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The benefit of the Monte Carlo analysis is not to decrease uncertainty in the input statistics, but to represent the different combinations of the variables that determine potential risks of water-quality excursions. SELDM provides a method for rapid assessment of information that is otherwise difficult or impossible to obtain because it models the interactions among hydrologic variables (with different probability distributions) that result in a population of values that represent likely long-term outcomes from runoff processes and the potential effects of different mitigation measures. SELDM also provides the means for rapidly doing sensitivity analyses to determine the potential effects of different input assumptions on the risks for water-quality excursions. SELDM produces a population of storm-event and annual values to address the questions about the potential frequency, magnitude, and duration of water-quality excursions. The output represents a collection of random events rather than a time series. Each storm that is generated in SELDM is identified by sequence number and annual-load accounting year. The model generates each storm randomly; there is no serial correlation, and the order of storms does not reflect seasonal patterns. The annual-load accounting years, which are just random collections of events generated with the sum of storm interevent times less than or equal to a year, are used to generate annual highway flows and loads for TMDL analysis and the lake basin analysis.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=45102490
| 2,112,124 |
679,632 |
In 2017, the ISSF made the unusual move to refer Vice-President (also head of the Italian Clay Pigeon Federation (FITAV)) to the Ethics Committee, accusing him of conflicts of interest and disloyalty. Rossi had criticised the changes to the Olympic Shooting Programme, which included dropping the Prone Rifle, 50 meter Pistol and Double Trap shotgun events. The ISSF alleged that Rossi had an undisclosed business interest in a manufacturer of traps, which motivated his lobbying in favour of the Double Trap event. Rossi was also accused of spreading misinformation and disloyalty when he claimed that ISSF Secretary General Franz Schreiber and Vice President Gary Anderson had discussed the use of laser guns with the IOC "as possible future of the shooting sports", which the ISSF vehemently denied. In May 2018, the Ethics Committee found that the allegations were "predominantly justified" and banned Rossi from any shooting-related activities for three years. A number of athletes wore black armbands at the following World Cup match in support of Rossi. Rossi appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport who reduced the three-year suspension to just 20 weeks, whilst increasing his fine from CHF30,000 to CHF50,000. In the full ruling, the Court considered the three-year ban to have been "clearly disproportionate" and found personal and political motivations within the ISSF had been a factor in his suspension, which would have excluded him from running for the ISSF Presidency at the end of 2018.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2528826
| 679,278 |
996,073 |
The Manges model uses a first principles theoretical approach that eschews "G" curves and "ballistic coefficients" based on the standard G1 and other similarity curves. The theoretical description has three main parts. The first is to develop and solve a formulation of the two dimensional differential equations of motion governing flat trajectories of point mass projectiles by defining mathematically a set of quadratures that permit closed form solutions for the trajectory differential equations of motion. A sequence of successive approximation drag coefficient functions is generated that converge rapidly to actual observed drag data. The vacuum trajectory, simplified aerodynamic, d'Antonio, and Euler drag law models are special cases. The Manges drag law thereby provides a unifying influence with respect to earlier models used to obtain two dimensional closed form solutions to the point-mass equations of motion. The third purpose of this paper is to describe a least squares fitting procedure for obtaining the new drag functions from observed experimental data. The author claims that results show excellent agreement with six degree of freedom numerical calculations for modern tank ammunition and available published firing tables for center-fired rifle ammunition having a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=584911
| 995,555 |
19,225 |
While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, a truly scientific attempt to classify organisms did not occur until the 18th century. Earlier works were primarily descriptive and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in this scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on arbitrary criteria, the so-called "artificial systems", including Linnaeus's system of sexual classification for plants (Linnaeus's 1735 classification of animals was entitled "Systema Naturae" ("the System of Nature"), implying that he, at least, believed that it was more than an "artificial system"). Later came systems based on a more complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as "natural systems", such as those of de Jussieu (1789), de Candolle (1813) and Bentham and Hooker (1862–1863). These classifications described empirical patterns and were pre-evolutionary in thinking. The publication of Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" (1859) led to a new explanation for classifications, based on evolutionary relationships. This was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler (1883) and Engler (1886–1892). The advent of cladistic methodology in the 1970s led to classifications based on the sole criterion of monophyly, supported by the presence of synapomorphies. Since then, the evidentiary basis has been expanded with data from molecular genetics that for the most part complements traditional morphology.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30463
| 19,217 |
31,302 |
Medications for PCOS include oral contraceptives and metformin. The oral contraceptives increase sex hormone binding globulin production, which increases binding of free testosterone. This reduces the symptoms of hirsutism caused by high testosterone and regulates return to normal menstrual periods. Metformin is a medication commonly used in type 2 diabetes mellitus to reduce insulin resistance, and is used off label (in the UK, US, AU and EU) to treat insulin resistance seen in PCOS. In many cases, metformin also supports ovarian function and return to normal ovulation. Spironolactone can be used for its antiandrogenic effects, and the topical cream eflornithine can be used to reduce facial hair. A newer insulin resistance medication class, the thiazolidinediones (glitazones), have shown equivalent efficacy to metformin, but metformin has a more favorable side effect profile. The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended in 2004 that women with PCOS and a body mass index above 25 be given metformin when other therapy has failed to produce results. Metformin may not be effective in every type of PCOS, and therefore there is some disagreement about whether it should be used as a general first line therapy. In addition to this, metformin is associated with several unpleasant side effects: including abdominal pain, metallic taste in the mouth, diarrhoea and vomiting. The use of statins in the management of underlying metabolic syndrome remains unclear.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=54301
| 31,292 |
225,653 |
Elimination and substitution are the most desirable approaches to hazard control. While the nanomaterials themselves often cannot be eliminated or substituted with conventional materials, it may be possible to choose properties of the nanoparticle such as size, shape, functionalization, surface charge, solubility, agglomeration, and aggregation state to improve their toxicological properties while retaining the desired functionality. Handling procedures can also be improved, for example, using a nanomaterial slurry or suspension in a liquid solvent instead of a dry powder will reduce dust exposure. Engineering controls are physical changes to the workplace that isolate workers from hazards, mainly ventilation systems such as fume hoods, gloveboxes, biosafety cabinets, and vented balance enclosures. Administrative controls are changes to workers' behavior to mitigate a hazard, including training on best practices for safe handling, storage, and disposal of nanomaterials, proper awareness of hazards through labeling and warning signage, and encouraging a general safety culture. Personal protective equipment must be worn on the worker's body and is the least desirable option for controlling hazards. Personal protective equipment normally used for typical chemicals are also appropriate for nanomaterials, including long pants, long-sleeve shirts, and closed-toed shoes, and the use of safety gloves, goggles, and impervious laboratory coats. In some circumstances respirators may be used.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=868108
| 225,537 |
1,568,206 |
Her first two publications in scientific journals showed the mechanisms for reactions that involved the enzymes enolase that metabolizes carbohydrates, and pyruvate kinase. Her first groundbreaking experiments were carried out in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while she was at Yale, then the University of Wisconsin. She was trying to understand how the hydroxyl group at the 2’ position of the ribonucleotide's sugar was replaced by the hydrogen found in deoxyribonucleotides. To perform these experiments, she had to synthesize nucleotides that carried a heavy isotope at specific positions. Stubbe reportedly kept a bed in her office since she worked around the clock on her experiments. Stubbe pioneered the use of spectroscopic investigations of enzyme interactions and has devoted most of her career to elucidating the biochemical mechanisms behind free radicals. In her early work at Yale and then at the University of Wisconsin, Stubbe discovered how enzymes called ribonucleotide reductases use free-radical chemistry to convert nucleotides into deoxynucleotides, an essential process in DNA repair and replication. These enzymes catalyze the rate-determining step in DNA biosynthesis. Her analysis of the nucleotide reduction process shed light on the mechanism of action of the Eli Lilly & Co. anti-cancer drug gemcitabine, which is used to treat various carcinomas, such as pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=22072352
| 1,567,319 |
310,512 |
In 1941, Zuse followed his earlier machine up with the Z3, the world's first working electromechanical programmable, fully automatic digital computer. The Z3 was built with 2000 relays, implementing a 22-bit word length that operated at a clock frequency of about 5–10 Hz. Program code and data were stored on punched film. It was quite similar to modern machines in some respects, pioneering numerous advances such as floating-point numbers. Replacement of the hard-to-implement decimal system (used in Charles Babbage's earlier design) by the simpler binary system meant that Zuse's machines were easier to build and potentially more reliable, given the technologies available at that time. The Z3 was proven to have been a Turing-complete machine in 1998 by Raúl Rojas. In two 1936 patent applications, Zuse also anticipated that machine instructions could be stored in the same storage used for data—the key insight of what became known as the von Neumann architecture, first implemented in 1948 in America in the electromechanical IBM SSEC and in Britain in the fully electronic Manchester Baby.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=13636
| 310,344 |
1,268,825 |
Hartsfield was the pilot on STS-4, the fourth and final orbital test flight of the shuttle "Columbia", which launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 27 June 1982. He was accompanied by Thomas K. Mattingly II (spacecraft commander) on this seven-day mission designed to: further verify ascent and entry phases of shuttle missions; perform continued studies of the effects of long-term thermal extremes on the Orbiter subsystems; and conduct a survey of Orbiter-induced contamination on the orbiter payload bay. Additionally, the crew operated several scientific experiments located in the Orbiter's cabin as well as in the payload bay. These experiments included the Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES), designed to investigate the separation of biological materials in a fluid according to their surface electrical charge. The crew is also credited with effecting an in-flight repair which enabled them to activate the first operational "Getaway Special" — comprising nine experiments that range from algae and duckweed growth in space to fruit fly and brine shrimp genetic studies. STS-4 completed 112 orbits of the Earth before landing on a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on 4 July 1982.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=499520
| 1,268,135 |
1,108,426 |
To fulfill the conditions required for a nuclear renewable energy concept, one has to explore a combination of processes going from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle to the fuel production and the energy conversion using specific fluid fuels and reactors, as reported by Degueldre et al. (2019). Extraction of uranium from a diluted fluid ore such as seawater has been studied in various countries worldwide. This extraction should be carried out parsimoniously, as suggested by Degueldre (2017). An extraction rate of kilotons of U per year over centuries would not modify significantly the equilibrium concentration of uranium in the oceans (3.3 ppb). This equilibrium results from the input of 10 kilotons of U per year by river waters and its scavenging on the sea floor from the 1.37 exatons of water in the oceans. For a renewable uranium extraction, the use of a specific biomass material is suggested to adsorb uranium and subsequently other transition metals. The uranium loading on the biomass would be around 100 mg per kg. After contact time, the loaded material would be dried and burned ( neutral) with heat conversion into electricity.e.g. The uranium ‘burning’ in a molten salt fast reactor helps to optimize the energy conversion by burning all actinide isotopes with an excellent yield for producing a maximum amount of thermal energy from fission and converting it into electricity. This optimisation can be reached by reducing the moderation and the fission product concentration in the liquid fuel/coolant. These effects can be achieved by using a maximum amount of actinides and a minimum amount of alkaline/earth alkaline elements yielding a harder neutron spectrum. Under these optimal conditions the consumption of natural uranium would be 7 tons per year and per gigawatt (GW) of produced electricity.e.g. The coupling of uranium extraction from the sea and its optimal utilisation in a molten salt fast reactor should allow nuclear energy to gain the label renewable. In addition, the amount of seawater used by a nuclear power plant to cool the last coolant fluid and the turbine would be ∼2.1 giga tons per year for a fast molten salt reactor, corresponding to 7 tons of natural uranium extractable per year. This practice justifies the label renewable.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23210252
| 1,107,862 |
721,684 |
To fulfill the conditions required for a nuclear renewable energy concept, one has to explore a combination of processes going from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle to the fuel production and the energy conversion using specific fluid fuels and reactors, as reported by Degueldre et al. (2019). Extraction of uranium from a diluted fluid ore such as seawater has been studied in various countries worldwide. This extraction should be carried out parsimoniously, as suggested by Degueldre (2017). An extraction rate of kilotons of U per year over centuries would not modify significantly the equilibrium concentration of uranium in the oceans (3.3 ppb). This equilibrium results from the input of 10 kilotons of U per year by river waters and its scavenging on the sea floor from the 1.37 exatons of water in the oceans. For a renewable uranium extraction, the use of a specific biomass material is suggested to adsorb uranium and subsequently other transition metals. The uranium loading on the biomass would be around 100 mg per kg. After contact time, the loaded material would be dried and burned ( neutral) with heat conversion into electricity. The uranium ‘burning’ in a molten salt fast reactor helps to optimize the energy conversion by burning all actinide isotopes with an excellent yield for producing a maximum amount of thermal energy from fission and converting it into electricity. This optimisation can be reached by reducing the moderation and the fission product concentration in the liquid fuel/coolant. These effects can be achieved by using a maximum amount of actinides and a minimum amount of alkaline/earth alkaline elements yielding a harder neutron spectrum. Under these optimal conditions the consumption of natural uranium would be 7 tons per year and per gigawatt (GW) of produced electricity. The coupling of uranium extraction from the sea and its optimal utilisation in a molten salt fast reactor should allow nuclear energy to gain the label renewable. In addition, the amount of seawater used by a nuclear power plant to cool the last coolant fluid and the turbine would be ∼2.1 giga tons per year for a fast molten salt reactor, corresponding to 7 tons of natural uranium extractable per year. This practice justifies the label renewable.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=194031
| 721,304 |
870,444 |
Clares also produced a 256-colour package called ProArtisan, also with its own special user interface (despite the impending arrival of RISC OS), costing considerably more than its predecessor (£170, compared to £40 for Artisan), offering a wider range of tools than Artisan including sprays, washes and path editing (using Bézier curves) to define areas of the canvas. Although regarded as powerful, the pricing was considered rather high from the perspective of those more familiar with the 8-bit software market, and the user interface was regarded as "only just bearable". Competitors to ProArtisan during 1989 included Art Nouveau from Computer Assisted Learning and Atelier from Minerva. Both of these programs, like ProArtisan, ran in full-screen mode outside the desktop, used the 256-colour mode 15, and offered their own interfaces. Atelier, however, was able to multi-task, providing the ability to switch back to the desktop and find applications still running and accessible. Unlike other contemporary art programs, it also took advantage of the system's own anti-aliased fonts. One unusual feature was the ability to wrap areas of the canvas around solid objects. Both programs also offered similar path editing facilities to ProArtisan, with it being noted that Art Nouveau's limitations in this regard might be remedied by using the support already present in RISC OS and provided by the Draw application functionality, as ProArtisan 2 eventually demonstrated.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=63145
| 869,984 |
1,131,987 |
In a simple form, the gaseous detection device (GDD) employs an electrode with a voltage up to several hundred volts to collect the secondary electrons in the ESEM. The principle of this SE detector is best described by considering two parallel plates at a distance d apart with a potential difference V generating a uniform electric field E = V/d, and is shown in the of the GDD. Secondary electrons released from the specimen at the point of beam impingement are driven by the field force towards the anode electrode but the electrons also move radially due to thermal diffusion from collisions with the gas molecules. The variation of electron collection fraction R within anode radius r vs. r/d, for fixed values of anode bias V, at constant product of (pressure·distance) p·d = 1 Pa·m, is given by the accompanying of the GDD. All of the secondary electrons are detected if the parameters of this device are properly designed. This clearly shows that practically 100% efficiency is possible within a small radius of collector electrode with only moderate bias. At these levels of bias, no catastrophic discharge takes place. Instead, a controlled proportional multiplication of electrons is generated as the electrons collide with gas molecules releasing new electrons on their way to the anode. This principle of avalanche amplification operates similarly to proportional counters used to detect high energy radiation. The signal thus picked up by the anode is further amplified and processed to modulate a display screen and form an image as in SEM. Notably, in this design and the associated gaseous electron amplification, the product p·d is an independent parameter, so that there is a wide range of values of pressure and electrode geometry which can be described by the same characteristics. The consequence of this analysis is that the secondary electrons are possible to detect in a gaseous environment even at high pressures, depending on the engineering efficacy of any given instrument.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9778156
