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Topic Review
Traditional Seaweed Farming Methods
The imperative to substantially expand the world’s seaweed aquaculture supply is well established in published literature and has the strong backing of virtually all global non-government organizations (NGOs). The expansion of seaweed farming is recognised as one of the best approaches to realising many of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
  • 4.0K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Superoxide Radical Anion O2•−
Classically, superoxide anion O2•− and reactive oxygen species ROS play a dual role. At the physiological balance level, they are a by-product of O2 reduction, necessary for cell signalling, and at the pathological level they are considered harmful, as they can induce disease and apoptosis, necrosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis and autophagic cell death.
  • 4.0K
  • 31 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Cutibacterium acnes
Cutibacterium acnes is a member of the skin microbiota found predominantly in regions rich in sebaceous glands. It is involved in maintaining healthy skin and has long been considered a commensal bacterium. Its involvement in various infections has led to its emergence as an opportunist pathogen. Interactions between C. acnes and the human host, including the human skin microbiota, promote the selection of C. acnes strains capable of producing several virulence factors that increase inflammatory capability. This pathogenic property may be related to many infectious mechanisms, such as an ability to form biofilms and the expression of putative virulence factors capable of triggering host immune responses or enabling C. acnes to adapt to its environment. During the past decade, many studies have identified and characterized several putative virulence factors potentially involved in the pathogenicity of this bacterium. These virulence factors are involved in bacterial attachment to target cells, polysaccharide-based biofilm synthesis, molecular structures mediating inflammation, and the enzymatic degradation of host tissues. C. acnes, like other skin-associated bacteria, can colonize various ecological niches other than skin. It produces several proteins or glycoproteins that could be considered to be active virulence factors, enabling the bacterium to adapt to the lipophilic environment of the pilosebaceous unit of the skin, but also to the various organs it colonizes. 
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  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Energy Situation in Central Asia
Despite plentiful domestically available energy resources, the energy supply in Central Asia is very unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. Almost half of the total population of Central Asia lives in rural areas and there is a lack of access to modern energy services to meet primary needs. 
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  • 29 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Types of Bacterial Movement
Skin and wound infections are serious medical problems, and the diversity of bacteria makes such infections difficult to treat. Bacteria possess many virulence factors, among which motility plays a key role in skin infections. This feature allows for movement over the skin surface and relocation into the wound. The aim is to review the type of bacterial movement and to indicate the underlying mechanisms than can serve as a target for developing or modifying antibacterial therapies applied in wound infection treatment. Five types of bacterial movement are distinguished: appendage-dependent (swimming, swarming, and twitching) and appendage-independent (gliding and sliding). All of them allow bacteria to relocate and aid bacteria during infection. Swimming motility allows bacteria to spread from ‘persister cells’ in biofilm microcolonies and colonise other tissues. Twitching motility enables bacteria to press through the tissues during infection, whereas sliding motility allows cocci (defined as non-motile) to migrate over surfaces. Bacteria during swarming display greater resistance to antimicrobials. Molecular motors generating the focal adhesion complexes in the bacterial cell leaflet generate a ‘wave’, which pushes bacterial cells lacking appendages, thereby enabling movement.
