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Topic Review
Positive Stereotype
In social psychology, a positive stereotype refers to a subjectively favorable belief held about a social group. Common examples of positive stereotypes are Asians with better math ability, African Americans with greater athletic ability, and women with being more warm and communal. As opposed to negative stereotypes, positive stereotypes represent a "positive" evaluation of a group that typically signals an advantage over another group. As such, positive stereotypes may be considered a form of compliment or praise. However, positive stereotypes can have a positive or negative effect on targets of positive stereotypes. The positive or negative influence of positive stereotypes on targets depends on three factors: (1) how the positive stereotype is stated, (2) who is stating the positive stereotype, (3) in what culture the positive stereotype is presented (e.g., Western contexts vs. East Asian contexts).
  • 7.9K
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
DualShock
The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation family of systems. Introduced in November 1997, it was initially marketed as a secondary peripheral for the original PlayStation, with updated versions of the PlayStation console including the controller, Sony subsequently phased out the controller that was originally included with the console, called the PlayStation controller, as well as the Sony Dual Analog Controller. The DualShock is the best-selling gamepad of all time in terms of units sold, excluding bundled controllers.
  • 7.9K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Microbes as Biofertilizers
Biofertilizers are a promising alternative to chemical fertilizers and gaining importance for attaining sustainable agriculture.
  • 7.9K
  • 18 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Bodybuilding and Myostatin
MSTN is a gene that makes instructions for producing the protein myostatin, a protein that is part of the transforming growth factor beta family (TGFβ). The TGFβ family of proteins control the growth of tissues in the body, myostatin is found nearly exclusively in the skeletal muscles where it is active before and after birth. The protein actually controls skeletal growth by restraining it, preventing muscles becoming excessively large. Current research that surrounds myostatin is based around its potential treatment in muscle wasting disorders, animals that have mutations in the encoding gene MSTN show greater muscle mass, strength and in some circumstances reduced bodyfat, which can be known as myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy. This study aimed to see the prevalence of mutations in the male bodybuilder population (n = 92) and if having a mutation had any affect on their muscle size and/or muscle performance. The study which looked at mutation prevalence in rs1805086, arm circumference, pull-up max and push-up max. The results show that 17% (16) of the subject group had one mutation (AG), 83% (76) had the common outcome (AA) and 0% (0) had two mutations (GG). Those with the AG outcome had an average arm circumference of 46.37cmcompared with AA which had an average of 42.02cm. Those with the AG outcome had an average pull-up max score of 21 compared with AA with an average of 12. Those with the AG outcome had an average push-up max of 61 compared with AA with an average of 40. The study clearly shows that those with a mutation are rare, however the mutation does appear to give the subject a performance and size advantage over those with the common outcome.
  • 7.9K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Mozambique: Country Profile
Mozambique is a Southern African tropical country; it forms a 4330 km coastline on the Indian Ocean side. It is one of the continent’s five former Portuguese colonies, with the economy relying mainly on agriculture and mining.
  • 7.9K
  • 03 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Artificial Gravity in Fiction
Artificial gravity is a common theme in fiction, particularly science fiction.
  • 7.9K
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Religious Views on Euthanasia
There are many religious views on euthanasia, although many moral theologians are critical of the procedure.
  • 7.9K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Flaws of Sustainable Development
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) introduced 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets, addressing poverty, hunger, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, justice, and other global issues, as a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all people and the world by 2030”. Thirty years after the Rio Earth Summit, the report from the United Nations on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) may justifiably trigger some anger. Greater numbers of people are suffering, environments are being further degraded, and the life support systems for both current and future generations are being seriously compromised. About halfway through the time period for the SDGs, in March 2022, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that humanity is “moving backwards in relation to the majority of the Sustainable Development Goals”. Although some of the setbacks could be attributed to the pandemic and associated policies, the SDGs were already off-track before COVID-19 emerged.
  • 7.9K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Hydrogen Storage Technologies
Storage is an essential topic when it comes to hydrogen integration in distribution networks and large-scale applications; the existence of a robust and reliable way of storing this energy vector is crucial to addressing the current potential demand for hydrogen in the energy market. Many forms of storage have been developed, which can mainly be divided into Physical-based and Material-based approaches. Physical storage includes compressed gas, liquid, and cryo-compressed hydrogen, and it is the most widely used storage type among these systems. 
  • 7.9K
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Anti-miscegenation Laws
Anti-miscegenation laws or miscegenation laws are laws that enforce racial segregation at the level of marriage and intimate relationships by criminalizing interracial marriage and sometimes also sex between members of different races. Anti-miscegenation laws were first introduced in North America from the late seventeenth century onwards by several of the Thirteen Colonies, and subsequently by many US states and US territories and remained in force in many US states until 1967. After the Second World War, an increasing number of states repealed their anti-miscegenation laws. In 1967, in landmark case Loving v. Virginia, the remaining anti-miscegenation laws were held to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren. Similar laws were also enforced in Nazi Germany as part of the Nuremberg laws which were passed in 1935, and in South Africa as part of the system of Apartheid which was passed in 1948. In the United States, interracial marriage, cohabitation and sex have been termed "miscegenation" since the term was coined in 1863. Contemporary usage of the term is infrequent, except to refer to historical laws banning the practice.
