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75,347,853 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOI-4603%20b | TOI-4603 b is a gas giant exoplanet orbiting HD 245134, a F-type subgiant star located 731 light-years away, in the constellation of Taurus. It orbits its host star at a distance of , completing one orbit every 7 days around it. With a density of 14.1 g/cm3 (about 2.5 times that of Earth), it is one of the densest exoplanets known. The planet is just 4% larger than Jupiter, but is 12.9 times more massive, being located in the mass limit between planets and brown dwarfs.
Physical characteristics
TOI-4603 b is similar to the planet Jupiter in size, being only 4% larger. Radial velocity measurements calculated the planet's mass to be meaning that the object is close to the mass limit between planets and brown dwarfs, which is usually set at . Its equilibrium temperature is calculated at .
High density
Combining the radius and mass, the density of TOI-4603 b is calculated to be g/cm³, about 2.5 times greater than Earth's, making it one of the densest exoplanets known to date, and one of the most massive and dense transting exoplanets known.
Orbital characteristics
TOI-4603 b orbits its star at a distance of , and completes one orbit every 7 days and 6 hours. The orbit of TOI-4603 b is very elliptical, having an orbital eccentricity of 0.325, which indicates that the planet is undergoing tidal migration due to a gravitational interaction with another planet. Kervella et al. (2019) found that a brown dwarf with a mass of is orbiting the system at a distance of around 1.8 AU, which may be influencing TOI-4603 b's orbit.
A similar object is a planet called HATS-70b. It is less dense than TOI-4603 b, but similarly close to its star, and also shows signs of orbital migration.
Discovery
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite observed the host star TOI-4603 between September 16, 2021, and December 2, 2021. Afterwards, the group of astronomers led by Akanksha Khandelwal of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in India, reported that a transit signal had been identified in the light curve of the star. Radial velocity measurements taken with the PARAS and TRES spectrographs confirmed the transit signal to be an exoplanet orbiting the star.
It was the third exoplanet discovered by Indian astronomers, using the PARAS spectrograph and the PRL 1.2 m telescope. The discovery was announced in 2023.
Host star
HD 245134 (TOI-4603) is a F-type subgiant located 736 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus. It is well suited for the study of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect and helpful for measuring the projected stellar obliquity of planets. The star has an apparent magnitude of 9.2, being too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It is a metal-rich star, with abundance of iron 2.2 times greater than that of the Sun.
Orbital companions
HD 245134 is orbited by an exoplanet (TOI-4603 b), and by a brown dwarf star at a distance of 1.8 AU from the star.
Notes
References
Exoplanets discovered by TESS
Exoplanets discovered in 2023
Hot Jupiters
Taurus (constellation) | TOI-4603 b | [
"Astronomy"
] | 731 | [
"Taurus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
75,349,990 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth%20Wheeler | Elisabeth A. Wheeler (born January 10, 1944) is an American biologist, botanist, and wood scientist, who is an emeritus professor at the North Carolina State University.
Her research work is in the area of wood anatomy (softwoods and hardwoods) and paleontology (late cretaceous and early tertiary fossil woods),
Most of her pioneering research work has been jointly made with the Dutch botanist, Pieter Baas.
Education
Wheeler studied biology in the Reed College at Portland, Oregon, and got her BA in 1965.
She did her MS studies in botany at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (1968-1970), and she continued with doctorate research in botany obtaining her PhD in 1972.
Research career
During the years 1972–1976, she worked as a curatorial assistant and honorary research fellow at the Bailey-Wetmore Laboratory of Plant Anatomy and Morphology at Harvard University. In 1976, Wheeler became an assistant professor at North Carolina State University in the Department of Wood and Paper Science, where she worked continually until 2008, when she retired as a full professor.
Wheeler has coordinated the NCSU initiative for the creation of the InsideWood, a unique and versatile purely-educational database containing thousands of wood anatomical descriptions and over 66,000 photomicrographs, and its free, open coverage is worldwide.
She is a member of the International Association of Wood Anatomists, the Botanical Society of America, and the International Organization of Paleobotany, and is a Fellow at the International Society of Wood Science and Technology. She served as a co-editor of the IAWA Journal, in cooperation with the then editor, Pieter Baas. In October 2023, a meta-research carried out by John Ioannidis et al. at the Stanford University included Wheeler in Elsevier Data 2022, where she was ranked at the top 2% of researchers of all time in forestry – paleontology. Until March 2024, Wheeler's research work has been cited more than 7,000 times in Google Scholar (h-index: 46).
The standard author abbreviation Wheeler is used to indicate this scientist as the author, when citing a botanical name, e.g. Alangium oregonensis Scott & Wheeler.
Personal life
She lives permanently in Raleigh, North Carolina.
References
External links
ResearchGate Elisabeth Wheeler
InsideWood North Carolina State University
1944 births
Living people
American botanists
North Carolina State University staff
Wood scientists | Elisabeth Wheeler | [
"Materials_science"
] | 484 | [
"Wood sciences",
"Wood scientists"
] |
75,350,246 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-metabolism | A proto-metabolism is a series of linked chemical reactions in a prebiotic environment that preceded and eventually turned into modern metabolism. Combining ongoing research in astrobiology and prebiotic chemistry, work in this area focuses on reconstructing the connections between potential metabolic processes that may have occurred in early Earth conditions. Proto-metabolism is believed to be simpler than modern metabolism and the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA), as simple organic molecules likely gave rise to more complex metabolic networks. Prebiotic chemists have demonstrated abiotic generation of many simple organic molecules including amino acids, fatty acids, simple sugars, and nucleobases. There are multiple scenarios bridging prebiotic chemistry to early metabolic networks that occurred before the origins of life, also known as abiogenesis. In addition, there are hypotheses made on the evolution of biochemical pathways including the metabolism-first hypothesis, which theorizes how reaction networks dissipate free energy from which genetic molecules and proto-cell membranes later emerge. To determine the composition of key early metabolic networks, scientists have also used top-down approaches to study LUCA and modern metabolism.
Autocatalytic prebiotic chemistries
Autocatalytic reactions are reactions where the reaction product acts as a catalyst for its own formation. Many researchers that study proto-metabolism agree that early metabolic networks likely originated as a set of chemical reactions that form self-sustaining networks. This set of reactions is commonly referred to as an autocatalytic set. Some prebiotic chemistries focus on these autocatalytic reactions including the formose reaction, HCN oligomerization, and formamide chemistry.
Formose reaction
Discovered in 1861 by Aleksandr Butlerov, the formose reaction is a set of two reactions converting formaldehyde (CH2O) to a mixture of simple sugars. Formaldehyde is an intermediate in the oxidation of simple carbon molecules (e.g. methane) and was likely present in early Earth's atmosphere. The first reaction is the slow conversion of formaldehyde (C1 carbon) to glycolaldehyde (C2 carbon) and occurs through an unknown mechanism. The second reaction is the faster and autocatalytic formation of higher weight aldoses and ketoses. The kinetics of the formose reaction are often described as autocatalytic, as the alkaline reaction uses lowest molecular weight sugars as feedstocks or input molecules into the reaction. Self-organized autocatalytic networks, like the formose reaction, would allow for adaptation to changing prebiotic environmental conditions. As a proof-of-concept, Robinson and colleagues demonstrated how changing environmental conditions and catalyst availability can impact the resultant sugar products.
In the past, many researchers have suggested the importance of this reaction for abiogenesis and the origins of metabolism because it can lead to ribose. Ribose is a building block of RNA and an important precursor in proto-metabolism. However, there are limitations for the formose reaction to be the chemical origin of sugars including the low chemoselectivity for ribose and high complexity of the final reaction mixture. In addition, a direct joining together of ribose, a nucleobase, and phosphate to make a ribonucleotide (the building block of RNA) is not currently chemically feasible. Alternative prebiotic mechanisms have been proposed including cyanosulfidic prebiotic chemistries.
HCN oligomerization
On Earth, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is made in volcanos, lightning, and reducing atmospheres like the Miller-Urey experiment. On the Hadean Earth, large impactor events and active hydrothermal processes likely contributed to widespread metal production and metal-based proto-metabolism. Hydrogen cyanide has also been detected in meteorites and atmospheres in the outer solar system.
HCN-derived polymers are the oligomer or hydrolysis products of HCN. These polymers can be synthesized from HCN or cyanide salts often in alkaline conditions, but they have been observed in a wide range of experimental conditions. HCN readily reacts with itself to produce many HCN polymers and biologically-relevant compounds like nucleobases, amino acids, and carboxylic acids. The diversity of products could point to a plausible proto-metabolic network of HCN oligomerization reactions. Although, some groups point to low HCN concentrations in early Earth and low chemioselectivity of key biologically-relevant products, similar to the formose reaction. Others have shown that abundant HCN is produced after large impacts and that high specificity and yield can be achieved.
Formamide chemistry
Formamide (NH2CHO) is the simplest naturally-occurring amide. Similar to HCN, formamide can form naturally. Formamide has specific physical and stability properties possibly suitable for a universal prebiotic precursor for early proto-metabolic networks. For example, it has four universal atomic elements ubiquitous to life: C, H, O, N. The presence of unique functional groups involving oxygen and nitrogen support reaction chemistries to build key biomolecules like amino acids, sugars, nucleosides and other key intermediates of other prebiotic reactions (e.g. the citric acid cycle). In addition, early Earth geological features like hydrothermal pores might support formamide chemistry and synthesis of key prebiotic biomolecules with concentration requirements.
Overall, formamide chemistry can support connections and substrates needed to support prebiotic biomolecule synthesis including the formose reaction, Strecker synthesis, HCN oligomerization, or the Fischer-Tropsch process. In addition, formamide can be easily concentrated through evaporation reactions as it has a boiling point of 210C. Although this reaction has high versatility across one-carbon atom precursors, the connections between different biosynthetic pathways are yet to be directly explored experimentally.
Experimental reconstruction
Many research groups are actively attempting experimental reconstruction of the interactions between prebiotic reactions. One major consideration is the ability for these reactions to operate in the same environmental conditions. These one-pot syntheses would likely push the reaction towards specific subgroups of molecules. The key to building proto-metabolic scenarios involves coupling constructive and interconversion reactions. Constructive reactions use autocatalytic prebiotic chemistries to increase the structural complexity of the original molecule, while interconversion reactions connect different prebiotic chemistries by changing the functional groups appended to the original molecule. A functional group is a group of atoms that has similar properties whenever it appears in different molecules. These interconversion reactions and functional group transformations can lead to new prebiotic chemistries and precursor molecules.
Cyanosulfidic scenario
Cyanosulfidic scenarios are mechanisms for proto-metabolism proposed by the Eschenmoser and Sutherland groups. Research from the Eschenmoser group suggested that interactions between HCN and aldehydes can catalyze the formation of diaminomaleodinitrile (DAMN). Iterations of this cycle would generate multiple intermediate metabolites and key biomolecular precursors through functional group transformations by hydrolytic and redox processes. To expand upon this finding, the Sutherland group experimentally assessed the assembly of biomolecular building blocks from prebiotic intermediates and one-carbon feedstocks. They synthesized precursors of ribonucleotides, amino acids and lipids from the reactants of hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, acrylonitrile (product of cyanide and acetylene), and dihydroxyacetone (stable triose isomer of glyceraldehyde and phosphate). These reactions are driven by UV light and use hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as the primary reductant in these reactions. As each of these synthesis reactions was tested independently and some reactions require periodic input of additional reactants, these biomolecular precursors were not strictly generated through a one-pot synthesis expected of early Earth environments. In the same work, these authors argue that flow chemistry or the movement of reactants through water could generate the conditions favorable for the synthesis of these molecules.
Glyoxylate scenario
Eschenmoser also proposed a parallel scenario where the connections between prebiotic reactions would be connected by glyoxylate, a simple α-ketoacid, produced by HCN oligomerization and hydrolysis. In this work, Eschenmoser proposes potential schemes to generate both informational oligomers and other key autocatalytic reactions from plausible one-carbon sources (HCN, CO, CO2).
The Krishnamurthy group at Scripps experimentally expanded on this theory. In mild aqueous conditions, they demonstrated that the reaction of glyoxylate and pyruvate can produce a series of α-ketoacid intermediates constituting the reductive tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. This reaction proceeded without metal or enzyme catalysts as glyoxylate acted as both the carbon source and reducing agent in the reaction. Similarly, the Moran group have also reported pyruvate and glyoxylate can react in warm iron-rich water to produce TCA intermediates and some amino acids. Their work has successfully reconstructed 9 out of 11 TCA intermediates and 5 universal metabolic precursors. Additional experimental analysis is needed to connect this scenario to modern metabolism.
Energy sources
Unlike proto-metabolism, the bioenergetic pathways powering modern metabolism are well understood. In early Earth conditions, there were mainly three kinds of energy to support early metabolic pathways: high energy sources to catalyze monomers, lower energy sources to support condensation or polymerization, and energy carriers that support transfer of energy from the environment to metabolic networks. Examples of high energy sources include photochemical energy from ultraviolet light, atmospheric electric discharge, and geological electrochemical energy. These energy sources would support synthesis of biological monomers or feedstocks for proto-metabolism. In contrast, examples of lower energy sources for assembly of more complex molecules include anhydrous heat, mineral-catalyzed synthesis, and sugar-driven reactions. Energy carrier molecules could allow for propagation of the energy through the metabolic networks likely resembled modern energy carriers including ATP and NADH. Both energy carriers are nucleotide-based molecules and likely originated early in metabolism.
Metabolism-first hypothesis
Metabolism-first hypothesis suggests that autocatalytic networks of metabolic reactions were the first forms of life. This is an alternative hypothesis to RNA-world, which is a genes-first hypothesis. It was first proposed by Martynas Ycas in 1955. Many recent work in this area is focused in computational modeling of theoretical prebiotic networks.
Metabolism-first proponents postulate that replication and genetic machinery could not arise without the accumulation of the molecules needed for replication. Alone, simple connections between prebiotic synthesis reactions could form key organic molecules and once encapsulated by a membrane would constitute the first cells. These reactions could be catalyzed by various inorganic molecules or ions and stabilized by solid surfaces. Molecular self-replicators and enzymes would emerge later, with these future metabolisms better resembling modern metabolism.
One critique for the metabolism-first hypothesis for abiogenesis is they would also need self-replicating abilities with a high degree of fidelity. If not, the chemical networks with greater fitness in early Earth would not be preserved. There is limited experimental evidence for these theories, so additional exploration in this area is needed to determine the feasibility of a metabolism-first origins of life.
References
Wikipedia Student Program
Origin of life | Proto-metabolism | [
"Biology"
] | 2,387 | [
"Biological hypotheses",
"Origin of life"
] |
75,350,882 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta2%20Librae | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Zeta2 Librae}}
ζ2 Librae (abbreviated Zeta2 Librae, Zeta2 Lib, ζ2 Lib), also known as 33 Librae, is a variable star in the constellation Libra. It is approximately 261 light-years away from the Sun.
Zeta2 Librae does not have an HR number, although it is included in the Bright Star Catalogue Supplement.
Characteristics
33 Librae is an F-type main sequence star. It is an α2 Canum Venaticorum variable or a rapidly oscillating Ap star, thus it bears the variable star designation GZ Librae and is almost 14 times brighter than the Sun.
See also
List of stars in Libra
References
Libra (constellation)
F-type stars
Alpha2 Canum Venaticorum variables
137949
75848
J15293475-1726274
Rapidly oscillating Ap stars | Zeta2 Librae | [
"Astronomy"
] | 199 | [
"Libra (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
78,311,114 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green%20photocatalyst | Green photocatalysts are photocatalysts derived from environmentally friendly sources. They are synthesized from natural, renewable, and biological resources, such as plant extracts, biomass, or microorganisms, minimizing the use of toxic chemicals and reducing the environmental impact associated with conventional photocatalyst production.
A photocatalyst is a material that absorbs light energy to initiate or accelerate a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process. They are semiconducting materials which generate electron-hole pairs upon light irradiation. These photogenerated charge carriers then migrate to the surface of the photocatalyst and interact with adsorbed species, triggering redox reactions. They are promising candidates for a wide range of applications, including the degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater, the reduction of harmful gases, and the production of hydrogen or solar fuels. Many methods exist to produce photocatalysts via both conventional and more green approaches including hydrothermal synthesis or sol-gel, the difference being in the material sources used.
Green precursor materials for photocatalysts
Green sources
A green source for photocatalyst synthesis refers to a material that is renewable, biodegradable, and has minimal environmental impact during its extraction and processing. This approach aligns with the principles of green chemistry, which aim to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances in chemical processes. Green sources are abundant, readily available, and often considered as waste materials, thus offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional photocatalyst precursors.
Plant-based precursors
Plant extracts and agricultural waste products have emerged as promising green sources for photocatalyst production, offering attractive alternatives to conventional precursors due to their abundance, biodegradability, and cost-effectiveness. Extracts from various plant parts, such as leaves, roots, and fruits, contain phyto-chemicals that can act as reducing and stabilizing agents in nanoparticle synthesis, contributing to the formation of desired photocatalyst morphologies. Meanwhile, waste materials from agricultural processes, such as rice husks and sugarcane bagasse, are rich in cellulose and lignin. These components can be used as precursors for carbon-based photocatalyst or as templates for the synthesis of porous nano-materials.
Notes:
NPs: Nanoparticles
CSS: Core-Shell Structure
The table summarizes various plant-based nanoparticles and nanocatalysts, including their synthesis methods, particle sizes, shapes, and corresponding references.
Bio-waste precursors
Utilizing bio-waste, such as food waste and animal waste, for green photocatalyst synthesis offers a dual benefit of waste management and material production. These waste streams are rich in organic matter, which can be converted into valuable carbon-based photocatalyst through various thermochemical processes.
Notes/Explanations:
NPs: Nanoparticles
nHAp/ZnO/GO: Nano-hydroxyapatite/Zinc Oxide/Graphene Oxide composite
CaO@NiO: Calcium Oxide coated with Nickel Oxide
y-Fe2O3/Si: Gamma-Iron(III) Oxide supported on Silicon
Fe2O3-SnO2: Iron Oxide-Tin Oxide composite
Marine macroalgae/seaweed precursors
Seaweed is a highly promising green source for photocatalyst synthesis due to its rapid growth rates and minimal environmental requirements. It does not require freshwater or fertilizers for cultivation, making it a sustainable and environmentally friendly option. Various seaweed species have been explored for their ability to produce nanoparticles and to act as templates for the synthesis of photocatalytic materials.
Notes/Explanations:
NPs: Nanoparticles
Dispersion and stability of green sources
Notes/Explanations:
NPs: Nanoparticles
Zeta Potential: A measure of the surface charge of nanoparticles, which influences their stability and dispersion.
PDI: Polydispersity Index, a measure of the size distribution of nanoparticles.
Common green precursor materials for photocatalysts
Photocatalyst synthesis methods
Hydrothermal synthesis
Hydrothermal synthesis is a green method that utilizes water under high pressure and temperature to facilitate chemical reactions. It often avoids the need for organic solvents and offers control over crystal size and morphology, making it a versatile approach for producing various photocatalyst materials.
Microwave-assisted synthesis
Microwave-assisted synthesis employs microwaves to provide rapid and uniform heating, leading to faster reaction rates and potential for significant energy savings compared to conventional heating methods. This technique is increasingly favored in green synthesis due to its reduced energy consumption and potential for shorter reaction times.
Sol-gel method
The sol-gel method involves the formation of a gel from a solution, followed by its conversion into a solid material through controlled drying and calcination. It is a versatile technique widely used in the production of various photocatalyst materials, offering advantages in terms of controlling material composition and morphology.
Comparing photocatalyst synthesis methods
The table below provides a comparison of the advantages, potential limitations, and suitability of different green synthesis methods:
Applications of photocatalysts
Wastewater treatment
Degradation of organic pollutants
Green photocatalyst effectively break down organic contaminants in wastewater into less harmful products through a process known as photocatalytic oxidation. Upon light irradiation, the photocatalyst generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide radicals (O2•-), which attack and decompose organic pollutants. Green photocatalyst synthesized from plant extracts or agricultural waste have shown promising results in degrading various dye molecules, including methylene blue, rhodamine B, and methyl orange. Green photocatalyst have demonstrated the ability to remove pharmaceutical contaminants such as carbamazepine, ibuprofen, tetracycline from wastewater. Additionally, green photocatalyst have been successfully employed in the degradation of pesticides such as alachlor.
Notes/Explanations:
NPs: Nanoparticles
CoFe2O4: Cobalt Ferrite
Removal of heavy metals
In addition to degrading organic pollutants, green photocatalyst can also contribute to the removal of toxic heavy metals from wastewater. The large surface area and functional groups present on green photocatalyst, particularly those derived from carbon-based sources like bio-waste, can effectively adsorb heavy metal ions from the water. Furthermore, photogenerated electrons from the green photocatalyst can reduce heavy metal ions to their less toxic elemental forms, which can then be more easily removed from the wastewater.
Antibacterial activity
Mechanisms of action
Green photocatalyst exhibit potent antibacterial properties due to their ability to generate ROS upon light irradiation. These ROS, including hydroxyl radicals and superoxide radicals, can damage bacterial cell walls and membranes, leading to cell death.
Examples and applications
Several green photocatalyst have shown promising antibacterial activity. ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using plant extracts have demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against a wide range of bacteria, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. TiO2-based photocatalyst, particularly those doped with silver or copper, exhibit enhanced antibacterial properties under visible light irradiation, making them suitable for disinfection applications. Potential applications of these materials include water disinfection and the creation of antibacterial surfaces. Green photocatalyst can be used to disinfect water by killing harmful bacteria, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional disinfection methods. Incorporating them into coatings or surfaces can create self-sterilizing materials, reducing the risk of bacterial contamination in healthcare settings and other environments.
Notes/Explanations:
NPs: Nanoparticles
Ag/Ag2O: Silver/Silver Oxide Composite
Toxicity assessments
Importance of toxicity evaluation
Despite their sustainable origins, a thorough evaluation of the potential toxicity of green photocatalyst is essential to ensure their safe and responsible application in various settings. Even though they are synthesized from environmentally benign materials, their unique properties and nanoscale dimensions can potentially pose risks to human health and the environment. It is crucial to assess the potential for adverse effects before widespread implementation of these materials in water treatment, air purification, or biomedical applications.
Methods for toxicity assessment
Various methods are employed to assess the potential toxicity of green photocatalyst. Eco-toxicity tests expose organisms such as algae, daphnia, or fish to varying concentrations of the photocatalyst to evaluate their effects on growth, reproduction, or mortality. These tests provide valuable insights into the potential impact of green photocatalyst on aquatic ecosystems. Cytotoxicity assays are conducted in laboratory settings using human cell lines to evaluate the potential toxicity of green photocatalysts to human cells. These assays help determine the potential for adverse effects on human health upon exposure to these materials.
Notes/Explanations:
NPs: Nanoparticles
MTT Assay: 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, a colorimetric method to assess cell viability.
See also
References
Catalysis
Sustainable technologies
Photochemistry | Green photocatalyst | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,931 | [
"Catalysis",
"Chemical kinetics",
"nan"
] |
78,312,467 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio%20map | Radio maps, also known as radio environment maps, describe how radio waves spread across a geographical region. The main types of radio maps are signal strength maps and propagation maps. Signal strength maps provide a metric that quantifies the received power at each location. In turn, propagation maps characterize the propagation channel between arbitrary pairs of locations.
Radio maps can be used in a large number of applications, especially in the context of wireless communications. For instance, network operators can use radio maps to determine where to deploy new base stations or how to allocate frequencies.
Signal strength maps
Signal strength maps quantify signal strength at each location. Formally, a signal strength map can be seen as a function that provides a signal strength metric for each location . Here, is a vector that contains the spatial coordinates of the location of interest.
Oftentimes, a signal strength map is represented by a matrix or tensor that collects the values of on a set of points that form a regular grid.
The types of signal strength maps, presented below, are determined by the signal strength metric that they provide.
Coverage Maps
In coverage maps, takes a binary value that indicates whether the received signal strength meets a certain quality objective. For example, in the case of digitally-modulated signals, such a quality objective can be a maximum admissible bit error rate.
Coverage maps are mainly used by operators to visualize the areas in which a certain service is successfully provided. The positions and sizes of regions with poor coverage can inform the operators on locations where new base stations can be deployed.
Outage Probability Maps
In outage probability maps, is the outage probability at location . Therefore, this kind of maps provides more rich information than coverage maps, since they may indicate the fraction of the time in which the signal strength meets the desired objective. Outages may occur for example due to small fading, due to moving obstacles in the signal propagation paths, or due to excessive interference.
Power Maps
In power maps, is the received signal strength at . This information is more detailed than the information provided by coverage or outage probability maps, which just indicate whether the signal strength is below or above a certain threshold. This is important because, depending on the signal strength, a certain radiocommunication link may adopt a different modulation and coding. This is the case, for example, of cellular communications.
PSD Map
Power spectral density (PSD) maps return the PSD at each location. Therefore, they are functions of the form , where is the frequency variable. They constitute the most detailed form of radio maps, as they provide the distribution of signal power not only across space but also across the frequency domain.
PSD maps may be used e.g. by network operators to determine which frequency bands contain most interference.
Propagation maps
Propagation maps characterize signal propagation between arbitrary pairs of locations. For this reason, a propagation radio map is a function of two locations and . In the case of channel-gain maps, is the gain of the channel when the transmitter is at and the receiver at (or viceversa).
Radio map construction
Simulation
A typical approach to construct a radio map is via ray-tracing software. These programs use a 3D model of the region of interest to predict how the waves radiated by a certain transmitter propagate to every location.
A more traditional approach is to use a radio propagation model. Some of these models are based on electromagnetic propagation theory, whereas others are empirical.
Radio map estimation
Radio map estimation (RME) comprises a collection of techniques used to estimate a radio map from measurements across the area of interest. These measurements may be collected by sensors or, simply, by communication terminals, which also act as sensors.
In many practical scenarios, RME may be more convenient than simulation approaches such as ray-tracing since the latter require detailed 3D models of the propagation scenario, which are seldom available in practice.
The most common algorithms for RME are Kriging, kernel methods, and deep learning.
Notes
References
Romero, Daniel and Kim, Seung-Jun, (2022). "Radio Map Estimation: A Data-Driven Approach to Spectrum Cartography", IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 39(6), Oct. 2022.
Map types
Mobile technology | Radio map | [
"Technology"
] | 854 | [
"nan"
] |
78,312,540 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2MASS%20J05581644%E2%80%934501559 | 2MASS J0558 (also known as 2MASS J05581644–4501559) is a young red dwarf. It has one planetary-mass object orbiting it at a separation of 1043 astronomical units.
The host star
The primary was observed at the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and the spectrum agrees with an M4V spectral type. The star shows several features of youth, such as H-alpha emission and likely shallower absorption due to TiO, CaH and FeH. TESS shows a variability with a period of 1.56 days and several flares. A short rotation period and the frequency of flares also agree with a young age. The researchers use the rotation period to determine an age limit of 120-650 Million years (Myr). The higher brightness in ultraviolet and maybe x-ray from GALEX and ROSAT are also in agreement with this age. The researchers find that the star could be a member of the 30-100 Myr old Octans-Near moving group, but the nature of this moving group is disputed.
Planetary system
CWISEP J055816.68-450233.6 was first identified as a possible proper motion object by the CatWISE team in 2020 in WISE data and with Spitzer follow-up. But this team was not able to confirm the motion of this object. Follow-up observations with Magellan/FIRE showed a near-infrared spectral type of T8.5 and it was mentioned for the first time that it could be a companion to 2MASS J0558 (see table 2). In 2024 it was discovered that this T-dwarf co-moves with 2MASS J0558 from WISE/NEOWISE data and it was given the name 0558B. The pair is separated by 38.67 arcseconds. The paper also mentions which citizen scientist from the backyard worlds project discovered this object. The discoverers are the CatWISE team, Arttu Sainio, Dan Caselden and Jim Walla. The spectrum does not show strong peculiarities and the companion was classified as a T8. It does show enhanced K-band spectrum, but it is not clear if this is a sign of youth. From the age of the primary, the secondary has a mass of 6-12 , meaning it is below the deuterium-burning limit. This makes this object a planetary-mass companion.
See also
List of directly imaged exoplanets
List of exoplanets discovered in 2024
References
Exoplanets discovered in 2024
M-type main-sequence stars
T-type brown dwarfs
Pictor
2MASS objects | 2MASS J05581644–4501559 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 548 | [
"Pictor",
"Constellations"
] |
78,313,123 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological%20functor | In category theory and general topology, a topological functor is one which has similar properties to the forgetful functor from the category of topological spaces. The domain of a topological functor admits construction similar to initial topology (and equivalently the final topology) of a family of functions. The notion of topological functors generalizes (and strengthens) that of fibered categories, for which one considers a single morphism instead of a family.
Definition
Source and sink
A source in a category consists of the following data:
an object ,
a (possibly proper) class of objects
and a class of morphisms .
Dually, a sink in consists of
an object ,
a class of objects
and a class of morphisms .
In particular, a source is an object if is empty, a morphism if is a set of a single element. Similarly for a sink.
Initial source and final sink
Let be a source in a category and let be a functor. The source is said to be a -initial source if it satisfies the following universal property.
For every object , a morphism and a family of morphisms such that for each , there exists a unique -morphism such that and .
Similarly one defines the dual notion of -final sink.
When is a set of a single element, the initial source is called a Cartesian morphism.
Lift
Let , be two categories. Let be a functor. A source in is a -structured source if for each we have for some . One similarly defines a -structured sink.
A lift of a -structured source is a source in such that and for each
A lift of a -structured sink is similarly defined. Since initial and final lifts are defined via universal properties, they are unique up to a unique isomorphism, if they exist.
If a -structured source has an initial lift , we say that is an initial -structure on with respect to . Similarly for a final -structure with respect to a -structured sink.
Topological functor
Let be a functor. Then the following two conditions are equivalent.
Every -structured source has an initial lift. That is, an initial structure always exists.
Every -structured sink has a final lift. That is, a final structure always exists.
A functor satisfying this condition is called a topological functor.
One can define topological functors in a different way, using the theory of enriched categories.
A concrete category is called a topological (concrete) category if the forgetful functor is topological. (A topological category can also mean an enriched category enriced over the category of topological spaces.) Some require a topological category to satisfy two additional conditions.
Constant functions in lift to -morphisms.
Fibers () are small (they are sets and not proper classes).
Properties
Every topological functor is faithful.
Let be one of the following four properties of categories:
complete category
cocomplete category
well-powered category
co-well-powered category
If is topological and has property , then also has property .
Let be a category. Then the topological functors are unique up to natural isomorphism.
Examples
An example of a topological category is the category of all topological spaces with continuous maps, where one uses the standard forgetful functor.
References
Category theory
General topology | Topological functor | [
"Mathematics"
] | 667 | [
"General topology",
"Functions and mappings",
"Mathematical structures",
"Mathematical objects",
"Fields of abstract algebra",
"Topology",
"Mathematical relations",
"Category theory"
] |
78,313,294 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PKS%200420-014 | PKS 0420-014 is a blazar located in the constellation of Eridanus. This is a high polarized quasar with a redshift of (z) 0.915, first discovered as an astronomical radio source by astronomers in 1975. The radio spectrum of this source appears to be flat, making it a flat-spectrum radio quasar (FRSQ).
Description
PKS 0420-014 is found to be violently variable on the electromagnetic spectrum from long-centimeter to short-millimeter wavelengths. It is a source of gamma ray activity, showing a flux of (E>100 MeV) of (0.8 ± -0.2) 10−6 photons cm s−2 at the time of its high state, when observed by the Large Area Telescope in January 2010.
Additionally, optical flares not associated with gamma ray activity were observed in PKS 0420-014. In 1979 a flare displayed a magnitude increase of 1.3 in 5 days, which was followed by a decreasing magnitude of 1.7 in 23 days. Its flare recorded between February and March 1992, was the highest observed optical state observed during the period EGRET recorded the highest gamma ray flux density. Subsequent flares were detected in July 2012 and in October 2020, when it reached magnitude15.25 on both days after a state of quiescence.
The source of PKS 0420-014 at milliarcsecond (mas) resolutions shows a symmetrical and unresolved core. This is interpreted as the case of either the jet being aligned near the line of sight or a "naked" core. At lambda observations at 7 millimeters, the source is resolved into a core and a bent jet while at kiloparsec scales, it shows a structure extending directly south out by 25" with a weak secondary component located northeast of the core.
The jet of PKS 0420-014 is strongly dominated by a radio core in parsec-scales, indicating the presence of a multicomponent substructure in its core. There are two moving components in the jet's innermost part, with one of them located near the core exhibiting a slower motion and accelerating beyond 0.2 mas as soon its trajectory switches from -100° to -175°. A bright outer component located from the core, is also shown to move ballistically along -72° at a similar speed to the inner component. There are also five other jet components displaying superluminal motion at βapp ~ 2-14c, with all of them following a common curved path within the jet.
It is suggested that the source for the flux density variations in PKS 0420-014 is the presence of a binary supermassive black hole system with masses of about 7 x 107 Mʘ and 2.1 x 108 Mʘ which have a rotation period of 150 years. The gravitational influence of this binary system likely causes the precession of its accretion disk as well as the ejection of plasma from the black hole. As the accretion disk is precessed, the magnetic field lines and relativistic beaming are both perturbed.
References
External links
PKS 0420-014 on SIMBAD
PKS 0420-014 on NASA/IPAC Database
Blazars
Quasars
Eridanus (constellation)
BL Lacertae objects
Active galaxies
075147
Astronomical objects discovered in 1975 | PKS 0420-014 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 711 | [
"Eridanus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
78,316,148 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibre%20Chemistry | Fibre Chemistry is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers the chemistry, technology, and applications of man-made fibers. It is the English translation of the Russian journal Khimicheskie Volokna (Химические Волокна) and publishes research covering the synthesis, properties, and industrial applications of synthetic fibers. It is published by Springer Science+Business Media and the editor-in-chief is Nikolay N. Matchalaba (Russian Academy of Engineering). The journal publishes both original research and review articles on textiles and materials science more in general.
Abstracting and indexing
The journal is abstracted and indexed in:
According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2023 impact factor of 0.5.
References
External links
English-language journals
Textile journals
Springer Science+Business Media academic journals
Bimonthly journals
Academic journals established in 1969 | Fibre Chemistry | [
"Materials_science"
] | 186 | [
"Materials science journals",
"Textile journals"
] |
78,316,349 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithmic%20party%20platforms%20in%20the%20United%20States | Algorithmic party platforms are a recent development in political campaigning where artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are used to shape and adjust party messaging dynamically. Unlike traditional platforms that are drafted well before an election, these platforms adapt based on real-time data such as polling results, voter sentiment, and trends on social media. This allows campaigns to remain responsive to emerging issues throughout the election cycle.
These platforms rely on predictive analytics to segment voters into smaller, highly specific groups. AI analyzes demographic data, behavioral patterns, and online activities to identify which issues resonate most with each group. Campaigns then tailor their messages accordingly, ensuring that different voter segments receive targeted communication. This approach optimizes resources and enhances voter engagement by focusing on relevant issues.
During the 2024 U.S. election, campaigns utilized these tools to adjust messaging on-the-fly. For example, the AI firm Resonate identified a voter segment labeled "Cyber Crusaders," consisting of socially conservative yet fiscally liberal individuals. Campaigns used this insight to quickly focus outreach and policy discussions around the concerns of this group, demonstrating how AI-driven platforms can influence strategy as events unfold.
Background and relevance in modern campaigns
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into political campaigns has introduced a significant shift in how party platforms are shaped and communicated. Traditionally, platforms were drafted months before elections and remained static throughout the campaign. However, algorithmic platforms now rely on continuous data streams to adjust messaging and policy priorities in real time. This allows campaigns to adapt to emerging voter concerns, ensuring their strategies remain relevant throughout the election cycle.
AI systems analyze large volumes of data, including polling results, social media interactions, and voter behavior patterns. Predictive analytics tools segment voters into specific micro-groups based on demographic and behavioral data. Campaigns can then customize their messaging to align with the priorities of these smaller segments, adjusting their stances as trends develop during the campaign. This level of segmentation and customization ensures that outreach resonates with voters and maximizes engagement.