  • 4.0K
  • 06 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Islamic Revival
Islamic revival (Arabic: تجديد tajdīd, lit., "regeneration, renewal"; also الصحوة الإسلامية aṣ-Ṣaḥwah l-ʾIslāmiyyah, "Islamic awakening") refers to a revival of the Islamic religion. The revivers are known in Islam as mujaddids. Within the Islamic tradition, tajdid has been an important religious concept, which has manifested itself throughout Islamic history in periodic calls for a renewed commitment to the fundamental principles of Islam and reconstruction of society in accordance with the Quran and the traditions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (hadith). The concept of tajdid has played a prominent role in contemporary Islamic revival. In academic literature, "Islamic revival" is an umbrella term encompassing "a wide variety of movements, some intolerant and exclusivist, some pluralistic; some favorable to science, some anti-scientific; some primarily devotional, and some primarily political; some democratic, some authoritarian; some pacific, some violent". After the late 1970s, when the Iranian Revolution erupted, a worldwide Islamic revival emerged in response to the success of the revolution, owing in large part to the failures of secular Arab nationalism in the aftermath of the Six-Day War and the humiliation the ideology’s defeat in the war brought to the Muslim world, and popular disappointment with secular nation states in the Middle East and Westernized ruling elites, which had dominated the Muslim world during the preceding decades, and which were increasingly seen as authoritarian, ineffective and lacking cultural authenticity. Further motivation for the revival included the Lebanese Civil War, which began in 1975 and resulted in a level of sectarianism between Muslims and Christians previously unseen in many Middle Eastern countries. Another motivation was the newfound wealth and discovered political leverage brought to much of the Muslim world in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and also the Grand Mosque seizure which occurred in late 1979 amidst the revival; both of these events encouraged the rise of the phenomenon of “Petro-Islam” in Saudi Arabia during the mid-to-late 1970s in an effort by the Saudi monarchy to counterbalance the consolidation of the Iranian Revolution, exporting neo-Wahhabi ideologies to many mosques worldwide. As such, it has been argued that with both of the Islamic superpowers in the Middle East (Iran and Saudi Arabia) espousing Islamist ideologies by the end of the 1970s, and the isolation of the traditionally secularist Egypt during the period from being the most influential Arab country as a result of the Camp David Accords- resulting in Saudi Arabia’s newfound dominance over Arab countries - the Islamic revival became especially potent amongst Muslims worldwide. With Lebanon, traditionally a source of secular Arab culture, fractured between Muslim and Christian, exposing the failures of its secular confessionalist political system, there was a general idea amongst many Muslims by the late 1970s that secularism had failed in the Middle East to deliver the demands of the masses. In Egypt, the revival was also motivated by the migration of many Egyptians during the 1980s to the Gulf countries in search of work; when they returned, returning especially in the aftermath of the Gulf War in Kuwait, they brought the neo-Wahhabist ideologies and more conservative customs of the Gulf back with them. Religiously, the revival was motivated by a desire to "restore Islam to ascendancy in a world that has turned away from God". This revival has been accompanied by growth of various reformist-political movements inspired by Islam (also called Islamist), and by "re-Islamisation" of society from above and below, with manifestations ranging from sharia-based legal reforms to greater piety and growing adoption of Islamic culture (such as increased attendance at Hajj) among the Muslim public. An especially obvious sign of the re-Islamisation of many Muslims was the rise of the hijab in the public space, when in previous decades it had largely been abandoned in some Middle Eastern countries, as well as the adoption of the previously-unknown niqab by women outside of Gulf countries. Among immigrants in non-Muslim countries, it includes a feeling of a "growing universalistic Islamic identity" or transnational Islam, brought on by easier communications, media and travel. The revival has also been accompanied by an increased influence of fundamentalist preachers and terrorist attacks carried out by some radical Islamist groups on a global scale. The revival, which erupted during at the end of the 1970s and continued throughout the 1980s, has gradually fizzled out in many countries, including Saudi Arabia and Sudan, and has come to be abandoned by many younger and disillusioned people in more Islamist societies such as Iran , Tunisia and Turkey - placing more younger people in these countries increasingly at odds with their government, with whom they associate the Islamic revival with the political authoritarianism of these countries with. However it has remained fairly strong in other countries, particularly Syria , Iraq, Afghanistan and in Sahel, as a result of the Arab Spring. Preachers and scholars who have been described as revivalists (Mujaddids) or mujaddideen, by differing sects and groups, in the history of Islam include Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Ahmad Sirhindi, Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and Muhammad Ahmad. In the 20th century, figures such as Sayyid Rashid Rida, Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Abul A'la Maududi, Malcolm X, and Ruhollah Khomeini, have been described as such, and academics often use the terms "Islamist" and "Islamic revivalist" interchangeably. Contemporary revivalist currents include Jihadism, which seeks to intellectually and militarily counter socially regressive post colonial rhetoric and influences; neo-Sufism, which cultivates Muslim spirituality; and classical fundamentalism, which stresses obedience to Sharia (Islamic law) and ritual observance.
