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Topic Review
Lipid Membrane
The biological lipid membrane is the key element for the maintenance of cell architecture and physiology. Lipid membranes act as a barrier separating the inner cellular space from the outer environment and further helping in the transmission of signals across the cell boundary. The correct composition and structure of cell membranes define key pathophysiological aspects of cells.
  • 9.5K
  • 23 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Idealism in International Relations
Idealism in foreign policy holds that a state should make its internal political philosophy the goal of its foreign policy. For example, an idealist might believe that ending poverty at home should be coupled with tackling poverty abroad. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was an early advocate of idealism. Wilson's idealism was a precursor to liberal international relations theory, which would arise amongst the "institution-builders" after World War II. It particularly emphasized the ideal of American exceptionalism. More generally, Michael W. Doyle describes idealism as based on the belief that other nations' stated good intentions can be relied on, whereas Realism holds that good intentions are in the long run subject to the security dilemma described by John H. Herz. Hedley Bull wrote: By the 'idealists' we have in mind writers such as Sir Alfred Zimmern, S. H. Bailey, Philip Noel-Baker, and David Mitrany in the United Kingdom, and James T. Shotwell, Pitman Potter, and Parker T. Moon in the United States. ... The distinctive characteristic of these writers was their belief in progress: the belief, in particular, that the system of international relations that had given rise to the First World War was capable of being transformed into a fundamentally more peaceful and just world order; that under the impact of the awakening of democracy, the growth of 'the international mind', the development of the League of Nations, the good works of men of peace or the enlightenment spread by their own teaching, it was in fact being transformed; and that their responsibility as students of international relations was to assist this march of progress to overcome the ignorance, the prejudices, the ill-will, and the sinister interests that stood in its way.
  • 9.5K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Cereal and Confectionary Packaging
Packaging is strongly associated with food, allowing, amongst other functions, containment, protection, and transportation of contents, and thus can be seen as an integral part of food systems. Nevertheless, nowadays it is the subject of intense debates and even stricter legal requirements, mainly due to massive circularity gaps including, for example, unsatisfactory end-of-life scenarios such as limited recyclability or (marine) litter.
  • 9.5K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Big Data Mining
Big data mining (BDM) is an approach that uses the cumulative data mining or extraction techniques on large datasets / volumes of data. It is mainly focused on retrieving relevant and demanded information (or patterns) and thus extracting value hidden in data of an immense volume. BDM draws from the conventional data mining notation but also combines the aspects of big data, i.e. it enables to acquire useful information from databases or data streams that are huge in terms of “big data V’s”, like volume, velocity, and variety.
  • 9.5K
  • 05 Aug 2021
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.
  • 9.5K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Hypothetical Construct
In philosophy, a construct is an object which is ideal, that is, an object of the mind or of thought, meaning that its existence may be said to depend upon a subject's mind. This contrasts with any possibly mind-independent objects, the existence of which purportedly does not depend on the existence of a conscious observing subject. Thus, the distinction between these two terms may be compared to that between phenomenon and noumenon in other philosophical contexts and to many of the typical definitions of the terms realism and idealism also. In the correspondence theory of truth, ideas, such as constructs, are to be judged and checked according to how well they correspond with their referents, often conceived as part of a mind-independent reality.
