov., and for by Daniel P. Sanders.
Other partial progress toward the conjecture has included versions of the result with a stronger assumption on connectivity. Woodall's paper included a proof that the conclusion of the conjecture holds if is -connected, and in 1977, Thomassen proved that the conjecture holds if is -connected. In 1982, Häggkvist and Thomassen proved that the conjecture holds if is -connected.
In 2002, Ken-ichi Kawarabayashi proved that under the hypotheses of the conjecture, is either contained in a cycle of or in two disjoint cycles.
Current status
In two publications in 2002 and 2008, Kawarabayashi claimed to have a proof on the conjecture, giving an outline for the proof and leaving several steps to future publications, but the full proof has not been published since.
References
Conjectures
Unsolved problems in graph theory | Lovász–Woodall conjecture | [
"Mathematics"
] | 757 | [
"Unsolved problems in mathematics",
"Mathematical problems",
"Conjectures",
"Unsolved problems in graph theory"
] |
73,851,674 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome%20scaffold | In biology, the chromosome scaffold is the backbone that supports the structure of the chromosomes. It is composed of a group of non-histone proteins that are essential in the structure and maintenance of eukaryotic chromosomes throughout the cell cycle. These scaffold proteins are responsible for the condensation of chromatin during mitosis.
Origin
In the late 1970s, Ulrich K. Laemmli and colleagues discovered a backbone structure in eukaryotic chromosomes after they depleted the histone proteins. This backbone was localized along the chromosome axis, and was termed the ‘chromosome scaffold’.
Proteins of the scaffold
In eukaryotic organisms, the DNA of each cell is organized into separated chromosomes, which are composed of chromatin, a mixture of DNA and many different groups of proteins. Among them, the structural proteins (that are not histones) bind the chromatin fiber around themselves forming a long, continuous axis or backbone that gives the chromosomes their shape. For this reason they are known as the ‘scaffold’ of chromosomes.
Three protein groups have been identified as the main components of the scaffold: DNA topoisomerase IIα, condensins, and the KIF4A kinesin. When these proteins are removed, the chromosome shape does not appear and the chromatin fibers spread out.
Topoisomerase IIα
The enzyme DNA topoisomerase IIα prominently appears along the chromosome axis as part of the scaffold. In mitosis, it is concentrated at the centromeres and the axis along the chromosome arms. It is thought that the protein has a role in untangling the DNA as the loops become more concentrated along the axis during the condensation of the chromosomes. The removal of this protein causes a dramatic loss of the chromosome structure in mitosis, and the cell cycle comes to a stop.
SMC family proteins
Condensin complexes, formed from the union of SMC2 and SMC4 (among other proteins), are responsible for the condensation of chromosomes. Condensin I regulates the timing of chromosome condensation and is essential for changing the chromatin organization at the beginning of mitosis, from TADs to an array of loops around the chromosome axis. Condensin II drives the compaction of the chromosome loops along the axis.
In particular, SMC2 (present in condensin I and II) is detected in the interior of the chromosome as part of the scaffold. When SMC2 is inhibited, the structure of the mitotic chromosome suffers grave defects.
KIF4
KIF4A, a chromokinesin, is implicated in the shaping of chromosomes during mitosis. It binds to condensin I through the CAP-G subunit. It is known that KIF4A regulates the behavior of condensin I, because in absence of KIF4A the chromosome axis does not become enriched with condensin I.
References
Chromosomes
Cell biology | Chromosome scaffold | [
"Biology"
] | 615 | [
"Cell biology"
] |
73,852,586 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashish%20Vaswani | Ashish Vaswani (born 1986) is an Indian computer scientist. Since 2022, he has been co-founder and CEO of Essential AI. Previously, he worked as a research scientist at Google Brain and Information Sciences Institute.
Vaswani is best known for his pioneering contributions in the field of deep learning, most notably the development of the Transformer neural network. This breakthrough work fundamentally changed the landscape of artificial intelligence and laid the foundation for GPT, BERT, ChatGPT, and their successors.
Career
Vaswani completed his engineering in Computer Science from BIT Mesra in 2002. In 2004, he moved to the US to pursue higher studies at University of Southern California. He did his PhD at the University of Southern California under the supervision of Prof. David Chiang. He has worked as a researcher at Google, where he was part of the Google Brain team. He was a co-founder of Adept AI Labs but has since left the company.
Notable works
Vaswani's most notable work is the paper "Attention Is All You Need", published in 2017. The paper introduced the Transformer model, which eschews the use of recurrence in sequence-to-sequence tasks and relies entirely on self-attention mechanisms. The model has been instrumental in the development of several subsequent state-of-the-art models in NLP, including BERT, GPT-2, and GPT-3.
References
1986 births
Living people
Computer scientists
Year of birth missing (living people) | Ashish Vaswani | [
"Technology"
] | 307 | [
"Computer science",
"Computer scientists"
] |
73,853,292 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C6H4FNO2 | {{DISPLAYTITLE:C6H4FNO2}}
The molecular formula C6H4FNO2 may refer to:
2-Fluoronitrobenzene
3-Fluoronitrobenzene
4-Fluoronitrobenzene
See also
Fluoronitrobenzene | C6H4FNO2 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 67 | [
"Isomerism",
"Set index articles on molecular formulas"
] |
73,854,546 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selli%20Event | The Selli Event, also known as OAE1a, was an oceanic anoxic event (OAE) of global scale that occurred during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous, about 120.5 million years ago (Ma). The OAE is associated with large igneous province volcanism and an extinction event of marine organisms driven by global warming, ocean acidification, and anoxia.
Timing
The negative δ13C excursion representing the onset of OAE1a was rapid, taking only 22,000-47,000 years. The recovery of the global climate from the injection of large amounts of isotopically light carbon lasted for over a million years. The end of OAE1a is characterised by a positive δ13C excursion, which had a magnitude of +4 to +5%. The OAE lasted for about 1.1 to 1.3 Myr in total; one high-precision estimate put the length of OAE1a at 1.157 Myr.
Causes
Global warming
OAE1a ensued during a hot climatic interval, with the global average temperature being around 21.5 °C. The Tethys Ocean experienced an increase in humidity at the beginning of OAE1a, while conditions around the Boreal Ocean were initially dry and only humidified later on during the OAE.
The increase in global temperatures that caused OAE1a was most likely driven by large igneous province (LIP) volcanism. The negative δ13C excursion preceding the OAE, occurring in the C3 isotopic interval, is believed to reflect volcanic release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and its consequent warming of the Earth. Enrichments in unradiogenic osmium, which is primarily derived from alteration of oceanic crust by hydrothermal volcanism, further bolster volcanism as the driver of OAE1a. Multiple LIPs have been implicated as causes of the rapid global warming responsible for the onset of OAE1a, including the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP), the Kerguelen Plateau, and the Ontong Java Plateau. The rate of greenhouse gas emissions leading up to OAE1a was relatively slow, causing the anoxic event to only generate a minor extinction event, in contrast to the severe LIP-induced Capitanian, Permian-Triassic, and Triassic-Jurassic mass extinctions and the ongoing Holocene extinction caused in part by anthropogenic greenhouse gas release, each of which were or are characterised by a very high rate of carbon dioxide discharge. Despite a much smaller methane clathrate reservoir relative to the present day, the degassing of methane clathrate deposits may have nonetheless significantly exacerbated volcanic warming. Following OAE1a, δ18O values increased, indicating a drop in temperatures that coincided with a δ13Corg decline, which began in the C4 isotopic phase of the interval.
Enhanced phosphorus recycling
OAE1a coincided with a peak in a 5-6 Myr periodicity cycle in the accumulation of phosphorus in marine sediments. During such peaks, the short-term positive feedback loop of increased biological productivity caused by an abundance of phosphorus that caused decreased oxygenation of seawater that then caused increased regeneration of phosphorus from marine sediments dominated, but it was eventually mitigated by a long-term negative feedback loop caused by an increase in atmospheric oxygen that resulted in enhanced wildfire activity and diminished phosphorus input into the oceans. An increase in the ratios of organic carbon to reactive phosphorus species and of total nitrogen to reactive phosphorus confirms leakage of sedimentary phosphorus back into the water column occurred during OAE1a, with this process likely being accelerated by the increased global temperatures of the time.
Effects
Marine productivity increased. The productivity spike was likely driven by an increase in iron availability. Increased sulphate flux from volcanism caused an increase in hydrogen sulphide production, which in turn increased phosphorus availability in the water column by inhibiting its burial on the seafloor and enabled the development of anoxia.
The large-scale volcanic release of carbon dioxide caused a drop in the pH of seawater at the start of OAE1a, as much of this excess carbon dioxide was absorbed by the ocean and dissolved as carbonic acid. Seawater carbonate-saturation was severely reduced. Ocean acidification began shortly after the negative δ13C excursion and lasted for approximately 0.85 Myr. The drop in seawater pH was associated with the acme of the carbonate crisis.
δ7Li measurements indicate an enrichment in isotopically light lithium coeval with the negative δ13C excursion, signifying an increase in silicate weathering amidst the volcanically induced global warming of OAE1a. A second negative δ7Li excursion occurred synchronously with a strontium isotope minimum, demarcating another peak in silicate weathering. This weathering may have buffered the warming effects of large igneous province volcanism and helped to cool the Earth back to its pre-OAE1a state.
Sea levels initially fell during OAE1a as the world warmed and later rose as global cooling occurred, indicating the dominance of aquifer-eustasy in controlling sea level change during this anoxic event.
Organic carbon burial increased during OAE1a and was heightened during intervals of enhanced humidity. OAE1a, as with other OAEs, exhibited widespread deposition of black shales rich in organic matter incapable of being decomposed on the seabed, as the anoxic conditions prohibited habitation of most microbial decomposers. Black shale deposition begins during the C6 stage of OAE1a and lasted for around 0.4 Myr. As with silicate weathering, organic carbon burial acted as a negative feedback on global warming.
Overall, the biotic effects of OAE1a were comparatively minor relative to other LIP-driven extinction events. Nannoconids that were highly calcified suffered significant decline during OAE1a, likely as a consequence of ocean acidification, although this causal relationship is disputed by other authors. The opportunistic, oyster-like bivalve genus Chondrodonta thrived during OAE1a because of its ability to survive in stressed environments where its competitors could not, and its spike in abundance is often used as a biostratigraphic indicator of the onset of OAE1a.
See also
Ireviken Event
Lundgreni Event
Mulde Event
Lau Event
Šilalė Event
Jenkyns Event
Paquier Event
Amadeus Event
Breistroffer Event
Bonarelli Event
References
Extinction events
Anoxic events
Aptian Stage | Selli Event | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 1,365 | [
"Chemical oceanography",
"Evolution of the biosphere",
"Anoxic events",
"Extinction events"
] |
73,854,945 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaricus%20abramsii | Agaricus abramsii is a species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Agaricaceae. It is endemic to the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, USA. It was first described described by mycologist William A. Murrill in 1912. It is notable for its irregular, thick, and fleshy cap .
Description
The pileus (cap) of Agaricus abramsii is irregular in shape due to the position of the plant, measuring approximately 6 cm in diameter. The surface is dry, finely imbricate-scaly, and whitish with a rosy tint. The lamellae (gills) are free, crowded, narrow, and plane, with a pallid coloration. Spores are ovoid, smooth, and range from hyaline to pale umbrinous under a microscope, measuring 6–7 × 3.5–4 µm. The stipe (stem) is eccentric and fusiform, white, polished, and hollow, measuring approximately 6 cm in length and 2 cm in thickness. The annulus is located near the base, white, and not conspicuous .
Habitat
Agaricus abramsii was discovered growing on a clay bank by the roadside at an elevation of 800 feet in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Palo Alto, California. The type specimen was collected by W. A. Murrill and L. R. Abrams on November 25, 1911. The irregular shape of the pileus is attributed to its position on the side of the bank .
References
abramsii
Taxa named by William Alphonso Murrill
Fungi described in 1912
Fungus species | Agaricus abramsii | [
"Biology"
] | 323 | [
"Fungus stubs",
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
73,855,898 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora%20of%20Cantabria | The flora of Cantabria is the result of three determining factors: the climate, the composition of the soil, directly dependent on the types of existing rocks, and the evolutionary history of the different plant formations.
From the point of view of its flora, Cantabria is located between two biogeographic realms. Most of the territory belongs to the Eurosiberian region, but the southern end is part of the Mediterranean region. This border situation has a direct effect on the characteristics of the plant landscape of the region, where Mediterranean and Atlantic species intermingle, enriching the botanical composition of the different existing ecosystems.
Origin of current vegetation
The vegetation of Cantabria is adapted to two types of substrate. On the one hand, there are limestone rocks, as in Peña Cabarga or Picos de Europa, with little soil development and a large amount of outcropping rocks, which have a very characteristic flora, adapted to these types of soils, called calcareous flora, very similar throughout the region, but especially abundant in the eastern sector, where this type of substrates predominate. On the other hand, there are acidic rocks (sandstones, clays, siltstones...), which supply few nutrients to the soil. This type of material harbors an acidophilic flora very characteristic of the high mountains of the Cantabrian Mountains, and in general, dominant in the region.