| 1,131,395 |
803,929 |
There are several factors that contribute to the exceptional performance of a skill: memory capacities, knowledge structures, problem-solving abilities, and attentional abilities. They all play key roles, each with its own degree of importance based on the procedures and skills required, the context, and the intended goals of the performance. Using these individualized abilities to compare how experts and novices differ regarding both cognitive and sensorimotor skills has provided a wealth of insight into what makes an expert excellent, and conversely, what sorts of mechanisms novices lack. Evidence suggests that an often overlooked condition for skill excellence is attentional mechanisms involved in the effective utilization and deployment of procedural memory during the real-time execution of skills. Research suggests that early in skill learning, execution is controlled by a set of unintegrated procedural steps that are held in working memory and attended to one-by-one in a step-by-step fashion. The problem with this is that attention is a limited resource. Therefore, this step-by-step process of controlling task performance occupies attentional capacity which in turn reduces the performer's ability to focus on other aspects of the performance, such as decision making, fine motor-skills, self-monitoring of energy level and "seeing the field or ice or court". However, with practice, procedural knowledge develops, which operates largely outside of working memory, and thus allows for skills to be executed more automatically. This, of course, has a very positive effect on overall performance by freeing the mind of the need to closely monitor and attend to the more basic, mechanical skills, so that attention can be paid to other processes.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21312313
| 803,500 |
367,075 |
The announcement of a new purported clean source of energy came at a crucial time: adults still remembered the 1973 oil crisis and the problems caused by oil dependence, anthropogenic global warming was starting to become notorious, the anti-nuclear movement was labeling nuclear power plants as dangerous and getting them closed, people had in mind the consequences of strip mining, acid rain, the greenhouse effect and the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which happened the day after the announcement. In the press conference, Chase N. Peterson, Fleischmann and Pons, backed by the solidity of their scientific credentials, repeatedly assured the journalists that cold fusion would solve environmental problems, and would provide a limitless inexhaustible source of clean energy, using only seawater as fuel. They said the results had been confirmed dozens of times and they had no doubts about them. In the accompanying press release Fleischmann was quoted saying: "What we have done is to open the door of a new research area, our indications are that the discovery will be relatively easy to make into a usable technology for generating heat and power, but continued work is needed, first, to further understand the science and secondly, to determine its value to energy economics."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=7463
| 366,883 |
859,327 |
Five classes of visual opsins are found in vertebrates. All but one of these developed prior to the divergence of Cyclostomata and fish. The five opsin classes are variously adapted depending on the light spectrum encountered. As light travels through water, longer wavelengths, such as reds and yellows, are absorbed more quickly than the shorter wavelengths of the greens and blues. This creates a gradient in the spectral power density, with the average wavelength becoming shorter as water depth increases. The visual opsins in fish are more sensitive to the range of light in their habitat and depth. However, land environments do not vary in wavelength composition, so that the opsin sensitivities among land vertebrates does not vary much. This directly contributes to the significant presence of communication colors. Color vision gives distinct selective advantages, such as better recognition of predators, food, and mates. Indeed, it is possible that simple sensory-neural mechanisms may selectively control general behavior patterns, such as escape, foraging, and hiding. Many examples of wavelength-specific behaviors have been identified, in two primary groups: Below 450 nm, associated with direct light, and above 450 nm, associated with reflected light. As opsin molecules were tuned to detect different wavelengths of light, at some point color vision developed when the photoreceptor cells used differently tuned opsins. This may have happened at any of the early stages of the eye's evolution, and may have disappeared and reevolved as relative selective pressures on the lineage varied.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5645086
| 858,869 |
1,375,145 |
Humans have innate wonder, exploring many topics through experience and perception. From this wonder, individuals rationally reflects on their own experiences about a specific topic. Then the individual practices dialectics, examining what others have said about the topic being explored with the hopes of finding a particular knowledge about the topic. Theoretical psychology serves as the bridge between the philosophical roots of psychology and the present day empirical psychology. This bridge has an emphasis and focus on forming concepts from moments of explicit behavior that are observable, excluding introspective mental events within individual consciousness. Psychological laws are created from these observable behaviors that are derived from one concept that also contain concepts from the individual's environment of internal physiological states. These laws are categorized into causal (statistical) or deterministic/mechanistic (nonstatistical) categories which relate simultaneous parallel traits or predict future from present or past respectively. Then these laws are organized into theories based on connections logically deduced together and open to new laws yet to be discovered or empirically verified. The ultimate and logically possible goal of theoretical psychology is to create an exact and comprehensive psychological theory. However, the concepts that are immediately observable are still abstract and difficult to define even in a basic law in an important solid theory as they relate to no physical object we can make sense of or interact with using our sensorium and empirical approaches. They are not instantiated in the world and in virtue of this they are called theoretical concepts.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=981440
| 1,374,386 |
567,808 |
Research on intelligent code completion began in 1957, with spelling checkers for bitmap images of cursive writing and special applications to find records in databases despite incorrect entries. In 1961, Les Earnest, who headed the research on this budding technology, saw it necessary to include the first spell checker that accessed a list of 10,000 acceptable words. Ralph Gorin, a graduate student under Earnest at the time, created the first true spell-check program written as an application (rather than research) for general English text. SPELL, for the DEC PDP-10 at Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL), was published in February 1971. Gorin wrote the program in assembly for faster action; he made it by searching a word list for plausible correct spellings that differ by a single letter or adjacent-letter transpositions, and presenting them to the user. Gorin made SPELL publicly accessible, as was done with most SAIL programs, and it soon spread around the world via the then-new ARPANET, about a decade before personal computers came into general use. SPELL and its algorithms and data structures inspired the Unix program Ispell.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=667170
| 567,518 |
345,794 |
Despite these experiments, Lavoisier's antiphlogistic approach remained unaccepted by many other chemists. Lavoisier labored to provide definitive proof of the composition of water, attempting to use this in support of his theory. Working with Jean-Baptiste Meusnier, Lavoisier passed water through a red-hot iron gun barrel, allowing the oxygen to form an oxide with the iron and the hydrogen to emerge from the end of the pipe. He submitted his findings of the composition of water to the Académie des Sciences in April 1784, reporting his figures to eight decimal places. Opposition responded to this further experimentation by stating that Lavoisier continued to draw the incorrect conclusions and that his experiment demonstrated the displacement of phlogiston from iron by the combination of water with the metal. Lavoisier developed a new apparatus which used a pneumatic trough, a set of balances, a thermometer, and a barometer, all calibrated carefully. Thirty savants were invited to witness the decomposition and synthesis of water using this apparatus, convincing many who attended of the correctness of Lavoisier's theories. This demonstration established water as a compound of oxygen and hydrogen with great certainty for those who viewed it. The dissemination of the experiment, however, proved subpar, as it lacked the details to properly display the amount of precision taken in the measurements. The paper ended with a hasty statement that the experiment was "more than sufficient to lay hold of the certainty of the proposition" of the composition of water and stated that the methods used in the experiment would unite chemistry with the other physical sciences and advance discoveries.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1822
| 345,613 |
122,717 |
Miller and Cohen draw explicitly upon an earlier theory of visual attention that conceptualises perception of visual scenes in terms of competition among multiple representations – such as colors, individuals, or objects. Selective visual attention acts to 'bias' this competition in favour of certain selected features or representations. For example, imagine that you are waiting at a busy train station for a friend who is wearing a red coat. You are able to selectively narrow the focus of your attention to search for red objects, in the hope of identifying your friend. Desimone and Duncan argue that the brain achieves this by selectively increasing the gain of neurons responsive to the color red, such that output from these neurons is more likely to reach a downstream processing stage, and, as a consequence, to guide behaviour. According to Miller and Cohen, this selective attention mechanism is in fact just a special case of cognitive control – one in which the biasing occurs in the sensory domain. According to Miller and Cohen's model, the PFC can exert control over input (sensory) or output (response) neurons, as well as over assemblies involved in memory, or emotion. Cognitive control is mediated by reciprocal PFC connectivity with the sensory and motor cortices, and with the limbic system. Within their approach, thus, the term "cognitive control" is applied to any situation where a biasing signal is used to promote task-appropriate responding, and control thus becomes a crucial component of a wide range of psychological constructs such as selective attention, error monitoring, decision-making, memory inhibition, and response inhibition.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=3704475
| 122,668 |
2,136,587 |
The Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer (RIMS) consisted of a retarding potential analyzer for energy analysis in series with a magnetic ion-mass spectrometer for mass analysis. Multiple sensor heads permitted the determination of the thermal plasma flow characteristics. This instrument was designed to operate in two basic commandable modes: a high-altitude mode in which the density, temperature, and bulk-flow characteristics of principally H+, He+, and O+ ions were measured; and a low-altitude mode that concentrated on the composition in the 1- to 32-units range. This investigation provided information on: (1) the densities of H+, He+, and O+ ions in the ionosphere, plasmasphere, plasma trough, and polar cap (including the density distribution along the magnetic vector in the vicinity of the satellite apogee); (2) the temperature of H+, He+, and O+ ions in the ionosphere, plasmasphere, plasma trough, and polar cap (energy range 0-45 eV); (3) the bulk flow velocities of H+, He+, and O+ in the plasmapause, plasma trough and polar cap; (4) the changing character of the cold plasma density, temperature, and bulk flow in regions of interaction with hot plasma such as at the boundary between the plasmasphere and the ring current; and (5) the detailed composition of ionospheric plasma in the 1-to 32-units range. He++ and O++ were also measured. The instrument consisted of three detector heads. One looked out in the radial direction, and the other two were along the plus and minus spin-axis directions. Each detector had a 55° half-cone acceptance angle. The detector heads had a gridded, weakly collimating aperture where the retarding analysis was performed, followed by a parallel plate ceramic magnetic mass analyzer with two separate exit slits corresponding to ion masses in the ratio 1:4. Ions exiting from these slits were detected with electron multipliers. In the apogee mode, the thermal particle fluxes were measured while the potential on a set of retarding grids was stepped through a sequence of settings. In the perigee mode, the retarding grids were grounded and the detector utilized a continuous acceleration potential sweep that focused the mass ranges from 1 to 8, and 4 to 32 units. Time resolution was 16 msecond.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=69341287
| 2,135,359 |
1,540,733 |
The Otago settlement was established in 1848 and had an overwhelmingly Presbyterian character. There were very few Catholics there. However, in March 1861 gold was discovered at the Lindis Pass and Gabriel Read made public his successful discovery of gold at Tuapeka in June. The situation dramatically changed. Every steamer reaching Port Chalmers or Bluff was packed with would-be miners, many of whom were Catholics. Accordingly, Bishop Viard (Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington in which Dunedin was located at that time) appointed Father Delphin Moreau SM, who had visited Otago in April 1859, to be its first resident priest. Mass was said in the courthouse until St Joseph's Church was completed in July 1862. In 1864 the Catholic population of Otago was estimated at over 15,000; chapels (many of them rough and ready) sprang up in the diggings and main towns, and schools came into existence. A school was opened in 1863 and was called St Joseph's School (it still exists as a primary school). "When the old wooden Provincial Government buildings were replaced by new brick ones, the former were sold. Father Moreau secured some of them for his school. One large room was put on the side of the Rattrey Street gully, below the church. It was divided into two parts – one for the boys and one for the girls. Other parts of the buildings were used as a coach house and stables. In 1864, the boys at the school were taught by Mr Shepherd and the girls were taught by Miss Campion. In 1870 Mr Shepherd still taught the boys and the girls were taught by Miss Conway. "Father Moreau took a great interest in the schools and was constantly among the children in the playground, always wearing his cassock which was green with age; he knew every child and was loved by them all. His hope was to obtain brothers and nuns to staff his schools."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4966736
| 1,539,860 |
1,303,553 |
His father was the business partner of his maternal grandfather in lace manufacturing, a traditional industry in Calais. Debreu was orphaned at an early age, as his father committed suicide and his mother died of natural causes. Prior to the start of World War II, he received his baccalauréat and went to Ambert to begin preparing for the entrance examination of a grande école. Later on, he moved from Ambert to Grenoble to complete his preparation, both places being in Vichy France during World War II. In 1941, he was admitted to the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, along with Marcel Boiteux. He was influenced by Henri Cartan and the Bourbaki writers. When he was about to take the final examinations in 1944, the Normandy landings occurred and he, instead, enlisted in the French army. He was transferred for training to Algeria and then served in the occupying French forces in Germany until July 1945. Debreu passed the Agrégation de Mathématiques exams at the end of 1945 and the beginning of 1946. By this time, he had become interested in economics, particularly in the general equilibrium theory of Léon Walras. From 1946 to 1948, he was an assistant in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. During these two and a half years, he made the transition from mathematics to economics. In 1948, Debreu went to the United States on a Rockefeller Fellowship which allowed him to visit several American universities, as well as those in Uppsala and Oslo in 1949–50.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=474724
| 1,302,837 |
37,979 |
Despite what English naturalist Charles Darwin had hypothesised in his 1871 book "Descent of Man", many late-19th century evolutionary naturalists postulated that Asia, not Africa, was the birthplace of humankind as it is midway between Europe and America, providing optimal dispersal routes throughout the world (the Out of Asia theory). Among these was German naturalist Ernst Haeckel, who argued that the first human species evolved on the now-disproven hypothetical continent "Lemuria" in what is now Southeast Asia, from a species he termed ""Pithecanthropus alalus"" ("speechless apeman"). "Lemuria" had supposedly sunk below the Indian Ocean, so no fossils could be found to prove this. Nevertheless, Haeckel's model inspired Dutch scientist Eugène Dubois to journey to the Dutch East Indies. Because no directed expedition had ever discovered human fossils (the few known had all been discovered by accident), and the economy was strained by the Long Depression, the Dutch government refused to fund Dubois. In 1887, he enlisted in the Dutch East India Army as a medical officer, and was able to secure a post in 1887 in the Indies to search for his "missing link" in his spare time. On Java, he found a skullcap in 1891 and a femur in 1892 (Java Man) dating to the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene at the Trinil site along the Solo River, which he named "Pithecanthropus erectus" ("upright apeman") in 1893. He attempted unsuccessfully to convince the European scientific community that he had found an upright-walking ape-man. Given few fossils of ancient humans had even been discovered at the time, they largely dismissed his findings as a malformed non-human ape.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19554533
| 37,966 |
29,689 |
At a scientific conference on 26–28 February 1942 at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, called by the Army Weapons Office, Heisenberg presented a lecture to Reichs officials on energy acquisition from nuclear fission. The lecture, entitled "Die theoretischen Grundlagen für die Energiegewinnung aus der Uranspaltung" ("The theoretical basis for energy generation from uranium fission") was, as Heisenberg confessed after the Second World War in a letter to Samuel Goudsmit, "adapted to the intellectual level of a Reichs Minister". Heisenberg lectured on the enormous energy potential of nuclear fission, stating that 250 million electron volts could be released through the fission of an atomic nucleus. Heisenberg stressed that pure U-235 had to be obtained to achieve a chain reaction. He explored various ways of obtaining isotope in its pure form, including uranium enrichment and an alternative layered method of normal uranium and a moderator in a machine. This machine, he noted, could be used in practical ways to fuel vehicles, ships and submarines. Heisenberg stressed the importance of the Army Weapons Office's financial and material support for this scientific endeavour. A second scientific conference followed. Lectures were heard on problems of modern physics with decisive importance for the national defense and economy. The conference was attended by Bernhard Rust, the Reichs Minister of Science, Education and National Culture. At the conference Reichs Minister Rust decided to take the nuclear project away from the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. The Reichs Research Council was to take on the project. In April 1942 the army returned the Physics Institute to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, naming Heisenberg as Director at the Institute. With this appointment at the KWIP, Heisenberg obtained his first professorship. Peter Debye was still director of the institute, but had gone on leave to the United States after he had refused to become a German citizen when the HWA took administrative control of the KWIP. Heisenberg still also had his department of physics at the University of Leipzig where work had been done for the "Uranverein" by Robert Döpel and his wife Klara Döpel.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33130