Beyond messaging, AI also optimizes resource allocation by helping campaigns target specific efforts more effectively. With predictive analytics, campaigns can identify which areas or demographics are most likely to benefit from increased outreach, such as canvassing or targeted advertisements. AI tools monitor shifts in voter sentiment in real time, allowing campaigns to quickly pivot their strategies in response to developing events and voter priorities. This capability ensures that campaign resources are used efficiently, minimizing waste while maximizing impact throughout the election cycle.
AI's use extends beyond national campaigns, with local and grassroots campaigns also leveraging these technologies to compete more effectively. By automating communication processes and generating customized voter outreach, smaller campaigns can now utilize AI to a degree previously available only to well-funded candidates. However, this growing reliance on AI raises concerns around transparency and the ethical implications of automated content creation, such as AI-generated ads and responses.
AI technology, which was previously accessible only to large, well-funded campaigns, has become increasingly available to smaller, local campaigns. With declining costs and easier access, grassroots campaigns now have the ability to implement predictive analytics, automate communications, and generate targeted ads. This democratization of technology allows smaller campaigns to compete more effectively by dynamically adjusting to the concerns of their constituents.
However, the growing use of AI in political campaigns raises concerns about transparency and the potential manipulation of voters. The ability to adjust messaging in real time introduces ethical questions about the authenticity of platforms and voter trust. Additionally, the use of synthetic media, including AI-generated ads and deepfakes, presents challenges in maintaining accountability and preventing disinformation in political discourse.
Impact on political platforms
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become instrumental in enabling political campaigns to adapt their platforms in real time, responding swiftly to evolving voter sentiments and emerging issues. By analyzing extensive datasets—including polling results, social media activity, and demographic information—AI systems provide campaigns with actionable insights that inform dynamic strategy adjustments.
A study by Sanders, Ulinich, and Schneier (2023) demonstrated the potential of AI-based political issue polling, where AI chatbots simulated public opinion on various policy issues. The findings indicated that AI could effectively anticipate both the mean level and distribution of public opinion, particularly in ideological breakdowns, with correlations typically exceeding 85%. This suggests that AI can serve as a valuable tool for campaigns to gauge voter sentiment accurately and promptly.
Moreover, AI facilitates the segmentation of voters into micro-groups based on demographic and behavioral data, allowing for tailored messaging that resonates with specific audiences. This targeted approach enhances voter engagement and optimizes resource allocation, as campaigns can focus their efforts on demographics most receptive to their messages. The dynamic nature of AI-driven platforms ensures that campaign strategies remain relevant and responsive throughout the election cycle.
However, the integration of AI in political platforms also raises ethical and transparency concerns, particularly regarding the authenticity of dynamically adjusted messaging and the potential for voter manipulation. Addressing these challenges is crucial to maintaining voter trust and the integrity of the democratic process.
In summary, AI significantly shapes political platforms in real time by providing campaigns with the tools to analyze voter sentiment, segment audiences, and adjust strategies dynamically. While offering substantial benefits in responsiveness and engagement, it is imperative to navigate the accompanying ethical considerations to ensure the responsible use of AI in political campaigning.
Ethical and transparency challenges
While AI-driven platforms offer significant advantages, they also introduce ethical and transparency challenges. One primary concern is the potential for AI to manipulate voter perception. The ability to adjust messaging dynamically raises questions about the authenticity of political platforms, as voters may feel deceived if they perceive platforms as opportunistic or insincere.
The use of synthetic media, including AI-generated advertisements and deepfakes, exacerbates these challenges. These tools have the potential to blur the line between reality and fiction, making it difficult for voters to discern genuine content from fabricated material. This has led to concerns about misinformation, voter manipulation, and the erosion of trust in democratic processes.
Additionally, the lack of transparency in how AI systems operate poses significant risks. Many algorithms function as "black boxes," with their decision-making processes opaque even to their developers. This opacity makes it challenging to ensure accountability, particularly when AI-generated strategies lead to controversial or unintended outcomes.
Efforts to address these challenges include calls for greater transparency in AI usage within campaigns. Policymakers and advocacy groups have proposed regulations requiring campaigns to disclose when AI is used in content creation or voter outreach. These measures aim to balance the benefits of AI with the need for ethical integrity and accountability.
Benefits of AI-driven platforms
Despite the challenges, AI-driven platforms offer numerous benefits that can enhance the democratic process. By tailoring messaging to specific voter concerns, AI helps campaigns address diverse needs more effectively. This targeted approach ensures that underrepresented groups receive attention, fostering a more inclusive political discourse.
AI also democratizes access to advanced campaign tools. Smaller campaigns, which previously lacked the resources to compete with well-funded opponents, can now utilize AI to level the playing field. Predictive analytics, automated communications, and targeted advertisements empower grassroots movements to amplify their voices and engage constituents more effectively.
Moreover, AI's ability to process vast amounts of data provides valuable insights into voter sentiment. By identifying trends and patterns, campaigns can address pressing issues proactively, fostering a more informed and responsive political environment. These capabilities also extend to crisis management, as AI enables campaigns to adjust swiftly in response to unforeseen events, ensuring stability and resilience.
References
Political campaign technology
Artificial intelligence
Machine learning | Algorithmic party platforms in the United States | [
"Engineering"
] | 1,572 | [
"Artificial intelligence engineering",
"Machine learning"
] |
78,318,146 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossicaulis%20semiocculta | Ossicaulis semiocculta is a small wood-rotting mushroom species. It was originally described by John Burton Cleland in 1927 as Cliyocybe semiocculta. It was transferred to the genus Ossicaulis by Jerry A. Cooper in 2023.
Description
Pileus 1.2 to 6.2 cm diameter, at first slightly convex with down turned edge, then sometimes expanded and upturned, often depressed over the attachment of the stem, wavy, irregular and more or less lobed at the margin, when found growing usually whitish to dingy whitish or pale buffy white (Cartridge Buff, XXX.) or creamy white and opaque, smooth, a little translucent when very moist, when gathered becoming Ochraceous Buff (XV.) round the edge and even browner in the centre, herbarium specimens drying a dingy biscuit colour. Gills adnate to sometimes slightly decurrent, close, narrow, whitish, then creamy-white. Stem short, 1.2 to 2.5 cm, central to excentric or occasionally almost lateral from the position in which it may have grown, similarly often bent, slender or rather stout, equal or slightly attenuated downwards, pruinose, tough, hollow above, the colour of the pileus. Flesh thin, equally attenuated outwards. Spores nearly subspherical, 3.5 to 4 x 2.5 to 2.8 μm, 4 μm. Sometimes caespitose (growing in dense tufts or clusters). Attached by fluffy-white mycelium to the undersides of thick sheets of fallen or stripped bark and fallen wood on the ground beneath eucalypts, or around the base of stumps, the pilei often emerging with difficulty or only found after removing overlying litter. Cleland used Ridgeway colour standard and nomenclature.
Range
South-eastern Australia (NSW, Victoria, South Australia) south Western Australia and Tasmania. New Zealand.
Habitat
Eucalyptus forest in Australia. In New Zealand recorded on tree ferns (Cyathea medullaris), gymnosperms (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides). monocotyledons (Cordyline australis, Cordyline indivisa, Phormium, Rhopalostylis sapida, and Ripogonum scandens), and dicotyledons (Nothofagacea).
Ecology
Growing on decomposing wood. In New Zealand recorded on dead and decaying tree fern fronds, and fibrous monocotyledon leaf and stem material.
Etymology
From Latin, semi, half; occult us, hidden. The specific name alludes to the frequency with which the mushrooms are often more or less hidden under bark and debris.
Taxonomy
For current taxonomic relationship of the genus see Ossicaulis. As Cliyocybe semiocculta the pale colouration of the pileus, the adnate to slightly decurrent gills, the presence of clamp connections and the absence of cystidia indicate it belongs in Subgenus Clitocybe, Section Disciformes.
Molecular genetics analysis suggests that Ossicaulis is most closely related to the genera Asterophora, Hypsizygus, Lyophyllum, and Tricholomella.
References
Lyophyllaceae
Fungus species | Ossicaulis semiocculta | [
"Biology"
] | 683 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
78,318,260 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaded%20Picture%20System | The Shaded Picture System was a 3D raster computer display processor introduced by Evans & Sutherland in October 1973.
The Shaded Picture System was the first general-purpose, commercially available raster computer graphics display processor capable of real-time, shaded 3D graphics. It could only display black and white graphics at a resolution of 256 by 256. It was extremely expensive, and very few units were ever sold.
History
The principles of shaded, hidden-line true 3D graphics were pioneered at the University of Utah in 1967. However, this algorithm was slow and would take several minutes to produce an image. In 1970, Gary Watkins developed a FORTRAN simulator of a faster algorithm that would theoretically generate shaded 3D images in real-time, "if implemented in suitable hardware". The simulator itself was still not capable of real-time shaded 3D image rendering. Evans & Sutherland developed a functional prototype of this "suitable hardware", which was later sold as the Shaded Picture System in 1973.
About a year earlier in 1972, Evans & Sutherland sold the first and only CT1 to Case Western Reserve University. The CT1, or Continuous Tone 1, was a specialized image generator, not meant as a marketable or mass-produced product. At the time, the CT1, along with G.E./NASA's upgraded Electronic Scene Generator from 1971, would have been the only real-time raster graphics systems sold to customers comparable to the Shaded Picture System, although both the CT1 and Electronic Scene Generator were intentionally produced as one-off products and specialized for the needs of their customers. The Shaded Picture System, in contrast, was intentionally marketed.In early 1975, Evans & Sutherland demonstrated a random-access video frame buffer using relatively low-cost semiconductor memory, which was much more capable than the Shaded Picture System. When interfaced with a (non-shaded) E&S Picture System, the frame buffer had a resolution of 512 by 512 in grayscale and partial color capabilities. By the end of 1975, this frame buffer was commercially available.
See also
LDS-1 (Line Drawing System-1)
References
Graphical terminals
Display devices
Computer graphics | Shaded Picture System | [
"Engineering"
] | 431 | [
"Human–machine interaction",
"Display devices"
] |
78,318,750 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New%20Zealand%20Fungarium | The New Zealand Fungarium (PDD): Te Kohinga Hekaheka o Aotearoa is the major collection of fungi from Aotearoa (New Zealand). It is one of the largest collections in the Southern Hemisphere. The Fungarium is designated a Nationally Significant Collection by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
History
The accessioning of collections that led to the establishment of the New Zealand Fungarium (PDD): Te Kohinga Hekaheka o Aotearoa began with the appointment of G.H. Cunningham in 1919 by the Department of Agriculture. Cunningham and the collection were transferred to the Department of Science and Industrial Research's Plant Diseases Division in 1936. This is the origin of the PDD acronym. The DSIR was disestablished and reorganised into a number of Crown Research Institutes (CRI) in 1992. The Fungarium is now part of and maintained by the CRI Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research.
Collections
The Fungarium houses the collections of R.E. Beever (Agaricales, Boletales), G.H. Cunningham (Aphyllophorales, Gasteromycetes, Uredinales), J.M. Dingley (Ascomycetes), E. Horak (Agaricales), S.J. Hughes (Hyphomycetes, sooty moulds), R.F.R. McNabb (Agaricales, Boletaceae, Dacrymycetaceae, Strobilomycetaceae, Tremellaceae), R.H. Petersen (Clavariaceae), G.J. Samuels (Ascomycetes), and K. Curtis. Fungal specimens from the herbarium of the Plant Health and Diagnostic Station, Levin (LEV) have been incorporated into PDD.
The study of the New Zealand native mushrooms and other larger fungi was pioneered by Greta Stevenson, Marie Taylor, and Barbara Segedin from the late 1940s until the 1990s. Collectively they described over 250 new species of New Zealand fungi. All these are available through the Biota of New Zealand or Systematics Collections Data internet portals.
The Fungarium has over 2900 Type specimens – these are the specimens on which the species descriptions are based. These include over 17000 New Zealand primary Types.
Fungarium staff undertook an assessment in 2019 to identify native fungi that are endangered. As a result, 30 species were added to The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
Staff talk about the Fungarium
Meet Maj Padamsee, curator of the New Zealand Fungarium (2022)
Meet Adrienne Stanton, collection manager at the NZ Fungarium | Te Kohinga Hekaheka o Aotearoa (2022)
Peter Buchanan introduces the New Zealand Fungarium | Te Kohinga Hekaheka o Aotearoa (2022)
References
Fungarium
Biorepositories | New Zealand Fungarium | [
"Biology"
] | 626 | [
"Bioinformatics",
"Biorepositories"
] |
78,319,099 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PKS%200735%2B178 | PKS 0735+178 is a classical BL Lac object in the northern constellation of Gemini. This is one of the brightest objects of its type in the night sky. It has a redshift of z = 0.424, with a luminosity distance of . PKS 0735+178 is a nearly point-like source with an angular size of a milliarcsecond.
This object was identified as a radio source during the third part of a radio survey at the Parkes Observatory, and became catalogued as PKS 0735+178. An optical counterpart was found in 1970 which showed a continuous optical spectrum. In contrast, the radio emission is variable at frequencies greater than . The radio spectrum appears mostly flat above and the properties are similar to BL Lacertae. That is, it is an extragalactic object that resembles a quasar but lacks optical emission lines. It has a very complex light curve which shows indications of periodicity.
Gamma-ray emission was detected from this source in 1999. X-ray and gamma-ray emission was found to be steady from this source, whereas it displayed extreme variability in radio and optical bands. Radio images of this object produced via very long baseline interferometry show a compact core with a jet that extends toward the northeast. The latter displays features of superluminal motion. Higher resolution observations show a pair of bends in the jet.
In 2021, this target was found to be a candidate source for multiple neutrino events. Neutrino event 211208A was detected by the IceCube observatory and a best fit location was found within 2.2° of PKS 0735+178. This observation occurred while PKS 0735+178 was undergoing a particularly strong flare event that was detected in the optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands.
References
Further reading
BL Lacertae objects
Neutrino astronomy
Gemini (constellation)
2825195 | PKS 0735+178 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 402 | [
"Neutrino astronomy",
"Gemini (constellation)",
"Astronomical sub-disciplines",
"Constellations"
] |
78,320,288 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20banned%20and%20restricted%20pesticides%20in%20India | This article provides a comprehensive list of pesticides currently subject to specific regulatory restrictions in India as of 31 March 2024. Restrictions are implemented to protect public health, the environment, and to ensure safer agricultural practices by limiting the use, production, and application of certain pesticides.
Pesticides banned from manufacture, import, and use
Pesticides banned for use but manufacture allowed for export
Pesticides Withdrawn
Pesticides refused registration
Pesticides restricted for use in the country
Recent proposals
The Government of India has proposed further restrictions on the usage of 27 pesticides which are already banned in other countries on 14 May 2020. This decision follows recommendations from an expert committee that reviewed the safety, environmental impact, and international regulatory status of these substances. The proposal seeks to ban the import, manufacture, sale, transport, and use of these pesticides in agriculture, citing risks such as carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, and toxicity to aquatic organisms and pollinators.
Proposed pesticides for restricted Use in India
References
Pesticides by country
Pesticide regulation | List of banned and restricted pesticides in India | [
"Chemistry"
] | 208 | [
"Regulation of chemicals",
"Pesticide regulation"
] |
78,322,705 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decarbonization%20pathway | A decarbonization pathway is a way for something, such as a country or energy system, to reach a greenhouse gas emissions target, such as net zero by 2050. Decarbonization pathways include technology, economy and policy.
Some research, such as the Deep Decarbonization Pathways initiative, studies only the energy sector whereas others cover an entire country or city, such as London. There can also be pathways for organizations, such as companies, or things such as buildings. Pathways may include behavioral change, such as lower-carbon travel.
References
Greenhouse gas emissions | Decarbonization pathway | [
"Chemistry"
] | 117 | [
"Greenhouse gases",
"Greenhouse gas emissions"
] |
66,642,203 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrocordia%20gemmata | Acrocordia gemmata is a species of lichen belonging to the family Monoblastiaceae.
Acrocordia gemmata is characterised by a thin, crustose thallus that ranges in colour from white to pale gray or green, with no hypothallus visible. The perithecia are hemispherical, black and somewhat immersed in the thallus, with an ostiole at the top and long-celled pseudoparaphyses.
The asci are narrowly cylindrical, and have an apical dome with a broad ocular chamber, covered by a hemispherical meniscus-like structure. The asci contain 8 ellipsoid ascopores each (18-30 x 8-12 μm), which are 1-septate and have finely granular perispores. The pycnidia of Acrocordia gemmata are rare and dispersed, measuring 0.1-0.25 mm, with 3-5 x 0.8-1 μm conidia. Its photobiont is Trentepohlia
Acrocordia gemmata is commonly found on the bark of deciduous trees, throughout Europe, Asia, Macaronesia, New Zealand, North America.
References
Dothideomycetes
Fungi described in 1854
Fungus species | Acrocordia gemmata | [
"Biology"
] | 268 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,642,510 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceriporiopsis%20jelicii | Ceriporiopsis jelicii is a species of fungus belonging to the family Phanerochaetaceae.
References
Phanerochaetaceae
Fungus species | Ceriporiopsis jelicii | [
"Biology"
] | 34 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,642,523 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletocutis%20stellae | Skeletocutis stellae is a species of fungus belonging to the family Polyporaceae.
It is native to Eurasia and Northern America.
S. stellae is found growing on spruce and pine, mostly in old-growth, undisturbed forest habitats. (Kotiranta & Niemelä 1996, Niemelä 1998).
References
Polyporales
Fungus species | Skeletocutis stellae | [
"Biology"
] | 79 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,642,550 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antrodiella%20canadensis | Antrodiella canadensis is a species of fungus belonging to the family Phanerochaetaceae.
Synonym:
Tyromyces canadensis (Overh. ex J.Lowe) J.Lowe, 1975
References
Steccherinaceae
Fungus species | Antrodiella canadensis | [
"Biology"
] | 56 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,643,309 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyaura%20borylation | Miyaura borylation, also known as the Miyaura borylation reaction, is a named reaction in organic chemistry that allows for the generation of boronates from vinyl or aryl halides with the cross-coupling of bis(pinacolato)diboron in basic conditions with a catalyst such as PdCl2(dppf). The resulting borylated products can be used as coupling partners for the Suzuki reaction.
Scope
The Miyaura borylation has shown to work for:
Alkyl halides, aryl halides, aryl halides using tetrahydroxydiboron, aryl halides using bis-boronic acid, aryl triflates, aryl mesylates, vinyl halides, vinyl halides of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, and vinyl triflates.
See also
Chan-Lam coupling
Heck reaction
Hiyama coupling
Kumada coupling
Negishi coupling
Petasis reaction
Sonogashira coupling
Stille reaction
Suzuki reaction
List of organic reactions
References
Name reactions | Miyaura borylation | [
"Chemistry"
] | 222 | [
"Name reactions",
"Organic redox reactions",
"Organic reactions"
] |
66,645,249 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom%20localization | Atom localization deals with estimating the position of an atom using techniques of quantum optics with increasing precision. This field finds its origins in the thought experiment by Werner Heisenberg called Heisenberg's microscope, which is commonly used as an illustration of Heisenberg's Uncertainty relation in quantum mechanics textbooks. The techniques have matured enough to offer atom localization along all three spatial dimensions in the subwavelength domain. Atom localization techniques have been applied to other fields requiring precise control or measurement of the position of atom-like entities such as microscopy, nanolithography, optical trapping of atoms, optical lattices, and atom optics. Atom localization is based on employing atomic coherence to determine the position of the atom to a precision smaller than the wavelength of the light being used. This seemingly surpasses the Rayleigh limit of resolution and opens up possibilities of super-resolution for a variety of fields.
Subwavelength atom localization: surpassing the Rayleigh limit
Given that in the discussion of the Heisenberg's microscope, Rayleigh limit of resolution and Heisenberg's Uncertainty are intricately related creates an impression that surpassing Rayleigh limit would lead to violation of Heisenberg's Uncertainty limit. It can be mathematically shown that the spatial resolution can be enhanced to any amount without violating Heisenberg's Uncertainty relation. The price to be paid is the momentum kick received by the particle whose position is being measured. This is depicted in the figure on the right.
One dimensional atom localization
Localization of an atom in a transverse direction from its direction of motion can be easily achieved using techniques such as quantum interference effects, coherent population trapping, via modification of atomic spectra such as through Autler-Towns Spectroscopy, resonance fluorescence, Ramsey interferometry, and via the monitoring of probe susceptibility through electromagnetically induced transparency, when the atom is interacting with at least one spatially-dependent standing wave field.
Applications
The study of atom localization has offered practical applications to the area of nanolithography at the Heisenberg limit along with its fundamental importance to the areas of atom optics, and laser cooling and trapping of neutral atoms. Extending the atom localization schemes to two dimensions, optical lattices with tighter than usual confinement at each lattice point can be obtained. Such strongly confined lattice structures could be useful to study several predictions of the Bloch theory of solids, and Mott transitions in much cleaner systems as compared to conventional solids. Such tighter trapping potentials could have further applications to the area of quantum information specifically for the development of deterministic sources of single atoms and single-atom quantum register. Techniques of atom localization are also important to the subwavelength microscopy and imaging and determination of the center-of-mass wavefunction of atom-like entities.
Footnotes
Atomic physics | Atom localization | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 583 | [
"Quantum mechanics",
"Atomic physics",
" molecular",
"Atomic",
" and optical physics"
] |
66,646,643 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan%20Trlifaj | Jan Trlifaj (born 30 December 1954) is a professor of Mathematics at Charles University whose research interests include Commutative algebra, Homological algebra and Representation theory.
Career and research
Jan Trlifaj studied mathematics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, from which he received MSc. in 1979, Ph.D. in 1989 under Ladislav Bican. and Prof. of Mathematics in the field Algebra and number theory in 2009.
In the academic year 1994/95 he had the position as Postdoctoral Fellow of the Royal Society at Department of Mathematics at University of Manchester. In Fall 1998 he received the J.W.Fulbright Scholarship at the Department of Mathematics, University California at Irvine. During Fall 2002 and 2006 he was a visiting professor at Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, Barcelona.
Since 1990, he has completed numerous short term visiting appointments and given over 100 invited lectures at conferences and seminars worldwide.
Since 2017, he is Fellow of Learned Society of the Czech Republic.
He served in the organizing committee of 18th International Conference on
Representations of Algebras (ICRA 2018), held for 250 participants from 34 countries in August 2018 in Prague, Czech Republic.
He has been elected Fellow of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) in 2020, for contributions to homological algebra and tilting theory for non finitely generated modules.
He serves as Member of the Science board for Neuron prize that is awarded to best Czech scientists by Neuron Endowment Fund.
Selected publications
Papers
1994:
1996:
2001: (with Paul C. Eklof), (with Saharon Shelah)
2007: (with Jan Šťovíček)
2012: (with Dolors Herbera), (with Sergio Estrada, Pedro A. Guil Asensio, and Mike Prest)
2014: (with Lidia Angeleri Hügel, David Pospíšil, and Jan Šťovíček)
2016: (with Alexander Slávik)
Books
2006, 2012: Approximations and Endomorphism Algebras of Modules, de Gruyter Expositions in Mathematics 41, Vol. 1 - Approximations, Vol. 2 - Predictions, W. de Gruyter Berlin - Boston, xxviii + 972 pp. (with Rüdiger Göbel)
Awards and distinctions
Prize of the Dean of MFF for the best monograph 2006
MFF UK Silver medal at the Sexagennial anniversary
Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, 2020
References
External links
Personal web page
20th-century Czech mathematicians
21st-century Czech mathematicians
Algebraists
Fellows of the American Mathematical Society
Charles University alumni
Living people
1954 births
Czechoslovak mathematicians | Jan Trlifaj | [
"Mathematics"
] | 530 | [
"Algebra",
"Algebraists"
] |
66,647,626 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%20Patschke | Arthur Patschke (13 April 1865 – 1934) was a German aether theorist, engineer and opponent of the theory of relativity.
Biography
Patschke was born in Braniewo, Kingdom of Prussia in the Ermland region of East Prussia. He was the son of a mill owner. Patschke studied at Mittweida College of Technology and graduated in 1887 as a mechanical engineer. During 1912-1914, he studied electrical engineering at the Technische Hochschule in Berlin (now Technische Universität Berlin). He was a designer of steam turbines.
In 1900, he began constructing a rotating steam engine, designed and presented at the Commercial and Industrial Exposition in Düsseldorf in 1902. He also developed a "transverse steam turbine". Patschke was influenced by his professional experience of engineering and aimed to show "that the earth is a universal turbine, a universal ether turbine in large." In 1907, he moved to Berlin and worked for Siemens-Schuckert, a German electrical engineering company.
A strict mechanist, Patschke proposed the "Universal Law of Force", which stated that "bodies floating in gasses (heavenly bodies, planets, atoms) can only move forward when they have received force from behind". His universal mechanical theory (Universal Law of Force) was outlined in his book Elektromechanik, in 1921. His theory held that atoms have central significance since the pressure force from the movement of atoms is the primordial force from which all natural forces originate.
Patschke was an opponent of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and believed that all mechanical phenomena in the universe could be traced to the activity of tiny aether particles. In Patschke's scientific worldview aether attained a quasi-religious status to unlock all mysteries of the universe. Patschke's theory proposed the existence of "primordial force mass", a universal aether that causes all mechanical phenomena (gravitation, electricity, magnetism, heat, light, and chemical processes).
Patschke stated in numerous publications in the 1920s to have refuted Einstein's theory of relativity. However, his views were ignored by the scientific community. Patschke attacked the theory of relativity in his book with the English title Overthrow of Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
Selected publications
Transversal-Dampfturbinen für elastische Kraftmittel (1904)
Lösung der Welträtsel durch das einheitliche Weltgesetz der Kraft (1905)
Elektromechanik: Einheitliche erklärung und mechanik der naturkräfte (1921)
Umsturz der Einsteinschen Relativitätstheorie (Overthrow of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, 1922)
References
External links
Arthur Patschke (Online Books)
1865 births
1934 deaths
German electrical engineers
Materialists
People from Braniewo
Pseudoscientific physicists
Relativity critics | Arthur Patschke | [
"Physics"
] | 609 | [
"Materialists",
"Relativity critics",
"Theory of relativity",
"Materialism",
"Matter"
] |
66,647,902 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucopaxillus%20compactus | Leucopaxillus compactus is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae.
It is native to Europe.
References
Tricholomataceae
Fungus species | Leucopaxillus compactus | [
"Biology"
] | 38 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,647,915 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucopaxillus%20alboalutaceus | Leucopaxillus alboalutaceus is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae.
It is native to Europe and Northern America.
References
Tricholomataceae
Fungus species | Leucopaxillus alboalutaceus | [
"Biology"
] | 45 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,647,989 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State%20Research%20Center%20for%20Applied%20Microbiology | The State Research Center for Applied Microbiology (aka Institute of Microbiology and NPO Biosintez; ) is a research laboratory in Obolensk, Moscow Oblast.
History
The facility was built in the 1970s after the Biological Weapons Convention prompted the formation of the Biopreparat directorate at the Soviet Union Ministry of Health. It reached a peak level of activity in the mid-1980s. Facilities at this complex "included at least forty two-story tall fermentation tanks, maintained at Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4) inside huge ring-shaped biocontainment zones in a building called Corpus One." A variety of bacterial microbes, especially Yersinia pestis, were studied during at minimum the last years of the 20th century.
As the USSR crumbled, the British and the Americans convinced the Russians to open up for inspection their state laboratory facilities, including their biological ones.
The joint British-American weapons-inspection team toured four Biopreparat facilities in January 1991, including the high-security Obolensk facility. They found that the BSL4 production tanks were capable of making enormous quantities of agent, much like a beer brewery. The inspectors reported the tanks were clean.
In order to dissuade the staff from collaborating with rogue states, the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction programme offered incentives to former biological weapons scientists, as well as upgrading the physical security and biosafety of the Obolensk facilities.
In 1997, a scientist working at the Institute named Pomerantsev published a paper in which were described some genetic modifications to the Anthrax bacteria.
References
Biological hazards
Biosafety level 4 laboratories
Laboratories in Russia
Research institutes in Russia
Biological warfare
Medical research institutes in the Soviet Union
Soviet biological weapons program
Pharmaceutical companies of Russia
Pharmaceutical companies of the Soviet Union | State Research Center for Applied Microbiology | [
"Biology"
] | 372 | [
"Biological warfare"
] |
66,648,017 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepista%20luscina | Lepista luscina is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae.
It has cosmopolitan distribution.
References
luscina
Fungus species | Lepista luscina | [
"Biology"
] | 34 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,648,270 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer%20E.%20Smith%20%28biologist%29 | Jennifer Elaine Smith (Jenn Smith) is a behavioral ecologist and evolutionary biologist. She is an associate professor of Biology at University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. Previously, she was an associate professor and chair of biology at Mills College, in Oakland, California, prior to its merger with Northeastern University. Her research focuses primarily on the social lives of mammals based on insights gained from long-term studies on marked individuals and comparative approaches.
Early life and education
Smith was born in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. She holds a B.A. in biology with a concentration in environmental science from Colby College and an M.S. in integrative biology from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She went on to complete dual PhDs in zoology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) Program at Michigan State University. Her dissertation research with Kay E. Holekamp involved extensive fieldwork in Kenya and focused on the evolutionary and ecological forces shaping patterns of cooperation among spotted hyenas
Before joining the faculty at Mills College, she was an American Association of University Women postdoctoral fellow with Daniel T. Blumstein at the department of ecology and evolutionary biology, as well as in the Institute for Society and Genetics, at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Work and academic contributions
Smith is known for her contributions to our understanding of sociality in free-living mammals. Among her most prominent contributions are those focused on animal social networks, comparative social evolution, the fission-fusion society of and coalition formation in spotted hyenas, leadership in mammalian societies, explaining large-scale patterns of collective animal behavior, intergroup conflict, and intragroup coalitions across mammalian societies. Since 2013, she has managed her own Long-term Study on the Behavioral Ecology of the California ground squirrel at Briones Regional Park. This project on marked individual ground squirrels is revealing new insights into the nexus among behavioral type (i.e., personality traits), stress physiology, parasite loads, microbial diversity, and social networks in a changing world. More broadly, Smith is also interested applying comparative approaches to understand patterns of (in)equality in nature.
References
External links
Smith Behavioral Ecology Lab
Evolutionary biologists
Ethologists
Living people
Colby College alumni
Michigan State University alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire faculty
Mills College faculty | Jennifer E. Smith (biologist) | [
"Biology"
] | 492 | [
"Ethology",
"Behavior",
"Ethologists"
] |
66,649,291 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute%20of%20Applied%20Biochemistry | The Institute of Applied Biochemistry is a research laboratory and bioweapons production facility located in Omutninsk, Kirov Oblast. For a time in the 1980s, the facility was directed by Ken Alibek.
Wild rodents like rats that live in the woods outside the factory are chronically infected with the "Schu-4 military strain" of tularemia due to a "small leak" in a basement pipe found in the twilight years of the USSR to be dripping a viral suspension into the ground.
References
Biological hazards
Laboratories in Russia
Research institutes in Russia
Biological warfare
Medical research institutes in the Soviet Union
Soviet biological weapons program
Pharmaceutical companies of Russia
Pharmaceutical companies of the Soviet Union | Institute of Applied Biochemistry | [
"Biology"
] | 137 | [
"Biological warfare"
] |
66,653,171 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium%20acetate | Strontium acetate is a compound of strontium. It is a white solid and is soluble in water like other acetates. It is used as a pathway for other chemicals such as barium acetate. Additionally, it is used in some strontium-containing toothpastes.
Preparation
Strontium acetate is formed by reacting strontium hydroxide or strontium carbonate in acetic acid.
References
Strontium compounds
Acetates | Strontium acetate | [
"Chemistry"
] | 96 | [
"Inorganic compounds",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
66,655,182 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuck%3A%20How%20Vaccine%20Rumors%20Start%20and%20Why%20They%20Don%27t%20Go%20Away | Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away (2020), published by Oxford University Press and written by the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Vaccine Confidence Project, Heidi Larson, looks at what influences attitudes to vaccination. It was largely compiled before the COVID-19 pandemic and inspired by her feeling that the dialogue between scientists and the public regarding vaccines was becoming complex on a background of increasing online information.
Using historical examples, from 19th century protests against smallpox vaccination to 21st-century boycotts of polio vaccination programmes, to show how rumours about vaccinations spread, the book looks chiefly at high-income countries and examines the factors that form opinions about vaccination.
Publication
Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away was published by Oxford University Press in 2020, and written by the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Vaccine Confidence Project, Heidi Larson. It was largely compiled before the COVID-19 pandemic. It has 200 pages, of which 127 pages cover eight chapters, which are preceded by acknowledgements, prologue and an introduction, and are followed by notes and an index.
Synopsis
The book addresses misinformation related to vaccination, and asks how vaccine rumors start and why they do not go away. Looking chiefly at high-income countries, the book examines social, political, psychological and cultural factors that make up the various mind-sets to vaccination. Larson also uses historical examples, from 19th century protests against smallpox vaccination to 21st-century boycotts of polio vaccination programmes, to show how rumours about vaccinations spread. She writes: "Digital media has certainly contributed to the social amplification of risk, but there is no single culprit in this wave of dissent."
Larson was inspired by her feeling that the dialogue between scientists and the public, regarding vaccines, was becoming complex, against a background of a proliferation of online information. However, there is "opportunity for change", if vaccine experts can engage using social media.
The book concludes with a call to social media companies to take responsibility for the part their technology plays in disseminating information pertaining to vaccines, because "for vaccine uptake to increase, the public must be inspired to protect one another".
Reception
Released during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Lancet stated that "at a time of increasing global uncertainty, Larson's values of respecting other people's views and engaging with them will be crucial". With the challenges of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, Joan Donovan, writing in Nature, agreed with Larson's findings. The book was also reviewed in the New Scientist.
References
External links
2020 non-fiction books
2020 in medicine
Vaccination
Oxford University Press books
Medical books | Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start and Why They Don't Go Away | [
"Biology"
] | 589 | [
"Vaccination"
] |
66,655,186 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepista%20panaeolus | Lepista panaeolus is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae.
It has cosmopolitan distribution.
References
panaeolus
Fungus species | Lepista panaeolus | [
"Biology"
] | 36 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,655,191 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepista%20irina | Lepista irina is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae. It is a choice edible mushroom.
It has cosmopolitan distribution.
References
irina
Edible fungi
Fungus species | Lepista irina | [
"Biology"
] | 39 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,655,203 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepista%20glaucocana | Lepista glaucocana is a species of fungus belonging to the family Tricholomataceae.
It is native to Europe and Northern America.
References
glaucocana
Fungus species | Lepista glaucocana | [
"Biology"
] | 40 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
66,656,807 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postia%20lateritia | Postia lateritia is a species of fungus belonging to the family Fomitopsidaceae.
It is native to Europe and Northern America.
References
Fomitopsidaceae
Fungus species | Postia lateritia | [
"Biology"
] | 38 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
63,857,352 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bil%20Clemons | William "Bil" Clemons, Jr. is an American structural biologist and Professor of Biochemistry at Caltech. He is best known for his work solving the atomic structure of the ribosome with dissertation advisor, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Venki Ramakrishnan. He is also known for his work on the structure and function of proteins involved in membrane translocation and docking of proteins, including the membrane protein translocation channel SecY, chaperones involved in the targeting of tail-anchored membrane proteins in the Get pathway, and signal recognition proteins of the Twin-arginine translocation pathway. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022.
Education
Clemons received a B.S. in biochemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1995. In 2000, he received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Utah while working jointly with the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, in Cambridge, England under the advisement of Venki Ramakrishnan. He then spent four years, from 2001 to 2005, as a postdoctoral fellow under Professor Tom Rapoport in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School.
Career
In January 2006, Clemons began as an assistant professor in the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division at the California Institute of Technology. In 2013, Clemons became professor of Biochemistry. He has also held a Visiting Professor appointment from 2018-2019 at the Institute of Organic Chemistry & Biochemistry, Prague, Czech Republic.