The other determining factor of the composition of the current vegetation landscape is the evolutionary history of the different floristic communities present today. This evolution is due both to biogeographical causes and to the influence exerted by man over the centuries. The Quaternary glaciations, together with the interglacial periods marked the evolution of the different phases of the flora of the region, which went through very cold periods, with tundra-type vegetation, with warmer periods, in which temperate deciduous hardwood forests spread throughout the territory. It is usually considered three thousand years before the present, as the approximate date when the vegetation acquired similar characteristics to the present, that is, dominated by deciduous hardwood forests, accompanied by Mediterranean forest formations, with evergreen species, covering the territory from sea level to 1700 - 1900 meters, considered the ceiling of the wooded vegetation in Cantabria. Of this potential vegetation, only a small unaltered part survives today in the most inaccessible parts of the region. In the rest of the territory, human action has caused the degeneration of the forest and the appearance of substitution stages, made up of heaths and scrublands, and finally of pastures and meadows, the basis for livestock feeding.
The most appropriate way to describe the vegetation landscape is to refer to its bioclimatic floors, which are distributed in a staggered manner with respect to the altitude. Four bioclimatic floors or horizons can be differentiated in Cantabria: the hilly, the montane, the subalpine and the alpine, the latter restricted to the summits of the Picos de Europa.
Colline zone
The colline level, which is distributed approximately from sea level to 500 - 600 meters above sea level, has a vegetation landscape dominated by the presence of mowing meadows, the basis of dairy cattle feeding, which have been implanted by man, replacing the old temperate deciduous forests that covered the entire territory. This area has been the most transformed by human development, as it is here that the majority of the population and a large part of the infrastructures and intensive exploitations are located, so its ecosystems show a significant degree of alteration.
The vegetation communities of these coastal territories include those typical of the littoral (beaches and dunes, cliffs, and marshes), hay meadows, mixed deciduous forests, holm oak groves, riverside forests and eucalyptus plantations.
Dunes
Coastal dunes are one of the most endangered ecosystems in Cantabria. Its species, all herbaceous, are exclusive to these ecosystems, so their disappearance would mean the irreversible loss of highly specialized plants.
In the area closest to the sea, where the grains of sand deposited by the tide are intercepted, slightly above the average high tide, the first band of pioneer dune vegetation begins to settle, represented in Cantabria mainly by the northern couch grass (Elymus farctus), generally accompanied by the prickly saltwort (Salsola kali), the searockets (Cakile maritima) and the arenaria (Honkenya pelopides).
Where there is no marine influence, the sand dunes rise and form strands in the inner part of the large beaches of Cantabria. A certain stabilization of the dune occurs in this growth zone as a result of the settlement of vegetation that reduces its mobility, especially the beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria), which due to its wingspan and intricate root system, is the main fixative plant in this environment. Other characteristic species of this area are the sea holly (Eryngium maritimun), the carex (Carex arenaria) or the sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias).
Further inland, in the more sheltered areas of the beach, the sandy substrate is fixed in extensive plains covered by less specialized vegetation, in which sandy species are mixed with other opportunistic ones. The meadows of Festuca rubra, Lolium perenne, Lagurus ovatus, Phlenum arenarium and Briza maxima are typical. There are also other species such as Medicago marina and M. littoralis, Linaria maritima, Dianthus monspessulanus and Otanthus maritimus.
Cantabria is home to the largest dune field in the Cantabrian Sea, the Liencres Dunes, declared a natural park by Decree 101/1986 of December 9, 1986, the main natural element that determined the creation of the Park being the dune system located on the right bank of the mouth of the Pas river. The park is a true ecological jewel, due to the enormous development of its dunes and its acceptable degree of conservation, which is threatened by the urban development projects currently existing in its surroundings, which far exceed the carrying capacity of this valuable ecosystem. It was also included in the National Inventory of Points of Geological Interest of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME).
Coastal flora
The cliff coasts of Cantabria, of vertical development and variable height, are home to communities, adapted, as in the case of the dunes, to the proximity to the sea. These communities develop on two types of substrates, the hard limestones, dominant on the surface in the region, and the marl and sandstones, which are more brittle, with more developed soils.
The first vegetation belt, the one closest to the sea, is characterized by the presence of herbaceous species growing in the fissures of the rocks, such as sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum) or sea plantain (Plantago maritima) and in more protected fissures the spleenworts (Asplenium marinum).
Moving towards the edges of the cliff, the vegetation becomes more abundant, in addition to the aforementioned species, including the armenia maritima (Armenia maritima and A. pubigera ssp. depillata) and sea lavender (Limonium lanceolatum), to the east of the estuary of San Martín de la Arena, in Suances. The areas where it is not possible for upper vegetation to take root, are colonized by lichens, such as Xantoria parietina or Verrucaria maura.
The emergence of more spread out areas where vegetation settles more easily makes possible the appearance of new species such as the wild carrot (Daucus carota ssp. gummifer), the Portuguese angelica (Angelica pachycarpa) or the sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), accompanied by small meadows of grasses dominated by the red fescue (Festuca rubra).
Finally, in elevated areas, quite far from the sea, there are thickets of Cornish heath (Erica vagans), genista (Genista occidentalis) and gorse (Ulex europaeus).
Estuaries and marshes
The marshes constitute one of the habitats of greatest scientific interest, since they possess the highest biodiversity of all the existing ecosystems in Cantabria. In Cantabria, the marsh communities are well developed in the Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes Natural Park in the Rabia estuary, in the two Tinas (Tinamayor and Tinamenor), and as in the case of the dunes, their conservation is threatened by the urban development pressure in their surroundings.
These communities form a complex of floristic associations with a very diverse distribution, atomized and variable in space, responding mainly to the degree of salinity of the environment.
The marshes of Cantabria have, in the areas most flooded by sea water, meadows of Zostera marina and Zostera noltii, both species in danger of extinction on the European Atlantic coast. Near the lower tidal level, cordgrass (Spartina spp.) appears, followed by salicornia (Salicornia spp.) or limonium (Limonium vulgare). Finally, in the areas farther from the sea, with less influence of salt water (river mouths, banks of canals, ponds...), there are rushes and reed beds of Juncus spp., common reed (Phragmites australis) and Scirpus spp.
Hay meadows
Beyond the strictly coastal area, the vegetation landscape is characterized by the dominance of intensively managed mowing meadows, in which forage gramineae such as Lolium perenne, Holcus lanatus, Anthoxanthum odoratum, etc. appear, intermingled with leguminous plants such as clovers (Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens...). These meadows are the plant formation that occupy the largest area in the region, distributed in large spaces with very few trees on their margins and with hardly any hedges separating the farms.
Mixed deciduous forests
Distributed in valleys and enclaves that are difficult to manage due to their excessive slope, there are few remains of the type of forest characteristic of this colline level, the mixed forest (deciduous multispecific). They are composed of a mixture of different species, among which the common oak (Quercus robur) dominates, accompanied by ash (Fraxinus excelsior), maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), birch (Betula celtiberica), linden (Tilia spp. ), chestnut (Castanea sativa) and a large number of tall shrubs such as the common hazel (Corylus avellana), the alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) or laurel (Laurus nobilis), interspersed with lianas and epiphytes, thickets and herbaceous plants. These forests, with a great floristic diversity in their undergrowth, used to occupy the best soils of the territory, so they have been massively displaced from their natural habitat to plant crops, constituting the most transformed forest mass and therefore the one of most interest for its restoration.
Holm oak forests
Within the colline level of the region, on the rocky limestone beds, and in general on carbonate rocks, a plant formation of major interest is developed, called Cantabrian holm oak forest. This type of forest is made up of Mediterranean species, among which the holm oak (Quercus ilex) dominates, accompanied by laurel (Laurus nobilis), strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), buckthorns (Rhamnus alaternus), etc., all of them evergreen, intermingled with Atlantic species such as hazel (Corylus avellana), or hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). These holm oak forests, located outside their climatic optimum, need a substrate of a certain degree of aridity, so they take refuge in the limestone rocks due to their high permeability. The best holm oak forests are located in the Asón valley and in the Aras valley. In the coastal fringe, the holm oak forest of Monte Buciero in Santoña stands out especially. Due to its extension, its location and its contact with the cliff formations, it is undoubtedly the holm oak forest of greatest scientific interest in the north of the peninsula.
At the bottom of valleys of marked summer drought, such as those of Liébana, where the climatic characteristics are more Mediterranean, the holm oak (Quercus ilex ssp. rotundifolia) appears, typical of areas of low rainfall and that do not present a marked dependence on limestone rocks. The kermes oak groves appear in Valderredible, around Villaescusa de Ebro, and especially in Liébana. The four valleys of Liébana have kermes oak groves that end up being the dominant vegetation at their confluence in Potes. Particularly noteworthy are those of Maredes and Valmeo, in the Cereceda Valley (Vega de Liébana) and those of Aniezo in Valdeprado (Pesaguero).
Riverside forests
The riparian forests in Cantabria are formed mainly by alnus (Alnus glutinosa). The alnus groves are practically the only riverside forests in Cantabria, at least in the lower areas. In the higher areas where the alder cannot survive, there are other forest communities associated with the river courses.
In the alder groves there are also a considerable number of trees and shrubs with a rich herbaceous substrate. The main element is the alder, together with elm (Ulmus glabra) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Other frequent trees are willows (Salix spp.). Beeches and oaks are also occasionally found.
The shrub substrate is dominated by small willows (Salix spp. or salgueras) of which in Cantabria we have a large number of species, including S. atrocinerea, S. cantabrica and S. purpurea. Other common shrubs are the dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) or the spindle (Euonymus europaeus) that together with various brambles (Rubus sp.) and lianas (Hedera helix, Rubia peregrina) contribute to characterize these forest formations.
In the herbaceous stratum, Carex remota, C. pendula or Bromus ramosus stand out together with widely distributed plants such as nettle (Urtica dioica), which are favored by the detritus provided by the floods in these areas.
In Cantabria the alder groves are concentrated in the middle and lower areas of the rivers of the Cantabrian slope and in the Ebro. However, the Camesa, which flows into the Duero basin, lacks this riparian formation, probably due to the altitude of the areas through its course. When the valleys are very steep, the surface that can occupy the riparian forest is reduced, even disappearing and being replaced by mixed oak groves, as happens in the middle stretch of the Miera in Mortesante or in the Nansa, in the town of Rozadío in Rionansa.
Another formation associated with riverbanks are the willows or shrubby salcedas, a pioneer formation that is installed as a barrier between the riverbed and the alder groves. They also play a role as replacement vegetation when the alder grove is destroyed, as well as constituting the dominant vegetation of the riverbanks in those mountain areas that lack alder groves due to altitude, generally above 1000 meters. In these areas, the dominant vegetation consists of several species of the genus Salix, (different types of willows), depending on the environmental and geographical conditions. S. cantabrica and S. atrocinerea dominate the willow groves of the southwestern part of the region, which prefer streams that maintain a constant minimum level that is not excessively torrential. Where the torrential level is more pronounced, the willows are dominated by S. elaeagnos ssp. angustifolia. In some areas of the lower course of our rivers there are groups of Salix alba, especially in the lower course of the Deva in Molleda (Val de San Vicente). These formations with a tree stratum dominated by this willow are located on very sandy soils.
Eucalyptus
In these low levels of the region, between sea level and 300 meters of altitude, the native vegetation has been destroyed in many areas to artificially implant the other dominant formation in the vegetation landscape of the coast of Cantabria, the eucalyptus. These monospecific masses of the exotic Australian species Eucalyptus globulus have been planted for their use in the production of paper pulp. The plantations existing in Cantabria - in no case repopulations, since it is an exotic tree - constitute the largest extensions of this species in the European continent and in many occasions they have been planted at the cost of previously destroying the real autochthonous Cantabrian forests. The area devastated by the plantation of this timber species exceeded all admissible thresholds a long time ago, especially considering the disastrous influence it has on soils and aquifers, and on the homogenization and loss of biodiversity, especially noticeable in some areas such as Guriezo. Eucalyptus plantations are industrial crops, authentic plantations of stakes, and, therefore, in no case should they be called forests, since they have nothing to do with them.
The eucalyptus plantations of Cantabria have a wide variety of regenerated native species according to the data collected by the Cantabria Forest Damage Network, which is prepared by the General Directorate of Forestry together with the company Tragsatec. This network evaluates, among other parameters, the regeneration of species in the undergrowth, finding among the existing scrub and depending on the area, regenerated Quercus robur, Frangula alnus, Arbutus unedo, Quercus ilex and sometimes even Fagus sylvatica, but the main problem of this type of crops is that its plantation framework and its utilization system, as well as the lack of silvicultural treatments in all its growth stages, along with the burns with which the remains of its cutting are disposed of in most cases, cause this regeneration not to thrive. On the other hand, given that these studies on the regeneration of native species are carried out by the General Directorate of Forestry and Tragsatec, which are interested parties in the pulp business, their credibility is null and void.
Montane level
The montane level in Cantabria is distributed, although in a variable way, between 500 and 1600 meters of altitude. At this level, the most thermophilic species disappear due to the effect of frost and the forests are more homogeneous and with less floristic diversity.
