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Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence in Biological Sciences
Artificial intelligence (AI), currently a cutting-edge concept, has the potential to improve the quality of life of human beings. The fields of AI and biological research are becoming more intertwined, and methods for extracting and applying the information stored in live organisms are constantly being refined. As the field of AI matures with more trained algorithms, the potential of its application in epidemiology, the study of host–pathogen interactions and drug designing widens. AI is now being applied in several fields of drug discovery, customized medicine, gene editing, radiography, image processing and medication management. More precise diagnosis and cost-effective treatment will be possible in the near future due to the application of AI-based technologies. In the field of agriculture, farmers have reduced waste, increased output and decreased the amount of time it takes to bring their goods to market due to the application of advanced AI-based approaches. Moreover, with the use of AI through machine learning (ML) and deep-learning-based smart programs, one can modify the metabolic pathways of living systems to obtain the best possible outputs with the minimal inputs. Such efforts can improve the industrial strains of microbial species to maximize the yield in the bio-based industrial setup. 
  • 3.6K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibers
This entry briefly introduces hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCF), and mainly discusses their applications in  fiber gas Raman lasers (FGRL) at 1.7μm band. A 1.7 μm pulsed laser plays an important role in bioimaging, gas detection, and so on. FGRLs based on HC-PCFs provide a novel and effective method for fiber lasers operating at 1.7 μm. Compared with traditional methods, FGRLs have more advantages in generating high-power 1.7 μm pulsed lasers.
  • 3.6K
  • 08 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Compliant Continuum Robots
Compliant continuum robots (CCRs) are usually made of elastic materials, including nitinol alloy (NiTi), silicone, rubberand polyamide, etc. They are designed to be slender, i.e., low diameter to length ratio. CCRs have been widely employed in a constraint environment to manipulate tasks, such as minimally invasive cardiac surgery, orthopaedic surgery, endoscopic surgery, bariatric surgeryand the inspection of gas turbine engines, in-situ aero-engine maintenance works.
  • 3.6K
  • 03 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Recent Advances in Fabricating Wurtzite AlN
As a representative ultrawide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductor material, wurtzite aluminum nitride (AlN) material has many excellent properties such as high electron mobility (1100 cm2/Vs), high breakdown voltage (11.7 MV/cm), high piezoelectric coefficient, high thermal conductivity (320 W/m·K), high hardness (nine on the Mohs scale), high corrosion resistance, high chemical and thermal stability, as well as high bulk acoustic wave velocity (11,270 m/s).
  • 3.6K
  • 10 Jan 2022
Topic Review
The Phosphorus Bond
The phosphorus bond in chemical systems, which is an inter- or intramolecular noncovalent interaction, occurs when there is evidence of a net attractive interaction between an electrophilic region associated with a covalently or coordinately bonded phosphorus atom in a molecular entity and a nucleophile in another, or the same, molecular entity. It is the second member of the family of pnictogen bonds, formed by the second member of the pnictogen family of the periodic table. 
  • 3.6K
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar quantity, the magnitude of the gravitational force. Others define it as the magnitude of the reaction force exerted on a body by mechanisms that keep it in place: the weight is the quantity that is measured by, for example, a spring scale. Thus, in a state of free fall, the weight would be zero. In this sense of weight, terrestrial objects can be weightless: ignoring air resistance, the famous apple falling from the tree, on its way to meet the ground near Isaac Newton, would be weightless. The unit of measurement for weight is that of force, which in the International System of Units (SI) is the newton. For example, an object with a mass of one kilogram has a weight of about 9.8 newtons on the surface of the Earth, and about one-sixth as much on the Moon. Although weight and mass are scientifically distinct quantities, the terms are often confused with each other in everyday use (i.e. comparing and converting force weight in pounds to mass in kilograms and vice versa). Further complications in elucidating the various concepts of weight have to do with the theory of relativity according to which gravity is modeled as a consequence of the curvature of spacetime. In the teaching community, a considerable debate has existed for over half a century on how to define weight for their students. The current situation is that a multiple set of concepts co-exist and find use in their various contexts.
  • 3.6K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Airport Service Quality and Overall Satisfaction
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has impacted the aviation industry worldwide. Several restrictions and regulations have been implemented to prevent the virus’s spread and maintain airport operations. To recover the trustworthiness of air travelers in the new normality, improving airport service quality (ASQ) is necessary, ultimately increasing passenger satisfaction in airports.
  • 3.6K
  • 19 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Source and Application of Melanin
Melanin is a biological pigment formed by indoles and phenolic compounds. It is widely found in living organisms and has a variety of unique properties. Due to its diverse characteristics and good biocompatibility, melanin has become the focus in the fields of biomedicine, agriculture, the food industry, etc.