Diversity and Inclusion
As a member of the President's Diversity Council at Caltech, Clemons mentors and advocates for diversity and enrollment of minority students in STEM education. He has spoken on the intersection of science and diversity as an invited speaker.
Clemons serves as a Science Program Officer for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Honors and awards
2018 Virginia Tech Biochemistry - Distinguished Alumni
2017 Dr. Fred Shair Award for Programming Diversity
2011-2016 NIH Pioneer Award
2005-2010 Burroughs Wellcome Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences
References
External links
https://www.bwfund.org/newsroom/awardee-profiles/awardee-profile-bil-clemons
https://sbgrid.org/software/tale/predicting-success
https://www.biochem.vt.edu/people/Featured_Alumni.html
https://science.oregonstate.edu/IMPACT/2018/02/distinguished-biochemist-speak-diversity-science-higher-education
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
California Institute of Technology faculty
Structural biologists
University of Utah alumni
Virginia Tech alumni
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | Bil Clemons | [
"Chemistry"
] | 555 | [
"Structural biologists",
"Structural biology"
] |
63,857,622 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams%20clasp | An Adams clasp is a component used to retain a custom-made medical device in the mouth. The clasp functions by engaging the mesiobuccal and distobuccal undercuts of a tooth, typically the maxillary first molar and is used to retain a wide range of devices prescribed in a variety of medical and dental specialties.
Synonyms
The Adams clasp is so named because it was invented by English orthodontist C. Philip Adams. It was originally referred to as the modified arrowhead clasp and has been called the Liverpool clasp because it was developed at the Liverpool Dental School where Adams lectured. The terms Adams crib and universal clasp have also been used.
Material
The component is formed from a length of hard stainless steel wire with Adams universal pliers. The wire for a permanent tooth is typically 0.7mm in diameter but 0.8mm can also be used, especially for clasps that are made to fit two teeth. A clasp for a deciduous tooth can be made from 0.6mm or 0.7mm wire and 0.6mm wire has been advocated for a canine.
References
1949 in science
1949 introductions
Dental materials
English inventions
Medical devices
Orthodontics
Orthodontic appliances
Prosthetics
Prosthodontology
Restorative dentistry
Stainless steel
University of Liverpool | Adams clasp | [
"Physics",
"Biology"
] | 267 | [
"Dental materials",
"Materials",
"Medical devices",
"Matter",
"Medical technology"
] |
63,857,969 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%20Nuclear%20Medicine%20Society | The British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) was established in 1966 and is an independent forum devoted to various aspects of nuclear medicine in the UK. The mission statement of BNMS is "the advancement of science and public education in Nuclear Medicine that would benefit patients."
As of 2020 the BNMS has over 600 members. The BNMS is a registered company and charity.
History
Founders Edward Williams, David Keeling, Steve Garnett, and Ralph McCready formed the society during a meeting held July 1966 at the Prince Alfred pub in Queensway, London. The BNMS began its life as a Nuclear Medicine Society, which was meant to enhance the future prospects of physicians in nuclear medicine. The first president of the society during 1968-69 was Clive J Hayter from Leeds. The organization held annual conferences since 1972. The BNMS hosted the second joint meeting under the presidency of Keith Britton in London in 1985, attended by 3000 participants.
In 2016, BNMS celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and published a 170-page "History of Radionuclide Studies in the UK".
Structure
It is headquartered on the Jubilee Campus of the University of Nottingham.
Activities
BNMS publishes a monthly journal, Nuclear Medicine Communications.
Key events of the society include the biannual conference as well as participation in smaller, subject-specific, meetings and workshops.
BNMS publishes a range of guidance documents for nuclear medicine departments including on; patient information leaflets, the tendering of equipment, diagnostic imaging and non-imaging procedures, therapeutic procedures, and training requirements. Its clinical guidance is indexed in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence evidence search.
The society and its UK Radiopharmacy Group provide resources for radiopharmacies in the UK, as well as work relating to supply issues for medical radionuclides, which largely come from outside the UK. This included several publications related to the impact of a no-deal Brexit.
Awards and fellowships
The Society sometimes gives awards to individuals and teams in the area of nuclear medicine in UK for using innovation and creativity to improve their service to public.
The Society's Norman Veall Medal is offered to those members who contributed to BNMS and the history of nuclear medicine in the UK. This award has been given every year since 1994.
The Society's Presidential Medal prize is offered to Clinicians each year who have made an exceptional contribution to nuclear medicine. This award is given on a yearly basis since 2009.
The Society's Radiographers, Technologists & Nurses Award, as the name suggests, is given to nurses, technologists, or radiographers for making an outstanding contribution to their profession in any aspects of nuclear medicine practice. The award has been given on a yearly basis since 2008.
The Society's Roll of Honour award is offered by the officers to its selected members on the basis of nominations for playing a significant role in the area of their speciality. The prize may also be given posthumously. The award is given on a yearly basis since 2017. The award was first offered during 1983 at the Annual General Meeting.
See also
British Institute of Radiology
References
External links
Official web site
Medical associations based in the United Kingdom
Nuclear medicine organizations
Nuclear medicine procedures
Nuclear technology in the United Kingdom
Organisations based in Nottingham
Science and technology in Nottinghamshire
University of Nottingham | British Nuclear Medicine Society | [
"Engineering"
] | 668 | [
"Nuclear medicine organizations",
"Nuclear organizations"
] |
63,858,231 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex%20trafficking%20in%20East%20Timor | Sex trafficking in East Timor is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
East Timorese citizens, primarily women and girls, have been sex trafficked within the country and to other countries in Asia. Foreign victims are sex trafficked into the country. Children, persons in poverty, and migrants are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking. Victims are deceived, threatened, and or forced into prostitution. They suffer from physical and psychological trauma and are typically guarded and or locked up in poor conditions. A number contract sexually transmitted diseases from rapes. Traffickers are often members of or facilitated by crime syndicates and gangs.
The government of East Timor has been criticized for its inadequate anti-sex trafficking initiatives. Officials and police have been complicit in sex trafficking.
United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor
In the 2000s and 2010s, men in the peacekeeping force of the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor, which assisted police and took part in prostitution raids, were accused of taking part in prostitution It was alleged they frequented brothels, including those using trafficked women. UN vehicles were used to pick up street prostitutes. There were also allegations that a ship chartered by the UN was being used to traffic children for prostitution in the country.
References
Child sexual abuse by country
Crime in Timor-Leste
Forced prostitution
Organized crime activity
Law enforcement in Timor-Leste
Society of Timor-Leste
Sex industry
East Timor
Crimes against women
Women's rights in Timor-Leste | Sex trafficking in East Timor | [
"Biology"
] | 307 | [
"Behavior",
"Sexuality stubs",
"Sexuality"
] |
63,860,914 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stahl%20oxidation | The Stahl oxidation is a copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones. Known for its high selectivity and mild reaction conditions, the Stahl oxidation offers several advantages over classical alcohol oxidations.
Key features of the Stahl oxidation are the use of a 2,2'-bipyridyl-ligated copper(I) species in the presence of a nitroxyl radical and N-methyl imidazole in polar aprotic solvent, most commonly acetonitrile or acetone. Copper(I) sources can vary, though sources with non-coordinating anions like triflate, tetrafluoroborate, and hexafluorophosphate are preferred, with copper(I) bromide and copper(I) iodide salts demonstrating utility in select applications. Frequently, tetrakis(acetonitrile)copper(I) salts are used. For most applications, reactions can be run at room temperature and ambient air contains sufficiently high enough oxygen concentrations to be used as the terminal oxidant. Compared to chromium-, DMSO-, or periodinane-mediated oxidations, this proves safe, environmentally-friendly, practical, and highly economical.
In general, the Stahl oxidation is selective for oxidizing primary alcohols over secondary alcohols (both aliphatic and benzylic), and favors the oxidation of primary benzylic alcohols over primary aliphatic alcohols when TEMPO is used as the nitroxyl radical. This is in contrast to the Oppenauer oxidation, which favors the oxidation of secondary alcohols over primary and several other specialty oxidations. Over-oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids is rare, though lactones can form in certain diol-containing substrates. The use of less hindered nitroxyl radicals like ABNO or AZADO allow for the oxidation of both primary and secondary alcohols.
History
In 2011, Jessica Hoover and Shannon Stahl disclosed improved conditions for selective oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes using a (bpy)copper(I)/TEMPO system. While several catalytic aerobic oxidation systems were known at the time, many utilized palladium, which can be prohibitive through its expense and its cross-reactivity with alkene-bearing substrates. Aerobic oxidative catalysis of alcohols by copper, though known since at least 1984, was generally lower performing, requiring some combination of elevated reaction temperatures, higher catalyst loading, handling of pure oxygen, and biphasic or otherwise non-common solvent systems.
Following the success of this initial disclosure, Hoover and Stahl went on to publish a further simplified protocol for rapid benzylic alcohol oxidation with Nicolas Hill, director of undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Utilizing a less expensive solvent and copper source, Hill, Hoover, and Stahl demonstrated that higher catalyst loadings could be economically achieved. In doing so, the oxidation of alcohols could be accelerated for use as a practical educational tool in undergraduate labs. Furthermore, reaction completion is typically indicated by a change in solution color for red/brown to green resulting from a change in the copper species' resting state. This is unique for benzylic and other activated alcohols, as the rate-limiting-step for these substrates is catalyst re-oxidation, which differs from aliphatic alcohols where the rate limiting step is C-H cleavage. The Stahl oxidation is a component of the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory curriculum at UW-Madison and the University of Utah.
In 2013, the mechanism for the copper(I)/TEMPO oxidation of alcohols was elucidated, and it was found the use of less hindered nitroxyl radical sources allowed for the oxidation of secondary alcohols.
Modifications
Hoover–Stahl oxidation
The Hoover–Stahl oxidation explicitly indicates the earliest of the Stahl oxidation conditions allowing for the selective oxidation of primary alcohols. The system utilizes 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), a copper(I) source (typically tetrakis(acetonitrile) copper(I) triflate, tetrafluoroborate, or hexafluorophosphate), TEMPO, and N-methylimidazole. The reaction is conducted in acetonitrile at room temperature under an atmosphere or air. Catalyst loadings are typically around 5 mol %, with N-methylimidazole being used at 10 mol %. The reaction is selective for oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes and generally does not oxidize secondary alcohols. Solutions for the Hoover–Stahl oxidation are commercially available from Millipore-Sigma, though the catalyst can be easily prepared in situ from common laboratory reagents.
Steves–Stahl oxidation
The Steves–Stahl oxidation indicates the use of a less hindered nitroxyl radical in the Stahl oxidation, allowing for the oxidation of secondary alcohols in addition to primary alcohols. The reaction is conducted in acetonitrile at room temperature under an atmosphere of air, or less commonly, under an atmosphere of oxygen. Typically, the nitroxyl radical used in the Steves–Stahl is 9-Azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane N-Oxyl (ABNO) and is used in conjunction with a more strongly electron-donating 2,2'-bipyridyl ligand compared to bpy, like 4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine, as this is shown to accelerate alcohol oxidation. Due to the comparatively high price and reactivity of ABNO, common practice is to use it sparingly, oftentimes at catalytic loading of 1 mol % or less. Solutions for the Steves–Stahl oxidation are commercially available through Millipore-Sigma, though the mixture can be easily prepared in situ. Due to the high reagent cost associated with the Steves–Stahl oxidation, it is generally only employed for oxidation of secondary alcohols or after the Hoover–Stahl oxidation has proved fruitless. Several improved methods for the scalable preparation of ABNO have been recently published.
Xie–Stahl oxidative lactonization
The Xie–Stahl oxidative lactonization is a lactonization reaction which generally employs Steves–Stahl conditions for the oxidative cyclization of diols. The Xie–Stahl reaction lends itself toward selective formation of γ-, δ-, and ε-lactones, forming the carbonyl at the less-hindered primary alcohol. In some instances, higher selectivity can be afforded through the use of 1 mol % TEMPO in place of ABNO.
Zultanski–Zhao–Stahl oxidative amide coupling
The Zultanski–Zhao–Stahl oxidative amide coupling is a reaction between a primary alcohol and an amine to form an amide. In the Zultanski–Zhao–Stahl reaction, a primary alcohol is oxidized to an aldehyde which, in the presence of an amine, reversibly forms a hemiaminal which is then irreversibly oxidized to the amide by the catalyst. The reaction is performed under an atmosphere of oxygen in the presence of 3Å molecular sieves using relatively high ABNO loading of 3 mol %. Optimal reaction conditions are substrate dependent, requiring specific copper(I) sources, ligands, and solvents depending on the structure of the starting alcohol and amines.
References
External links
Stahl Research Group
Hoover Research Group
Organic oxidation reactions | Stahl oxidation | [
"Chemistry"
] | 1,602 | [
"Organic oxidation reactions",
"Organic redox reactions",
"Organic reactions"
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63,862,244 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific%20Coast%20Gravity%20Meeting | The Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting is a yearly physics conference held to discuss topics in general relativity.
Summary
References
Physics conferences
Conferences in the United States
Gravity | Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting | [
"Physics"
] | 30 | [
"Relativity stubs",
"Theory of relativity"
] |
63,862,257 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas%20C.%20Rees | Douglas Charles "Doug" Rees (born 1952) is an American biochemist, biophysicist, and structural biologist.
Rees graduated from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in 1974 and received a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University in 1980. In 1982 he went to the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1989, he became a professor of chemistry at Caltech. There he is Roscoe Gilkey Dickinson Professor and Dean of graduate studies. From 1997 onwards, he has been an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He served as the editor or co-editor of the Annual Review of Biophysics and Biomolecular Structure (2004–2014).
He examines the structure and function of metal-containing proteins, especially nitrogenase in biological nitrogen fixation, and membrane proteins that carry out ATP-dependent transport through membranes (e.g. ABC transporters). To do this, his group uses X-ray crystallography. His interest in nitrogenase began in William Lipscomb's laboratory.
In 2015 he received the FA Cotton Medal, and in 2020 he was awarded the Gregori Aminoff Prize. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and was a Sloan Research Fellow.
Writings (selected)
Edited with Daniel E. Atkinson, Steven G. Clarke, David S. Barkley: Dynamic models in biochemistry: a workbook of computer simulations using electronic spreadsheets, Benjamin Cummings 1987
as editor: Membrane proteins, Amsterdam / Boston: Academic Press, 2003,
with JB Howard: Nitrogenase: a nucleotide-dependent molecular switch, Annual Review of Biochemistry, volume 63, 1994, pp. 235–264.
with MH Stowell: Structure and stability of membrane proteins, Advances in Protein Chemistry, Volume 46, 1995, pp. 279–311
with JB Howard: Structural Basis of Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Chemical Reviews, Volume 96, 1996, pp. 2965–2982
with George Feher, et al.: Light-induced structural changes in photosynthetic reaction center: implications for mechanism of electron-proton transfer, Science, volume 276, 1997, pp. 812–816
Great metalloclusters in enzymology, Annual Review of Biochemistry, Volume 71, 2002, pp. 221–246.
with JB Howard: Nitrogenase: standing at the crossroads, Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, Volume 4, 2002, pp. 559–566
with F. Akif Tezcan, Chad A. Haynes, Mika Y. Walton, Susana Andrade, Olvier Einsle, James B. Howard: Structural basis of biological nitrogen fixation, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, Volume 363, 2005, pp. 971–984
with FA Tezcan, JT Kaiser, D. Mustafi, MY Walton, JB Howard: Nitrogenase Complexes: Multiple Docking Sites for a Nucleotide Switch Protein, Science, Volume 309, 2005, pp. 1377–1380
with Chris Gandhi: Opening the molecular floodgates, Science, volume 321, 2008, pp. 1166–1167
with NS Kadaba, et al.: The high-affinity E. coli methionine ABC transporter: structure and allosteric regulation, Science, volume 321, 2008, pp. 250–253
with E. Johnson, O. Lewinson: ABC Transporters: The Power to Change, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Volume 10, 2009, pp. 218–227
with JB Howard, et al.: Ligand binding to the FeMo-cofactor: structures of CO-bound and reactivated nitrogenase, Science, volume 345, 2014, pp. 1620–1623
References
Living people
Structural biologists
California Institute of Technology faculty
1952 births
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Yale College alumni
Harvard University alumni
Annual Reviews (publisher) editors
Searle Scholars Program recipients | Douglas C. Rees | [
"Chemistry"
] | 807 | [
"Structural biologists",
"Structural biology"
] |
63,862,751 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erbium%28III%29%20fluoride | Erbium(III) fluoride is the fluoride of erbium, a rare earth metal, with the chemical formula ErF3. It can be used to make infrared light-transmitting materials and up-converting luminescent materials.
Production
Erbium(III) fluoride can be produced by reacting erbium(III) nitrate and ammonium fluoride:
Er(NO3)3 + 3 NH4F → 3 NH4NO3 + ErF3
References
Further reading
Erbium compounds
Fluorides
Lanthanide halides | Erbium(III) fluoride | [
"Chemistry"
] | 119 | [
"Fluorides",
"Salts"
] |
63,862,752 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSK2881078 | GSK2881078 is a drug which acts as a selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM). It was developed for the prevention of muscle wasting and sarcopenia in elderly people.
In a phase II trial the drug was shown to be well tolerated and increased muscle strength in men with COPD.
See also
Enobosarm
JNJ-28330835
Ligandrol
References
External links
Selective androgen receptor modulators | GSK2881078 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 93 | [
"Pharmacology",
"Pharmacology stubs",
"Medicinal chemistry stubs"
] |
63,863,048 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximity%20labeling | Enzyme-catalyzed proximity labeling (PL), also known as proximity-based labeling, is a laboratory technique that labels biomolecules, usually proteins or RNA, proximal to a protein of interest. By creating a gene fusion in a living cell between the protein of interest and an engineered labeling enzyme, biomolecules spatially proximal to the protein of interest can then be selectively marked with biotin for pulldown and analysis. Proximity labeling has been used for identifying the components of novel cellular structures and for determining protein-protein interaction partners, among other applications.
History
Before the development of proximity labeling, determination of protein proximity in cells relied on studying protein-protein interactions through methods such as affinity purification-mass spectrometry and proximity ligation assays.
DamID is a method developed in 2000 by Steven Henikoff for identifying parts of the genome proximal to a chromatin protein of interest. DamID relies on a DNA methyltransferase fusion to the chromatin protein to nonnaturally methylate DNA, which can then be subsequently sequenced to reveal genome methylation sites near the protein. Researchers were guided by the fusion protein strategy of DamID to create a method for site-specific labeling of protein targets, culminating in the creation of the biotin protein labelling-based BioID in 2012. Alice Ting and the Ting lab at Stanford University have engineered several proteins that demonstrate improvements in biotin-based proximity labeling efficacy and speed.
Principles
Proximity labeling relies on a labeling enzyme that can biotinylate nearby biomolecules promiscuously. Biotin labeling can be achieved through several different methods, depending on the species of labeling enzyme.
BioID, also known as BirA*, is a mutant E. coli biotin ligase that catalyzes the activation of biotin by ATP. The activated biotin is short-lived and thus can only diffuse to a region proximal to BioID. Labeling is achieved when the activated biotin reacts with nearby amines, such as the lysine sidechain amines found in proteins. TurboID is a biotin ligase engineered via yeast surface display directed evolution. TurboID enables ~10 minute labeling times instead of the ~18 hour labeling times required by BioID.
APEX is an ascorbate peroxidase derivative reliant on hydrogen peroxide for catalyzing the oxidation of biotin-tyramide, also known as biotin-phenol, to a short-lived and reactive biotin-phenol free radical. Labeling is achieved when this intermediate reacts with various functional groups of nearby biomolecules. APEX can also be used for local deposition of diaminobenzidine, a precursor for an electron microscopy stain. APEX2 is a derivative of APEX engineered via yeast surface display directed evolution. APEX2 shows improved labeling efficiency and cellular expression levels.
To label proteins nearby a protein of interest, a typical proximity labeling experiment begins by cellular expression of an APEX2 fusion to the protein of interest, which localizes to the protein of interest's native environment. Cells are next incubated with biotin-phenol, then briefly with hydrogen peroxide, initiating biotin-phenol free radical generation and labeling. To minimize cellular damage, the reaction is then quenched using an antioxidant buffer. Cells are lysed and the labeled proteins are pulled down with streptavidin beads. The proteins are digested with trypsin, and finally the resulting peptidic fragments are analyzed using shotgun proteomics methods such as LC-MS/MS or SPS-MS3.
If instead a protein fusion is not genetically accessible (such as in human tissue samples) but an antibody for the protein of interest is known, proximity labeling can still be enabled by fusing a labeling enzyme with the antibody, then incubating the fusion with the sample.
Applications
Proximity labeling methods have been used to study the proteomes of biological structures that are otherwise difficult to isolate purely and completely, such as cilia, mitochondria, postsynaptic clefts, p-bodies, stress granules, and lipid droplets.
Fusion of APEX2 with G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) allows for both tracking GPCR signaling at a 20-second temporal resolution and also identification of unknown GPCR-linked proteins.
Proximity labeling has also been used for transcriptomics and interactomics. In 2019, Alice Ting and the Ting lab have used APEX to identify RNA localized to specific cellular compartments. In 2019, BioID has been tethered to the beta-actin mRNA transcript to study its localization dynamics. Proximity labeling has also been used to find interaction partners of heterodimeric protein phosphatases, of the miRISC (microRNA-induced silencing complex) protein Ago2, and of ribonucleoproteins.
Recent developments
TurboID-based proximity labeling has been used to identify regulators of a receptor involved in the innate immune response, a NOD-like receptor. BioID-based proximity labeling has been used to identify the molecular composition of breast cancer cell invadopodia, which are important for metastasis. Biotin-based proximity labeling studies demonstrate increased protein tagging of intrinsically disordered regions, suggesting that biotin-based proximity labeling can be used to study the roles of IDRs. A photosensitizer nucleus-targeted small molecule has also been developed for photoactivatable proximity labeling.
Photocatalytic-based Proximity Labeling
A new frontier in the field of proximity labeling exploits the utility of photocatalysis to achieve high spatial and temporal resolution of proximal protein microenvironments. This photocatalytic technology leverages the photonic energy of iridium-based photocatalysts to activate diazirine probes that can tag proximal proteins within a tight radius of about four nanometers. This technology was developed by the Merck Exploratory Science Center in collaboration with researchers at Princeton University.
References
Protein methods
Molecular biology techniques | Proximity labeling | [
"Chemistry",
"Biology"
] | 1,255 | [
"Biochemistry methods",
"Protein methods",
"Protein biochemistry",
"Molecular biology techniques",
"Molecular biology"
] |
63,865,855 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C13H17N5O5 | {{DISPLAYTITLE:C13H17N5O5}}
The molecular formula C13H17N5O5 (molar mass: 323.305 g/mol) may refer to:
CMX521
Pyroglutamyl-histidyl-glycine
Molecular formulas | C13H17N5O5 | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 67 | [
"Molecules",
"Set index articles on molecular formulas",
"Isomerism",
"Molecular formulas",
"Matter"
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63,866,123 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary%20biology%20of%20the%20brown%20bear | The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is one of the most omnivorous animals in the world and has been recorded to consume the greatest variety of foods of any bear. Throughout life, this species is regularly curious about the potential of eating virtually any organism or object that they encounter. Certainly no other animal in their given ecosystems, short perhaps of other bear species and humans, can claim to feed on as broad a range of dietary opportunities. Food that is both abundant and easily obtained is preferred. Their jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits. Their diet varies enormously throughout their differing areas based on opportunity. In spring, winter-provided carrion, grasses, shoots, sedges and forbs are the dietary mainstays for brown bears from almost every part of their distribution. Fruits, including berries, become increasingly important during summer and early autumn. Roots and bulbs become critical in autumn for some inland bear populations if fruit crops are poor. The dietary variability is illustrated in the western United States, as meat made up 51% of the average year-around diet for grizzly bears from Yellowstone National Park, while it made up only 11% of the year-around diet for grizzlies from Glacier National Park a few hundred miles to the north.
Plants and fungi
Despite their reputation, most brown bears are not highly carnivorous, as they derive up to 90% of their dietary food energy from vegetable matter. Brown bears often feed on a variety of plant life, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns (Quercus ssp.) and pine cones as well as mosses and fungi such as mushrooms. In total, over 200 plant species have been identified in their foods. Arguably the most herbivorous diets have come from the warmer temperate parts of Eurasia as more than 90% of the diet may be herbivorous. These include countries and regions such as Spain, Slovakia, most of the Balkans including Greece, Turkey, the Himalayas and presumably the Middle East. In many inland portions of North America the diet of grizzly bears is between 80 and 90% plant-based, but animal meat can be much more important in some areas. It has been found that being restricted to a largely vegetarian diet puts constraints on the growth and size of bears who live off of them, largely because their digestive systems do not process plants as well as animal fats and proteins.
Among all living bears, brown bears are uniquely equipped to dig for tough foods, such as roots and shoots. They use their long, strong claws to dig out earth to reach the roots and their powerful jaws to bite through them. For the most part, the consumed plant life in spring, predominantly roots immediately post-hibernation and grasses later in spring, is not highly nutritious for bears and mainly staves off hunger and starvation until more nutritious food is available. Brown bears have difficulty digesting large quantities of tough, fibrous foods. Hedysarum roots are among the most commonly eaten foods from throughout the range and can become important substitutes if stable foods such as fruits become unavailable. Corms and bulbs are important when available, as they are one of the greater sources of protein in plant life, as are hard masts such as acorns. Brown bears are restricted in their access to hard masts compared to American and Asian black bears because of the limited climbing abilities of grown bears and therefore are confined largely to masts fallen to the ground, pirated from other creatures or within a reach of about that the bears can stretch to with their paws extended and standing on their hindlegs. Hard masts can become the most important food (although consumed mainly in late summer and fall) where available in large quantities such as on Hokkaido, Italy and Spain. One of the most important foods in the Rocky Mountains region of the United States is the whitebark pine nut (Pinus albicaulis), which is attained perhaps a majority of the time by raiding the once-abundant caches of American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) rather than direct foraging. The decline of whitebark pine nuts due to the inadvertent introduction by man of the invasive, virulent fungi Cronartium ribicola has in turn required grizzlies to seek alternative food sources, many of which are carnivorous. In a Greek food study, soft masts were found to outrank hard masts as a food source, with about a quarter of the year-around diet consisting of the legume Medicago.
Fruits and berries are indispensable for brown bears in most areas as a high-energy food stuff for bears, which is necessary to survive the hibernation cycle. The variety of fruits consumed is high, with most of the well-known, wild fruiting plants in temperate North America and Eurasia attracting brown bears in late summer and fall. Among the most prominent fruits found in their foods from through the range include many Prunus species including prunes and cherries, crowberries (Empetrum nigrum), pears (Pyrus ssp.), crabapples (Malus ssp.), brambles (Rubus fruticosus), raspberries (Rubus idaeus), bearberries (Arctostaphylos ssp.) (reportedly named for bears' fondness for them), blueberries (Vaccinium ssp.), lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) and huckleberries (Vaccinium parvifolium). Fruit appears to become more secondary in the diet in areas where hard masts and animal protein are abundant in late summer and fall, as these more protein-rich foods appear to be more nutritious for bears than carbohydrate-rich fruits are, despite their fondness for fruit. Even where fruit are commonly eaten, other foods must be eaten to meet nutritional requirements. It is estimated that a small female brown bear may need to eat nearly 30,000 berries each day in late summer/fall in order to subsist on a purely fruit-based diet.
Invertebrates
Brown bears will also commonly consume animal matter, which in summer and autumn may regularly be in the form of insects, larvae such as grubs and including beehives. Most insects eaten are of the highly social variety found in colonial nests, which provide a likely greater quantity of food, although they will also tear apart rotten logs on the forest floor, turn over rocks or simply dig in soft earth in attempts to consume individual invertebrates such as bugs, beetles and earthworms. Honey bees and wasps are important supplemental foods in Eurasia from the furthest west of their range, in Spain, to the furthest east, in Hokkaido. Bears in Yellowstone and Montana eat an enormous number of moths during the summer, sometimes consuming as many as 40,000 army cutworm moths (Euxoa auxiliaris) in a single day, and may derive up to half of their annual food energy from these insects. In Europe, a variety of species of ants have been found to factor heavily into the diet in some areas such as Scandinavia and eastern Europe. In Slovenia, for example, up to 25% of the dry mass consumed by brown bears was ants. Locally heavy consumption of ants has been reported in North America as well, as in west-central Alberta, 49% of scat contained ants. Brown bears mainly feed on ants with a passive response to the colony being dug out and low levels of formic acid, therefore carpenter ants (Camponotus ssp.), which are accessed through rotten logs rather than underground colonies, are preferred where available. Other important insect aggregations that brown bears feed heavily on in some regions include ladybird beetles and caddisfly and cicada nymphs. Brown bears living near coastal regions will regularly eat crabs and clams. In Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve, brown bears along the beaches of estuaries regularly dig through the sand for soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) and Pacific razor clam (Siliqua patula), providing a more nutritious source of dietary energy in spring than plant life before fish become available there. The zarigani (Cambaroides japonicus), a type of crayfish, of Hokkaido is also an important, protein-rich dietary supplement for brown bears there.
Fish
By far the closest dietary relationship between brown bears and fish occurs between the salmon and trout of the genus Oncorhynchus, particularly in coastal areas, but also in some inland areas of North America. In the Kamchatka peninsula and several parts of coastal Alaska, including Kodiak Island, brown bears feed largely on spawning salmon, whose nutrition and abundance explain the enormous size of the bears in these areas. Sockeye salmon (O. nerka) and pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) are the two most commonly preyed upon, but many coho (O. kisutch), Chinook (O. tshawytscha), masu (O. masou) and chum salmon (O. keta) are also taken. Even in the coastal ranges of the Pacific, a diverse omnivorous diet is eaten, with the salmon spawning reliably providing food only in late summer and early fall. Exceptionally, salmon may come to inland rivers as early as June in the Brooks River when other coastal Alaskan bears are in their dietary "lean period" and provide food for bears sooner than normal. On Kodiak island, it appears the availability of alternative food sources is high, as berry crops are often profuse, marine organisms often wash up and ungulates both wild and domesticated are available. The fishing techniques of bears are well-documented. They often congregate around falls when the salmon are forced to breach the water, at which point the bears will try to catch the fish in mid-air (often with their mouths). They will also wade into shallow waters, hoping to pin a slippery salmon with their claws. While they may eat almost all the parts of the fish, bears at the peak of spawning, when there is usually a glut of fish to feed on, may eat only the most nutritious parts of the salmon (including the eggs (if the salmon is female) and the head) and then indifferently leave the rest of the carcass to scavengers, which can include red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), common ravens (Corvus corax) and gulls. Despite their normally solitary habits, brown bears will gather rather closely in numbers at good spawning sites. The largest and most powerful males claim the most fruitful fishing spots and bears (especially males) will sometimes fight over the rights to a prime fishing spot. Despite their aggressive defensive abilities, female brown bears usually select sub-optimal fishing spots to avoid male bears that could potentially threaten their cubs.
One other key relationship between brown bears and Oncorhynchus species occurs with the grizzly bear and the cutthroat trout (O. clarki) in the Rockies such as around Yellowstone. Here this species was consumed in considerable numbers although, like the whitebark pine nut, this food source has declined due to invasive species introduced by man, i.e. invasive trout species which are outcompeting cutthroat trout. The now-extinct California grizzly bear was also a fairly specialized Oncorhynchus predator in California's mountain streams and rivers, principally of rainbow trout (O. mykiss). Outside of Pacific-based salmonids, predatory relationships between brown bears and fish are uncommon. Predation on broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus) and longnose suckers (Catostomus catostomus) has been reported in sub-Arctic Canada and northern pike (Esox lucius) and Arctic grayling (Thymallus thymallus) in Siberia, plus other older records of brown bears hunting miscellaneous freshwater fish in Eurasia.
Mammals
Beyond the regular predation of salmon, most brown bears are not particularly active predators. Nonetheless, brown bears are capable of obtaining practically all forms of the mammals that they encounter: from mouse-like rodents to those as fearsome as a tiger or as large as a bison. Over 100 species of mammal have been recorded either in the scats of brown bears or have been observed as being killed or consumed by the species, although much of this consumption probably represents merely scavenging on carrion.
A perhaps surprisingly high balance of mammalian foods consists of rodents or similar smallish mammals, as about half of the species consumed by brown bears weigh less than on average. These may include hares (Lepus ssp.), pikas (Ochotona ssp.), marmots (Marmota ssp.), ground squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rats, lemmings and voles. Due to their propensity for digging, brown bears are able to smell out active burrows of these small mammals and either wait quietly or furiously dig away until the animals are either displaced and lunged at or are cornered in their burrows. Given that most small burrowing mammals found in cool temperate zones enter hibernation, they may be eaten most often when the brown bears exit hibernation earlier, as befits their larger size, allowing them to catch animals in torpor that may otherwise be too agile. Not only do they consume the small mammals, but they also feed on their caches, as has been recorded in grizzly bears attacking voles and northern pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides). In some areas, caches may be the primary target when bears dig at these animal's burrows, as may be the case with Siberian chipmunks (Eutamias sibiricus), whose hoards can contain up to of food, with the chipmunks themselves only being caught occasionally. With particular regularity, tundra-dwelling grizzlies will wait at burrows of Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii) hoping to pick off a few of the rodents. Ground squirrel hunting is most successful in September and October, when early snow may impede the rodents' rocky escape routes. In Denali National Park, Arctic ground squirrels represent about 8% of the year-round diet of grizzly bears and are the most consistent source of animal protein for grizzlies there. An even more important dietary relationship with a small mammal occurs in the Tibetan blue bear, which is apparently the most completely carnivorous brown bear type, foraging most regularly for plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae), a species about one-sixth the weight of an Arctic ground squirrel. As many as 25 pikas have been found in a single bear's stomach and in Changtang, 60% of the diet consisted of pikas. Where plateau pikas are absent, as in the Mustang region of Nepal, Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana) become the dietary staple of the bear, occurring in about half of nearly 1,000 scats. Large rodents such as beavers (Castor spp.) and North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are rare prey items, mostly due to differing habitat preferences, as well as the obvious defenses of the latter. Up to five species of cetaceans have been recorded as a food source in the coastal regions of Alaska, the Central Arctic and (formerly) California when beached.
In most of their range, brown bears regularly feed on ungulates. In many cases, this important food source is obtained as carrion. Carrion is mostly eaten in spring, when winter snow and ice conditions (including snowslides) and starvation claim many ungulate lives. As carcasses are often solidly frozen when encountered, brown bears may sit on them to thaw them sufficiently for consumption. While perhaps a majority of bears of the species will charge at ungulates at some point in their lives, many predation attempts start with the bear clumsily and half-heartedly pursuing the prey and end with the prey escaping alive. On the other hand, some brown bears are quite self-assured predators who habitually pursue and catch large prey items, mainly ungulates. Such bears are usually taught how to hunt by their mothers from an early age. They are the most regular predator of ungulates among extant bear species. The extent of hunting behavior differs by region. For example, in Slovenia, ungulate meat was four times more likely to be obtained as carrion than through hunting, while on the contrary in east-central Alaska, live hunting of ungulates was four times more likely than scavenging of carrion. The extent of carnivory in brown bears has been proven to increase at northern latitudes. When brown bears attack these large animals, they usually target young or infirm ones, as they are easier to catch. Successful hunts usually occur after a short rush and ambush, but they may chase down prey in the open and will try to separate mother and young. Prey is usually killed when the bear grabs the rib cage over the back and delivers a bite to the back of the head, neck, face or nose. The bear may also pin its prey (usually young) to the ground and then immediately tear and eat it alive. Despite being characterized as unskilled predators with minimally-refined hunting skills, most individual bears who are routine ungulate predators have shown the ability to vary their hunting strategy and have hunting success rates comparable to other large, solitary carnivorans. Brown bears will on occasion bite or swipe at some prey in order to stun it enough to knock it over for consumption. To pick out young or infirm individuals, bears will charge at herds so the slower-moving and more vulnerable individuals will be made apparent. Brown bears may also ambush young animals by finding them via scent. Despite being characterized as a danger primarily to young, spring neonatal ungulates in the first couple of days of life, when they have undeveloped legs and cannot run at full speed, young ungulates may be pursued well into summer or fall after they have developed running abilities. Most attacks on adult ungulates occur when the prey has some variety of physical disadvantage. When emerging from hibernation, brown bears, whose broad paws allow them to walk over most ice and snow, may pursue large prey such as moose, whose hooves cannot support them on encrusted snow. Similarly, predatory attacks on large prey sometimes occur at riverbeds, when it is more difficult for the prey specimen to run away due to muddy or slippery soil. On rare occasions, most importantly when confronting unusually large, fully-grown and dangerous prey, bears kill them by hitting with their powerful forearms, which can break the necks and backs of large creatures such as adult moose and adult bison.
