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Topic Review
Possessions of Muhammad
The possessions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are a group of his items and possessions such as weapons, animals and others known with unique names. There is doubt about the attribution of these possessions to Muhammad, as many of them were lost during wars and tribulations. The scholar Ahmed Taymour says - after listing the remnants attributed to Muhammad in Constantinople (later Istanbul): "It is no secret that some of these remnants are likely to be true. However, we did not see any of the trustworthy people who mentioned it with proof or denial, for Allah (God), Glory be to Him, who knows about it best, and some of them cannot conceal what the idea or notion that stumbles on of suspicion and disputes it in doubts." The emir Ahmad Ibn Tulun mentioned in his book “Mufākahat al-Khullān fī Hawādith Az-Zamān”, in the incidents of the year 19 AH (640 CE) and 900 AH (1500 CE) that some claimed that they had a mug and some crutches of Muhammad and that “it was found that they are not of the possessions of the Prophet Muhammad, but rather they are the fragments of Al-Layth ibn Sa'd." The scholar Al-Suyuti said, on the authority of Muhammad (his garment): "This (the possessions) was used by the caliphs to inherit it and put it on their shoulders in processions sitting and riding, and it was on the able-bodied when he was killed and contaminated with blood, and I think it was lost in the temptation of the Tatars, for we belong to Allah (God) and to Him we shall return."
  • 5.4K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Electrochemical Energy Storage/Conversion System
Electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems such as electrochemical capacitors, batteries and fuel cells are considered as the most important technologies proposing environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions to address rapidly growing global energy demands and environmental concerns. Their commercial applications individually or in combination of two or more devices are based on their distinguishing properties e.g., energy/power densities, cyclability and efficiencies.
  • 5.4K
  • 03 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Development of Single-cell RNA Sequencing
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology provides a powerful tool for understanding complex biosystems at the single-cell and single-molecule level. The application of droplet- and microwell-based microfluidics in scRNA-seq has contributed greatly to improving sequencing throughput. 
  • 5.4K
  • 01 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Authority
Authority refers to the legitimate power or right to give commands, make decisions, and enforce obedience. It is a social, organizational, or governmental structure that establishes individuals or institutions as having the rightful power to lead, guide, or govern others. Authority is an essential aspect of social order, as it helps maintain stability and facilitates the functioning of institutions, organizations, and societies.
  • 5.4K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Matrix Metalloproteinases and Their Inhibitors
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling endopeptidases that have the capacity to degrade almost every component of the ECM. The degradation of the ECM is of great importance, since it is related to embryonic development and angiogenesis. It is also involved in cell repair and the remodeling of tissues. When the expression of MMPs is altered, it can generate the abnormal degradation of the ECM. This is the initial cause of the development of chronic degenerative diseases and vascular complications generated by diabetes. In addition, this process has an association with neurodegeneration and cancer progression. Within the ECM, the tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) inhibit the proteolytic activity of MMPs. TIMPs are important regulators of ECM turnover, tissue remodeling, and cellular behavior. Therefore, TIMPs (similar to MMPs) modulate angiogenesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. An interruption in the balance between MMPs and TIMPs has been implicated in the pathophysiology and progression of several diseases.
  • 5.4K
  • 18 Sep 2021
Topic Review
List of Methods of Torture
A list of torture methods and devices includes:
  • 5.4K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Taiji
Taiji or Tai chi (simplified Chinese: 太极; traditional Chinese: 太極; pinyin: tàijí; literally: 'great pole') is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potential, the oneness before duality, from which Yin and Yang originate. It can be compared with the old Wuji (無極, "without pole"). The term Taiji and its other spelling T'ai chi (using Wade–Giles as opposed to Pinyin) are most commonly used in the West to refer to Taijiquan (or T'ai chi ch'uan, 太極拳), an internal martial art, Chinese meditation system and health practice. This article, however, refers only to the use of the term in Chinese philosophy and in Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
  • 5.4K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Inclusive Governance
Inclusive governance is strongly connected to, yet not limited to, notions such as good governance, and democratic governance, a human rights-based approach to development and legitimacy. Inclusive governance is an intrinsic value within governance and has become an integral feature of the good governance agenda aiming at achieving a better world through establishing fair, judicious, transparent, accountable, and inclusive political systems and decision-making processes in public institutions.
  • 5.4K
  • 07 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Urban Green Spaces
n the context of urban land-use growth and the consequent impacts on the environment, green spaces provide ecosystem services for human health. The ecosystem services concept synthesises human–environmental interactions through a series of combined components of biodiversity and abiotic elements, linking ecological processes and functions. The concept of green infrastructure (GI) in the urban context emphasises the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces and natural areas.