The vegetal landscape of the montane floor differs notably from that of the colline, as it enters more abrupt zones, where the hay meadows are notably reduced and the scrub becomes dominant on the surface, regressive vegetation of the ancient forests that used to cover the slopes in the past. These forests remain in the form of isolated patches, generally at the head of valleys and on steep slopes, not very accessible to human activity, in contact with the rocks and high pastures, already at the upper limit of the montane level.
The plant communities of this level include the different types of oak forests, beech forests, birch forests, cork oak forests and heath forests originated as a consequence of the degradation of any of the previous communities.
Oak forests of Quercus robur
The oak grove of Quercus robur, (common oak) develops in Cantabria up to 1000 meters of altitude. In these formations there are also ash trees (Fraxinus excelsior), lime trees (Tilia spp.) or chestnut trees (Castanea sativa) and a large number of shrubs such as holly (Ilex aquifolium), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) or hazel (Corylus avellana). In the understory, various species of ferns (Dryopteris spp., Polystichum setiferum) and numerous herbaceous species such as hellebore (Helleborus viridis) or dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis) are common.
This type of forest has suffered a strong regression as a result of its exploitation for shipbuilding during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and for its use as fuel in forges and in the Royal Artillery Factory of La Cavada, so its sparse and fragmented distribution may endanger the persistence and recovery of this species, symbolic par excellence for the pre-Roman peoples of the northern Iberian Peninsula. The last surviving oak forests in Cantabria are located in the mountain range that separates the Saja and Besaya valleys, such as those of Rucieza and Guzaporos in Cieza, Montequemau and Rodil in Iguña, Monte Aá in Ruente or Viaña in Cabuérniga.
Sessile oak forests (Quercus petraea)
The sessile oak grove (Quercus petraea) replaces the ones found in the higher elevations, in more inland territories and isolated from the sea, of continental character, although sometimes hybridized with the previous ones and extending up to 1700 meters of altitude approximately, preferably on slopes with sunny exposure. Accompanying the dominant species, there are also beech (Fagus sylvatica) and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia). The shrub layer of these environments is mainly composed of heather (Erica arborea) and broom (Cytisus cantabricus), interspersed with holly (Ilex aquifolium) and hazel (Corylus avellana). The herbaceous substrate is similar to that of the common oak groves, with wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) or martagon (Lilium martagon) also appearing.
The distribution of this type of forest in Cantabria includes the interior valleys of the south and west of the region, from Liébana and Polaciones to Campoo, the upper basin of the Saja and Valderredible, where the best preserved example is found on Mount Hijedo.
Pyrenean oak forests (Quercus pyrenaica)
The Pyrenean oak groves (Quercus pyrenaica) are common on the northern slopes of the Cantabrian Mountains, especially in the drier areas of the valleys where the beech or oak groves cannot develop due to their high water dependence, distributed from 700 to 1400 meters of altitude. Other tree species accompanying them are ash (Fraxinus excelsior) or maple (Acer campestre), while the shrub substrate is mainly composed of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), holly (Ilex aquifolium) and broom (Cytisus cantabricus). In the herbaceous stratum, species such as Melampyrum pratense or Chamaespartium tridentatus are prominent.
Although small stands of this forest appear throughout the region, the best examples are located on the slopes of Peña Sagra, especially those of Valderrodíes, in Aniezo and Bárago.
Portuguese oak forests (Quercus faginea)
The oak groves of gall oak or Portuguese oaks (Quercus faginea) are typically Mediterranean forests and very rare in the Cantabrian Mountains. In Cantabria, there are only a few isolated forests in places with particular mesoclimatic conditions, as is the case of the regions of Liébana or Campoo-Los Valles, where they always appear on limestone substratum on steep slopes and sunny orientations, between 700 and 1000 meters above sea level. The shrub layer of these formations is very diverse, highlighting species of dry environments such as Viburnum lantana or Rhamnus catharticus. The herbaceous stratum is of great interest, highlighting, along with other species of wider distribution, others very rare in Cantabria, such as Artemisia alba.
The best representation of this type of formation in Cantabria is found in La Robleda mountain, in Villacantid (Hermandad de Campoo de Suso). It is also remarkable those existing around Arcera (Valdeprado del Río). In Liébana, only small scattered groups persist.
Beech forests
Beech groves (Fagus sylvatica) are the best preserved forest ecosystem in Cantabria. They develop preferably between 800 and 1600 meters of altitude, in areas of frequent fog and high rainfall. In Cantabria there are three types of beech forests, depending on the characteristics of the soil on which they grow.
On the one hand, there are the oligotrophic beech forests that settle on acid soils, in which the mature stage corresponds to a dense forest of beech (Fagus sylvatica) that becomes practically exclusive, with a herbaceous understory where the most acidophilic species such as Deschampia flexuosa, blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), Luzula sylvatica subs. henriquesii, etc., develop.
In second place, in terms of their abundance, there are the umbrophilous and basophilous beech forests, that is, beech forests in areas with a strong presence of water but on limestone soils. These beech forests are especially abundant in the large limestone massifs of the easternmost sector of the autonomous community.
Finally, the scarcer beech forests, located on limestone soils but on steep slopes and more sunny orientations, are the so-called erophilous beech forests, located at the limits of the distribution of this species, in the south of the region.
Beech groves are forests where the dominant species leave very few opportunities for other tree species and generally lack the shrub layer itself. The herbaceous stratum is homogeneous and poorly developed, due to the scarce amount of light that reaches this level. Among the most significant species are the wild garlic (Allium ursinum) or the orchid Neottia nidos-avis.
The largest beech forests in Cantabria are located in Campoo, the headwaters of the Nansa and Saja rivers and, above all, in Liébana, especially those between Pido and Cosgaya (Camaleño) or those that descend from Peña Sagra and Piedrasluengas towards Liébana in Pesaguero. However, there are isolated and smaller beech forests in the rest of the region, at the headwaters of the Besaya, Pas, Miera or Asón rivers.
Birch forests
Birch forests develop between 1600 and 2000 meters in the western part of Cantabria, above the distribution limit of other deciduous forests. Birch forests (Betula celtiberica) grow in very poor acid soils in areas of high rainfall. The birch is accompanied by a few trees, including rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and some isolated specimens of beech (Fagus sylvatica), the undergrowth being occupied by species characteristic of the Cantabrian high mountains such as heather (Erica arborea, Calluna vulgaris), broom (Genista spp.) or blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). The herbaceous substrate is dominated by species typical of siliceous soils such as Avenella flexuosa.
The best preserved birch groves in Cantabria are found at the headwaters of the Deva, Nansa, Saja and Híjar basins, with the Ajotu birch grove at the headwaters of the Tanea river (Lamasón) standing out.
Cork oak forests
The very few cork oak groves that exist in Cantabria, all of them in Liébana, are found on siliceous soils, halfway between the montane and the hilly areas. It is a typical species of the Mediterranean region that shuns cold and excessively dry climates and that appears in Cantabria in a relict form. The dominant species, the cork oak (Quercus suber), is accompanied by a rich shrub substrate formed mainly by strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo), buckthorns (Rhamnus alaternus), sloes (Prunus spinosa) or hawthorns (Crataegus monogyna), as well as some brooms (Cytisus cantabricus, Genista spp.).
The best cork oak groves are those of Tolibes and Valmayor, in Valmeo (Vega de Liébana) and the one that extends from Frama to Cahecho (Cabezón de Liébana).
Heath forests
Heathlands are the most common formations in the montane landscapes of the region. They appear as replacement vegetation after the elimination of the deciduous forest to establish tooth pastures, either by cutting or, more frequently, by wildfires.
These formations, which are usually dominated by different species of heather, have a great floristic diversity, with numerous taxa of endemic flora, such as Erica mackaiana, Daboecia cantabrica, Calluna vulgaris or Genista obtusirramea and are considered habitats of community interest by the Habitat Directive of the European Union.
Alpine subnival level
The next altitudinal level, the subalpine, is located in Cantabria from 1600-1700 meters of altitude, although these heights can be variable. It is fully present in the summits of the Picos de Europa and in the western part of the Cantabrian Mountains, appearing also, although with a very reduced extension, in the Castro Valnera. The main formations of this stratum in Cantabria are the grasslands, the different types of high mountain scrub and bogland.
Grasslands
The high mountain pastures, called brañas, constitute the climatic vegetation in the highest areas of Cantabria, which are adapted to situations of very prolonged snowfall, and whose floristic composition is highly dependent on the substratum. They cover the natural passes that form between the great masses of rock that occupy the altitudinal ceiling of the region. They are generally accompanied by shrub thickets, typical of the Cantabrian mountains (heather, gorse and broom).
There are various types of grasslands, in terms of their floristic composition, depending on the type of soil on where they are located, with numerous endemic species, such as Helianthemum urrielense, Festuca burnatii,.
The high altitude pastures are the food for the cattle in the mountain passes during the summer (Sejos and Áliva passes).
High mountain scrub
In the limestone mountains, which at these altitudes are reduced to the mountainous massif of the Picos de Europa, juniper groves develop, dominated by the common juniper (Juniperus communis subsp. alpina) accompanied by other species such as the bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) or the spurge-laurel (Daphne laureola), which takes refuge in the crags, spurs and stony ridges, in biotopes covered for a short time by snow. Acidophilic species such as blueberries (Vaccinium myrtilus, Vaccinium uliginosum) or heather (Calluna vulgaris) also appear in siliceous areas. In these subalpine landscapes there is a great development of gorse, communities dominated by the Spanish gorse (Genista occidentalis), accompanied by another interesting orocantabrian endemism, Genista legionensis, which on rare occasions descends, even to the hill floor, as long as there are adequate substrate conditions, as is the case in the vicinity of Carmona (Cabuérniga).
In the high mountains of Cantabria, two types of heathlands develop: the Spanish heather (Erica australis subsp. aragonensis) and the heather (Calluna vulgaris), although sometimes both formations are intermingled.
Finally, in the transition zones between the wooded formations and the high mountains, the Pyrenean broom formed by Genista florida or Cytisus cantabricus develop.
Bogland
In the siliceous subalpine territories with high humidity, bogland communities, considered of priority interest by the Habitat Directive, have a considerable presence, made up of different species of sphagnum (Sphagnum spp.) that grow in waterlogged soils, forming convex masses. These peatlands are home to species exclusive to these environments such as Carex nigra subsp. carpetana, Scirpus caespitosus subsp. germanicus, or the carnivorous Drosera rotundifolia. The extension of peat bogs in Cantabria is very reduced, standing out for their interest those located in the Puertos de Río Frío (Vega de Liébana).
Alpine level
The last altitudinal level in Cantabria is the alpine level, restricted only to the highest mountain peaks of the Picos de Europa and Peña Prieta. In these biotopes, located from 2200 meters of altitude, the abundant presence of snow and the abrupt relief prevent the development of the soil. The result is the impossibility for woody vegetation to develop, so the ecological climax in these alpine environments is a natural grassland that varies greatly with the conditions of the substrate. On limestone substrates, mostly in Cantabria, a dense grassland appears, very characteristic, with species such as Elyna myosuroides or Salix breviserrata. In long snow-covered substrates, on more acid soils, present only on the summit of Peña Prieta, the grasslands are formed by species such as Festuca eskia, Juncus trifidus or Luzula hispanica.
Finally, on the rocks of the rocky walls, taking advantage of the cracks and small landings where some soil accumulates, small species of great ecological importance develop. In these environments, endemic species such as Aster alpinus, Sempervivum antabricum or Armeria cantabrica stand out.
Protected flora species
In Cantabria, the Regional Catalog of Threatened Species is developed in Decree 120/2008 of December 4, 2008, which regulates the regional catalog of threatened species as established in Cantabria Law 4/2006, of May 19, 2006, on Nature Conservation, which presumably includes flora species. This is in spite of the fact that even before the Spanish Law 4/1989, of 27 March, on the Conservation of Natural Spaces and Wild Flora and Fauna, many protectionist provisions had been published in Cantabria, one of them for algal flora, Order of 6 February 1984; BOC of 22 February.
Cantabria was the first Autonomous Community to develop a law for the protection of trees, Law 6/1984 of October 29, 1984, on the protection and promotion of native forest species. This law establishes the native forest species (common oak, sessile oak, Pyrenean oak, holly, holm oak, Portuguese oak, cork oak, beech, chestnut, ash, maple, linden, elm, birch, alder, yew, Scots pine, poplar, whitebeam) and the figure of Singular Tree.
An order of March 4, 1986 declares the yew (Taxus baccata) a protected forest species.
The Catalog of Singular Trees of Cantabria, approved by order of May 28, 1986, in compliance with the aforementioned autonomous legislation, has been expanded in successive orders and represents the only specific protection of plant species in Cantabria. It includes and protects 214 specimens of trees of exceptional value, either for their beauty, size, longevity, species or symbolic character of many of them.
On the other hand, the Habitat Directive includes a series of flora and fauna taxa whose conservation is a priority for the European Union. The species of flora present in Cantabria that are included in the Habitat Directive are the following:
Drepanocladus vernicosus.
Sphagnumpylaisii.
Culcita macrocarpa. Woolly tree fern.
Trichomanes speciosum.
Dryopteris corleyi. Asturian male fern.
Woodwardia radicans.
Rumex rupestris.
Eryngium viviparum.
Apium repens. Creeping marshwort.
Soldanella villosa. Snowbell.
