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Topic Review
Organic Potatoes and Conventional Potatoes
Interest in organic foods is increasing at a moment when humanity is facing a range of health challenges including the concern that some conventionally produced foods may pose possible adverse effects on human and livestock health. Consumers are showing increasing interest in organically grown potatoes due to their nutritional quality and health protection value.
  • 7.4K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Gravity Well
A gravity well or gravitational well is a conceptual model of the gravitational field surrounding a body in space – the more massive the body, the deeper and more extensive the gravity well associated with it. The Sun is very massive, relative to other bodies in the Solar System, so the corresponding gravity well that surrounds it appears "deep" and far-reaching. The gravity wells of asteroids and small moons, conversely, are often depicted as very shallow. Anything at the center of mass of a planet or moon is considered to be at the bottom of that celestial body's gravity well, and so escaping the effects of gravity from such a planet or moon (to enter outer space) can be likened to "climbing out of the gravity well". The deeper a gravity well is, the more energy any space-bound "climber" must use to escape it. In astrophysics, a gravity well is specifically the gravitational potential field around a massive body. Other types of potential wells include electrical and magnetic potential wells. Physical models of gravity wells are sometimes used to illustrate orbital mechanics. Gravity wells are frequently confused with embedding diagrams used in general relativity theory, but the two concepts are distinctly separate and not directly related.
  • 7.4K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Coffee By-Products
The coffee plant Coffea spp. offers much more than the well-known drink made from the roasted coffee bean. During its cultivation and production, a wide variety of by-products are accrued, most of which are currently unused, thermally recycled, or used as animal feed.
  • 7.4K
  • 02 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Spark Gap
A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the potential difference between the conductors exceeds the breakdown voltage of the gas within the gap, a spark forms, ionizing the gas and drastically reducing its electrical resistance. An electric current then flows until the path of ionized gas is broken or the current reduces below a minimum value called the "holding current". This usually happens when the voltage drops, but in some cases occurs when the heated gas rises, stretching out and then breaking the filament of ionized gas. Usually, the action of ionizing the gas is violent and disruptive, often leading to sound (ranging from a snap for a spark plug to thunder for a lightning discharge), light and heat. Spark gaps were used historically in early electrical equipment, such as spark gap radio transmitters, electrostatic machines, and X-ray machines. Their most widespread use today is in spark plugs to ignite the fuel in internal combustion engines, but they are also used in lightning arresters and other devices to protect electrical equipment from high-voltage transients.
  • 7.3K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
The Emergency (India)
The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended. For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a mass forced sterilization campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi, the Prime Minister's son. The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history. The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the president of India, and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the parliament (from July to August 1975), based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the Indian state.
  • 7.3K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Optical Phase Shifters
Optical phase shifters have the functionality to control the phase of light by a change in the effective refractive index. In a Si photonics platform, it is an essential part composing optical modulators as well as switches in Si photonics. The realization of a silicon optical phase shifter marked a cornerstone for the development of silicon photonics, and it is expected that optical interconnects based on the technology relax the explosive datacom growth in data centers. High-performance silicon optical modulators and switches, integrated into a chip, play a very important role in optical transceivers, encoding electrical signals onto the light at high speed and routing the optical signals, respectively. The development of the devices is continuously required to meet the ever-increasing data traffic at higher performance and lower cost.
  • 7.3K
  • 08 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Industry 4.0 and Sustainability
Sustainability and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) are trending concepts used in the literature on industrial processes. Industry 4.0 has been mainly addressed by the current literature from a technological perspective, overlooking sustainability challenges regarding this recent paradigm. The objective of this encyclopedia entry is to evaluate the state of the art of relations between sustainability and I4.0. The goal will be met by (1) mapping and summarizing existing research efforts, (2) identifying research agendas, (3) examining gaps and opportunities for further research. Web of Science, Scopus, and a set of specific keywords were used to select peer-reviewed papers presenting evidence on the relationship between sustainability and I4.0. To achieve this goal, it was decided to use a dynamic methodology called “systematic literature network analysis”. This methodology combines a systematic literature review approach with the analysis of bibliographic networks. Selected papers were used to build a reference framework formed by I4.0 technologies and sustainability issues. The encyclopedia entry contributes to the Sustainable Industry 4.0 reference framework with application procedures. It aims to show how I4.0 can support ideas of sustainability. The results showed that apart from a huge contribution to both concepts, many papers do not provide an insight into realization of initiatives to introduce Sustainable Industry 4.0.
  • 7.3K
  • 06 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Volatiles in Food Products
The evaluation of volatiles in food is an important aspect of food production. It gives knowledge about the quality of foods and their relationship to consumers’ choices. Alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters, terpenes, pyrazines, and furans are the main chemical groups that are involved in aroma formation. They are products of food processing: thermal treatment, fermentation, storage, etc. Food aroma is a mixture of varied molecules. Because of this, the analysis of aroma composition can be challenging. 
  • 7.3K
  • 27 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Factors Affecting Consumer Food Choice
Understanding individual food choices is critical for transforming the current food system to ensure healthiness of people and sustainability of the planet. Throughout the years, researchers from different fields have proposed conceptual models addressing factors influencing the food choice, recognized as a key leverage to improve planetary and human health. However, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to better understand how different factors are involved and interact with each other in the decision-making process. The present paper reviews and analyzes existing models, providing an intact point-of-view by integrating key elements into a bigger framework. Key determinants of general food choice are identified and categorized, including food-internal factor (sensory and perceptual features), food-external factors (information, social environment, physical environment), personal-state factors (biological features and physiological needs, psychological components, habits and experiences), cognitive factors (knowledge and skills, attitude, liking and preference, anticipated consequences, and personal identity), as well as sociocultural factors (culture, economic variables, political elements). Moreover, possible directions of influence among the factors towards final food choice were discussed. The need of multidisciplinary impulses across research field with the support of empirical data are crucial for understanding factors influencing food choice as well as for enriching existing conceptual models. The framework proposed here would serve as a roadmap for facilitating communications and collaborations between research fields in a structural and systematic way.
