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Topic Review

Secular Humanism

Secular humanism, often simply called humanism, is a philosophy or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision making. Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate a science of morality. Humanists International is the world union of more than one hundred humanist, rationalist, irreligious, atheist, Bright, secular, Ethical Culture, and freethought organizations in more than 40 countries. The "Happy Human" is recognized as the official symbol of humanism internationally, used by secular humanist organizations in every part of the world. Those who call themselves humanists are estimated to number between four and five million people worldwide.

9.7K
14 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Sweet corn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa; also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn) is a cereal with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of sugar to starch inside the ENO of the corn kernel. Unlike field corn varieties, which are harvested when the kernels are dry and mature (dent stage), sweet corn is picked when immature (milk stage) and prepared and eaten as a vegetable, rather than a grain. Since the process of maturation involves converting sugar to starch, sweet corn stores poorly and must be eaten fresh, canned, or frozen, before the kernels become tough and starchy. It is one of the six major types of corn, the others being dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, and flour corn.

9.6K
09 Oct 2022

Topic Review

COVID-19 is a disease infected by SARS-CoV-2 virus, a mutation nearly a decade apart from SARS-CoV virus. Its symptom onset is no different from the original virus, including fever (83–98%), cough (59–82%), shortness of breath (19–55%), and muscle ache (11–44%). It was suspected to be a paramyxovirus with evidence on its Spike 2 (S2) protein being homogeneous to the gp41 subunit of HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) at the final stage ruled SARS to be coronaviruses, and the categorical rationale remained to the protocols in COVID-19 handling. While no patient zero has been formally traced, Dr. Carlo Urbani, the WHO physician closed it in in the first outbreak in Vietnam French Hospital of Hanoi in Vietnam, and later died from the virus in Bangkok. In addition to an overview of the epidemiological, clinical, and radiological features of SARS-CoV-2, researchers also summarize possible therapeutic options currently under investigation and the future outlook for the disease. Whereas the trials on SARS-CoV-2 genome-based specific vaccines and therapeutic antibodies are currently being tested, this solution is more long-term, as they require thorough testing of their safety. On the other hand, the repurposing of the existing therapeutic agents previously designed for other virus infections and pathologies happens to be the only practical approach as a rapid response measure to the emergent pandemic. The current pandemic emergency will be a trigger for more systematic drug repurposing design approaches based on big data analysis. Further on, regression analytical review is presented on the virological and evolutionary history of SARS-CoV viruses, indicating to the autoimmune pathogen.

9.6K
30 Jun 2025

Topic Review

Compact Cassette

The Compact Audio Cassette (CAC) or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the cassette tape or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. It was developed by Philips in Hasselt, Belgium, and released in 1962. Compact cassettes come in two forms, either already containing content as a prerecorded cassette, or as a fully recordable "blank" cassette. Both forms are reversible by the user. The compact cassette technology was originally designed for dictation machines, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel tape recording in most non-professional applications. Its uses ranged from portable audio to home recording to data storage for early microcomputers. The first cassette player (although mono) designed for use in car dashboards was introduced in 1968. Between the early 1970s and the early 2000s, the cassette was one of the two most common formats for prerecorded music, first alongside the LP record and later the compact disc (CD). Compact Cassettes contain two miniature spools, between which the magnetically coated, polyester-type plastic film (magnetic tape) is passed and wound. These spools and their attendant parts are held inside a protective plastic shell which is 4 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches (10 cm × 6.3 cm × 1.3 cm) at its largest dimensions. The tape itself was commonly referred to as "eighth-inch" tape, supposedly 1⁄8 inches wide, but it was slightly larger: 0.15 inches (3.81 mm). Two stereo pairs of tracks (four total) or two monaural audio tracks are available on the tape; one stereo pair or one monophonic track is played or recorded when the tape is moving in one direction and the second (pair) when moving in the other direction. This reversal is achieved either by flipping the cassette, or by the reversal of tape movement ("auto-reverse") when the mechanism detects that the tape has come to an end.

9.6K
18 Oct 2022

Topic Review

List of Minerals A (Complete)

This list includes those recognised minerals beginning with the letter A. The International Mineralogical Association is the international group that recognises new minerals and new mineral names, however minerals discovered before 1959 did not go through the official naming procedure, although some minerals published previously have been either confirmed or discredited since that date. This list contains a mixture of mineral names that have been approved since 1959 and those mineral names believed to still refer to valid mineral species (these are called "grandfathered" species). The list is divided into groups: The data was exported from mindat.org on 29 April 2005; updated up to 'IMA2018'. The minerals are sorted by name, followed by the structural group (rruff.info/ima and ima-cnmnc by mineralienatlas.de, mainly) or chemical class (mindat.org and basics), the year of publication (if it's before of an IMA approval procedure), the IMA approval and the Nickel–Strunz code. The first link is to mindat.org, the second link is to webmineral.com, and the third is to the Handbook of Mineralogy (Mineralogical Society of America).