| 29,679 |
579,543 |
A main distinction to understand when looking at psychology and culture is the difference between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. People from an individualistic culture typically demonstrate an independent view of the self; the focus is usually on personal achievement. Members of a collectivistic society have more of a focus on the group (interdependent view of self), usually focusing on things that will benefit the group. Research has shown such differences of the self when comparing collectivistic and individualistic cultures: The Fundamental Attribution Error has been shown to be more common in America (individualistic) as compared to in India (collectivistic). Along these same lines, the self-serving bias was again shown as more common among Americans than Japanese individuals. This can be seen in a study involving an animation of fish, wherein Western viewers interpreted the scene of a fish swimming away from a school as an expression of individualism and independence, while Eastern individuals wondered what was wrong with the singular fish and concluded that the school had kicked it out. Another study showed that in coverage of the same instance of violent crime, Western news focused on innate character flaws and the failings of the individual while Chinese news pointed out the lack of relationships of the perpetrator in a foreign environment and the failings of society. This is not to imply that collectivism and individualism are completely dichotomous, but these two cultural orientations are to be understood more so as a spectrum. Each representation is at either end; thus, some members of individualistic cultures may hold collectivistic values, and some collectivistic individual may hold some individualist values. The concepts of collectivism and individualism show a general idea of the values of a specific ethnic culture but should not be juxtaposed in competition.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2700105
| 579,246 |
1,870,767 |
The Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled from an ice pad constructed to protect sensitive arctic tundra with drilling operations designed to verify the nature of one of fourteen gas hydrate prospects previously identified by the project within the Milne Point Unit. The Doyon 14 rig began drilling of the test well on February 3, 2007. Field operations included the acquisition of a full suite of Wireline logs, over 150 meters of continuous core, and formation pressure test data and concluded field operations on February 21, 2007. The well was drilled vertically to a depth of 914 meters below land surface. Subsequent analysis of the logging data confirmed the existence of a total of approximately 30.5 meters (100 ft) of combined 60-75% saturated gas hydrate-bearing sand in two distinct reservoirs. The hydrates in these sand-rich intervals in the North Slope region mainly occur as pore-filling material in sand reservoirs. Geochemical studies revealed the gas trapped in ANS hydrate accumulations is predominantly thermogenic methane that likely migrated upwards along faults and fractures into shallower reservoirs from the existing, deeper subsurface oil and natural gas accumulations of the North Slope region. The combined scientific results of the field program are reported in the February 2011 (Volume 28, Number 2) issue of Elsevier's Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32303587
| 1,869,690 |
1,212,523 |
Of electron donors, organic matter has the most negative redox potential. It can consist of deposits from regions where sunlight is available or produced by local organisms. Fresh material is more easily utilized than aged. Terrestrial organic matter (mainly from plants) is typically harder to process than marine (phytoplankton). Some organisms break down organic compounds using fermentation and hydrolysis, making it possible for others to convert it back to carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is a good energy source, but competition tends to make it scarce. It is particularly rich in hydrothermal fluids where it is produced by serpentinization. Multiple species can combine fermentation with methanogenesis and iron oxidation with hydrogen consumption. Methane is mostly found in marine sediments, in gaseous form (dissolved or free) or in methane hydrates. About 20% comes from abiotic sources (breakdown of organic matter or serpentinization) and 80% from biotic sources (which reduce organic compounds such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and acetate). Over 90% of methane is oxidized by microbes before it reaches the surface; this activity is "one of the most important controls on greenhouse gas emissions and climate on Earth." Reduced sulfur compounds such as elemental sulfur, hydrogen sulfide (HS) and pyrite (FeS) are found in hydrothermal vents in basaltic crust, where they precipitate out when metal-rich fluids contact seawater. Reduced iron compounds in sediments are mainly deposited or produced by anaerobic reduction of iron oxides.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=61218171
| 1,211,871 |
1,826,955 |
Many textbooks describe carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in easily understood terms: carbon nanotubes are tubular structures made entirely of rolled-up layers of graphene. The diameters of CNTs ranges from about one nanometer to tens of nanometers, while their lengths can be up to centimeters, much greater than the diameters. In general, the hollow geometry of CNTs leads to large specific surface areas, which makes CNTs extremely attractive supports for heterogeneous catalysts. Another advantage of CNTs is their relatively high oxidation stability which is induced by their structural integrity and chemical inertness. Additionally, CNTs have exceptional physical properties including electrical conductivity, mechanical strength and thermal conductivity, which are important factors for catalyst supports. CNTs can be either metallic or semiconductive, depending on their helicity and diameter, and this property can greatly affect charge transfer processes. CNTs possess a very large Young's modulus, as well as a great tensile strength, and their flexibility property makes them an ideal component for applications in composite materials. CNTs also have good thermal conductivity, which helps to prevent the agglomeration and growth of small nanoparticles during postannealing treatments, and stabilize newly formed phases.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33178140
| 1,825,916 |
1,436,307 |
When AuNRs are exposed to NIR light, the oscillating electromagnetic field of the light causes the free electrons of the AuNR to collectively coherently oscillate. Changing the size and shape of AuNRs changes the wavelength that gets absorbed. A desired wavelength would be between 700-1000 nm because biological tissue is optically transparent at these wavelengths. While all AuNP are sensitive to change in their shape and size, Au nanorods properties are extremely sensitive to any change in any of their dimensions regarding their length and width or their aspect ratio. When light is shone on a metal NP, the NP forms a dipole oscillation along the direction of the electric field. When the oscillation reaches its maximum, this frequency is called the surface plasmon resonance (SPR). AuNR have two SPR spectrum bands: one in the NIR region caused by its longitudinal oscillation which tends to be stronger with a longer wavelength and one in the visible region caused by the transverse electronic oscillation which tends to be weaker with a shorter wavelength. The SPR characteristics account for the increase in light absorption for the particle. As the AuNR aspect ratio increases, the absorption wavelength is redshifted and light scattering efficiency is increased. The electrons excited by the NIR lose energy quickly after absorption via electron-electron collisions, and as these electrons relax back down, the energy is released as a phonon that then heats the environment of the AuNP which in cancer treatments would be the cancerous cells. This process is observed when a laser has a continuous wave onto the AuNP. Pulsed laser light beams generally results in the AuNP melting or ablation of the particle. Continuous wave lasers take minutes rather than a single pulse time for a pulsed laser, continues wave lasers are able to heat larger areas at once.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11693664
| 1,435,499 |
1,108,232 |
Temperatures measured after year 1957 until the early 2000s show a difference in trend on the Antarctic Peninsula and the continental interior. According to a study in 2009, West Antarctica increased in temperature by 0.176 ± 0.06 °C per decade between year 1957 and 2006. Another study in year 2020 show a cooling of the air temperature by 0.7 °C per decade from year 1986 to 2006 at Lake Hoare station. Both studies indicate that change in temperature may alter the wind pattern, and according to another study in year 2020 the westerlies winds around the South Pole have got more intense in the last half of the twentieth century. Same study indicates that the Antarctic Peninsula was the fastest-warming place on Earth, closely followed by West Antarctica, but these trends weakened in the early 21st-century. Conversely, the South Pole in East Antarctica barely warmed last century, but in the last three decades the temperature increase there has been more than three times greater than the global average, warming by 0.61 ± 0.34 °C per decade. In February 2020, the continent recorded its highest temperature of 18.3 °C, which was a degree higher than the previous record of 17.5 °C in March 2015. Models predict that Antarctic temperatures will be up 4 °C, on average, by 2100 and this will be accompanied by a 30% increase in precipitation and a 30% decrease in total sea ice. A main component of climate variability in Antarctica is the Southern Annular Mode, which showed strengthened winds around Antarctica in summer of the later decades of the 20th century, associated with cooler temperatures over the continent. The trend was at a scale unprecedented over the last 600 years; the most dominant driver of this mode of variability is likely the depletion of ozone above the continent.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46905624
| 1,107,668 |
756,293 |
Komarov then activated the manually deployed reserve chute, but it became tangled with the drogue chute, which did not release as intended. As a result, the Soyuz descent module fell to Earth in Orenburg Oblast almost entirely unimpeded, at about . A rescue helicopter spotted the descent module lying on its side with the parachute spread across the ground on fire. The retrorockets then started firing which concerned the rescuers since they were supposed to activate a few moments prior to touchdown. By the time they landed and approached, the descent module was in flames with black smoke filling the air and streams of molten metal dripping from the exterior. The entire base of the capsule burned through. By this point, it was obvious that Komarov had not survived, but there was no code signal for a cosmonaut's death, so the rescuers fired a signal flare calling for medical assistance. Another group of rescuers in an aircraft then arrived and attempted to extinguish the blazing spacecraft with portable fire extinguishers. This proved insufficient and they instead began using shovels to throw dirt onto it. The descent module then completely disintegrated, leaving only a pile of debris topped by the entry hatch. When the fire at last ended, the rescuers were able to dig through the rubble to find Komarov strapped into the center couch, his body had turned into charred clothing and flesh. Doctors pronounced the cause of death to be from multiple blunt-force injuries. The body was transported to Moscow for an official autopsy in a military hospital where the cause of death was verified to match the field doctors' conclusions.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=98350
| 755,890 |
279,254 |
Most estimates for the duration of a polarity transition are between 1,000 and 10,000 years, but some estimates are as quick as a human lifetime. Studies of 16.7-million-year-old lava flows on Steens Mountain, Oregon, indicate that the Earth's magnetic field is capable of shifting at a rate of up to 6 degrees per day. This was initially met with skepticism from paleomagnetists. Even if changes occur that quickly in the core, the mantle, which is a semiconductor, is thought to remove variations with periods less than a few months. A variety of possible rock magnetic mechanisms were proposed that would lead to a false signal. However, paleomagnetic studies of other sections from the same region (the Oregon Plateau flood basalts) give consistent results. It appears that the reversed-to-normal polarity transition that marks the end of Chron C5Cr () contains a series of reversals and excursions. In addition, geologists Scott Bogue of Occidental College and Jonathan Glen of the US Geological Survey, sampling lava flows in Battle Mountain, Nevada, found evidence for a brief, several-year-long interval during a reversal when the field direction changed by over 50 degrees. The reversal was dated to approximately 15million years ago. In August 2018, researchers reported a reversal lasting only 200 years. But a 2019 paper estimated that the most recent reversal, 780,000 years ago, lasted 22,000 years.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2203131
| 279,104 |
1,143,951 |
Sensory substitutions have also been successful with the emergence of wearable haptic actuators like vibrotactile motors, solenoids, peltier diodes, etc. At the Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing at Arizona State University, researchers have developed technologies that enable people who are blind to perceive social situational information using wearable vibrotactile belts (Haptic Belt) and gloves (VibroGlove). Both technologies use miniature cameras that are mounted on a pair of glasses worn by the user who is blind. The Haptic Belt provides vibrations that convey the direction and distance at which a person is standing in front of a user, while the VibroGlove uses spatio-temporal mapping of vibration patterns to convey facial expressions of the interaction partner. Alternatively, it has been shown that even very simple cues indicating the presence or absence of obstacles (through small vibration modules located at strategic places in the body) can be useful for navigation, gait stabilization and reduced anxiety when evolving in an unknown space. This approach, called the "Haptic Radar" has been studied since 2005 by researchers at the University of Tokyo in collaboration with the University of Rio de Janeiro. Similar products include the Eyeronman vest and belt, and the forehead retina system.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1903855
| 1,143,351 |
724,460 |
Several researchers, including Nobel Prize winner Dr. Richard Smalley (1943–2005), attacked the notion of universal assemblers, leading to a rebuttal from Drexler and colleagues, and eventually to an exchange of letters. Smalley argued that chemistry is extremely complicated, reactions are hard to control, and that a universal assembler is science fiction. Drexler and colleagues, however, noted that Drexler never proposed universal assemblers able to make absolutely anything, but instead proposed more limited assemblers able to make a very wide variety of things. They challenged the relevance of Smalley's arguments to the more specific proposals advanced in "Nanosystems". Also, Smalley argued that nearly all of modern chemistry involves reactions that take place in a solvent (usually water), because the small molecules of a solvent contribute many things, such as lowering binding energies for transition states. Since nearly all known chemistry requires a solvent, Smalley felt that Drexler's proposal to use a high vacuum environment was not feasible. However, Drexler addresses this in Nanosystems by showing mathematically that well designed catalysts can provide the effects of a solvent and can fundamentally be made even more efficient than a solvent/enzyme reaction could ever be. It is noteworthy that, contrary to Smalley's opinion that enzymes require water, "Not only do enzymes work vigorously in anhydrous organic media, but in this unnatural milieu they acquire remarkable properties such as greatly enhanced stability, radically altered substrate and enantiomeric specificities, molecular memory, and the ability to catalyse unusual reactions."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19637
| 724,080 |
1,906,060 |
The German invasion of Poland began on 1 September 1939. On the advice – seriously flawed, as it turned out – of British general, Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, resident in Poland, on 5 September, the family fled East. They went to stay in Mołodów, Polesie Voivodeship on the estate of Henryk Skirmunt and his sister, Maria, the younger siblings of Konstanty Skirmunt, Polish ambassador in London (1919–1934). The plan had been to overwinter there and that Ciechanowiecki should attend school in nearby Pinsk. On 17 September invading Soviet units laid siege to the small town. Elements of local Belarusian activists presented an ultimatum to the Skirmunts: that the 150 Polish military police stationed on their estate should lay down their arms or all the buildings would be set alight. The unworldly Skirmunts fell for the trap; the police were all shot with their own weapons, the elderly Skirmunts were slaughtered in the woods and all the premises looted. Ciechanowiecki and his family managed to flee the horror with the retreating Polish columns of general Franciszek Kleeberg. Ciechanowiecki later stated laconically: ""...coś tam pomagałem, mam nawet krzyż za kampanię wrześniową jako ochotnik."" – "I helped out a bit, I even have a cross for the September campaign, as a volunteer." They travelled via Kamien Koszyrski to Kowel, then by train, strafed by Soviet planes, on to Lwów. There they suffered a harsh winter and a failed attempt in December to cross the "Green frontier" into Romania. They left the city in March 1940, just two days ahead of the KGB's arrival to start mass deportations. Recrossing the new "frontier", they finally returned to Warsaw in early May 1940.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=28810330
| 1,904,964 |
1,978,163 |
Dipen Sinha of the Los Alamos National Laboratory developed ARS in 1989. Most published work in acoustics has been in the ultrasonic region and their instrumentation has dealt with propagation through a medium and not a resonance effect. One of the first, if not the first publication related to acoustic resonance was in 1988 in the journal of Applied Spectroscopy. The researchers designed a V shaped quartz rod instrument that utilized ultrasonic waves to obtain signatures of microliters of different liquids. The researchers did not have any type of classification statistics or identification protocols; the researchers simply observed ultrasonic resonance signatures with these different materials. Specifically, Sinha was working on developing an ARS instrument that can detect nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. By 1996, he had successfully developed a portable ARS unit that can be used in a battlefield. The unit can detect and identify deadly chemicals that are stored in containers in matter of minutes. In addition, the instrument was further developed by a different research group (Dr. Robert Lodder, University of Kentucky) and their work was also published in Applied Spectroscopy. The researchers created a V-shaped instrument that could breach the sonic and ultrasonic regions creating more versatility. The term "acoustic resonance spectrometer" was coined for the V-shaped spectrometer as well. Since the study in 1994, the ARS has evolved and been used to differentiate wood species, differentiate pharmaceutical tablets, determine burn rates and determine dissolution rates of tablets. In 2007 Analytical Chemistry featured the past and current work of the lab of Dr. Lodder discussing the potential of acoustics in the analytical chemistry and engineering fields.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21807867
| 1,977,025 |
1,706,843 |
