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Topic Review
Mercator 1569 World Map
The Mercator world map of 1569 is titled Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendate Accommodata (Renaissance Latin for "New and more complete representation of the terrestrial globe properly adapted for use in navigation"). The title shows that Gerardus Mercator aimed to present contemporary knowledge of the geography of the world and at the same time 'correct' the chart to be more useful to sailors. This 'correction', whereby constant bearing sailing courses on the sphere (rhumb lines) are mapped to straight lines on the plane map, characterizes the Mercator projection. While the map's geography has been superseded by modern knowledge, its projection proved to be one of the most significant advances in the history of cartography, inspiring map historian Nordenskiöld to write "The master of Rupelmonde stands unsurpassed in the history of cartography since the time of Ptolemy." The projection heralded a new era in the evolution of navigation maps and charts and it is still their basis. The map is inscribed with a great deal of text. The framed map legends (or cartouches) cover a wide variety of topics: a dedication to his patron and a copyright statement; discussions of rhumb lines, great circles and distances; comments on some of the major rivers; accounts of fictitious geography of the north pole and the southern continent. The full Latin texts and English translations of all the legends are given below. Other minor texts are sprinkled about the map. They cover such topics as the magnetic poles, the prime meridian, navigational features, minor geographical details, the voyages of discovery and myths of giants and cannibals. These minor texts are also given below. A comparison with world maps before 1569 shows how closely Mercator drew on the work of other cartographers and his own previous works, but he declares (Legend 3) that he was also greatly indebted to many new charts prepared by Portuguese and Spanish sailors in the portolan tradition. Earlier cartographers of world maps had largely ignored the more accurate practical charts of sailors, and vice versa, but the age of discovery, from the closing decade of the fifteenth century, stimulated the integration of these two mapping traditions: Mercator's world map is one of the earliest fruits of this merger.
  • 6.8K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Art
Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative, conceptual idea, or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of art or the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts. Though the definition of what constitutes art is disputed and has changed over time, general descriptions mention an idea of imaginative or technical skill stemming from human agency and creation. The nature of art and related concepts, such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics.
  • 6.8K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Toxicity of Titanium Compounds
Titanium and its compounds are broadly used in both industrial and domestic products, including jet engines, missiles, prostheses, implants, pigments, cosmetics, food, and photocatalysts for environmental purification and solar energy conversion. Although titanium/titania-containing materials are usually safe for human, animals and environment, increasing concerns on their negative impacts have been postulated. We have reported the state of knowledge about toxicity of titanium, its alloys and oxides. Due to the alarming increase in titania/titanium applications in various daily care products and medical treatment (e.g. dental implants) the possible toxicity and environmental impact should be considered.  The collected data might allow to identify some harms associated with using of titania and titanium compounds.
  • 6.7K
  • 21 Feb 2021
Topic Review
The Subretinal Space of the Eye
The subretinal space is located between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and the photoreceptive cells. The majority of the retina is a delicate matrix of photoreceptive cells and their support network which are responsible for human vision. These cells are separated from the choroid by a layer of pigment epithelium. The RPE has tight junctions, effectively insulating the inside of the retina from systemic circulation; the contents of the retina can then be controlled by transcellular transport.
  • 6.7K
  • 03 May 2025
Topic Review
Overcurrent Relays and Their Usage
Overcurrent relays (OCR) are used as the main protection device due to their lower cost compared to other types of relays. Overcurrent relays can be divided roughly into two types, judging by their time–current characteristic: definite-time OCRs and inverse-time OCRs.
  • 6.7K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Social Construction of Disability
The social construction of disability comes from a paradigm of ideas that suggest that society's beliefs about a particular community, group or population are grounded in the power structures inherent in a society at any given time. These are often steeped in historical representations of the issue and social expectations surrounding concepts such as disability, thereby enabling a social construct around what society deems disabled and healthy. Ideas surrounding disability stem from societal attitudes, often connected to who is deserving or undeserving, and deemed productive to society at any given time. For example, in the medieval period, a person's moral behavior established disability. Disability was a divine punishment or side effect of a moral failing; being physically or biologically different was not enough to be considered disabled. Only during the European Enlightenment did society change its definition of disability to be more related to biology. However, what most Western Europeans considered to be healthy determined the new biological definition of health.