  • 4.0K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Traumatic Bonding
Trauma bonds (also referred to as traumatic bonds) are emotional bonds with an individual (and sometimes, with a group) that arise from a recurring, cyclical pattern of abuse perpetuated by intermittent reinforcement through rewards and punishments. The process of forming trauma bonds is referred to as trauma bonding or traumatic bonding. A trauma bond usually involves a victim and a perpetrator in a uni-directional relationship wherein the victim forms an emotional bond with the perpetrator. This can also be conceptualized as a dominated-dominator or an abused-abuser dynamic. Two main factors are involved in the establishment of a trauma bond: a power imbalance and intermittent reinforcement of good and bad treatment, or reward and punishment. Trauma bonding can occur in the realms of romantic relationships, parent-child relationships, incestuous relationships, cults, hostage situations, sex trafficking (especially that of minors), or tours of duty among military personnel. Trauma bonds are based on terror, domination, and unpredictability. As a trauma bond between an abuser and a victim strengthens and deepens, it leads to conflicting feelings of alarm, numbness, and grief, that show up in a cyclical pattern. More often than not, victims in trauma bonds do not have agency and autonomy, and don't have an individual sense of self either. Their self-image is a derivative and an internalization of the abuser's conceptualization of them. Trauma bonds have severe detrimental effects on the victim not only while the relationship persists, but beyond that as well. Some long-term impacts of trauma bonding include but are not limited to remaining in abusive relationships, having adverse mental health outcomes like low self-esteem, negative self image, and increased likelihood of depression and bipolar disorder, and perpetuating a trans-generational cycle of abuse. Victims who traumatically bond with their victimizers are often unable to leave these relationships or are only able to do so with significant duress and difficulty. Even among those who do manage to leave, many go back to the abusive relationship due to the pervasiveness of the learned trauma bond.
  • 4.0K
  • 02 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Radix Polygoni Multiflori
Radix Polygoni Multiflori (RPM), the dry root of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (Fam. Polygonaceae), has been used as a tonic and an anti-aging remedy for centuries. However, its safe and effective application in clinical practice could be hindered by its liver injury potential and lack of investigations on its hepatotoxicity mechanism.
  • 4.0K
  • 07 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Polyamory
Polyamory (from grc πολλοί (polloí) 'many', and la amor 'love') is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships with a conscious management of jealousy and reject the view that sexual and relational exclusivity are prerequisite for deep, committed, long-term, loving relationships. Others prefer to restrict their sexual activity to only members of the group, a closed polyamorous relationship that is usually referred to as polyfidelity. Polyamory has come to be an umbrella term for various forms of non-monogamous, multi-partner relationships, or non-exclusive sexual or romantic relationships. Its usage reflects the choices and philosophies of the individuals involved, but with recurring themes or values, such as love, intimacy, honesty, integrity, equality, communication, and commitment. It can sometimes be distinguished from some other forms of ethical non-monogamy in that the relationships involved are loving intimate relationships, as opposed to purely sexual relationships.