9.6K
05 Dec 2022

Topic Review

Inocybe Mushrooms Poisoning

Mushroom poisoning has always been a threat to human health. There are a large number of reports about ingestion of poisonous mushrooms every year around the world. It attracts the attention of researchers, especially in the aspects of toxin composition, toxic mechanism and toxin application in poisonous mushroom. Inocybe is a large genus of mushrooms and contains toxic substances including muscarine, psilocybin, psilocin, aeruginascin, lectins and baeocystin. In order to prevent and remedy mushroom poisoning, it is significant to clarify the toxic effects and mechanisms of these bioactive substances.

9.6K
10 Mar 2021

Topic Review

Adsorbent Technologies for Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater generation and treatment is an ever-increasing concern in the current century due to increased urbanization and industrialization. To tackle the situation of increasing environmental hazards, numerous wastewater treatment approaches are used—i.e., physical, chemical, and biological (primary to tertiary treatment) methods. Various treatment techniques being used have the risks of producing secondary pollutants. The most promising technique is the use of different materials as adsorbents that have a higher efficacy in treating wastewater, with a minimal production of secondary pollutants. Biosorption is a key process that is highly efficient and cost-effective. This method majorly uses the adsorption process/mechanism for toxicant removal from wastewater.

9.6K
04 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Nutritional Deficiencies Associated with Obesity

Obesity is a critical medical condition worldwide that is increasingly involved with nutritional derangements associated with micronutrient deficiencies, including iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E. Nutritional deficiencies in obesity are mainly caused by poor-quality diets, higher nutrient requirements, alterations in micronutrient metabolism, and invasive obesity treatments. The current conventional agricultural system is designed for intensive food production, focusing on food quantity rather than food quality, consuming excessive agricultural inputs, and producing nutrient-deficient foods, thus generating severe health and environmental problems; agricultural food products may worsen obesity-related malnutrition. Therefore, modern agriculture is adopting new biofortification technologies to combat micronutrient deficiencies and improve agricultural productivity and sustainability.

9.6K
01 Jan 2023

Topic Review

Geography and Cartography in Medieval Islam

Medieval Islamic geography and cartography refer to the study of geography and cartography in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (variously dated between the 8th century and 16th century). Muslim scholars made advances to the mapmaking traditions of earlier cultures, particularly the Hellenistic geographers Ptolemy and Marinus of Tyre,:193 combined with what explorers and merchants learned in their travels across the Old World (Afro-Eurasia). Islamic geography had three major fields: exploration and navigation, physical geography, and cartography and mathematical geography. Islamic geography reached its apex with Muhammad al-Idrisi in the 12th century.

9.6K
26 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence (also called domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It can assume multiple forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, or sexual abuse. It can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and other violent physical abuse, such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that may result in disfigurement or death, and includes the use of technology to harass, control, monitor, stalk or hack. Domestic murder includes stoning, bride burning, honor killing, and dowry death, which sometimes involves non-cohabitating family members. Globally, the victims of domestic violence are overwhelmingly women, and women tend to experience more severe forms of violence. They are also likelier than men to use intimate partner violence in self-defense. In some countries, domestic violence may be seen as justified or legally permitted, particularly in cases of actual or suspected infidelity on the part of the woman. Research has established that there exists a direct and significant correlation between a country's level of gender equality and rates of domestic violence, where countries with less gender equality experience higher rates of domestic violence. Domestic violence is among the most underreported crimes worldwide for both men and women. In addition, due to social stigmas regarding male victimization, men who are victims of domestic violence face an increased likelihood of being overlooked by healthcare providers. Domestic violence often occurs when the abuser believes that they are entitled to it, or that it is acceptable, justified, or unlikely to be reported. It may produce an intergenerational cycle of violence in children and other family members, who may feel that such violence is acceptable or condoned. Many people do not recognize themselves as abusers or victims, because they may consider their experiences as family conflicts that had gotten out of control. Awareness, perception, definition and documentation of domestic violence differs widely from country to country. Additionally, domestic violence often happens in the context of forced or child marriages. In abusive relationships, there may be a cycle of abuse during which tensions rise and an act of violence is committed, followed by a period of reconciliation and calm. The victims may be trapped in domestically violent situations through isolation, power and control, traumatic bonding to the abuser, cultural acceptance, lack of financial resources, fear, and shame, or to protect children. As a result of abuse, victims may experience physical disabilities, dysregulated aggression, chronic health problems, mental illness, limited finances, and a poor ability to create healthy relationships. Victims may experience severe psychological disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children who live in a household with violence often show psychological problems from an early age, such as avoidance, hypervigilance to threats and dysregulated aggression, which may contribute to vicarious traumatization.