  • 5.4K
  • 05 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Delphi (IDE)
Delphi is an integrated development environment (IDE) for rapid application development of desktop, mobile, web, and console software, developed by Embarcadero Technologies. It is also an event-driven language. Delphi's compilers use their own Object Pascal dialect of Pascal and generate native code for Microsoft Windows, macOS (IA-32 only), iOS, Android and Linux (x64 only). Since 2016, there have been new releases of Delphi every six months, with new platforms being added approximately every second release. Delphi includes a code editor, a visual designer, an integrated debugger, a source code control component, and support for third-party plugins. The code editor features Code Insight (code completion), Error Insight (real-time error-checking), and refactoring. The visual forms designer has traditionally used Visual Component Library (VCL) for native Windows development, but the FireMonkey (FMX) platform was later added for cross-platform development. Database support in Delphi is very strong. A Delphi project of a million lines to compile in a few seconds – one benchmark gave 170,000 lines per second. Delphi was originally developed by Borland as a rapid application development tool for Windows as the successor of Turbo Pascal. Delphi added full object-oriented programming to the existing language, and since then the language has grown to support generics and anonymous methods, and native Component Object Model (COM) support. In 2006, Borland’s developer tools section was transferred from Borland to a wholly owned subsidiary known as CodeGear, which was sold to Embarcadero Technologies in 2008. In 2015, Embarcadero was purchased by Idera Software, but the Embarcadero mark was retained for the developer tools division. Delphi and its C++ counterpart, C++Builder, are interoperable. They share many core components, notably the IDE, VCL, and much of the runtime library. In addition, they can be used jointly in a project. For example, C++Builder 6 and later can consume Delphi source code and C++ in one project, while packages compiled with C++Builder can be used from within Delphi. In 2007, the products were released jointly as RAD Studio, a shared host for Delphi and C++Builder, which can be purchased with either or both.
  • 5.4K
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Trigonometry
Trigonometry (from grc τρίγωνον (trígōnon) 'triangle', and μέτρον (métron) 'measure') is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. The Greeks focused on the calculation of chords, while mathematicians in India created the earliest-known tables of values for trigonometric ratios (also called trigonometric functions) such as sine. Throughout history, trigonometry has been applied in areas such as geodesy, surveying, celestial mechanics, and navigation. Trigonometry is known for its many identities. These trigonometric identities are commonly used for rewriting trigonometrical expressions with the aim to simplify an expression, to find a more useful form of an expression, or to solve an equation.
  • 5.4K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Lactic Acid Production Technologies
The lactic acid annual global market in 2020 was valued at 1.1 billion US dollars and is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% from 2021 to 2028. Lactic acid usage in end-use industries such as pharmaceuticals, biomedicals, foods, and beverages drives demand over the forecast period. Lactic acid is produced through chemical or microbial fermentative processes.
  • 5.4K
  • 10 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Non-Enzymatic Antioxidants
Oxidative stress has long been considered one of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in numerous diseases, which has led to the investigation of the antioxidant systems as a promising therapy more than two decades ago. A useful antioxidant must meet specific characteristics; it must be capable of interacting with biologically relevant oxidants and free radicals; its reaction by-products should be harmless; and finally, it must reach a sufficiently high concentration in the tissue and cell compartments to ensure its activity is quantitatively relevant.
  • 5.4K
  • 24 May 2022
Topic Review
Role of Evapotranspiration in Agricultural Water Management
Evapotranspiration (ET) is a major component of the water cycle and agricultural water balance. Estimation of water consumption over agricultural areas is important for agricultural water resources planning, management, and regulation. It leads to the establishment of a sustainable water balance, mitigates the impacts of water scarcity, as well as prevents the overusing and wasting of precious water resources. As evapotranspiration is a major consumptive use of irrigation water and rainwater on agricultural lands, improvements of water use efficiency and sustainable water management in agriculture must be based on the accurate estimation of ET. 
  • 5.4K
  • 12 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Zwitterionics Surfactants
Zwitterions are molecules that contain both a positive and negative charge within the same molecule. They are electrically neutral as a whole, but have distinct positive and negative regions within the molecule. The most common example of a zwitterion is the amino acid molecule, which contains both a carboxyl group (-COOH) and an amino group (-NH2) within the same molecule. The carboxyl group is negatively charged at physiological pH, while the amino group is positively charged, resulting in a net charge of zero for the molecule as a whole. Zwitterions have unique properties that make them useful in various applications. They are often used as buffer solutions in biochemistry and molecular biology, as they can maintain a stable pH even when small amounts of acid or base are added. Zwitterions are also used as surfactants, due to their amphipathic nature (i.e. they have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions). They are used in applications such as detergents and fabric softeners, where they can help to reduce surface tension and improve the wetting and dispersibility of the product. Zwitterionic surfactants have a unique structure that allows them to interact with a wide range of substances, making them useful in various applications. The unique combination of positive and negative charges in the same molecule provides a balance that enables them to interact with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances, allowing them to solubilize oils and greases, emulsify water-insoluble substances, and reduce surface tension.
