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Topic Review
Titanium Dioxide for Water Purification
Titanium dioxide (TiO2), one of the most frequently used materials in general, has emerged as an excellent photocatalytic material for environmental applications. Here, principles and mechanisms of the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 have been analyzed. Structural and physical specificities of TiO2 nanoparticles, such as morphology, crystal structure, and electronic and optical properties, have been considered in the context of photocatalytic applications.
  • 3.5K
  • 16 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Maladjustment
Maladjustment is a term used in psychology to refer the "inability to react successfully and satisfactory to the demand of one's environment". The term maladjustment can be refer to a wide range of social, biological and psychological conditions. Maladjustment can be both intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic maladjustment is the disparities between the needs, motivations and evaluations of an individual, with the actual reward gain through experiences. Extrinsic maladjustment on the other hand, is refer to when an individual's behavior is does not meet the cultural or social expectation of society. The causes of maladjustment can be attributed to a wide variety of factors, including: family environment, personal factors, and school-related factors. Maladjustment affects an individual's development and the ability to maintain a positive interpersonal relationship with others. Often maladjustment emerges during early stages of childhood, when a child is in the process of learning methods to solve problem that occurs in interpersonal relationship in their social network. A lack of intervention for individuals who are maladjusted can cause negative effects later on in life.
  • 3.5K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Family
A "family" is a social unit consisting of individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption. It is a fundamental institution in society, providing emotional support, companionship, and a sense of belonging. Families typically share common living arrangements and work together to meet the physical, emotional, and financial needs of their members. The structure and dynamics of families can vary widely across cultures and societies.
  • 3.5K
  • 25 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Eurabia
Eurabia is a political neologism, a portmanteau of Europe and Arabia, used to describe a far-right anti-Muslim conspiracy theory, involving globalist entities allegedly led by French and Arab powers, to Islamise and Arabise Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and undermining a previous alignment with the United States and Israel. The term was first used in the 1970s as the title of a newsletter and the concept itself developed by Bat Ye'or (pen name of Gisèle Littman) in the early 2000s and is described in her 2005 book titled Eurabia: The Euro‐Arab Axis. Benjamin Lee of the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats at the University of Lancaster describes her work as arguing that Europe "has surrendered to Islam and is in a state of submission (described as dhimmitude) in which Europe is forced to deny its own culture, stand silently by in the face of Muslim atrocities, accept Muslim immigration, and pay tribute through various types of economic assistance." According to the theory, the blame rests with a range of groups including communists, fascists, the media, universities, mosques and Islamic cultural centres, European bureaucrats, and the Euro-Arab Dialogue. The term has gained some public interest and has been used and discussed across a wide range of the political spectrum, including right-wing activists, self-described "conservatives" and counter-jihad and other anti-Islamism activists. Bat Ye'or's "mother conspiracy theory" has been used for further subtheories. The narrative grew important in expressing anti-Islamist sentiments and was used by movements like Stop Islamisation of Europe. It gained renewed interest after the September 11 attacks and the use of the term by 2011 Norway attacker, Anders Behring Breivik. Ye'or's thesis has come under criticism by scholars, which intensified after Breivik's crime. The conspiracy has been described as having resemblance to the anti-Semitic Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Eurabia is also discussed in classical anti-Europeanism, a strong influence in the culture of the United States and in the notion of American exceptionalism, which sometimes sees Europe on the decline or as a rising rival power, or, as is the case here, both.
  • 3.5K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Freight Bicycle
Freight bicycles, carrier cycles, freight tricycles, cargo bikes, box bikes, or cycletrucks are human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads. Vehicle designs include a cargo area consisting of an open or enclosed box, a flat platform, or a wire basket, usually mounted over one or both wheels, low behind the front wheel, or between parallel wheels at either the front or rear of the vehicle. The frame and drivetrain must be constructed to handle loads larger than those on an ordinary bicycle.
  • 3.5K
  • 03 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Biofilm and Pathogen Inhibition in Cooling Towers Using Natural Chemistry
Industrial comfort cooling and process cooling typically employ water evaporative cooling towers (CTs) to dissipate reject heat.  This warm water, enriched with nutrient materials scrubbed from the air or in source water, provides a nurturing environment for a wide variety of neutrophilic microorganisms, some of which are human pathogens.  For example, cases of Legionella pneumophila infection have been traced to CT Systems that have become pubic hazards in recent years.  Typically, one or more toxic microbicides are applied to control the problem.  This article highlights two case studies that utilize ultra-softened (<0.3 mg/L total hardness), highly-concentrated chemical components, naturally present in almost all makeup water sources used by CT Systems, that can generate high-pH, high-TDS cooling water.  At sufficient concentrations, these two natural parameters are hostile to microorganisms, including protozoa and slime-forming (biofilm) bacteria that harbor pathogens.  Field testing for Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP), reported in Relative Light Units (RLU), provides a quick, sensitive method to detect all water-borne microbiological activity present in CT Systems and verifies the effectiveness of the anti-microbial program by quantifiable data, reported as ATP-RLU.
