Friday, December 27, 2019
Beta Pictoris Planets Life or What - 1642 Words
BETA PICTORIS: PLANETS? LIFE? OR WHAT? JARA ASTRONOMY 102 SEC 013 The ultimate question is; Is there a possibility that life might exist on a planet in the Beta Pictoris system? First, one must ask, Are there planets in the Beta Pictoris system?. However, that question would be impossible to answer if one did not answer the most basic questions first; Where do planets come from? and do the key elements and situations, needed to form planets, exist in the Beta Pictoris system?. To understand where planets come from, one has to first look at where the planets in our solar system came from. Does or did our star, the sun, have a circumstellar disk around it? the answer is believed to be yes. Scientists believe that aâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦The Hubble Space Telescope, using the high-resolution spectrograph, found that the disk surrounding beta Pictoris consists of two parts: an outer ring of small, solid particles, and an inner ring of diffuse gas within a few hundred miles of the star (5). Albert Boggess, an astronomer at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, suspects that the gas comes from the ring of solid particles (5). If he is correct, then the gas may be a sign that planets are being born there. The gas could be a result from the collision of solid particles in the outer ring accreting into planets that are still too small to see because of the brightness of the star itself (5). During the collisions some of the particles would be vaporized and drawn toward the star. The planets in our own solar system are believed to have formed through countless numbers of such collisions (5). Boggess also believes that Beta Pictoris is very similar to a very early phase of our own solar system (5). Additional evidence, from the Hubble, also suggests that Beta Pictoris might be following in our footsteps. The gaseous inner ring appears to contain clumps of material spiraling toward the star (5). These clumps may be comets, diverted from the normal paths by close calls with protoplanets (5). This also fits with curren t ideas about the evolution of our own solar system. Gases from comet impacts
Thursday, December 19, 2019
The Future Of Solar Energy - 1006 Words
Current analysis by the IFC ranks the MENA region above emerging markets like China and India in market interest for sustainable investment . With the necessities for diversified economies and youth bulges providing an eager labor force, there is certainly room for growth in the region. A study by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that countries seriously involved with renewable energies can expect significant job creation. In Germany, for example, the numbers were 150,057 for direct employment and 120,533 for indirect . Coupled with the increasing openness of the societies and the political reforms of some of the countries mentioned previously, it would be a beneficial time for those areas to capitalize on theâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦If just CSP alone was utilized to its maximum potential it Figure 1. Concentrating Solar Power in the MENA region, 2011. Source: The World Bank MENA Development Report, Renewable Energy Desalination, 2012. would provide over 350 times the amount of energy the MENA currently requires annually . The primary issue with CSP however, is it carriers one of the highest upfront costs to construct a plant. PV costs are much lower but, utilizing this technology to its full potential would only provide 31% of the regions total energy needs . The other leading renewable energy technologies worth discussing are hydroelectric, wind power, biomass, and geothermal energy. While hydroelectric is one of the leading renewable energy sources around the world, the MENA region is not well suited for this technology; Egypt, Iran, and Iraq are considered the only three well suited for it . Wind power currently garners the most interest in North Africa at the moment but, it is expected that as the technologies improve it can be a viable renewable energy source for the entire region, potentially covering 25% of the MENAââ¬â¢s current energy needs if utilized to its full potential . The biomass potential is v ery low in the region and better suited for small scale endeavors focusing on agricultural waste and municipal waste . Lastly, there is geothermal power which is like CSP in that it has significant upfront costs but in this case, is only really viable in Egypt, SaudiShow MoreRelatedThe Future Of Solar Energy Essay1079 Words à |à 5 Pages For many years weââ¬â¢ve used gas and coal as our main sources of energy. These two sources of energy have more than accommodated our needs for power since the early days of electricity. However, as the dangers to both the environment and human race begin to be revealed regarding both substances, scientist begin to turn their heads in search of new and safer processes such as solar and nuclear energy. While both solar and nuclear energy are more than capable