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Topic Review
Stanford Web Credibility Project
The Stanford Web Credibility Project, which involves assessments of website credibility conducted by the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab, is an investigative examination of what leads people to believe in the veracity of content found on the Web. The goal of the project is to enhance website design and to promote further research on the credibility of Web resources.
  • 7.4K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Seismometer
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground motions, such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. Seismometers are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output of such a device—formerly recorded on paper (see picture) or film, now recorded and processed digitally—is a seismogram. Such data is used to locate and characterize earthquakes, and to study the Earth's internal structure.
  • 7.4K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Homology
In biology, homology is similarity due to shared ancestry between a pair of structures or genes in different taxa. A common example of homologous structures is the forelimbs of vertebrates, where the wings of bats and birds, the arms of primates, the front flippers of whales and the forelegs of four-legged vertebrates like dogs and crocodiles are all derived from the same ancestral tetrapod structure. Evolutionary biology explains homologous structures adapted to different purposes as the result of descent with modification from a common ancestor. The term was first applied to biology in a non-evolutionary context by the anatomist Richard Owen in 1843. Homology was later explained by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in 1859, but had been observed before this, from Aristotle onwards, and it was explicitly analysed by Pierre Belon in 1555. In developmental biology, organs that developed in the embryo in the same manner and from similar origins, such as from matching primordia in successive segments of the same animal, are serially homologous. Examples include the legs of a centipede, the maxillary palp and labial palp of an insect, and the spinous processes of successive vertebrae in a vertebral column. Male and female reproductive organs are homologous if they develop from the same embryonic tissue, as do the ovaries and testicles of mammals including humans. Sequence homology between protein or DNA sequences is similarly defined in terms of shared ancestry. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of either a speciation event (orthologs) or a duplication event (paralogs). Homology among proteins or DNA is inferred from their sequence similarity. Significant similarity is strong evidence that two sequences are related by divergent evolution from a common ancestor. Alignments of multiple sequences are used to discover the homologous regions. Homology remains controversial in animal behaviour, but there is suggestive evidence that, for example, dominance hierarchies are homologous across the primates.
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  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Artemisia vulgaris L. (common mugwort)
Artemisia vulgaris L. (common mugwort) is a species with great importance in the history of medicine and was called the “mother of herbs” in the Middle Ages. It is a common herbaceous plant that exhibits high morphological and phytochemical variability depending on the location it occurs. This species is well known almost all over the world. Its herb—Artemisiae vulgaris herba—is used as a raw material due to the presence of volatile oil, flavonoids, and sesquiterpene lactones and their associated biological activities. The European Pharmacopoeia has listed this species as a potential homeopathic raw material. Moreover, this species has been used in traditional Chinese, Hindu, and European medicine to regulate the functioning of the gastrointestinal system and treat various gynecological diseases. The general aim of this review was to analyze the progress of phytochemical and pharmacological as well as professional scientific studies focusing on A. vulgaris. Thus far, numerous authors have confirmed the beneficial properties of A. vulgaris herb extracts, including their antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antispasmolytic, antinociceptive, estrogenic, cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal effects. In addition, several works have reviewed the use of this species in the production of cosmetics and its role as a valuable spice in the food industry. 
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  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Ahiṃsā
Ahimsa (also spelt Ahinsa) (Sanskrit: अहिंसा IAST: ahiṃsā, Pāli: avihiṃsā) ("nonviolence," although see Etymology below) is an ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to all living beings. It is a key virtue in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Ahimsa is one of the cardinal virtues of Jainism, where it is first of the Pancha Mahavrata. It is also the first of the five precepts of Buddhism. Ahimsa is a multidimensional concept, inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark of the divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. Ahimsa has also been related to the notion that any violence has karmic consequences. While ancient scholars of Hinduism pioneered and refined the principles of Ahimsa, the concept also reached an extraordinary development in the ethical philosophy of Jainism. lord Parsvanatha, the twenty-third tirthankara of Jainism, revived and preached the concept of non-violence in the 8th century BCE. Mahaviraswami, the twenty-fourth and the last tirthankara further strengthened the idea in the 6th century BCE. Perhaps the most popular advocate of the principle of Ahimsa was Mahatma Gandhi. Ahimsa's precept of 'cause no injury' includes one's deeds, words, and thoughts. Classical Hindu texts like the Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as modern scholars, debate principles of Ahimsa when one is faced with war and situations requiring self-defence. Historical Indian literature has in this way contributed to modern theories of Just War and self-defence.