The leading ungulate prey for brown bears is normally deer. Up to a dozen species have been eaten by brown bears, but the main prey species are the larger species they encounter: elk (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus). Larger deer are preferred because they tend to be less agile and swift than small or medium-sized deer (although a caribou can handily outpace a grizzly bear in the open), they are found in large quantities in several areas inhabited by brown bears and provide a larger meal per carcass. Moose may be preferred where found in large numbers because of their solitary habits and tendency to dwell in wooded areas, both of which makes them easier to ambush. Despite its diminished reputation as a predator, the brown bear is the most dangerous solitary predator of moose, with only packs of wolves a more regular predator; even Siberian tigers take other prey, primarily (elk and boar), in areas where they co-exist with the giant deer. Brown bears normally avoid the potential risks of hunting large deer, which can potentially fight back but usually escape bears by running, by picking out young calves or sickly adults from deer herds. In northeastern Norway, it was found that moose were the most important single food item (present in up to 45% of scats and locally comprising more than 70% of the bear's dietary energy) for local brown bears and several local bears appear to be specialized moose hunters, most often picking off sickly yearling moose and pregnant but healthy cows. In Yellowstone National Park, grizzly bears who derived much of their food energy from ungulates were studied, and 30% of the ungulates consumed were through predation, the remaining amount from scavenging of carcasses. Elk, bison and moose (the three largest native ungulates in the region) each constituted nearly a quarter of the overall ungulate diet. 13% of the total of ungulates actively hunted and killed per that study in Yellowstone were elk calves, while 8% of the actively and successfully hunted prey there were adult cow elk. Despite their lack of preference for smaller deer, other species including red deer (Cervus elaphus), sika deer (Cervus nippon ), axis deer (Axis axis), European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), fallow deer (Dama dama), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have turned up in their diet.
As many as 20 species of bovids are also potential prey, including various sheep, goats, antelope, bison (Bison ssp.) and muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus). Bovids are mostly taken in random encounters when bears come across a vulnerable, usually young or sickly individual, as smaller species are extremely agile (and often live in rocky environments) and larger varieties are potentially dangerous, especially if aware of the bear's presence. In some parts of eastern Europe and Russia, wild boar (Sus scrofa) may be taken in surprisingly large quantities, considering the mostly herbivorous reputation of bears in these regions. One study from the Amur territory of Russia found that brown bears were actually more prolific killers of wild boars than both tigers and gray wolves, but these results are probably biased due to the scarcity of tigers in the region because of overhunting of the big cat. In rare cases, brown bears are capable of killing bulls of the largest ungulates in regions they inhabit, reportedly including moose, muskox, wild yak (Bos mutus) and both American and European bison (Bison bison and B. bonasus). Remarkably, such attacks are sometimes carried out by bears that were not particularly large, including interior sow grizzlies or small-bodied bears from the Central Arctic, and some exceptional ungulates taken may be up to two to three times the weight of the attacking bear. However, most of the bears who took adult moose in east-central Alaska and Scandinavia were large, mature males.
Other vertebrates
This species may eat birds and their eggs, including almost entirely ground- or rock-nesting species. Although not typically able to capture a healthy grown bird; eggs, nestlings and fledglings of large bird species can be very attractive to brown bears. Species attacked have ranged can be any size available from Aleutian terns (Onychoprion aleuticus) to trumpeter and whooper swans (Cygnus buccinator and C. cygnus). Most recorded avian prey have consisted of geese and sea ducks nesting in the lower Arctic Circle, followed by coveys of galliforms, as these birds place their nests in shallow water and on the ground as well as raise their chicks in such areas, so they are relatively more vulnerable. Large birds of prey, including sea eagles, gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), are sometimes exploited as prey if nesting in rock formations that are accessible on foot, and eagles and falcons may furiously dive at bears near their nests. Due to their inhabitance of cooler temperate areas, reptiles and amphibians are rarely a food source and have been verified as prey only in a few cases: frogs in the Italian Alps, rat snakes in Hokkaido, grass lizards in the Amur territory and tortoises in Greece.
Domestic animal food sources
When forced to live in close proximity with humans and their domesticated animals, bears may potentially prey on any type of domestic animal. Most type of livestock have been domesticated for millennia and have little to no anti-predator defenses. Therefore, brown bears are somewhat more likely to attack healthy adult domestic animals than they are healthy adult wild animals. Among domestic and farm animals, European cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) are sometimes exploited as prey. Cattle are bitten on the neck, back or head and then the abdominal cavity is opened for eating. In Norway, free-ranging domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are numerous and the local brown bears derive 65–87% of their dietary energy in late summer from sheep. Because of the aforementioned vulnerability, examination of Norwegian sheep remains suggest many of the sheep consumed there are adults that were killed by the bears rather than merely scavenged and thus some local farmers received partial compensation for their stock losses. In nearby northern Sweden, free-ranging sheep are not present and the bear derive their food predominantly from natural sources. Domestic horses (Equus ferus caballus), domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus), domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus), domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) and domestic dogs (Canis lupus familaris) may be opportunistically killed in several parts of the brown bear's range as well. Plants and fruit farmed by humans are readily consumed as well, including corn (Zea mays), wheat (Triticum spp.), apples (Malus pumila), sorghum (Sorghum ssp.), melons and many species of berries. They will also feed at domestic bee farms, readily consuming both honey and the contents of the honey bee colony. Human food and trash or refuse is eaten when possible. When an open garbage dump was kept in Yellowstone, brown bears were one of the most voracious and regular scavengers. The dump was closed after both brown and American black bears came to associate humans with food and lost their natural fear of them. In other areas, such as Alaska, dumps may continue to be an attractant for brown bears.
Enemies and competitors
While feeding on carrion, brown bears use their size to intimidate other predators, such as gray wolves (Canis lupus), cougars (Puma concolor), tigers (Panthera tigris) and American black bears (Ursus americanus) from their kills. Owing to their formidable size and aggressive disposition, predation by wild animals outside of their own species is rare for brown bears of any age; even cubs are often safe due to their watchful mother. There are two records of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) preying on brown bear cubs.
Adult bears are generally immune to predatory attacks except from tigers and other bears. Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) prefer preying on young bears but smaller, fully grown adult female brown bears outside their dens may also be taken. Successful predatory attacks by tigers on adult brown bears are usually on females, with or without cubs, in their dens. In the past, exceptionally large male Siberian tigers, such as one weighing approximately , were reportedly capable of killing even adult male brown bears, but such bears are otherwise more or less safe from attack. Of 44 recorded encounters between tigers and both Asian black and brown bears, 20 resulted in confrontations; in 50% of these, the bears in general (not necessarily brown bears) were killed, in 27% the tigers were killed, and 23% of the cases ended with both animals surviving and parting ways despite injuries sustained in the conflict. Some bears emerging from hibernation seek out tigers in order to steal their kills. Despite the possibility of tiger predation, some large brown bears may actually benefit from the tiger's presence by appropriating tiger kills that the bears may not be able to successfully hunt themselves and follow tiger tracks. Geptner et al. (1972) stated that bears are generally afraid of tigers and change their path after coming across tiger trails. In the winters of 1970–1973, Yudakov and Nikolaev recorded one case of a brown bear showing no fear of the tigers and another case of a brown bear changing its path upon crossing tiger tracks. Other researchers have observed bears following tiger tracks to scavenge tigers' kills or to prey on tigers. Bears frequently track down tigers to usurp their kills, with occasional fatal outcomes for the tiger. A report from 1973 describes 12 known cases of brown bears killing tigers, including adult male tigers; in all cases the tigers were subsequently eaten by the bears. There are reports of brown bears specifically targeting Amur leopards and tigers to appropriate their kills. In the Sikhote-Alin Reserve, 35% of tiger kills were stolen by bears, with the tigers either departing entirely or leaving part of the kill for the bear.
Brown bears regularly intimidate gray wolves (Canis lupus) away from their kills, with wolves occurring in most of the brown bear's worldwide distribution. In Yellowstone National Park, brown bears pirate wolf kills so often, Yellowstone's Wolf Project director Doug Smith wrote, "It's not a matter of if the bears will come calling after a kill, but when." Similarly, in Denali National Park, grizzly bears routinely rob wolf packs of their kills. On the contrary, in Katmai National Park and Preserve, wolves, even lone wolves, may manage to displace brown bears at carrion sites. Despite the high animosity between the two species, most confrontations at kill sites or large carcasses end without bloodshed on either side. Although conflict over carcasses is common, on rare occasions the two predators tolerate each other on the same kill. To date, there are only a few cases of fully-grown wolves being killed by brown bears and none of wolves killing healthy adult brown bears. Given the opportunity, however, both species will prey on the other's cubs. Conclusively, the individual power of the bear against the collective strength of the wolf pack usually results in a long battle for kills or domination.
In some areas, the grizzly bear also regularly displaces cougars (Puma concolor) from their kills, with some estimates showing cougars locally lose up to a third of their dietary energy to grizzly bears. Cougars kill small bear cubs on rare occasions, but there was one report of a bear killing a cougar of unknown age and condition between 1993 and 1996. Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), the largest type of lynx and the only one to regularly take large prey, is similarly an habitual victim of kleptoparasitism to brown bears throughout Eurasia. Brown bears also co-exist with leopards (Panthera pardus) (in very small remnant wild parts of the Middle East, Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern China and the Primorsky Krai) and snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in several areas of northern central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau). Although the brown bears' interactions with these big cats are little-known, they probably have similar relationships as grizzly bears do with cougars in North America. Snow leopards and Tibetan blue bears are verified, however, to be a threat to one another's cubs.
Smaller carnivorous animals are dominated by brown bears and generally avoid direct interactions with them, unless attempting to steal scraps of food. Species which utilize underground or rock dens tend to be more vulnerable to predatory attacks by brown bears. Several mustelids, including badgers, are not infrequently preyed upon and seemingly even arboreal martens may be attacked (especially if unhealthy or caught in furbearer traps). In North America, both species of otter (North American river and sea) have been known to be ambushed by brown bears when on land. On the contrary, wolverines (Gulo gulo) are known to have been persistent enough to fend off a grizzly bear as much as 10 times their weight from a kill. In some rare cases, wolverines have lost their lives to grizzly bears and wolverines in Denali National Park will reportedly try to avoid encounters with grizzlies. Beyond wolves, other canids may occasionally be killed around their den, most likely pups or kits, or adults if overly incautious near a carrion site, including coyotes (Canis latrans), multiple species of foxes and raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides). Medium-sized cats may also be rarely killed by brown bears. Seals are on rare occasions killed by brown bears, including eyewitness accounts of Russian bears ambushing spotted (Phoca largha) and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Consumption of ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) has been reported in the Mackenzie river delta, presumably via predation or scavenging of polar bear kills, as pinnipeds are not usually encountered as carrion from land.
Brown bears usually dominate other bear species in areas where they coexist. Due to their smaller size, American black bears (Ursus americanus) are at a competitive disadvantage to brown bears in open, unforested areas. Although displacement of American black bears by brown bears has been documented, actual interspecific killing of American black bears by brown bears has only occasionally been reported. Confrontation is mostly avoided due to the American black bear's diurnal habits and preference for heavily forested areas, as opposed to the brown bear's largely nocturnal habits and preference for open spaces. Where they do not live in close proximity to grizzly bears, and especially where found near human habitations, American black bears may become, to a larger extent, nocturnal. Brown bears may also kill Asian black bears, though the latter species probably largely avoids conflicts with the brown bear due to similar habits and habitat preferences to the American black species. Brown bears will eat the fruit dropped from trees by the Asian black bear, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb. Improbably, in the Himalayas, brown bears are reportedly intimidated by Asian black bears in confrontations. However, the Himalayan black bears are reportedly more aggressive towards humans than the Himalayan brown bear, and the latter is one of the smaller types of brown bear, though still somewhat larger than the Asian black bear. In Siberia, the opposite is true, and Asian black bears are not known to attack people, but brown bears are. Both species of black bear seem to be most vulnerable to predatory attacks by brown bears when the latter species leaves hibernation sooner in early spring and ambushes the smaller ursids in their dens.
There has been a recent increase in interactions between brown bears and polar bears (Ursus maritimus), theorized to be caused by climate change. Brown bears have been seen moving increasingly northward into territories formerly claimed by polar bears. Despite averaging somewhat smaller sizes, brown bears tend to dominate polar bears in disputes over carcasses, and dead polar bear cubs have been found in brown bear dens.
Large herbivores, such as moose, bison and muskox may have an intolerance of brown bears due to their possible threat to vulnerable members of their herds or themselves; moose regularly charge grizzly bears in their calf's defense, but seldom are the bears killed. Bison have been known to fatally injure lone grizzly bears in battles, and even a mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) was observed to do so with its horns, although herbivores are rarely a serious danger to brown bears.
References
Brown bears
Eating behaviors | Dietary biology of the brown bear | [
"Biology"
] | 7,484 | [
"Biological interactions",
"Eating behaviors",
"Behavior"
] |
63,866,363 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumenulopsis%20sororia | Crumenulopsis sororia is an ascomycete or cup fungus which can cause cankers on the bark of various species of Pinus, including Pinus contorta, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris and Pinus cembra.
References
Further reading
Lexikon der Baum und straucharten. Schutt/Schuck/Stimm 1991.
Helotiaceae
Fungus species | Crumenulopsis sororia | [
"Biology"
] | 91 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
63,866,409 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LITE-1 | LITE-1 is a novel photoreceptor found in Caenorhabditis elegans. It exhibits blue light photoreceptor activity. Is involved in several processes, including negative phototaxis, phototransduction, and response to UV light. Many organisms have photosensitive proteins, yet only two types of photoreceptors, opsins and cryptochromes, have been discovered in metazoans until LITE-1. This photoreceptor is much more efficient at absorbing both ultraviolet light, 10 to 100 times greater than the two other types found in the animal kingdom.
References
Caenorhabditis elegans genes
Photoreceptor cells | LITE-1 | [
"Chemistry"
] | 150 | [
"Biochemistry stubs",
"Protein stubs"
] |
63,867,828 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium%20hydroselenide | Sodium hydroselenide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a salt of hydrogen selenide. It consist of sodium cations and hydroselenide anions . Each unit consists of one sodium, one selenium, and one hydrogen atom. Sodium hydroselenide is a selenium analog of sodium hydroxide NaOH.
Production
Sodium hydroselenide can be made by reducing selenium with sodium borohydride:
Alternatively it can be made from sodium ethoxide exposed to hydrogen selenide:
Sodium hydroselenide is not made for storage, instead it is used immediately after production in a fume hood thanks to the appalling odour of hydrogen selenide.
Properties
Sodium hydroselenide dissolves in water or ethanol. In humid air sodium hydroselenide is changed to sodium polyselenide and elemental selenium.
Sodium hydroselenide is slightly reducing.
Use
In organic synthesis, hydrogen sodium hydroselenide is a nucleophillic agent for insertion of selenium.
References
Sodium compounds
Selenides | Sodium hydroselenide | [
"Chemistry"
] | 228 | [
"Inorganic compounds",
"Inorganic compound stubs"
] |
63,867,973 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordat%20on%20Openness%20on%20Animal%20Research | The Concordat on Openness on Animal Research is a UK initiative of scientific organizations, funders and providers who directly carry out, or whose members or beneficiaries carry out animal research. It is a pledge by signatory organizations to offer the public greater information about research that involves animals.
The Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK was established in 2014 to provide "measurable steps" for researchers that use animals in the UK, to talk openly about their work. It is part of the UK biomedical community's "openness agenda", which encourages researchers and technical staff who work in animal testing or research to talk openly about why their work is important to them.
At its launch, the Concordat on Openness' authors said that signatory organizations should "provide accurate descriptions of the benefits, harms and limitations of research, be realistic about the potential outputs of such research and be open about its impact on animal welfare and the ethical considerations involved". Signatories are strongly encouraged to offer access to their animal research facilities to journalists, MPs, and local school, patient and community groups and are required to have public-facing webpages that describe their relationship to the use of animals in scientific research, and state why they feel their practices are justified. Ideally, if they use animals in research within their own organization the webpages will state how many they use in a year and how they ensure that their animals are well-cared for. Many also explain UK regulations and practices that govern how animals in science are protected as well as highlighting their own areas of research.
Background
In 2012 a UK opinion poll showed that two thirds of people did not trust the regulations that protected the animals used in science, and half did not feel sufficiently informed on the subject. A concerned group of UK research organizations including universities, medical research charities and government research institutes that use animals in scientific research they would address the lack of public communication about the use of animals in bio-medical research. The group developed a "concordat" to outline measurable steps that organizations could take to be more open with the public about how and why animals are used in scientific research.
It is one of several UK higher education research related Concordats, supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), alongside the Concordat for Career Development of Researchers, the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, the Concordat on Open Research Data and the Concordat on Engaging the Public with Research.
The wording of the Concordat on Openness and accompanying guidance was developed by governance groups chaired by Geoff Watts and Wendy Jarrett. In drafting the Concordat these groups looked to the public, the scientific community and journalists to find out what steps needed to be taken an what openness meant to them. The Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK was signed by 72 signatory organizations when it launched in 2014, and contains four commitments:
We will be clear about when, how and why we use animals in research
We will enhance our communications with the media and the public about our research using animals
We will be proactive in providing opportunities for the public to find out about research using animals
We will report on progress annually and share our experiences
Adherence to the four commitments is voluntary and self-reported by signatories annually. The information they provide is compiled into annual reports. Since 2016 it has been mandatory for all signatories are required to have publicly accessible information about how, when and why they use animals in research on their websites.
The UK's change in approach to communicating about animals in research, and the information available to the public about how animals are used in research has been noted around the world, with calls to develop similar initiatives in the USA and in Australia and New Zealand. Critics say that the "openness" championed by the concordat on openness is too selective to make a real difference, champions the status quo, and does not do enough to challenge the practices of organizations that use animals in research or hold them to account.
Signatories
Universities
Learned Societies
Commercial Organizations
Trade Associations and Advocacy Groups
Charities
Research Institutes
Government departments and agencies
Administration and activities
The Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK is run and administered by Understanding Animal Research. Awards to celebrate innovation and best practices around openness are held annually in December, coinciding with release of the annual report. In 2018 signatories of the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research publicly announced the top ten UK universities for animal research, stating that these universities, all of which appear in the QS 2018 World University Ranking Top 200, carried out over a third of all animal research conducted in the UK in 2017.
References
Animal welfare
Animal rights
Animal testing | Concordat on Openness on Animal Research | [
"Chemistry"
] | 948 | [
"Animal testing"
] |
72,529,865 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreau%20envelope | The Moreau envelope (or the Moreau-Yosida regularization) of a proper lower semi-continuous convex function is a smoothed version of . It was proposed by Jean-Jacques Moreau in 1965.
The Moreau envelope has important applications in mathematical optimization: minimizing over and minimizing over are equivalent problems in the sense that the sets of minimizers of and are the same. However, first-order optimization algorithms can be directly applied to , since may be non-differentiable while is always continuously differentiable. Indeed, many proximal gradient methods can be interpreted as a gradient descent method over .
Definition
The Moreau envelope of a proper lower semi-continuous convex function from a Hilbert space to is defined as
Given a parameter , the Moreau envelope of is also called as the Moreau envelope of with parameter .
Properties
The Moreau envelope can also be seen as the infimal convolution between and .
The proximal operator of a function is related to the gradient of the Moreau envelope by the following identity:
. By defining the sequence and using the above identity, we can interpret the proximal operator as a gradient descent algorithm over the Moreau envelope.
Using Fenchel's duality theorem, one can derive the following dual formulation of the Moreau envelope:
where denotes the convex conjugate of .
Since the subdifferential of a proper, convex, lower semicontinuous function on a Hilbert space is inverse to the subdifferential of its convex conjugate, we can conclude that if is the maximizer of the above expression, then is the minimizer in the primal formulation and vice versa.
By Hopf–Lax formula, the Moreau envelope is a viscosity solution to a Hamilton–Jacobi equation. Stanley Osher and co-authors used this property and Cole–Hopf transformation to derive an algorithm to compute approximations to the proximal operator of a function.
See also
Proximal operator
Proximal gradient method
References
External links
A Hamilton–Jacobi-based Proximal Operator: a YouTube video explaining an algorithm to approximate the proximal operator
Mathematical optimization | Moreau envelope | [
"Mathematics"
] | 440 | [
"Mathematical optimization",
"Mathematical analysis"
] |
72,530,404 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27%C3%8Ele%20Coco | L'Île Coco (Coco Island) is one of the longest islands adjoining the inner lagoon of the St. Brandon archipelago. It is at times inhabited by fishermen as a base for the resident fishing company's fishing activities as well as for fly fishing and fly-casting activities.
France Staub visited this island in 1968 and the research he carried out was later the subject of his seminal Mauritian conservation book called Birds of the Mascarenes and Saint Brandon. It is inhabited by many tens of thousands of sea birds and was one of the reasons the islands of St. Brandon were later declared an Important Bird Area ('IBA').
Ecosystem Protection
The ecosystem of this island and the other twenty-nine isles of the Cargados Carajos shoals are an internationally recognised Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) Key Biodiversity Area. Coco Island receives the most turtle nesting visits in the archipelago which is the last important nesting area in Mauritius for the hawksbill and green turtles, both of which are endangered, giving it national and international prominence.
In 1998 the Word Bank's Management Report to government proposed, "Two Marine Parks...for the St. Brandon Area: Turtle Lagoon Marine Park and Cocos Island Marine Park."
The Saint Brandon Conservation Trust
The Saint Brandon Conservation Trust announced the commencement of its international conservation activities at the Corporate Council on Africa’s 2024 US-Africa Business Summit. Two members of the trust's Scientific Advisory Panel, Dr. Nik Cole, PhD, Reptile Conservation Manager for the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, and Dr. Hindrik Bouwman, PhD, Professor of Ecotoxicology and Zoology at North-West University, presented to the conference by video about the unique nature of Saint Brandon. Global Launch of Saint Brandon Conservation Trust at CCA Dallas 2024 video is available here;.
See also
Albatross Island, St. Brandon
Avocaré Island
Bird conservation
Carl G. Jones
Constitution of Mauritius
Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas
Emphyteutic lease
Geography of Mauritius
Gerald Durrell
History of Mauritius
Île Verronge
In-situ conservation
Islets of Mauritius
L'île du Gouvernement
L'île du Sud
List of mammals of Mauritius
List of marine fishes of Mauritius
List of national parks of Mauritius
Mascarene Islands
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
Mauritius
Outer Islands of Mauritius
Permanent grant
Raphael Fishing Company
Wildlife of Mauritius
References
Islands of St. Brandon
Mascarene Islands
Outer Islands of Mauritius
Reefs of the Indian Ocean
Fishing areas of the Indian Ocean
Important Bird Areas of Mauritius
Atolls of the Indian Ocean
Insular ecology
Biodiversity
Quarantine facilities
Fly fishing
Fishing tournaments
Environment of Mauritius
Natural history of Mauritius | L'Île Coco | [
"Biology"
] | 544 | [
"Biodiversity"
] |
72,531,863 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyfullerene | Polyfullerene is a basic polymer of the C60 monomer group, in which fullerene segments are connected via covalent bonds into a polymeric chain without side or bridging groups. They are called intrinsic polymeric fullerenes, or more often all C60 polymers.
Fullerene can be part of a polymer chain in many different ways. Fullerene-containing polymers are divided into following structural categories:
Intrinsic polymeric fullerene (homopolymer),
Main-chain polymers,
Side-chain polymers,
Star polymers,
Crosslinked polymers,
End-caped polymers.
History
Fullerene is a relatively new substance in chemistry sciences. Buckminsterfullerene itself was discovered in 1985 and the first fullerene-containing polymers were reported at least 6 years later.
The main milestones in the use of fullerene in polymer chemistry are listed below:
1992 – Synthesis of organometallic C60 polymer (C60Pd3)n
1995 – Synthesis of C60 containing polyurethane and C60-styrene copolymer
1996 – Synthesis of fullerene side-chain polymer
1997 – Synthesis of fullerene polymer with C60 in the backbone by Diels-Alder reaction
2001 – Synthesis of star-shaped C60 (co)polymers
Fullerene polymers
High content of double bonds in the fullerene molecule (30 double bonds in Buckminsterfullerene) leads to crosslinking and formation of regioisomers. Polymerization without any sophisticated control of forming structure leads to very high randomization of polymer grid. Thus, linking units of second monomer are needed to prepare linear copolymers (see main-chain polymers).
This group includes heteroatomic C60 polymers containing non-carbon atoms in polyfullerene chains.
Preparations
This section describes most of the main structural types of fullerene-containing polymers.
Homopolymer
Polyfullerenes can be prepared via many polymerization mechanisms. Research is mainly focused on photopolymerization, polymerization under high pressure and charge-transfer polymerization.
The most likely connection of fullerene units is [2+2] cycloaddition of two double bonds of the benzene parts of fullerene molecules. Cycloaddition provides a cyclobutane ring connecting two fullerene molecules.
Main-chain polymers
Main-chain polymers are characterized by the presence of fullerene units in the polymer backbone. They are not heteroatomic fullerene homopolymers but linear fullerene copolymers.
The structure can be described as necklace-type. One approach to achieving fullerene main-chain polymers is by copolymerizing fullerene with a difunctional monomer. Second option is polycondensation of bifunctionalized fullerene with monomer bearing compatible functional groups.
Fullerene copolymers can be obtained through standard polymerization techniques used for industrially standard polymers. Examples of first approach are Diels-Alder addition and free radical copolymerization. Fullerene can be copolymerized with methylmethacrylate by initiation with azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN).
In Diels-Alder copolymerization fullerene acts as a dienophile with diene to form a cyclohexene ring. The figure below shows Diels-Alder reaction with the simplest diene – buta-1,3-diene. Comonomer must contain two pairs of conjugated double bonds in order to react with two fullerene molecules obtaining linear polymeric chain molecules. Used monomers are usually bulkier than conventional monomers in order to compensate the space requirements of fullerene spheres.
Side-chain polymers
Most fullerene polymers fall into this category. Similarly to the previous polymer type, two synthetic approaches are available. First, bonding fullerene spheres onto a polymerized chain or second, polymerizing monomer unit already bearing fullerene.An example of the second approach is ring-opening metathesis polymerisation (ROMP) of norbornene bearing C60 or copolymerization of pure norbornene and C60 functionalized norbornene.
Cross-linked polymers
As mentioned earlier, Buckminsterfullerene is capable of multiple additions and basic polymerization conditions lead to a polymer grid. Fullerene behaves the same way in copolymerization. In free radical copolymerization of styrene and C60 fullerene, the resulting copolymer is cross-linked and heterogeneous.
Easy preparation of cross-linked fullerene polymer is copolymerization with polyurethanes. In this technique, fullerenol bearing up to 44 hydroxyl groups C60(OH)4 – 44 and di- or tri- isocyanate prepolymers are used as initial substances. Successful syntheses were conducted in a mixture of dimethylformamide (DMF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF)(1:3) at 60°C.
Fullerene End-caped polymers
Also incorrectly named “telechelic” polymers, but telechelic polymers have reactive functional end-groups. They can be synthesized by incorporating fullerenes onto the ends of polymerized chains or growth of a polymeric chain from a functionalized fullerene derivative and additionally closure. Introducing fullerene spheres into the end of the macromolecule significantly increases hydrophobicity of the original polymer.
Star-shaped polymers
Star fullerene polymers can be prepared by two major approaches.
Reported star fullerene polymers were prepared by anionic copolymerization with polystyrene to form C60(CH2CH(C6H5))x)n, where n stands for the number of polystyrene star “arms” from 2 to 6. Second approach is growing polymer chains directly from fullerene derivative C60Cln (n = 16–20) by atom transfer radical polymerization. The chlorine fullerene derivative virtually works as an ATRP initiator. Countless polymers can be used for star arms.
Polyphenylakyne polymers can be used as an example since they give photoemitting macromolecules when grafted onto fullerene. C60-poly(1-phenyl-1-propyne) can be prepared via wolfram-catalyzed metathesis reaction connecting prepared poly(1-phenyl-1-propyne) onto the fullerene by carbene addition resulting in cyclopropane connecting ring. Fullerene acts as a cocatalyst since tungsten catalyst (WCl6-Ph4Sn) is not able to polymerize 1-phenyl-1-propyne itself.
Applications
Polyfullerenes are currently in an early research phase and real-world applications or even industrial production solutions are yet to be found. The main reasons for this are the novelty of combining fullerene chemistry with polymer chemistry and the fact that fullerene can be currently synthesized on a scale of a few grams. All-C60 polymers exhibit practically no solubility, thus preventing proper testing of processability and chemical properties.
Upcoming text only refers to potential applications of fullerene polymers according to founded properties of particular macromolecules.
Electronics
Fullerene itself stands out in the class of organic compounds because of its electronic properties. Current research studies utilization of fullerene by bonding it onto an optimal polymeric substrate. Practical reasons are easy processability of polymers and low price in comparison to pure C60 fullerene.
Polymer backbones bearing fullerene spheres exhibit good or great photoconductivity and even generate photocurrent when exposed to white light.
C60-polyvinylcarbazole (C60–PVK) exhibits photoinduced electron transfer within the polymer, which could be used for digital rewritable memory electronic parts. Prototype of such part of indium tin oxide, fullerene polymer and aluminum (ITO/ C60–PVK /Al) was capable to read, write and erase information for about 100 million times.
Polyvinylcabazole polymer grown from fullerene polychloride (C60Cln) was observed to increase the intensity of radiated light of an electroluminescent device. This star polymer with three arms is acting as a hole-transporting layer for semiconductor parts of a device.
On the other hand, hole-trapping materials affect electroluminescence the same way. Double-cable polymers are also candidates for functional layers for OLED displays. Adding 1 wt. % into basic OLED material increased luminescence of the diode. Very promising hole-trapping materials are polyacetylene backbone polymers with fullerene in combination with different electron-accepting groups in branches.
Star copolymer (PS)xC60(PMMA)y (polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate being different star “arms”) acted as an active electroluminescence layer. It improved emitting of a semiconductor electroluminescence device by up to 20 times. C60-poly(1-phenyl-1-propyne) is also reported to exhibit light emission. Fullerene moiety increased emission of blue light two times in comparison to pure poly(phenyl propyne). Stability and processability of such polymer is very good.
Solar panels
Fullerene polymers are widely studied in organic solar cells for active layers of new-generation photovoltaic panels. Examples are homopolymers of C60-polystyrene and C60-polyethyleneglycols or C60 copolymers prepared by ROMP polymerization. The current efficiency of converting incoming sun radiation to electricity is about 3%.
Another polymer type with intrinsic properties are “Double-Cable” polymers. They are brush-like structures consisting of 𝜋-electron conjugated backbone (P-type part) bearing electron-accepting branches (N-type part).
Optical limiting properties
Particular fullerene (co)polymers exhibit an optical limiting property, meaning they block intense light flux passing through them. Low intensity light flux is not affected. It is useful for light control parts in optics and as sensor or eye protection.
Surface activity
Currently, fullerene copolymerized with palladium showed some practical aspects, particularly (C60Pd3)n due to the content of palladium on its surface, exhibits catalytic effect for hydrogenation of alkenes and can lead to the development of new catalytic systems and products.
(C60Pd)n polymers can adsorb gases, making them useful as adsorbents for volatile and toxic species. For example, a great affinity to toluene was proved. The palladium atoms in the backbone are partially positive and thus attract 𝜋-electrons of aromatic core of toluene.
Introducing correct amount of fullerene as side groups onto poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) increases permeability of gas separation membranes by 80 % in comparison with pure PPO. Bulky fullerene probably increases the free volume of PPO.
Exceptional mechanical properties
Materials originating from polyurethane synthesis exhibit improved thermal mechanical stability. Fullerene-containing polyurethanes also exhibit strong optical response and are potentially applicable for optical signal processing.
Linear polymer chains containing fullerene undergo crosslinking. Resulting material exhibits elastomeric behavior with 10 times higher tensile strength and 17 times higher elongation at break than the same material without fullerene.
Blending of fullerene end-capped polymers (polyethylene glycols for example) with H-donating polymers (polyvinylchloride, poly(p-vinyl phenol), polymethylmethacrylate, etc.) leads to the enhancement of mechanical properties of H-donating polymers.
Scavengers of free radicals
Fullerene end-caped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) is a water-soluble polymer with the tendency to form clusters. It is a very good scavenger of free radicals, and it can be used for controlling radical polymerizations.
Depolymerizeable polymers
Fullerene polymers are potential candidates for establishing polymer circular economy.
Depolymerizeable polymers are the hope of polymer recycling. C60 fullerene copolymerized with [4,4′-bithiazole]-2,2′-bis(diazonium)chloride (see Magnetic behavior) was observed to depolymerize in a temperature range of 60-75°C. Polymerization and depolymerization can be done several times before degradation of initial components. The depolymerization temperature and the difference between polymerization and depolymerization temperatures must be increased.
Cancer treatment
Basic fullerene polymers without polar functional groups are strongly hydrophobic, thus incompatible for medicinal use in the human body.
An example of water-soluble derivatives are polyfullerocyclodextrins. They are prepared by reaction of 𝛽-cyclodextrin complexes with fullerene. They exhibit excellent DNA-cleaving activity (in the presence of visible light, they cleave DNA quantitatively). This phenomenon can be used for eliminating cancer cells.
The introduction of hydrophilic groups into the macromolecule is the principle of preparing water-soluble polymers. Examples of backbones for water-soluble fullerene side-chain polymers are for example poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) (52) or pullulan.
Magnetic behavior
Polymers with C60-backbone with ferromagnetic properties were reported in literature, although fullerene itself is antiferromagnetic. An example of a successful synthesis of ferromagnetic C60–polymer uses [4,4′-bithiazole]-2,2′-bis(diazonium)dichloride, C60 and FeSO4.
References
Fullerenes
Polymers | Polyfullerene | [
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science"
] | 2,874 | [
"Polymers",
"Polymer chemistry"
] |
72,533,329 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium%20tris%28carbonato%29cobalt%28III%29 | Sodium tris(carbonato)cobalt(III) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na3Co(CO3)3•3H2O. The salt contains an olive-green metastable cobalt(III) coordination complex. The salt, a homoleptic metal carbonato complex, is sometimes referred to as the “Field-Durrant precursor” and is prepared by the “Field-Durrant synthesis”. It is used in the synthesis of other cobalt(III) complexes. Otherwise cobalt(III) complexes are generated from cobalt(II) precursors, a process that requires an oxidant.
Synthesis
An aqueous solution of cobalt(II) nitrate and hydrogen peroxide is added to a solution of sodium bicarbonate, leading to precipitation of the olive solid. The method is a modification of the synthesis of what has been described as “Co2(CO3)3”.
Structure and synthetic applications
The identity of this complex anion is uncertain, suggestions include [Co(κ2-CO3)3]3-, [Co(κ1-CO3H)3(OH)3]3-, and [Co(κ2-CO3)2(κ1-CO3)(OH2)]3-. Thermal gravimetric analysis favors the presence of one aquo ligand, and infra-red spectroscopy indicates the presence of both bi- and unidentate carbonate ligands. The addition of [Co(NH3)6]Cl3 to fresh solutions of sodium tris(carbonato)cobalt(III) precipitates anhydrous salt [Co(NH3)6] [Co(κ2-CO3)3]. This salt has been characterized by X-ray crystallography, which established that the anionic complex features three bidentate (κ2-) carbonate ligands.