pf providing the human race with electricityRead MoreA Future Of Solar Energy3797 Words à |à 16 PagesA Future in Solar Energy The amount of energy used by the United States and the entirety of the world is predicted to drastically increase over the next few years. In 2001 the worldwide average energy consumption rate was approximately 13.5 TW (terawatt), but it is predicted that by 2100 that rate could triple to about 43 TW. In order to account for this greater need it becomes necessary to take action, as current production levels cannot meet the projected increase in energy consumption. ThereRead MoreThe Future Of Solar Energy2007 Words à |à 9 Pagestechnology, and what does technology require? Energy. Such a simple answer, but where does it come from? That is a question many tend to overlook. There are many energy resources that are being harnessed in this modern age, all of which are truly interesting in their own special ways, but solar energy seems to stand out. The idea that mankind can concentrate the Sunââ¬â¢s light and turn it into energy for personal use is very interesting. Althoug h solar energy does have its drawbacks, its importanceRead MoreSolar Energy : The Future Of Alternative Energy Sources Essay1920 Words à |à 8 PagesSolar industry has been paying lots of attention to coating technology in the past 10 years. Solar energy is considered the future of alternative energy sources. It has been recognized as one of the most widely used renewable sources of energy in the few recent years for its non-polluting characteristics which combats the Greenhouse effect on global climate created by the use of fossil fuels, figure 1.6. The generation of solar power is done by converting the solar energy into electricity by usingRead MoreEssay about Solar Power: The Future of Energy1431 Words à |à 6 Pagesharmful energy sources, which affect our atmosphere? The power from the sun is what we call solar power. Solar power is the energy that comes from the sun as light and heat energy, and then it is later converted into electrical energy through solar panels (Nelso n, 2008). This kind of power is completely free, right? Why should we put a lot of expense on other sources of energy, when there is a complete free and healthy power? It is evident that solar energy is a healthy source of energy, which willRead More Solar Energy Essay615 Words à |à 3 PagesSolar Energy There is a bright future for solar power (no pun intended). On the average sunny day the sun shines approximately 1,000 watts of energy per square meter, enough energy to power all of our electricity needs and excess(ââ¬Å"Howâ⬠). This plethora of power and will be utilized in the future because we cant afford not to. It is predicted that in 100-500 years our fossil fuels will be depleted: this means that alternative sources of energy will be a necessity (Exxon). Read MoreFossil Fuels Are Bad For Our Environment889 Words à |à 4 Pagesenvironment, and in a economy that is struggling, there is no point in pouring billions of dollars a year into an energy source that is killing our other resources. This kind of spending and reckless destruction of our environment will eventually have to stop. The question is, when it does what will we do? There are many other forms of alternative energy that are accessible to us right now. These energy sources will eventually have to be used in the place of burning fossil fuels to power our world. PeopleRead MoreRenewable Energy : Improving Solar Energy1510 Words à |à 7 PagesMath November 27, 2014 Topic: Solar Energy Improving Solar energy in the United States Audience: Home owners Executive Summary: Solar energy has been in existence for a longer than any of us will imagine. Of course the sun is the oldest and most basic source of energy. Solar technology has been in existence since the 7th century B.C. Solar energy is a clean and renewable energy that does not have most of the problems fossil fuels have. There are three types of solar technology that can be utilizedRead More Solar Energy Essay981 Words à |à 4 PagesSolar Energy Since the beginning of humanity, people have relied on the sun for their daily needs. Whether it is to grow the crops that they eat, dry clothes or warm their family, people have relied on the resource of the sun for sustainability. It was not until people started to get the idea of managing this energy source, that people were able to fully take advantage of the sun. In 1767, a Swiss scientist discovered a practical way to harness the energy of the sun. Horace de Saussure inventedRead MoreThe Debate On A Solar Society1462 Words à |à 6 PagesPolicy Paper: The Debate on a Solar Society Now days it seems like we cannot be certain of what is good and what is bad. Especially when it comes to what is good and bad for a large group. Even with topics where it seems like the answer is a no brainer, there is always some uncertainty about how much we actually know. Do we have all of the facts, or do we just have the facts that the people controlling the situation want us to have? You can apply this mindset to practically any situation. It