  • 7.3K
  • 06 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Date Seed Oil
The date seed is an important by-product for date fruit manufacturers. Its use as source of different added-value compounds could be of great interest. Oil accounts for around 5-13% of the seed weight and its composition in phytochemicals makes it valuable for the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries.
  • 7.3K
  • 13 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Extraction Methods for Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are considered high added-value compounds due to their sensory qualities, colors, and nutritional properties; they are considered bioactive ingredients. They are found in high concentrations in many by-products across the food industry. At present, expensive raw materials and production technologies make the extraction of natural anthocyanins relatively expensive.
  • 7.3K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Separatist Feminism
Separatist feminism is a form of radical feminism that holds that opposition to patriarchy is best done through focusing exclusively on women and girls. Some separatist feminists believe that men cannot make positive contributions to the feminist movement and that even well-intentioned men replicate the dynamics of patriarchy. Author Marilyn Frye describes separatist feminism as "separation of various sorts or modes from men and from institutions, relationships, roles and activities that are male-defined, male-dominated, and operating for the benefit of males and the maintenance of male privilege – this separation being initiated or maintained, at will, by women". In a tract on socialist feminism published in 1972, the Hyde Park Chapter of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union differentiated between separatism as an "ideological position" and as a "tactical position". In the same document, they further distinguished between separatism as "personal practice" and as "political position".
  • 7.3K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
2020–2021 Taal Volcano Eruptions
Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines began to erupt on January 12, 2020, when a phreatomagmatic eruption from its main crater spewed ashes over Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and some parts of Central Luzon and Ilocos Region, resulting in the suspension of school classes, work schedules, and flights in the area. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) subsequently issued an Alert Level 4, indicating "that a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days." Volcanic activity continued into 2021, when smaller eruptions occurred in July 2021.
  • 7.3K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Decline of Christianity
The decline of Christianity is an ongoing trend in Europe. Developed countries with good educational facilities in the post-World War II era have shifted towards post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural and multifaith societies. Infant baptism has declined in many nations, with thousands of churches closing or merging due to lack of attendees. There is also evidence of decline in North America. Despite the decline, Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western world, where 70% of the population is nominally Christian.
  • 7.3K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Force Field
In the context of chemistry and molecular modelling, a force field is a computational method that is used to estimate the forces between atoms within molecules and also between molecules. More precisely, the force field refers to the functional form and parameter sets used to calculate the potential energy of a system of atoms or coarse-grained particles in molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics, or Monte Carlo simulations. The parameters for a chosen energy function may be derived from experiments in physics and chemistry, calculations in quantum mechanics, or both. Force fields are interatomic potentials and utilize the same concept as force fields in classical physics, with the difference that the force field parameters in chemistry describe the energy landscape, from which the acting forces on every particle are derived as a gradient of the potential energy with respect to the particle coordinates. All-atom force fields provide parameters for every type of atom in a system, including hydrogen, while united-atom interatomic potentials treat the hydrogen and carbon atoms in methyl groups and methylene bridges as one interaction center. Coarse-grained potentials, which are often used in long-time simulations of macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and multi-component complexes, sacrifice chemical details for higher computing efficiency.
  • 7.3K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Seed Morphology
Seed morphology is the scientific analysis and description of the shape of seeds.
  • 7.3K
  • 28 Oct 2020
Topic Review
G protein-coupled receptor in hepatocytes
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are cell surface receptors that mediate the function of extracellular ligands. Understanding how GPCRs work at the molecular level has important therapeutic implications, as 30-40% of the drugs currently in clinical use mediate therapeutic effects by acting on GPCRs. Like many other cell types, hepatocyte's function is regulated by GPCRs. A better understanding of the metabolic role of GPCRs in hepatocytes, the dominant constituent cells of the liver, could lead to the development of novel drugs that are clinically useful for the treatment of various metabolic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, NAFLD, and NASH. 
  • 7.3K
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Honda Civic Hybrid
The Honda Civic Hybrid is a variation of the Honda Civic with a hybrid electric powertrain. Honda introduced the Civic Hybrid in Japan in December 2001 and discontinued it in 2015. In the United States, it was the first hybrid automobile to be certified as an Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emissions Vehicle (AT-PZEV) from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The Civic Hybrid uses an Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system similar to that of the Honda Insight. The Civic Hybrid was only marketed in sedan configurations.
  • 7.3K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Roasting Processes for Lithium Extraction
This entry describes the main thermal treatments for processing spodumene in order to get easier lithium extraction by hydrometallurgical routes. It shows the importance of the thermal treatment and the need to reduce the energy consumption of this operation.
  • 7.2K
  • 18 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Ohaguro
Ohaguro (お歯黒) is a custom of dyeing one's teeth black. It was most popular in Japan until the Meiji era. Tooth painting is also known and practiced in the southeastern parts of China , Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. Dyeing is mainly done by married women, though occasionally men do it as well. It was also beneficial, as it prevented tooth decay, in a similar fashion to modern dental sealants.
  • 7.2K
  • 19 Oct 2022
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