9.6K
21 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid, as a natural linear polysaccharide, has attracted researchers’ attention from its initial detection and isolation from tissues in 1934 until the present day. Due to biocompatibility and a high biodegradation of hyaluronic acid, it finds wide application in bioengineering and biomedicine: from biorevitalizing skin cosmetics and endoprostheses of joint fluid to polymeric scaffolds and wound dressings. However, the main properties of aqueous polysaccharide solutions with different molecular weights are different. Moreover, the therapeutic effect of hyaluronic acid-based preparations directly depends on the molecular weight of the biopolymer. The present entry collects the information about hyaluronic acid and its original properties. Particular emphasis is placed on the structural, physical and physico-chemical properties of hyaluronic acid in water solutions, as well as their degradability.

9.5K
31 Aug 2020

Topic Review

List of Artifacts in Biblical Archaeology

The following is a list of artifacts—objects created or modified by human culture—that are significant to biblical archaeology.

9.5K
31 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place (though some jurisdictions provide that the marriage is only void from the date of the annulment; for example, this is the case in section 12 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in England and Wales). In legal terminology, an annulment makes a void marriage or a voidable marriage null.

9.5K
04 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Quaternary Numeral System

A quaternary /kwəˈtɜːrnəri/ numeral system is base-4. It uses the digits 0, 1, 2 and 3 to represent any real number. Four is the largest number within the subitizing range and one of two numbers that is both a square and a highly composite number (the other being 36), making quaternary a convenient choice for a base at this scale. Despite being twice as large, its radix economy is equal to that of binary. However, it fares no better in the localization of prime numbers (the smallest better base being the primorial base six, senary). Quaternary shares with all fixed-radix numeral systems many properties, such as the ability to represent any real number with a canonical representation (almost unique) and the characteristics of the representations of rational numbers and irrational numbers. See decimal and binary for a discussion of these properties.

9.5K
16 Nov 2022

Topic Review

School Strike for the Climate

The school strike for the climate (Swedish: Skolstrejk för klimatet), also known variously as Fridays for Future (FFF), Youth for Climate, Climate Strike or Youth Strike for Climate, is an international movement of school students who take time off from class on Fridays to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders to take action to prevent climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy. Publicity and widespread organising began after Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg staged a protest in August 2018 outside the Swedish Riksdag (parliament), holding a sign that read "Skolstrejk för klimatet" ("School strike for the climate"). A global strike on 15 March 2019 gathered more than one million strikers. Around 2200 strikes were organised in 125 countries. On 24 May 2019, the second global strike took place, in which 1600 events across 150 countries drew hundreds of thousands of protesters. The events were timed to coincide with the 2019 European Parliament election. The 2019 Global Week for Future was a series of 4500 strikes across over 150 countries, focused around Friday 20 September and Friday 27 September. Likely the largest climate strikes in world history, 20 September strikes gathered roughly 4 million protesters, many of them schoolchildren, including 1.4 million people on strike in Germany. On 27 September, an estimated 2 million people participated in demonstrations worldwide, including over 1 million protesters in Italy and several hundred thousand protesters in Canada.

9.5K
06 Dec 2022

Topic Review

Structure and Physiological Activities of Anthocyanins

Anthocyanidin is a kind of water-soluble natural pigment that widely exists in natural plants. Like other natural flavonoids, anthocyanin has a C6-C3-C6 carbon skeleton. Due to the different carbon substituents (-OH, -OCH3) on the B ring, different types of anthocyanins were derived. The six common anthocyanins were Pelargonidin (Pg), Cyanidin (Cy), Delphinidin (Dp), Peonidin (Pn), Petunidin (Pt), and Malvidin (Mv). In addition to giving food a variety of bright colors, anthocyanin also has important biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging effects, among others. A large number of studies have shown that dietary anthocyanins have a good preventive effect on cardiovascular diseases.