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Bioscience for Anatomy of Plasma Membrane-myassignmenthelp.com
Question: Discuss about theBioscience for Anatomy of Plasma Membrane. Answer: The plasma membrane is defined as the boundary of the cell, which separates the components of the cell from the extra-cellular components. It is made up of protein and lipid molecule that forms tough, thin, pliable and hydrophobic barrier around the cell (Luckey et al., 2014). In other words it can be said that cellular membranes or plasma membrane is composed of two layers of phospholipid molecule. This bipartite layer has hydrophilic end and hydrophobic end. The hydrophilic ends are directed towards the inner and the outer surface of the membrane whereas the hydrophobic ends are buried within the interior of the membrane (Rodwell et al., 2015). This arrangement of the plasma membrane is known as fluid mosaic model as proposed by Singer and Nicolson (Rodwell et al., 2015). According to the fluid mosaic model, the hydrocarbon chain of phospholipid bilayer forms hydrophobic core that restricts diffusion of water soluble solutes through the membrane. The polar head group of the phospholipid has hydrophilic tail that remains embedded within the membrane (Lodish et al., 2000). Transport of Oxygen across plasma membrane Gases such as oxygen (O2) and CO2 (carbon di-oxide) and other small uncharged molecules which are polar in nature (urea and ethanol) are transported through the plasma membrane via passive diffusion. These molecules can diffuse across the plasma membrane without the requirement of transport proteins. Moreover, metabolic energy is not expended due to the movement of these polar molecules occur from a domain of high concentration to a region of low concentration, down the chemical concentration gradient. From the theory of thermodynamics it can be stated that such transportation reactions are spontaneous because it has positive change in entropy (delta S) and negative change in Gibbs free energy (delta G) (Lodish et al., 2000). Transport of sodium across the plasma membrane The transport of sodium ions (Na+) takes place along with potassium ions (K+) through P-class ion pump known as Na+/K+ ATPase. In the E1 configuration of Na+/K+ ATPase have three high-affinity sodium ions binding sites along with two low affinity potassium ion binding sites at the cytosolic face. Hence three molecules of Na+ are transported across the concentration in the expense ATP breakdown. While face on the exterior surface of the plasma membrane, Na+/K+ ATPase has two high affinity K+ ion binding sites, upon releasing 3 Na+, 2K+ binds to its respective binding sites and is released inside the cell (across its concentration gradient) along with the release of the phosphate ions formed as a result of ATP to ADP conversion during Na+ ion transport (Lodish et al., 2000). Transport of Sodium ions inside the cell takes place along with glucose molecule via the help of symporter (Lodish et al., 2000). References Lodish, H., Berk, A., Zipursky, S. L., Matsudaira, P., Baltimore, D., Darnell, J. (2000). Molecular cell biology 4th edition.National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bookshelf. Luckey, M. (2014).Membrane structural biology: with biochemical and biophysical foundations. Cambridge University Press. Rodwell, V., Bender, D., Botham, K. M., Kennelly, P. J., Weil, P. A. (2015).Harpers Illustrated Biochemistry 30th Edition. McGraw Hill Professional.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
The 1,000+ Page Website Overhaul...How to Undertake a Massive Website Rewrite - The Writers For Hire
THE 1,000+ PAGE WEBSITE OVERHAULHOW TO UNDERTAKE A MASSIVE WEBSITE REWRITE Much has been written about crumbling infrastructure throughout the United States. If itââ¬â¢s not roads and bridges, then itââ¬â¢s internet networks and dated telecommunications infrastructure. But not so much has been written on the effects of aging on internet content. The internet has been around long enough that many sites have compiled years of content and supplemental pages. How do companies and universities manage updating and creating content for huge, often unwieldy sites? A large content production or migration project can appear daunting at first. Anyone whoââ¬â¢s worked on one of these projects for the first time inevitably has come out the other side with a laundry list of learnings. From architecting new structures to staffing a writing team large enough to complete the project in a timely fashion to hand-holding subject matter experts and ensuring an efficient workflow, large content project managers will have had to work through the bottlenecks common to such large-scale projects. Preparation A proverbial analogy for todayââ¬â¢s large-scale content production projects might be different takes on ââ¬Å"throwing the baby out with the bathwater.