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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) ''Add It Up (1981–1993)'' is a compilation album released by Violent ... [...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] |
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 effec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Degradation
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires. This is considered to be an important topic of the 21st century due to the implications land degradation has upon agricultural productivity, the environment, and its effects on food security. It is estimated that up to 4% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: "About a quarter of the Earth's ice-free land area is subject to human-induced degradation (medium confidence). Soil erosion from agricultural fields is estimated to be currently 10 to 20 times (no-tillage) to mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment (biophysical), environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Environmental concerns can be defined as the negative effects of any human activity on the environment. The biological as well as the physical features of the environment are included. Some of the primary environmental challenges that are causing great worry are air pollution, water pollution, natural environment pollution, rubbish pollution, and so o Environmental degradation is one of the ten threats officially cautioned by the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, high-level PaneI on Threats, Challenges and Change of the United Nations. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction defin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fault-tolerant System
Fault tolerance is the property that enables a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of one or more faults within some of its components. If its operating quality decreases at all, the decrease is proportional to the severity of the failure, as compared to a naively designed system, in which even a small failure can cause total breakdown. Fault tolerance is particularly sought after in high-availability, mission-critical, or even life-critical systems. The ability of maintaining functionality when portions of a system break down is referred to as graceful degradation. A fault-tolerant design enables a system to continue its intended operation, possibly at a reduced level, rather than failing completely, when some part of the system fails. The term is most commonly used to describe computer systems designed to continue more or less fully operational with, perhaps, a reduction in throughput or an increase in response time in the event of some partial f ... [...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 in ... [...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—if the river is incising through bedrock. These terraces may be dated with methods such as cosmogenic radionuclide dating, OSL dating, and paleomagnetic dating Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments using signatures inherent in the rocks themselves. Absolute geochronology can be accomplished through radioactive isotopes, whereas relative geochronology is p ... (using reversals in the E ... [...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 recall or annulment. It is the cancelling of an act, the recalling of a grant or privilege, or the making void of some deed previously existing. A temporary revocation of a grant or privilege is called a suspension. Con ... Kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reduction In Rank
Reduction in rank may refer to three separate concepts: *In military law, a ''reduction in rank'' or ''degradation'' is a demotion in military rank as punishment for a crime or wrongdoing, imposed by a court-martial or other authority. It may be imposed in conjunction with other punishments, such as a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, loss of wages, confinement to barracks, or imprisonment in a military prison. *''Reduction in rank'' may also refer to the voluntary, non-punitive practice of taking a lower rank, often as part of joining another military unit or military service. For example, those who join the Special Air Service or Australian Special Air Service Regiment take the rank of trooper, often a lower rank than their previous rank but with greater pay, prestige, and responsibilities. *There is a ''reversion'' in rank after an officer has been temporarily promoted to a higher rank while occupying a position requiring that rank; the officer reverts to the permanent ran ... [...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 by: ... [...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. Eventually, 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 a ... [...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. Although the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that the first printed use in this sense appears in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (1603), it appeared in the 1595 tract ''The Estate of English Fugitives'' by Lewes Lewkenor, "imploring his help and assistance in so hard an extremity, who for recompence, very charitably cashiered them all without the receipt of one penny". 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: epaulett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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