  • 7.9K
  • 13 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Anno Mundi
Anno Mundi (Latin for "in the year of the world"; Hebrew: לבריאת העולם, "to the creation of the world"), abbreviated as AM, or Year After Creation, is a calendar era based on the biblical accounts of the creation of the world and subsequent history. Two such calendar eras have seen notable use historically: While differences in biblical interpretation or in calculation methodology can produce some differences in the creation date, most results fall relatively close to one of these two dominant models. The primary reason for the disparity seems to lie in which underlying Biblical text is chosen (roughly 5500 BC based on the Greek Septuagint text, about 3750 BC based on the Hebrew Masoretic text). Most of the 1,732-year difference resides in numerical discrepancies in the genealogies of the two versions of the Book of Genesis. Patriarchs from Adam to Terah, the father of Abraham, are said to be older by as much as 100 years or more when they begat their named son in the Greek Septuagint than they were in the Latin Vulgate (Genesis 5; Genesis 11) or the Hebrew Tanakh (Gen 5; Gen 11). The net difference between the two major genealogies of Genesis is 1466 years (ignoring the "second year after the flood" ambiguity), 85% of the total difference. (See Dating creation.)
  • 7.9K
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Natural Reservoir
In infectious disease ecology and epidemiology, a natural reservoir, also known as a disease reservoir or a reservoir of infection, is the population of organisms or the specific environment in which an infectious pathogen naturally lives and reproduces, or upon which the pathogen primarily depends for its survival. A reservoir is usually a living host of a certain species, such as an animal or a plant, inside of which a pathogen survives, often (though not always) without causing disease for the reservoir itself. By some definitions a reservoir may also be an environment external to an organism, such as a volume of contaminated air or water. Because of the enormous variety of infectious microorganisms capable of causing disease, precise definitions for what constitutes a natural reservoir are numerous, various, and often conflicting. The reservoir concept applies only for pathogens capable of infecting more than one host population and only with respect to a defined target population – the population of organisms in which the pathogen causes disease. The reservoir is any population of organisms (or any environment) which harbors the pathogen and transmits it to the target population. Reservoirs may comprise one or more different species, may be the same or a different species as the target, and, in the broadest sense, may include vector species, which are otherwise distinct from natural reservoirs and should not be confused with them. Significantly, species considered reservoirs for a given pathogen may not experience symptoms of disease when infected by the pathogen. Identifying the natural reservoirs of infectious pathogens has proven useful in treating and preventing large outbreaks of disease in humans and domestic animals, especially those diseases for which no vaccine exists. In principle, zoonotic diseases can be controlled by isolating or destroying the pathogen's reservoirs of infection. The mass culling of animals confirmed or suspected as reservoirs for human pathogens, such as birds that harbor avian influenza, has been effective at containing possible epidemics in many parts of the world; for other pathogens, such as the ebolaviruses, the identity of the presumed natural reservoir remains obscure.
  • 7.9K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Xian JH-7
The Xian JH-7 (Jianjiji Hongzhaji – fighter-bomber; NATO reporting name Flounder), also known as the FBC-1 (Fighter/Bomber China-1) Flying Leopard, is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber in service with the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF), and the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The main contractors are Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation (XAC) and the 603rd Aircraft Design Institute (later named the First Aircraft Institute of AVIC-I). The first JH-7s were delivered to the PLANAF in the mid-1990s for evaluation, with the improved JH-7A entering service in 2004.
  • 7.9K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri or Shridevi (Javanese: ꦢꦺꦮꦶꦱꦿꦶ), Dewi Sri) (Sundanese: Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri) is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. The cult of the rice goddess has its origin in the prehistoric domestication, development and propagation of rice cultivation in Asia, possibly brought by Austroasiatic or Austronesian population that finally migrated and settled in the archipelago. Similar but slightly different rice spirits mythologies are widespread among Indonesian ethnicities and also neighboring countries. The mythology of Dewi Sri is native to Java and Sunda and Hinduism in the archipelago since early as the first century. She was equated with the Hindu goddess Shri Lakshmi, and often regarded as an incarnation or one of her manifestations. The goddess is also associated with wealth and prosperity.