  • 6.7K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Palmitoylethanolamide in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a naturally occurring saturated N-acylethanolamine that has proven to be effective in controlling inflammation, depression, epilepsy, and pain, possibly through a neuroprotective role against glutamate toxicity. Here, we systematically reviewed all human and animal studies examining PEA and its biobehavioral correlates in ASD. Studies indicate altered serum/brain levels of PEA and other endocannabinoids (ECBs)/acylethanolamines (AEs) in ASD. Altered PEA signaling response to social exposure and altered expression/activity of enzymes responsible for the synthesis and catalysis of ECBs/AEs, as well as downregulation of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) and cannabinoid receptor target GPR55 mRNA brain expression, have been reported. Stress and exposure to exogenous cannabinoids may modulate ECBs/AEs levels and expression of candidate genes for neuropsychiatric disorders, with implications for ASD. Limited research suggests that PEA supplementation reduces overall autism severity by improving language and social and nonsocial behaviors. Potential neurobiological underpinnings include modulation of immune response, neuroinflammation, neurotrophy, apoptosis, neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, neurodegeneration, mitochondrial function, and microbiota activity, possibly through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α) activation.
  • 6.7K
  • 08 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Waste in Human Health
Food supply disruption and shortage verified during the current pandemic events are a scenario that many anticipate for the near future. The impact of climate changes on food production, the continuous decrease in arable land, and the exponential growth of the human population are important drivers for this problem. 
  • 6.7K
  • 19 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Pelagic Zone
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word pelagic is derived from grc πέλαγος (pélagos) 'open sea'. The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the surface of the sea and the bottom. Conditions in the water column change with depth: pressure increases; temperature and light decrease; salinity, oxygen, micronutrients (such as iron, magnesium and calcium) all change. Marine life is affected by bathymetry (underwater topography) such as the seafloor, shoreline, or a submarine seamount, as well as by proximity to the boundary between the ocean and the atmosphere at the ocean surface, which brings light for photosynthesis, predation from above, and wind stirring up waves and setting currents in motion. The pelagic zone refers to the open, free waters away from the shore, where marine life can swim freely in any direction unhindered by topographical constraints. The oceanic zone is the deep open ocean beyond the continental shelf, which contrasts with the inshore waters near the coast, such as in estuaries or on the continental shelf. Waters in the oceanic zone plunge to the depths of the abyssopelagic and further to the hadopelagic. Coastal waters are generally the relatively shallow epipelagic. Altogether, the pelagic zone occupies 1,330 million km3 (320 million mi3) with a mean depth of 3.68 km (2.29 mi) and maximum depth of 11 km (6.8 mi). Pelagic life decreases as depth increases. The pelagic zone contrasts with the benthic and demersal zones at the bottom of the sea. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the very bottom, including the sediment surface and some subsurface layers. Marine organisms such as clams and crabs living in this zone are called benthos. Just above the benthic zone is the demersal zone. Demersal fish can be divided into benthic fish, which are denser than water and rest on the bottom, and benthopelagic fish, which swim just above the bottom. Demersal fish are also known as bottom feeders and groundfish.
  • 6.7K
  • 14 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Wavelet Scattering Transform
A knowledge-based feature extraction technique has been developed by Bruna and Malat named wavelet scattering transform (WST), which utilizes complex wavelets to balance the discrimination ability and stability of the time-frequency domain signal.
  • 6.7K
  • 09 Dec 2022
Topic Review
May 22: 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake
Great Chilean Earthquake (1960) is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, occurring on May 22, 1960, with a magnitude of 9.5–9.6. Originating off the coast of southern Chile, it caused widespread destruction, significant loss of life, and a massive tsunami that affected countries across the Pacific Ocean. The event led to advancements in seismology, tsunami warning systems, and disaster preparedness.
  • 6.7K
  • 21 May 2025
Topic Review
Carbon fiber-reinforced Thermoplastic polymers
Carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polymers are considered a promising composite for many industrial applications including in the automation, renewable energy, and aerospace industries. They exhibit exceptional properties such as a high strength-to-weight ratio and high wear resistance and stiffness, which give them an advantage over other conventional materials such as metals.