Carnoy and Rothstein write that PISA spokesman Schleicher has been quoted saying that "international education benchmarks make disappointing reading for the U.S." and that "in the U.S. in particular, poverty was destiny. Low-income American students did (and still do) much worse than high-income ones on PISA. But poor kids in Finland and Canada do far better relative to their more privileged peers, despite their disadvantages" (Ripley 2011). Carnoy and Rothstein state that their report's analysis shows Schleicher and Ripley's claims to be untrue. They further fault the way PISA's results have persistently been released to the press before experts have time to evaluate them; and they charge the OECD reports with inconsistency in explaining such factors as the role of parental education. Carnoy and Rothstein also note with alarm that the US secretary of education Arne Duncan regularly consults with PISA's Andreas Schleicher in formulating educational policy before other experts have been given a chance to analyze the results. Carnoy and Rothstein's report (written before the release of the 2011 database) concludes:We are most certain of this: To make judgments only on the basis of national average scores, on only one test, at only one point in time, without comparing trends on different tests that purport to measure the same thing, and without disaggregation by social class groups, is the worst possible choice. But, unfortunately, this is how most policymakers and analysts approach the field.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=50185803
| 1,705,885 |
327,713 |
The Protestant Reformation inspired a literal interpretation of the Bible, with concepts of creation that conflicted with the findings of an emerging science seeking explanations congruent with the mechanical philosophy of René Descartes and the empiricism of the Baconian method. After the turmoil of the English Civil War, the Royal Society wanted to show that science did not threaten religious and political stability. John Ray developed an influential natural theology of rational order; in his taxonomy, species were static and fixed, their adaptation and complexity designed by God, and varieties showed minor differences caused by local conditions. In God's benevolent design, carnivores caused mercifully swift death, but the suffering caused by parasitism was a puzzling problem. The biological classification introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1735 also viewed species as fixed according to the divine plan. In 1766, Georges Buffon suggested that some similar species, such as horses and asses, or lions, tigers, and leopards, might be varieties descended from a common ancestor. The Ussher chronology of the 1650s had calculated creation at 4004 BC, but by the 1780s geologists assumed a much older world. Wernerians thought strata were deposits from shrinking seas, but James Hutton proposed a self-maintaining infinite cycle, anticipating uniformitarianism.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29932
| 327,539 |
61,600 |
A wide range of instrumentation is used by electrical engineers. For simple control circuits and alarms, a basic multimeter measuring voltage, current, and resistance may suffice. Where time-varying signals need to be studied, the oscilloscope is also an ubiquitous instrument. In RF engineering and high frequency telecommunications, spectrum analyzers and network analyzers are used. In some disciplines, safety can be a particular concern with instrumentation. For instance, medical electronics designers must take into account that much lower voltages than normal can be dangerous when electrodes are directly in contact with internal body fluids. Power transmission engineering also has great safety concerns due to the high voltages used; although voltmeters may in principle be similar to their low voltage equivalents, safety and calibration issues make them very different. Many disciplines of electrical engineering use tests specific to their discipline. Audio electronics engineers use audio test sets consisting of a signal generator and a meter, principally to measure level but also other parameters such as harmonic distortion and noise. Likewise, information technology have their own test sets, often specific to a particular data format, and the same is true of television broadcasting.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9531
| 61,575 |
341,968 |
Historically, the “Monoamine Imbalance” hypothesis of depression played a dominant role in psychiatry and drug development. However, while the elevated NE, 5HT, or DA elicited by traditional antidepressants is quick, there is a significant delay in clinical efficacy and often inadequate treatment response. As neuroscientists pursued this avenue of research, clinical and preclinical data across multiple modalities began to converge on pathways involved in neuroplasticity. They found a strong inverse relationship with the number of synapses and severity of depression symptoms and discovered that in addition to their neurotransmitter effect, traditional antidepressants improved neuroplasticity but over a significantly protracted time course of weeks or months. The search for faster acting antidepressants found success in the pursuit of Ketamine, a well-known anesthetic agent, that was found to have potent anti-depressant effects after a single infusion due to its capacity to rapidly increase the number of dendritic spines and to restore aspects of functional connectivity. Additional neuroplasticity promoting compounds with therapeutic effects that were both rapid and enduring have been identified through classes of compounds including serotonergic psychedelics, cholinergic scopolamine, and other novel compounds. To differentiate between traditional antidepressants focused on monoamine modulation and this new category of fast acting antidepressants that achieve therapeutic effects through neuroplasticity, the term psychoplastogen was introduced.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1948637
| 341,787 |
463,689 |
The centrifugal separation of isotopes was first suggested by Aston and Lindemann in 1919 and the first successful experiments were reported by Beams and Haynes on isotopes of chlorine in 1936. However attempts to use the technology during the Manhattan project were unproductive. In modern times it is the main method used throughout the world to enrich uranium and as a result remains a fairly secretive process, hindering a more widespread uptake of the technology. In general a feed of UF gas is connected to a cylinder that is rotated at high speed. Near the outer edge of the cylinder heavier gas molecules containing U-238 collect, while molecules containing U-235 concentrate at the center and are then fed to another cascade stage. Use of gaseous centrifugal technology to enrich isotopes is desirable as power consumption is greatly reduced when compared to more conventional techniques such as diffusion plants since fewer cascade steps are required to reach similar degrees of separation. In fact, gas centrifuges using uranium hexafluoride have largely replaced gaseous diffusion technology for uranium enrichment. As well as requiring less energy to achieve the same separation, far smaller scale plants are possible, making them an economic possibility for a small nation attempting to produce a nuclear weapon. Pakistan is believed to have used this method in developing its nuclear weapons.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37197
| 463,459 |
2,162,906 |
Developing these technologies for future A/C, there is currently (2011 – 2015) a running project, partially funded by the European Commission, called "SARISTU" (Smart Intelligent Aircraft Structures) with a total budget of €51,000,000. This initiative is coordinated by Airbus and brings together 64 partners from 16 European countries. SARISTU focuses on the cost reduction of air travel through a variety of individual applications as well as their combination. Specifically, the integration of different conformal morphing concepts in a laminar wing is intended to improve aircraft performance through a 6% drag reduction, with a positive effect on fuel consumption and required take-off fuel load. A side effect will be a decrease of up to 6 dB(A) of the airframe generated noise, thus reducing the impact of air traffic noise in the vicinity of airports. Recent calculations and Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis indicate that the target is likely to be exceeded but will still need to be offset against a possible weight penalty.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=37292180
| 2,161,671 |
1,321,671 |
Research in the mid-1950s to early 1960s focused on the cryotron invented by Dudley Allen Buck, but the liquid-helium temperatures and the slow switching time between superconducting and resistive states caused this research to be abandoned. In 1962 Brian Josephson established the theory behind the Josephson effect, and within a few years IBM had fabricated the first Josephson junction. IBM invested heavily in this technology from the mid-1960s to 1983. By the mid-1970s IBM had constructed a superconducting quantum interference device using these junctions, mainly working with lead-based junctions and later switching to lead/niobium junctions. In 1980 the Josephson computer revolution was announced by IBM through the cover page of the May issue of Scientific American. One of the reasons which justified such a large-scale investment lies in that Moore's law - enunciated in 1965 - was expected to slow down and reach a plateau 'soon'. However, on the one hand Moore's law kept its validity, while the costs of improving superconducting devices were basically borne entirely by IBM alone and the latter, however big, could not compete with the whole world of semiconductors which provided nearly limitless resources. Thus, the program was shut down in 1983 because the technology was not considered competitive with standard semiconductor technology. The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry funded a superconducting research effort from 1981 to 1989 that produced the ETL-JC1, which was a 4-bit machine with 1,000 bits of RAM.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=42266481
| 1,320,945 |
139,880 |
The first low-cost spectrophotometer capable of recording an infrared spectrum was the Perkin-Elmer Infracord produced in 1957. This instrument covered the wavelength range from 2.5 μm to 15 μm (wavenumber range 4,000 cm to 660 cm). The lower wavelength limit was chosen to encompass the highest known vibration frequency due to a fundamental molecular vibration. The upper limit was imposed by the fact that the dispersing element was a prism made from a single crystal of rock-salt (sodium chloride), which becomes opaque at wavelengths longer than about 15 μm; this spectral region became known as the rock-salt region. Later instruments used potassium bromide prisms to extend the range to 25 μm (400 cm) and caesium iodide 50 μm (200 cm). The region beyond 50 μm (200 cm) became known as the far-infrared region; at very long wavelengths it merges into the microwave region. Measurements in the far infrared needed the development of accurately ruled diffraction gratings to replace the prisms as dispersing elements, since salt crystals are opaque in this region. More sensitive detectors than the bolometer were required because of the low energy of the radiation. One such was the Golay detector. An additional issue is the need to exclude atmospheric water vapour because water vapour has an intense pure rotational spectrum in this region. Far-infrared spectrophotometers were cumbersome, slow and expensive. The advantages of the Michelson interferometer were well-known, but considerable technical difficulties had to be overcome before a commercial instrument could be built. Also an electronic computer was needed to perform the required Fourier transform, and this only became practicable with the advent of minicomputers, such as the PDP-8, which became available in 1965. Digilab pioneered the world's first commercial FTIR spectrometer (Model FTS-14) in 1969 (Digilab FTIRs are now a part of Agilent technologies's molecular product line after it acquired spectroscopy business from Varian).
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19762116
| 139,823 |
2,230,972 |
Austehc Web was able to provide a wide variety of resources that could be easily accessed by people of different levels, ranging from primary school materials to PhD documentations. During the time Austehc was active, they contributed greatly to the University of Melbourne and their students. They started teaching an undergraduate course, Fact, Fiction and Fraud in the Digital Age, and supervised several post-graduate projects relating the history of Australian Science and Technology by using and providing documentation. Their project, Bright Sparc, performed well with over 4,000 registries of individuals who contributed to Australian science, including women, who were neglected throughout the history. They dedicated an entire online exhibition called Where are the Women in Australian Science to remedy the fact that "women seem to disappear from the historical record". Austehc also managed to compile almost 5,000 citations into a comprehensive bibliography to allow users to develop better understanding towards most of the documentations stored in the Web. Additionally, the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre undertook several collaborative projects with other institutions and companies such as the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Royal Societies of Victoria, the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology, and Industry Victoria. This assisted Austehc to provide more refined information to the public and add additional data to the collections.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11681272
| 2,229,706 |
1,864,090 |
Scientists around Daniel Rugar and John Mamin at the IBM research laboratories in Almaden have been the pioneers in using heated AFM (atomic force microscope) probes for the modification of surfaces. In 1992, they used microsecond laser pulses to heat AFM tips to write indents as small as 150 nm into the polymer PMMA at rates of 100 kHz. In the following years, they developed cantilevers with resonance frequencies above 4 MHz and integrated resistive heaters and piezoresistive sensors for writing and reading of data. This thermo-mechanical data storage concept formed the basis of the Millipede project which was initialized by Peter Vettiger and Gerd Binnig at the IBM Research laboratories Zurich in 1995. It was an example of a memory storage device with a large array of parallel probes, which was however never commercialized due to growing competition from non-volatile memory such as flash memory. The storage medium of the Millipede memory consisted of polymers with shape memory functionality, like e.g. cross-linked polystyrene, in order to allow to write data indents by plastic deformation and erasing of the data again by heating. However, evaporation instead of plastic deformation was necessary for nanolithography applications to be able to create any pattern in the resist. Such local evaporation of resist induced by a heated tip could be achieved for several materials like pentaerythritol tetranitrate, cross-linked polycarbonates, and Diels-Alder polymers. Significant progress in the choice of resist material was made in 2010 at IBM Research in Zurich, leading to high resolution and precise 3D-relief patterning with the use of the self-amplified depolymerization polymer polyphthalaldehyde (PPA) and molecular glasses as resist, where the polymer decomposes into volatile monomers upon heating with the tip without the application of mechanical force and without pile-up or residues of the resist.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=29284770
| 1,863,018 |
1,014,370 |
In 1997, Indian Point Unit 3 was removed from the NRC's list of plants that receive increased attention from the regulator. An engineer for the NRC noted that the plant had been experiencing increasingly fewer problems during inspections. On March 10, 2009 the Indian Point Power Plant was awarded the fifth consecutive top safety rating for annual operations by the Federal regulators. According to the Hudson Valley "Journal News", the plant had shown substantial improvement in its safety culture in the previous two years. A 2003 report commissioned by then-Governor George Pataki concluded that the "current radiological response system and capabilities are not adequate to...protect the people from an unacceptable dose of radiation in the event of a release from Indian Point". More recently, in December 2012 Entergy commissioned a 400-page report on the estimates of evacuation times. This report, performed by emergency planning company KLD Engineering, concluded that the existing traffic management plans provided by Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester Counties are adequate and require no changes. According to one list that ranks U.S. nuclear power plants by their likelihood of having a major natural disaster related incident, Indian Point is the most likely to be hit by a natural disaster, mainly an earthquake. Despite this, the owners of the plant still say that safety is a selling point for the nuclear power plant.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1632712
| 1,013,849 |
111,834 |
An important aspect to the Order of St. Anthony's treatment practices was the exclusion of rye bread and other ergot-containing edibles, which halted the progression of ergotism. There was no known cure for ergotism itself; however, there was treatment of the symptoms, which often included blood constriction, nervous disorders, and/or hallucinations; if the sufferer survived the initial poisoning, his limbs would often fall off, and he or she would continue to improve in health if he or she halted consumption of ergot. The trunk of the body remained relatively untouched by the disease until its final stages, and the victims, not understanding the cause of their ailment, would continue to imbibe ergot-laden food for weeks until the condition reached their digestive system. It is believed that the peasantry and children were most susceptible to ergotism, though the wealthy were afflicted as well, as, at times, entire villages relied on tainted crops for sustenance, and during times of famine, ergotism reached into every house. Ergot fungus is impervious to heat and water, and thus it was most often baked into bread through rye flour; though other grasses can be infected, it was uncommon in Medieval Europe to consume grasses other than rye. The physiological effects of ergot depended on the concentration and combinations of the ingested ergot metabolites, as well as the age and nutritional status of the afflicted individual. The Antonites began to decline after physicians discovered the genesis of ergotism and recommended methods for removing the sclerotium from the rye crops. In 1776, the cloisters of the Antonites were incorporated into the Maltese Knights Hospitaller, losing much of their medical histories in the process and losing the ergotism cures and recipes due to lack of use and lack of preservation.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=262925
| 111,789 |
196,795 |
The Open Source Agriculture movement counts different initiatives and organizations such as Farm Labs which is a network in Europe, l'Atelier Paysan which is a cooperative to teach farmers in France how to build and repair their tools, and Ekylibre which is an open-source company to provide farmers in France with open source software (SaaS) to manage farming operations. In the United States, the MIT Media Lab's Open Agriculture Initiative seeks to foster "the creation of an open-source ecosystem of technologies that enable and promote transparency, networked experimentation, education, and hyper-local production". It develops the Personal Food Computer, an educational project to create a "controlled environment agriculture technology platform that uses robotic systems to control and monitor climate, energy, and plant growth inside of a specialized growing chamber". It includes the development of Open Phenom, an open source library with open data sets for climate recipes which link the phenotype response of plants (taste, nutrition) to environmental variables, biological, genetic and resource-related necessary for cultivation (input). Plants with the same genetics can naturally vary in color, size, texture, growth rate, yield, flavor, and nutrient density according to the environmental conditions in which they are produced.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23672379
| 196,695 |
1,460,858 |