Limonium lanceolatum Sea lavender.
Centaurium somedanum. Centaury.
Omphalodes littoralis.
Veronica micrantha.
Jasione lusitanica.
Santolina semidentata.
Centaurea borjae.
Aster pyrenaeus. Pyrenean aster.
Luronium natans. Floating water-plantain.
Narcissus pseudonarcissus nobilis. Wild daffodil.
Narcissus cyclamineus. Daffodil.
Narcissus asturiensis Pygmy daffodil.
Festuca elegans. Boiss.
Festuca summilusitanica.
See also
Forests of the Iberian Peninsula
List of mammals of Cantabria
Cantabria
List of Amphibian and Reptile of Cantabria
References
Bibliography
Aedo, C., Diego, C,, García Cordón, J. C. y Moreno, G. (1990). El bosque en Cantabria. University of Cantabria, Santander. 286 pp.
Díaz, T., Loidi, J., Penas, A., Prieto, J. A. y Rivas Martínez, S. (1984). La vegetación de la alta montaña cantábrica: los Picos de Europa. Ediciones Leonesas S. A., León.
Guinea, A. (1953). Geografía botánica de Santander. Diputación Provincial, Santander.
Linares Argüelles, Mariano; Pindado Uslé, Jesús; Aedo Pérez, Carlos. Gran enciclopedia de Cantabria. Editorial Cantabria. 1985. (Complete work)] (Volume III).]
Polunin, O. & Smythies, B. E. (1988). Flowers of South-west Europe. Oxford University Press. 480 pp.
Rivas-Martínez, S.(1983) Pisos bioclimáticos de España. Lazaroa 5, 33-43.
Vázquez, V. M. (1985). El bosque atlántico. MOPU, Unidades Temáticas Ambientales. Dirección General de Medio Ambiente, Madrid.
VV. AA. (2000). Fauna y flora de Cantabria. Editorial Cantabria, S.A., Santander. 343 pp.
External links
Botany of Cantabria. Complete bibliography on the flora of Cantabria maintained by the botanical working group of the University of Cantabria.
Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. The sanctuary of botany in Spain. Since 1755 studying the flora of Spain and America.
Flora Ibérica Macroproject of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) that aims to detail and describe all the species of the flora of the Iberian Peninsula.
Bioclimatology Bioclimatology and vegetation floors in the Iberian Peninsula.
Catalog of Singular Trees of Cantabria Catalogue of Singular Trees of Cantabria, under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Biodiversity of the Government of Cantabria.
Forestry Plan of Cantabria General Directorate of Forestry and Nature Conservation. Approval of the Forestry Plan of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria
Law 6/1984, of October 29, 1984, for the protection and promotion of native forest species.
Flora of Europe
Plants by location
Forests of Spain
Cantabrian Mountains | Flora of Cantabria | [
"Biology"
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"Plants by location",
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73,856,469 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewood%20in%20Nigeria | In Nigeria, firewood is a traditional source of energy for domestic and commercial use. Fuel wood is derived from cutting and burning wood materials such as logs and twigs. It has long been prevalent among rural and sometimes urban dwellers.
In Nigeria, as in numerous other developing nations, a significant portion of the population lacks access to modern energy alternatives. Consequently, they heavily depend on traditional biomass fuels such as crop waste and wood to fulfill their basic energy requirements, particularly for home and commercial cooking purposes.
This reliance on fuel wood has implications for deforestation, as the unsustainable harvesting of wood for fuel contributes to the degradation of forests and the loss of biodiversity. The excessive demand for fuel wood places immense pressure on forest resources, leading to the depletion of woodlands and the disruption of delicate ecosystems. Furthermore, deforestation exacerbates climate change by releasing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. This approach would not only aid in biodiversity conservation but also contribute to the expansion of national vegetation cover.
Use of fuel wood
Fuel wood is commonly obtained and utilized in different forms. Round wood is commonly sold and used for domestic purposes, including in stores and open fires. Split logs, on the other hand, are predominantly utilized for commercial and industrial needs. In rural areas, small twigs and thin materials are typically not sold but are often used as fuel, either at a low cost for free. The production of fuel wood generally requires minimal capital investment, with basic tools such as an axe or machete being the primary requirements. In cases where large trees need to be harvested, methods like ring girdling or burning at the base may be employed to kill the trees, allowing them to dry out before use. Many farmers view fuel wood as a readily available resource that does not require any financial transaction, often relying on their existing farm tools for its collection.
Fuel wood in Nigeria is used for various purposes due to its availability and affordability. Here are some common uses of fuel wood in Nigeria:
Cooking: Fuel wood serves as a primary source of energy for cooking in many households and commercial outlets across Nigeria. It is used in traditional stoves or open fires to prepare meals and heat food.
Heating: In colder regions or during colder seasons, fuel wood is used for heating purposes. It provides warmth in homes and can be used in fireplaces or traditional heating devices.
Small-scale industries and artisanal activities: Fuel wood is often utilized by small-scale industries for various production processes. Examples include baking and food processing, pottery making, brick-making, and blacksmithing. In rural areas, fuel wood is used for artisanal activities such as carving, woodworking, and crafting traditional items.
Charcoal production: Fuel wood is also a key raw material for charcoal production. Charcoal, derived from the carbonization of wood, is used for cooking, heating, and industrial processes.
Campfire, cultural and religious practices: Fuel wood plays a role in cultural and religious practices in Nigeria. It is used for traditional ceremonies, rituals, and religious ceremonies involving fire.
Environmental impacts of fuel wood utilization
Fuel wood utilization in Nigeria has significant environmental impacts, which include deforestation and loss of forest ecosystems, air pollution, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and land degradation, water resource depletion, disruption of local ecosystems and associated health concerns, as well as contributing to climate change through carbon emissions.
Deforestation and loss of forest ecosystems
The widespread use of fuel wood in Nigeria has led to deforestation and the loss of valuable forest ecosystems. As communities rely heavily on fuel wood for cooking, heating, and other energy needs, large areas of forests are cleared to meet the growing demand. This deforestation not only disrupts the natural habitat of numerous plant and animal species but also reduces the overall biodiversity of the region. The loss of forests also contributes to soil erosion, reduced water quality, and increased vulnerability to natural disasters such as flooding.
Air pollution
The burning of fuel wood for energy releases various pollutants into the atmosphere, leading to air pollution and associated health concerns. Traditional cooking methods, such as open fires and inefficient stoves, produce high levels of smoke and particulate matter, which can have detrimental effects on respiratory health. Prolonged exposure to indoor air pollution from fuel wood combustion has been linked to respiratory diseases, including chronic bronchitis, asthma, and even lung cancer. Additionally, the release of pollutants contributes to outdoor air pollution, further impacting the health and well-being of communities.
Loss of biodiversity
Fuelwood collection often involves the removal of branches and smaller trees from forests. This can lead to the loss of habitat for various plant and animal species that rely on these trees for shelter, nesting, and food sources. Reductions in biodiversity can disrupt ecosystems and have long-term negative consequences.
Loss of biodiversity refers to the decline in the variety and abundance of different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms in a particular habitat or across the entire planet. It is a significant global environmental issue with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, human well-being, and the sustainability of the planet.
Biodiversity encompasses the total range of biological variation on Earth, including genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity. It is a measure of the richness and complexity of life in a given area. The loss of biodiversity occurs when species become extinct or when their populations decline to a critically low level.
There are several causes of biodiversity loss, many of which are the result of human activities:
Habitat destruction: The conversion of natural habitats into agricultural land, urban areas, or industrial zones destroys the homes and resources that many species depend on. Deforestation, wetland draining, and land clearing for infrastructure development are examples of habitat destruction.
Pollution: Pollution from industrial activities, agriculture, and improper waste disposal can contaminate air, water, and soil, affecting the health and survival of various species. Pollutants can accumulate in the food chain, causing harmful effects on both wildlife and humans.
Climate change: Alterations in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events due to climate change can disrupt ecosystems and negatively impact species' ability to survive and reproduce. Climate change can cause shifts in species distribution, changes in migration patterns, and loss of habitats such as coral reefs and polar ice caps.
Overexploitation: Unsustainable harvesting of resources, such as overfishing, illegal wildlife trade, and excessive logging, can deplete populations of certain species. Overexploitation disrupts ecological balance and can lead to species extinction and ecosystem degradation.
Invasive species: Introduction of non-native species into ecosystems can have detrimental effects on native flora and fauna. Invasive species can outcompete native species for resources, disrupt natural food chains, and alter habitats, resulting in the decline or extinction of native species.
The loss of biodiversity has significant implications for ecosystems and human well-being:
Ecosystem functioning: Biodiversity plays a crucial role in maintaining the functioning and stability of ecosystems. Each species contributes to important ecological processes such as nutrient cycling, pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control. Loss of biodiversity can disrupt these processes, leading to ecosystem degradation and reduced resilience to environmental changes.
Economic impact: Biodiversity loss can have severe economic consequences. Many industries, such as agriculture, fisheries, and pharmaceuticals, rely on biodiversity for their productivity and profitability. The loss of key species or genetic resources can disrupt these industries and lead to economic losses.
Soil erosion and land degradation
Removing vegetation, particularly trees, from an area can lead to increased soil erosion. Trees play a crucial role in stabilizing soil, reducing the impact of rainfall on the ground, and preventing erosion. The removal of trees for fuel wood can result in degraded soil quality, decreased fertility, and increased vulnerability to erosion.
Agricultural productivity, ecosystem stability, and sustainable development are all impacted by soil erosion and land degradation. Natural forces like wind, water, or human activities can cause soil particles to be detached, transported, and deposited elsewhere. The concept of land degradation refers to a wide range of deterioration in the quality and productivity of land.
Causes of soil erosion and land degradation
Water erosion: This type of erosion occurs when rainfall, surface runoff, and flowing water dislodge and carry away soil particles. It is primarily influenced by factors such as slope gradient, soil texture, vegetation cover, and rainfall intensity. Overgrazing, deforestation, and improper land management practices exacerbate water erosion.
Wind erosion: Wind erosion involves the detachment, transport, and deposition of soil particles by the wind. It is most common in arid and semi-arid regions with sparse vegetation cover. Factors like soil texture, wind speed, and land use practices influence wind erosion. Unsustainable agricultural practices, desertification, and land disturbance contribute to wind erosion.
Soil compaction: Excessive agricultural machinery use, improper land management, and heavy grazing can lead to soil compaction. Compacted soils have reduced pore space, resulting in reduced water infiltration, decreased root growth, and increased runoff, leading to erosion and degradation.
Deforestation: Forests play a crucial role in preventing erosion and maintaining soil stability. Deforestation for agriculture, logging, or urbanization removes the protective vegetative cover, exposing the soil to erosion agents such as rainfall and wind.
Unsustainable agriculture: Unsuitable agricultural practices, such as improper tillage methods, monocropping, excessive use of agrochemicals, and inadequate soil conservation measures, contribute to soil erosion and degradation.
Impacts of soil erosion and land degradation
Reduced agricultural productivity: Erosion and degradation can lead to loss of topsoil, essential nutrients, and organic matter, resulting in decreased soil fertility and agricultural productivity. It affects crop yields, food security, and farmers' livelihoods.
Water pollution: Sediment runoff from eroded soil contaminates water bodies, impairing water quality and aquatic ecosystems. It can also lead to increased sedimentation in reservoirs, reducing storage capacity
Desertification: Land degradation, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, can contribute to desertification, the expansion of desert areas, and the loss of productive land. It has severe ecological, social, and economic consequences.
Biodiversity loss: Soil erosion and degradation can result in habitat destruction and fragmentation, leading to plant and animal species loss. It is ecosystem services and reduces resilience to environmental changes.
Climate change and carbon emissions
Fuel wood utilization contributes to climate change through the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. When fuel wood is burned, carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas, is released. The combustion process is often incomplete and inefficient, leading to the emission of other greenhouse gases such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) These emissions contribute to the greenhouse effect, trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing global warming. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere contributes to climate change, resulting in adverse effects such as rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, and sea-level rise.
Disruption of local ecosystems
The removal of fuel wood from forests can disrupt local ecosystems, including nutrient cycling, pollination, and seed dispersal. Trees play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance and supporting the survival of numerous species. The removal of fuel wood without sustainable practices can disrupt these ecological processes. With human populations becoming more concentrated, there is growing worry over the global degradation of coastal ecosystems, which includes eutrophication, overfishing, habitat disruption, pollution, and aesthetic degradation. The food business with the quickest growth, aquaculture, reached over 47 million metric tons of production in 2005.
The severity and scope of disturbances determine how quickly terrestrial ecosystems recover. Primary succession happens in lifeless landscapes, such as the receding ice sheets of North America and Eurasia. Where there are already established organism communities and biological remains are still there, secondary succession takes place. The degree of disturbance determines which "legacies" they are. In Nigeria, ecosystems are also experiencing serious disturbances that need urgent intervention by the government and all stakeholders. Nigerian government should start thinking of how the ecosystem will be recovered from disturbances for the health of the human environment.
Water resource depletion
Fuel wood collection often involves the gathering of deadwood, which can include branches and fallen trees found near water bodies. Removing these materials from riparian areas can disrupt the natural flow of water, impacting aquatic ecosystems and reducing water availability for local communities.