  • 6.7K
  • 17 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Triangulation Station
A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon, or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they are generally known as trigonometrical or triangulation stations in North America, trig points in the United Kingdom, trig pillars in Ireland, trig stations or points in Australia and New Zealand, and trig beacons in South Africa; triangulation pillar is the more formal term for the concrete columns found in the UK.
  • 6.7K
  • 02 Dec 2022
Topic Review
LOL
LOL, or lol, is an acronym for laugh(ing) out loud or lots of laughs, and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to-face communication. It is one of many initialisms for expressing bodily reactions, in particular laughter, as text, including initialisms for more emphatic expressions of laughter such as LMAO ("laugh(ing) my ass off") and ROFL (or its older form ROTFL; "roll(ing) on the floor laughing"). Other unrelated expansions include the now mostly obsolete "lots of luck" or "lots of love" used in letter-writing. The list of acronyms "grows by the month", and they are collected along with emoticons and smileys into folk dictionaries that are circulated informally amongst users of Usenet, IRC, and other forms of (textual) computer-mediated communication. These initialisms are controversial, and several authors recommend against their use, either in general or in specific contexts such as business communications. The Oxford English Dictionary first listed LOL in March, 2011.
  • 6.7K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Bṛhaspati
Bṛhaspati (Sanskrit: बृहस्पति; meaning spati of briha, the spirit of vastness of the universe written as Brihaspati) is an Indian name, and refers to different mythical figures depending on the age of the text. In ancient Hindu literature Brihaspati is a Vedic era sage who counsels the gods, while in some medieval texts the word refers to the largest planet of the solar system, Jupiter. He taught Bhishma the duties of a king which he later taught it to Vidura.
  • 6.7K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Pyrido[2,3-d], [3,2-d], [3,4-d] and [4,3-d]pyrimidine Derivatives
The structures composed of a pyridopyrimidine moiety which have shown a therapeutic interest or have already been approved for use as therapeutics, including pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines, pyrido[3,4-d]pyrimidines, pyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidines and pyrido[3,2-d]pyrimidines.
  • 6.7K
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Human Genetic Clustering
Human genetic clustering is the degree to which human genetic variation can be partitioned into a small number of groups or clusters. A leading method of analysis uses mathematical cluster analysis of the degree of similarity of genetic data between individuals and groups in order to infer population structures and assign individuals to hypothesized ancestral groups. A similar analysis can be done using principal component analysis, and several recent studies deploy both methods. Analysis of genetic clustering examines the degree to which regional groups differ genetically, the categorization of individuals into clusters, and what can be learned about human ancestry from this data. There is broad scientific agreement that a relatively small fraction of human genetic variation occurs between populations, continents, or clusters. Researchers of genetic clustering differ, however, on whether genetic variation is principally clinal or whether clusters inferred mathematically are important and scientifically useful.
  • 6.7K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Electron Transport Layer
The electron transport layer (ETL) acts as a function of collecting electrons and blocking the transport of holes to the FTO electrode in the PSC. The mesoporous structure of the ETL promotes the crystallization and film formation of perovskite and shortens the migration path of photogenerated electrons. A suitable ETL should have an energy band position that matches the perovskite material.
  • 6.7K
  • 10 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Grand Duchy
A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was often used in the official name of countries smaller than most continental kingdoms of modern Europe (e.g., Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom) yet larger than most of the sovereign duchies in the Holy Roman Empire, Italy or Scandinavia (e.g. Anhalt, Lorraine, Modena, Schleswig-Holstein). During the 19th century there were as many as 14 grand duchies in Europe at once (a few of which were first created as exclaves of the Napoleonic empire but later re-created, usually with different borders, under another dynasty). Some of these were sovereign and nominally independent (Baden, Hesse and by Rhine, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar and Tuscany), some sovereign but held in personal union with larger realms by a monarch whose grand-dukedom was borne as a subsidiary title (Finland, Luxembourg, Transylvania), some of which were client states of a more powerful realm (Cleves and Berg), and some whose territorial boundaries were nominal and the position purely titular (Frankfurt). In the 21st century, only Luxembourg remains a grand duchy.
  • 6.7K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Performance
SMEs are one of the business entities that make a significant contribution to economic conditions in Indonesia. This is the reason why information about the condition and presence of SMEs is important data for the government as an indicator for Indonesia’s economic conditions, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • 6.7K
  • 23 May 2022
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