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  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Post-WWII Anti-fascism
Antifa movements (/ænˈtiːfə, ˈæntiˌfɑː/) and Anti-Fascist Action networks are left wing, often anarchist, extra-parliamentary and often violent political movements that describe themselves as anti-fascist. Such movements have been active in several countries in the second half of the 20th and early 21st century.
  • 7.4K
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Areas of Mathematics
Mathematics encompasses a growing variety and depth of subjects over its history, and comprehension of it requires a system to categorize and organize these various subjects into more general areas of mathematics. A number of different classification schemes have arisen, and though they share some similarities, there are differences due in part to the different purposes they serve. A traditional division of mathematics is into pure mathematics; mathematics studied for its intrinsic interest, and applied mathematics; the mathematics that can be directly applied to real-world problems. This division is not always clear and many subjects have been developed as pure mathematics to find unexpected applications later on. Broad divisions, such as discrete mathematics, computational mathematics and so on have emerged more recently. An ideal system of classification permits adding new areas into the organization of previous knowledge, and fitting surprising discoveries and unexpected interactions into the outline. For example, the Langlands program has found unexpected connections between areas previously thought unconnected, at least Galois groups, Riemann surfaces and number theory.
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  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Polyethylene Glycol
Lately, polyethylene glycol with nanoparticles has been demarcated as an innovative class of phase change materials with conceivable uses in the area of convective heat transfer. The amplified thermal conductivity of these nanoparticle enhanced phase change materials (PCMs) over the basic fluids (e.g., polyethylene glycol—PEG) is considered one of the driving factors for their improved performance in heat transfer.
  • 7.4K
  • 08 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Urban Sociology
Urban sociology is the sociological study of life and human interaction in metropolitan areas. It is a normative discipline of sociology seeking to study the structures, environmental processes, changes and problems of an urban area and by doing so provide inputs for urban planning and policy making. In other words, it is the sociological study of cities and their role in the development of society. Like most areas of sociology, urban sociologists use statistical analysis, observation, social theory, interviews, and other methods to study a range of topics, including migration and demographic trends, economics, poverty, race relations and economic trends. Urban sociology is one of the oldest sub-disciplines of sociology dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The philosophical foundations of modern urban sociology originate from the work of sociologists such as Karl Marx, Ferdinand Tönnies, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber and Georg Simmel who studied and theorized the economic, social and cultural processes of urbanization and its effects on social alienation, class formation, and the production or destruction of collective and individual identities. These theoretical foundations were further expanded upon and analyzed by a group of sociologists and researchers who worked at the University of Chicago in the early twentieth century. In what became known as the Chicago School of sociology the work of Robert Park, Louis Wirth and Ernest Burgess on the inner city of Chicago revolutionized not only the purpose of urban research in sociology, but also the development of human geography through its use of quantitative and ethnographic research methods. The importance of the theories developed by the Chicago School within urban sociology have been critically sustained and critiqued but still remain one of the most significant historical advancements in understanding urbanization and the city within the social sciences. The discipline may draw from several fields, including cultural sociology, economic sociology, and political sociology.
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  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mesoamerican Genetic Studies
Mesoamerica is a historically and culturally defined geographic area comprising current central and south Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and border regions of Honduras, western Nicaragua, and northwestern Costa Rica. The permanent settling of Mesoamerica was accompanied by the development of agriculture and pottery manufacturing (2500 BCE–150 CE), which led to the rise of several cultures connected by commerce and farming. Hence, Mesoamericans probably carried an invaluable genetic diversity partly lost during the Spanish conquest and the subsequent colonial period. Mesoamerican ancient DNA (aDNA) research has mainly focused on the study of mitochondrial DNA in the Basin of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula and its nearby territories, particularly during the Postclassic period (900–1519 CE). 
  • 7.4K
  • 24 Nov 2020
Topic Review
History of Solar System Formation and Evolution Hypotheses
The history of scientific thought about the Formation and evolution of the Solar System begins with the Copernican Revolution. The first recorded use of the term "Solar System" dates from 1704.
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  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Proofs Involving the Moore–Penrose Inverse
In linear algebra, the Moore–Penrose inverse is a matrix that satisfies some but not necessarily all of the properties of an inverse matrix. This article collects together a variety of proofs involving the Moore–Penrose inverse.
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  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Vimana
The "Vimana" is one such concept in ancient Indian texts that has been in the spotlight of most scholars, historians, and enthusiasts of ancient technology. Indeed, Vimanas, as they are described in Hindu epics or Vedic literature, flying machines or celestial chariots have amazed many a knowledgeable intellect, and some even go to the extent of citing them as evidence for advanced knowledge in aeronautical science in ancient India.