  • 3.5K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Duckweed
Duckweed is the smallest and fastest-growing aquatic plant, and has advantages including simple processing and the ability to grow high biomass in smaller areas.
  • 3.5K
  • 20 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Cinnamon (Desktop Environment)
Cinnamon is a free and open-source desktop environment for the X Window System that derives from GNOME 3 but follows traditional desktop metaphor conventions. Cinnamon is the principal desktop environment of the Linux Mint distribution and is available as an optional desktop for other Linux distributions and other Unix-like operating systems as well. The development of Cinnamon began as a reaction to the April 2011 release of GNOME 3 in which the conventional desktop metaphor of GNOME 2 was abandoned in favor of GNOME Shell. Following several attempts to extend GNOME 3 such that it would suit the Linux Mint design goals, the Mint developers forked several GNOME 3 components to build an independent desktop environment. Separation from GNOME was completed in Cinnamon 2.0, which was released in October 2013. Applets and desklets are no longer compatible with GNOME 3. As the distinguishing factor of Linux Mint, Cinnamon has generally received favorable coverage by the press, in particular for its ease-of-use and gentle learning curve. With respect to its conservative design model, Cinnamon is similar to the Xfce and GNOME 2 (MATE and GNOME Flashback/Classic) desktop environments.
  • 3.5K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Herbal Medicine
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of plants used in 21st century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine commonly includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts. Herbal medicine is also called phytomedicine or phytotherapy. Paraherbalism describes alternative and pseudoscientific practices of using unrefined plant or animal extracts as unproven medicines or health-promoting agents. Paraherbalism relies on the belief that preserving various substances from a given source with less processing is safer or more effective than manufactured products, a concept for which there is no evidence.
  • 3.5K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
HVAC Systems of Smart Building
Early fault detection and diagnosis in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems may reduce the damage of equipment, improving the reliability and safety of smart buildings, generating social and economic benefits. Data models for fault detection and diagnosis are increasingly used for extracting knowledge in the supervisory tasks. This article proposes an autonomic cycle of data analysis tasks (ACODAT) for the supervision of the building’s HVAC systems. Data analysis tasks incorporate data mining models for extracting knowledge from the system monitoring, analyzing abnormal situations and automatically identifying and taking corrective actions. This article shows a case study of a real building’s HVAC system, for the supervision with our ACODAT, where the HVAC subsystems have been installed over the years, providing a good example of a heterogeneous facility. The proposed supervisory functionality of the HVAC system is capable of detecting deviations, such as faults or gradual increment of energy consumption in similar working conditions. The case study shows this capability of the supervisory autonomic cycle, usually a key objective for smart buildings.
  • 3.5K
  • 01 Jun 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Mucormycosis—Emerging Fungal Threats
Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection due to organisms of the Zygomycetes class and the order of Mucorales that can cause various types of infections. In recent years, an increasing phenomenon has been observed—invasive fungal infections especially in the healthcare setting. Among immucompromised patients, an important clinical emergency could be represented by mucormycosis. The epidemiology of mucormycosis has shown an alarming trend and its incidence is rising globally. Four elements are fundamental for a successful treatment: rapid diagnosis, reduction of predisposing factors (if possible), surgical debridement of infected tissues, and appropriate antifungal therapy. 
  • 3.5K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Society, Work and Precarity
One of sociology’s core tasks is to explain how societies work and change. Work plays a crucial and fundamental role in the formation of societies and is also a major driver of social change. It is therefore of key sociological interest to understand how work creates and changes the social conditions we call societies. However, work also creates different levels of freedom and equality; which manifest as different types and degrees of precarity in what I call ‘work societies'.
  • 3.5K
  • 25 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Recycling and Reuse of Mine Tailings
Mining is an important industry, accounting for 6.9% of global GDP. However, global development promotes accelerated demand, resulting in the accumulation of hazardous waste in land, sea, and air environments. It reached 7 billion tonnes of mine tailings generated yearly worldwide, and 19 billion solid tailings will be accumulated by 2025.
  • 3.5K
  • 02 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Structural Components of the Neurovascular Unit
Formulated as a group effort of the stroke community, the transforming concept of the neurovascular unit (NVU) depicts the structural and functional relationship between brain cells and the vascular structure. Composed of both neural and vascular elements, the NVU forms the blood–brain barrier that regulates cerebral blood flow to meet the oxygen demand of the brain in normal physiology and maintain brain homeostasis. Conversely, the dysregulation and dysfunction of the NVU is an essential pathological feature that underlies neurological disorders spanning from chronic neurodegeneration to acute cerebrovascular events such as ischemic stroke and cerebral hemorrhage.
  • 3.5K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Plant Growth Promoting Microorganisms
Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) have been the target of intensive research studies toward their efficient use in the field as biofertilizers, biocontrol, and bioremediation agents among numerous other applications. Recent trends in the field of PGPB research led to the development of versatile multifaceted PGPB that can be used in different field conditions such as biocontrol of plant pathogens in metal contaminated soils.
