Your browser does not fully support modern features. Please upgrade for a smoother experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Molecular dynamics (MD) is a simulation technique that aims at deriving statements about the structural, dynamical, and thermodynamical properties of a molecular system. MD simulations have become increasingly useful in the modern drug development process. For example, in the lead discovery and lead optimization phases, MD facilitates the evaluation of the binding energetics and kinetics of the ligand-receptor interactions, therefore guiding the choice of the best candidate molecules for further development. in the future, the role of MD simulations in facilitating the drug development process is likely to grow substantially with the increasing computer power and advancements in the development of force fields and enhanced MD methodologies.
  • 3.9K
  • 20 Jan 2021
Topic Review
β-Glucan
β-glucans are complex polysaccharides that are found in several plants and foods, including mushrooms. β-glucans display an array of potentially therapeutic properties. 
  • 3.9K
  • 07 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Entity–Component–System
Entity–component–system (ECS) is an architectural pattern that is mostly used in game development. ECS follows the composition over inheritance principle that allows greater flexibility in defining entities where every object in a game's scene is an entity (e.g. enemies, bullets, vehicles, etc.). Every Entity consists of one or more components which add behavior or functionality. Therefore, the behavior of an entity can be changed at runtime by adding or removing components. This eliminates the ambiguity problems of deep and wide inheritance hierarchies that are difficult to understand, maintain and extend. Common ECS approaches are highly compatible and often combined with data-oriented design techniques.
  • 3.9K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Src Non-Receptor Tyrosine Kinase
Src non-receptor tyrosine kinase phosphorylates a variety of protein substrates that perform specific cellular functions. Activity of Src is regulated by a variety of stimuli and the Src protein is subjected to several types of post-translational modifications including lipidation, phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitylation, sumoylation and oxidation. In particular, p-Tyr416 Src has been known to be an active form while p-Tyr527 Src is an inactive form through autoinhibition by binding to Src SH2 own domain.
  • 3.9K
  • 23 May 2022
Topic Review
Environmental Intelligence, A Holistic Approach
The human beings intrinsically, intensively, and strongly guard their life and soul. This instinctive protection is also supported by the social, cultural, religious, and legal principles and regulations, too. If we consider the means of realizing this phenomenon to be the instinctive intelligence of man in preserving its life and health, we must admit that humans do not have such intelligence about their environment and this is a rare paradox. So, why cannot humans understand that the destruction of the environment will ultimately cause the destruction of the human race, while these same humans are incredibly industrious, active, and confident in guarding their own lives? This apparent and dangerous contradiction can be attributed to the lack of intelligence which historical experiences show it has been clearly prominent among individuals and human groups in the traditional world, and more likely in prehistoric man and has been badly damaged and destroyed in modern times and with the acceptance of the duet between man and nature. This is the intelligence that has to be revitalized again in an acceptable manner for the modern human beings. The mental relationship between people and the environment comes from a chain of experiences and knowledge, and the meaning of the environment derives from its functions. This intelligence, which we call "Environmental Intelligence", is the power of calculation, analysis, and presupposition that can help humans establish an organic and immediate relationship between their own partial actions and the large and subtle environmental effects that would immediately and undoubtedly influence the whole society and the entire environment and eventually every individual members of the society. This is the intelligence that has to have an individual and collective aspect and be learnt and transferred in a holistic connection of the individual and society and it is the intelligence that can establish a systematic and nonlinear relationship between the individual, society, environment and the bioenvironmental data. The acquisition and deepening of such intelligence can bridge the gaps that are existent in the human community and are dangerously growing on a daily basis even with the extensive and unprecedented instructions and notifications.
  • 3.9K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Heart Rate Variability in Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a non-invasive biomarker that can measure autonomic tone. Autonomic Nervous System deregulation is considered the leading cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), which is associated with decreased parasympathetic tone. HRV can measure the parasympathetic tone and changes in autonomic tone caused by therapeutic intervention in IBS. Further research is needed to confirm the efficacy of using HRV to measure the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions in IBS.
  • 3.9K
  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
GeForce 8 Series
The GeForce 8 series is the eighth generation of Nvidia's GeForce line of graphics processing units. The third major GPU architecture developed by Nvidia, Tesla represents the company's first unified shader architecture.