To some extent, the exact description of the title salt is unimportant since it is only used as a synthetic intermediate, it has no intrinsic value. Products include [Co(H2O)6]3+, [Co(κ2-CO3)(H2O)4]+, and [Co(κ2-CO3)2(H2O)2]− and their derivatives where the aquo ligand has been displaced. The closely related potassium tris(carbonatocobalt(III) has also been used for the preparation of diverse complexes. These derivatives include [Co(NH3)2(κ2-CO3)2]− and [Co(CN)2(κ2-CO3)2]3-, rare examples of biscarbonato cobalt(III) complexes. Other derivatives include the dinitrite [Co(NH3)2(κ2-CO3)(NO2)2]− and the oxalate [Co(NH3)2(κ2-CO3)(C2O4)]−.
Other literature
Fikru Tafesse, Elias Aphane, and Elizabeth Mongadi (2009): "Determination of the structural formula of sodium tris-carbonatocobaltate(III), Na3[Co(CO3)3]·3H2O by thermogravimetry". Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, volume 102, issue 1, pages 91–97.
Thomas P. McCutcheon and William J. Schuele (1953): "Complex Acids of Cobalt and Chromium. The Green Carbonatocobalt(III) Anion". Journal of the American Chemical Society, volume 75, issue 8, pages 1845–1846.
References
Cobalt complexes
Cobalt(III) compounds
Inorganic compounds
Carbonates
Octahedral compounds
Ammine complexes | Sodium tris(carbonato)cobalt(III) | [
"Chemistry"
] | 786 | [
"Inorganic compounds"
] |
72,533,629 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming-Montreal%20Global%20Biodiversity%20Framework | The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is an outcome of the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference. Its tentative title had been the "Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework". The GBF was adopted by the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022. It has been promoted as a "Paris Agreement for Nature". It is one of a handful of agreements under the auspices of the CBD, and it is the most significant to date. It has been hailed as a "huge, historic moment" and a "major win for our planet and for all of humanity."
The Framework is named after two cities, Kunming, which was scheduled to be the host city for COP15 in October 2020 but postponed and subsequently relinquished the hosting duties due to China's COVID policy, and Montreal, which is the seat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat and stepped in to host COP15 after Kunming's cancellation.
Background
Human activities around the planet have been causing a crisis of biodiversity loss around the globe. This phenomenon has been known as the Holocene extinction, which is the sixth mass extinction event in the earth's history. The decline in nature threatens the survival of a million species and impacts billions of people.
Due to increasing awareness of the biodiversity crisis, there was pressure from citizens and investors around the world to take action to address the interlinked crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Previous agreements, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, had largely failed to achieve their targets for biodiversity loss.
In the lead up to the adoption of the GBF, it was hoped that the GBF would act as an ambitious, science-based, and comprehensive sister agreement to the Paris Agreement - an international agreement for climate change under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP15, the summit where the GBF was adopted, was described by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema (Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity) as a "Paris moment for biodiversity".
Goals and targets
The GBF contains four global goals ("Kunming-Montreal Global Goals for 2050") and 23 targets ("Kunming-Montreal 2030 Global Targets").
The four goals are:
The integrity, resilience, and connectivity of ecosystems is maintained, enhanced, or restored, substantially increasing the area of natural ecosystems by 2050, and that human-induced extinction of threatened species is halted, and that by 2050, extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold, and the abundance of native wild species is increased to healthy and resilient levels; and that the genetic diversity within populations of wild and domesticated species, is maintained, safeguarding their adaptive potential.
Biodiversity is sustainably used and managed and nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, are valued, maintained and enhanced, with those currently in decline being restored, supporting the achievement of sustainable development, for the benefit of present and future generations by 2050.
The monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of genetic resources, and digital sequence information on genetic resources, and of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, as applicable, are shared fairly and equitably, including, as appropriate with indigenous peoples and local communities, and substantially increased by 2050, while ensuring traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is appropriately protected, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in accordance with internationally agreed access and benefit-sharing instruments
Adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology to fully implement the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework are secured and equitably accessible to all Parties, especially developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, progressively closing the biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year, and aligning financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity.
The 23 targets are categorized into three areas as:
Reducing threats to biodiversity.
Meeting people's needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing.
Tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming.
"Target 3" is especially referred to as the "30 by 30" target. It succeeds the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets). It aims for governments to designate 30% of Earth's terrestrial and aquatic area as protected areas by 2030. As part of the target, countries must stop subsidizing activities that destroy wilderness, such as mining and industrial fishing.
In parallel to the development of these goals and targets, the concept of nature-positive emerged as a global societal goal for nature that mirrors the mission and vision of the GBF. Nature-positive refers to the goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, and to achieve nature recovery by 2050, while the Global Biodiversity Framework also aims to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity to begin the road to nature recovery. Since the implementation of the GBF, nature-positive has played a role in mainstreaming nature throughout businesses and governance systems to achieve the targets of the framework.
Implications
The implementation of the GBF will likely lead to the following effects according to the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative:
Mandatory nature-related disclosure of data. Companies will be required to disclose their impacts on biodiversity and the natural world.
Increasing nature-positive financial flows. Banks and financial institutions will have to invest in projects that restore nature.
Biodiversity targets will form a mandatory part of corporate governance.
Central banks and their governing institutions will need to address the risks stemming from nature loss as a core part of their mandates.
The GBF will enable international policy alignment in terms of protecting nature.
The GBF is not a legally binding treaty, but it is expected to have a major impact in countries around the world as they endeavor to meet their targets, through the development of new plans and regulations. For example, protected areas will be expanded and subsidies for ecologically destructive activities such as fishing will have to be redirected.
Progress towards national targets has been under review at COP16. By the summit’s end, just 44 out of 196 parties had come up with new biodiversity plans.
See also
Paris Agreement
High Seas Treaty
Nature-positive
References
External links
The 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) official documents
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework website
2022 documents
Environmental policies approved in 2022
Convention on Biological Diversity
Environmental policy
Biodiversity | Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework | [
"Biology"
] | 1,336 | [
"Convention on Biological Diversity",
"Biodiversity"
] |
72,534,915 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppel-Kundt%20illusion | The Oppel-Kundt illusion is a geometric optical illusion that occurs when comparing the sizes of filled (with some visual elements, distractors) and unfilled parts of the image (for most observers, the filled part seems larger). The illusion is named after German physicists (first mentioned this phenomenon in 1860) and August Kundt (first performed a systematic study of the illusion in 1863). It is also known as the "filled-space illusion" or the "illusion of interrupted extent". Depending on the filling elements used, there is a wide variety of graphic implementations of the Oppel-Kundt illusion, which also differ in the magnitude of the visual distortion effects they cause.
Explanations
Although various modifications of the Oppel-Kundt illusion have been studied experimentally quite well, there is still no generally accepted explanation for the occurrence of this visual phenomenon.
Along with purely phenomenological modeling a number of different theoretical approaches have been tested to account for the data obtained in psychophysical experiments. For example, the methods of the potential theory in physics were used to explain the illusion by interactions between different elements of stimulus in a two-dimensional perceptual field.
According to a different (more physiological) approach, the illusion may be associated with the perception of continuity of the filled part of the stimulus. It was assumed that individual filling elements cause neural activation in the corresponding spatiotemporal windows, and these windows (if they overlap) merge into a continuous array of "associated fields" of excitation.
According to the "contour density" hypothesis, the number of zero crossings of the spatial profile of neural activity caused by the filled part of the Oppel-Kundt figure may be one of the most important factors determining the illusion magnitude.
A fairly adequate description of the effects of the illusion was obtained from a computational model that seeks to explain the misperception of extent in terms of physiological spatial-frequency filtering, as well as using a quantitative approach that explains the appearance of the illusion by internal noise in neural networks.
According to the "spatial coding" model, the Oppel-Kundt illusion can be associated with misjudgments of the visual positions of stimuli terminators (items designating the ends of spatial intervals). It is assumed that the eccentricity (angular distance from the center of field of view) of the terminator is encoded by the magnitude of the cumulative neural response of some hypothetical area of weighted spatial summation (AWS, centered on the terminator), which size scales linearly towards the visual periphery. That is, a terminator with a more peripheral location affects overlapping receptive fields of neuronal populations with a wider aggregated profile, thus causing a greater integrated response of the corresponding AWS (and vice versa, a greater response is perceptually associated with a greater eccentricity of the terminator). Thus, the illusion may arise because the additional neural excitation induced by a nearby contextual distractors (elements filling the spatial interval of the image) increases the AWS response, which, in turn, is decoded by visual system as an increase in the perceived eccentricity of the terminator. The use of the model allowed to assume the appearance of an illusion in the case of previously unexplored variants of stimuli (as, for example, with a circle centered on a lateral terminator).
References
Optical illusions
1860s in science | Oppel-Kundt illusion | [
"Physics"
] | 696 | [
"Optical phenomena",
"Physical phenomena",
"Optical illusions"
] |
72,535,255 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler-1658b | Kepler-1658b (or the Kepler object of interest, KOI-4.01) is a hot Jupiter, a type of gas giant exoplanet, that orbits an F-type star called Kepler 1658, located about 2629 light-years away from the Solar System. It is the first planet identified by the Kepler space telescope after its launch in 2009, but later ruled out as false alarm since its transit could not be confirmed. A study published in 2019 established it as a planet, describing it as "the closest known planet in terms of orbital period to an evolved star." Analysis of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data in 2022 showed that it is gradually spiraling into its star.
History
Named after German astronomer Johannes Kepler, the Kepler space telescope was launched by NASA in 2009 to discover planets orbiting other stars. In June 2010, data of the first observations were publicly announced that 705 stars indicated exoplanet candidates. In January 2011, identification of 305 stars as containing planets was published as the Kepler Input Catalogue. The planets were designated as the Kepler object of interest (KOI). An F-type star KOI-4 was among the observed exoplanetary system. Before 2009, KOI-1 to KOI-3 were already known as possible exoplanet bearing stars. KOI-4.01 was thus the first exoplanet identified by the Kepler spacecraft.
KOI-4.01 was seen as blocking a bit of starlight from the KOI-4, which indicated that it was a transiting planet. The size of KOI-4 was estimated to be slightly larger than the Sun, by about 1.1 times, with its planet about the size of Neptune. A secondary eclipse was observed that still showed a dip in starlight. Such dip was not expected to be coming from a planet as small as KOI-4.01. The identification of the planet was ruled out as a false alarm.
In 2016, Ashley Chontos, then a first-year graduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi in Honolulu, started analysing the Kepler data. She and her collaborators confirmed in February 2019 that KOI-4.01 is a real planet, a hot Jupiter. Chontos announced it on 5 March at NASA’s Kepler & K2 science conference in Glendale, California, and published it on 29 April in The Astronomical Journal. The study described it as "the closest known planet in terms of orbital period to an evolved star" and an "insight into theories for hot Jupiter formation and migration." The planet was named Kepler-1658b, referring to the entry number in the Kepler Catalogue. After running out of fuel, the Kepler space telescope terminated in 2018, and the study was taken over by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
Description
KOI-4 is about 2.9 times the size of the Sun, and not 1.1 times larger as initially estimated. This estimate makes Kepler-1658b larger than Neptune, about 1.07 the size of Jupiter, with a mass of 5.88 Jupiters. Kepler-1658b is gas giant exoplanet, a type of hot Jupiter. It is located and 0.0544 AU from KOI-4. It takes 3.8 Earth-days to complete one orbit around its star.
TESS observations published in 2022 showed that Kepler-1658b has a decreasing orbital period at a rate of about milliseconds per year and is spiralling into its star due to tidal deceleration, at which rate it will be consumed in around 2.5 million years. This is the second discovery of any planet whose orbit is decaying and heading for destruction towards its own star, after WASP-12b. Scientists said that such process could explain how other planets, including the Earth, would end in the course of their host stars evolving to the giant star phase.
References
Cygnus (constellation)
Exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope
Transiting exoplanets
Kepler objects of interest
Exoplanets discovered in 2019 | Kepler-1658b | [
"Astronomy"
] | 844 | [
"Cygnus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
72,535,295 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue%20posture | Tongue posture is the resting position of the tongue in the mouth. Evidence demonstrates that the tongue plays a role in mouth and face development.
See also
Spinal posture
References
Habits
Posture
Tongue | Tongue posture | [
"Biology"
] | 37 | [
"Behavior",
"Human behavior",
"Habits"
] |
72,536,351 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024%20United%20Nations%20Biodiversity%20Conference | The 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was a conference that was held from October 21 to November 1, 2024 in Cali, Colombia. The monitoring framework agreed at the previous conference should allow the progress of the countries towards national goals and targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to be evaluated.
History
The UNCBD COP16 was originally set to be held in Turkey; however, on July 31, 2023, the conference's organizing committee notified Parties that the country had decided to give up its right to host and preside the event, due to "a force majeure situation" caused by the impact of the nationwide earthquakes occurred in February of the same year.
On December 11, 2023, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, announced that the country had officially offered to host the COP16, which was scheduled to be held from October 21, to November 1, 2024. On February 20, 2024, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced that Cali had been chosen to host the event, after a month-long competition with Bogotá. Petro said that Valle del Cauca was "the most biodiverse region in Colombia", both due its natural ecosystems and its ethnic diversity, while noting that the government had also chosen Cali in the hopes of "healing the open wounds" of the nationwide protests the city had been at the center of in 2021.
Logo and motto
The COP16's official logo was presented by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, and the interim executive secretary of the UNCBD, David Cooper, on February 28, 2024, during the Sixth UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. Designed by Vanessa María Vergara Domínguez, the logo depicted an Inírida flower, an endemic plant in Colombia, decorated with 36 petals, 23 of which represented the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022, whereas the remaining 13 symbolized the country's strategic ecoregions.
The official motto of the COP16 was Paz con la Naturaleza ("Peace with Nature"); Muhamad said that one of the reasons behind the choice was the hope to turn the conference into an opportunity to further reduce the impact of the nationwide conflict with guerrilla factions, which was still ongoing despite the agreement reached as part of the peace process between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016.
Development
Context and lead-up
Main themes of the summit
The UNCBD COP16 mainly aimed to review progress of the countries towards the goals set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which had been approved in December 2022, having set 23 general targets to "halt and reverse biodiversity loss" by 2030.
In the lead-up to the summit, national governments were expected to present their respective long-term strategies to meet the targets, known as National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs); however, a joint investigation by The Guardian and Carbon Brief revealed that only 25 of the 195 countries that had adhered to the Kunming-Montreal Framework had submit their NBSAPs before the start of the COP16. According to the inquiry, only five of the 17 megadiverse countries (Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico), as well as four G7 nations (Canada, France, Italy and Japan), submitted their respective NBSAPs by the deadline. Representatives for Colombia announced that the country would present its own plan during the meeting, while spokespersons for the United Kingdom, Brazil and India stated that the nations would not publish their respective NBSAPs earlier than 2025.
The COP16 was also considered as an occasion to review other goals set at the previous conference in Montreal, including an agreement to provide developing countries with at least $20 billion to finance the implementation of conservation targets by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030. Another target included in the Global Biodiversity Framework urged countries to identify funding to nature-damaging sources and cut them by $500 billion a year by the end of the decade. Upon the start of the meeting, only seven developed countries had contributed to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), donating a total of $244 million.
Moreover, participating countries were expected to negotiate the first global agreement on digital sequence information and biopiracy, a phenomenon that had been disproportionately affecting countries in the so-called Global South, and ensure the full involvement of Indigenous peoples around the world, which had been mentioned eighteen times on the GBF, in the implementation of the targets set by the Framework itself. Finally, a draft of a global action plan on biodiversity and health was reportedly set to be negotiated at the conference.
Upon being asked about the likelihood that the United States would ratify the convention, having previously refused to do so, the executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, said that while the US were "always participating at the COPs with reasonably big delegations", ratification had not been an "actively discussed" subject in the country, regardless of the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, due to a lack of support from a solid majority of the Congress.
Schomaker also said that the COP16 would be "the biggest COP ever", thanks to the involvement of a higher number of stakeholders and national delegates, as well as an increase in international media coverage; she also noted how the meeting would be an opportunity for institutions to acknowledge that "we cannot solve the climate crisis without looking at the nature crisis".
Killings of environmental activists
According to a yearly Global Witness report about victims of violence and repression against environmental activism, released in September 2024, 196 environmentalists and activists around the world had been murdered throughout 2023. Colombia topped the list for the second year in a row, with 79 killings (19 more than the year prior), followed by Brazil, with 25 killings, Mexico and Honduras, with 18 killings per each. Global Witness said that organized crime groups had been linked to around half of all environmental defender murders in Colombia in 2023, while noting that half of the activists killed in Colombia were Indigenous, with many others being either members of Afro-descendant communities or small-scale farmers.
The report also raised concerns about growing repression and censorship of protests led by environmentalist associations in several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.
Security concerns
Following the termination of a ceasefire between the Colombian government and some factions of the guerrilla movement Estado Mayor Central (EMC) in March and July 2024, due to ongoing violence in several provinces, on July 16 representatives of the EMC threatened that the COP16 would "fail even if [Cali] was militarized with (US) gringos" in an X post directed to the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. In the wake of further threats by the EMC and failed terrorist attacks in Cali and Jamundí, it was reported that thousands of members of the Army and the National Police were expected to be deployed in Cali to ensure the safety of delegates and citizens. On July 30, the leader of the EMC, Nestor Gregorio (also known by the nom de guerre Iván Mordisco), announced that the units of the group would not affect any events related to the COP16 "as a gesture of [their] will for peace".
The executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Astrid Schomaker, said that her staff had "worked very closely" with national, regional and local authorities to arrange effective security arrangements for the COP16.
Negotiations
The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, served as the president of the COP16 throughout the entirety of its negotiations, which were held in the Zona Azul ("Blue Zone") at the Valle del Pacifico convention center in Cali; participants from civil society were admitted to the Zona Verde ("Green Zone") at the , which would host several concerts, as well as a series of political and academic conferences about conservation and restoration of oceans, environmental justice and sustainable cities, among other themes.
On October 21, 2024, the inaugural day of the meeting, Muhamad presented Colombia's own NBSAP, called Plan de Acción por la Biodiversidad 2030 ("Plan of Action for Biodiversity 2030"). The document — which was estimated to require a total investment of 76.5 billion pesos, roughly corresponding to over $17.8 billion — set six national goals and 191 targets needed to fulfill the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework by the end of the decade. The opening ceremony included public speeches by Muhamad and Petro, as well as the major counselor of the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), Orlando Rayo, and a video-message from the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, who urged participating diplomats to "go from words to facts" in order to fulfill the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
While the COP16 was taking place, a group of researchers from the Natural History Museum in London presented an independent analysis on the effectiveness of conservation practices worldwide, which showed that, on average, biodiversity intactness had declined globally between 2000 and 2020, diminishing more quickly in considered protected areas than in critical biodiversity areas that were not protected; the study also estimated that 17.5% of land and 8.4% of marine areas were protected for nature – an increase of about half a percentage point each since the COP15 in 2022 – with the total amount being expected to reach at least 30% by 2030, as part of one of the targets set by the GBF.
During the first week of the convention, representatives of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, as well as civil society associations, were involved in dedicated international forums. El Colombiano reported that five "key documents" related to the targets set by the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols were adopted in the ending session of the week, while new preliminary agreements to reform wildlife conservation and sustainable practices within the agricultural, food and financial sectors were also reached.
Negotiations about a plan to provide developing countries with more resources for the implementation of conservation targets by 2030 reportedly kept stalling during the second week of the meeting, as a request by developing countries, including Brazil, to create a new fund for biodiversity, faced opposition by donating countries and the European Union. A spokesperson for the CBD committee, David Ainsworth, said that it was "obvious" that a complete agreement on the subject would not be reached by the end of the COP16, with delegates being set to continue negotiations in the following period of time, as part of a new organization or an existent UN body. Some analysts and participants also noted how the funding for developing countries required by the GBF was "a drop in the sea" in comparison to incentives paid by governments to providers of nature-damaging sources.
Final outcomes
The conference closed on Saturday, 2 November, with no agreement on a roadmap to ramp up funding for species protection. It was suspended as negotiations ran almost 12 hours longer than planned and delegates started leaving to catch flights. The exodus left the summit without a quorum for decision-making,
Delegates did agree earlier to form a subsidiary body for recognizing Indigenous peoples' role, including traditional environmental knowledge, in future decisions on conservation. The body is led by two co-chairs, one of which is nominated by UN parties of the regional group and the other nominated by Indigenous peoples and local communities. The role of people of African descent in the protection of nature was also recognized.
Agreement was reached earlier too on charging large biotechnology companies who derive genetic information from living organisms with a 0.1% fee. The fee is to recognize that many life-saving medicines and genetic resources are derived from organisms living in biodiversity hotspots such as the tropical rainforest. The collected fee is to go into a newly established fund to protect nature, with 50% allocated towards Indigenous communities.
See also
Biodiversity loss
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
References
External links
COP16: Key outcomes agreed at the UN biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia by CarbonBrief
Biodiversity
United Nations conferences on the environment
Convention on Biological Diversity
Events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2024 in the environment
2024 in Colombia
Events in Colombia
2024 in international relations | 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference | [
"Biology"
] | 2,567 | [
"Convention on Biological Diversity",
"Biodiversity"
] |
72,536,538 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futel | Futel is a public arts organization in Portland, Oregon dedicated to preserving and maintaining public telephone hardware and offering free phone and basic information services. Futel was founded by Karl Anderson, a former software engineer, and Elijah St. Clair.
Technology
Karl Anderson stated that one motivation for the project was to explore the idea of urban furniture. Other reasons were to preserve an important part of hacker history, and to salvage and re-use manufactured items at the end of their lifecycle. The original Futel phones were set up in Portland, Oregon. The organization cleans and repurposes old public payphones which are often salvaged from Craigslist or scrappers. Using interface boxes, they are converted into VoIP phones which are made available publicly, with no cost for phone calls. Anderson has said the service runs on "Asterisk and OpenVPN and a lot of scripts."
The payphones operate using publicly-available internet connections. The phones have automated phone trees and users can make a call to local social services, to a weather forecast line, or access local transit information. Volunteers act as telephone operators, offering information about the Futel service, or are available for conversation. Users using Futel's phones may also access voicemail boxes. The system has a "wildcard line" where people can listen to samples of audio left on the main voicemail line along with commentary from Anderson and others.
Network
In February 2021, there were 10 Futel phones in Portland and 3 in other cities. Phones were set up in Detroit and Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Long Beach, Washington. The organization has provided free phone service for a Portland-area homeless encampment after receiving funding from the Awesome Foundation. In 2019 the organization reported their phones being used to make 12,000 phone calls. Futel also said their usage went up and not down during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic when they outfitted their phone kiosks with handwashing stations and used volunteers to keep the phones clean.
The project is funded is primarily through grants and is staffed with volunteers. The project has inspired others such as the PhilTel project in Philadelphia and the RandTel project in Randolph, Vermont. Futel publishes a zine called Party Line.
See also
References
External links
Telecommunications
Organizations based in Portland, Oregon
Street_furniture
Cultural_geography
Hacker_culture
Psychogeography
Public phones | Futel | [
"Technology"
] | 489 | [
"Information and communications technology",
"Telecommunications"
] |
72,536,820 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50%20Camelopardalis | 50 Camelopardalis is a double star in the northern constellation of Lynx. This object is visible to the naked eye as a faint white star with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.4. It is 430 light years away and moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of 20 km/s.
50 Camelopardalis has a spectral classification of A0 or B9 and a luminosity class of V or III. The stellar spectrum is noted to have unusually nebulous absorption lines due to its rapid rotation. At an age of 300 million years, the star is modelled to be in the late stages of the main sequence. It has expanded to over five times the radius of the Sun and is radiating 153 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of .
Double star catalogues list an 8th-magnitude companion at a separation of . Due to its closeness to the much brighter star, little is known about the companion. The Tycho double star catalogue gives a proper motion similar to the bright primary star.
References
A-type giants
B-type main-sequence stars
Lynx (constellation)
BD+50 1460
Camelopardalis, 50
061931
037701
2969
Double stars | 50 Camelopardalis | [
"Astronomy"
] | 257 | [
"Lynx (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
72,538,904 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulasnella%20aurantiaca | Tulasnella aurantiaca is a species of fungus in the order Cantharellales. It produces orange-red, pustular, gelatinous anamorphic states on dead, deciduous wood. Originally described from Europe, it also occurs in North America where the species appears to be more common.
Taxonomy
Tulasnella aurantiaca was first published in 1851 by German mycologist Hermann Friedrich Bonorden who placed it in a new genus, Hormomyces. Microscopically, the species produces branched chains of hyaline, globose conidia and no teleomorphic (basidia-bearing) state is known. As a result, its disposition and relationships have long been uncertain. French mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard suggested that Hormomyces aurantiacus was an anamorph of a Dacrymyces species. Italian mycologist Pier Andrea Saccardo later suggested that H. aurantiacus might be the anamorph of Tremella mesenterica, a view accepted by influential Dutch mycologist M.A. Donk. Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has, however, shown that the species is an anamorphic member of the genus Tulasnella.
References
Cantharellales
Fungi of Europe
Fungi of North America
Fungi described in 1851
Fungus species
Taxa named by Hermann Friedrich Bonorden | Tulasnella aurantiaca | [
"Biology"
] | 292 | [
"Fungi",
"Fungus species"
] |
72,538,938 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/2018%20J%202 | S/2018 J 2 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 12 May 2018, using the 4.0-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Observatory, Chile. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center four years later on 20 December 2022, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit. The satellite has been found in precovery observations as early as 27 March 2003.
S/2018 J 2 is part of the Himalia group, a tight cluster of prograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Himalia at semi-major axes between and inclinations between 26–31°. With an estimated diameter of for an absolute magnitude of 16.5, it is among the smallest known members of the Himalia group.
References
Himalia group
Moons of Jupiter
Irregular satellites
20180512
Discoveries by Scott S. Sheppard
Moons with a prograde orbit | S/2018 J 2 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 196 | [
"Astronomy stubs",
"Planetary science stubs"
] |
72,539,112 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/2011%20J%203 | S/2011 J 3 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 27 September 2011, using the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center 11 years later on 20 December 2022, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit.
S/2011 J 3 is part of the Himalia group, a tight cluster of prograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Himalia at semi-major axes between and inclinations between 26–31°. With an estimated diameter of for an absolute magnitude of 16.3, it is among the smallest known members of the Himalia group.
References
Himalia group
Moons of Jupiter
Irregular satellites
20110927
Discoveries by Scott S. Sheppard
Moons with a prograde orbit | S/2011 J 3 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 180 | [
"Astronomy stubs",
"Planetary science stubs"
] |
72,539,118 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD%20197630 | HD 197630, also known as HR 7933 or rarely 23 G. Microscopii, is a probable astrometric binary located in the southern constellation Microscopium. The visible component is a bluish-white hued star that is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent magnitude of 5.47. Based on parallax measurements from the Gaia satellite, the system is estimated to be 328 light years away. However, it is drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of . At its current distance, HD 197630's brightness is diminished by 0.11 magnitudes due to interstellar dust. A 2012 multiplicity survey failed to confirm the velocity variations.
HD 197630 has a stellar classification of B8/9 V, indicating that it is a B-type star with the characteristics of a B8 and B9 main sequence star. It has 2.83 times the mass of the Sun and 2.56 times the Sun's radius. It radiates 73.5 times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of . The star is estimated to be 113 million years old, having completed roughly half of its main sequence lifetime. HD 19730 is spinning rapidly with a projected rotational velocity of .
The object was in a 2002 Hipparcos variability survey and as a result, the AAVSO cataloged HD 197630 as a suspected variable star that fluctuates by 0.005 magnitudes within 7.71 hours. However, subsequent observations have not confirmed this. Further data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite suggests that HD 197630 may be a slowly pulsating B-type star plus a variable star with rotation modulations.
References
B-type main-sequence stars
Slowly pulsating B-type stars
Microscopium
Microscopii, 23
CD-39 13960
197630
102497
7933 | HD 197630 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 393 | [
"Microscopium",
"Constellations"
] |
72,539,174 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRM%20V12%20engine | The BRM V12 engine is a V12 Formula One racing engine, designed, developed and built by British manufacturer and constructor BRM, between 1967 and 1977.
Background
The H16 was replaced by a V12 (2.9375 x 2.25 in, 74.61 x 57.15 mm) designed by Geoff Johnson. It had been intended for sports car use, but was first used in F1 by the McLaren M5A. Back at the works, the early V12 years were lean ones. In the two-valve layout gave about at 9,000 rpm. In 1968 this had increased to at 9,750 rpm. Geoff Johnson updated the design by adding a four-valve head, based on the H16 485 bhp 4-valve layout; this improved the V12's power output to at 10,500 rpm and eventually to a claimed during 1969. In 1973, Louis Stanley claimed at 11,750 rpm. The design and building of the first V-12 chassis, the P126 was contracted to former Lotus and Eagle designer Len Terry's Transatlantic Automotive Consultants. The cars first appeared during the 1968 Tasman Championship, powered by 2.5 litre versions of the engine, temporary team driver Bruce McLaren winning the fourth round of the series at Teretonga but being generally unimpressed with the car. BRM themselves built further examples of the Terry design, which were designated P133 and 1968 team drivers Mike Spence and Pedro Rodríguez appeared competitive in early season non championship races at Brands Hatch and Silverstone, but then Spence was killed driving the Lotus 56 turbine during qualifying at Indianapolis. Spence's replacement, Richard Attwood, finished a good second to Graham Hill's Lotus at Monaco, but after this results went downhill and the season petered out ignominiously. For 1969 the four valve per cylinder engine was developed and a new slimline car, the P139 was built. John Surtees joined as the team's lead driver backed up by Jack Oliver. Rodríguez was shunted into the semi-works Parnell team. Surtees' time at BRM was not a happy one and, despite the fact that a ground effect "wing car" was designed, this was never constructed and the team's performances were lacklustre. Surtees left after a single season (1969), along with Tony Rudd who went to Lotus (initially on the road-car side), and Geoff Johnson who departed for Austin Morris.
The team regrouped with Tony Southgate as designer and Rodríguez brought back into the fold to partner Oliver, and gained its first V12 victory when Rodríguez won the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix in a P153, with further victories for Jo Siffert and Peter Gethin in 1971 in the P160. The team had reached one of its intermittent peaks of success. Both Siffert and Rodríguez were killed before the 1972 season and the team had to regroup completely again. Their last World Championship victory came when Jean-Pierre Beltoise drove a stunning race to win the rain-affected 1972 Monaco Grand Prix with the P160. He also won the non-championship 1972 World Championship Victory Race later in the year. The campaign was generally chaotic: having acquired major sponsorship, Louis Stanley originally planned to field up to six cars (three for established drivers, three for paying journeymen and young drivers) of varying designs including P153s, P160s and P180s and actually ran up to five for a mix of paying and paid drivers until it became obvious that it was completely overstretched and the team's sponsors insisted that the team should cut back to a more reasonable level and only three cars were run in 1973 for Beltoise, Lauda, and Regazzoni.
Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
Engines by model
Gasoline engines by model
V12 engines
Formula One engines | BRM V12 engine | [
"Technology"
] | 804 | [
"Engines",
"Engines by model"
] |
72,539,543 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witches%27%20Stone | Witches' Stone is an historic stone in the Scottish parish of St Martins, Perth and Kinross. It marks the location where Macbeth meets with two witches in William Shakespeare's tragedy. It is first mentioned in text in 1806, when William Mackenzie, father of architect William Macdonald Mackenzie, was the landowner.
The stone, which first appeared on Ordnance Survey maps in 1866, stands around high and has a groove on its top, believed to be the result of a chain being used on it.
See also
List of individual rocks
References
Stones
Perth and Kinross
Macbeth | Witches' Stone | [
"Physics"
] | 113 | [
"Stones",
"Physical objects",
"Matter"
] |
72,541,741 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bees%20wine | Bees wine, also known as "beeswine", "bee wine" and by a variety of other local names, was a home-brewed "folk" alcoholic drink popular during the late 19th and early 20th century particularly in rural areas of the United States and United Kingdom. It was produced using the fermentation of sugar, treacle or molasses by a symbiotic culture of wild yeasts and bacteria.
The cultures were known as "wine bees", "beer seeds", "beer bees", "Californian bees", "Mesopotamia bees", or by a variety of other names, "as bees of almost any locality sufficiently remote to render verification difficult".
History and production
"Bees wine" was recorded as far back as the 1850s in America. In 1891 Dr. Charles L. Mix published a paper on "bees wine" in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, noting that the cultures used for fermentation were similar to, although with distinct differences from, kefir and suggested adopting the term "American Kephir" to describe them. The origin of the cultures remained unknown: much as for kefir, stories circulated they had been brought back from overseas by returning soldiers, though some correspondents to American journals noted that starter cultures could be simply made at home. A culture could be started by exposing a mixture of cornmeal and molasses to the air, allowing colonisation by wild yeasts.
The drink was made by fermentation of brown sugar or treacle, primarily by the yeast Saccharomyces pyriformis in combination with the bacteria Lentilactobacillus hilgardii. Dried fruit such as raisins could also be added. While fermenting, the lumps of yeast rose and fell in the brew due to bubbles of gas, hence the popular name of "bees", although Dorothy Hartley, in her book Food in England, suggested the name was due to the "faint humming noise" made by the fermentation. The finished product was said to resemble "cider, but sweeter and more intoxicating". Hartley noted that "it is quite epidemic in England: suddenly someone starts the 'bee' and others are fascinated [...] so it spreads a fashion from village to village and street to street, though it seems to be chiefly a country conceit".
The "bees" were often stated to be identical to the "ginger beer plant" culture used with different ingredients to produce home made ginger beer, although it has also been suggested the cultures were different; analysis of the cultures showed that several different varieties were in circulation, and that they did not seem to have a common origin. A 1921 study showed that grains recently available gave a result containing about 3% alcohol, but noted that this was a "poor specimen" and that cultures twenty years previously had been reported by various authors as producing 9–11.3%.
In the 1920s "bees wine" cultures were circulated commercially by mail order and a variety of vague health benefits were claimed for the drink. Such products were noted to have become of greater interest in the aftermath of prohibition in the United States. The United States Department of Agriculture eventually took steps to advise the public that the cultures being advertised had little intrinsic value, and that a fermentation based on wild yeasts might contain "harmful as well as desirable organisms".
The National Collection of Yeast Cultures holds an old sample of "bees wine", noting "the bacteria are Lactobacilli and an unknown Gram positive rod that forms a gelatinous sheath that coils and traps the other cells in it ... The yeasts that have been isolated from the mixture include Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Brettanomyces anomalus and Hansenula anomala". The NCYC sample does not, however, appear to include Saccharomyces pyriformis.
See also
Kefir
Tibicos
References
Fermented drinks | Bees wine | [
"Biology"
] | 823 | [
"Fermented drinks",
"Biotechnology products"
] |
72,542,442 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93-Cyclodextrin | γ-Cyclodextrin sometimes abbreviated as γ-CD, is an octasaccharide derived from glucose. The α- (alpha), β- (beta), and γ- (gamma) cyclodextrins correspond to six, seven, and eight glucose units, respectively.
Structure
In γ-cyclodextrin, the eight glucose subunits are linked end to end via α-1,4 linkages. The result has the shape of a tapered cylinder, with 8 primary alcohols on one face and 16 secondary alcohol groups on the other. The exterior surface of cyclodextrins is somewhat hydrophilic whereas the interior core is hydrophobic.
Physical properties
γ-Cyclodextrin exists as a white (colorless) powder or crystals. The density of its hydrate crystal (γCD·14H2O) is 1.41 g/cm3. γ-Cyclodextrin is well soluble in water and dimethyl sulfoxide, poorly soluble in methanol.
Applications
γ-Cyclodextrins has the largest cavity size between natural cyclodextrin, thus, it is well-suited to accommodate larger biomolecules and other guests. For this reason, γ-cyclodextrin is most commonly used as a complexing agent. γ-Cyclodextrin is widely used in medicine, pharmacy, food industry, cosmetics, textiles.