  • 7.4K
  • 31 Oct 2024
Topic Review
Bio-Composites
Bio-composites are degradable, renewable, non-abrasive, and non-toxic, with comparable properties to those of synthetic fiber composites and used in many applications in various fields. Naturals fibers are abundant and have low harvesting costs with adequate mechanical properties. Hazards of synthetic fibers, recycling issues, and toxic byproducts are the main driving factors in the research and development of bio-composites. Bio-composites are fabricated by combining natural fibers in a matrix material. The matrix material can be biodegradable, non-biodegradable, or synthetic. Synthetic matrix materials, along with natural fibers, are used to form hybrid bio-composites.
  • 7.4K
  • 09 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Metal Oxide Applications
Metal oxides play a key role in environmental remediation.
  • 7.4K
  • 08 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is the fourth smartphone of Redmi Note series developed by Xiaomi Inc. It is a part of Xiaomi's budget Redmi smartphone line. It has two variants: The older version sold as Redmi Note 4 is powered by a Deca-core Mediatek MT6797 Helio X20 SOC. The upgraded version, sold both as Redmi Note 4X and Redmi Note 4 (where MTK version was not released) is powered by an Octa-core MSM8953 Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC. The Redmi Note 4 was succeeded by Redmi Note 5.
  • 7.4K
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
(ε, δ)-Definition of Limit
In calculus, the (ε, δ)-definition of limit ("epsilon–delta definition of limit") is a formalization of the notion of limit. The concept is due to Augustin-Louis Cauchy, who never gave a formal (ε, δ) definition of limit in his Cours d'Analyse, but occasionally used ε, δ arguments in proofs. It was first given as a formal definition by Bernard Bolzano in 1817, and the definitive modern statement was ultimately provided by Karl Weierstrass. It provides rigor to the following informal notion: the dependent expression f(x) approaches the value L as the variable x approaches the value c if f(x) can be made as close as desired to L by taking x sufficiently close to c.
  • 7.4K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Infrared Heating Applications in Food Processing
Infrared (IR) technology is highly energy-efficient, less water-consuming, and environmentally friendly compared to conventional heating. Further, it is also characterized by homogeneity of heating, high heat transfer rate, low heating time, low energy consumption, improved product quality, and food safety. Infrared technology is used in many food manufacturing processes, such as drying, boiling, heating, peeling, polyphenol recovery, freeze-drying, antioxidant recovery, microbiological inhibition, sterilization grains, bread, roasting of food, manufacture of juices, and cooking food. 
  • 7.4K
  • 17 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of High-Speed Rail
Countries considering high-speed rail (HSR) developments face enormous challenges because of their high deployment cost, environmental obstacles, political opposition, and their potentially adverse effects on society. Nevertheless, HSR services are importantly sustainable that can have positive and transformative effects on the economic growth of a nation. 
  • 7.4K
  • 22 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Biblical Cosmology
Biblical cosmology is the biblical writers' conception of the cosmos as an organised, structured entity, including its origin, order, meaning and destiny. The Bible was formed over many centuries, involving many authors, and reflects shifting patterns of religious belief; consequently, its cosmology is not always consistent. Nor do the biblical texts necessarily represent the beliefs of all Jews or Christians at the time they were put into writing: the majority of those making up Hebrew Bible or Old Testament in particular represent the beliefs of only a small segment of the ancient Israelite community, the members of a late Judean religious tradition centered in Jerusalem and devoted to the exclusive worship of Yahweh. The ancient Israelites envisaged a universe made up of a flat disc-shaped Earth floating on water, heaven above, underworld below. Humans inhabited Earth during life and the underworld after death; there was no way that mortals could enter heaven, and the underworld was morally neutral; only in Hellenistic times (after c. 330 BCE) did Jews begin to adopt the Greek idea that it would be a place of punishment for misdeeds, and that the righteous would enjoy an afterlife in heaven. In this period too the older three-level cosmology in large measure gave way to the Greek concept of a spherical earth suspended in space at the center of a number of concentric heavens. The opening words of the Genesis creation narrative (Genesis 1:1–26) sum up the biblical editors' view of how the cosmos originated: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"; Yahweh, the God of Israel, was solely responsible for creation and had no rivals, implying Israel's superiority over all other nations. Later Jewish thinkers, adopting ideas from Greek philosophy, concluded that God's Wisdom, Word and Spirit penetrated all things and gave them unity. Christianity in turn adopted these ideas and identified Jesus with the Logos (Word): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1).
  • 7.4K
  • 11 Jan 2024
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