Conserving and restoration measures
Conservation tillage: Practices like minimum tillage, no-till, and strip cropping help reduce soil erosion by maintaining crop residues on the soil surface, improving water infiltration, and promoting soil organic matter accumulation.
Contour farming: Planting crops along slope contour lines slows down water runoff, reducing erosion. It involves constructing contour bunds or terraces to trap sediment and retain water.
Agroforestry: Integrating trees with crops or livestock systems can improve soil structure, increase organic matter content, and provide windbreaks to minimize wind erosion.
Rehabilitation of degraded land: Restoring degraded land through reforestation, re-vegetation, and soil improvement techniques can help combat erosion and promote sustainable land use practices. It is crucial to implement these measures on a large scale, promote sustainable land management practices, and raise awareness about the importance of soil conservation to mitigate soil erosion and land degradation.
Government policies and initiatives to reduce fuel wood use
The Nigerian government has implemented various policies and initiatives to reduce fuel wood use, addressing the environmental and social challenges associated with its utilization. These efforts aim to conserve forests, improve energy efficiency, and transition to alternative energy sources.
Forest conservation and management strategies
To address deforestation and the loss of forest ecosystems caused by fuel wood utilization, the Nigerian government has implemented forest conservation and management strategies, such as the National Forest Policy. The National Forest Policy for the sustainable utilization of Nigeria's forest resources was introduced during the commemoration of the International Day of Forests in 2022. The policy was launched in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. Other strategies include the establishment of protected areas, national parks, and forest reserves to safeguard valuable forest resources. The government collaborates with local communities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders to develop sustainable forest management plans, promoting responsible harvesting practices and reforestation initiatives. By enforcing regulations and raising awareness about the importance of forest conservation, the government strives to preserve the ecological integrity and biodiversity of Nigerian forests.
Promotion of efficient cooking technologies
The promotion of efficient cooking technologies is a key aspect of the government's efforts to address the environmental and health concerns associated with fuel wood utilization. Traditional cooking methods, such as open fires and rudimentary stoves, are highly inefficient and contribute to high levels of smoke and indoor air pollution. The government promotes the adoption and distribution of these efficient cooking technologies through awareness campaigns, subsidies, and partnerships with NGOs and private sector entities. On October 5, 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria joined forces with key stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aimed at promoting the adoption of clean and efficient cooking technologies throughout the country.
Alternative energy sources and transitioning away from fuel wood
Recognizing the need to transition away from fuel wood as a primary source of energy, the Nigerian government is actively promoting the use of alternative energy sources. This includes promoting the adoption of clean and renewable energy technologies such as solar power, wind energy, and biogas. In August 2022, Nigeria introduced its Energy Transition Plan. The plan encompasses key sectors such as power, cooking, oil and gas, transport, and industry. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, along with other stakeholders in the energy sector, unveiled the plan, which outlines Nigeria's roadmap towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2060. By diversifying the energy mix and reducing reliance on fuel wood, the government aims to mitigate deforestation, improve air quality, and contribute to climate change mitigation efforts.
Progress toward sustainable energy practices in Nigeria
The future outlook for energy practices in Nigeria is gradually shifting towards more sustainable alternatives, aiming to address the environmental, social, and economic challenges associated with fuel wood utilization. Efforts are being made to promote cleaner energy sources, improve energy efficiency, and foster sustainable practices in the country.
To ensure a sustainable future, there is also a need to prioritize sustainable forest management and conservation efforts. This involves implementing robust policies and regulations to prevent illegal logging, deforestation, and degradation of forest ecosystems. By promoting responsible and sustainable forest practices, which includes but not limited to, responsible harvesting practices, reforestation initiatives, Nigeria can protect its valuable forest resources, preserve biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse impacts of fuel wood utilization.
Community engagement, education, and awareness programs are crucial for fostering a culture of forest conservation and sustainable resource use. The Green Vision for Community Development Initiative (GVCDI), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), provided training to community members in Cross Rivers State on forest protection techniques to combat deforestation. In 1981, the Ekuri community in Nigeria, independently conceptualized a formal community forest management initiative. Their aim was to ensure the preservation of their heritage, sustain livelihoods, foster community development, reduce poverty, and prevent the negative consequences experienced by other communities that had lost their forests. This initiative was born out of the community's internal motivation and foresight, without any external influence.
One of the key focus areas for a sustainable energy transition in Nigeria is the promotion of renewable energy sources. The government, in collaboration with private sector entities and international partners, is investing in renewable energy infrastructure. These sources offer significant potential to diversify the energy mix, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide access to clean and affordable energy, particularly in rural areas.
In parallel with the transition to renewable energy, enhancing energy efficiency is another crucial aspect of sustainable energy practices. Improving energy efficiency in sectors such as residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial areas can contribute to reducing energy demand and optimizing resource utilization. This includes the promotion of energy-efficient appliances, building design and insulation standards, and the implementation of energy management systems. By adopting energy-efficient technologies and practices, Nigeria can reduce energy waste, lower energy costs, and lessen the environmental impact associated with energy consumption.
See also
Deforestation in Nigeria
Firewood
Wood industry in Nigeria
Effects of deforestation on soil erosion
References
External links
Climate laws
Fuels
Nigeria
Environmental issues in Nigeria
Forestry in Nigeria
Environmental disasters in Nigeria
Man-made disasters in Nigeria
Environmental justice
Deforestation in Nigeria | Firewood in Nigeria | [
"Chemistry"
] | 3,731 | [
"Fuels",
"Chemical energy sources"
] |
73,856,672 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banking%20hall | A banking hall is traditionally the centre of banking activity in a bank where staff and customers meet surrounded by offices for managers and clerks. It has been described as the "shop floor" of a bank. Often built to an opulent standard, many banking halls are architecturally notable. In the twentieth century many banking halls were converted to retail or entertainment use due to their typically large size and central locations. The Counting House in Glasgow, for instance, which was built in the Victorian era and once owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, is now a Wetherspoons pub.
References
Further reading
Belfoure, Charles. (2005) Monuments to Money: The architecture of American banks. McFarland. ISBN 9780786420605
External links
Banking
Rooms | Banking hall | [
"Engineering"
] | 156 | [
"Rooms",
"Architecture"
] |
73,856,783 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible%20mending | Visible mending is a form of repair work, usually on textile items, that is deliberately left visible (compare to invisible mending). The dual goals of this practice are to adorn the item, and to attract attention to the fact it has been mended in some way. The latter is often a statement of critique on the consumerist idea of replacing broken items with new ones without trying to bring them back to full functionality. In other words, the repair is supposed to be a new and distinct feature of the item.
Methods and materials
Visible mending is a practice of repairing the item in a non-traditional way, which means that less importance is placed on simplicity and speed of the repair work and more on the decorative aspect. Popular methods of visible mending are:
embroidery
patching with contrasting fabrics or textile waste, such as clothing tags or ribbon scraps
patching using two kind of textiles, for example lace and woven fabric put one on top of the other
using iron-on patches
knitting
weaving
crochet
beaded embroidery
dyeing
darning
cross-stitching
Those methods are frequently used simultaneously, for example a patch might be stitched on a tear using embroidery and adding sequins on top of it.
The patching materials are usually stitched onto the mended area using a hand sewing needle or a sewing machine. Embroidery hoops are often used to keep the mended fabric area appropriately tense and allow the mender to more easily stitch on the repairing materials without causing wrinkling or puckering. Other widely used item is a darning egg; a device that allows to stretch the mended area (typically the heel of a sock) onto a circular shape and prevent shape deformity
Kinds of materials used to visibly mend include:
assorted fabric waste (textile scraps, clothing tags, ribbon scraps, torn-off pockets etc.)
thread, embroidery floss, yarn
darning wool
ready-made patches, sew-on or iron-on
beads, sequins, buttons
textile repair tape
interfacing
As the practice has been garnering the attention of crafting communities, many tutorials are available online; some stores have experienced rise of the haberdashery items sales due to the growing popularity of the visible mending. Per the press office of the John Lewis department store, which attributes the sales trends to the popularity of the practice:the department store chain said it had sold out of darning needles and that sales of darning wool had doubled year-on-year [2022 to 2023], while sales of repair products such as patches and repair tape were up 61 percent.
Social and historical aspects
History and varieties
Many argue that the current revival of what is contemporarily called visible mending is a cultural rediscovery of practices which date back centuries. For example, kantha is a Bengali tradition in which well-worn garments are patched in layers by sewing those on with a running stitch, while Biharian practice of kheta is a form of geometrical repair-quilting. Boro, a seam reinforcing technique began to be used in Japan in the Edo period by women from poor, rural communities, who tried to extend the life of clothing and bed linen. Thanks to this, clothes became not only more durable, but also warmer. More widely known sashiko is a more decorative form of boro, and is characterized by geometric patterns. These elements include fish scales, diamonds, mountains, bamboo, leaves, arrows, pampas grass, and shippo-tsunagi (a pattern consisting of interlocking geometric shapes symbolizing the "seven treasures"). However, sashiko was used not only for mending, but also just for beautifying the textile item.
Decorative darning was widely used in the western cultures since early 18th century; many darning samplers survived, displaying a variety of stitches which were supposed to repair the garment by decorating it; all of the samplers feature contrasting thread on usually white or beige fabric. According to some historians, most darning samplers were made by girls in their early teens as a way to advertise her domestic skills. Contemporary newspaper advertisements called for maids who had experience in darning and garment mending in general, as lack of these abilities would mean the necessity of sending the garments out for repair.
The 1943 pamphlet Make Do and Mend, issued by the British Ministry of Information, was an aide for the housewives who had to deal with the rationing of textiles due to the war effort, and described various methods of repairing and maintenance of the clothing. The booklet contained several tips for using visible mending to save the existing garments from being demoted to rags, such as: "A woman's woolly jumper, or silk blouse or a frock that has a lot of small holes [...] can be repaired decoratively by embroidering small flowers or other designs". An entire part of the pamphlet is exclusively devoted to decorative patching: When you can't get a patch to match the cloth, make your mend as decorative as possible. Apply the patch on the right side of the cloth with some fancy stitching, such as feather-stitch, herring-bone or buttonhole, and let the patch be a sharp colour-contrast to the original material. Give it a fancy shape; for instance, you can hide a worn elbow with a diamond or heart-shaped patch, and add a pocket of the same material on the bodice or the skirt, to make it look intentional. In People's Republic of Poland (and, arguedly, other countries in the Soviet sphere of influence) many booklets with similar advice were published as a way to help citizens prolong their clothing's lives amongst the struggles of the reality of coupon rationing. A journalist from a popular magazine Moda i Życie Praktyczne (Fashion and Practical Life) stated that "the alterations [of the clothing] were so beautiful in the harmonious combinations of colours, seams, sew-ons, fasteners and lacing that one suspects that fashionistas are ready to make new dresses look like they were altered." In Przekrój, a popular Polish lifestyle magazine, two imaginary friends—Lucynka and Paulinka—were regularly having discussions about how one should visibly mend clothes so that they look fashionable and chic.
Some argue that visible mending (understood as making whatever effort to close a rip in a clothing item) experienced a modern revival in the 1970's, as Vivienne Westwood shone a spotlight onto the practice by decorating her punk designs with patches tacked on or pinned on with safety pins, or even just using safety pins to hold together tears in the fabric. In the realms of punk and grunge culture, intentionally ripped clothing became a rebellious fashion statement, symbolizing a vocal protest against societal norms and the limited opportunities available to young individuals. The garments were often put back together using various methods to further bring attention to the fact that the item of clothing has been damaged somehow, and the flaw is not hidden, but openly displayed. Westwood herself pleaded with the community: "Buy less. Choose well. Make it last."
Poverty cosplay and reasons for resurgence
The growing culture of mending on social media spurts discussions about how a task that has been the daily occurrence within less privileged groups is becoming a trend widely popularized by more affluent communities, in the vein of so-called poverty cosplay. The critique often cites the stereotypical imagery of a poverty-stricken individual, clothed in patched garments, being repurposed for a fashion trend. While mending clothes was and is a necessity for some groups, especially those of lower socioeconomic status, the visible mending communicates being privileged enough to take time to mend by adorning a garment, and thus is an extravagance when compared to utility-focused mending. Kate Fletcher used a descriptor of "delight in the durational aesthetics of repair" to delineate this phenomenon. In contemporary times, the act of purchasing newly-made clothes with intentional rips, stains, and frayed seams has become a common practice among younger generations of fashion consumers since the mid-1990s. This shift in perspective reflects a changing perception of what is fashionable, thus the original statement against the status quo has been commercialized—but, as some argue, so has been the practice of mending the items, given the facet that special “mending kits” are being sold worldwide, often consisting of regular household items, such as scissors, thread, and prepackaged fabric scraps.
Conversely, some sociologists argue that visible mending is a method of highlighting the fact that "rather than celebrating the creativity and the craft of maintaining, we have always focused on the shame and poverty and need" and restoring the respect that poverty-stricken individuals were stripped off due to social stigma. Given that textile work has been perceived as a female pursuit throughout the history, bringing attention to the act of mending can also be perceive as a feminist statement.
Some attribute the resurfacing of visible mending and coining the wholesale term to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Those made people seek entertainment within their own living spaces and try activities that were associated with non-consumerist, bohemian culture, such as bread baking.