  • 3.9K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
3D Braiding Technology
3D braiding technologies enable the production of structures with complex geometry, which are often used for lightweight solutions, for example in automotive engineering. In addition, medical technology offers wide-ranging applications for 3D braiding technology. 3D braided structures are defined as those with yarns that intersect in all three spatial directions. 3D braiding processes allow the fiber orientation to be easily influenced, thus ensuring high strength and stiffness with reduced mass.
  • 3.9K
  • 25 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Stokes Boundary Layer
In fluid dynamics, the Stokes boundary layer, or oscillatory boundary layer, refers to the boundary layer close to a solid wall in oscillatory flow of a viscous fluid. Or, it refers to the similar case of an oscillating plate in a viscous fluid at rest, with the oscillation direction(s) parallel to the plate. For the case of laminar flow at low Reynolds numbers over a smooth solid wall, George Gabriel Stokes – after whom this boundary layer is called – derived an analytic solution, one of the few exact solutions for the Navier–Stokes equations. In turbulent flow, this is still named a Stokes boundary layer, but now one has to rely on experiments, numerical simulations or approximate methods in order to obtain useful information on the flow. The thickness of the oscillatory boundary layer is called the Stokes boundary-layer thickness.
  • 3.9K
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Wild Vigna Legumes
Legumes (family Fabaceae) represent the third largest family among flowering plants, consisting of approximately 650 genera and 20, 000 species which possess an undeniable vital nutritional value for both humans and animals due to their protein content. The genus Vigna is a huge and important set of legumes consisting of more than 200 species. The term under-exploited wild Vigna species has been attributed to some Vigna species of legumes that have not yet been domesticated. They do not possess commercial names since they have not got a common popular use by people or groups of people. Very few domesticated legumes species exist with more than one hundred (100) wild species under-exploited despite global food demand. A recent study explored farmers’ perceptions, preferences, and possible utilization of some wild Vigna species of legumes through quantitative and qualitative surveys conducted in a mid and high altitude agro-ecological zones in Tanzania to obtain the opinion of 150 farmers about wild legumes and their uses.
  • 3.9K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Dexibuprofen
S-(+) enantiomer of ibuprofen (IBU) dexibuprofen (DXI) is known to be more potent than its R-(−) form and exhibits many advantages over the racemic mixture of IBU such as lower toxicity, greater clinical efficacy, and lesser variability in therapeutic effects. Moreover, DXI potential has been recently advocated to reduce cancer development and prevent the development of neurodegenerative diseases in addition to its anti-inflammatory properties. 
  • 3.9K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Eco-efficiency
The term eco-efficiency was first proposed in 1990 by Schaltegger and Sturm. However, it was in 1991 that the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) was responsible for introducing one of the main concepts of eco-efficiency to the world. The term was defined as the delivery of economically competitive goods and services that meet the needs of society in terms of quality of life and that the entire process of manufacturing and availability for consumption, that is, throughout its life cycle, should have the least possible impact on the environment.