Dendrimers are unique hyper-branched synthetic polymers with monodispersed size, well-defined structure, and a highly functionalized terminal surface. They are typically composed of synthetic or natural amino acid, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates. Therapeutics can be loaded with relative ease onto the interior of the dendrimers or the terminal surface of the branches via electrostatic interaction, hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonds, chemical linkages, or covalent conjugation. Drug-dendrimer conjugation can elongate the half-life of drugs. Currently, dendrimer use in biological systems is limited due to dendrimer toxicity and limitations in their synthesis methods. Dendrimers are also confined within a narrow size range (<15 nm) and current synthesis methods are subject to low yield. The surface groups will reach the de Gennes dense packing limit at high generation level, which seals the interior from the bulk solution – this can be useful for encapsulation of hydrophobic, poorly soluble drug molecules. The seal can be tuned by intramolecular interactions between adjacent surface groups, which can be varied by the condition of the solution, such as pH, polarity, and temperature, a property which can be utilized to tailor encapsulation and controlled release properties.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=59383794
| 1,460,036 |
1,138,046 |
Van Pelt et al. (2004) outlined the process in Quantifying and Visualizing Canopy Structure in Tall Forests: Methods and a Case Study. In the example he used a LTI Criterion 400 Laser Survey instrument to map the tree canopies. It is essentially a device that includes a laser-rangefinder, clinometer, and a compass. The LTI Criterion 400 uses an infrared semi-conductor laser diode for slope distance measurement. A vertical tilt-sensing encoder provides vertical inclination, while a fluxgate electronic compass measures magnetic azimuth, completing the data required to establish a point's three-dimensional location in space. It is used to map the position of every branch point in the canopy down to a certain size and also the positions of various reiterations, breaks, kinks, or any other eccentricities in the tree. This is usually done from a set position or a series of positions within the tree. Sketches and photographs are used to facilitate the process. Trees were climbed and the architecture mapped in accordance with criterion previously established. This involves mapping the location of the main stem and all reiterated trunks, in addition to all branches that originate from trunks. Each mapped trunk and branch was measured for basal diameter, length, azimuth, Climbers measure specific circumferences and detail other features within the tree. In addition a footprint map of the base of the tree is made to calculate the exact volume of the basal section of the tree. The data is processed in Excel to generate a volume calculation. Graphing functions can be used to create a 3-dimensional figure of the tree data. Dr. Van Pelt also uses an Excel macro to rotate the image so that it can be viewed from different angles. In the cases of the Middleton Live Oak and Sag Branch Tulip each of the trees were mapped from a single set station from within the canopy of each tree.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=39007810
| 1,137,453 |
1,133,113 |
In 2010, a study was published on the soft parts visible with the "Victoria" specimen. It preserves both true impressions of the skin into the surrounding sediment, and natural casts, where the spaces left behind by the rotting of the soft body parts have been filled in with sediment. Additionally on some areas a black layer is present, possibly consisting of organic remains or bacterial mats. A part of the lower trunk flank shows rows of small hexagonal, non-overlapping, convex scales, two to seven millimetres in diameter. Higher on the flank two rosette structures are visible with larger central scales, one being twenty by ten millimetres in size, the other ten by eight millimetres. Apart from the scales, an impression of the lower side of a back plate has been found, covering about two hundred square centimetres. This shows no scales but a smooth surface with low parallel vertical ridges. As it is a true impression, with the life animal grooves would have been present. These grooves would have been about half a millimetre deep and stood about two millimetres apart. The impression probably represented the horn sheath of the plate, as would be confirmed by vertical traces of veins. It is the first direct proof of such sheaths with any stegosaurian. The study considered the presence of a sheath to be a strong indication that the plate had primarily a defensive function, as a horn layer would have strengthened the plate as a whole and provided it with sharp cutting edges. Also the display function would have been reinforced, because the sheath would have increased the visible surface and such horn structures are often brightly coloured. Thermoregulation, on the other hand — another often assumed role of the plates — would have been hampered by an extra insulating layer and the smoothness of the surface, but cannot be entirely ruled out as extant cattle and ducks use horns and beaks to dump excess heat despite the horn covering.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1250880
| 1,132,520 |
1,718,340 |
After her husband died in 1710, Kirch attempted to assume his place as astronomer and calendar maker at the Royal Academy of Sciences. Her actions were representative of a well established principle that allowed widow's to take over their husbands craft after their death. Despite her petition being supported by Leibniz, the president of the academy, the executive council of the academy rejected her demand for a formal position saying that "what we concede to her could serve as an example in the future." The council did not wish to set a precedent by appointing a woman. Despite the fact that roughly 14% of astronomers in the early 18th century were female, it was still extremely uncommon at the time for women to become members of scientific academies. Winkelmann's denial to the academy was important in that it emphasized the separation between men and women's role in the workplace and the normalcy of women's exclusion to scientific academies at the time and for many years after. In her petition Kirch set out her qualifications for the position. She couched her application in the terms acceptable to the times, arguing that she was well-qualified because she had been instructed by her husband in astronomical calculation and observation. She emphasized that she had engaged in astronomical work since her marriage and had worked at the academy since her husband's appointment ten years earlier. In her petition Kirch said that "for some time, while my dear departed husband was weak and ill, I prepared the calendar from his calculations and published it under his name." For Kirch, an appointment at the academy would have not been just a mark of honor but a vital source of income for her and her children. She even clarified this in her petition, explaining that her husband had not left her with sufficient means in terms of supporting herself and her family. In the old guild tradition of trades, it would have been possible for Kirch to take over her husband's position after his death, but the new institutions of science tended not to follow that tradition. Despite Maria and Gottfried both having spent years working on calendars and discovering a comet each, the one item Maria did not have that almost everyone in the Academy did was a university education.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5190038
| 1,717,370 |
1,326,558 |
Pathogens synthesize proteins that can serve as ""recognizable"" antigens; they may express the molecules on their surface or release them into the surroundings (body fluids). What makes these substances recognizable is that they bind very specifically and somewhat strongly to certain host proteins called "antibodies". The same antibodies can be anchored to the surface of cells of the immune system, in which case they serve as receptors, or they can be secreted in the blood, known as soluble antibodies. On a molecular scale, the proteins are relatively large, so they cannot be recognized as a whole; instead, their segments, called epitopes, can be recognized. An epitope comes in contact with a very small region (of 15–22 amino acids) of the antibody molecule; this region is known as the paratope. In the immune system, membrane-bound antibodies are the B-cell receptor (BCR). Also, while the T-cell receptor is not biochemically classified as an antibody, it serves a similar function in that it specifically binds to epitopes complexed with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The binding between a paratope and its corresponding antigen is very specific, owing to its structure, and is guided by various noncovalent bonds, not unlike the pairing of other types of ligands (any atom, ion or molecule that binds with any receptor with at least some degree of "specificity" and "strength"). The specificity of binding does not arise out of a rigid lock and key type of interaction, but rather requires both the paratope and the epitope to undergo slight conformational changes in each other's presence.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9335254
| 1,325,831 |
241,537 |
In "Portal 2", the player explores these long-abandoned areas of Aperture, learning that the company had moved from testing on the country's finest, to paid volunteers, and ultimately to forcing its own employees to participate in testing. Near the point of his death, Johnson ordered his lifelong assistant Caroline (voiced by Ellen McLain) to be the first test subject for a mind-to-computer transfer; her personality would ultimately form the core of GLaDOS (also McLain). Sometime after Johnson's death, the old sections of the facility were vitrified, and a more modern facility built atop those ruins. GLaDOS was built to control the facility and monitor the tests, but researchers found that the computer had villainous tendencies, threatening to kill the entire staff before it was shut down in time. The Aperture researchers constructed a number of "personality cores" that would fit onto GLaDOS to prevent her from turning against them. Despite this, on the day she was officially activated (coincidentally on "Take Your Daughter to Work Day"), she turned against the researchers and killed nearly everyone in the facility with lethal doses of neurotoxin gas. In the games and the comic "Lab Rat", one employee Doug Rattmann survived due to his schizophrenia and distrust of GLaDOS. In trying to find a way to defeat GLaDOS, he finds that Chell, one of the human subjects kept in cryogenic storage within Aperture, has a high level of tenacity, and arranges for the events of "Portal" to occur by moving her to the top of GLaDOS' testing list. GLaDOS remains driven to test human subjects despite the lack of humans.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31697773
| 241,411 |
1,626,033 |
During the period after the WW II, the University's graduates participated in the restoration of the city and industrial objects much destroyed by the enemy. The second half of the 20th century was the time when professional knowledge and expertise, experience and traditions were accumulated, and highly qualified specialists in architecture and construction were entitled to start solving actual tasks in architecture, town-planning and creating a residence milieu adhering to the laws of aesthetics, functionality and safety. The economically hard period of so-called "perestroika" (1990s) was gone through relatively painlessly thanks to the selflessness and hard efforts made by the core staff and University administration under the guidance of Professor Ju.P.Panibratov who occupied then the post of the Rector. The university started working in the 21st century having become stronger: new faculties came into being, as well as new computer classes, scientific centres, cooperation agreements with other world's leading universities and scientific institutions, which made the University ready for all kinds of transformations and changes if they were necessary. Since the early 21st century the number of the SPbGASU graduates is over 1000 highly qualified professionals.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=18480316
| 1,625,115 |
2,128,317 |
Thankfully, while many problems exist with PDMS, many solutions have also been developed. To address the negative hydrophobicity and porosity that PDMS exhibits, researchers have started to use coatings such as BSA (bovine serum albumin) or charged molecules to create a layer between the native PDMS and the cells. Other researchers have successfully employed several of the Pluronic surfactants, a tri-block copolymer that has two hydrophilic blocks surrounding a hydrophobic core often used to increase the hydrophilic nature of numerous substrates, and even borosilicate glass coatings to address the hydrophobicity problem. Interestingly, treatment with either of the prior two compounds can result in prevention of non-specific protein adsorption, as they (and other coatings) form stable adsorption interactions with the PDMS, which aides in reducing PDSM interference with cell culture media. These compounds and materials can affect surface properties and should be carefully tested to note the impact on cultured cells. Researchers developed 3D scaffolding systems to mimic "in vivo" environments so that more cells and cell types can grow in an effort to address the problem that not all cell types can grow on PDMS. Like coating the PDMS, 3D scaffolding systems employ alternatives materials like ECM (extracellular matrix) proteins so rather than not binding the native PDMS, cells are more likely to bind to the proteins. Lastly, researchers have addressed the permeability of PDMS to water vapor using some elegant solutions. For example, a portion of the microfluidic system can be designated for humidification and cast in PDMS, or other material like glass.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=57569740
| 2,127,094 |
1,891,101 |
"GURPS Bio-Tech" includes a detailed introduction into biotechnology, speaking about both its practices in a real-world sense, and its applications in science fiction and fantasy. In addition to new and supplemental rules for the game, the book goes into great detail discussing what the world would (potentially) be like if biotechnology were to continue to advance. Anti-aging treatments, human (and nonhuman) augmentation and enhancement, chemical warfare, cloning, and many other subjects are detailed, along with advice for game-masters should they wish to implement such things into their games. Because GURPS is meant to be open-ended for the game-master to develop their own setting, many possibilities are left open for their interpretation, such as potential social and political ramifications of these advancements. How does the general public react to extreme modification? What religious concerns does it bring up? How does humanity deal with the population increase caused by anti-aging treatments? "GURPS Bio-Tech" leaves the answers to these questions up to the game-masters, allowing them to weave such elements into their stories as much or as little as they desire. This is also the first 4th edition book to make significant changes to the page layout introduced with the 4th edition, most noticeably with a return to a two column layout.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=4789055
| 1,890,018 |
1,017,833 |
The Magna Sports was available in only four colours: "Paris White", "Calypso Red", "Nautilus Blue" (deep blue), and "Frontier Green" (deep green), the latter two colours being new to the TF series. This new model carried all the standard features of the Executive model on which it was based, plus a deck lid spoiler, red side strip, 16-inch alloy wheels (same as the Verada Ei, but polished), and unique interior trims such as a metal-style instrument cluster fascia. Its V6 was standard as on all Magnas, however, only the Sports could be optioned with a manumatic "Tiptronic" four-speed automatic transmission featuring for the first time on an Australian-built car, a manual shifting function (via a second transmission gate plane to the right of standard gear positions, with "push-forward" upshifts and "push-back" downshifts). The Sports had improved handling characteristics thanks to the addition of an 18 mm rear swaybar (a rear bar swaybar was not fitted to the standard Magna), 11 percent firmer rear springs, firmer upper control arm and trailing arm bushes, and suspension height lowered by 10 mm. Options included dual airbags and ABS. This specific model represented MMAL's foray into the Australian sporty family passenger car sector, as well as an initial and long overdue departure from the more conservative Japanese product planning. The Sports' production ceased after September 1998.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=903910
| 1,017,309 |
2,020,988 |
Electrical engineering also had a major influence on computer science at the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (TH Darmstadt). In 1964, Robert Piloty was appointed to the chair of data technology at TH Darmstadt. In the 1960s, Germany lacked competitiveness in the field of data processing. To counteract this, the Federal Committee for Scientific Research adopted a programme for the promotion of research and development in the field of data processing for public tasks on 26 April 1967. The advisory board, which consisted mainly of representatives of universities and non-university research institutions, was responsible for the implementation of the programme. At the seventh meeting of the advisory board on 15 November 1967, Karl Ganzhorn, who at the time was responsible for research and development at IBM Germany, signalled the problems of industry in finding skilled personnel. The director of the Institute for Information Processing at TH Darmstadt, Piloty, pointed out that the German universities were responsible for training qualified personnel. As a result, a committee was formed, which was chaired by Piloty. The committee formulated recommendations for the training of computer scientists, which provided for the establishment of a course of studies in computer science at several universities and technical colleges. At TH Darmstadt Piloty worked with Winfried Oppelt on a study plan "Computer Science", which was characterized by engineering science. There was already another curriculum with the name "Diplom-Ingenieur Informatik (Mathematik)", which came from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics and provided for a stronger emphasis on software engineering. However, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering was the driving force, which is why in the same year the first computer science course of study in Germany was established at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering on the basis of Pilotys and Oppelts study regulations. The first diploma thesis was written in 1971, the first doctoral thesis in 1975 and the first habilitation in 1978.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=62391933
| 2,019,825 |
818,050 |
Certain environmental conditions can lead to the algae spreading over large areas. In August 2009, unprecedented levels of the algae washed up on the beaches of Brittany, France, causing a major public health scare as it decomposed. The rotting thalli produced large quantities of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas which, like hydrogen cyanide, inhibits cytochrome c oxidase, inhibiting cellular respiration and resulting in critical cellular hypoxia. In one incident near Saint-Michel-en-Grève, a horse rider lost consciousness and his horse died after breathing the seaweed fumes. Environmentalists blamed the phenomenon on excessive use of fertilizers and the excretion of nitrates by pig and poultry farmers. In an earlier separate incident at the same beach in July 2009, a truck driver had died near his vehicle after hauling three truckloads of sea lettuce without protective gear during the annual cleanup. Although initially recorded as a heart attack, the death of the truck driver prompted French authorities to exhume his remains for an autopsy. It was later determined to be cardiac arrest resulting from pulmonary edema, which is an indication of possible hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Dead animals found on the algae-clogged beaches (including thirty-one wild boars in July 2011) were also claimed to be linked to toxic fumes by environmentalists.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1856429
| 817,612 |
1,663,440 |
The thrifty phenotype hypothesis proposes that a low availability of nutrients during the prenatal stage followed by an improvement in nutritional availability in early childhood causes an increase risk of metabolic disorders, including Type II diabetes, as a result of permanent changes in the metabolic processing of glucose-insulin determined in utero. This predominantly affects poor communities, where maternal malnutrition may be rampant, in turn causing fetuses to be biologically programmed to expect sparse nutritional environments. But, once in the world, the readily accessible processed foods consumed are unable to be processed efficiently by individuals who had their metabolic systems pre-set to expect scarcity. This difference between expected nutritional deficits and actual food surplus results in obesity and eventually Type II Diabetes. Janet Rich-Edwards, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, initially set out to disprove the fetal origins theory with her database of over 100,000 nurses. Instead, she found that the results hold: a strong relationship exists between low birth weight and later coronary heart disease and stroke.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=47957160