Derivatives
To increase solubility, hydroxypropylated γ-cyclodextrin derivative (HPγCD) is obtained by treating the natural cyclodextrin with propylene oxide, and sulfobutylether γ-cyclodextrin (SBEγCD) by treating the natural CD with 1,4-butane sultone.
Sugammadex is the derivative of γ-cyclodextrin applied as a medication.
See also
α-Cyclodextrin
β-Cyclodextrin
References
Oligosaccharides | Γ-Cyclodextrin | [
"Chemistry"
] | 421 | [
"Oligosaccharides",
"Carbohydrates"
] |
72,542,791 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teserpaturev | Teserpaturev is an oncolytic virus for treatment of malignant glioma. Also known as G47∆, teserpaturev is a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1. Originally discovered by the University of Tokyo and marketed by Daiichi Sankyo Company in Japan under the brand name Delytact, it is the first gene therapy product ever approved for treatment of malignant glioma. Teserpaturev was granted Sakigake fast-track designation in February 2016, orphan drug designation (ODD) in July 2017, and was approved in June 2021 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). The approval of Delytact in Japan was supported by a phase II clinical trial in patients with glioblastoma, which demonstrated a one-year survival rate of 84.2% and the median overall survival of 20.2 months in patients with residual or recurrent glioblastoma. Delytact is injected directly into the tumor up to six times.
References
Oncolytic virus
Daiichi Sankyo
Approved gene therapies
Medical treatments | Teserpaturev | [
"Biology"
] | 231 | [
"Viruses",
"Oncolytic virus"
] |
72,543,322 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B3%201715%2B425 | B3 1715+425 is an astronomical radio source which is theorized to be a nearly naked black hole.
Discovery
B3 1715+425 was discovered during a systematic search for supermassive black holes (SMBH) by James Condon and his team at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in 2016. Condon recalls how his team had been looking for “orbiting pairs of supermassive black holes, with one offset from the centre of a galaxy, as telltale evidence of a previous galaxy merger.” Instead, they found B3 1715+425.
Description
It is speculated that B3 1715+425 was originally enclosed by a host galaxy, like most other SMBHs. Models predict that in most black hole collisions, the two objects will combine to form a larger black hole. However, in B3 1715+425‘s case, Condon speculates that a collision with a much larger galaxy resulted in most of the host galaxy for B3 1715+425 being pulled away, leaving it with a small remaining galaxy of diameter just 3,000 lightyears across (in comparison, the Milky Way Galaxy is 87,400 light years across). The galaxy responsible for removing most B3 1715+425's stars is an elliptical brightest cluster galaxy at the center of the ZwCl 8193 cluster. The galaxy shows a distorted morphology and a starburst, probably as a result of the interaction with B3 1715+425.
Resources
Supermassive black holes | B3 1715+425 | [
"Physics"
] | 299 | [
"Black holes",
"Unsolved problems in physics",
"Supermassive black holes"
] |
72,543,594 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls%20of%20Cu%C3%A9llar | The Walls of Cuéllar are Romanesque defensive walls that surrounds the old town of the Segovian village of Cuéllar. They represent one of the most important and best preserved walled complexes in the autonomous community of Castile and León (Spain).
The walled complex consists of three distinct enclosures: the city, the citadel and the counter wall. In addition, archaeological remains of a fourth enclosure, now disappeared, have been found. The walls were built in the 11th century and reinforced in the 15th century by Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 2nd Duke of Alburquerque and lord of the town. Initially they had an overall length of more than , of which approximately are preserved. They are thick and have an average height of more than . Seven of the eleven gates that allowed access to different parts of the town are preserved, among them the arch of San Basilio, in the Mudéjar style.
From the 17th century onwards they ceased to be used for defensive purposes, and interest in their conservation began to wane until, in the 19th century, the most deteriorated sections began to be demolished. This, together with the sinking caused by wear and tear and neglect, led to the loss of a quarter of the walls. In the 1970s, this deterioration began to be halted by rehabilitating different parts.
The last restoration was completed in 2011 thanks to a project of the Ministry of Housing, which, with a budget of 3.4 million euros from European funds, enhanced the complex as a tourist attraction, making some sections of the wall accessible.
The walled enclosure, which bears a strong resemblance to Toledo's 14th-century military architecture, was declared a national artistic monument in 1931, along with Cuéllar Castle, a distinction known as a Bien de Interés Cultural.
History
Construction: 10th to 15th centuries
The wall was the main element of all the elements of the medieval urban phenomenon. Its presence made possible the existence of a protected hamlet with a certain density, and the fence is the first thing that reveals the rural-urban dichotomy. This initial need for defense was more pronounced in the border regions, as is the case of Cuéllar, on the banks of the Douro River. Like most of the towns created during the repopulation, the town was built in the wilderness, seeking small hills to defend itself. The wall runs through them, fortifying its highest part, so that its layout obeys a topographical conditioning, adapting to the terrain.
The Walls of Cuéllar have their origin in the Early Middle Ages, when the definitive repopulation of the town took place, entrusted by Alfonso VI of Castile to Count Pedro Ansúrez. The beginning of its construction can be dated from the year 1085, during this repopulation, as attested by the oldest remains of the wall that have been found, located in the castle and dating from the 11th century. This construction was extended throughout the 12th and especially the 13th centuries.
The first documented record dates from 29 April 1264. It is a document of Alfonso X the Wise in which he granted, at the request of the council of Cuéllar, that the collection of certain fines be used to repair the Walls of Cuéllar:
Once again, the town council asked a monarch, this time Henry II of Castile in 1374, to grant the inheritances located in the town that had belonged to Juana de Castro for the repair of the walls, a request that was not accepted by the king. The proof of the town's interest in its walls can be deduced from another new petition, this time to the Infante Don Ferdinand, who granted a license to the council on 13 February 1403 to repair the walls, and for this purpose all the residents of Walls of Cuéllar and its Land, without distinction of status, had to pay 30,000 maravedís:
In 1427, following the council's concern to strengthen and restore its defensive walls, John II of Aragon, who was then lord of the town, signed a document in Valladolid addressed to the council to authorize the archdeacon Gómez González to build the Hospital de la Magdalena, one of his foundations, attached to the wall, while leaving the city walls and their defense intact, but breaking part of the wall. Apparently there was prior authorization, but the council, concerned about the defense of the city, later opposed the works. The archdeacon had to request permission again from the king, who replied that he should be allowed to complete the building. Finally, the archdeacon did not comply with what the lord of the town imposed on him, and did not respect the chemin de ronde, as he literally leaned the building on it, leaving no option for the promenade.
Reforms of the 16th century
The walls were rebuilt and enlarged during the 14th and 15th centuries for defensive purposes. When Beltrán de la Cueva arrived at the manor of Cuéllar in 1464, the Romanesque walls were in good condition, but at the same time that he carried out the enlargement of the castle, he also reinforced the rest of the fortifications. Thus, in 1471 he enlarged the north wall to raise the wall and the barbican. At the same time, he strengthened the first wall of the first enclosure that runs from the Arch of San Basilio to the nearest wall of the castle.
At this time the Catholic Monarchs initiated a general program of inspection and repair of walls in Castilian cities in which they urged lords, priors, masters and corregidores of the towns to report on the situation of the same through master architects, and how many maravedis were to be spent for their restoration, so it is possible that the works carried out by the first duke were due to the campaign of walls that the monarchs carried out.
After Beltrán's death in 1492, his son and successor Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 2nd Duke of Alburquerque and 2nd Lord of the town, carried out the most important reforms of the complex, following the guidelines set by his father. The works began around 1500 and their main purpose was to reinforce the existing walls to defend his rights over the town against a possible attack by his stepmother, María de Velasco, who considered that she had rights over it. Half the cost of the works was paid for by the duke, something unusual, since the payment for this type of renovation was paid for by the population, not the lord.
The works carried out by the 2nd Duke began by strengthening the first enclosure, from the Church of San Esteban to the Arch of San Martín, and from there to the Arch of Santiago, raising its walls and endowing it with battlements and merlons with arrowslits. He also intervened in the Arch of San Pedro, giving the apse of his church a military appearance, and placed his coat of arms, as he did in all the gates of the citadel enclosure that he reinforced.
Abandonment: 17th to 19th centuries
From the 17th and especially the 18th century, the walls ceased to be a main building, becoming a second plane for the population. This disuse caused it to gradually weaken, and a period of abandonment began for the complex that led to the loss of part of the walled route. The initiative taken in the 15th century by the Lord of Cuéllar to allow building on the Walls of Cuéllar led to the massive construction of buildings attached to it, and in 1587 Juan de Ortelano was authorized to build a house next to the Walls of San Pedro; another authorization came in the mid-17th century to do the same next to the Arch of San Martín. The process of building by loading beams on the walls caused great deterioration to them, because to obtain greater amplitude they were lowered on the inside, and many windows and other spaces were opened, thus breaking the neatness and firmness they had possessed.
In the middle of this century the population dismantled some sections of the wall to reuse the stone in their houses, to which the council responded with lawsuits and fines, as happened in 1649. In the 18th century, the outer arch of the Puerta de Carchena had to be demolished, leaving only the strongest one, the inner one. Also in danger of collapse was the Arch of La Trinidad in 1777, whose wall had already lost its battlements in a previous collapse.
The walls belonged to the Duke of Alburquerque as lord of the town. After the abolition of the lordships in 1811, they remained in the possession of the Ducal House. That same year, the Ducal House underwent one of the most important changes in its history when the 14th Duke died in London without a successor to inherit his House, definitively extinguishing the lineage of La Cueva in the duchy. After a long litigation of nineteen years, the House of Alburquerque fell to the Osorio family, Marquises of Alcañices and Los Balbases, in the person of Nicolás Osorio y Zayas, defender of the Liberal Revolution.
The new Duke of Alburquerque totally disassociated himself from Cuéllar, a land he had inherited from his ancestors but with which he had no sentimental or historical relationship, since he inherited the House through the female line, thus beginning the greatest deterioration of the walls, and causing the most significant blow to the enclosure. In 1842 the wall next to the Estudio de Gramática (Grammar School) threatened to fall into ruin and the town council communicated the situation to the new Duke, who did not want to undertake its restoration. The same year it was agreed to remove the doors of the Arches of San Andrés and Carchena to prevent their weight from contributing to the collapse of the arches. Years later, those of the Arch of La Trinidad were also removed, which were appraised at 320 reales and placed in the corral of the inn.
In 1858 the collapse of another wall next to the Arch of Santiago was reported and, in the same area, there was a collapse in November 1859. These collapses alarmed the town authorities and the legal question of the ownership of the walls came to the forefront of municipal affairs, since if the Duke of Alburquerque, who considered himself the owner of the walls, did not intervene in them, the town council had to take a measure to prevent the population from continuing to be in danger. Various jurists were consulted on the legality of the ducal possession of the walls, and their answer was categorical: since the jurisdictional lordships were abolished, the duke could not be considered the owner of the walls and, after various formalities, the duke was obliged to renounce his rights, and from then on the ownership of the walled enclosure passed to the town council.
After this, the provincial authorities intervened in the matter and sent a public works draughtsman to draw up a report on the condition of the wall, in which he pointed out four areas in serious danger: the section between the Arches of Santiago and Las Cuevas; from the Hospital de las Llagas to the Arch of San Martín; from the Arch of Carchena to the Arch of San Pedro and, finally, the area around the Arch of La Trinidad and the Arch of La Trinidad itself. In view of this report, the town council ordered the neighbors who owned the houses attached to these sections of the wall in danger to vacate their homes, as well as the removal of debris. A new report was made in 1868 in which the demolition of the sections of wall that were in danger was ordered, accompanied by an estimate of expenses and the way in which it should be done, although the dismantling of the walls was not done immediately, but was carried out over several years. Finally, in 1873 a section of wall next to the arch of La Trinidad collapsed, with the few remains of its battlements disappearing.
Demolition: 20th century
The new ownership did not bring any benefit to the monument because, due to the economic scarcity of the city council and the ruinous state of the walls, they did not begin to be restored until the beginning of the 20th century, after the demolitions indicated in the reports were carried out in the last third of the 19th century, due to the fact that the cost of restoration was greater than the cost of demolition.
In 1873 the Arch of Carchena was demolished, and a year later part of the wall on the streets of Barrera and Herreros collapsed. A new and spectacular collapse in the area in 1878, in which the large wall that enveloped these streets disappeared for good, brought the state of the walls back into the spotlight. The report pointed out several dangerous points: the stretch of wall next to the Arch of Santiago, the streets of Barrera, Magdalena, San Julián, Herreros and the Arch of La Trinidad. In 1879 the demolition of the wall of Herreros Street began, and on 12 July of the same year the town council agreed to demolish the arch and the wall of Trinidad. In 1884 the Arch of Carchena was eliminated, as well as one of the archways of the Arch of San Andrés. On 19 December 1891 it was forbidden to obtain stone and earth from the slope of the wall of the castle, and in 1895 the Arch of San Pedro was demolished, which not only reduced the danger, but also allowed the widening of the street as a matter of ornament and arrangement of the public thoroughfare, as is justified by the municipal records. At that time the Arch of Las Cuevas must also have been demolished, although there is no record of the date.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the walls began to gradually lose stability. Between 1923 and 1924 the town council began to allocate small sums of money for its restoration, as it did between 1931 and 1932, works that continued after it was declared a Conjunto Histórico-Artístico (Historic-Artistic Grouping) in 1931.
In the 1940s, during the period when the castle was a prison, one of the works of the prisoners consisted of reducing the height of the wall in the northern part of the castle by two meters, overlooking the road to Valladolid, to use the stone for the construction of the disappeared antituberculosis sanatorium located to the south of the castle.In 1955 a large section of the wall between the Arch of San Basilio and the castle was demolished to provide a wider access to Palace Street than that provided by the aforementioned arch. This large-scale intervention was strongly criticized by the residents of the town for several reasons. In the first place, because of the attack on the heritage that the intervention entailed, to which the municipal corporation responded that a small passageway already existed, from a subsidence suffered centuries before, and that it had only been enlarged with a minor demolition, a fact that is corroborated by photographs taken before the demolition, although it was a very narrow passageway at one end and of minimal size, nothing to do with the one visible after the intervention, in which approximately eight meters of wall disappeared. Thousands of cubic meters of earth had to be moved to carry out the intervention, since the ground level inside the citadel was higher than outside.
Public complaints became louder when the neighbors understood the situation: the new open access allowed the entry and exit of large trucks to the esplanade of the castle, where a chicory factory owned by the acting mayor, Felipe Suarez, was located, which caused great commotion in the village. Indeed, the size of the Arch of San Basilio did not allow the entry of large trucks, and it was even common for the smaller ones to get stuck in the door during their attempts. The new entrance allowed the factory to load and unload directly from inside, saving the work of the forklift drivers who until then had had to move the merchandise by hand outside the enclosure to load it.
On 14 December 1960, the Town Council authorized the demolition of a wall panel in the lower part of the town, which closed the enclosure of the city with the disappeared Arch of San Pedro. The demolition also included a manor house belonging to the Hinestrosa family, which at the time was considered the birthplace of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, first governor of Cuba.
Recovery attempt: 20th century
In the 1970s the walls began to recover their historical interest, and the administration showed its concern through successive small-scale restorations. Thus, on 19 February 1972, the financial institution Caja Segovia made a donation of 350,000 pesetas for the restoration of the Arch of San Basilio, a work for which the Provincial Council of Segovia contributed another 100,000 pesetas, which was carried out by a Workshop School through the Cuéllar Town Council.
On 4 February 1977, part of the tower of the Arch of Santiago collapsed, and was immediately restored by the General Directorate of Fine Arts, although the criteria used did not restore the tower to its original structure, since its height was considerably reduced. At the same time, the town council acquired some houses attached to the wall on Muralla Street, and another in the same condition next to the Arch of San Martín, to demolish them to expose the corresponding sections of wall. Likewise, the Ministry of Culture, through the General Directorate of Fine Arts, restored the Arch of San Andrés in that decade, and later the interior section of wall that joins the Arch of San Martín with the Arch of Santiago. At the beginning of 1986, the town council again bought another building adjacent to the wall in the southwest area, between Carchena and Los Herreros streets, freeing up another section, although its restoration was controversial, since they only kept one meter of height in the wall, reducing some sections.
Between 1988 and 1989, the Cuéllar Town Council, through a Workshop School, rehabilitated the southern wall of the Huerta del Duque, which had large holes that resembled artillery impacts and threatened to collapse on the park. The work involved 225 m in a surface area of 800 m² for which 630 m³ of stone were used. During the restoration, a Mudéjar postern was discovered, a kind of false door that had not been known about before.
On 2 November 1998, during the works carried out in the Plaza de San Gil, which consisted of eliminating the buildings attached to the wall and subsequently building a new tourist office, a section of wall measuring 11 m long x 4.5 m high x 2.20 m wide was illegally demolished, justified as an accidental collapse, After several reports, it was concluded that the demolition had been provoked, and for this reason the Junta of Castile and Leon opened an administrative file against the town council, which ignored the recommendations of the technicians of the Territorial Heritage Commission months before the works were executed. Finally, the town council was ordered to pay 8 million pesetas, on the grounds that the building had been demolished on its own initiative.
Despite the fact that months later the Heritage Commission approved its restoration to raise the section of the wall again, this was not done, but rather it was used as a lookout, outlining in straight lines the remains that were left. In addition, the height of the section of wall on which the new building was built was reduced by 7 m in length and almost 1.5 m in height, thus extracting more than 13 m³ of stone from the wall.
At the end of the summer of 2002, a major restoration of the Walls of Cuéllar located on Nueva Street, on which the Hospital de la Magdalena is located, was carried out through an agreement between the Town Council of Cuéllar, the Ministry of Labor and the National Institute of Employment, whose works were financed by the European Community through the European Social Fund.
21st century: complete restoration
In the year 2000, negotiations began to carry out an extensive restoration of the complex, through a project financed by the Spanish Government, which consisted of a strict cataloguing and description of the different wall sections of both enclosures, and pursued a European line of funding, the European Economic Area, through which the viability of the restoration was achieved.
The works were awarded on 15 February 2008 and began two months later, with an approximate budget of 3.4 million euros and an extension during 2009, 2010 and 2011. The project made it possible to undertake the restoration and consolidation of the walled complex in a joint and orderly manner in different phases of action.
Most of the walls were rebuilt, recovering the walkway and the battlements, incorporating accesses and making part of the citadel enclosure accessible to the public, as a tourist attraction. Excavations were carried out in the moat of the castle, to achieve the original levels of the castle, and the citadel wall was closed at both ends in which it is divided, as well as the reconstruction of the wall of the Plaza de San Gil. As part of the same plan, the exterior of the west wing of the castle was restored, and the rehabilitation of the Hospital de la Magdalena as a youth hostel was incorporated into the plan.
To carry out the restoration of some sections of the wall, the Cuéllar Town Council acquired several plots of land and buildings attached to the wall to free it and allow a wider view of the wall. As a general criterion, efforts were made to maintain the original finish whenever possible, since the ultimate goal of the project was to recover the defenses, enhance their value and make them visitable in the most important part of their layout.
The works were completed in the summer of 2011, with a final budget of 3,538,286 euros, contributed in full by the Spanish Ministry of Development through the program for the Recovery of Elements and Enclosures of Defensive Architecture of the Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Actions. Finally, they were inaugurated and opened to the public on 22 November of the same year, and in less than two months more than 5,000 visitors were recorded.
Description
At present, the wall has a total perimeter that exceeds 1,400 meters, of the more than 2,000 meters of the original wall, so that three-quarters of it are preserved. It delimits an area of approximately 14 hectares, and is perfectly integrated with the castle, which is the main defensive bastion of the town.
The wall is composed of two different enclosures joined together: the citadel and the city. They are approximately one and a half meters thick and more than 5 meters high. The plan that delimits its walls can be likened to an elliptical shape; at its two ends and reinforcing the perimeter in its most vulnerable places, two constructions stand out: to the west the Castle, and on the eastern flank the Church of San Pedro, with its late medieval apse projected outside the walled enclosure, similar to that of the Ávila Cathedral (known there as the cimorro), and with a solid buttressed top.
The materials used are mainly lime and rubble stone, with some Mudéjar touches in the tower of the Arch of Las Cuevas, the Arch of San Andrés, the Tower of the Daza family, the Arch of San Basilio and the south door of the castle. The walls are built with a succession of rows of irregularly shaped stones, not carved, and joined together with lime. At the present time only some sections of the wall conserve their crenellation, and almost all of the chemin de ronde or defense through which the soldiers passed has been lost. There are also remains of arrowslits and machicolations, mainly in the area around the Arch of San Martín. We do not know what the Arches of Las Cuevas (possibly Mudéjar, judging by its tower), La Trinidad and Carchena were like.
The citadel seems to follow the ancient fortifications of the Celtiberian hillfort destroyed by the Romans; on the other hand, it resembles the constructions of the Muslim citadels. As in the defensive complexes of other cities, also in Cuéllar the churches served as a finishing touch to the walls, thus the Church of San Esteban and the Church of Santiago were part of the citadel, and San Pedro was part of the city.
Citadel wall
In the highest part of the hill on which Cuéllar rises, is located the first walled enclosure, called the citadel, which delimits an area separated from the rest of the village. It is the first walled enclosure of the town, which was later extended downhill as a result of urban sprawl. It covers approximately two-fifths of the total walled area, and is characterized by its higher location, its proximity to the castle, and its lower density of buildings, which is due in part to the extensive esplanade located in front of the castle.
It started from the castle itself, and crossed the Huerta del Duque through a long wall that only lacks the battlement, which was still preserved in the mid-nineteenth century, cut halfway through the Mudéjar gateway of the castle. This wall is topped by a quadrangular tower with Mudéjar decoration, which formed part of the defense of the disappeared Arch of Las Cuevas. It is possible that at this point another gateway was opened to give entrance to the city just in front of the disappeared Arch of Las Cuevas, since it belonged to the citadel.
From Las Cuevas street the wall continued its route to the Arch of Santiago, whose tower was at the same time the belfry of the church of the same name, attached to the wall. From this point started one of the strongest sections of the enclosure that still retains part of its battlements, was defended by an intermediate tower of quadrangular shape that is located in perfect condition, and ended in the very strong Arch of San Martin. Once there, the wall made a break in accordance with the line of the terrain, heading towards the rear of the Church of San Esteban, leaving it outside the enclosure and taking advantage of its apse as a bastion in advance of the wall, which was to be closed behind the Estudio de Gramática. The section of the wall that joins the School with the door of the Judería is one of the best preserved. As was the case with the Arch of Las Cuevas, this is the starting point of the city wall in search of the Arch of San Andrés. From the Judería the wall started again to meet the castle, also strengthened by another tower similar to those mentioned, now dismantled and called Torreón de los Daza, for being attached to the ancestral home of this noble family located in the Plaza de San Gil. The wall reached the Arch of San Basilio through a wall that has practically disappeared today, and from it another wall that was demolished to cross a street in 1955 and that finally died in the castle.
The citadel was almost impregnable, and it was difficult to penetrate the city walls. There were also external defenses that guarded the valley. Within the enclosure were integrated five access doors, through which access was gained from the different suburbs that made up the population; only four are preserved, having disappeared the so-called Arch of Las Cuevas. In addition, the Churches of San Esteban and Santiago became defensive bulwarks to close off this first walled enclosure.
Access gates
This enclosure contained five interior gates that communicated the citadel with the rest of the city. The Arch of San Basilio is oriented towards the road to Valladolid, Olmedo and Medina del Campo. San Martín, the most central, joined the esplanade of the castle with the important Plaza del Mercado del Pan; the Arch of Santiago allowed access from the La Morería neighborhood to the upper part of the town; further north is the gate of the Judería. Finally, the Arch of Las Cuevas provided access to the southernmost part of the city.
Arch of San Basilio. Initially called Puerta del Robledo, from the 17th century it adopted the name of the monastery founded in front of it, under the patronage of St. Basil of Caesarea. It is the direct access gate to the citadel enclosure, located in the northwest, and consists of a small fortress flanked by a turned cube and a rectangular keep between which is located the chemin de ronde, over a triple ring arch. Its construction is a combination of masonry and brick, with Mudéjar work in the arcades and the tower, which is similar to the Mudéjar style of Toledo. The door is crowned by a triple armorial composed of the arms of Cueva and Toledo on the sides, and the arms of the Council of Cuéllar in the center.
Puerta de la Judería. It was so named because it was integrated into the Jewish quarter of the town. It is the gate that communicated both enclosures, and its size is the smallest of all. Unlike the rest that are preserved, this gate does not contain towers or other defensive buildings, and is excavated directly into the wall, without protruding from the wall.
Arch of San Martín. Located to the east of the wall, it was already called this in 1437, when Frederic, Count of Luna, took possession of the town in front of this arch. The gate is flanked by two rectangular towers bearing the shields of the House of Alburquerque, arms of La Cueva and Toledo. Also noteworthy are the voussoirs under which is framed the coat of arms of the town council, which crowns the door.
Arch of Santiago. Name adopted from the church next to it. It is, along with the Puerta de la Judería, the smallest of the set, because it is, so to speak, a pedestrian gate, since its small size prevented the passage of the possible enemy cavalry, if it had managed to cross the city wall. Its defensive tower was at the same time the bell tower of the adjacent church, just as the apse of the church allowed the defense of the arch before it was taken. It collapsed in 1977 and was immediately restored, although it lost much of its height.
Arch of Las Cuevas. The design of its construction is unknown, but judging by the preserved quadrangular tower with Mudéjar decoration, it is possible that this art was extended to the complex. In 1858 it was already in a state of ruin and had to be demolished around 1895.
Furthermore, within the enclosure is located the Portillo del Castillo, which preserves remains of Mudéjar decoration and is located halfway between the wall that connected the castle with the Arch of Las Cuevas, just in front of the tower of the Church of San Martín, open and bridging the gap between 'La Huerta del Duque' and 'La Esplanada del Castillo' by means of stairs after the 2011 restoration. It is a gate for riders that communicated with the glacis.
Castle
The castle is built on the southeast corner of the wall, being its Mudéjar gate an old one of the walls, very similar to the Puerta de San Basilio, although larger. This gate, nowadays called tower-gate, has two lateral turrets slightly turned to not allow a direct front of frontal shot and to produce the rebound of the projectiles; it has a vestibule, in which are located the remains of a double armored door, portcullis and embrasure. Inside the castle there are also remains of a Mudéjar cistern, which would have belonged to the walled complex to supply the guard posts, as well as a gallery of the same style that was the access stairway to one of the towers of the wall, which, when the castle was attached to it, was blinded inside the fortress.
Church of San Esteban
Located outside the walls of the citadel, as this closed in front of the temple making an abrupt break, its high tower of lime and stone was primarily intended to protect the wall from possible attacks. Surrounding the temple is a system of thick walls that encloses the surroundings, revealing a fortified aspect. What at first sight would have seemed to be the cemetery of the temple, keeps in its base big ashlars, which probably are the only Roman remains that Cuéllar possesses. It is possible that it is an earlier fortification, reused as a defense of the church and as a cemetery.
Church of Santiago
The Church of Santiago, whose Mudéjar apse and remains of its walls are still preserved today, enjoyed great recognition among the temples of the town, as it was the place where the nobility of Cuellar met and where the House of Lineages had its headquarters. It stood at the top of the citadel wall, also outside the walls of the citadel, and its tower provided greater defense in a vulnerable area. It was attached to the wall, strengthening the adjoining tower of the arch of the same name.
City wall
Few remains of the outer wall that surrounded the enclosure of the city are preserved. It started from the wall of the citadel, near the Arch of Las Cuevas, where part of the very low starting wall is still preserved. It followed its trajectory towards the convent of La Trinidad, on which the base of a strong tower still stands, continued along the wall, which makes a turn to the south to meet the disappeared Arch of La Trinidad after passing through the Portillo de Santa Marina.
From the Arch of La Trinidad, the wall is barely visible today, as it remains hidden behind the modern buildings, but its route crossed in a straight line until it reached the Church of San Pedro, to which it was attached at the rear to convert the church into a fortress to defend the now disappeared Puerta de San Pedro, located in the most vulnerable part of the town.
The wall continues along the street that bears its name, up to the disappeared Puerta de Carchena, which also formed a large fortified complex. From there the wall crosses the Palace of Santa Cruz, reappearing on its rear façade as the base of a wooden gallery of the palace, continuing north to the Hospital de la Magdalena and ending at the Arch of San Andrés. Once past the arch, the wall headed back to its junction with the wall of the citadel, next to the Puerta de la Judería, guarding in this enclosure the main square and the core of the old city.
Access gates
The enclosure of the city had four main gates, of which only one is preserved, the one called San Andrés. As can be seen by their layout, the location of the gates coincides with a certain precision with the course of the main roads that cross Cuéllar. Thus, the Arch of San Andrés is close to the road that leads to Valladolid, Olmedo and Medina del Campo; the Puerta de Carchena stands in the direction of Peñafiel, the Arch of San Pedro coincided with the exit for those who took the direction of Segovia and Cantalejo, and the Arch of La Trinidad led to the road to Arévalo.
Arch of San Andrés. Located on the north side, it is one of the most slender of the complex; it preserves Mudéjar remains and has large voussoirs that frame the council's coat of arms. You can still see the hinges that supported the gates with which it was closed.
Arch of Carchena. Located in the street of the same name, on the northwest side of the wall, it connected the Franciscan convent area (three monasteries) with the civil administrative center, the main square. It was later known as the "Arch of San Francisco", due to its proximity to this monastery. It is mentioned as being "from Carchena" in 1416, the year in which the Infante John II took possession of the town, through an alderman and at the foot of the arch. It was ordered to be demolished for being in ruins in 1873, and although there is no graphic knowledge of its shape and size, a part of what may have been the defensive tower on the north side of the gate is preserved, as well as an important section of the wall and the liza, which corresponds to the current Calle de La Muralla.
Arch of San Pedro. Located to the southeast of the wall, and next to the church of the same name, it served as the main gate of the town, being the chosen stage for some public manifestations charged with a strong symbolism, such as the changes of ownership of the manor of the Community. It was demolished in 1895 and there were rooms and inhabited houses on it.
Arch of La Trinidad. It was located in the southern corner, and allowed access to the suburb around the Church of El Salvador and at the foot of Santa María de la Cuesta. Its shape and characteristics are unknown, since it was ordered to be demolished between 1879 and 1880 due to its state of ruin. It owes its name to the nearby Convent of La Trinidad, and the start of the arch can still be seen on the façade of one of the modern buildings.
Within this enclosure is located one more gate, the well-known Portillo de Santa Marina, of Mudéjar style, which communicated the space occupied by the old butcher's shops with the orchards adjacent to the Convent of La Trinidad. Its surroundings are known by the name of Dexángel, derived from drainage, since the drains of the butcher's shops and other dirty waters passed under the wall of this area on the way to the Huerta Herrera. It is definitely an access for surveillance.
Church of San Pedro
Located in the southern part of the wall, it topped the most vulnerable point of it, so its construction is a mixture of both characters, religious and military, which gives it the appearance of a fortress. It finished off the wall by means of a stone apse of stone masonry, reinforced with openings of arrowslits in cross, and machicolations, directed by means of a hanging parapet covered on its buttresses, that crosses the apse incorporating it to the layout of the parapet of the wall, which was built by Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva, 2nd duke of Alburquerque in the 16th century. Above the parapet is his coat of arms with two superimposed fireplaces with cross and orb arrow slits and loopholes with a segmental vault.
Next to the arch of its name, attached to the apse, the church became a small fortress that provided greater security to the southern part of the wall, across which a wide plain stretched, thus turning the area into a point of risk.
Counter wall
The counter wall, barrier or antemurial was a third enclosure that embraced the two previous ones, and that at the present time is quite deteriorated. It is a bastion of smaller structures but of great importance, and is presented as a barbican in front of the walls of part of the citadel wall and the entire city wall.
Remains are located in front of the walls of the citadel as they pass through the Huerta del Duque, and appear clearly in front of those of the city next to the Convent of La Trinidad, in the vicinity of which are preserved remains of this counter wall very well crenellated, and that continued to the Arch of La Trinidad, unfolding in some sections. It reappears perfectly visible in the vicinity of the Church of San Pedro, behind the modern buildings of the Huerta Herrera, with some crenellated sections. Past the Arch of San Pedro, it continues parallel to Las Parras Street, where its houses are leaning on the counter wall, except for the last ones, for whose construction the counter wall was demolished a decade ago. Remains appear again in Nueva Street, which continue up to the Arch of San Andrés. From there, it continued along La Barrera street (the name it takes from the counter wall), following parallel to the wall up to the Arch of San Basilio. On the other side of it and towards the castle, it reappears up to the great Santo Domingo cube, belonging to the fortress.
Disappeared enclosure
Recent studies have shown that there was a fourth enclosure, now disappeared, which, starting from the castle, connected with the Arch of San Basilio through a structure of towers, and that a wall emerged from this arch that reached a tower of great complexity, which apparently would later be used as the tower of the Church of San Martín; through a gate the wall continued until it finally joined the citadel This fourth enclosure would further strengthen the castle, turning it into an important and inaccessible bastion.
Functionality
Its role was not limited to the defensive field, but also to the commercial and therefore the economic fields, and above all performed an aesthetic function, because through them the city showed its power. The medieval wall also served as a distinctive element of the urban interior in relation to its surroundings, and the line of the walls marked a jurisdictional boundary, as well as the residence within them differentiated the Villager Knights from the peasants and foreigners.
Over time, its military function ceased to be important, and a commercial value began to prevail, since its presence and isolation factor turned it into a customs office through which access to the city was channeled and regulated, stipulated with the payment of the tariff. This vigilance also facilitated the collection of important taxes and tributes that were applied to the transit of people and merchandise, among which stood out the "portazgo", the "alcabala" or the "cornado de la cerca", a special tribute existing in Castile for this type of construction.
The separation imposed by the wall also served as a sanitary barrier that isolated the towns from the plagues and epidemics that were so frequent in the Middle Ages. Also influencing the healthiness of the interior of the enclosure were certain ordinances that prohibited throwing waste and garbage inside the wall, forcing the population to deposit it outside.
The perception that the people of the time had of cities was linked to their walls, and thus the urban world, delimited within its fortified bastion, offered a dominant aspect that stood out in the surrounding space, and this was the image that Cuéllar offered to the visitor, an image that corresponded to the head of an extensive Comunidad de Villa y Tierra (Community of Towns and Lands), to a city that had to exercise its jurisdictional domination over its surroundings.
Surveillance and maintenance
The money for the construction or repair of walls used to come from the shares called "repartimientos", which were taxes prorated among all the inhabitants of a Comunidad de Villa y Tierra, not only the common people, but also Jews, Muslims, clergymen and nobles.The gates that gave access to the walls of the citadel and the city, were closed with large gates equipped with locks, so that once closed, no one could enter or leave. At the end of the 16th century, several items were paid to put new locks on the gates of La Trinidad, Carchena and San Basilio. In 1551, Mr. Gil González was ordered to guard La Trinidad gate on the day of Santiago de Compostela and Mr. Diego Daza on the day of Santa Ana. Likewise, on 1 September 1564, it was determined that the gatekeepers who had guarded the gates of the town would be paid what they were owed.
From the surnames of the people appointed to guard the doors, it can be deduced that it was the nobility who were to be in charge of the watch. The internal structure of the House of the Lineages seems to corroborate this fact. This noble institution was divided into two parties, the Upper and the Lower, alluding to the division of the town into two-halves: on the one hand the citadel and on the other the city. Within the two parties there were subdivisions in adras and quarters. The adras were a division of the neighborhood of a city, while the quarters, in addition to representing a territorial division, had a military meaning that alluded to the guard shift between four: one sentry, one guard and two on rest. This military division must have been established at its foundation, which occurred in the 14th century, and was in force until the beginning of the 17th century, when it disappeared and the knights were only settled in lineages and parties, leaving aside the adras and quarters. The moment of its disappearance also seems to coincide with the time when the walls ceased to function as a defensive system and began to become a barrier of isolation and administrative surveillance.
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
Walls of Cuéllar (In Spanish), official website of the monument.
Walls of Cuéllar Photo Gallery
Cuéllar City Hall: restoration of the walls (In Spanish). Contains an important gallery of photographs of the restoration of the complex.