  • 3.9K
  • 13 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Market Power
In economics, market power refers to the ability of a firm to influence the price at which it sells a product or service to increase economic profit. In other words, market power occurs if a firm does not face a perfectly elastic demand curve and can set its price (P) above marginal cost (MC) without losing sales. This indicates that the magnitude of market power is associated with the gap between P and MC at a firm's profit maximising level of output. Such propensities contradict perfectly competitive markets, where market participants have no market power, P = MC and firms earn zero economic profit. Market participants in perfectly competitive markets are consequently referred to as 'price takers', whereas market participants that exhibit market power are referred to as 'price makers' or 'price setters'. A firm with market power has the ability to individually affect either the total quantity or price in the market. This said, market power has been seen to exert more upward pressure on prices due to effects relating to Nash equilibria and profitable deviations that can be made by raising prices. Price makers face a downward-sloping demand curve and as a result, price increases lead to a lower quantity demanded. The decrease in supply creates an economic deadweight loss (DWL) and a decline in consumer surplus. This is viewed as socially undesirable and has implications for welfare and resource allocation as larger firms with high markups negatively effect labour markets by providing lower wages. Perfectly competitive markets do not exhibit such issues as firms set prices that reflect costs, which is to the benefit of the customer. As a result, many countries have antitrust or other legislation intended to limit the ability of firms to accrue market power. Such legislation often regulates mergers and sometimes introduces a judicial power to compel divestiture. Market power provides firms with the ability to engage in unilateral anti-competitive behavior. As a result, legislation recognises that firms with market power can, in some circumstances, damage the competitive process. In particular, firms with market power are accused of limit pricing, predatory pricing, holding excess capacity and strategic bundling. A firm usually has market power by having a high market share although this alone is not sufficient to establish the possession of significant market power. This is because highly concentrated markets may be contestable if there are no barriers to entry or exit. Invariably, this limits the incumbent firm's ability to raise its price above competitive levels. If no individual participant in the market has significant market power, anti-competitive conduct can only take place through collusion, or the exercise of a group of participants' collective market power. An example of which was seen in 2007, when British Airways was found to have colluded with Virgin Atlantic between 2004 and 2006, increasing their surcharges per ticket from £5 to £60. Regulators are able to assess the level of market power and dominance a firm has and measure competition through the use of several tools and indicators. Although market power is extremely difficult to measure, through the use of widely used analytical techniques such as concentration ratios, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index and the Lerner index, regulators are able to oversee and attempt to restore market competitiveness.
  • 3.9K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Naturally Occurring Hydroxycinnamic Acids
Naturally occurring hydroxycinnamic acids, namely ferulic, para-coumaric, caffeic, sinapic acids, and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid are present in significant quantities in the cell wall of plants. They can make up about a third of the phenolic compounds in our diet, hence the interest in their potential biological activity and properties. Methods of synthesis and properties of natural and synthetic hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives are reviewed in detail.
  • 3.9K
  • 10 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Containment Building
A containment building, in its most common usage, is a reinforced steel, concrete or lead structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of 275 to 550 kPa (40 to 80 psi) . The containment is the fourth and final barrier to radioactive release (part of a nuclear reactor's defence in depth strategy), the first being the fuel ceramic itself, the second being the metal fuel cladding tubes, the third being the reactor vessel and coolant system. Each nuclear plant in the US is designed to withstand certain conditions which are spelled out as "Design Basis Accidents" in the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). The FSAR is available for public viewing, usually at a public library near the nuclear plant. The containment building itself is typically an airtight steel structure enclosing the reactor normally sealed off from the outside atmosphere. The steel is either free-standing or attached to the concrete missile shield. In the United States , the design and thickness of the containment and the missile shield are governed by federal regulations (10 CFR 50.55a), and must be strong enough to withstand the impact of a fully loaded passenger airliner without rupture. While the containment plays a critical role in the most severe nuclear reactor accidents, it is only designed to contain or condense steam in the short term (for large break accidents) and long term heat removal still must be provided by other systems. In the Three Mile Island accident the containment pressure boundary was maintained, but due to insufficient cooling, some time after the accident, radioactive gas was intentionally let from containment by operators to prevent over pressurization. This, combined with further failures, caused the release of up to 13 million curies of radioactive gas to atmosphere during the accident. While the Fukushima Daiichi plant had operated safely since 1971, an earthquake and tsunami well beyond the design basis resulted in failure of AC power, backup generators and batteries which defeated all safety systems. These systems were necessary to keep the fuel cool after the reactor had been shut down. This resulted in partial or complete meltdown of fuel rods, damage to fuel storage pools and buildings, release of radioactive debris to surrounding area, air and sea, and resorting to the expedient use of fire engines and concrete pumps to deliver cooling water to spent fuel pools and containment. During the incident, pressure within the containments of reactors 1-3 rose to exceed design limits, which despite attempts to reduce pressure by venting radioactive gases, resulted in breach of containment. Hydrogen leaking from the containment mixed with air into an explosive mixture which resulted in explosions in Unit 1, 3 and 4, complicating attempts to stabilize the reactors.