  • 9.5K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Techno-Economic Analysis of State-of-the-Art Carbon Capture Technologies and Their Applications: Scient Metric Review
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are a serious hazard to human life and the ecosystem. This is the reason that many measures have been put in place by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to reduce the anthropogenic-derived CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Today, the potential of renewable energy sources has led to an increased interest in investment in carbon capture and storage technologies worldwide. The aim of this paper is to investigate state-of-the-art carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies and their derivations for the identification of effective methods during the implementation of evidence-based energy policies. To this extent, this study reviews the current methods in three concepts: post-combustion; pre-combustion; and oxy-fuel combustion processes. The objective of this study is to explore the knowledge gap in recent carbon capture methods and provide a comparison between the most influential methods with high potential to aid in carbon capture. The study presents the importance of using all available technologies during the post-combustion process. To accomplish this, an ontological approach was adopted to analyze the feasibility of the CCS technologies available on the market. The study findings demonstrate that priority should be given to the applicability of certain methods for both industrial and domestic applications. On the contrary, the study also suggests that using the post-combustion method has the greatest potential, whereas other studies recommend the efficiency of the oxy-fuel process. Furthermore, the study findings also highlight the importance of using life cycle assessment (LCA) methods for the implementation of carbon capture technologies in buildings. This study contributes to the energy policy design related to carbon capture technologies in buildings.
  • 9.5K
  • 16 Oct 2023
Topic Review
ChatGPT Training Process
According to numerous reports, ChatGPT represents a significant breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence. ChatGPT is a pre-trained AI model designed to engage in natural language conversations, utilizing sophisticated techniques from Natural Language Processing (NLP), Supervised Learning, and Reinforcement Learning to comprehend and generate text comparable to human-generated text.
  • 9.5K
  • 29 May 2023
Topic Review
History of Taoism
The history of Taoism stretches throughout Chinese history. Originating in prehistoric China, it has exerted a powerful influence over Chinese culture throughout the ages. Taoism evolved in response to changing times, with its doctrine and associated practices being revised and refined. The acceptance of Taoism by the ruling class has waxed and waned, alternately enjoying periods of favor and rejection. Most recently, Taoism has emerged from a period of suppression and is undergoing a revival in China. Laozi is traditionally regarded as the founder of Taoist religion and is closely associated in this context with "original", or "primordial", Taoism. Whether he actually existed is disputed, however, the work attributed to him - the Daodejing - is dated to the 4th or 3rd century BC. However, Taoism clearly predates Laozi (Lao Tzu) as he refers to "The Tao masters of antiquity" in Chapter 15 of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching). Moreover, the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi (2697–2597 BCE) Is often associated with origin of the Tao. Sinologist Isabelle Robinet identifies four components in the emergence of Taoism: Some elements of Taoism may be traced to prehistoric folk religions in China that later coalesced into a Taoist tradition. In particular, many Taoist practices drew from the Warring-States-era phenomena of the Wu (shaman) (connected to the "shamanism" of Southern China) and the Fangshi (which probably derived from the "archivist-soothsayers of antiquity, one of whom supposedly was Laozi himself"), even though later Taoists insisted that this was not the case. Both terms were used to designate individuals dedicated to "... magic, medicine, divination,... methods of longevity and to ecstatic wanderings" as well as exorcism; in the case of the wu, "shamans" or "sorcerers" is often used as a translation. The fangshi were philosophically close to the School of Yin-Yang, and relied much on astrological and calendrical speculations in their divinatory activities.
  • 9.5K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Different Composting Technologies
Organic waste management is a major global challenge. It accounts for a significant portion of waste that ends up in landfills, where it gradually decomposes and emits methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. Composting is the most preferred method for managing organic waste, as it applies to the masses, may not require significant areas, and of course, is capable of reducing the rate of the production of waste, while at the same time, producing valuable by-products, in the form of compost with potentially reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, if done properly.
  • 9.5K
  • 23 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Light cured dental composite resins
The photoinduced polymerization of monomers is currently an essential tool in various industries. The photopolymerization process plays an increasingly important role in biomedical applications. It is especially used in the production of dental composites. It also exhibits unique properties, such as a short time of polymerization of composites (up to a few seconds), low e tes with their limitations and disadvantages. nergy consumption, and spatial resolution (polymerization only in irradiated areas). This entry describes a short overview of the history and classification of different typical monomers and photoinitiating systems such as bimolecular photoinitiator system containing camphorquinone and aromatic amine, 1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione, phosphine derivatives, germanium derivatives, hexaarylbiimidazole derivatives, silane-based derivatives and thioxanthone derivatives used in the production of dental composites with their limitations and disadvantages.