Buildings and structures in the Province of Segovia
Border barriers
Cuéllar, Walls of | Walls of Cuéllar | [
"Engineering"
] | 9,101 | [
"Separation barriers",
"Border barriers"
] |
65,401,044 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC%201132 | NGC 1132 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Eridanus. The galaxy was discovered by John Herschel on November 23, 1827. It is located at a distance of about 318 million light-years away from Earth.
NGC 1132 and nearby small galaxies are known as a "fossil group" that resulted from the merger of a group of galaxies. It is the prototype example of the class of fossil galaxy groups. The identification as a fossil group was made in 1999. This group contains an enormous amount of dark matter and a large amount of hot gas that emits X-ray radiation. The galaxy is surrounded by thousands of globular star clusters.
One supernova has been observed in NGC 1132: SN 2024pbe (type Ia, mag. 17.8).
See also
References
1132
02359
010891
Elliptical galaxies
Eridanus (constellation) | NGC 1132 | [
"Astronomy"
] | 184 | [
"Eridanus (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
65,401,146 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological%20data | Biological data refers to a compound or information derived from living organisms and their products. A medicinal compound made from living organisms, such as a serum or a vaccine, could be characterized as biological data. Biological data is highly complex when compared with other forms of data. There are many forms of biological data, including text, sequence data, protein structure, genomic data and amino acids, and links among others.
Biological data and bioinformatics
Biological data works closely with bioinformatics, which is a recent discipline focusing on addressing the need to analyze and interpret vast amounts of genomic data.
In the past few decades, leaps in genomic research have led to massive amounts of biological data. As a result, bioinformatics was created as the convergence of genomics, biotechnology, and information technology, while concentrating on biological data.
Biological data has also been difficult to define, as bioinformatics is a wide-encompassing field. Further, the question of what constitutes as being a living organism has been contentious, as "alive" represents a nebulous term that encompasses molecular evolution, biological modeling, biophysics, and systems biology. From the past decade onwards, bioinformatics and the analysis of biological data have been thriving as a result of leaps in technology required to manage and interpret data. It is currently a thriving field, as society has become more concentrated on the acquisition, transfer, and exploitation of bioinformatics and biological data.
Types of biological data
Biological data can be extracted for use in the domains of omics, bio-imaging, and medical imaging. Life scientists value biological data to provide molecular details in living organisms. Tools for DNA sequencing, gene expression (GE), bio-imaging, neuro-imaging, and brain-machine interfaces are all domains that utilize biological data, and model biological systems with high dimensionality.
Moreover, raw biological sequence data usually refers to DNA, RNA, and amino acids.
Biological data can also be described as data on biological entities. For instance, characteristics such as: sequences, graphs, geometric information, scalar and vector fields, patterns, constraints, images, and spatial information may all be characterized as biological data, as they describe features of biological beings. In many instances, biological data are associated with several of these categories. For instance, as described in the National Institute of Health's report on Catalyzing Inquiry at the Interface of Computing and Biology, a protein structure may be associated with a one-dimensional sequence, a two-dimensional image, and a three dimensional structure, and so on.
Biomedical databases
Biomedical databases have often been referred to as the databases of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), genomic data in decentralized federal database systems, and biological data, including genomic data, collected from large-scale clinical studies.
Bio-hacking and privacy threats
Bio-hacking
Bio-computing attacks have become more common as recent studies have shown that common tools may allow an assailant to synthesize biological information which can be used to hijack information from DNA-analyses. The threat of biohacking has become more apparent as DNA-analysis increases in commonality in fields such as forensic science, clinical research, and genomics.
Biohacking can be carried out by synthesizing malicious DNA and inserted into biological samples. Researchers have established scenarios that demonstrate the threat of biohacking, such as a hacker reaching a biological sample by hiding malicious DNA on common surfaces, such as lab coats, benches, or rubber gloves, which would then contaminate the genetic data.
However, the threat of biohacking may be mitigated by using similar techniques that are used to prevent conventional injection attacks. Clinicians and researchers may mitigate a bio-hack by extracting genetic information from biological samples, and comparing the samples to identify material unknown materials. Studies have shown that comparing genetic information with biological samples, to identify bio-hacking code, has been up to 95% effective in detecting malicious DNA inserts in bio-hacking attacks.
Genetic samples as personal data
Privacy concerns in genomic research have arises around the notion of whether or not genomic samples contain personal data, or should be regarded as physical matter. Moreover, concerns arise as some countries recognize genomic data as personal data (and apply data protection rules) while other countries regard the samples in terms of physical matter and do not apply the same data protection laws to genomic samples. The forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been cited as a potential legal instrument that may better enforce privacy regulations in bio-banking and genomic research.
However, ambiguity surrounding the definition of "personal data" in the text of the GDPR, especially regarding biological data, has led to doubts on whether regulation will be enforced for genetic samples. Article 4(1) states that personal data is defined as "Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person ('data subject')"
Applications of deep learning to biological data
As a result of rapid advances in data science and computational power, life scientists have been able to apply data-intensive machine learning methods to biological data, such as deep learning (DL), reinforcement learning (RL), and their combination (deep RL). These methods, alongside increases in data storage and computing, have allowed life scientists to mine biological data and analyze data sets that were previously too large or complex. Deep Learning (DL) and reinforcement learning (RL) have been used in the field of omics research (which includes genomics, proteomics, or metabolomics.) Typically, raw biological sequence data (such as DNA, RNA, and amino acids) is extracted and used to analyze features, functions, structures, and molecular dynamics from the biological data. From that point onwards, different analyses may be performed, such as GE profiling splicing junction prediction, and protein-protein interaction evaluation may all be performed.
Reinforcement learning, a term stemming from behavioral psychology, is a method of problem solving by learning things through trial and error. Reinforcement learning can be applied to biological data, in the field of omics, by using RL to predict bacterial genomes.
Other studies have shown that reinforcement learning can be used to accurately predict biological sequence annotation.
Deep Learning (DL) architectures are also useful in training biological data. For instance, DL architectures that target pixel levels of biological images have been used to identify the process of mitosis in histological images of the breast. DL architectures have also been used to identify nuclei in images of breast cancer cells.
Challenges to data mining in biomedical informatics
Complexity
The primary problem facing biomedical data models has typically been complexity, as life scientists in clinical settings and biomedical research face the possibility of information overload. However, information overload has often been a debated phenomenon in medical fields. Computational advances have allowed for separate communities to form under different philosophies. For instance, data mining and machine learning researchers search for relevant patterns in biological data, and the architecture does not rely on human intervention. However, there are risks involved when modeling artifacts when human intervention, such as end user comprehension and control, are lessened.
Researchers have pointed out that with increasing health care costs and tremendous amounts of underutilized data, health information technologies may be the key to improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare.
Database errors and abuses
Electronic health records (EHR) can contain genomic data from millions of patients, and the creation of these databases has resulted in both praise and concern.
Legal scholars have pointed towards three primary concerns for increasing litigation pertaining to biomedical databases. First, data contained in biomedical databases may be incorrect or incomplete. Second, systemic biases, which may arise from researcher biases or the nature of the biological data, may threaten the validity of research results. Third, the presence of data mining in biological databases can make it easier for individuals with political, social, or economic agendas to manipulate research findings to sway public opinion.
An example of database misuse occurred in 2009 when the Journal of Psychiatric Research published a study that associated abortion to psychiatric disorders. The purpose of the study was to analyze associations between abortion history and psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety disorders (including panic disorder, PTSD, and agoraphobia) alongside substance abuse disorders and mood disorders.
However, the study was discredited in 2012 when scientists scrutinized the methodology of the study and found it severely faulty. The researchers had used "national data sets with reproductive history and mental health variables" to produce their findings. However, the researchers had failed to compare women (who had unplanned pregnancies and had abortions) to the group of women who did not have abortions, while focusing on psychiatric problems that occurred after the terminated pregnancies. As a result, the findings which appeared to give scientific credibility, gave rise to several states enacting legislation that required women to seek counseling before abortions, due to the potential of long-term mental health consequences.
Another article, published in the New York Times, demonstrated how Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems could be manipulated by doctors to exaggerate the amount of care they provided for purposes of Medicare reimbursement.
Biomedical Data Sharing
Sharing biomedical data has been touted as an effective way to enhance research reproducibility and scientific discovery.
While researchers struggle with technological issues in sharing data, social issues are also a barrier to sharing biological data. For instance, clinicians and researchers face unique challenges to sharing biological or health data within their medical communities, such as privacy concerns and patient privacy laws such as HIPAA.
Attitudes towards data sharing
According to a 2015 study focusing on the attitudes of practices of clinicians and scientific research staff, a majority of the respondents reported data sharing as important to their work, but signified that their expertise in the subject was low. Of the 190 respondents to the survey, 135 identified themselves as clinical or basic research scientists, and the population of the survey included clinical and basic research scientists in the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute of Health. The study also found that, among the respondents, sharing data directly with other clinicians was a common practice, but the subjects of the study had little practice uploading data to a repository.
Within the field of biomedical research, data sharing has been promoted as an important way for researchers to share and reuse data in order to fully capture the benefits towards personalized and precision medicine.
Challenges to data sharing
Data sharing in healthcare has remained a challenge for several reasons. Despite research advances in data sharing in healthcare, many healthcare organizations remain reluctant or unwilling to release medical data on account of privacy laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Moreover, sharing biological data between institutions requires protecting confidentiality for data that may span several organizations. Achieving data syntax and semantic heterogeneity while meeting diverse privacy requirements are all factors that pose barriers to data sharing.
References
Bioinformatics
Data
Biological databases | Biological data | [
"Technology",
"Engineering",
"Biology"
] | 2,221 | [
"Bioinformatics",
"Information technology",
"Data",
"Biological engineering"
] |
65,401,173 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watching%20paint%20dry | "Like watching paint dry" is an English-language idiom describing an activity as being particularly boring or tedious. It is believed to have originated in the United States. A similar phrase is "watching the grass grow".
Media
In 1959, Geoffrey Warren of the Los Angeles Times wrote that a theatrical presentation of The Shrike was "as exciting as watching paint dry". In 1969, sports announcer Red Barber warned that, due to the dominance of pitchers over batters, baseball at that time was "as exciting as watching paint dry."
The expression was well known by the late 20th century and has led to real-life activities. In 2012, the World Watching Paint Dry championships were held by online trade merchants localtraders.com to promote various brands of paint. Entries were received from all over the world.
In 2016, director Charlie Shackleton released a 10-hour-and-7-minute-long film of paint drying titled Paint Drying as a protest against the requirement for the British Board of Film Classification to approve films, and charge per minute for their obligatory service. The board had to watch all of it to be able to classify it (it was given a U certificate, "suitable for all"), charging £5,936.
In 2018, the artist Arvid Boecker exhibited his work Watching Paint Dry at the Kunstverein Brackenheim, Brackenheim, Germany.
The television station HGTV was criticised in 2020 for featuring coverage of people watching paint dry as interludes between segments on renovation shows such as Home Town and Fixer Upper.
Science
Observing the process of paint drying has been found to be important in the development of modern environmentally friendly water-based paint, replacing earlier solvent-derived paints and coatings. The drying process is observed in order to better understand how aqueous material dries on the surface being painted, and forms a protective layer. This is particularly important for the marine and shipbuilding industry, to develop eco-friendly coatings that comply with increasingly strict regulations.
Charles Tomlinson delivered a lecture on the "Drying Properties of Various Kinds of House Paint" to the Royal Society of Arts in 1869, concluding that paint dries due to the absorption of oxygen and thus solidifies as a result. In 2008, a lecture titled "Why Watching Paint Dry Is Interesting" published by the Royal Society of Chemistry presented the chemistry and technology used in various marine paints. In 2016, scientists at the University of Surrey and the Université Claude Bernard set up a computer simulation of paint drying, showing that it forms into two layers spontaneously as small particles in the paint combine and push away larger ones. This could lead to improved performance of future coatings.
See also
References
English-language idioms
Paints | Watching paint dry | [
"Chemistry"
] | 552 | [
"Paints",
"Coatings"
] |
65,401,480 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike-Yardbird | Nike Yardbird was an American sounding rocket with two stages, based upon the Nike Hercules M5E1 booster and a Thiokol TE-289 Yardbird upper stage. Yardbird was an improved Thiokol XM-19 motor. The Nike Yardbird was launched 2 times from Wallops Island on Sphere Test aeronomy missions both of which were classified as failures. Information available does not state the reason for the mission failures but Astronautix lists the apogee of both missions as 10 km (6 mi) which is well below the goal of 120 km (70 mi).
Nike Yardbird
Section source: Astronautix
Type: two stage
Stage 1: Nike M5E1 - solid propellant rocket stage, loaded/empty mass 599/256 kg
Stage 2: Yardbird - solid propellant rocket stage
Gross mass: 200 kg (440 lb)
Height: 2.50 m (8.20 ft)
Diameter: 0.23 m (0.75 ft)
Thrust: 75.00 kN (16,860 lbf)
Apogee: 120 km (70 mi)
First date: 1961-06-01
Last date: 1962-07-26
Number: 2 launches
References
Nike (rocket family) | Nike-Yardbird | [
"Astronomy"
] | 253 | [
"Rocketry stubs",
"Astronomy stubs"
] |
65,402,298 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George%20A%20Danos | George A Danos (Greek: Γιώργος Α Δανός) is a Cypriot space scientist, space diplomat, engineer, astronomer, entrepreneur and science communicator. He is a graduate and eminent alumnus of Imperial College London. He is the President of the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) and the President of the Parallel Parliament for Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Cyprus.
He is Honorary Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), in recognition to his significant contributions to the progress of astronomy, and Vice-chair of the international Committee on Space Research Panel on Innovative Solutions.
He led several societies, groups, companies and organisations in the UK, Cyprus, Ireland, and in Europe and internationally.
Early career
Whilst a student, he was President of the Imperial College Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (IC-SEDS) and Board Member of UK-SEDS.
Whilst aged 27, he became Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Virgin Biznet, one of the most lucrative business ventures of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, after pitching at the “House” of Richard Branson.
In 1996 he was part of the team that brought Virgin Radio's broadcast to the internet, making it the first European radio station to simulcast their live program 24-hours a day on the internet.
Space exploration career
Space exploration in Cyprus
In 2013 he was elected President of the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO), a position he continues to hold.
As President of CSEO, he led the national campaign that saw Cyprus join the European Space Agency, as a PECS Member.
He mentored and nurtured the local space community of Cyprus that saw notable achievements and multiple awards won by many teams of CSEO, and brokered many international agreements with international synergies and space research projects.
Involvement in international space exploration
He is Council Member – the highest governing body – of the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). In October 2020, he was appointed as Vice-chair of COSPAR's Panel on Innovative Solutions (PoIS) (see below for details in this role).
He is representing the Republic of Cyprus to the Global Experts Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA).
He is the official representative of Cyprus to COSPAR and as President of CSEO – the National Member to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) – he is also the official representative of Cyprus to the IAU. He is also the official representative of CSEO to the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
He serves as Chair of the Analogue Working Group of the Moon Village Association (MVA) and as Middle East & Africa Regional Coordinator for the MVA.
During the 70th International Astronautical Congress held in Washington, D.C., as a panelist of the "Martian and Lunar Analogues" Global Networking Forum, he announced the International Moon Analogue Consortium.
EASTRO - Contribution to European Space Policy and Institutional Activities
He is Executive Board Member for Communication of the European Association of Space Technology Research Organisations (EASTRO), which represents Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) with Space activities in Europe towards the ESA, the European Commission and other major Institutional and Industrial stakeholders in Europe and the World. Its member institutes have more than 65,000 employees, with a combined turnover of more than 7,000 M€, and contribute to all areas of space in Europe, from advanced structures, satellite sub-systems and instruments to quantum technologies and the utilisation of remote sensing data for climate change analysis with the objective to create innovations with impact on societal goals with economic impact.
COSPAR - Artificial Intelligence and Space Weather prediction
As vice-chair of the COSPAR Panel on Innovative Solutions (PoIS) he managed the creation of the Space Innovation Lab of COSPAR, bridging the science of space weather with the engineering tools of artificial intelligence, analyzing space weather data and potentially predicting dangerous storms heading towards our planet and raising a warning alarm if needed.
During the 44th COSPAR General Assembly in July 2022, as Main Scientific Organizer (MSO) of the PoIS.2 panel session, he led the effort of bridging global industry and scientific community, towards the above goals.
Science communicator
He is a science communicator and advocate of solar system and space exploration.
He gave many presentations worldwide, including a TEDx talk, and he is the presenter of the "2030: SpaceWorks" global webinars, with a viewership of over 80,000 people worldwide.
Parallel Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus
He served for one year (Nov 2019 - Oct 2020) as Dean and M.P. of the Parallel Parliament for Research, Innovation and Digital Governance of the Republic of Cyprus.
In October 2020, he was elected President of the Parallel Parliament for Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Cyprus.
Recognitions and awards
Recognition: Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA)
In recognition of his contributions and achievements in promoting astronautics and space exploration he was elected Corresponding Member and Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics.
Recognition: Honorary Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU)
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) selected him as Honorary Member of the IAU, in recognition to his significant contributions to the progress of astronomy, including leading campaigns that saw Cyprus join ESA, the IAU and COSPAR, as well as establishing the Cyprus Space Centre and helping Cyprus be selected as an International Astronomy Education Centre of the IAU Office for Astronomy Education (OAE).
Award: Ambassador of Hellenic Culture of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC)
The Hellenic Foundation for Culture of the Hellenic Republic awarded him as Ambassador of Hellenic Culture, in recognition to his international contribution to the advancement and promotion of space sciences, for his international successes, and for representing the Greek Spirit, Language and Culture.
Notable positions
Mar 2023 - Ambassador of Hellenic Culture, Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Hellenic Republic.
Dec 2022 - Executive Board Member for Communication, European Association of Space Technology Research Organisations.
Aug 2021 - Honorary Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Feb 2021 - Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the Global Experts Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA).
Oct 2020 - President of the Parallel Parliament for Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Cyprus.
Oct 2020 - Vice-chair of the Panel on Innovative Solutions (PoIS) of the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).
Nov 2019 - Dean of the Parallel Parliament for Research, Innovation and Digital Governance of the Republic of Cyprus.
Sep 2019 - Middle East & Africa Regional Coordinator of the Moon Village Association (MVA).
Jun 2018 - Chair of the Analogue Working Group of the Moon Village Association (MVA).
Mar 2018 - Corresponding Member and Academician of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
Dec 2016 - Council Member of the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).
Oct 2013 - President of the Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO).
May 1999 - Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Virgin Biznet.
Oct 1992 - Board Member of the United Kingdom Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UK-SEDS).
Oct 1991 - President of the Imperial College Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (IC-SEDS).
References
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Cypriot scientists
21st-century astronomers
Amateur astronomers
Space scientists | George A Danos | [
"Astronomy"
] | 1,500 | [
"Astronomers",
"Amateur astronomers"
] |
65,402,336 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaoyu%20Luo | Xiaoyu Luo (, born 1960) is a Chinese and British applied mathematician who studies biomechanics, fluid dynamics, and the interactions of fluid flows with soft biological tissues. She is a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Glasgow.
Education and career
Luo was born in the UK but grew up in Xi'an in a family of artists. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in theoretical mechanics at Xi'an Jiaotong University, in 1982 and 1985 respectively, she became a lecturer at Xi'an Jiaotong University. There, she studied for a Ph.D. from 1987 until 1990, with a visit to the UK through a joint doctoral program with the University of Sheffield. When she earned her Ph.D. at Xi'an Jiaotong University in 1990, she became the first woman to do so.
She moved to the UK in 1992 to become a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Leeds. She worked as a lecturer in engineering at Queen Mary and Westfield College from 1997 to 2000, and in mechanical engineering at the University of Sheffield from 2000 to 2004, before becoming a senior lecturer in mathematics at the University of Glasgow in 2005. She was promoted to professor in 2008, the first female professor of applied mathematics at Glasgow.
In 2014 she was named a chair professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an. She has also been a visitor to the International Center for Applied Mechanics at Xi'an Jiaotong University.
Recognition
Luo became a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 2004 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2014.
References
External links
Home page
1960 births
Living people
British mathematicians
21st-century British women mathematicians
Chinese mathematicians
Chinese women mathematicians
Applied mathematicians
Xi'an Jiaotong University alumni
Academic staff of Xi'an Jiaotong University
Academics of Queen Mary University of London
Academics of the University of Sheffield
Academics of the University of Glasgow
Academic staff of the Northwestern Polytechnical University
Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh | Xiaoyu Luo | [
"Mathematics"
] | 408 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Applied mathematicians"
] |
65,404,792 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean%20Brunner | Jean Brunner or Johann Josef Brunner (1804 in Balsthal – 1862 in Paris), was a Swiss-born, French measuring instrument maker and mechanic.
Biography
Jean Brunner was born in Balsthal, Switzerland (Canton Solothurn). He spent part of his apprenticeship with his father Johann Jakob Brunner in the locksmith's shop. In 1826 he moved to Vienna and finally to Paris in 1828, where he Frenchified his name. He worked there with Frederic Hutzinger and Jacques Louis Vincent Chevalier. He opened his first own workshop around 1830 at 34 Rue des Bernardin. In 1845 he moved to 183 Rue de Vaugirard. He died in Paris in 1862 at the age of 58.
After the death of Jean Brunner, his sons Emile (1834–1895) and Leon (1840–1894) took over the small company, which from then on was called Brunner Frères. With the death of Emile Brunner, the company went out in 1895.
Achievements
Jean Brunner made a name for himself far beyond the borders of France by manufacturing high-precision instruments such as microscopes, telescopes, theodolites, compasses and astronomical instruments.
See also
Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero – 1st president of the International Committee for Weights and Measures and president of the International Geodetic Association
References
External links
Johann Josef Brunner: Mikroskop-Museum
Firmengeschichte Brunner: Kambeck
1862 deaths
1804 births
Swiss emigrants to France
19th-century French businesspeople
French industrialists
Microscopists
Mechanics (people) | Jean Brunner | [
"Chemistry"
] | 339 | [
"Microscopists",
"Microscopy"
] |
65,405,351 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangerous%20Things | Dangerous Things is a Seattle-based cybernetic microchip biohacking implant retailer formed in 2013 by Amal Graafstra, following a crowdfunding campaign.
Dangerous Things built the first personal publicly available implantable NFC compliant transponder in 2013. In September 2020, Dangerous Things began another highly successful crowdfunding campaign to realize the world's first titanium encased fully bio-compatible sensing magnet, named the Titan.
References
Companies based in Seattle
Bionics
Biotechnology companies of the United States
American companies established in 2013 | Dangerous Things | [
"Engineering",
"Biology"
] | 110 | [
"Bionics"
] |
65,407,683 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleven%20Eleven%20Twelve%20Foundation | Eleven Eleven Twelve Foundation (EETF) is a Nigerian non-profit organisation that is concerned with environmental sustainability. EETF pursues this cause through public advocacy and support for entrepreneurs and small businesses whose innovative, creative and sustainable ideas could help advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Eleven Eleven Twelve Foundation was founded in 2019 in Ibadan by Adetunji Lam-Adesina, to support enterprise development in the Environmental and Agricultural sector of Africa.
References
External links
Environmental organizations based in Nigeria
Nature conservation organizations based in Africa
Anti-nuclear organizations
Environmental organizations based in Africa | Eleven Eleven Twelve Foundation | [
"Engineering"
] | 115 | [
"Nuclear organizations",
"Anti-nuclear organizations"
] |
65,408,006 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide%20and%20trauma | Suicide and trauma is the increased risk of suicide that is caused by psychological trauma.
Suicide
The National Institute of Mental Health defines suicide as a self-inflicted act of violence with the intention of death that leads to the actual death of oneself. Although rates of suicide vary worldwide, suicide ranks as the tenth leading cause of death in the United States with rates increasing on average by one to two percent per year between 1999 and 2018, with the later years within that time span increasing at the greater rate. In 2017, the United States alone accounted for 2,813,503 deaths by suicide. Existing research has identified risk factors for suicide and the impacts of a suicide by a close other on a surviving individual.
Risk factors
Suicide research has commonly identified psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, as major risk factors for suicide. A systematic review found that more severe cases of depression and high levels of hopelessness indicate greater risk for suicide. Other factors identified with increased suicide risk include being of the male gender, having a family history of mental illness and/or suicide, having previously attempted suicide and/or engaged in self-harming behaviors, having co-morbid mental disorders, having been recently released from inpatient care for mental health, and being in the period just prior to beginning and/or just following initiation of antidepressant treatment or psychotherapy. Employment status, physical illness, major life events, recent exposure to suicidal acts, and access to means are also known factors to generally increase the risk for suicide.
Methods
Despite the variation in suicide methods used across countries and between cultures, common methods identified include the use of firearms, poison by drugs, poison by pesticides, jumping from heights, hanging, and suffocation. Prevalence of pesticide suicide has been shown to be higher in Asian countries, whereas suicide by firearms is more prevalent in the United States and some European countries where ownership of firearms is common within the home.
Impact on families
Research has given particular consideration to the impacts of suicide within a family, whether by spouse, parent, or child. However, most studies have not examined the quality of the relationships within the family or the effect of different family members’ reactions on the others.
Suicide by a spouse has been associated with greater risk for mental illness, including depression, PTSD, and engagement in self-harming behaviors. Spousal suicide has also been associated with adverse changes in physical health and social functioning, mortality, increased risk of suicide, and increased utilization of mental health services.
Changes in family dynamics and functioning has been reported in the context of suicide by a child, which researchers note may affect relationships and bonding with surviving children within a family. More extreme types of family functioning with regard to cohesion and adaptability were associated with greater susceptibility to stress related to the death of a child such as the anniversary of one's birth and death and decisions regarding one's belongings. Many families must also navigate other stressors such as addressing the needs of surviving children and family members, which researchers assert can place the family at risk for additional health implications. Increases in utilization of mental health services and risk of suicide in parents has also been linked to experiencing suicide of a child.
Studies have also shown the experience of a suicide or suicide attempt within a family is associated with greater engagement in risky behaviors in adolescents such as substance use, self-harm, and one's own suicidal ideation and attempts, and higher rates of depression in suicide-bereaved children relative to their non-suicide-bereaved counterparts. Children of parents who have attempted suicide are at six times greater risk of attempting themselves. Although most suicides and suicidal behaviors within the family occur in the context of mood disorders transmitted within the family, mood disorders do not account for the totality of this phenomenon. Studies show increased risk of suicide and suicidal behaviors remain evident, despite familial transmission of mental illness.
Implications
Exposure to suicide increases risk for mental illness and subsequent suicides. Prevention efforts have focused on identifying at-risk groups. Suicide researchers have suggested providers monitor individuals' impulsivity, hopelessness, and access to means to increase prevention of suicidal acts. Detection and management of mental illness has also been suggested to be an effective method aimed at reducing rates of suicide. In the context of exposure to suicide within a family, researchers have suggested providers aim to improve family functioning and responsiveness to suicide-related stressors and advocate for families’ mental health care and access to other services when indicated.
Trauma
Psychological trauma often occurs when an individual faces an extensive degree of stress in which they are unable to cope with, resulting in difficulties processing and integrating the stressful event. Definitions of trauma have been extended over the past few decades to include a wider range of traumatic experiences, including the sudden or unexpected death of a close other (e.g. suicide). More recent definitions of trauma have also evolved such that greater emphasis is placed on the individual's perceptions of the traumatic event as opposed to its objective features, giving rise to the notion that similar events can lead to grossly different outcomes across individuals. Despite high rates of exposure to trauma, only a small percentage of those exposed go on to develop clinically significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, achieving criteria for a full diagnosis. However, studies have demonstrated a connection between exposure to traumatic events and negative mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, substance use, and other externalizing disorders.
Repercussions
While the act of suicide itself is often an independent act, suicide has the ability to affect broader social networks such as family, friends, and the community and can be experienced as traumatic. Exposure to violent deaths, such as suicide, have been associated with grief and trauma, and traumatic events as such may create a greater risk for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Consideration has also been given to the impact of client suicide on providers such as mental health professionals. A review of 57 studies revealed that the nature of the relationship between the departed and the surviving individual or individuals is associated with the adverse outcomes in the latter's mental and social health.
See also
Post traumatic stress disorder
Trauma and first responders
Victimology
References
Suicide
Stress-related disorders
Traumatology | Suicide and trauma | [
"Biology"
] | 1,249 | [
"Behavior",
"Human behavior",
"Suicide"
] |
65,409,589 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular%20Cognition%20Framework | The Modular Cognition Framework (MCF) is an open-ended theoretical framework for research into the way the mind is organized. It draws on the common ground shared by contemporary research in the various areas that are collectively known as cognitive science and is designed to be applicable to all these fields of research. It was established, by Michael Sharwood Smith and John Truscott in the first decade of the 21st century with a particular focus on language cognition when it was known as the MOGUL framework (Modular Online Growth and Use of Language).
The MCF is open-ended in the sense that it has a set of basic principles (see below) describing the architecture of the human mind: these amounts to setting out a skeleton model of the mind and providing a template for cognitive scientists to use. Both mind and brain are viewed as biological phenomena but at different levels of abstraction. These fundamental principles can be further interpreted in various ways by any researcher who is working with a theoretical approach that can be said to reflect, or can be aligned with the basic principles. In doing so researchers can identify their own hypotheses and research findings not only as confirming or challenging their own theory but also as a manifestation of the basic principles underlying all cognitive processing and representation.
By the end of 2020 four books based specifically on the framework had been published along with over 35 articles and chapters; numerous publications and theses by researchers using the MCF for their own purposes had also appeared. This has built on the framework giving it a richer, more elaborate structure in those areas that have been investigated. Nonetheless, different version of the elaborations can still be proposed.
The predominant assumption of the MCF is that the mind is composed of a collaborative network of functionally specialized systems which have evolved over time together with their physical manifestations in the brain that reflect their abstract organization albeit in very different ways. Researchers working in very different areas of cognitive science ought to be able without difficulty to see each other's research as an elaboration of the same framework.
Basic Principles
1. Functional Specialisation. The mind has a modular architecture. This means it has a finite set of functionally specialised cognitive systems such as the auditory system, the motor system and the conceptual system.
2. Mind/Brain Relationship. Cognitive systems are manifested in the physical brain in various, often very different ways. This means that mind and brain, though intimately related, still require distinctly different levels of description and explanation.
3. Representational Diversity. Each system has its own unique operating principles such that its representations are formed in an identifiable manner and in ways that distinguish them from representations in any other system. The structure of any given representation is coded in such a way as to allow it to form more complex representations of the same kind, i.e. within its own system. Primitive representations in each system are the simplest and are provided in advance as part of our biological inheritance. In this way meaning (conceptual) representations can be combined with other conceptual representations to form more complex meanings.
4. Association. These cognitive systems form an interactive network allowing representations in different systems to be associated (but see below).
5. Information Encapsulation. Due to the different codes in which representations of various types are written, one cognitive system cannot share information with another cognitive system. Associated representations of different types can only be associated and coactivated during online processing.
6. Coactivation. In response to current experience, associated representations across the mind as a whole are coactivated in parallel forming temporary online representational networks or schemas.
7.Each Mind is Unique. The way in which combinations of representations of the same type are formed within a given system and the ways in which associations of representations of different types are formed over the lifetime of one individual make the mind of that individual unique. In other words, the fixed architecture of the mind still allows everyone to be different from everyone else and to respond to new experiences in different ways.
9. Acquisition by Processing. Change (development, acquisition, growth) occurs as a result of online processing. This principle is reflected in the following statement: acquisition is the lingering effect of processing (Truscott and Sharwood Smith 2004a), (Truscott and Sharwood Smith 2004).
9. Variable Activation Levels. Cognitive representations are activated online to different degrees and may compete with one another for participation in the building of a more complex representations online. This is partly because they possess a resting level of activation which will rise or decline according to the frequency and regularity with which they are activated. Extremely high levels of activation are associated with phenomena described variously as attention, awareness and consciousness.
10. Language versus Linguistic. Human language development and use comes from product of the online interaction of all cognitive systems. However, it qualifies as human language by virtue of one, or two (depending the linguistic-theoretical perspective adopted) functionally specialized systems that have evolved specifically to handle linguistic structure.
Architecture
Each functionally specialized system (module) has a common structure consisting of a store and a processor. This store/processor combination holds for all systems and is a simple, abstract version of what, in its neural manifestation, can involve multiple locations and pathways in the physical brain.
The processor is run according to the special operating principles of the given cognitive system as determined by the theory adopted by researchers in their relevant area of specialization. It controls the creation and combination online of its representations.
The store is where representations are housed at various resting levels of activation and where they are activated.
The mind does not have a single memory where all representations are stored and activated: it has many, that is, one store for each system. In a given store, an activated representation, complex or otherwise, is said to be in that system's working memory(WM). In other words, WM is a state and not a system in its own right ( Cowan 1999). In a more general sense, WM can be thought of as a combination of all the currently activated representations, each in their individual stores.
Representations are also called (cognitive) structures and this is reflected in the abbreviations. Hence a visual representation is called a visual structure and abbreviated as VS. Cognitive systems are linked by interfaces which can be thought of as simple processors that enable the association and coactivation of representations in adjoining systems. The visual/auditory interface, for example, links these two sensory perceptual systems and allows a visual representation to be associated and coactivated with a given auditory representation. Where a visual representation of, say, a tree is associated with the abstract meaning TREE, this would be explained as an association occurring between the visual and conceptual systems, i.e. across the VS/CS interface.
The set of cognitive systems can be conceptualised as consisting of two types. The first, forming an outer ring, consists of the set of perceptual systems that each receive a particular type of raw input (visual, auditory, olfactory etc) from the external environment via the senses and each produce as their output their own cognitive representations of the world outside. This means that the world that we feel we know as the external world is actually the world that is represented internally in our five perceptual systems. Representations in these systems are collectively known as perceptual output structures (POpS). They are richly connected with one another and capable of the very high activation levels necessary for survival. This makes them an essential part of how conscious experience is to be explained.
The second set of systems at an inner or deeper level are not connected directly with raw input coming in from the environment. They comprise the conceptual system responsible for abstract meanings, the affective system which is responsible for positive and negative values and basic emotions, the motor system and the spatial system. The final system or set of two systems are responsible for creating linguistic structure. The MCF currently uses the two-system alternative following Jackendoff are, respectively, the phonological system which associates specific auditory structures with phonological structures (PS) and the syntactic system which associates syntactic representations (SS) with meanings, i.e. conceptual structures (CS). Similarly, associations are also made between the two linguistic systems at the PS/SS interface. Inevitably the two linguistic systems are richly interconnected along with their direct connections with the conceptual and auditory system and also the visual system as well since it is currently assumed that sign language users make direct associations between visual representations (VS) and representations in the phonological store hence making the phonological system do double duty ( Sandler 1999).
Notes
Truscott, J. & M. Sharwood Smith (2004a). Acquisition by processing: a modular perspective on language. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 7, 1, 1-20.
Truscott, J. & M. Sharwood Smith (2004b). How APT is your theory: present status and future prospects. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 7, 1: 43-47.
Sandler W. (2012). The phonological organization of sign languages. Language and linguistics Compass, 6, 3, 162.
General references
Baars, B. (1988). A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Baars, B. (1997) In the Theater of Consciousness: The Workspace of the Mind. New York: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. (2007). Working Memory, Thought, and Action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. (1995). The Minimalist Program. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Cowan, N. (1999).An Embedded-Processes Model of Working Memory in A. Miyake & P. Shah (eds.). Models of Working Memory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 63-101.
Damasio, A. (1999). The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness. Heinemann: London.
Dijkstra, A.F.J. & W.J.B. van Heuven (2002). The Architecture of the Bilingual Word Recognition System: From Identification to Decision. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 5/3. 175-197.
Green, D.W. (1998). Mental Control of the Bilingual Lexico-Semantic System. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 1, 67-81.
Jackendoff, R. (1987). Consciousness and the Computational Mind. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Jackendoff, R. (2002). Foundations of Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Paradis, M. (2004). A Neurolinguistic Theory of Bilingualism. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Poeppel, D. (2012). The maps problem and the mapping problem: Two challenges for a cognitive neuroscience of speech and language' Cognitive Neuropsychology. 29, 1-2: 34-55.