  • 3.9K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Dissociated Optic Nerve Fiber Layer
Dissociated optic nerve fiber layer (DONFL) appearance is characterized by dimpling of the fundus when observed after vitrectomy with the internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling in macular diseases. However, the cause of DONFL remains largely unknown. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings have indicated that the nerve fiber layer (NFL) and ganglion cells are likely to have been damaged in patients with DONFL appearance. Since DONFL appearance occurs at a certain postoperative period, it is unlikely to be retinal damage directly caused by ILM peeling because apoptosis occurs at a certain period after tissue damage and/or injury. However, it may be due to ILM peeling-induced apoptosis in the retinal tissue. Anoikis is a type of apoptosis that occurs in anchorage-dependent cells upon detachment of those cells from the surrounding extracellular matrix (i.e., the loss of cell anchorage). The anoikis-related proteins βA3/A1 crystallin and E-cadherin are reportedly expressed in retinal ganglion cells. 
  • 3.9K
  • 05 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Bloom's Taxonomy
Bloom's taxonomy is a set of three hierarchical models used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity. The three lists cover the learning objectives in cognitive, affective and sensory domains. The cognitive domain list has been the primary focus of most traditional education and is frequently used to structure curriculum learning objectives, assessments and activities. The models were named after Benjamin Bloom, who chaired the committee of educators that devised the taxonomy. He also edited the first volume of the standard text, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals.
  • 3.9K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Capital Centre
The Capital Centre (later USAir Arena and US Airways Arena) was an indoor arena in the eastern United States, located in Landover, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. Opened in late 1973, it closed in 1999, and was demolished in 2002. The seating capacity was 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey. The elevation at street level was approximately 160 feet (50 m) above sea level. The U.S. Census Bureau defined the land, later occupied by The Boulevard at the Capital Centre, as being in the Mitchellville census-designated place as of the 1990 U.S. Census, while in the 2000 U.S. Census the area was placed in the Lake Arbor CDP.
  • 3.9K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Autonomy as a Social Role
Personal autonomy is a crucial philosophical topic which is of great relevance for different disciplines. First I would present an introduction to the contemporary debate. Second,I’ll follow a line of thought that suggests to intend "personal autonomy" in a social sense. The urgency to undertake this move arises because of the wide variety of informational sources we are exposed which influence our behavior. Social background represents the basis for autonomy; at the same time, interaction with others (real or virtual) enlarges the possibility for autonomous judgements.
  • 3.9K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Spin
Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum carried by elementary particles, and thus by composite particles (hadrons) and atomic nuclei. Spin is one of two types of angular momentum in quantum mechanics, the other being orbital angular momentum. The orbital angular momentum operator is the quantum-mechanical counterpart to the classical angular momentum of orbital revolution and appears when there is periodic structure to its wavefunction as the angle varies. For photons, spin is the quantum-mechanical counterpart of the polarization of light; for electrons, the spin has no classical counterpart. The existence of electron spin angular momentum is inferred from experiments, such as the Stern–Gerlach experiment, in which silver atoms were observed to possess two possible discrete angular momenta despite having no orbital angular momentum. The existence of the electron spin can also be inferred theoretically from the spin–statistics theorem and from the Pauli exclusion principle—and vice versa, given the particular spin of the electron, one may derive the Pauli exclusion principle. Spin is described mathematically as a vector for some particles such as photons, and as spinors and bispinors for other particles such as electrons. Spinors and bispinors behave similarly to vectors: they have definite magnitudes and change under rotations; however, they use an unconventional "direction". All elementary particles of a given kind have the same magnitude of spin angular momentum, though its direction may change. These are indicated by assigning the particle a spin quantum number. The SI unit of spin is the same as classical angular momentum (i.e., N·m·s, J·s, or kg·m2·s−1). In practice, spin is given as a dimensionless spin quantum number by dividing the spin angular momentum by the reduced Planck constant ħ, which has the same dimensions as angular momentum, although this is not the full computation of this value. Very often, the "spin quantum number" is simply called "spin". The fact that it is a quantum number is implicit.
  • 3.9K
  • 27 Oct 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 2794
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Reprints

>>
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Medieval Royal Iconography
Academic Video Service
Feedback

Quick Survey

Encyclopedia MDPI is conducting a targeted survey to identify the specific barriers hindering efficient research. We invite you to spend 3 minutes defining the priorities for our next generation of structured knowledge tools.
Take Survey