Practice as a critique and act of defiance
The skill of mending clothes has diminished in recent decades, largely due to the prevalence of fast fashion and its emphasis on easy and affordable clothing replacements rather than repairing old garments. As a result, many individuals lack the basic sewing skills required for simple repairs such as button replacement or sock darning and the decision to mend an item is a deliberate, optional action taken by an individual, rather than a fact of life. The convenience and affordability of purchasing new clothes have overshadowed the formerly appreciated value and importance of preserving and maintaining existing items through mending. Some practitioners describe the stigma of mending items:There are plenty of reasons why people mend, though the stigma around repair is alive and well. Recently I mended a favourite shirt for my partner, a teacher, who was later asked by a student, “Sir, can't you afford a new shirt?” What was once a luxury item, a new piece of clothing, has become throwaway for some, and expensive and rare yarns such as cashmere are now ubiquitous.
This shift in mindset away from disposability carries a strong anti-capitalist sentiment and is seen as a form of performative resistance or normalisation of reducing the consumption of textiles by outwardly communicating that one mends them. This is sometime called craftivism. Some clothing brands, however, adopted visible mending as a form of novelty marketing (for example as pop-up upcycling events), communicating dedication to sustainability, whilst promoting their own merchandise, thus garnering critique from anti-fast fashion activists.
Visible mending of non-textile items
Kintsukuroi is a similar practice originating in Japan; it involves the restoration of broken pottery by meticulously repairing the fractured areas using lacquer blended with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. This technique not only mends the broken pieces, but also accentuates the mended areas with precious metals, creating a unique and visually interesting effect. The practice of using Lego bricks to patch crumbling walls or other structures is also a form of visible mending.
See also
Invisible mending
Textile arts
Craftivism
References
Textile arts
Visual arts genres
Simple living
Waste management concepts
Frugality
Maintenance | Visible mending | [
"Engineering"
] | 2,374 | [
"Maintenance",
"Mechanical engineering"
] |
73,857,687 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-sum%20Ramsey%20theory | In mathematics, zero-sum Ramsey theory or zero-sum theory is a branch of combinatorics. It deals with problems of the following kind: given a combinatorial structure whose elements are assigned different weights (usually elements from an Abelian group ), one seeks for conditions that guarantee the existence of certain substructure whose weights of its elements sum up to zero (in ). It combines tools from number theory, algebra, linear algebra, graph theory, discrete analysis, and other branches of mathematics.
The classic result in this area is the 1961 theorem of Paul Erdős, Abraham Ginzburg, and Abraham Ziv: for any elements of , there is a subset of size that sums to zero. (This bound is tight, as a sequence of zeroes and ones cannot have any subset of size summing to zero.) There are known proofs of this result using the Cauchy-Davenport theorem, Fermat's little theorem, or the Chevalley–Warning theorem.
Generalizing this result, one can define for any abelian group G the minimum quantity of elements of G such that there must be a subsequence of elements (where is the order of the group) which adds to zero. It is known that , and that this bound is strict if and only if .
See also
Zero-sum problem
References
Further reading
Zero-sum problems - A survey (open-access journal article)
Zero-Sum Ramsey Theory: Graphs, Sequences and More (workshop homepage)
Arie Bialostocki, "Zero-sum trees: a survey of results and open problems" N.W. Sauer (ed.) R.E. Woodrow (ed.) B. Sands (ed.), Finite and Infinite Combinatorics in Sets and Logic, Nato ASI Ser., Kluwer Acad. Publ. (1993) pp. 19–29
Y. Caro, "Zero-sum problems: a survey" Discrete Math., 152 (1996) pp. 93–113
Ramsey theory | Zero-sum Ramsey theory | [
"Mathematics"
] | 419 | [
"Combinatorics stubs",
"Ramsey theory",
"Combinatorics"
] |
73,858,617 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swolf | The Swolf is a composite measurement in sports swimming that reflects how fast and how efficiently somebody is swimming. In contrast, time per distance (speed) neglects swimming technique, and the number of swimming strokes per lap neglects the purpose of competitive swimming: Covering a given distance in the shortest time.
Background
Swolf is a portmanteau of "swim" and "golf". As in golf, a lower number of strokes is better. The Swolf score is the number of seconds (for a given lap, 25 or 50 meters), plus the number of swimming strokes made in the same distance.
After a swimmer has learned to swim longer distances at a constant, high power output, it becomes essential to improve the swimming efficiency: Achieving a higher acceleration per swimming stroke, and gliding a longer distance between the strokes. The Swolf then becomes a useful tool to measure training progress.
Due to different body dimensions, a comparison between two swimmers is rarely useful; the Swolf is rather a guide that reflects one's own training progress. In contrast to the earlier days, where swimmers had to count their own strokes, modern sports watches carry acceleration sensors and indicate the Swolf number of a given training unit.
References
External links
Swimming
Units of measurement | Swolf | [
"Mathematics"
] | 253 | [
"Quantity",
"Units of measurement"
] |
73,861,276 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revvity | Revvity, Inc. is an American company in the life sciences and diagnostics business that is focused on selling to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, especially in relation to approaches making use of new cell therapy or gene therapy developments. Its origins lie with the long-existing company PerkinElmer, which has been in a variety of business lines.
In 2022, a split of PerkinElmer resulted in one part, comprising its applied, food and enterprise services businesses, being sold to the private equity firm New Mountain Capital for $2.45 billion and thus no longer being public but keeping the PerkinElmer name. The other part, comprising the life sciences and diagnostics businesses, remained public but required a new name, which in 2023 was announced as Revvity, Inc. From the perspective of Revvity, the goal of creating a separate company was that its businesses might show greater profit margins and more in the way of growth potential. An associated goal was to have more financial flexibility moving forward. On May 16, 2023, the PerkinElmer stock symbol PKI was replaced by the new symbol RVTY.
The name 'Revvity' itself was formed from a combination of the words "revolution" (abrupt change, in English) and "vita" (life, in Latin). It was the larger of the two splitees: of around 17,000 employees of the public PerkinElmer, about 11,000 of them were assigned to it, while some 6,000 went to the newly private PerkinElmer. Initial annual revenues for Revvity were estimated at about $3 billion. Singh and some other senior executives came to Revvity from PerkinElmer, while others were new hires. Headquarters for Revvity were kept in the same town as the old PerkinElmer, that being Waltham, Massachusetts.
Compared with its PerkinElmer past, Revvity was de-emphasizing medical devices in favor of an approach based on reagents and electronic commerce.
References
External links
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Life science companies based in Massachusetts
Companies based in Waltham, Massachusetts
Biotechnology companies of the United States
Biotechnology companies established in 2023
2023 establishments in Massachusetts | Revvity | [
"Biology"
] | 449 | [
"Life science companies based in Massachusetts",
"Life sciences industry"
] |
73,861,379 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-flowering | In gardening, the term free-flowering is used to describe flowering plants that have a long bloom time and may often lack a defined blooming season, whereby producing flowers profusely over an extended period of time, at times all-year round. The terms long-flowering and long-blooming are also used for perennial plants that bloom for much of the year.
Examples
Examples of free-flowering or long flowering plants include salvias, thunbergias, loniceras, roses, lavenders, periwinkles, gaillardias, oleanders, begonias, bougainvilleas, morning glories, geraniums/pelargoniums, hibiscuses, and lantanas.
List
This list includes plant species that are free-flowering, particularly in warmer climates:
Adenium obesum
Ajuga reptans
Allamanda cathartica
Canna indica
Cestrum parqui
Crossandra infundibuliformis
Clitoria ternatea
Coleus neochilus
Dimorphotheca ecklonis
Euphorbia milii
Euryops pectinatus
Hibbertia scandens
Impatiens hawkeri
Ipomoea cairica
Ipomoea indica
Ixora coccinea
Jatropha curcas
Mandevilla sanderi
Maurandya scandens
Murraya paniculata
Mussaenda erythrophylla
Pandorea jasminoides
Plumbago auriculata
Plumbago indica
Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides
Salvia splendens
Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia
Thunbergia alata
Thunbergia erecta
Tibouchina urvilleana
Westringia fruticosa
References
Angiosperms
Flowers
Periodic phenomena
Gardening
Plants that can bloom all year round | Free-flowering | [
"Biology"
] | 381 | [
"Plants that can bloom all year round",
"Plants",
"Angiosperms"
] |
73,862,100 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healslut | In video gaming and BDSM culture, a healslut (a combination of the words "heal" and "slut") is a player who selects a healer-class character to provide healing to another player as part of a dominant–submissive role-playing dynamic.
An online "healslutting" community has sprung up around the dynamic, in which players engage with one another both in-game and through external avenues.
Definition and history of term
A healslut dynamic often consists of one player assuming the healer role, submitting to the player who has selected an offensive- or tank-class character. The term has been cited by Dictionary.com as being used as early as 2011, when it appeared in a tweet describing the Medic character in Team Fortress 2 as such. The term slut itself is regarded as an insult that may have a "gendered application" and is used "alongside other sexist language or content". As a result, the healslut term may be considered sexist. Assessing the healslut term, Ana Valens of The Daily Dot wrote that it is "empowering" in a sexual context, but "disparaging" in a gameplay one, adding "it implies two things: Either that a healer is a 'slut' who passively does nothing but heal, or the player is a healer who is a 'slut' for playing healer characters. The message is obvious: Healers are weak, passive participants in a game."
The term gained popularity through the 2016 first-person hero shooter Overwatch. As Overwatch "reinvigorated" the healslut scene, the related subreddit largely consisted of "handmade Mercy tributes." Writing for Kotaku, Luke Winkie noted this phenomenon as adjacent to "the surprisingly large hamlet of people animating porn based on the game's characters." While Overwatch is a popularly used game for those engaging in the kink, other games have also cited as access points for healslutting. Among them include World of Warcraft, Monster Hunter: World, Final Fantasy XIV, League of Legends, Town of Salem, Borderlands, and Civilization 5.
Winkie noted that the "breeziness" of the community is a core part of the scene. Valens noted that Winkie's article on Overwatchs healslut community was not well-received on Reddit, "as often happens with online communities built around niche interests." The moderator running the r/healsluts subreddit commented "I thought the article was terrible and did a horrible job portraying the healslut community, but in the end it was exposure. Can't bark too much when it was a net positive thing." Indeed, the related subreddit and Discord server both experienced considerable growth following the article's publication.
Though there exists a prevalent stereotype within the Overwatch player base that "all women play Mercy", both male- and female-identified players have been noted to engage in healslutting. Additionally, some transgender individuals have been noted to cite healslutting as helpful for their self-expression and gender affirmation. Healslutting has been noted as a small niche, as there exists a broader community of players who enjoy selecting healer-class characters for a variety of reasons, including those non-sexual.
Related roles and terminology
Aside from "healsluts", healer-class players may also conversely identify as "healdoms", in which they assume the dominant role in the dynamic as they can "control whether their partner lives or dies." In this dynamic, they may be paired with a "tankslut" that wants to "hurt and bleed for their partner." Furthermore, there is also a "DPSdom" (referring to "damage per second" or DPS players), that "habitually [flaunt] how good they are at killing opponents while reminding their submissive healslut 'just how useless they are' in winning the game." As with broader BDSM culture, some players also identify as "switches". In the r/healsluts subreddit, users will tag themselves with the roles they prefer to assume. Healsluts "often post in deferential, 'cute' language until a dom arrives in-thread to berate them, while 'switch' users aptly enough flow between discourse roles as they see fit."
Methods of role-playing
Aside from in-game activity, "communal paratext surrounding the game involving forums, voice chat, and viral fan-designed images" also provide methods for engagement with the kink. Indeed, while some players attempt to find others willing to engage in the dynamic in-game, others will attempt to find players through Discord or the "r/healsluts" subreddit. Some players will refrain from in-game healslutting altogether. The use of sex toys and the creation of personal rules with play partners has also been noted.
Winkie described the process of healslut role-play in Overwatch as "simple", detailing "Equip the angelic healer Mercy with her Imp skin, spray-paint an arrow on the wall, and crouch beneath it. If you're lucky, a tank will walk up to you and emote "understood." You'll serve them dutifully and wait for the private message after the match." "Repurposed avatars and emotes" are often used when attempting to engage with the healslut kink; Overwatch players wishing to engage in healslut dynamics will, "through a mix of pre-designed animations known as 'emotes,' icons known as 'sprays' that can be placed on the gameplay environment, and voice lines, [...] 'announce' their intentions to other players aware of the code." This is done to circumvent running the risk of violating Blizzard Entertainment (Overwatchs developer)'s terms of service, which may result from directly announcing such healslutting intentions through the in-game voice chat.
See also
BDSM in culture and media
Sexual content in video games
References
2010s in Internet culture
2011 neologisms
4chan phenomena
BDSM activities
BDSM terminology
English profanity
English words
Fictional healers
Overwatch
Sexual roleplay
Sexual slang
Video game terminology | Healslut | [
"Technology"
] | 1,318 | [
"Computing terminology",
"Video game terminology"
] |
73,863,370 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eubacterium%20eligens | Eubacterium eligens is a motile, obligate anaerobic, Gram-positive, rod-shaped mesophilic bacteria that lives in the human gut microbiome. In 1974, W.E.C Moore and Lillian V. Holdeman isolated and identified over 100 bacterial species from human feces, including E. eligens. The genus Eubacterium inhabits normal gut microbiota and contributes to anti-inflammatory secretions. E. eligens is unlike most Firmicutes species in that it can degrade pectin, which is usually more common among Bacteroidetes.