| 1,662,505 |
1,601,794 |
Armstrong continued his work through 1842, finding a similar effect with compressed air rather than steam, and constructing an "evaporating apparatus" with a specially designed friction nozzle able to produce sparks. The electrical charge on the steam was positive, although Faraday discovered that adding turpentine to the water produced a negative polarity. In 1843, Armstrong designed a full-scale electrostatic generator on electrically insulating legs. These machines, with 46 steam jets, he called his "hydroelectric generators". One was set up at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London and another was exported to the USA. These were fearsome machines, making a deafening noise, and the sparks knocked out a dog who got too close and killed a large man. In its day, it was the most powerful way of generating static electricity and was remarkable for having no moving parts. At a demonstration at Newcastle's "Lit and Phil," the crowds were so great that Armstrong could not gain entry through the door and had to climb in through a window, this requiring two ladders. As a result of his endeavours, on the recommendation of Faraday and Charles Wheatstone, he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1846. Continuing with his scientific and engineering interests, he went on to become a major industrialist in hydraulic engineering, military artillery and electricity generation.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=57718998
| 1,600,893 |
113,825 |
Schoenberg's serial technique of composition with twelve notes became one of the most central and polemical issues among American and European musicians during the mid- to late-twentieth century. Beginning in the 1940s and continuing to the present day, composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luigi Nono and Milton Babbitt have extended Schoenberg's legacy in increasingly radical directions. The major cities of the United States (e.g., Los Angeles, New York, and Boston) have had historically significant performances of Schoenberg's music, with advocates such as Babbitt in New York and the Franco-American conductor-pianist Jacques-Louis Monod. Schoenberg's students have been influential teachers at major American universities: Leonard Stein at USC, UCLA and CalArts; Richard Hoffmann at Oberlin; Patricia Carpenter at Columbia; and Leon Kirchner and Earl Kim at Harvard. Musicians associated with Schoenberg have had a profound influence upon contemporary music performance practice in the US (e.g., Louis Krasner, Eugene Lehner and Rudolf Kolisch at the New England Conservatory of Music; Eduard Steuermann and Felix Galimir at the Juilliard School). In Europe, the work of Hans Keller, , and René Leibowitz has had a measurable influence in spreading Schoenberg's musical legacy outside of Germany and Austria. His pupil and assistant Max Deutsch, who later became a professor of music, was also a conductor. who made a recording of three "master works" Schoenberg with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, released posthumously in late 2013. This recording includes short lectures by Deutsch on each of the pieces.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=67025
| 113,780 |
1,799,038 |
The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) is an assessment tool that aims to evaluate the functional status of patients throughout the rehabilitation process following a stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury or cancer. Its area of use can include skilled nursing facilities and hospitals aimed at acute, sub-acute and rehabilitation care. Performed on admission to and departure from a rehabilitation hospital, it serves as a consistent data collection tool for the comparison of rehabilitation outcomes across the health care continuum. Furthermore, it aims to allow clinicians to track changes in the functional status of patients from the onset of rehab care through discharge and follow-up. The FIM's assessment of degree of disability depends on the patient's score in 18 categories, focusing on motor and cognitive function. Each category or item is rated on a 7-point scale (1 = <25% independence; total assistance required, 7 = 100% independence). As such, FIM scores may be interpreted to indicate level of independence or level of burden of care. The scale is used to assess how well a person can carry out basic activities of daily living and thus how dependent he or she will be on help from others. Other areas assessed include the physical like how well patients move and walk, and the cognitive, how well they interact with others, communicate, and process information. FIM was originally made for people who had had strokes, but is used to assess disability in other cases as well.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=48342958
| 1,798,029 |
532,277 |
Anoles mainly detect potential enemies by sight, but their hearing range also closely matches the typical vocal range of birds. If hearing a predatory bird, like a kestrel or hawk, they increase their vigilance. When hearing a non-predatory bird little or no change happens. Most anole species will try to escape from a predator by rapidly running or climbing away, but some will move to the opposite side of a tree trunk (facing away from the would-be attacker), jump to the ground from their perch, or freeze when disturbed, hoping the adversary does not spot it. Some anole species will show their fitness by displaying their dewlap when encountering a predator; the greater the endurance of the anole, the greater the display. Conversely, when suddenly forced to share their habitat with an efficient anole predator like the northern curly-tailed lizard (for example, if it is introduced to a place where formerly not present), the anoles may decrease the amplitude of their head bobbing, making them less conspicuous, and may become slower to emerge from hiding (less willing to take a risk) after having been scared by a predator. Slow-moving anoles, like the twig ecomorphs of the Caribbean and many "Dactyloa" species of mainland Central and South America, are generally cryptically colored and often coordinate their movements with the wind, resembling the surrounding vegetation. A few semi-aquatic species will attempt to escape from predators by diving into water or running bipedally across it, similar to basilisks. However, the anoles lack the specialized toe fringes that helps basilisks when doing this.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=322654
| 532,003 |
1,198,343 |
Before university, Alexa Canady was nominated as a National Achievement Scholar in 1967. Canady attended the University of Michigan where she received her B.S. degree in zoology in 1971 and became a member of Delta Sigma Theta. Her time at the University of Michigan was not without its struggles; she almost dropped out of college at one point due to a "crisis of confidence". She had originally chosen to major in mathematics but she soon realized that math was not her passion. Then she learned of a minority health careers program at her university and decided to pursue it. This program helped her realize that her passion was in the medical field. She would then go on to receive her M.D. with cum laude honors from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1975 where she joined the Alpha Omega Alpha Honorary Medical Society. While in medical school she was also recognized by the American Medical Women's Association. Despite her achievements in medical school, Canady felt as if she, and the other female students, were often overlooked by the professors. This only encouraged her to work harder. Although she initially had an interest in internal medicine, Dr. Canady decided on neurosurgery after falling in love with neurology during her first two years of medical school. She settled on this specialty against the recommendations of her advisors. Knowing that gaining a residency as a black student would be difficult, Canady began building her résumé, reading many articles and attending every conference and seminar she could, sometimes asking questions just to get known in the small field. Her appreciation for the fluidity of human anatomy would serve her well in her competitive field.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=30961849
| 1,197,702 |
1,712,067 |
This logical structure can be seen as a prototype for the organisation of "On the Origin of Species", presenting the detail of various aspects of the problem, then setting out a theory explaining the phenomena, followed by a demonstration of the wider explanatory power of the theory. Unlike the "Origin" which was hurriedly put together as an abstract of his planned "big book", "Coral Reefs" is fully supported by citations and material gathered together in the Appendix. "Coral Reefs" is arguably the first volume of Darwin's huge treatise on his philosophy of nature, like his succeeding works showing how slow gradual change can account for the history of life. In presenting types of reef as an evolutionary series it demonstrated a rigorous methodology for historical sciences, interpreting patterns visible in the present as the results of history. In one passage he presents a particularly Malthusian view of a struggle for survival – "In an old-standing reef, the corals, which are so different in kind on different parts of it, are probably all adapted to the stations they occupy, and hold their places, like other organic beings, by a struggle one with another, and with external nature; hence we may infer that their growth would generally be slow, except under peculiarly favourable circumstances."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=21185695
| 1,711,102 |
2,215,974 |
Hernia operations are among the most common surgical procedures performed today with over 20 million cases annually worldwide. Hernia incidents rates are 27% for males and 3% for females over their lifespan, with complications ranging from associated with mild pain, poor quality-of-life for the patient and in rare causes potentially fatal. According to USA healthcare vital statistics between 2000 and 2009 16438 people died due to hernia related complications. Thus, leading to enormous healthcare costs, exceeding US$48 billion in the US annually. At present, hernia operations rely heavily on non-degradable polypropylene, polytetrafluoroethylene and nylon meshes. Complications associate with meshes include “adverse reactions to the mesh, adhesions (when the loops of the intestines adhere to each other or the mesh), and injuries to nearby organs, nerves or blood vessels. Other complications of hernia repair can occur with or without the mesh, including infection, chronic pain and hernia recurrence.” However, these polymers are often associated with foreign body reaction; implant failure; and hernia recurrence (over 42%). Moreover, leaking chemicals of these polymers are often deleterious to the surrounding cells and tissue and immobilise post-operative drug treatments. NFB develops nano-fibrous meshes with well-defined nanotopography and drug loading capabilities to enhance functional repair.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=33775636
| 2,214,714 |
2,002,299 |
Quasicrystals were first reported in 1984 and named so by Dov Levine and Paul Steinhardt. More than 100 quasicrystal compositions have been discovered by 2009—all synthesized in the laboratory. Steinhardt initiated a large-scale search for natural quasicrystals around the year of 2000 using the database of the International Centre for Diffraction Data. About 50 candidates were selected out of 9,000 minerals based on a set of parameters defined by the structure of the known quasicrystals. The corresponding samples were examined with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy but no quasicrystals were found. Widening of the search eventually included khatyrkite. A sample of the mineral was provided by Luca Bindi of the Museo di Firenze and was later proven to be part of the Russian holotype specimen. Mapping its chemical composition and crystalline structure revealed agglomerate of grains up to 0.1 millimeter in size of various phases, mostly khatyrkite, cupalite (zinc or iron containing), some yet unidentified Al-Cu-Fe minerals and the AlCuFe quasicrystal phase. The quasicrystal grains were of high crystalline quality equal to that of the best laboratory specimens, as demonstrated by the narrow diffraction peaks. The mechanism of their formation is yet uncertain. The specific composition of the accompanying minerals and the location where the sample was collected—far from any industrial activities—confirm that the discovered quasicrystal is of natural origin.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=23910190
| 2,001,151 |
1,319,938 |
The CK1 family of monomeric serine–threonine protein kinases is found in eukaryotic organisms from yeast to humans. Mammals have seven family members (sometimes referred to as isoforms, but encoded by distinct genes): alpha, beta 1, gamma 1, gamma 2, gamma 3, delta, and epsilon. Isoforms range from 22 to 55 kDa and have been identified in the membranes, nucleus, and cytoplasm of eukaryotes and additionally in the mitotic spindle in mammalian cells. The family members have the highest homology in their kinase domains (53%–98% identical) and differ from most other protein kinases by the presence of the sequence S-I-N instead of A-P-E in kinase domain VIII. The family members appear to have similar substrate specificity "in vitro", and substrate selection is thought to be regulated in vivo via subcellular localization and docking sites in specific substrates. One consensus phosphorylation site is S/Tp-X-X-S/T, where S/Tp refers to a phospho-serine or phospho-threonine, X refers to any amino acid, and the underlined residues refer to the target site. Thus, this CKI consensus site requires priming by another kinase. CKI also phosphorylates a related unprimed site, which optimally contains a cluster of acidic amino acids N-terminal to the target S/T including an acidic residue at n − 3 and a hydrophobic region C-terminal to the target S/T. A single acidic residue in the n − 3 position is not sufficient for CKI phosphorylation. In contrast, in several important targets, NF-AT and beta-catenin, CKI does not require n − 3 priming but, instead, phosphorylates the first serine in the sequence S-L-S, which is followed by a cluster of acidic residues, albeit less efficiently than the optimal sites.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5785538
| 1,319,212 |
243,176 |
In 2017, the USN grounded the T-45 fleet for a three-day "safety pause" after more than 100 instructor pilots refused to fly the aircraft. The pilots cited concerns about incidents of hypoxia that they believed to have resulted from faulty onboard oxygen-generation systems. Over the past five years physiological episodes linked to problems with the T-45's oxygen system have nearly quadrupled, according to testimony from senior naval aviators in April 2017. The grounding order was first extended, but then lifted to allow flights up to a ceiling of 10,000 feet where the Onboard Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) would not be needed, and to allow instructors to conduct flights above 10,000 feet. The grounding order was fully lifted, along with all restrictions on flight ceiling and student pilots, in August 2017. The T-45 fleet was thereafter upgraded with new sensors to monitor the onboard oxygen systems, as well as a new water separation system, in hopes of reducing hypoxia events and determining the root cause of the problems. Though the underlying causes have yet to be definitively determined, by the first quarter of 2018, hypoxia events had returned to nominal levels after peaking in 2016 and 2017. Work continues on ensuring further physiological events are kept to a minimum - backup oxygen systems are being developed and are planned to be installed by the second half of 2019. In recent years, similar issues have also affected the Navy's F/A-18s and the Air Force's T-6s, F-22s, and F-35s, some within the same or similar time frames, and the Department of Defense has established a joint command to investigate the issue.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=425509
| 243,049 |
416,353 |
Being before even rudimentary scientific methods such as control groups—and by extension, double-blind experiments—existed, statistical methodology for applications in human behavior and medical research did not emerge during Cottons' lifetime. He could only follow faulty methods to compile data, much of it allowing for projection of anticipated results. He reported wonderful success with his procedures, with cure rates of 85%; this, in conjunction with the feeling at the time that investigating such biological causes, was the state of the art of medicine, brought him a great deal of attention, and worldwide praise. He was honored at medical institutions and associations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe and asked to make presentations about his work and to share information with others who practiced the same or similar methods. Patients, or their families, begged to be treated at Trenton, and those who could not, demanded that their own doctors treat them with these new wonder-cures. The state acknowledged the savings in expenses to taxpayers from the new treatments and cures. In June 1922, the "New York Times" wrote in a review of Cotton's published lectures:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1991008
| 416,150 |
1,668,900 |
In 1949, researchers at Connaught discovered a purely synthetic blend of 60 ingredients that efficiently fed the cells required to cultivate viruses. They named it "Medium 199", having hit upon the mix after 198 attempts and more than two years or experimentation. In November 1951, the Medium 199 team supplied the poliovirus research team with a sample that effectively resolved the roadblocks that poliovirus research had run into in cultivating the poliovirus. News of the success reached Jonas Salk in Pittsburgh, who upon receiving the supply of Medium 199 was able to prepare a small supply of the polio vaccine for its first human use. Meanwhile, Leone N. Farrell, also a researcher at Connaught and one of the few women to earn a Ph.D. in the sciences in the first half of the twentieth century, led progress in large-scale production methods. In early July 1953, National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis sponsored a mass field trial across 44 U.S. States, Canada, and Helsinki, Finland. Connaught became responsible for the field trial supply of bulk poliovirus fluids, and shipped out some 3,000 litres of it. On April 12, 1955, the vaccine was announced to be 60-90% effective against the three antigenic types of poliovirus and was immediately licensed for use in U.S. and Canada.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=61019378
| 1,667,960 |
1,155,480 |
Researchers have been able to show that effective and selective GCPII inhibitors are able to decrease the brain's levels of glutamate and even provide protection from apoptosis or degradation of brain neurons in many animal models of stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and neuropathic pain. This inhibition of these NAAG peptidases, sometimes referred to as NPs, are thought to provide this protection from apoptosis or degradation of brain neurons by elevating the concentrations of NAAG within the synapse of neurons. NAAG then reduces the release of glutamate while stimulating the release of some trophic factors from the glia cells in the central nervous system, resulting in the protection from apoptosis or degradation of brain neurons. It is important to note, however, that these NP inhibitors do not seem to have any effect on normal glutamate function. The NP inhibition is able to improve the naturally occurring regulation instead of activating or inhibiting receptors that would disrupt this process. Research has also shown that small-molecule-based NP inhibitors are beneficial in animal models that are relevant to neurodegenerative diseases. Some specific applications of this research include neuropathic and inflammatory pain, traumatic brain injury, ischemic stroke, schizophrenia, diabetic neuropathy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as drug addiction. Previous research has found that drugs that are able to reduce glutamate transmission can relieve the neuropathic pain, although the resultant side-effects have limited a great deal of their clinical applications. Therefore, it appears that, since GCPII is exclusively recruited for the purpose of providing a glutamate source in hyperglutamatergic and excitotoxic conditions, this could be an alternative to avert these side-effects. More research findings have shown that the hydrolysis of NAAG is disrupted in schizophrenia, and they have shown that specific anatomical regions of the brain may even show discrete abnormalities in the GCP II synthesis, so NPs may also be therapeutic for patients suffering with schizophrenia. One major hurdle with using many of the potent GCPII inhibitors that have been prepared to date are typically highly polar compounds, which causes problems because they do not then penetrate the blood–brain barrier easily.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10843628