  • 7.9K
  • 11 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas. Although the two concepts are sometimes used interchangeably, urbanization should be distinguished from urban growth. Whereas urbanization refers to the proportion of the total national population living in areas classified as urban, urban growth strictly refers to the absolute number of people living in those areas. The United Nations has projected that half of the world's population will live in urban areas at the end of 2008. It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. That is equivalent to approximately 3 billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in Africa and Asia. Notably, the United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global population growth from 2017 to 2030 will be by cities, with about 1.1 billion new urbanites over the next 10 years. Urbanization is relevant to a range of disciplines, including urban planning, geography, sociology, architecture, economics, and public health. The phenomenon has been closely linked to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological process of rationalization. Urbanization can be seen as a specific condition at a set time (e.g. the proportion of total population or area in cities or towns), or as an increase in that condition over time. Therefore, urbanization can be quantified either in terms of the level of urban development relative to the overall population, or as the rate at which the urban proportion of the population is increasing. Urbanization creates enormous social, economic and environmental changes, which provide an opportunity for sustainability with the "potential to use resources more efficiently, to create more sustainable land use and to protect the biodiversity of natural ecosystems." Urbanization is not merely a modern phenomenon, but a rapid and historic transformation of human social roots on a global scale, whereby predominantly rural culture is being rapidly replaced by predominantly urban culture. The first major change in settlement patterns was the accumulation of hunter-gatherers into villages many thousand years ago. Village culture is characterized by common bloodlines, intimate relationships, and communal behavior, whereas urban culture is characterized by distant bloodlines, unfamiliar relations, and competitive behavior. This unprecedented movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the next few decades, mushrooming cities to sizes unthinkable only a century ago. As a result, the world urban population growth curve has up till recently followed a quadratic-hyperbolic pattern. Today, in Asia the urban agglomerations of Osaka, Tokyo, Mumbai, Dhaka, Karachi, Jakarta, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Manila, Seoul, and Beijing are each already home to over 20 million people, while Delhi is forecast to approach or exceed 40 million people in the year 2035. Cities such as Tehran, Istanbul, Mexico City, São Paulo, London, Moscow, New York City, Lagos, Los Angeles, and Cairo are, or soon will be, home to over 15 million people each.
  • 7.8K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Business Environment and Competitive Advantages
       Tourism destination competitiveness reflecting the generic characteristics should be considered diversified to notice the distinctive perspective between the business environment and competitive advantages. Criticism of some prior conventional literature stems from the lack of a rigorous process to find the structure and attributes of the measurement items for a destination’s business environment and competitive advantages. The available theoretical framework and measures containing the destination business environment and competitive advantages warrant further investigation. The vital dimensions of the destination business environment (i.e., dynamism,hostility,turbulence,investment,information technology,and governance) and destination competitive advantages (i.e., defensiveness, local acceptance, accessibility, reasonability, uniqueness, supportiveness, and image sustainability) were successfully identified through quantitative and empirical analysis, which could provide a significant basis for managerial and policy decisions in the tourism industry.
  • 7.8K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Proofs of Fermat's Theorem on Sums of Two Squares
Fermat's theorem on sums of two squares asserts that an odd prime number p can be expressed as with integer x and y if and only if p is congruent to 1 (mod 4). The statement was announced by Girard in 1625, and again by Fermat in 1640, but neither supplied a proof. The "only if" clause is easy: a perfect square is congruent to 0 or 1 modulo 4, hence a sum of two squares is congruent to 0, 1, or 2. An odd prime number is congruent to either 1 or 3 modulo 4, and the second possibility has just been ruled out. The first proof that such a representation exists was given by Leonhard Euler in 1747 and was complicated. Since then, many different proofs have been found. Among them, the proof using Minkowski's theorem about convex sets and Don Zagier's short proof based on involutions have appeared.
  • 7.8K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Andhaka
In Hindu mythology, Andhaka (Sanskrit: अन्धक, IAST: andhaka, lit. he who darkens) often refer to a malevolent asura who is killed by Shiva for trying to abduct Parvati. His story finds mention in various Hindu texts, including Matsya Purana, Kurma Purana, Linga Purana and Shiva Purana. He is believed to have thousand heads, two thousand eyes, arms and feet.
  • 7.8K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
List of Research Stations in the Arctic
A number of governments maintain permanent research stations in the Arctic. Also known as Arctic bases, polar stations or ice stations, these bases are widely distributed across the northern polar region of the earth. Historically few research stations have been permanent. Most of them were temporary, being abandoned after the completion of the project or owing to lack of funding to continue the research. Some of these were military or intelligence stations (listening posts) created as a result of the proximity of the U.S. and Soviet Union to each other's landmass across the polar region. Ice stations are constructed on land or on ice that rests on land, while others are drifting ice stations built on the sea ice of the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean.
  • 7.8K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Affect and Personality in Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread and persistent musculoskeletal pain, which is usually associated with other symptoms such as fatigue, tiredness, insomnia, stiffness, cognitive deficits, and emotional comorbidities (i.e., depression and anxiety). FMS patients usually display a high rate of psychiatric disorders compared to the general population. FMS has been also associated with higher levels of negative affect and lower levels of positive affect. High levels of stress, pain catastrophizing, and angry rumination have been also reported in FMS patients. Additionally, there are a tendency to internalize and suppress anger in FMS patients. Regarding personality in FMS, some studies have observed some FMS features (e.g., high impulsivity, harm avoidance, self-transcendence and neuroticism, and low conscientiousness, cooperativeness and self-directedness), while other authors had not found any particular personality trait. Some personality disorders (i.e., obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, borderline personality, avoidant personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder) seem to be more frequent in FMS patients than in general population. Moreover, previous research has reported a greater presence of the type D personality and high levels of alexithymia in a significant proportion of FMS patients. It is necessary to improve the understanding of the role of affect and personality in the clinical practice with chronic pain patients, in order to improve the success of a personalized oriented treatment and increase their health-related quality of life.
  • 7.8K
  • 27 Oct 2020
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