Characteristics
Taxonomy & phylogeny
Eubacterium eligens is a member of the Bacillota (previously Firmicutes) phylum, which is one of two phyla which constitute more than 90% of microflora in the human gut. Characteristics of this phylum include low GC content in the DNA and Gram-positivity. Within the class Clostridia, E. eligens is placed in the order Clostridiales, which includes a large variety of anaerobic bacteria with varying metabolic capabilities. E. eligens is a member of the Eubacterium genus, a phylogenetically and phenotypically diverse genus. The genus was first proposed in 1938 by French bacteriologist Prévot, grouping together beneficial bacteria from human feces. This genus has later been described as being defined by default, such that its members cannot be classified into other closely related genera, including Propionibacterium, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, or Actinomyces, based on metabolic differences. This means that organisms within this genus may be more similar to organisms in other genera than to organisms within the genus, but ultimately each could not be classified in other genera due to a fundamental metabolic difference. The genus Eubacterium is also closely related to the Clostridium genus, and thus the two share many phenotypic similarities. Due to the high heterogeneity of the Eubacterium genus, it has been proposed to reclassify the species in this genus, and this reclassification process has already begun. A 2019 study aimed at reclassifying species within the Bacteroidetes phylum used 16s rRNA data processed through the Genome BLAST Distance Phylogeny (GBDP) program to generate a sister group of a clade comprising E. eligens, Lachnospira multipara, and Lactobacillus rogosae. This finding prompted the potential renaming of E. eligens to Lachnospira eligens.
Discovery
Eubacterium eligens was first discovered by Holdeman and Moore in 1974 in human fecal samples. Holdeman and Moore worked in the Anaerobe Lab at Virginia Tech where they were able to isolate and define almost 200 new microbes from the human intestinal tract. E. eligens was isolated and described alongside 12 other unknown anaerobic species after being discovered during studies of the human fecal flora. Holdeman and Moore named the new bacteria with eligens, meaning choosy, due to its poor growth in the absence of fermentable carbohydrates.
Isolation and characterization
Isolation was done using a modified version of the Hungate roll-tube method, as well as the traditional method of plates and broth in anaerobic jars. Characterization was based on growth on or reaction to 32 different substrates by the isolated bacterium. Some defining characteristics included motility, as well as unique fermentation products from peptone yeast (PY)-glucose, PY-pyruvate, and PY-gluconate media, which mainly included high amounts of formate and acetate and low amounts of lactate as the fermentation products from each of those carbon sources. E. eligens also has a GC content of 36%. Holdeman and Moore described the differentiation of E. eligens from closely related species by the following characteristics: the small amount of lactate as a fermentation product, presence of motility, poor growth without fermentable carbohydrates, differences in cellular morphology, and lack of hydrogen production.
Physiology & metabolism
Eubacterium eligens exhibits optimal growth at 37 °C but is able to grow well up to a temperature of 45 °C, while no
growth occurs when temperatures reach 30 °C or below. This makes E. eligens mesophilic and the human gut provides optimal temperature conditions for growth. Growth is only observed when fermentable carbons were available in the growth media. Colonies grown on rumen fluid-glucose-cellobiose agar (RGCA) complete medium for 5 days had a diameter of 0.5-1mm, were tan in color, and lenticular in shape. Colonies grown in anaerobic conditions on blood agar plates were non-hemolytic and their morphology was white, shiny, circular, entire, convex, smooth, and translucent.
According to Duttaroy, Firmicutes such as E. eligens metabolize polysaccharides such as pectin and the major fermentation products include acetate and formate. BacDive establishes that E. eligens performs arginine and urea hydrolysis, nitrate reduction, and utilizes tryptophan as an energy source.
What is known about the metabolism of E. eligens generally centers around its ability to break down carbohydrates, which makes it heterotrophic. Studies have shown that bacteria in the gut microbiota – which is where E. eligens can be found – interact with carbohydrates. In terms of testing the carbon acquisition of E. eligens specifically, other studies have shown this species outcompete other species in piglet fecal samples when piglets were fed sugar beet pulp as well as fructooligosaccharide, which were the only sources of carbon available to the gut microbiota. Additional research has also supported that this bacteria metabolizes the pectin in sugar beets and apples, which is a polysaccharide often found in fruit. Overall, not only does this indicate the metabolic functions of the bacteria, this research also illustrates the potential role it plays in the gut as a heterotrophic fermenter. Another role it plays is part of the CDP-diacylglycerol biosynthesis pathway, also in the gut microbiota. This is a molecule that is used to create lipids.
Because of its metabolism, many of the genes found and studied in E. eligens focus on fermentation of carbohydrates. It has several genes that encode for enzymes that are intended to break down various carbohydrates, especially pectin. Additionally, it has genes for an ortholog for the endonuclease Cpf1: EeCpf1. This cleaves DNA and has been used in research as a gene silencing tool. It also exhibits more cleavage when associated with a metal cofactor.
Genomics
Eubacterium eligens has a total of 2,723 genes which constitute 2,613 protein genes, 66 RNA genes, and 44 pseudogenes. It consists of 2.83 Mb and can undergo 959 enzymatic reactions. According to taxonomical data and classification under NCBI, whole genome sequencing was done in part by Mahowald et al. The closest neighbor to E. eligens is E. rectale, and both genome sequences are used together to sequence newly identified microorganisms. The Eubacterium species E. rectale, E. hallii, E. ventriosum, E. eligens, E. coprostanoligenes, and E. limosum are the most closely related to one another with DNA G+C content of the genus varying from 30 to 57 percent. It is difficult to identify E. rectale, E. eligens, and E. biforme using traditional culture methods. Kageyama and Benno found success in using nested PCR, a universal primer pair, and subsequent amplification of the bacterial sample using species-specific primers.
Scientific interest has been spurred by the isolation and genetic sequencing of E. eligens, which has revealed the significance of this organism for human health. The genome of E. eligens has been sequenced and analyzed by researchers using modern methods. To produce high-quality genome drafts, one study concentrated on isolating and sequencing uncultured microbes, such as E. eligens, observed in metagenomic shotgun sequencing of 16s rRNA. The scientists used an assembler known as Athena, which builds high-quality genome drafts from a single shotgun sequencing operation by using barcode information from read clouds.
Applications
Eubacterium eligens emerges as a key component of gut microbiota health with potential implications for battling major health challenges such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. This species demonstrates a strongly negative correlation with abdominal visceral fat area (VFA) and is associated with a decrease in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) risk. Furthermore, it has been linked to lower triglyceride levels and positively correlates with HDL-C levels, emphasizing its potential role in mitigating metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk inherent with obesity. The notable connections between reduced VFA, decreased T1D risk, and improved lipid profiles underscores its potential as a critical ally in managing these conditions.
Moreover, the ability of E. eligens to produce anti-inflammatory compounds opens promising therapeutic avenues for treating inflammatory disorders, supporting its potential as a beneficial probiotic.
Research has also revealed that Eubacterium species, including E. eligens and E. rectale, positively impact health markers such as reduced frailty and improved cognitive ability, alongside an increase in the production of short branched chain fatty acid.
Understanding E. eligens paves the way to novel probiotic and therapeutic interventions, highlighting its significance beyond the scientific community to potentially transform public health approaches to diet, obesity management, and immune regulation, offering new horizons in preventative and curative health measures.
Ecological role in human health
Not much is known about the role of E. eligens, but experiments have shown that it is prolific in the colon. It has been reported that several human health conditions are associated with gut dysbiosis, which can modify the abundance of Eubacterium in the gut microbiome. Maintaining gut homeostasis and systemic health requires understanding the diversity and makeup of the gut microbiota. The population changes of Eubacterium in the gut depend on several factors, including age and nutrition. Studies have indicated a significant correlation between the prevalence of E. eligens in the gut microbiome and specific dietary fibers. Zhang et al. state that fiber is fermented by normal microbiota to make beneficial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which support mucosal intestine linings and reduce inflammation. These findings highlight the relationship between E. eligens and dietary practices. Despite gut microbiota performing many of the same functions, using taxon-centric analysis to classify species leads to high dimensionality because of the vast complexity of strains. Eubacterium is one of the many possible gut microbial taxa that degrade dietary fiber, though E. eligens is one of the only Firmicutes to degrade pectin.
Eubacterium eligens has been found to have a strong correlation to positive cardiometabolic and healthy diet indicators. It also has been associated with higher rates of anti-inflammatory compounds, as stated before, and lower rates of insulin release. They have also been found to have a negative association with stomach fat, meaning the more E. eligens one has in their microbiome, the less visceral fat they tend to have.
References
Gut flora
Bacteria and humans
Bacteria described in 1974
Eubacteriaceae | Eubacterium eligens | [
"Biology",
"Environmental_science"
] | 2,493 | [
"Environmental microbiology",
"Bacteria and humans",
"Bacteria",
"Gut flora"
] |
73,863,468 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big%20Walnut%20Nature%20Preserve | The Big Walnut Preserve, also called the Big Walnut Creek Preserve, is a 2,400-acre complex of largely forested lands located in Putnam County, Indiana, near Bainbridge. Identified as a beech–maple forest with a substantial admixture of tulip poplar, the wooded land parcel complex was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1985. The complex is co-managed by the Nature Conservancy and by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
Description
The Big Walnut Preserve's 2,400 acres contain many separate land parcels with disparate identities and ownerships. The Nature Conservancy manages most of the northern half of the preserve, and IDNR manages most of the southern half.
Historically an oak-hickory forest, after many generations of human fire suppression Big Walnut Preserve has moved towards a maple-beech identity. The ongoing spread of Beech bark disease further compromises this identity. The Nature Conservancy has stated that, as part of the restoration of this National Natural Landmark, they and IDNR have planted more than 125,000 seedlings of red oak, shellbark hickory, and black walnut throughout the complex.
A 1.9-mile trail and parking lot serve a 245-acre unit of the Big Walnut complex.
References
National Natural Landmarks in Indiana
Old-growth forests
Protected areas of Putnam County, Indiana | Big Walnut Nature Preserve | [
"Biology"
] | 278 | [
"Old-growth forests",
"Ecosystems"
] |
73,864,495 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lidia%20Gall | Lidia Nikolaevna Gall (; ; 1 September 1934 – 21 October 2023) was a Russian mass spectrometrist, credited as one of the inventors for electrospray ionization source and high-performance mass analyzers.
Life and career
Gall studied physical electronics at Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and graduated in 1957. After graduation, she conducted research at the Leningrad Special Design Department. She received her PhD in 1973 from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute.
Gall developed ERIAD, an ionization method of liquid samples at atmospheric pressure for mass spectrometry, which is an analogue of electrospray ionization. She researched on a number of high-performance mass analyzers: static mass spectrometers, orbital trapping (Gall, L. N.; Golikov, Y. K.; Aleksandrov, M. L.; Pechalina, Y. E.; Holin, N. A. USSR Inventor’s Certificate 1247973, 1986), MTI-350 series of mass spectrometers; and worked on theoretical calculations of ion trajectories.
Gall was a professor at the Institute of Analytical Instrumentation of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Lidia Gall died on 21 October 2023, at the age of 89.
Awards
For her contribution to mass spectrometry, Gall was awarded the Thomson Medal by the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation in 2022. In the same year, she was awarded the Manuel Riveros Medal by the Brazilian Society of Mass Spectrometry.
References
1934 births
2023 deaths
Scientists from Saint Petersburg
Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University alumni
Russian Academy of Sciences
Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour
Mass spectrometrists
Russian women physicists
Soviet women physicists | Lidia Gall | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 358 | [
"Biochemists",
"Mass spectrometry",
"Spectrum (physical sciences)",
"Mass spectrometrists"
] |
73,864,520 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blautia%20wexlerae | Blautia wexlerae is an anaerobic and gram-positive bacteria that lives in the human intestine.
Studies of gut microbiota have found indications that higher levels of B. wexlerae may decrease obesity in mice and humans. B. wexlerae produces acetylcholine and carbohydrate metabolites (ex. succinate, lactate, acetate). These may modify the gut environment, including the bacterial and SCFA composition of the gut microbiota. Thus, B. wexlerae may offer various, numerous, and diverse benefits for health maintenance.
B. wexlerae has also shown to be positively associated with children with higher cognitive function scores.
References
Gut flora bacteria
Bacteria described in 2008
Lachnospiraceae | Blautia wexlerae | [
"Biology"
] | 167 | [
"Gut flora bacteria",
"Bacteria"
] |
73,864,976 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips%20VG%208000 | The Philips VG-8000, released in 1983, was the first Philips MSX computer, although it was not 100% compliant with the standard (as it lacked a Centronics printer port, expansion bus, or audio out, and had a custom video out).
The VG-8000 was built in France, at Le Mans by Radiotechnique. It was released in Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Italy (as the Phonola VG-8000).