| 1,154,870 |
383,908 |
In the early 1500s a larger arquebus known as the musket appeared. The heavy musket, while being rather awkward to handle, requiring a fork rest to fire properly, had the advantage of being able to penetrate the best armor within a range of 180 meters, regular armor at 365 meters, and an unarmed man at 548 meters. However, both the musket and arquebus were effectively limited to a range of only 90 to 185 meters regardless of armor since they were incredibly inaccurate. According to some sources, a smoothbore musket was completely incapable of hitting a man sized target past the 73-meter mark. While rifled guns did exist at this time in the form of grooves cut into the interior of a barrel, these were considered specialist weapons and limited in number. In some aspects this made the smoothbore musket an inferior weapon compared to the bow. The average Mamluk archer for example was capable of hitting targets only 68 meters far away but could keep up a pace of six to eight shots per minute. In comparison, sixteenth-century matchlocks fired off one shot every several minutes, and much less when taking into consideration misfires and malfunctions which occurred up to half the time. This is not to say that firearms of the 16th century were inferior to the bow and arrow, for it could better penetrate armor and required less training, but the disadvantages of the musket were very real, and it would not be until the 1590s that archers were for the most part phased out of "European" warfare. This was possibly a consequence of the increased effectiveness of musket warfare due to the rise of volley fire in Europe as first applied by the Dutch. At this time gunners in European armies reached as high as 40 percent of infantry forces.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=12063194
| 383,713 |
626,270 |
Later in 1957, Australian immunologist Frank Macfarlane Burnet published a paper titled "A modification of Jerne's theory of antibody production using the concept of clonal selection" in the rather obscure "Australian Journal of Science". In it Burnet expanded the ideas of Talmage and named the resulting theory the "clonal selection theory". He further formalised the theory in his 1959 book "The Clonal Selection Theory of Acquired Immunity". He explained immunological memory as the cloning of two types of lymphocyte. One clone acts immediately to combat infection whilst the other is longer lasting, remaining in the immune system for a long time and causing immunity to that antigen. According to Burnet's hypothesis, among antibodies are molecules that can probably correspond with varying degrees of precision to all, or virtually all, the antigenic determinants that occur in biological material other than those characteristic of the body itself. Each type of pattern is a specific product of a clone of lymphocytes and it is the essence of the hypothesis that each cell automatically has available on its surface representative reactive sites equivalent to those of the globulin they produce. When an antigen enters the blood or tissue fluids it is assumed that it will attach to the surface of any lymphocyte carrying reactive sites that correspond to one of its antigenic determinants. Then the cell is activated and undergoes proliferation to produce a variety of descendants. In this way, preferential proliferation is initiated of all those clones whose reactive sites correspond to the antigenic determinants on the antigens present in the body. The descendants are capable of active liberation of soluble antibody and lymphocytes, the same functions as the parental forms.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=2851103
| 625,937 |
439,790 |
The first samples of "Khibiny" were far from ideal as to their weight and size parameters were not suitable for installation on the aircraft. To solve this problem KNIRTI collaborated closely with Sukhoi, working under the direction of Rollan G. Martirosov. Collaborate on a plane integrated ECM (received code "product L-175V") bore little resemblance to the conventional practice in such cases. Typically, the manufacturer of equipment issues to aircraft design bureau specification for the placement of products that represent a complete set of design documents and makes recommendations on placement of its parts with the restrictions on the length of the connections between them. In this case, the equipment "Khibiny" was immediately inserted into the design of the aircraft under development. As a result of close co-operation by the end of the 1980s the first stage of R&D was completed. March 18, 2014 was adopted the fighter-bomber Su-34, equipped with electronic countermeasures complex L-175V "Khibiny". Upgraded Khibiny EW complexes join air units in course of modernization. According to TASS, the "Khibiny" complex will be further modernized based on combat results of Su-34 front-line bombers during their combat deployment in the War in Ukraine.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=45586559
| 439,576 |
37,278 |
The earliest work about backwards time travel is uncertain. The Chinese novel Supplement to the Journey to the West (c. 1640) by Dong Yue features magical mirrors and jade gateways that connect various points in time. The protagonist Sun Wukong travels back in time to the "World of the Ancients" (Qin Dynasty) to retrieve a magical bell and then travels forward to the "World of the Future" (Song Dynasty) to find an emperor who has been exiled in time. However, the time travel takes place inside an illusory dream world created by the villain to entrap and distract him. Samuel Madden's "Memoirs of the Twentieth Century" (1733) is a series of letters from British ambassadors in 1997 and 1998 to diplomats in the past, conveying the political and religious conditions of the future. Because the narrator receives these letters from his guardian angel, Paul Alkon suggests in his book "Origins of Futuristic Fiction" that "the first time-traveler in English literature is a guardian angel". Madden does not explain how the angel obtains these documents, but Alkon asserts that Madden "deserves recognition as the first to toy with the rich idea of time-travel in the form of an artifact sent backward from the future to be discovered in the present". In the science fiction anthology "Far Boundaries" (1951), editor August Derleth claims that an early short story about time travel is "An Anachronism; or, Missing One's Coach", written for the "Dublin Literary Magazine" by an anonymous author in the June 1838 issue. While the narrator waits under a tree for a coach to take him out of Newcastle upon Tyne, he is transported back in time over a thousand years. He encounters the Venerable Bede in a monastery and explains to him the developments of the coming centuries. However, the story never makes it clear whether these events are real or a dream. Another early work about time travel is "The Forebears of Kalimeros: Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon" by Alexander Veltman published in 1836.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=31591
| 37,265 |
88,762 |
Because of these complexities, it is common for organizations to use a RTOS, allowing the application programmers to concentrate on device functionality rather than operating system services, at least for large systems; smaller systems often cannot afford the overhead associated with a "generic" real-time system, due to limitations regarding memory size, performance, or battery life. The choice that an RTOS is required brings in its own issues, however, as the selection must be made prior to starting to the application development process. This timing forces developers to choose the embedded operating system for their device based upon current requirements and so restricts future options to a large extent. The restriction of future options becomes more of an issue as product life decreases. Additionally, the level of complexity is continuously growing as devices are required to manage variables such as serial, USB, TCP/IP, Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, trunk radio, multiple channels, data and voice, enhanced graphics, multiple states, multiple threads, numerous wait states and so on. These trends are leading to the uptake of embedded middleware in addition to a RTOS.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=46630
| 88,726 |
1,810,457 |
On 25 June 2009, the University Board of Governors voted to reunify the four separate faculties of Communication and Culture, Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences into a single amalgam, the Faculty of Arts. The new streamlined Faculty was finalised on 1 April 2010, and was designed to conform with other Canadian research universities, most of whom "have two or fewer arts and social science-type faculties." The departments of Music, Dance, and Drama would later merge in July 2013 to form the School of Creative and Performing Arts. In the same year, plans were announced that the university would no longer offer 19 undergraduate programmes in the upcoming academic year—10 of which belonged to the Faculty of Arts. Among these suspended programmes included the History and Philosophy of Science programme – the only such programme offered in the province of Alberta. In 2014, it was announced that the departments of Greek and Roman Studies and Religion had merged into a single department of Classics and Religion. Simultaneously, the department of Archaeology and Anthropology had merged in the same year. The year of 2016 was celebrated as the university's semicentennial, marking 50 years of autonomy and academia. On 28 May to 3 June 2016, the university played host again to the 75th Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, welcoming 8,000 delegates, 70 academic organisations, and more than 5,000 research papers to be housed on the university campus. In June 2016, negotiations for the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLLC) were finalised as an effort to condense the university's humanities departments into a single collective entity. SLLLC was officially inaugurated in February 2019.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=51387853
| 1,809,434 |
547,766 |
Volkow's imaging studies of the brains of people addicted to drugs have helped to clarify the mechanisms of drug addiction. At Brookhaven, positron emission tomography (PET) scanning was being used to study the brain in people with schizophrenia. When Volkow moved to the University of Texas, studying patients with schizophrenia was not an option, but studying patients with cocaine addiction was possible. Volkow and colleagues studied the distribution of blood flow in the brain of chronic cocaine users and control patients who did use cocaine. They found decreased blood flow to the prefrontal cortex of cocaine users, that continued after ten days of withdrawal from cocaine use. This research has played a part in changing the public's view of drug addiction, from that of a moral violation or character flaw to an understanding that pathological changes to brain structure make it very difficult for addicts to give up their addictions. Volkow concludes that abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex create a feeling of need or craving that people with addictions find difficult to prevent. She argues that this makes it difficult to override compulsions by exercising cognitive control. The main areas affected are the orbitofrontal cortex, which maintains attention to goals, and the anterior cingulate cortex, that mediates the capacity to monitor and select action plans. Both areas receive stimulation from dopamine neurons that originate in the ventral tegmental area. A steady influx of dopamine makes it difficult to shift attention away from the goal of attaining drugs. It also fastens attention to the motivational value of drugs, not pleasure. Volkow suggests that people with addictions are caught in a vicious circle of physical brain changes and the psychological consequences of those changes, leading to further changes.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=11066555
| 547,479 |
794,077 |
Actual consumption depends on gradients, maximum speeds, and loading and stopping patterns. Data produced for the European MEET project (Methodologies for Estimating Air Pollutant Emissions) illustrate the different consumption patterns over several track sections. The results show the consumption for a German ICE high-speed train varied from around . The Siemens Velaro D type ICE trains seat 460 (16 of which in the restaurant car) in their 200-meter length edition of which two can be coupled together. Per Deutsche Bahn calculations, the energy used per 100 seat-km is the equivalent of of gasoline (). The data also reflects the weight of the train per passenger. For example, TGV double-deck Duplex trains use lightweight materials, which keep axle loads down and reduce damage to track and also save energy. The TGV mostly runs on French nuclear fission power plants which are again limited – as all thermal power plants – to Carnot efficiency. Due to nuclear reprocessing being standard operating procedure, a higher share of the energy contained in the original Uranium is used in France than in e.g. the United States with its once thru fuel cycle.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=9848870
| 793,652 |
1,637,209 |
Serving as an Atlantic Fleet auxiliary for the next six years, the collier cruised the east coast from Boston to Rio de Janeiro, decommissioning twice for brief periods of upkeep — first from 23 June 1906 to 1 February 1907 and then again from 3 January 1910 to 16 September 1911 — and coaling many ships of the Atlantic Fleet and South American Patrol Force in her valuable service to the Fleet. On 1 August 1906 in route from Norfolk to Newport with a load of coal she ran aground on the south side of Long Island, New York in dense fog. She was refloated later by tugs. She ran aground on Brenton's Reef after leaving Newport, Rhode Island 1 July 1909. Refloated 2 August by the Arbuckle Wrecking Company and taken to Newport for temporary repairs before being towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard 21–22 December for permanent repairs. On 21 October, the collier departed Norfolk to return to the Pacific. Steaming once more around Cape Horn, she arrived San Diego on 29 January 1912 and the next month began supply operations off Mexico. Following a voyage to the North Pacific from 20 May to 23 November, visiting various ports in Alaska and the Aleutians, "Nero" continued cruising the eastern Pacific, making two brief trips to Pearl Harbor from 5 February to 6 March 1913 and 31 March to 8 May, until decommissioning on 31 July 1913 at Puget Sound Navy Yard.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=19401901
| 1,636,284 |
2,175,379 |
A native of Perth, Scotland, Johnston was born on October 13, 1881. He earned a bachelor's of science degree in 1903 and a doctor of science in 1908. From 1903 to 1905, Johnston's studies at St. Andrews University were funded by the Carnegie Scholarship. He began working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1907, leaving the next year for a position at the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution for Science. In 1916, Johnston became head of research for the American Zinc, Lead and Smelting Company, subsequently moving to the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1917, and the National Research Council in 1918. He taught at Yale University starting in 1919. From 1920, Johnston served as the school's first Sterling Professor. He resigned the position in 1927, returning to industry as head of research for the U.S. Steel Corporation. Johnston retired from U.S. Steel in 1946. He was a member of several scientific societies, serving on the editorial board of the American Chemical Society from 1914 to 1923, and as councilor in 1936. Johnston also led the Electrochemical Society as president between 1934 and 1935.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=59420294
| 2,174,135 |
32,131 |
Gardner began by describing the strategic consequences of ICBMs and briefly what the other two presenters would say. Von Neumann then began his speech, with no notes as he often did, speaking as the nation's preeminent scientist in matters of nuclear weaponry. He discussed technical matters, from the base nuclear engineering to the intricacies of missile targeting. Within these discussions, he once again mixed warnings that there were no known defenses against such weapons, and the fifteen minutes of warning that would be provided with the available radar system technology was all so little. One of the participants at the meeting, Vince Ford, was keeping track of the faces of all those listening to try to see if anyone was confused or lost. He saw no one, and thought that von Neumann had "knocked the ball out of the park." Now it was General Schriever's turn to speak. However, it was already 11:05 AM, and the meeting was supposed to finish five minutes before. Von Neumann had spoken for much longer than was originally planned however there was no restlessness or desire from anyone to leave; everyone was paying close attention to the speakers. Schriever spoke on how to realize the technology physically, in terms of manpower and what organizations were working on it, and the strategic plans for how to complete the project in the fastest way if it would be approved. He smartly attributed all the work being done to the recommendations of the earlier Teapot Committee that von Neumann chaired, and hence capitalized on the credibility of all the distinguished scientists that served on it too. The early restriction by Anderson also no longer mattered as much, as his proposed solutions were no longer his own but the solutions proposed in the final report of the Teapot Committee.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=15942
| 32,119 |
2,184,467 |
David Politzer was the recipient of the 2011 Houston Center for Photography Carol Crow Fellowship Award. His work has been shown at Artspace in New Haven, Connecticut,Vox Populi (Philadelphia), Video Dumbo (Brooklyn), the Syracuse International Film Festival and in a solo exhibition at the Museum of Northern Arizona. In the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Steven Litt wrote that Politzer "employs video, photography, performance and sculpture to discuss how mass media representations further confuse the vagaries of contemporary social interaction. Specifically, he is interested in portrayals of masculinity on the big and small screens, and the expectations they create. He uses an intimate and straightforward approach along with humor to address such topics as relationships, body image and self-confidence." Politzer's participation in the show was a spoofing parody of a natural resources museum show. Part of Politzer's solo show "TMI at Ten" at the Ten Gallery in New Orleans featured a video, titled "From the Rim", of a sequence of amateur videos of people arriving at and posing in front of the Grand Canyon. In 2016 Politzer and Bradly Brown showed video art together. In "Only a Signal Shown", a show in 2013 curated by Michael Hall which included works by "artists performing ridiculous acts of endurance", Politzer introduced the audience to his new studio.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=55019100
| 2,183,219 |
1,879,980 |
In April 2015, construction was temporarily suspended by Brazil's Ministry of Labor and Employment, claiming a "grave and imminent danger to the physical safety of workers." The ministry cited their concerns for "the absence of collective protection", and risk of workers falling, in addition to lack of security, no technical report on the stability of slopes at the site, and what was described as a potentially hazardous "accumulation of material". The temporary suspension added even more stress on the construction's timetable, with works being sped up significantly afterwards, with the Organising Committee stressing that "work was back on track." Unfortunately, delays proved to be a valid concern, when cycling test events originally scheduled to take place at the Velodrome on 18 – 20 March 2016 were rescheduled to 29 April – 1 May, due to a delay in the installation of the velodrome's track. Blame was put on poor conditions for the installation of the Siberian-sourced timber, which could potentially lead to the wood warping and bending. It was by then that President of the UCI Brian Cookson made public his concerns about the completion of the venue, bluntly stating to the media, in a press conference after the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, that completing the venue in time for test events in late April was "a challenge", and that "if the velodrome is not ready in time, there is no plan B."