  • 4.0K
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Fiat CR.42
The Fiat CR.42 Falco ("Falcon", plural: Falchi) was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter developed and produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione. It served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica both before and during the Second World War. The CR.42 was an evolutionary design of Fiat’s earlier CR.32 fighter, featuring a more powerful supercharged Fiat A.74R1C.38 air-cooled radial engine and aerodynamic improvements to its relatively clean exterior surfaces. The aircraft proved to be relatively agile in flight, a factor that had been attributed to its very low wing loading and a sometimes decisive tactical advantage. RAF Intelligence praised its exceptional maneuverability, further noting that "the plane was immensely strong", though it was technically outclassed by faster, more heavily armed monoplanes. While primarily used as a fighter, various other roles were adopted for some variants of the type, such as the CR.42CN dedicated night fighter model, the CR.42AS ground attack aircraft, and the CR.42B Biposto twin-seat trainer aircraft. During May 1939, the CR.42 entered service with the Regia Aeronautica; it was the last of the Fiat biplane fighters to enter front line service. By 10 June 1940, the date when Italy entered the Second World War, roughly 300 of the type had been delivered, which were initially tasked with defending Italy's cities and key military installations. By the end of 1940, the Falco had been involved in combat on various fronts, including the Battle of France, the Battle of Britain, Malta, North Africa, and Greece. By the end of the war, Italian CR.42s had been used on further fronts, including Iraq, the Eastern Front and the Italian mainland. Following the signing of the Italian armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, the type was primarily relegated to use as a trainer by the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force , while some Italian CR.42s were seized by the Germans and used by the Luftwaffe to perform ground attack missions. In addition to its service in Italy, the CR.42 was produced and entered service in smaller numbers with the air forces of several nations, including Belgium, Sweden and Hungary. By the end of production, in excess of 1,800 CR.42s has been constructed, making it the most numerous Italian aircraft to be used during the Second World War. Aviation author Przemyslaw Skulski has claimed that the fighter had performed at its best during its service with the Hungarian Air Force, specifically during its deployment against Soviet forces on the Eastern Front of the war, where it reportedly achieved a kill to loss ratio of 12 to 1.
  • 4.0K
  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
U-Boat Campaign
The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Allies. It took place largely in the seas around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean. The German Empire relied on imports for food and domestic food production (especially fertilizer) and the United Kingdom relied heavily on imports to feed its population, and both required raw materials to supply their war industry; the powers aimed, therefore, to blockade one another. The British had the Royal Navy which was superior in numbers and could operate on most of the world's oceans because of the British Empire, whereas the Imperial German Navy surface fleet was mainly restricted to the German Bight, and used commerce raiders and unrestricted submarine warfare to operate elsewhere. In the course of events in the Atlantic alone, German U-boats sank almost 5,000 ships with nearly 13 million gross register tonnage, losing 178 boats and about 5,000 men in combat. Other naval theatres saw U-boats operating in both the Far East and South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean and North Seas.
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  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Cybersecurity Frameworks and Information Security Standards
Businesses are reliant on data to survive in the competitive market, and data is constantly in danger of loss or theft. Loss of valuable data leads to negative consequences for both individuals and organizations. Cybersecurity is the process of protecting sensitive data from damage or theft. To successfully achieve the objectives of implementing cybersecurity at different levels, a range of procedures and standards should be followed. Cybersecurity standards determine the requirements that an organization should follow to achieve cybersecurity objectives and facilitate against cybercrimes. Cybersecurity standards demonstrate whether an information system can meet security requirements through a range of best practices and procedures. A range of standards has been established by various organizations to be employed in information systems of different sizes and types. 
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  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Born Equal: Can Genetics Make the Perfect Athlete?
Thanks to the dawn of accessible science to map the human genome and the research that is poured into it, genetics are playing a larger role in elite sports. Genetics have a large influence over many attributes necessary for athletic excellence such as strength, muscle size, muscle fibre composition, anaerobic threshold, lung capacity, and flexibility. The aim of the study was to analyse a large database of athletes, comparing their chosen sports and the level that they play. Analysis of the individuals will include genotypes in six heavily studied genes attributed to athlete potential: ACTN3, MSTN, NOS3, ACE, AMPD1 and TRHR. A combination of both nurture and nature will always be required to bring the most out of an individual, however it would be naïve to ignore natural gifts. Genotypes may give an advantage to certain individuals but the lines between which genotype bring the most benefits is blurred, certain genotypes such as those found in MSTN are very uncommon but have very high affinity for power sports and bodybuilding. Other genes such as the once hailed “sports gene” ACTN3 have far more varied distribution and no particular athlete appeared to be hampered from any genotype, however the C allele did have affinity towards strength and power. From the six analysed genes in the study both power/strength athletes and bodybuilders had completed genotype affinity, however these genes seem to have less impact on those that compete in endurance/stamina sports. The  ACTN3 C allele, MSTN G allele, NOS3 T allele, ACE II, AMPD1 C allele and TRHR C allele all show affinity towards power, strength and/or bodybuilding athletes, only the NOS3 C allele showed a true affinity towards endurance/stamina sports. 