The computer had a poor chiclet type keyboard, with two cartridge ports above it. The keyboard layout was qwerty or azerty, according to the market the computer was sold. It had five double function keys ( to ) on top, and four arrow keys on the right. There were three color LEDs: Power (red), Caps (orange) and Code (green).
There were three versions of this machine:
VG-8000/00, with qwerty keyboard and PAL composite video output;
VG-8000/19, with azerty keyboard and RGB video output (planned but never released according to service manual);
VG-8000/20, with qwerty keyboard and RGB video output.
The machine was expensive and not successful.
Philips VG 8010
The VG-8010, released in January 1984, was a more advanced model with 32 KB of RAM and popular in the Netherlands.
It was built in France, at Le Mans by Radiotechnique, with a retail price of 2290 Fr in September 1985. It was sold in Italy as the Phonola VG-8010.
There were two versions of this machine:
VG-8010/00, with qwerty keyboard and PAL composite video output;
VG-8010/19, with azerty keyboard and RGB video output.
Besides the mentioned Phonola branding, these machines were also sold under the Schneider and Radiola brands:
Schneider MC 810, with 48K RAM, azerty keyboard and RGB video output;
Radiola MK 180, with 48K RAM, azerty keyboard and RGB video output.
The VG-8010 was replaced with the Philips VG-8020, a more advanced machine.
Specifications
Z80A processor running at 3.58 MHz
RAM: 16 KB (VG-8000), 32 KB (VG-8010), 48 KB (MC 810 and MK 180)
ROM: 32 KB (MSX BASIC V1.0)
Video processor: TMS9918
Sound: AY-3-8910
Ports: two cartridge slots, tape-recorder connector, RGB video output, two joystick sockets
References
MSX microcomputer
VG 8000
Z80-based home computers
Computer-related introductions in 1983 | Philips VG 8000 | [
"Technology"
] | 583 | [
"Computing stubs",
"Computer hardware stubs"
] |
58,504,640 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitative%20interactions | Exploitative interactions, also known as enemy–victim interactions, is a part of consumer–resource interactions where one organism (the enemy) is the consumer of another organism (the victim), typically in a harmful manner. Some examples of this include predator–prey interactions, host–pathogen interactions, and brood parasitism.
In exploitative interactions, the enemy and the victim may often coevolve with each other. How exactly they coevolve depends on many factors, such as population density. One evolutionary consequence of exploitative interactions is antagonistic coevolution. This can occur because of resistance, where the victim attempts to decrease the number of successful attacks by the enemy, which encourages the enemy to evolve in response, thus resulting in a coevolutionary arms race. On the other hand, toleration, where the victim attempts to decrease the effect on fitness that successful enemy attacks have, may also evolve.
Exploitative interactions can have significant biological effects. For example, exploitative interactions between a predator and prey can result in the extinction of the victim (the prey, in this case), as the predator, by definition, kills the prey, and thus reduces its population. Another effect of these interactions is in the coevolutionary "hot" and "cold spots" put forth by geographic mosaic theory. In this case, coevolution caused by resistance would create "hot spots" of coevolutionary activity in an otherwise uniform environment, whereas "cold spots" would be created by the evolution of tolerance, which generally does not create a coevolutionary arms race.
See also
Biological interactions
Coevolution
Consumer–resource interactions
Host-pathogen interaction
Parasitism
Predation
References
Biological interactions | Exploitative interactions | [
"Biology"
] | 355 | [
"Biological interactions",
"Ethology",
"Behavior",
"nan"
] |
58,504,805 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm%203D%20printing | Swarm 3D printing or cooperative 3D printing or swarm manufacturing is a digital manufacturing platform that employs a swarm of mobile robots with different functionalities to work together to print and assemble products based on digital designs. A digital design is first divided into smaller chunks and components based on its geometry and functions, which are then assigned to different specialized robots for printing and assembly in parallel and in sequence based on the dependency of the tasks. The robots typically move freely on an open factory floor, or through the air, and could carry different tool heads. Some common tool heads include material deposition tool heads (e.g., filament extruder, inkjet printhead), pick and place tool head for embedding of pre-manufactured components, laser cutter, welding tool, etc. In some cases, operations are managed by artificial intelligence algorithms, increasingly prevalent with larger swarms or more complex robots, which require elements of autonomy to work together effectively. While in its early stage of development, swarm 3D printing is currently being commercialized by startup companies. According to Additive Manufacturing Magazine, AMBOTS is credited with creating the first end-to-end solution for cooperative 3D printing. Using the Rapid Induction Printing metal additive manufacturing process, Rosotics was the first company to demonstrate swarm 3D printing using a metallic payload, and the only to achieve metallic 3D printing from an airborne platform.
See also
References
External links
Fully decentralized robotic swarm performing collective search and exploration -- Applied Complexity Group and Motion, Energy Control Lab at SUTD
Swarm-bots: Swarms of self-assembling artifacts -- EU IST-FET project (2001-2005)
Award-winning swarm-bot video at AAAI 2007
3D printing | Swarm 3D printing | [
"Technology"
] | 347 | [
"Industrial computing",
"Digital manufacturing"
] |
58,505,053 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioinorganic%20Chemistry%20Award | The Bioinorganic Chemistry Award has been awarded by the Dalton division of the Royal Society of Chemistry every two years since 2009. The winner receives £2000 and undertakes a lecture tour in the UK. The award was discontinued in 2020.
Winners
Source:
See also
List of chemistry awards
References
Awards of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Bioinorganic chemistry | Bioinorganic Chemistry Award | [
"Chemistry",
"Technology",
"Biology"
] | 73 | [
"Science and technology awards",
"Science award stubs",
"Biochemistry",
"Bioinorganic chemistry"
] |
58,505,969 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avian%20foraging | Avian foraging refers to the range of activities and behaviours exhibited by birds in their quest for food. In addition to their unique body adaptations, birds have a range of described behaviours that differ from the foraging behaviours of other animal groups. According to the foraging habitat, birds may be grouped into foraging guilds. Foraging includes a range of activities, starting with the search for food, making use of sensory abilities, and which may involve one or more birds either of a single or even of multiple species. This is followed by locomotion and movements to obtain or capture the food, followed by the processing or handling of the foods prior to ingestion. Like all organisms foraging entails balancing the energy spent (in search, locomotion, avoiding predators, handling food) and energy gained. The high metabolic rate of birds, among the highest in the homoeotherm groups, constrains them to ensure a net positive gain in energy and have led evolutionary ethologists to develop the idea of optimal foraging.
Energetics
Foraging involves expending energy and seeking food can be both time and energy consuming. Birds make use of a variety of approaches to improve the efficiency of their foraging. These include foraging in flocks which provides many eyes to seek patches rich in food while also reducing the risk of predation by increasing the efficiency of detecting predators, increasing time spent on handling food, and by reducing individual risk. It has been suggested that individuals may exchange information for instance at communal roosts.
Foraging guilds
Assemblages of bird species that share common habitats or substrate from which food is gathered, and to some extent foraging technique, are conceptually grouped in foraging or trophic guilds. Various attempts have been made to classify foraging guilds for ecological studies and universal and undisputed classifications do not exist. It must also be noted that species may belong to multiple foraging guilds depending on situation (for example, while breeding, in migration, or in disturbed habitats). Specific classifications are used in ecological and behavioural studies. The classifications are often made according to multiple hierarchical criteria and a full classification may include multiple terms. To take an example a bird may be described as "nocturnal gleaning insectivore" with parts of the classification dealing with the time of day, the diet and the technique used to obtain food.
Guild classification on food type based mainly on terms used by North American ornithologists includes:
Carnivore - (feeding on) vertebrates
Crustaceovore- crustacea
Insectivore - insects
Molluscivore - molluscs
Piscivore - fish
Vermivore - various elongated invertebrates especially annelids
Sanguinivore - blood feeding (e.g. oxpeckers, vampire ground finch)
Frugivore - fruits
Granivore - seeds
Nectarivore - nectar (e.g. sunbirds, hummingbirds)
Herbivore - plants (vegetative parts)
Omnivore - a variety of foods
Guild classification based on habitat or substrate from which food is gathered (from generic to specific) includes:
aerial
subcanopy
ground
meadow
arboreal
bark
floral
upper canopy
lower canopy
undergrowth
foliage
water
coastal
coastal beach
coast bottom
coastal rock
coastal water surface
freshwater
freshwater marshes
freshwater bottom
freshwater shoreline
freshwater surface
mud
pelagic
pelagic surface
riparian
bottom
shoreline
Guild classifications based on foraging technique include the following. These may also involve other associated behaviours.
Ambushing / stalking - waiting for prey to come within reach, may involve slow walking
Baiting is a technique known in about 12 species of herons. Here the herons drop feathers or small objects on the water surface to attract fishes to investigate the disturbance and come within striking range of the bird. Burrowing owls use dung to attract beetles.
Foot stirring movements are used by egrets as part of their strategy to disturb prey into range. A variation is foot raking, where the submerged sediment is disturbed by a slow and deliberate backward dragging of one of the feet.
Chasing - pursuing prey on the ground
Leaping - making use of jumps that are powered by the legs
Dabbling - in aquatic birds, involves dipping the head or neck (ie not just the bill) under water
Plunging - diving from air into water to capture prey with bill or into open mouth
Foot plunging - involves plunging from the air to the water or ground surface to seize prey using the feet
Diving - in aquatic birds, involves the whole body being submerged
Excavating - in arboreal birds, searching in wood or bark by drilling a hole
Hammering - delivering a series of pecks without pause (used by woodpeckers)
Scaling - feeding under bark by removing or prying bark
Remsen and Scott (1990) more specifically defined terms like chisel and flake
Scratching - to remove a layer of substrate using the feet
Piracy or Kleptoparasitism - used by some birds to make others disgorge their prey. This is seen in many species of bird including raptors, skuas and a few others and notably absent among seed-eating birds. It is found mainly when hosts are found in numbers and when the food item is large and visible.
Gleaning - picking specific items from the surface of the substrate
Hover-gleaning - picking specific items while flying
Grazing - feeding on grasses, sedges, or their seeds in fields or meadows
Probing - inserting bill into substrate and using touch or taste to detect prey
Mantling - spreading wings and body around prey to protect from piracy, especially seen in birds of prey.
Tool using is seen in some birds. New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows fashion tools to obtain food while woodpecker finches are known to use cactus spines to extract prey out of holes in wood that are too narrow for their beaks to be inserted in.
Gaping - inserting bill into substrate and then opening apart the bill to pry
Grubbing - digging up soil for roots and tubers
Skimming - flying low over water to pick food items using beak
Scavenging - feeding on refuse or carrion
Hawking, fly-catching, or aerial sallying refers to obtaining aerial food, typically flying insects. The birds typically stay on the wing while handling and ingesting the prey. The more specific term flycatching is used to describe birds that fly out of a perch to capture and insect to return with the prey to a perch before handling the prey.
Flush-and-pursue - here the prey is first put into flight before pursuit
Screening - flying with open bills to capture aerial prey
Straining - strain food from water or mud using special structures in the bill
Foraging - a more general term for picking food from a substrate
Other miscellaneous foraging behaviours include:Foot trembling movements may be used by waders such as plovers and lapwings. They are used mainly on wet soil or while wading in shallow water. Some waders move around rapidly in circles, these include the phalaropes, best known for their pirouetting movements, often in deeper water that reaches until their body. Among the first to document the behaviour was the German ornithologist Oskar Heinroth who described it in 1915.
Foot paddling is a foraging behaviour unique to gulls (subfamily Larinae of the family Laridae). The behaviour is exhibited while perched in shallow water, and sometimes on dry land, over short grass or bare soil. The gulls rapidly move their feet up and down while staying at a spot and it is thought that this flushes subterranean prey that they then detect and feed on although there is no definite evidence. Other terms describing the term have included paddling, puddling, pumping, stamping, thumping, tramping, trampling, treading and trembling. The behaviour is found in young gulls and is considered to be innate and does not require learning. The behaviour has been compared by lay observers to rapid dancing moves.
References
Bird behavior | Avian foraging | [
"Biology"
] | 1,613 | [
"Behavior by type of animal",
"Behavior",
"Bird behavior"
] |
58,506,058 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribasic | Tribasic may refer to:
A tribasic, or triprotic acid, containing three potential protons to donate
A tribasic salt, with three hydrogen atoms, with respect to the parent acid, replaced by cations
See also
Monobasic (disambiguation)
Dibasic (disambiguation)
Polybasic (disambiguation)
Chemical nomenclature | Tribasic | [
"Chemistry"
] | 83 | [
"nan"
] |
58,506,134 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlormadinone%20caproate | Chlormadinone caproate (CMC) is a progestin and a progestogen ester which was studied for potential use in combined injectable contraceptives but was never marketed. It was assessed in combination with estradiol valerate at doses of 80 mg and 3 mg, respectively. In addition to chlormadinone acetate (CMA), analogues of CMC include gestonorone caproate, hydroxyprogesterone caproate, medroxyprogesterone caproate, megestrol caproate, and methenmadinone caproate.
See also
List of progestogen esters § Esters of 17α-hydroxyprogesterone derivatives
References
Abandoned drugs
Caproate esters
Organochlorides
Diketones
Pregnanes
Progestogen esters
Progestogens | Chlormadinone caproate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 187 | [
"Drug safety",
"Abandoned drugs"
] |
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