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Degrade
Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradation in ecology * Land degradation, a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land * Polymer degradation, as plastics age Other * Elegant degradation, gradual rather than sudden * Graceful degradation, in a fault-tolerant system * Degradation (knighthood), revocation of knighthood * Cashiering, whereby a military officer is dismissed for misconduct * Reduction in rank, whereby a military officer is reduced to a lower rank for misconduct * Degradation, the former ceremony of defrocking a disgraced priest * ''Degradation'', a song by the Violent Femmes, from '' Add It Up (1981–1993)'' See also * '' Dégradé'', 2015 Palestinian film * Humiliation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodegradation
Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradation occurs under a specific set of circumstances. The process of biodegradation is threefold: first an object undergoes biodeterioration, which is the mechanical weakening of its structure; then follows biofragmentation, which is the breakdown of materials by microorganisms; and finally assimilation, which is the incorporation of the old material into new cells. In practice, almost all chemical compounds and materials are subject to biodegradation, the key element being time. Things like vegetables may degrade within days, while glass and some plastics take many millennia to decompose. A standard for biodegradability used by the European Union is that greater than 90% of the original material must be converted into , water and minerals b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Degradation
Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of Human impact on the environment, human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. Human activities are often the main cause, such as unsustainable land management practices. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and wildfires. One of the impacts of land degradation is that it can diminish the natural capacity of the land to store and filter water leading to water scarcity. Human-induced land degradation and water scarcity are increasing the levels of risk for agricultural production and ecosystem services. The United Nations estimate that about 30% of land is degraded worldwide, and about 3.2 billion people reside in these degrading areas, giving a high rate of environmental pollution. Land degradation reduces agricultural productivity, leads to biodiversity l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polymer Degradation
Polymer degradation is the reduction in the physical properties of a polymer, such as strength, caused by changes in its chemical composition. Polymers and particularly plastics are subject to degradation at all stages of their product life cycle, including during their initial processing, use, disposal into the environment and recycling. The rate of this degradation varies significantly; biodegradation can take decades, whereas some industrial processes can completely decompose a polymer in hours. Technologies have been developed to both inhibit or promote degradation. For instance, polymer stabilizers ensure plastic items are produced with the desired properties, extend their useful lifespans, and facilitate their recycling. Conversely, biodegradable additives accelerate the degradation of plastic waste by improving its biodegradability. Some forms of plastic recycling can involve the complete degradation of a polymer back into monomers or other chemicals. In general, the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fault-tolerant System
Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to maintain proper operation despite failures or faults in one or more of its components. This capability is essential for high-availability, mission-critical, or even life-critical systems. Fault tolerance specifically refers to a system's capability to handle faults without any degradation or downtime. In the event of an error, end-users remain unaware of any issues. Conversely, a system that experiences errors with some interruption in service or graceful degradation of performance is termed 'resilient'. In resilience, the system adapts to the error, maintaining service but acknowledging a certain impact on performance. Typically, fault tolerance describes computer systems, ensuring the overall system remains functional despite hardware or software issues. Non-computing examples include structures that retain their integrity despite damage from fatigue, corrosion or impact. History The first known fault-tolerant computer was S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defrocking
Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or dogma, but may also be done at their request for personal reasons, such as running for civil office, taking over a family business, declining health or old age, desire to marry against the rules for clergy in a particular church, or an unresolved dispute. The form of the procedure varies according to the Christian denomination concerned. The words "defrocking" or "unfrocking" refers to the ritual removal of the frock-like vestments of clergy and ministers. These rituals are generally no longer practiced and were sometimes separate from dismissals from ordained ministry, leading some to contend that modern use of "defrocking" is inaccurate. However, others maintain "defrocking" as a common synonym for laicization, one particularly popular i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degradation (geology)
In geology, degradation refers to the lowering of a fluvial surface, such as a stream bed or floodplain, through erosional processes. Degradation is the opposite of aggradation. Degradation is characteristic of channel networks in which either bedrock erosion is taking place, or in systems that are sediment-starved and are therefore entraining more material than they are depositing. When a stream degrades, it leaves behind a fluvial terrace. This can be further classified as a strath terrace—a bedrock terrace that may have a thin mantle of alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...—if the river is incising through bedrock. These terraces may be dated with methods such as cosmogenic radionuclide dating, OSL dating, and paleomagnetic dating (using reversals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degradation (knighthood)