9.5K
01 Aug 2022

Topic Review

History of Statistics

The history of statistics in the modern way is that it originates from the term statistics, found in 1749 in Germany. Although there have been changes to the interpretation of the word over time. The development of statistics is intimately connected on the one hand with the development of sovereign states, particularly European states following the peace of Westphalia (1648); and the other hand with the development of probability theory, which put statistics on a firm theoretical basis (see history of probability). In early times, the meaning was restricted to information about states, particularly demographics such as population. This was later extended to include all collections of information of all types, and later still it was extended to include the analysis and interpretation of such data. In modern terms, "statistics" means both sets of collected information, as in national accounts and temperature records, and analytical work which requires statistical inference. Statistical activities are often associated with models expressed using probabilities, hence the connection with probability theory. The large requirements of data processing have made statistics a key application of computing; see history of computing hardware. A number of statistical concepts have an important impact on a wide range of sciences. These include the design of experiments and approaches to statistical inference such as Bayesian inference, each of which can be considered to have their own sequence in the development of the ideas underlying modern statistics.

9.5K
19 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Nomadic empires, sometimes also called steppe empires, Central or Inner Asian empires, were the empires erected by the bow-wielding, horse-riding, nomadic people in the Eurasian Steppe, from classical antiquity (Scythia) to the early modern era (Dzungars). They are the most prominent example of non-sedentary polities. Some nomadic empires consolidated by establishing a capital city inside a conquered sedentary state and then exploiting the existing bureaucrats and commercial resources of that non-nomadic society. In such a scenario, the originally nomadic dynasty may become culturally assimilated to the culture of the occupied nation before it is ultimately overthrown. Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) described a similar cycle on a smaller scale in 1377 in his Asabiyyah theory. Historians of the early medieval period may refer to these polities as "khanates" (after khan, the title of their rulers). After the Mongol conquests of the 13th century the term orda ("horde") also came into use — as in "Golden Horde".

9.5K
25 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid personality disorder (/ˈskɪtsɔɪd, ˈskɪdzɔɪd/, often abbreviated as SPD or SzPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency toward a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, detachment and apathy. Affected individuals may be unable to form intimate attachments to others and simultaneously possess a rich and elaborate but exclusively internal fantasy world. Other associated features include stilted speech, a lack of deriving enjoyment from most activities, feeling as though one is an "observer" rather than a participant in life, an inability to tolerate emotional expectations of others, apparent indifference when praised or criticized, a degree of asexuality, and idiosyncratic moral or political beliefs. Symptoms typically start in late childhood or adolescence. The cause of SPD is uncertain, but there is some evidence of links and shared genetic risk between SPD, other cluster A personality disorders (such as schizotypal personality disorder) and schizophrenia. Thus, SPD is considered to be a "schizophrenia-like personality disorder". It is diagnosed by clinical observation, and it can be very difficult to distinguish SPD from other mental disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder, with which it may sometimes overlap). The effectiveness of psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments for the disorder has yet to be empirically and systematically investigated. This is largely because people with SPD rarely seek treatment for their condition. Originally, low doses of atypical antipsychotics were also used to treat some symptoms of SPD, but their use is no longer recommended. The substituted amphetamine bupropion may be used to treat associated anhedonia. However, it is not general practice to treat SPD with medications, other than for the short-term treatment of acute co-occurring disorders (e.g. depression). Talk therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may not be effective, because people with SPD may have a hard time forming a good working relationship with a therapist. SPD is a poorly studied disorder, and there is little clinical data on SPD because it is rarely encountered in clinical settings. Studies have generally reported a prevalence of less than 1% It is more common in males than in females. SPD is linked to negative outcomes, including a significantly compromised quality of life, reduced overall functioning even after 15 years and one of the lowest levels of "life success" of all personality disorders (measured as "status, wealth and successful relationships"). Bullying is particularly common towards schizoid individuals. Suicide may be a running mental theme for schizoid individuals, though they are not likely to actually attempt it. Some symptoms of SPD (e.g. solitary lifestyle and emotional detachment), however, have been stated as general risk factors for serious suicidal behaviour.

9.5K
20 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Photocatalysts indicates the acceleration of a chemical reaction occurring on the surface of a semiconductor material (the catalyst) caused by the presence of light. Illumination of the catalyst causes the generation of free changes (electrons and holes) that can partecipate to chemical reactions, thus causing (or acceleratin) them. Photocatalysis con be used in hydrogen (H2) production (e.g., via water splitting or photo-reforming of organic substrates), CO2 reduction, pollution mitigation and water or air remediation via oxidation (photodegradation) of pollutants. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a “benchmark” photocatalyst, thanks to many favorable characteristics.

9.5K
26 May 2021

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