â⬠If we consider the content as the ââ¬Å"babyâ⬠and the platform as the ââ¬Å"bathwater,â⬠you can see how the various iterations of these projects might look: If you chuck the baby, then the scope of the project involves producing all new content to populate your current platform. If you chuck the bathwater, then youââ¬â¢re looking at a content migration project where the biggest challenges become identifying content you want migrated to a new platform and new content you want produced (an example being your companyââ¬â¢s desire to migrate your content and data to the cloud). If youââ¬â¢ve chucked it all, or perhaps have no baby or bathwater to begin with, then your challenges multiply. Obviously, there are subtle variations to each of these scenarios. And while there are plenty of marketing firms that can handle large-scale content management, when it comes to actually producing the living, breathing content that your users will consume, the task of creating compelling and cohesive content on a large scale can prove challenging without a well-honed writing team in place. Assembling Your Team Even if your company employs a third-party marketing firm to handle content production and management, many marketing firms donââ¬â¢t staff a large enough writing team for such large-scale projects. So, the first issue that needs tackling is ensuring coverage of the sheer manhours required to produce large amounts of high-quality content while maintaining an attentive focus on cohesion. Itââ¬â¢s not enough to simply hire 10 or 15 writers and divide up the work. Those writers need to form a fluid team that works well together, understands the broad scope of the project, and can converge to meet a common goal. Project managers will be the critical hub for these types of large-scale projects. Not only will they be involved with staffing a cohesive writing team, but they will also be instrumental in attaining consensus for the style guides that need to be produced, in drafting training materials and process documentation, and in assisting through the decision on what to repurpose and what to scrap. Project managers are also key to keeping a project on budget and on schedule. Wintress Odom, Owner of Houston-based The Writers for Hire, says ââ¬Å"To ensure the project stays within scope, each individual writer needs to understand how much time they have allotted per writing task, else ââ¬Ësmallââ¬â¢ overages on individual tasks can add up to hundreds of extra work hours.â⬠Extra works hours can equate to budget overruns and missed deadlines. Oh. And, of course, you need an editor. At the risk of going over the top with the proverbs, when it comes to editors, you might consider that too many cooks spoil the soup. Odom says, ââ¬Å"For large projects with multiple writers on a team, itââ¬â¢s important to have a single editor.â⬠She qualifies this by explaining that a single editor will have the entire vision of the project within their scope, and by introducing multiple editors, thereââ¬â¢s a good chance the rate of inconsistencies in tone, content, and style grows exponentially. Together, the project manager and editor will oversee the writing team and ensure stuff gets done on time. Ramp Up At project inception, one essential key Odom identifies is in ensuring the initial architecture takes into account not only the form the project is to take, but also in preemptively constructing a chain of command that will streamline the decision-making process and save time and headaches down the road. For such a large-scale project, everyone involved has to be on the same page. This is done by documenting workflow and review processes before a single word gets written. Process documentation can range from the bare minimum to quite extensive. On a large project, you might find the need for some or all of the following: Project workflow guides Content guide Chain of review roadmap Stakeholder responsibility definitions Writer and stakeholder training on project-specific software Odom stresses the need to have most of this in place before starting a project. ââ¬Å"You are bound to tweak processes as you go along, but starting a major website overhaul without key procedural documents is a costly mistake.â⬠The one exception? Surprisingly, the style guide. ââ¬Å"If a company doesnââ¬â¢t already have one,â⬠says Odom, ââ¬Å"trying to create one before the project is somewhat ridiculous. You canââ¬â¢t possibly anticipate all of the nuances youââ¬â¢ll run into, from capitalization preferences on company trademarks to oxford commas.