Degradation is the formal term for removal of a knighthood or other honour. The last knight to be publicly degraded was Sir Francis Mitchell in 1621. More recent examples include Sir Roger Casement, whose knighthood was canceled for treason during the First World War, and Sir Anthony Blunt, whose knighthood was withdrawn in 1979. The most recent degradations centre on the fallout from the banking crisis at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Examples include Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, who lost his knighthood in 2012 over his role in the bank's near-collapse in 2008 and Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS. References See also * Revocation Revocation is the act of wikt:recall, recall or annulment. It is the cancelling of an act, the recalling of a grant or privilege, or the making void (law), void of some deed previously existing. A temporary revocation of a grant or privilege is c . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degradation (telecommunications)
In telecommunication, degradation is the loss of quality of an electronic signal, which may be categorized as either "'' graceful''" or "''catastrophic''", and has the following meanings: #The deterioration in quality, level, or standard of performance of a functional unit. #In communications, a condition in which one or more of the required performance parameters fall outside predetermined limits, resulting in a lower quality of service. There are several forms and causes of degradation in electric signals, both in the time domain and in the physical domain, including runt pulse, voltage spike, jitter, wander, swim, drift, glitch, ringing, crosstalk, antenna effect (not the same antenna effect as in IC manufacturing), and phase noise. Degradation usually refers to reduction in quality of an analog or digital signal. When a signal is being transmitted or received, it undergoes changes which are undesirable. These changes are called degradation. Degradation is usually caused ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Degradation
Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or a group of organisms Other physical and cultural environments *Ecology, the branch of ethology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings *Environment (systems), the surroundings of a physical system that may interact with the system by exchanging mass, energy, or other properties. *Built environment, constructed surroundings that provide the settings for human activity, ranging from the large-scale civic surroundings to the personal places *Social environment, the culture that an individual lives in, and the people and institutions with whom they interact *Market environment, business term Arts, entertainment and publishing * Environment (magazine), ''Environment'' (magazine), a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elegant Degradation
Elegant degradation is a term used in engineering to describe what occurs to machines which are subject to constant, repetitive stress. Externally, such a machine maintains the same appearance to the user, appearing to function properly. Internally, the machine slowly weakens over time. Unable to withstand the stress, it eventually breaks down. Compared to graceful degradation, the operational quality does not decrease at all, but the breakdown may be just as sudden. This term's meaning varies depending on context and field, and may not be strictly considered exclusive to engineering. For instance, this is used as a mechanism in the food industry as applied in the degradation of lignin, cellulose, pentosan, and polymers, among others. The concept is also used to extract chemicals such as the elegant degradation of ''Paederus fuscipes'' to obtain pederin and hemiacetal pseuodopederin. In this process degradation is induced by heat. A play with the same name also used it as a metaph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cashiering
Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard roops, the word entered the English language in the late 16th century, during the wars in the Low Countries. Military It is especially associated with the public degradation of disgraced military officers. Prior to World War I, this aspect of cashiering sometimes involved a parade-ground ceremony in front of assembled troops with the destruction of symbols of status: epaulettes ripped off shoulders, badges and insignia stripped, swords broken, caps knocked away, and medals torn off and dashed upon the ground. In the era when British Army officers generally bought their commissions, being cashiered meant that the amount they had paid was lost, as they could not "sell-out" afterwards. Notable examples Famous victims of cashiering i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reduction In Rank
Reduction, reduced, or reduce may refer to: Science and technology Chemistry * Reduction (chemistry), part of a reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction in which atoms have their oxidation state changed. ** Organic redox reaction, a redox reaction that takes place with organic compounds ** Ore reduction: see smelting Computing and algorithms * Reduction (complexity), a transformation of one problem into another problem * Reduction (recursion theory), given sets A and B of natural numbers, is it possible to effectively convert a method for deciding membership in B into a method for deciding membership in A? * Bit Rate Reduction, an audio compression method * Data reduction, simplifying data in order to facilitate analysis * Graph reduction, an efficient version of non-strict evaluation * L-reduction, a transformation of optimization problems which keeps the approximability features * Partial order reduction, a technique for reducing the size of the state-space to be s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