  • 3.6K
  • 17 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Bioadhesives for Bone Fracture Repair
Bone defects and complex fractures present significant challenges for orthopaedic surgeons. Current surgical procedures involve the reconstruction and mechanical stabilisation of complex fractures using metal hardware (i.e., wires, plates and screws). However, these procedures often result in poor healing. An injectable, biocompatible, biodegradable bone adhesive that could glue bone fragments back together would present a highly attractive solution.
  • 3.6K
  • 15 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Russia under Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin has served three terms and is currently in a fourth as President of Russia (2000–2004, 2004–2008, 2012–2018 and May 2018 to present) and was Acting President from 1999 to 2000, succeeding Boris Yeltsin after Yeltsin's resignation. Putin was also Prime Minister for three months in 1999 and served a full term from 2008 to 2012. During Putin's presidency, he has been a member of the Unity party and the United Russia party. He is also affiliated with the People’s Front, a group of supporters that Putin organized in 2011 to help improve the public's perception of United Russia. His political ideology, priorities and policies are sometimes referred to as Putinism (Russian: путинизм). Putin has enjoyed very high domestic approval ratings and in 2007 was Time magazine's Person of the Year. In 2015, he was designated No. 1 in Time 100, Time magazine's list of the top 100 most influential people in the world. In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, he was designated No. 1 on the Forbes list of The World’s Most Powerful People. The Russian economy and standard of living grew rapidly during the early period of Putin's regime, fueled largely by a boom in the oil industry. However, lower oil prices and sanctions for Russia's annexation of Crimea led to recession and stagnation in 2015 that has persisted into the present day.. Political freedoms have been sharply curtailed, leading to widespread condemmnation from human rights groups.
  • 3.6K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Human-Robot Collaboration
Human-Robot Collaboration is the study of collaborative processes in human and robot agents work together to achieve shared goals. Many new applications for robots require them to work alongside people as capable members of human-robot teams. These include robots for homes, hospitals, and offices, space exploration and manufacturing. Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) is an interdisciplinary research area comprising classical robotics, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, process design, layout planning, ergonomics, cognitive sciences, and psychology. Industrial applications of human-robot collaboration involve Collaborative Robots, or cobots, that physically interact with humans in a shared workspace to complete tasks such as collaborative manipulation or object handovers.
  • 3.6K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Original Affluent Society
The "original affluent society" is the proposition that argues that the lives of hunter-gatherers can be seen as embedding a sufficient degree of material comfort and security to be considered affluent. The theory was first put forward in a paper presented by Marshall Sahlins at a famous symposium in 1966 entitled 'Man the Hunter'. Sahlins observes that affluence is the satisfaction of wants, "which may be 'easily satisfied' either by producing much or desiring little." Given a culture characterized by limited wants, Sahlins argued that hunter-gatherers were able to live 'affluently' through the relatively easy satisfaction of their material needs. At the time of the symposium new research by anthropologists, such as Richard B. Lee's work on the !Kung of southern Africa, was challenging popular notions that hunter-gatherer societies were always near the brink of starvation and continuously engaged in a struggle for survival. Sahlins gathered the data from these studies and used it to support a comprehensive argument that states that hunter-gatherers did not suffer from deprivation, but instead lived in a society in which "all the people's wants are easily satisfied."
  • 3.6K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Application of Bacteriophages in Nanotechnology
Bacteriophages (phages for short) are viruses, which have bacteria as hosts. The single phage body virion, is a colloidal particle, often possessing a dipole moment. As such, phages were used as perfectly monodisperse systems to study various physicochemical phenomena (e.g., transport or sedimentation in complex fluids), or in the material science (e.g., as scaffolds). Nevertheless, phages also execute the life cycle to multiply and produce progeny virions. Upon completion of the life cycle of phages, the host cells are usually destroyed. Natural abilities to bind to and kill bacteria were a starting point for utilizing phages in phage therapies (i.e., medical treatments that use phages to fight bacterial infections) and for bacteria detection. Numerous applications of phages became possible thanks to phage display—a method connecting the phenotype and genotype, which allows for selecting specific peptides or proteins with affinity to a given target.
  • 3.6K
  • 21 Oct 2020
Topic Review
O3b MEO
O3b MEO is a satellite constellation in Medium Earth orbit (MEO) designed to provide low-latency broadband connectivity to remote locations for mobile network operators and internet service providers, maritime, aviation, and government and defence. Originally O3b, the name was changed in September 2020 to more clearly distinguish these satellites from the forthcoming O3b mPOWER constellation. O3b stood for "other three billion", or the other three billion people at the time that did not have stable internet access. The constellation was initially built, owned and operated by O3b Networks, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of SES S.A. in 2016 and ownership and operation of the constellation passed to SES Networks, a division of SES. The O3b MEO constellation began offering service in March 2014.