  • 9.5K
  • 07 Oct 2020
Topic Review
German Gold Mark
Goldmark (officially just Mark, sign: ℳ) was the gold standard-based currency of the German Empire from 1873 to 1914. Papiermark was the Mark after the gold standard was given up in August 1914, and gold and silver coins ceased to circulate.
  • 9.5K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Old Aramaic Language
Old Aramaic refers to the earliest stage of the Aramaic language, considered to give way to Middle Aramaic by the 3rd century (a conventional date is the rise of the Sasanian Empire in 224 AD). Emerging as the language of the city-states of the Arameans in the Levant in the Early Iron Age, Old Aramaic was adopted as a lingua franca, and in this role was inherited for official use by the Achaemenid Empire during classical antiquity. After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, local vernaculars became increasingly prominent, fanning the divergence of an Aramaic dialect continuum and the development of differing written standards.
  • 9.5K
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Lotus-Leaf-Inspired Biomimetic Coatings
A universal infrastructural issue is wetting of surfaces; millions of dollars are invested annually for rehabilitation and maintenance of infrastructures including roadways and buildings to fix the damages caused by moisture and frost. The biomimicry of the lotus leaf can provide superhydrophobic surfaces that can repel water droplets, thus reducing the penetration of moisture, which is linked with many deterioration mechanisms in infrastructures, such as steel corrosion, sulfate attack, alkali-aggregate reactions, and freezing and thawing. In cold-region countries, the extent of frost damage due to freezing of moisture in many components of infrastructures will be decreased significantly if water penetration can be minimized. Consequently, it will greatly reduce the maintenance and rehabilitation costs of infrastructures.
  • 9.5K
  • 11 Jun 2022
Topic Review
North–South Divide
The North–South divide is a socio-economic and political division of Earth popularized in the late 20th century and early 21st century. Generally, definitions of the Global North include the United States , Canada , almost all the European countries, Israel, Cyprus, Japan , Singapore, South Korea , Australia , and New Zealand. The Global South is made up of Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the developing countries in Asia, including the Middle East. It is home to the BRIC countries (excluding Russia ): Brazil , India and China , which, along with Indonesia and Mexico, are the largest Southern states in terms of land area and population. The North is mostly correlated with the Western world and the First World, plus much of the Second World, while the South largely corresponds with the Third World and Eastern world. The two groups are often defined in terms of their differing levels of wealth, economic development, income inequality, democracy, and political and economic freedom, as defined by freedom indices. Nations in the North tend to be wealthier, less unequal and considered more democratic and to be developed countries who export technologically advanced manufactured products; Southern states are generally poorer developing countries with younger, more fragile democracies heavily dependent on primary sector exports and frequently share a history of past colonialism by Northern states. Nevertheless, the divide between the North and the South is often challenged and said to be increasingly incompatible with reality. In economic terms, as of the early 21st century, the North—with one quarter of the world population—controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned by and located in the North. Inversely, the South—with three quarters of the world population—has access to one-fifth of the world income. As nations become economically developed, they may become part of definitions the "North", regardless of geographical location; similarly, any nations that do not qualify for "developed" status are in effect deemed to be part of the "South".
  • 9.5K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Song of Ascents
Song of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134 (119–133 in the Septuagint and the Vulgate), each starting with the superscription Shir Hama'aloth (שיר המעלות šîr ha-ma‘ălōṯ, meaning "Song of the Ascents"), or, in the case of Psalm 121, Shir Lama'aloth (שיר למעלות šîr la-ma‘ălōṯ, "a song regarding ascents"). They are also variously called Gradual Psalms, Fifteen Psalms, Songs of Degrees, Songs of Steps, songs for going up to worship or Pilgrim Songs. Four of them (Psalms 122, 124, 131, and 133) are linked in their ascriptions to David, and one (127) to Solomon. Three of them (Psalms 131, 133, and 134) have only three verses. The longest is Psalm 132 (18 verses).