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=26987883
| 1,878,899 |
870,417 |
The machines were supplied with RISC OS 3.10 or 3.11. The A30x0 series had a one-piece design, similar to the A3000 but slightly more shallow, while the A4000 looked like a slightly slimmer A5000. The A3010 model was intended to be a home computing machine, featuring a TV modulator (for use with traditional PAL-standard televisions, SCART televisions already being supported by all of these models) and standard 9-pin joystick ports, while the A3020 targeted the primary and middle school educational markets, featuring an optional built-in 2.5-inch hard drive and a dedicated network interface socket. Meanwhile, the A4000 was aimed at the secondary education and office markets, offering a separate adjustable keyboard to comply with ergonomics regulations deemed applicable in these markets. Technically, the A4000 was almost functionally identical to the A3020, only differing in the supported hard disk size (3.5-inch in the A4000), this due to the machine's different casing. Despite the resemblance to the A5000, the A4000 along with the other models only provided a single "mini-podule" expansion slot, just as the A3000 did. All three ARM250-based machines could be upgraded to 4 MB with plug-in chips: though the A3010 was designed for 2 MB, third party upgrades overcame this. In 1996, IFEL announced a memory upgrade for the range utilising a generic 72-pin SIMM module to provide 4 MB of RAM.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=63145
| 869,957 |
390,302 |
Generally speaking, anything that increases the rate of a process is a "catalyst", a term derived from Greek καταλύειν, meaning "to annul," or "to untie," or "to pick up." The concept of catalysis was invented by chemist Elizabeth Fulhame and described in a 1794 book, based on her novel work in oxidation-reduction experiments. The first chemical reaction in organic chemistry that used a catalyst was studied in 1811 by Gottlieb Kirchhoff who discovered the acid-catalyzed conversion of starch to glucose. The term "catalysis" was later used by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1835 to describe reactions that are accelerated by substances that remain unchanged after the reaction. Fulhame, who predated Berzelius, did work with water as opposed to metals in her reduction experiments. Other 18th century chemists who worked in catalysis were Eilhard Mitscherlich who referred to it as "contact" processes, and Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner who spoke of "contact action. "He developed Döbereiner's lamp, a lighter based on hydrogen and a platinum sponge, which became a commercial success in the 1820s that lives on today. Humphry Davy discovered the use of platinum in catalysis. In the 1880s, Wilhelm Ostwald at Leipzig University started a systematic investigation into reactions that were catalyzed by the presence of acids and bases, and found that chemical reactions occur at finite rates and that these rates can be used to determine the strengths of acids and bases. For this work, Ostwald was awarded the 1909 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Vladimir Ipatieff performed some of the earliest industrial scale reactions, including the discovery and commercialization of oligomerization and the development of catalysts for hydrogenation.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=5914
| 390,107 |
604,270 |
The Aircraft Board came under severe criticism for failure to meet goals or its own claims of aircraft production, followed by a highly publicized personal investigation by Gutzon Borglum, a harshly vocal critic of the board. Borglum had exchanged letters with President Wilson, a personal friend, from which he assumed an appointment to investigate had been authorized, which the administration soon denied. Both the U.S. Senate and the Department of Justice began investigations into possible fraudulent dealings. President Wilson also acted by appointing a Director of Aircraft Production on April 28, 1918, and abolished the Air Division of the OCSO, creating a Division of Military Aeronautics (DMA) with Brigadier General William L. Kenly brought back from France to be its head, to separate supervision of aviation from the duties of the Chief Signal Officer. Less than a month later, Wilson used a war powers provision of the Overman Act of May 20, 1918, to issue Executive Order No. 2862 that suspended for the duration of the war plus six months the statutory responsibilities of the Aviation Section and removed the DMA entirely from the Signal Corps (reporting directly to the Secretary of War). The DMA was assigned the function of procuring and training a combat force. In addition, the executive order created a Bureau of Aircraft Production (BAP), a military organization with a civilian director, as a separate executive bureau to provide the aircraft needed.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=662917
| 603,960 |
975,074 |
The main cytotoxic effect of "M. pneumoniae" is local disruption of tissue and cell structure along the respiratory tract epithelium due to its close proximity to host cells. Attachment of the bacteria to host cells can result in loss of cilia, a reduction in metabolism, biosynthesis, and import of macromolecules, and, eventually, infected cells may be shed from the epithelial lining. M. pneumoniae produces a unique virulence factor known as Community Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome (CARDS) toxin. The CARDS toxin most likely aids in the colonization and pathogenic pathways of M. pneumoniae, leading to inflammation and airway dysfunction. In addition, the formation of hydrogen peroxide is a key virulence factor in "M. pneumoniae" infections. Attachment of "M. pneumoniae" to erythrocytes permits diffusion of hydrogen peroxide from the bacteria to the host cell without detoxification by catalase or peroxidase, which can injure the host cell by reducing glutathione, damaging lipid membranes and causing protein denaturation. Local damage may also be a result of lactoferrin acquisition and subsequent hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion and peroxide formation. The cytotoxic effects of "M. pneumoniae" infections translate into common symptoms like coughing and lung irritation that may persist for months after infection has subsided. Local inflammation and hyperresponsiveness by infection induced cytokine production has been associated with chronic conditions such as bronchial asthma and has also been linked to progression of symptoms in individuals with cystic fibrosis and COPD.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=466746
| 974,563 |
907,486 |
Since the discovery of ribozymes that exist in living organisms, there has been interest in the study of new synthetic ribozymes made in the laboratory. For example, artificially-produced self-cleaving RNAs that have good enzymatic activity have been produced. Tang and Breaker isolated self-cleaving RNAs by in vitro selection of RNAs originating from random-sequence RNAs. Some of the synthetic ribozymes that were produced had novel structures, while some were similar to the naturally occurring hammerhead ribozyme. In 2015, researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a tethered ribosome that works nearly as well as the authentic cellular component that produces all the proteins and enzymes within the cell. Called Ribosome-T, or Ribo-T, the artificial ribosome was created by Michael Jewett and Alexander Mankin. The techniques used to create artificial ribozymes involve directed evolution. This approach takes advantage of RNA's dual nature as both a catalyst and an informational polymer, making it easy for an investigator to produce vast populations of RNA catalysts using polymerase enzymes. The ribozymes are mutated by reverse transcribing them with reverse transcriptase into various cDNA and amplified with error-prone PCR. The selection parameters in these experiments often differ. One approach for selecting a ligase ribozyme involves using biotin tags, which are covalently linked to the substrate. If a molecule possesses the desired ligase activity, a streptavidin matrix can be used to recover the active molecules.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=237132
| 907,008 |
659,022 |
Medicolegal forensic entomology covers evidence gathered through arthropod studies at the scenes of murder, suicide, rape, physical abuse and contraband trafficking. In murder investigations it deals with which insects eggs appear, their location on the body and in what order they appear. This can be helpful in determining a post mortem interval (PMI) and location of a death in question. Since many insects exhibit a degree of endemism (occurring only in certain places), or have a well-defined phenology (active only at a certain season, or time of day), their presence in association with other evidence can demonstrate potential links to times and locations where other events may have occurred. This discipline also assists in helping associate a victim, suspect and scene together. This is possible due to the different insect species located in specific geographical locations. Another area covered by medicolegal forensic entomology is the relatively new field of entomotoxicology. This particular branch involves the utilization of entomological specimens found at a scene in order to test for different drugs that may have possibly played a role in the death of the victim. The analytical perspective behind these methods essentially relies upon the fact that the presence of drugs within the carcass has an effect on the growth and morphology of the insects subsequently ingesting the toxins from the corpse. However, due to these morphological alterations resulting on the insects in question, this can potentially lead to an erroneous postmortem interval interpretation when basing the PMI estimation on the specimens physical development.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=61289
| 658,677 |
299,280 |
The firefighters who departed from Belluno, after receiving reports about the raising of the level of the Piave, could not reach the location, since from a certain point onwards the road, coming from the valley, had been completely ripped off. Longarone was reached by firefighters who departed Pieve di Cadore, who were the first to realize what had happened and were able to communicate it. At 5:30 a.m. on 10 October 1963, the first soldiers of the Italian Army arrived to bring relief and recover the dead. Among the soldiers involved there were above all Alpini, some of which belonged to the combat engineers, who dug by hand to seek the bodies of the missing. They also found safes of the banks of the country, no longer able to be opened with normal keys as they were damaged. The Firefighters from 46 Provincial Commands also participated in the rescue, with 850 men, including divers, land and helicopter teams and many vehicles and equipment. The Nucleo Sommozzatori of Genoa, with 8 personnel, was used in the basin in front of the Busche Dam, for dredging to search for bodies and drums of toxic substances (61 cyanide drums), with subsequent patrol by immersion and final removal of sludge when the basin was dry. Of the approximately 2,000 fatalities, only 1,500 bodies have been summarily recovered and recomposed, half of which are impossible to recognize.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=679597
| 299,119 |
290,124 |
Edward Thorndike (1874–1949) supported the scientific movement in education. He based teaching practices on empirical evidence and measurement. Thorndike developed the theory of instrumental conditioning or the law of effect. The law of effect states that associations are strengthened when it is followed by something pleasing and associations are weakened when followed by something not pleasing. He also found that learning is done a little at a time or in increments, learning is an automatic process and its principles apply to all mammals. Thorndike's research with Robert Woodworth on the theory of transfer found that learning one subject will only influence your ability to learn another subject if the subjects are similar. This discovery led to less emphasis on learning the classics because they found that studying the classics does not contribute to overall general intelligence. Thorndike was one of the first to say that individual differences in cognitive tasks were due to how many stimulus-response patterns a person had rather than general intellectual ability. He contributed word dictionaries that were scientifically based to determine the words and definitions used. The dictionaries were the first to take into consideration the users' maturity level. He also integrated pictures and easier pronunciation guide into each of the definitions. Thorndike contributed arithmetic books based on learning theory. He made all the problems more realistic and relevant to what was being studied, not just to improve the general intelligence. He developed tests that were standardized to measure performance in school-related subjects. His biggest contribution to testing was the CAVD intelligence test which used a multidimensional approach to intelligence and was the first to use a ratio scale. His later work was on programmed instruction, mastery learning, and computer-based learning:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=10332
| 289,967 |
626,804 |
Micro Facial expression training tools and subtle Facial expression training tools are software made to develop someone's skills in the competence of recognizing emotion. The software consists of a set of videos that you watch after being educated on the facial expressions. After watching a short clip, there is a test of your analysis of the video with immediate feedback. This tool is to be used daily to produce improvements. Individuals that are exposed to the test for the first time usually do poor trying to assume what expression was presented, but the idea is through the reinforcement of the feedback you unconsciously generate the correct expectations of that expression. These tools are used to develop rounder social skills and a better capacity for empathy. They are also quite useful for development of social skills in people on the autism spectrum. Lie detection is an important skill not only in social situations and in the workplace, but also for law enforcement and other occupations that deal with frequent acts of deception. Microexpression and subtle expression recognition are valuable assets for these occupations as it increases the chance of detecting deception. In recent years it was found that the average person has a 54% accuracy rate in terms of exposing whether a person is lying or being truthful. However, Ekman had done a research experiment and discovered that secret service agents have a 64% accuracy rate. In later years, Ekman found groups of people that are intrigued by this form of detecting deception and had accuracy rates that ranged from 68% to 73%. Their conclusion was that people with the same training on microexpression and subtle expression recognition will vary depending on their level of emotional intelligence.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=566231
| 626,471 |
1,484,413 |
Raw data frequently contain hidden frequencies. Combinations of a few fixed frequency waves can complicate the recognition of the mixture of signals, but still remain predictable over time. Publications show that atmospheric pressure contains hidden periodicities resulting from the gravitational force of the moon and the daily period of the sun. The reconstruction of these periodic signals of atmospheric tidal waves allows for an explanation and prediction of many anomalies present in extreme weather. Similar tidal waves must exist on the sun resulting from the gravitational force of planets. The rotation of the sun around its axes will cause a current, similar to the equatorial current on the earth. Perturbations or eddies around the current will cause anomalies on the surface of the sun. Horizontal rotational eddies in highly magnetic plasma will create a vertical explosion which will transport deeper, hotter plasma to above the surface of the sun. Each planet creates a tidal wave with a specific frequency on the sun. At times any two of the waves will occur in phase and other times will be out of phase. The resulting amplitude will oscillate with a difference frequency. The estimation of the spectra of sunspot data using the DZ algorithm provides two sharp frequency lines with periodicities close to 9.9 and 11.7 years. These frequency lines can be considered as difference frequencies caused by Jupiter and Saturn (9.9) and Venus and Earth (11.7). The difference frequency between 9.9 and 11.7 yields a frequency with a 64-year period. All of these periods are identifiable in sunspot data. The 64-year period component is currently in a declining mode. This decline may cause a cooling effect on the earth in the near future. An examination of the joint effect of multiple planets may reveal some long periods in sun activity and help explain climate fluctuations on earth.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=32683147
| 1,483,576 |
1,591,303 |
With a 27-5 record and ranked No. 8 in the country, Georgetown received an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA tournament, its third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Seeded second in the Midwest Regional, the Hoyas began their pursuit of their first back-to-back Final Four appearances since 1984 and 1985 by facing 15th-seeded Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) in the first round. The Hoyas dominated the undersized Retrievers, shooting 51 percent from the field and holding UMBC to 32-percent shooting and completely scoreless over a seven-minute stretch in the first half, during which the Retrievers missed eight straight shots: A Chris Wright three-point jumper gave the Hoyas a 31-17 lead with three minutes left in the half before UMBC's scoring drought ended. Georgetown went on a 22-5 run late in the first half, posted a 34-22 halftime lead, and won 66-47. Roy Hibbert exhibited thorough control inside and had 13 points, Jonathan Wallace also had 13, Austin Freeman contributed 11, and Patrick Ewing Jr., who filled in at center when Hibbert was on the bench, finished with 10 points.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=14518554
| 1,590,408 |
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