  • 3.6K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Human Embryogenesis
Human embryogenesis refers to the development and formation of the human embryo. It is characterised by the process of cell division and cellular differentiation of the embryo that occurs during the early stages of development. In biological terms, human development entails growth from a one-celled zygote to an adult human being. Fertilisation occurs when the sperm cell successfully enters and fuses with an egg cell (ovum). The genetic material of the sperm and egg then combine to form a single cell called a zygote and the germinal stage of prenatal development commences. Embryogenesis covers the first eight weeks of development; at the beginning of the ninth week the embryo is termed a fetus. Human embryology is the study of this development during the first eight weeks after fertilisation. The normal period of gestation (pregnancy) is nine months or 38 weeks. The germinal stage refers to the time from fertilization through the development of the early embryo until implantation is completed in the uterus. The germinal stage takes around 10 days. During this stage, the zygote begins to divide, in a process called cleavage. A blastocyst is then formed and implanted in the uterus. Embryogenesis continues with the next stage of gastrulation, when the three germ layers of the embryo form in a process called histogenesis, and the processes of neurulation and organogenesis follow. In comparison to the embryo, the fetus has more recognizable external features and a more complete set of developing organs. The entire process of embryogenesis involves coordinated spatial and temporal changes in gene expression, cell growth and cellular differentiation. A nearly identical process occurs in other species, especially among chordates.
  • 3.6K
  • 28 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Edit Distance
In computational linguistics and computer science, edit distance is a way of quantifying how dissimilar two strings (e.g., words) are to one another by counting the minimum number of operations required to transform one string into the other. Edit distances find applications in natural language processing, where automatic spelling correction can determine candidate corrections for a misspelled word by selecting words from a dictionary that have a low distance to the word in question. In bioinformatics, it can be used to quantify the similarity of DNA sequences, which can be viewed as strings of the letters A, C, G and T. Different definitions of an edit distance use different sets of string operations. Levenshtein distance operations are the removal, insertion, or substitution of a character in the string. Being the most common metric, the term Levenshtein distance is often used interchangeably with edit distance.
  • 3.6K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
COVID-19 and Fake News
COVID-19 can be defined as a global pandemic caused by a coronavirus that first surfaced in 2019. Fake news refers to false reports that can be found in digital media. The combination of these two concepts creates an especially mismanaged situation that can result in widespread unease among the population, to whom the news appears continuously and without quality filters.
  • 3.6K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Attention Mechanism for Remote Sensing
Machine learning, particularly deep learning (DL), has become a central and state-of-the-art method for several computer vision applications and remote sensing (RS) image processing. Researchers are continually trying to improve the performance of the DL methods by developing new architectural designs of the networks and/or developing new techniques, such as attention mechanisms. Since the attention mechanism has been proposed, regardless of its type, it has been increasingly used for diverse RS applications to improve the performances of the existing DL methods.
  • 3.6K
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Improvement of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)
Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is an herbaceous crop and plays an important role as common spices and vegetables. Pepper (Capsicum spp.) is one of the most cost-effective and agricultural vegetables in the world.
  • 3.6K
  • 10 Nov 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Iranian Household Electricity Use Compared to Selected Countries
Buildings account for nearly 40% of energy use in global contexts and climatic conditions tend to contribute to consumption. Human activities are also influential in energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that lead to global warming. Residential buildings are responsible for a considerable share. There are countries aggravating this situation by heavily relying on fossil fuels. Oil-rich countries are allocating an energy subsidy to the public, making energy cheaper for their consumers. This may result in negative consequences, including households’ inefficient energy use behaviours in countries such as Iran. Beyond the impact of energy subsidy allocation, this study aims to explore the climatic and non-climatic factors that affect the increase in domestic electricity use, particularly in Iran. For this purpose, this study begins with a comparative analysis between countries with and without the energy subsidy to examine the trends in domestic electricity use. Afterwards, the tendency of households’ electricity use in Iran will be analysed in consideration of climatic and non-climatic factors among several provinces in Iran. This study exploited published statistical data for the analysis. The results indicate the tendency of increased domestic electricity use due to the country’s generous subsidy offered to the public as well as climatic and non-climatic factors in Iran. These results may provide an opportunity for future studies regarding building occupants’ inefficient energy use behaviours for policy enactment in Iran and other oil-rich countries.
  • 3.6K
  • 29 Sep 2022
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