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  • 13 Aug 2022
Topic Review
GameMaker Studio
GameMaker Studio (formerly Animo until 1999, Game Maker until 2011, GameMaker until 2012, and GameMaker: Studio until 2017) is a cross-platform game engine developed by YoYo Games. GameMaker accommodates the creation of cross-platform and multi-genre video games using a custom drag-and-drop visual programming language or a scripting language known as Game Maker Language, which can be used to develop more advanced games that could not be created just by using the drag and drop features. GameMaker was originally designed to allow novice computer programmers to be able to make computer games without much programming knowledge by use of these actions. Recent versions of software also focus on appealing to advanced developers.
  • 4.0K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ultra-Precision Machining Technologies
In order to reduce the surface/subsurface damage of soft-brittle optical materials and improve their surface quality, it is necessary to carry out ultra-precision machining of soft-brittle optical materials. Common ultra-precision machining techniques for soft-brittle optical materials include abrasive-free deliquescent polishing, single-point diamond turning (SPDT), chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), ultra-precision grinding, micro-milling, ion beam figuring (IBF) and magnetorheological finishing (MRF).
  • 4.0K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Knowledge Integration in Smart Factories
Knowledge integration is well explained by the human–organization–technology (HOT) approach known from knowledge management. This approach contains the horizontal and vertical interaction and communication between employees, human-to-machine, but also machine-to-machine. Different organizational structures and processes are supported with the help of appropriate technologies and suitable data processing and integration techniques. In a Smart Factory, manufacturing systems act largely autonomously on the basis of continuously collected data. The technical design concerns the networking of machines, their connectivity and the interaction between human and machine as well as machine-to-machine. Within a Smart Factory, machines can be considered as intelligent manufacturing systems. Such manufacturing systems can autonomously adapt to events through the ability to intelligently analyze data and act as adaptive manufacturing systems that consider changes in production, the supply chain and customer requirements. Inter-connected physical devices, sensors, actuators, and controllers form the building block of the Smart Factory, which is called the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT uses different data processing solutions, such as cloud computing, fog computing, or edge computing, to fuse and process data. This is accomplished in an integrated and cross-device manner.
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  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Academic Tourism and Transport Services
Academic tourism is an important opportunity for the tourism industry and for the growth of academic knowledge. Thus, the continued growth of academic tourism has provided opportunities for tour operators, as well as for educational service providers, so that students have become a potential source of long-term investments for destinations. In addition, transport and mobility opportunities in tourist destinations are extremely relevant for academic tourism, especially as a result of the fact that transport can be considered as a primary factor in tourism. More specifically, the unavailability of transport will negatively affect the image of a particular tourist destination, which will, therefore, lead to a reduction in the likelihood that that destination will be visited again. 
  • 4.0K
  • 23 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Fundamental Building Solutions for Expansive Soils
Expansive soils exist in many countries worldwide, and their characteristics make them exceedingly difficult to engineer. Due to its significant swelling and shrinkage characteristics, expansive soil defies many of the stabilization solutions available to engineers. Differential heave or settlement occurs when expansive soil swells or shrinks, causing severe damage to foundations, buildings, roadways, and retaining structures. In such soils, it is necessary to construct a foundation that avoids the adverse effects of settlement.
  • 4.0K
  • 06 May 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Bergamot Oil: Botany, Production, Pharmacology
Bergamot essential oil (BEO) is the result of the mechanical manipulation (cold pressing) of the exocarp (flavedo) of the hesperidium of Citruslimon (L.) Osbeck Bergamot Group (synonym Citrus × bergamia Risso & Poit.), resulting in the bursting of the oil cavities embedded in the flavedo and the release of their contents. It is chemically dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons (i.e., limonene), but with significant percentages of oxygenated monoterpenes (i.e., linalyl acetate) and of non-volatile oxygen heterocyclic compounds (i.e., bergapten). 
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  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Silver in Ophthalmology
The use of silver preparations in medicine is becoming increasingly popular. 
  • 4.0K
  • 15 Apr 2021
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