Truscott, J. & M. Sharwood Smith (2004). Acquisition by Processing: a Modular Perspective on Language Development Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 7, 1, 1-2.
Further reading
Sharwood Smith, & Truscott, J. (2014) The multilingual mind: a processing perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Truscott, J. (2015). Consciousness and second language learning. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Sharwood Smith, M. (2017). Introduction to language and cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sharwood Smith, M. (2019). The compatibility within a modular framework of emergent and dynamical processes in mind and brain. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 49: 240-244.
Truscott, J. & Sharwood Smith, M. (2019. The internal context of bilingual processing. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
References
External links
Modular Cognition Framework website.
Cognitive architecture
Psychological theories
Theories of language | Modular Cognition Framework | [
"Engineering"
] | 2,463 | [
"Artificial intelligence engineering",
"Cognitive architecture"
] |
65,409,877 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karin%20Aurivillius | Karin Aurivillius (1920–1982) was a Swedish chemist and crystallographer at the University of Lund, Sweden. She determined the crystal structures of many mercury compounds.
During the 1960s, she helped develop crystallography in Sweden while working closely with her prominent husband and fellow chemist, Bengt Aurivillius (1918–1994), who was a professor of inorganic chemistry at Lund University.
To reveal the structural chemistry of inorganic mercury (II) oxide or sulphide compounds, she studied crystal structures using X-rays and neutron diffraction methods. Some of her research was conducted at the Institute of Atomic Energy Research at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) located in Didcot, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
Honors
The extremely rare mineral aurivilliusite was named in honor of Karin Aurivillius, for "her significant contributions to the crystal chemistry of mercury-bearing inorganic compounds." The mineral is dark grey-black with a dark red-brown streak and has been found at a small prospect pit near the abandoned Clear Creek mercury mine, New Idria district, San Benito County, California.
Selected works
Aurivillius, K. A. R. I. N. "The crystal structure of mercury (II) oxide studied by X-ray and neutron diffraction methods." Acta Chemica Scandinavica 10 (1956): 852–866.
Aurivillius, Karin. The structural chemistry of inorganic mercury (II) compounds: some aspects of the determination of the positions of" light" atoms in the presence of" heavy" atoms in crystal structures. Diss. 1965.
Aurivillius, K. A. R. I. N., and INCA-BRETT Carlsson. "The structure of hexagonal mercury (II) oxide." Acta Chemica Scandinavica 12 (1958): 1297.
Aurivillius, Karin, and Bo Arne Nilsson. "The crystal structure of mercury (II) phosphate, Hg3 (PO4) 2." Z. Kristallogr 141.1-2 (1975): 1-10.
Aurivillius, Karin, and Claes Stålhandske. "A reinvestigation of the crystal structures of HgSO4 and CdSO4." Zeitschrift für Kristallographie-Crystalline Materials 153.1-2 (1980): 121–129.
Aurivillius, K. A. R. I. N., and L. E. N. A. Folkmarson. "The crystal structure of terlinguaite Hg4O2Cl2." Acta Chemica Scandinavica 22 (1968): 2529–2540.
AURIVILLIUS, KARIN, and BIRGITTA MALMROS. "Studies on sulphates, selenates and chromates of mercury (II)." Acta Chem. Scand 15.9 (1961): 1932–1938.
Aurivillius, K. A. R. I. N., and G-I. Bertinsson. "Structures of complexes between metal halides and phosphinothioethers or related ligands. X.[1, 9-Bis (diphenylphosphino)-3, 7-dithianonane] monoiodonickel tetraphenylborate." Acta Crystallographica Section B: Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry 36.4 (1980): 790–794.
References
1920 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Swedish chemists
Swedish women chemists
20th-century Swedish women scientists
Crystallographers | Karin Aurivillius | [
"Chemistry",
"Materials_science"
] | 773 | [
"Crystallographers",
"Crystallography"
] |
65,410,407 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jocelyn%20Monroe | Jocelyn Monroe is an American British experimental particle physicist who is a professor at the University of Oxford. Her research considers the development of novel detectors as part of the search for dark matter. In 2016 she was honoured with the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for her work on the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.
Early life and education
Monroe is from Chicago. She studied physics at Columbia University, where she completed a bachelor's degree in astrophysics in 1999. After graduating she joined the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) as an engineering physicist in the neutrino factory. In the neutrino factory, Monroe worked on muon beam cooling. After one year at Fermilab, Monroe returned to Columbia University, where she joined the Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE) neutrino experiment and completed a doctorate under the supervision of Michael Shaevitz. She was part of the team who confirmed that there were three types of neutrinos, and that the Standard Model was still in effect.
Research and career
After earning her doctorate Monroe was made Pappalardo Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was promoted to Assistant Professor soon after. At MIT, Monroe joined the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory where she looked for exotic particles in solar neutrino oscillations. After completing her postdoctoral research, Monroe joined the MiniCLEAN and Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) experiments to detect dark matter particle interactions. Whilst at MIT she taught physics to Dianna Cowern.
In 2011 Monroe moved to the United Kingdom, where she joined Royal Holloway, University of London. Here she founded the Dark Matter research group, in which she specialises in the direct detection of dark matter. Direct detection means that experiments record dark matter particles scattering off atomic nuclei. She has worked with the DEAP-3600 (Dark matter Experiment using Argon Pulse-shape discrimination) at SNOLAB and is now the deputy Spokesperson (scientific leader) of the DarkSide-20k experiment in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. DarkSide-20k is proposed to be the world's largest dark matter detector, and will use silicon-based detectors to look for the light emitted by dark matter interactions with argon. Monroe leads the dark matter search on QUEST-DMC, a novel experiment using superfluid Helium-3 to search for dark matter which was featured in the 2024 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
As part of her work on dark matter detectors, Monroe works on new strategies to detect the dark matter wind. As planet Earth moves through dark matter in the galaxy it should create a wind of dark matter particles that can be easily differentiated from the terrestrial background. She has developed tetrafluoromethane-based detectors(DMTPC) with silicon readout for the first demonstration of particle tracking in the low-energy regime relevant for dark matter and geo-neutrino searches. Ultimately Monroe looks to develop a kilotonne observatory for dark matter and neutrino physics. Such an observatory could observe the geoneutrinos created by potassium decay in the Earth's core.
In 2013 Monroe became the first woman appointed Professor of Physics at Royal Holloway, University of London. In 2023 Monroe was appointed Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford.
Awards and honours
2006 MIT Pappalardo Fellowship
2009 Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow
2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Select publications
Personal life
Monroe is married to Morgan Wascko, Professor of Physics at University of Oxford. Together they have two daughters.
See also
Daphne Jackson, from Peterborough, the UK's first female professor of physics (University of Surrey at age 34)
Gillian Gehring (née Murray), from Nottingham, the UK's second female professor of physics
References
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Scientists from Chicago
American women academics
American particle physicists
Experimental particle physics
American women physicists
Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London
Columbia University alumni
Columbia University faculty
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty
21st-century American women | Jocelyn Monroe | [
"Physics"
] | 825 | [
"Experimental physics",
"Particle physics",
"Experimental particle physics"
] |
65,413,277 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20space%20programs%20of%20the%20United%20States | The United States has developed many space programs since the beginning of the spaceflight era in the mid-20th century. The government runs space programs by three primary agencies: NASA for civil space; the United States Space Force for military space; and the National Reconnaissance Office for intelligence space. These entities have invested significant resources to advance technological approaches to meet objectives. In the late 1980s, commercial interests emerged in the space industry and have expanded dramatically, especially within the last 10 to 15 years.
NASA delivers the most visible elements of the U.S. space program. From crewed space exploration and the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, to the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, Voyager, the Mars rovers, numerous space telescopes, and the Artemis program, NASA delivers on the civil space exploration mandate. NASA also cooperates with other U.S. civil agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to deliver space assets supporting the weather and civil remote sensing mandates of those organizations. In 2022, NASA's annual budget was approximately $24 billion.
The Department of Defense delivers the military space programs. In 2019, the U.S. Space Force started as the primary DoD agent for delivery of military space capability. Systems such as the Global Positioning System, which is ubiquitous to users worldwide, was developed and is maintained by the DoD. Missile warning, defense weather, military satellite communications, and space domain awareness also acquire significant annual investment. In 2023, the annual DoD budget request focused on space is $24.5 billion dollars.
The Intelligence Community, through entities that include the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), invests significant resources in space. Surveillance and reconnaissance are the primary focuses of these entities.
Commercial space activity in the United States was facilitated by the passage of the Commercial Space Launch Act in October 1984. Commercial crewed program activity was spurred by the establishment of the $10 million Ansari X Prize in May 1996.
Definition of space flight
Space programs of the United States date to the start of the Space Age in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Programs involve both crewed systems and uncrewed satellites, probes and platforms to meet diverse program objectives.
From a definition perspective, the criteria for what constitutes spaceflight vary. In the United States, professional, military, and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of are awarded astronaut wings. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale defines spaceflight as any flight over . This article follows the US definition of spaceflight. Similarly, for uncrewed missions, systems are required to travel above the same altitude thresholds.
Government-led programs
The following summarizes the major space programs where the United States government plays a leadership role in managing program delivery.
Crewed government-led programs
Uncrewed government-led programs
Commercial space programs
The following summarizes the major space programs where private interests play the leadership role in managing program delivery.
Crewed commercial programs
Uncrewed commercial programs
See also
Space policy of the United States
List of European Space Agency programmes and missions
Japanese space program
List of government space agencies
List of rockets of the United States
List of NOAA satellites
List of NASA missions
NASA large strategic science missions
List of uncrewed NASA missions
Explanatory notes
References
United States
United States space programs | List of space programs of the United States | [
"Astronomy",
"Engineering"
] | 670 | [
"Space programs by country",
"Space programs",
"Outer space",
"Outer space lists"
] |
71,004,582 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral%20body | Lateral bodies are structures that sit on the concave sides of the viral core of a poxvirus and is surrounded by a membrane. They serve as immunomodulatory delivery packets, and membrane cloaking to spread poxviruses. They were first visualized using electron microscopy in 1956 and shortly after, it was shown that they detach from the viral core upon membrane fusion.
Lateral body proteins
Lateral bodies are made up of at least three proteins, phosphoprotein F17, dual-specificity phosphatase H1 and the viral oxidoreductase G4. F17 is the main structural protein and may play a role in modulating cellular immune response through MAPK signaling pathways. H1 dephosphorylates STAT1 to prevent nuclear transcription and block IFNy-induced immune signaling. Finally, G4 is essential for viral morphogenesis. Additionally, the proteins packed in lateral bodies are redox proteins, which modulates the host oxidative response impacting early gene expression and virion production.
References
Viruses | Lateral body | [
"Biology"
] | 219 | [
"Viruses",
"Tree of life (biology)",
"Microorganisms"
] |
71,004,765 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnigeneity | Omnigeneity (sometimes also called omnigenity) is a property of a magnetic field inside a magnetic confinement fusion reactor. Such a magnetic field is called omnigenous if the path a single particle takes does not drift radially inwards or outwards on average. A particle is then confined to stay on a flux surface. All tokamaks are exactly omnigenous by virtue of their axisymmetry, and conversely an unoptimized stellarator is generally not omnigenous.
Because an exactly omnigenous reactor has no neoclassical transport (in the collisionless limit), stellarators are usually optimized in a way such that this criterion is met. One way to achieve this is by making the magnetic field quasi-symmetric, and the Helically Symmetric eXperiment takes this approach. One can also achieve this property without quasi-symmetry, and Wendelstein 7-X is an example of a device which is close to omnigeneity without being quasi-symmetric.
Theory
The drifting of particles across flux surfaces is generally only a problem for trapped particles, which are trapped in a magnetic mirror. Untrapped (or passing) particles, which can circulate freely around the flux surface, are automatically confined to stay on a flux surface. For trapped particles, omnigeneity relates closely to the second adiabatic invariant (often called the parallel or longitudinal invariant).
One can show that the radial drift a particle experiences after one full bounce motion is simply related to a derivative of ,where is the charge of the particle, is the magnetic field line label, and is the total radial drift expressed as a difference in toroidal flux. With this relation, omnigeneity can be expressed as the criterion that the second adiabatic invariant should be the same for all the magnetic field lines on a flux surface,This criterion is exactly met in axisymmetric systems, as the derivative with respect to can be expressed as a derivative with respect to the toroidal angle (under which the system is invariant).
References
Fusion reactors
Electromagnetism | Omnigeneity | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 423 | [
"Electromagnetism",
"Physical phenomena",
"Fundamental interactions",
"Nuclear fusion",
"Fusion reactors"
] |
71,008,005 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility%20cut | A utility cut is a cut and excavation to an existing road surface to install or repair subterranean public utility conduits and equipment. After the utility is installed or repaired, the road needs to be restored which will result in patches on the road surface. Due to a different settling rate of the backfill material relative to the original pavement, the road surface condition may be deteriorated after the road restoration. This will require ongoing maintenance and repairs.
Some municipalities require contractors to install utility repair tags to identify responsible parties of the deteriorated patches.
See also
Subsurface utility engineering
Utility vault
References
Pavements
Surface | Utility cut | [
"Technology"
] | 121 | [
"Road hazards"
] |
71,008,273 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significant%20New%20Alternatives%20Policy | The Significant New Alternatives Policy (also known as Section 612 of the Clean Air Act or SNAP, promulgated at 40 CFR part 82 Subpart G) is a program of the EPA to determine acceptable chemical substitutes, and establish which are prohibited or regulated by the EPA. It also establishes a program by which new alternatives may be accepted, and promulgates timelines to the industry regarding phase-outs of substitutes.
Scope
Originally, Section 612 was limited by ozone-depleting chemicals. However, after passing regulations to phase-out R134a, an HFC refrigerant with no ozone-depleting potential, this phase-out was defended by a subsidiary of DuPont siding with the EPA as it was challenged by a major manufacturer of R134a, and was struck down in 2017. This decision was upheld in 2018. In 2021, a new law was passed as part of the appropriations bill extending the EPA's scope to substances with high GWP as well.
The EPA looks at available chemical substitutes in the following industrial sectors:
Adhesives, Coatings, and Inks
Aerosols
Cleaning Solvents
Fire Suppression and Explosion Protection
Foam Blowing Agents
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Sterilants
Tobacco Expansion
Evaluations are ongoing as technological understanding improves, and can only prohibit substance where the EPA has determined other available substitutes that pose less overall risk to human health and the environment.
Submittal process
In order to submit new proposed chemicals, along with general contact and marketing information, for a complete submittal, the EPA requires reports on:
Impurities
Byproducts
Degradation Products
Test Marketing
Physical Properties including:
molecular weight
physical state
melting point
boiling point
specific gravity
If a blend
bubble point
dew point
If flammable
lower flammability limit
upper flammability limit
flash point
Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
VOC content
Proposed cost
Toxicity Limits
Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
Short-Term Exposure Limits (STELs)
Threshold Limit Values (TLVs)
Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs)
Workplace Environmental Exposure Limits (WEELs)
acceptable exposure limits (AELs)
Toxicological studies
SDS
Environmental/Health and Safety Law Review
Industry/Application-specific Use Profile
Refrigerants
One important, changing aspect of SNAP is its effect on the HVAC industry. Particularly because it decides which refrigerants may be legally used, it coordinates refrigerant phaseouts in the U.S., and which are prohibited against venting in concordance with Section 608. The following is a list of accepted refrigerants, or phase-out periods according to the EPA.
See also
ASHRAE - Standards 15 and 34 are necessary part of most submittal processes to the program
Clean Air Act - The act that established section 612
EPA - The central regulatory agency in charge of operating the SNAP program
Section 608 - Which helps enforce the chemicals listed as part of the program
Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations
References
External links
CFR section promulgating up-to-date provisions for Section 612
EPA SNAP Website
Air pollution in the United States
Code of Federal Regulations
Construction
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
Environmental law in the United States
Environmental policy in the United States
Refrigerants
Regulators of biotechnology products
United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States federal environmental legislation | Significant New Alternatives Policy | [
"Engineering",
"Biology"
] | 684 | [
"Construction",
"Biotechnology products",
"Regulators of biotechnology products",
"Regulation of biotechnologies"
] |
71,008,486 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur%20State%20Museum | The Manipur State Museum () is an institution displaying a collection of artistic, cultural, historical and scientific artefacts and relics in Imphal, Manipur, India. It has galleries housing materials of natural history, ethnology and archeology.
Overview
The Manipur State Museum () houses ornaments, textiles, agricultural equipments of Ancient Manipur, Medieval Manipur and Modern Manipur. The museum conveys an all encompassing picture of the history of the life of the Manipuri people.
History
The Manipur State Museum () was inaugurated by Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister of India on 23 September 1969. It has been expanded to a multipurpose museum. It has many sections and subsections. One prominent section is the ethnological gallery. This gallery was formally reopened by Ved Marwah, the then Governor of Manipur, on 20 January 2001.
Collections
The most famous piece on display is a Hiyang Hiren, used by the royalties. It is 78 feet in length and is in an open gallery.
Other collection include coins, manuscripts, instruments, pottery, dresses, paintings and ornaments of Ancient Manipur, Medieval Manipur and Modern Manipur.
The Museum has a publication for more than 500 species of rare orchids, out of which only 472 orchids have been identified. Several experts opined that no one comes across anywhere in India with such a variety of orchid species as in Manipur.
The royal Howdah (), presently on display in the Manipur State Museum, was personally used by Sir Meidingngu Churachand Singh KCSI (1891-1941 AD), CBE, the King of Manipur.
Exhibits
The Museum exhibits mainly cultural themes and awareness programs. Some of the exhibits include tribal ornaments, Meitei ornaments, headgears, agricultural implements, domestic implements, hunting tools, smoking pipes and lighters, terracotta pottery, gold and silver utensils, polo saddlery, traditional water pipe, Meitei textiles, Meitei time measuring device, ancient gold mask, caskets, riderless horse statues, arms and armory, basketry, tribal costumes, etc.
The time measuring implements like the "Tanyei Pung" and the "Tanyei Chei" testify the knowledge of the ancient Meiteis in Ancient Manipur civilization.
The costumes exhibited are important to study the social structure of Manipur.
The royal Howdah () of Sir Churachand Singh KCSI (1891-1941 AD), CBE, the then King of Manipur, is also displayed in the Manipur State Museum.
The Manipur State Museum also organises workshops for traditional Manipuri sculptors-souvenir.
See also
Imphal Peace Museum
INA War Museum
Kakching Garden
Keibul Lamjao National Park - world's only floating national park in Manipur, India
Khonghampat Orchidarium
Loktak Folklore Museum
Manipur Zoological Garden
Phumdi - Floating biomasses in Manipur, India
Sekta Archaeological Living Museum
Yangoupokpi-Lokchao Wildlife Sanctuary
References
External links
Manipur State Museum artnculturemanipur.gov.in
Manipur State Museum www.museumsofindia.org
Meitei architecture
Monuments and memorials in Imphal
Monuments and memorials to Meitei royalty
Museums in Manipur
Public art in India
Tourist attractions in Manipur | Manipur State Museum | [
"Engineering"
] | 686 | [
"Meitei architecture",
"Architecture"
] |
71,011,526 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart-ID | Smart-ID is an electronic authentication tool developed by SK ID Solutions, an Estonian company. Users can log in to various electronic services and sign documents with an electronic signature.
Smart-ID meets the European Union's eIDAS Regulation and the European Central Bank's standards for a secure authentication solution. Smart-ID is a Qualified Signature Creator Device (QSCD) that can issue a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES).
The Smart-ID app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and does not require a SIM card.
By 2021, the Smart-ID application was launched in the Huawei AppGallery.
As of May 2023, Smart-ID has 3,298,969 active users across the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). Every month, the Smart-ID processes 79 million transactions. In March 2023, Smart-ID users made an exceptional 85 million transactions.
History
In November 2016, SK ID Solutions debuted the Smart-ID tool for the first time at its annual conference. In February 2017, eKool, Starman, and Tallinn Kaubamaja Grupp were the first to implement Smart-ID authentication in their e-services. In March 2017, Smart-ID was added as an authentication option to SEB bank and Swedbank's online banking in all three Baltic States.
Dokobit, previously known as DigiDoc, began offering its clients the ability to use e-services using Smart-ID in April 2017. More than 100 service providers had implemented Smart-ID as an authentication solution for their services by November 2019.
At its annual conference on November 8, 2018, SK ID Solutions revealed that Smart-ID had been certified as compatible with the QSCD[8] level, the highest level of qualified electronic signature in the European Union, following a rigorous certification process. As a result, the Smart-QES-level ID's electronic signature, the digital counterpart of a handwritten signature, is now available to all users who have registered with the tool. This signature is accepted by all European Union member states.
On August 26, 2019, Estonian Information Systems Supervisory Authority experts reviewed Smart-ID (ISSA). Based on the methods provided in the eIDAS Regulation, the expert committee concluded that Smart-ID offers a high level of electronic identification assurance.
SK ID Solutions and RIA struck an agreement in September 2019 that allows Smart-ID to authenticate Estonian state e-services via RIA's central authentication service, which is used by over 60 public authorities. Smart-ID accounts created three years ago have expired in January 2020. Therefore, renewing them and performing mandatory updates was necessary.
In February 2020, SK ID Solutions announced that Smart-ID could be used to give digital signatures in the national digital signature software DigiDoc4, which up until this moment was only possible with ID cards via Mobile-ID. Users must have at least version 4.2.4.71 or later of the DigiDoc4 software installed on their computers to use this feature.
Since February 2020, Smart-ID accounts can now be created with biometric information from an ID card or passport, but only by users who have previously used a Smart-ID account. Since October 2022, 13–17 years old minors in Lithuania are able to create a Smart-ID account using biometric information too. A parent or legal guardian must approve the registration. SK ID Solutions collaborated on the new solution with iProov from the United Kingdom and InnoValor from the Netherlands.
TÜV Informationstechnik GmbH, a German certification company, assessed it.
Since May 2023, Smart-ID can be used to submit company's annual reports in Estonia and digitally sign anything in the e-business register using your PIN2.
Overview
The Smart-ID app is available for download on Google Play and Apple's App Store. Android 4.4 and iOS 11 are the oldest supported operating system versions for Smart-ID.
Smart-ID works on the premise of two-factor authentication, combining an intelligent device (something the user owns) with PINs (something the user knows).
A new user must first authenticate themselves with an ID card or a mobile phone number and then confirm a PIN1 and PIN2 code, either manually or automatically produced. The first PIN is used to authenticate a person's identity when accessing e-banking or e-services, while the second PIN is used to support electronic signatures and authenticate transactions (e.g., transfers). The PIN1 code must be four digits long, while the PIN2 code must be five digits long.
To log in to an e-service, the user must use Smart-ID as the authentication method and enter their unique Smart-ID user ID. A notification will open on the user's smart device where the software is installed and display a verification code. If the code matches the code presented to the user by the e-service, then the user can confirm the match by entering their PIN1 code. The user must verify the action with their PIN2 code when giving digital signatures.
A Smart-ID account is valid for three years. The report can be updated, changed, and deleted at any given time, free of charge.
Smart-ID is available in five languages: Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, and English.
An international survey conducted in 2021 revealed that Smart-ID is the most reliable authentication solution in Baltic countries. In January 2023, the number of times Smart-ID was used to access State Authentication Service (TARA) in Estonia has surpassed those of Mobile-ID and ID-cards for the first time since July 2022.
Security
Smart-ID is based on Cybernetica's SplitKey authentication and digital signature platform technology, for which the company has filed a patent application. Public key cryptography, digital signature methods, and critical public infrastructures are all used in the technology. The user's PIN is not saved on the device and is only needed to decrypt the private key in the Smart-ID app. When the user inputs the PIN, the private key is cracked, and the answer is transmitted to the Smart-ID server, where a portion of the key given by the app is joined with the server's encrypted key.
The app will block the user from accessing it for three hours if they input the incorrect PIN three times in a row. If this happens once again, the app will lock for 24 hours. If this happens a third time, the account will be permanently disabled. PINs cannot be changed or recovered once an account has been created. The user must create a new account if the account is permanently blocked.
Smart-ID uses the Apple and Google messaging networks to notify the app when new data is saved on its servers.
Phishing
In February 2019, unknown criminals attempted to create Smart-ID accounts with stolen IDs obtained via phishing customers' text messages and website addresses, according to a monthly report by the Estonian Information System Manager in April 2019. The Latvian Information Technology Security Incident Assessment Body Cert was also notified of these intrusions on March 1.
Fraudsters sent emails to potential victims pretending to be bank representatives. The mails linked users to a phishing page after redirecting them to a phony bank login page. Victims were asked to log in using their identification information and PIN1 code. The fraudsters then began the process of generating a new Smart-ID account. As a result, the victim had to input a PIN2 number, which permitted the fraudster to finish setting up a new tab with the victim's personal information.
Fraudsters in Estonia were able to log in to multiple e-services utilizing Smart-ID using a Smart-ID account and the victim's data. On behalf of the victims, fraudsters also employed online banking services. Later, the Estonian Information System Manager identified several victims, some of whom had also experienced financial losses.
The Estonian Information System Manager requested a full report on the event from SK ID Solutions. The organization opted not to criticize the corporation after receiving the information, although it did propose that the procedure of creating Smart-ID accounts be reviewed. According to the Estonian Banking Association, Estonian banks have not discontinued using Smart-ID and do not think it is required.
Smart-ID was exposed to a thorough review process in September 2019 to determine this authentication instrument's level of security. Reviewers discovered no flaws, and SK ID Solutions and the Estonian Information System Manager signed a contract. Estonia later introduced Smart-ID and other authentication mechanisms to the central public services portal.
References
Authentication methods
Cryptography
Signature
Records management technology | Smart-ID | [
"Mathematics",
"Engineering"
] | 1,766 | [
"Applied mathematics",
"Cryptography",
"Cybersecurity engineering"
] |
71,013,543 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugen%20MF308 | The Mugen MF308 is a naturally aspirated, petrol-powered, , V8 racing engine, designed, developed, and built by Mugen Motorsports, for Formula 3000 racing categories, between 1988 and 2005. It produced between over its lifetime. It famously powered Jean Alesi to the 1989 International Formula 3000 Championship, with Eddie Jordan Racing.
Performance / main specifications
Model: V-type 8-cylinder, 4-valve DOHC, naturally aspirated
Displacement:
Bank angle: 90 degrees
Bore x Stroke: x
Maximum output: > 460 hp @ 8,500rpm
Maximum torque: @ 7,500 rpm
History
Background
In 1983, Honda signed a joint development contract with British racing engine builder Engine Development ( Judd ) for a V8 2.65L turbo engine for indie cars at the time. This was born from the idea that adding two cylinders to a V6 2.0L engine for F2 would make it 2.65L.
In 1985, the engine for Indy was completed, but Honda handed over all rights to the engine to Judd instead of terminating the contract with Judd because he concentrated on F1 activities and "no participation in IndyCar". This completed engine is "Jud AV". However, this story is not over, and Honda plans to make it for the F3000 by remodeling this engine. As a result, a joint development contract for the F3000 engine will be signed with Judd. As a result, the "Jud BV" was born, which increased the stroke of the "Jud AV" to 3.0L.
In 1986, the "Judd BV", renamed the "Honda RA386E", was mounted on a Ralt chassis and made its debut at the International F3000 Championship.
In 1987, the "Judd BV" sent to Japan was tuned at Honda R & D (Wako) and supplied to the All Japan F2 Championship as the "Honda RA387E".
Birth of the MF308
During the All Japan F2 Championship, Honda, which had overwhelmed Hart and BMW engines, limited the engine supply quota to a small number. On the other hand, Yamaha supplied the engine to all those who wanted it, so Honda was sometimes criticized. In response to the shift of the All Japan Championship from F2 to F3000 from the reflection at this time, "Honda RA387E" is entrusted to "I want to aim for Cosworth in Japan" infinitely. Although it had undergone design changes on the assumption that it would be supplied to many users, the "MUGEN MF308", which had almost the same specifications as the RA387E, was born.
In 1988, supply to the All Japan F3000 Championship began, and Kazuyoshi Hoshino's drive made his debut win in the opening round. This year's record was 5 wins out of 8 races.
It was also supplied to the International F3000 Championship from 1989 and became the champion engine by Jean Alesi of EJR.
In the international F3000, DAMS's Eric Comas won the championship in 1990, and eight of the top 10 rankings used the MF308 engine. In 1991, Christian Fittipaldi was made the champion. Withdraw from International F3000 at the end of the 1992 season.
Until the retirement of the MF308
The MF308, which started supply in 1988, will be delivered to each team by domestic engine tuners such as Tomei Engine and Ogawa Motor. Maintenance and tuning were also performed for each tuner. Infinite himself also participated as a tuner for advanced development. In 1988, he competed with the "Cosworth Yamaha OX77" and in 1989 with the " Ford Cosworth DFV Engine " (both Ken Matsuura Racing Service Tune). It will be supplied to the international F3000 after its domestic debut but withdrew after the introduction of the one-make system in 1996 and the adoption of "Judd KV" (supplied by Zytec).
In the All Japan F3000, the DFV of Ken Matsuura Racing Service took the position of the champion engine in 1991 and 1993.
In 1996, the All Japan F3000 Championship has renamed the All Japan Championship Formula Nippon. From this year, Ken Matsuura Racing Service will start delivering the MF308.
From 1998, it will be a de facto one-make.
In 2005, the supply to Formula Nippon was discontinued because the mold of the cylinder block was exhausted so much that it might be difficult to supply it for a long time in the future. The total results of All Japan F3000-Formula Nippon are 172 races and 161 wins.
During this time, MUGEN itself and each tuner have been constantly improving, MUGEN has developed and tested the parts related to basic performance, and the others have been improved for each tuner. Some of them have a short stroke with a bore of 88mm and are used until the final race. Finally, the maximum output was increased to about 500PS and the maximum torque was increased to about . Others that have been stored are trials such as the variable pipe length air supply system and the butterfly throttle, which are prohibited by the rules. During the period when MUGEN was doing F1 activities, advanced development using MF308 was also done.
Features of the MF308
The MF308 adopted a method of operating the intake/exhaust valve via the rocker arm while using DOHC. Normally, the mainstream of DOHC engines is "direct push" where the camshaft pushes the valve directly, and it can be said that the MF308 is extremely rare as a racing engine. Since the rocker arm can determine the valve lift amount regardless of the camshaft profile, it seems that the F3000 regulation, which limits the number of revolutions to 9,000 rpm, was rather convenient. However, on the other hand, considering that the cylinder head becomes large and the structure supports the latter half of the body of the formula car, the rigidity tends to be insufficient.
References
Super Formula
V8 engines
Gasoline engines by model
Engines by model
Honda engines | Mugen MF308 | [
"Technology"
] | 1,269 | [
"Engines",
"Engines by model"
] |
71,013,576 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borotellurites | Borotellurites are chemical mixed anion compounds that contain any kind of borate and tellurite ions bound together via oxygen. They are distinct from borotellurates in which tellurium is in +6 oxidation state. There are also analogous boroselenites, with selenium instead of tellurium, and borosulfates containing sulfur. Borotellurites are colourless.
List
References
Borates
Tellurites
Mixed anion compounds | Borotellurites | [
"Physics",
"Chemistry"
] | 98 | [
"Ions",
"Matter",
"Mixed anion compounds"
] |
71,013,672 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk%20immunity | Milk immunity is the protection provided to immune system of an infant via the biologically active components in milk, typically provided by the infant's mother.
Mammalian milk
All mammalian milk contains water, sugar, fat, vitamins, and protein with the variation within and between species and individuals differing mainly in the amount of these components. Other than the variation in quantity of these components, not a lot is known about bio-active or immune-modulating factors in many mammalian species. However, in comparison to other mammalian milk, human milk has the most oligosaccharide diversity.
Bovine milk
Ruminant mothers do not transfer immunity to their infants during pregnancy, which makes milk the first introduction to maternal immunity calves receive. Bovine milk contains both immunoglobulins A and G, but in contrast to human milk where IgA is the most abundant, IgG is more abundant. Secretory Component, IgM, both anti-inflammatory and inflammatory cytokines, and other proteins with antimicrobial functions are also present in bovine milk.
Human milk
Avian crop milk
Crop milk is a secretion from the crop of a bird that is regurgitated to feed their offspring. Birds that produce this secretion include pigeons, flamingos, emperor penguins, and doves. Pigeon milk contains some immune-modulating factors such as microbes and IgA, as well as other components with similar biological activities to mammalian milk including pigeon growth factor, and transferrin.
References
Breastfeeding
Immunology
Milk | Milk immunity | [
"Biology"
] | 310 | [
"Immunology"
] |
71,014,193 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BH%20Virginis | BH Virginis is a binary star system in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. With a typical apparent visual magnitude of 9.6, it is too faint to be visible to the naked eye. Based on parallax measurements, it is located at a distance of approximately 488 light years from the Sun. The system is drifting closer with a net radial velocity of −23 km/s.
This system was determined to be a short period variable star by C. Hoffmeister in 1935. W. Zessewitsch found a period of for the system in 1944. In 1957, M. Kitamura and associates refined the light curve of this Algol-type eclipsing variable and discovered some irregular fluctuations not explained by the eclipse cycle. R. H. Koch in 1967 reported observing a change in the depth of the primary eclipse. In 1982, M. Hoffmann concluded that both stars are intrinsically variable, indicating this is an RS Canum Venaticorum variable system.
This is a near-contact binary system with a circular orbit having a period of . The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 88° to the line of sight from the Earth, allowing both components to eclipse each other once per orbit. During the deep primary eclipse the system decreases in brightness by 0.96 magnitude, while the shallower secondary eclipse decreases the system by 0.64 magnitude. Cyclical oscillations in the orbital period have been observed with two short-term periods of 9.2 and 11.8 years, and a longer-term oscillation of 51.7 years. The short term oscillations may be due to magnetic activity on the stars, while the longer period could be caused by an unseen third body.
Both components of this system are G-type main-sequence stars, with stellar classifications of G0V and G2V, respectively. Evidence of star spots have been found on both stars, but appear to be predominantly on the secondary component. The two stars are somewhat larger and more massive than the Sun.
References
Further reading
G-type main-sequence stars
RS Canum Venaticorum variables
Eclipsing binaries
Algol variables
Virgo (constellation)
BD-00 2769
121909
068258
Virginis, BH | BH Virginis | [
"Astronomy"
] | 466 | [
"Virgo (constellation)",
"Constellations"
] |
71,016,010 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish%20Bee%20Conservation%20Project | The Irish Bee Conservation Project is a charitable organisation in Ireland that seeks to conserve all native Irish bee species. It has four "pillars of support" in its work: providing habitats, increasing biodiversity, holding education events and performing research into the decline of bee species. Species of bee in Ireland include the honeybee (Apis mellifera), 21 species of bumblebee and 78 species of solitary bee.
History
The Irish Bee Conservation Project (IBCP) grew out of a research project looking at honeybees and the Varroa mite and was formed in 2019 as a not for profit private company limited by guarantee. That same year it designed and installed its first honeybee "lodges" in Fota Wildlife Park, County Cork.
In 2021, the Irish Bee Conservation Project registered as a charity with the Charities Regulator of Ireland.
Projects
The charity developed and installed a pollinator trail, in conjunction with the Office of Public Works, at Fota Gardens. Opened in 2021, the walking trail consists of a series of 12 stations with QR codes which provide links to information about the gardens, bees and other pollinators.
Other projects by the IBCP include the installation of 24 wild bee lodges at Lough Gur, County Limerick. These lodges are designed to replace lost natural habitats. Since 2020, it has been helping Randal Plunkett, 21st Baron of Dunsany with the rewilding of the Dunsany estate in County Meath by advising him and supplying bee lodges.
In 2022, the charity hosted a free educational event at the South East Technological University's Bealtaine Living Earth Festival. The charity also has an apiary holding native honeybees, where it performs breeding and an ongoing eight year research project into varroa mite tolerance, no research results have been published.
References
External links
Charities based in the Republic of Ireland
Bees
Conservation biology
Nature conservation in Ireland | Irish Bee Conservation Project | [
"Biology"
] | 384 | [
"Conservation biology"
] |
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