  • 5.4K
  • 24 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Applications of Ant Colony Optimization
Ant-inspired metaheuristic algorithms known as ant colony optimization (ACO) offer an approach that has the ability to solve complex problems in both discrete and continuous domains. ACOs have gained significant attention in the field of water resources management, since many problems in this domain are non-linear, complex, challenging and also demand reliable solutions. 
  • 5.3K
  • 10 May 2023
Topic Review
Sunday Shopping
Sunday shopping, also called Sunday trading, refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognises as a day of rest. Rules governing shopping hours, such as Sunday shopping, vary around the world and some countries and subnational jurisdictions ban or restrict Sunday shopping.
  • 5.3K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Covalent Adaptable Networks
Thermosets are known to be very reliable polymeric materials for high-performance and light-weight applications, due to their retained dimensional stability, chemical inertia and rigidity over a broad range of temperatures. However, once fully cured, they cannot be easily reshaped or reprocessed, thus leaving still unsolved the issues of recycling and the lack of technological flexibility. Vitrimers, introduced by Leibler et al. in 2011, are a valiant step in the direction of bridging the chasm between thermoplastics and thermosets. Owing to their dynamic covalent networks, they can retain mechanical stability and solvent resistance, but can also flow on demand upon heating. More generally, the family of Covalent Adaptable Networks (CANs) is gleaming with astounding potential, thanks to the huge variety of chemistries that may enable bond exchange. Arising from this signature feature, intriguing properties such as self-healing, recyclability and weldability may expand the horizons for thermosets in terms of improved life-span, sustainability and overall enhanced functionality and versatility. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the most promising studies featuring CANs and vitrimers specifically, with particular regard for their industrial applications. Investigations into composites and sustainable vitrimers from epoxy-based and elastomeric networks are covered in detail.
  • 5.3K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
SCMaglev
The SCMaglev (superconducting maglev, formerly called the MLU) is a magnetic levitation (maglev) railway system developed by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and the Railway Technical Research Institute. On 21 April 2015, a manned seven-car L0 Series SCMaglev train reached a speed of 603 km/h (375 mph), less than a week after the same train clocked 590 km/h (370 mph), breaking the previous land speed record for rail vehicles of 581 km/h (361 mph) set by a JR Central MLX01 maglev train in December 2003.
  • 5.3K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Cyanophyceae
Cyanobacteria (/saɪˌænoʊbækˈtɪəri.ə/), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of Gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name cyanobacteria refers to their color (from grc κυανός (kuanós) 'blue'), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blue-green algae.[note 1] They appear to have originated in a freshwater or terrestrial environment. Sericytochromatia, the proposed name of the paraphyletic and most basal group, is the ancestor of both the non-photosynthetic group Melainabacteria and the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, also called Oxyphotobacteria. Cyanobacteria use photosynthetic pigments, such as carotenoids, phycobilins, and various forms of chlorophyll, which absorb energy from light. Unlike heterotrophic prokaryotes, cyanobacteria have internal membranes. These are flattened sacs called thylakoids where photosynthesis is performed. Phototrophic eukaryotes such as green plants perform photosynthesis in plastids that are thought to have their ancestry in cyanobacteria, acquired long ago via a process called endosymbiosis. These endosymbiotic cyanobacteria in eukaryotes then evolved and differentiated into specialized organelles such as chloroplasts, chromoplasts, etioplasts, and leucoplasts, collectively known as plastids. Cyanobacteria are the first organisms known to have produced oxygen. By producing and releasing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, cyanobacteria are thought to have converted the early oxygen-poor, reducing atmosphere into an oxidizing one, causing the Great Oxidation Event and the "rusting of the Earth", which dramatically changed the composition of the Earth's life forms. The cyanobacteria Synechocystis and Cyanothece are important model organisms with potential applications in biotechnology for bioethanol production, food colorings, as a source of human and animal food, dietary supplements and raw materials. Cyanobacteria produce a range of toxins known as cyanotoxins that can pose a danger to humans and animals.
  • 5.3K
  • 01 Nov 2022
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