  • 3.5K
  • 02 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Available Sampling Methods for Plastic Waste
Given the rapid development of plastics recycling in recent years, the need for guidelines for sampling and material characterization is steadily emerging. However, there still exists a considerable scarcity of methods that enable proper material data acquisition. It was found that neither the literature nor the standards provide a comprehensive practice that considers the distinctive characteristics of plastic waste and applies it to different situations along the value chain. Two variants of the proposed plan were evaluated based on the flake size distribution and the apparent density of four different pretreated polyolefin (PO) waste materials. Combining stratified random sampling with composite sampling yields a good sampling technique for rigid PO waste. Moreover, the analysis of a composite sample adequately conveys the true material properties of a sublot or lot.
  • 3.5K
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The Biomechanics of Cartilage
Articular cartilage (AC) sheathes joint surfaces and minimizes friction in diarthrosis. The resident cell population, chondrocytes, are surrounded by an extracellular matrix and a multitude of proteins, which bestow their unique characteristics. AC is characterized by a zonal composition (superficial (tangential) zone, middle (transitional) zone, deep zone, calcified zone) with different mechanical properties. An overview is given about different testing (load tests) methods as well as different modeling approaches.
  • 3.5K
  • 14 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Wild Animal Suffering
Wild animal suffering is the suffering experienced by nonhuman animals living outside of direct human control, due to harms such as disease, injury, parasitism, starvation and malnutrition, dehydration, weather conditions, natural disasters, and killings by other animals, as well as psychological stress. Some estimates indicate that the vast majority of individual animals in existence live in the wild. A vast amount of natural suffering has been described as an unavoidable consequence of Darwinian evolution and the pervasiveness of reproductive strategies which favor producing large numbers of offspring, with a low amount of parental care and of which only a small number survive to adulthood, the rest dying in painful ways, has led some to argue that suffering dominates happiness in nature. The topic has historically been discussed in the context of the philosophy of religion as an instance of the problem of evil. More recently, starting in the 19th-century, a number of writers have considered the suspected scope of the problem from a secular standpoint as a general moral issue, one that humans might be able to take actions toward preventing. There is considerable disagreement around this latter point as many believe that human interventions in nature, for this reason, should not take place because of practicality, valuing ecological preservation over the well-being and interests of individual animals, considering any obligation to reduce wild animal suffering implied by animal rights to be absurd, or viewing nature as an idyllic place where happiness is widespread. Some have argued that such interventions would be an example of human hubris, or playing God and use examples of how human interventions, for other reasons, have unintentionally caused harm. Others, including animal rights writers, have defended variants of a laissez-faire position, which argues that humans should not harm wild animals, but that humans should not intervene to reduce natural harms that they experience. Advocates of such interventions argue that animal rights and welfare positions imply an obligation to help animals suffering in the wild due to natural processes. Some have asserted that refusing to help animals in situations where humans would consider it wrong not to help humans is an example of speciesism. Others argue that humans intervene in nature constantly—sometimes in very substantial ways—for their own interests and to further environmentalist goals. Human responsibility for enhancing existing natural harms has also been cited as a reason for intervention. Some advocates argue that humans already successfully help animals in the wild, such as vaccinating and healing injured and sick animals, rescuing animals in fires and other natural disasters, feeding hungry animals, providing thirsty animals with water, and caring for orphaned animals. nThey also assert that although wide-scale interventions may not be possible with our current level of understanding, they could become feasible in the future with improved knowledge and technologies. For these reasons, they claim it is important to raise awareness about the issue of wild animal suffering, spread the idea that humans should help animals suffering in these situations and encourage research into effective measures which can be taken in the future to reduce the suffering of these individuals, without causing greater harms.
  • 3.5K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Before the launch of Yahoo Sports, certain elements of the site were known as Yahoo! Scoreboard. From 2011 to 2016, the Yahoo Sports brand had also been used for a U.S. sports radio network. That network is now known as SportsMap.
  • 3.5K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Beer Brewed from Sorghum
Beer is a complex beverage system despite being made up of only four ingredients: yeast, water, hops, and malted grain. Typically, malted barley is used as the primary grain source for brewing, however alternative grains/pseudo-grains like sorghum are gaining popularity. However, the use of sorghum in beer manufacturing does have its issues, which are largely due to its low amylolytic activity (which is insufficient for complete saccharification), high gelatinization temperature, and low free amino content. Sorghum malt has a higher concentration of alpha-amylase and a lower concentration of beta-amylase compared to malted barley. Due to the reduced enzymatic activity of sorghum this deficiency can lead to insufficient production of fermentable sugars, high dextrin content, and increased viscosity. Due to sorghum’s higher gelatinization temperature, the hydrolysis of sugars into fermentable sugars is only partially completed. Thus, resulting in fewer fermentable sugars for the yeast to metabolize for the production of ethanol, and volatile and semi-volatile compounds.
  • 3.5K
  • 17 Aug 2021
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