  • 9.5K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Green Algae
       Green algae has been always renowned for its potent pharmacological and nutraceutical applications. Besides, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties, Recently published reports mentioning the potent anti-viral effects of green algae against the deadly virus SARS-CoV-2(COVID-19) has attracted the attention of researchers towards green algae.
  • 9.4K
  • 09 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Preterism
Preterism, a Christian eschatological view, interprets some (partial preterism) or all (full preterism) prophecies of the Bible as events which have already happened. This school of thought interprets the Book of Daniel as referring to events that happened from the 7th century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies of the Book of Revelation as events that happened in the first century AD. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The term preterism comes from the Latin praeter, which is a prefix denoting that something is "past" or "beyond". Adherents of preterism are known as preterists. Preterism teaches that either all (full preterism) or a majority (partial preterism) of the Olivet discourse had come to pass by AD 70. Historically, preterists and non-preterists have generally agreed that the Jesuit Luis de Alcasar (1554–1613) wrote the first systematic preterist exposition of prophecy Vestigatio arcani sensus in Apocalypsi (published in 1614) during the Counter-Reformation.
  • 9.4K
  • 11 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Russian Financial Crisis (2014–2017)
The financial crisis in Russia in 2014–2015 was the result of the sharp devaluation of the Russian ruble beginning in the second half of 2014. A decline in confidence in the Russian economy caused investors to sell off their Russian assets, which led to a decline in the value of the Russian ruble and sparked fears of a Russian financial crisis. The lack of confidence in the Russian economy stemmed from at least two major sources. The first is the fall in the price of oil in 2014. Crude oil, a major export of Russia, declined in price by nearly 50% between its yearly high in June 2014 and 16 December 2014. The second is the result of international economic sanctions imposed on Russia following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. The crisis has affected the Russian economy, both consumers and companies, and regional financial markets, as well as Putin's ambitions regarding the Eurasian Economic Union. The Russian stock market in particular has experienced large declines, with a 30% drop in the RTS Index from the beginning of December through 16 December 2014. During the financial crisis, the economy turned to prevalent state ownership, with 60% of productive assets in the hands of the government. By 2016, the Russian economy rebounded with 0.3% GDP growth and was officially out of the recession. In January 2017, Russia had foreign currency reserves of around $391 billion, an inflation rate of 5.0% and interest rate of 10.0%.
  • 9.4K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Fleischmann–Pons Experiment
The Fleischmann–Pons experiment was an investigation conducted in the 1980s by Martin Fleischmann of the University of Southampton and Stanley Pons of the University of Utah into whether electrolysis of heavy water on the surface of a palladium (Pd) electrode produces physical effects that defy chemical explanation. Of particular interest was evidence of "excess" (i.e. non-chemical) heat extracted from the deuterium fraction of common surface water which, if true, could have delivered the largest economic shock to the global energy industry since the Pennsylvania oil rush. On March 23, 1989, Fleischmann (then one of the world's leading electrochemists) and Pons reported their work via a press release from the University of Utah (who asserted ownership of the technology) claiming that the table-top apparatus had produced anomalous heat (understood as "excess" heat) of a magnitude they asserted would defy explanation except in terms of nuclear processes, which later came to be referred to as "cold fusion". In addition to the results from calorimetry, they further reported measuring small amounts of nuclear reaction byproducts, including neutrons and tritium. The reported results received wide media attention, and raised hopes of a cheap and abundant source of energy. Many scientists tried to replicate the experiment with the few details available. Hopes faded due to the large number of negative replications, the withdrawal of many reported positive replications, the discovery of flaws and sources of experimental error in the original experiment, and finally the discovery that Fleischmann and Pons had not actually detected nuclear reaction byproducts. By late 1989, most scientists considered cold fusion claims dead.
  • 9.4K
  • 26 Oct 2022
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