â⬠Odom suggests recording preferences ââ¬â building a living style guide ââ¬â as the project progresses. Then, completing a front-to-back edit just to implement style guide decisions right before launch. One last invaluable tool for allowing the writing process to flow much smoother is the key messaging platform. Most larger companies have this valuable marketing tool already. Itââ¬â¢s a master marketing message document, covering the companyââ¬â¢s branding as a whole as well as each individual product and service the company offers. The key messaging platform provides cohesion across all marketing mediums and ensures not only consistency in branding and style, but also a roadmap to avoid multiple content producers from having to reinvent the wheel. Thankfully, the internet makes available a wealth of prompts and tools for creating effective key messaging. Workflow Throughout her career, Erin Hanson, Content Marketing Manager at Autodesk in Northern California, has had to learn many lessons through trial and error. Earlier in her career, Hanson was charged with the daunting task of overhauling content for the entire University of California at Berkeley extension course catalog, a project which ended up taking over two years. To give you a sense of what one of these large-scale projects looks like, consider just a handful of the tasks Hanson had to manage for the universityââ¬â¢s site overhaul: Drafting and distributing requests for proposal for third-parties Gap analysis for requirement gathering from student information and records Gathering information on each field of studyââ¬â¢s course descriptions and certificate programs Creating and managing content hubs for each of those fields of study Conducting student interviewsââ¬âone in each field ââ¬Å"The bottlenecks,â⬠Hanson describes, ââ¬Å"were everywhere. To begin with, there was a lot of data, old systems that needed to be shut down, migration to plan out and the need to get sign off from academic stakeholders.â⬠For Hanson, now at Autodesk, the reliance upon technology to manage large scale content cannot be understated. She uses a wealth of technological trappings such as digital asset management software and other browser-based search tools to manage an immense workflow. Odom agrees on the use of technology in workflow management and recommends using a task-based workflow process to track the current status of each website page. This type of system means that a stakeholder can see any pageââ¬â¢s progress at-a-glance. The system also makes it easy to see where pages might be held up ââ¬â scheduled for a subject matter expert interview, waiting on technical content review, or stalled due to an unanswered question. A proper workflow management system will also allow for per-task conversations, feedback, and communication. The alternative is corresponding and trading files through email or a less sophisticated file-sharing system which Odom dismisses as ââ¬Å"a total mess.â⬠Working With Subject Matter Experts High-level subject matter experts arenââ¬â¢t always in great supply. Realistically, the ones in your company likely have some of the best and most relevant insight into the content youââ¬â¢re producing. However, relying on in-house subject matter experts to produce content may represent a general misalignment of goals. Consider: SMEs donââ¬â¢t have time. A subject matter expert is likely fully immersed in their job responsibilities and may not prioritize their assigned content production duty. SMEs are not always good writers. These folks may be the best at what they do, but when it comes to articulating that for the rest of us, they may not be good enough writers. SMEs have different goals. Marketing department and corporate bonuses are often built on key performance indicators, many of which are deadline driven. SMEs, on the other hand, may have an entirely different set of KPIs, in which case theyââ¬â¢re not incentivized to work within the timeframes your content production project demands. As an alternative to relying upon in-house subject matter experts to produce well-written content, try using those SMEs as mini-editors. It takes far less time for an SME to make themselves available for a brief interview, and to review and comment on content created by someone else than it would take for them to sit down and craft new content from scratch. When interviewing SMEs, Odom recommends modifying communication styles and setting clear expectations. The discourse style of an enterprise developer is bound to be markedly different than a financial advisor, for example. When working with SMEs, Odom has found that ââ¬Å"Some people just donââ¬â¢t do well with pre-call preparation. They need to react to your questions off-the-cuff. Others want prep questions and campaign briefs to feel comfortable.â⬠Finally, one of the most important elements of creating large amounts of content quickly lies in being able to shepherd those SMEs through the writing and editing process. Relationship building becomes paramount as there will inevitably be the occasions when a SME is dragging his feet in getting back to you. Conclusion Whether youââ¬â¢re migrating and repurposing large amounts of content or youââ¬â¢re charged with scaling a new project which might feature tens of thousands of pages, youââ¬â¢ll want a clearly defined plan of attack and a staff of qualified writers.Tweet this But perhaps the greatest dividend to having completed a large-scale project is that you now have a team in place thatââ¬â¢s fluent in your culture, your subject matter, and your goals. Odom agrees. After working on a large project, ââ¬Å"We now know how all those departments work, we know all their key messaging. We just happen to be offsite.ââ¬
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)