Topic Review
The Concept of Sustainability and the Sustainable Pillars
The concept of sustainability or sustainable development is based on the German word “Nachhaltigkeit”, which was defined in the book Sylvicultura Oeconomica, by von Carlowitz. Implementing sustainability can be traced back to the year 1713, when it was used in relation to the forest industry, along with an implemented discussion of whether a forest can recover from humans’ wood consumption.
  • 520
  • 29 May 2023
Topic Review
Internet-Based E-Waste Collection Platforms
As Internet-based e-waste collection moves from a novelty to a routine way of e-waste collection in China, the service quality of Internet-based e-waste collection platforms plays a crucial role in attracting users.
  • 432
  • 29 May 2023
Topic Review
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Eastern Europe. Due to its location in the South Caucasus, Armenia is sometimes described as transcontinental, spanning both Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the Lachin corridor (under a Russian peacekeeping force) and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the capital and largest city. Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The first Armenian state of Urartu was established in 860 BC, and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. The Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC and in the year 301 became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and Persian empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During World War I, 1.5 million Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian genocide. In 1918, following the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Armenia is a developing country and ranks 81st on the Human Development Index (2018). Its economy is primarily based on industrial output and mineral extraction. While Armenia is geographically located in the South Caucasus, it is generally considered geopolitically European. Since Armenia aligns itself in many respects geopolitically with Europe, the country is a member of numerous European organizations including the Council of Europe, the Eastern Partnership, Eurocontrol, the Assembly of European Regions, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Armenia is also a member of certain regional groups throughout Eurasia, including the Asian Development Bank, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Union, and the Eurasian Development Bank. Armenia supports the de facto independent Artsakh, which was proclaimed in 1991. Armenia also recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD.
  • 4.8K
  • 10 May 2023
Topic Review
The Development Process of DAUE
Driving analysis of urban expansion (DAUE) is usually implemented to identify the driving factors and their corresponding driving effects/mechanisms for the expansion processes of urban land, aiming to provide scientific guidance for urban planning and management. DAUE is defined to cover all related driving effect/relationship/mechanism research on urban expansion and includes the employed analysis methods within them, i.e., correlation analysis, regression analysis, causal analysis, and so on.   
  • 323
  • 04 May 2023
Topic Review
Reinforcement (Speciation)
Reinforcement is a process of speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation (further divided to pre-zygotic isolation and post-zygotic isolation) between two populations of species. This occurs as a result of selection acting against the production of hybrid individuals of low fitness. The idea was originally developed by Alfred Russel Wallace and is sometimes referred to as the Wallace effect. The modern concept of reinforcement originates from Theodosius Dobzhansky. He envisioned a species separated allopatrically, where during secondary contact the two populations mate, producing hybrids with lower fitness. Natural selection results from the hybrid's inability to produce viable offspring; thus members of one species who do not mate with members of the other have greater reproductive success. This favors the evolution of greater prezygotic isolation (differences in behavior or biology that inhibit formation of hybrid zygotes). Reinforcement is one of the few cases in which selection can favor an increase in prezygotic isolation, influencing the process of speciation directly. This aspect has been particularly appealing among evolutionary biologists. The support for reinforcement has fluctuated since its inception, and terminological confusion and differences in usage over history have led to multiple meanings and complications. Various objections have been raised by evolutionary biologists as to the plausibility of its occurrence. Since the 1990s, data from theory, experiments, and nature have overcome many of the past objections, rendering reinforcement widely accepted,:354 though its prevalence in nature remains unknown. Numerous models have been developed to understand its operation in nature, most relying on several facets: genetics, population structures, influences of selection, and mating behaviors. Empirical support for reinforcement exists, both in the laboratory and in nature. Documented examples are found in a wide range of organisms: both vertebrates and invertebrates, fungi, and plants. The secondary contact of originally separated incipient species (the initial stage of speciation) is increasing due to human activities such as the introduction of invasive species or the modification of natural habitats. This has implications for measures of biodiversity and may become more relevant in the future.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Bisphenol A in Related Pathological Conditions
Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the so-called endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of different morbid conditions: immune-mediated disorders, type-2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. 
  • 729
  • 27 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Sustainability in Brazil’s Beef Industry
Since the dawn of Brazilian trade, extensive cattle farming has predominated. Brazil’s extensive pasture-based system uses pasture plants adapted to climate and soil conditions with limited use of purchased inputs. Domestic and international stakeholders have prioritized sustainable agricultural development in Brazil’s beef sector to reduce deforestation and other natural-habitat conversions.
  • 574
  • 23 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Agents
Combating chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats with novel solutions reduces disasters and accident risks and, at the same time, aids sustainability.
  • 520
  • 16 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Transfer of Natural Radionuclides in Terrestrial Food Chains
From the radiation protection point of view, less important natural radionuclides are 238U, 226Ra, 40K, and Th isotopes. However, 238U is a long-lived (t½ = 4.5 × 109 a) alpha emitter whose chemical toxicity exceeds its radiological toxicity. Although isotope 238U is not considered to cause significant radiation exposure, it is still the mother nuclide of a whole uranium decay series, producing isotopes of astatine, bismuth, lead, polonium, protactinium, radium, radon, thallium, and thorium while decaying. 40K also has a very long half-life (t½ = 1.28 × 109 a).
  • 403
  • 14 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Metal(loid) Bioremediation by Microbial Polymers
Environmental pollution arising from metal(loid)s is a result of industrialization, and has led to serious health issues. Conventional methods of metal(loid) removal often result in generation of secondary waste which is toxic to the environment. Bioremediation in combination with physicochemical techniques offer an excellent and effective means of removal. The use of secondary metabolites and extracellular polymers produced by microorganisms is an effective procedure employed in metal(loid) sequestration and reduction in toxicity of contaminated environments. These biopolymers have different chemical structures and have shown varied selectivity to different metal(loid)s. 
  • 492
  • 09 Jan 2023
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