Early life.

Duhamel was born in Minot, North Dakota. His mother, Bonnie L. (Bachmeier) Kemper, is a retired teacher and local businesswoman, and his father, Larry Duhamel, is an advertising salesman. He is of French-Canadian, Irish, English, Austrian, German and Norwegian ancestry. Duhamel is an active Catholic.  His parents divorced during his youth. Although he remains close to both, he grew up with his mother and his three younger half sisters, Ashlee, Kassidy and Mckenzie Kemper. Duhamel attended Minot State University and played as the quarterback for the university's football team. He planned to attend dental school, but dropped out one-and-a-half credits shy of his undergraduate degree. He later completed his credits, and he received his degree in 2005.

Career.

Duhamel has stated, "After college, I followed an ex-girlfriend to northern California, did a bunch of odd jobs." He won the title of Male Model of the Year in an International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) competition in 1997 (the runner-up was actor Ashton Kutcher).  Duhamel began his acting career as an extra in the music videos for Donna Summer's "I Will Go With You (Con te partirò)" and Christina Aguilera's "Genie in A Bottle" in 1999. Josh trained with Scott Sedita Acting Studios. Later that year, he won the role of Leo du Pres on the ABC soap opera "All My Children". His work on the show, especially his character's pairing with Greenlee Smythe (portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig), garnered critical acclaim. In 2000, he posed fully nude for Greg Gorman's "As I See It" photography book.  In 2003, he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for the Special Fan Award for America's Favorite Couple in 2002, shared with Budig, and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Leo du Pres. Duhamel left "All My Children" in 2002 to pursue other acting opportunities. In 2003, Duhamel landed a primetime role on the NBC show "Las Vegas", playing the head of security for the Montecito Casino, Danny McCoy. His character succeeded James Caan's as head of the casino after Caan departed the series at the end of the fourth season. The series ended in 2008.  Duhamel made his big-screen acting debut in 2004's "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!", then starred in the thriller "Turistas" (2006). After watching an episode of "Las Vegas" in which Duhamel's character had just returned from the war in Iraq, Steven Spielberg handpicked him for the role of Captain William Lennox in 2007's summer blockbuster film "Transformers" (a film for which Spielberg was the executive producer). Duhamel reprised the role in three of the sequels, "", released in June 2009, "", released in June 2011, and "", released in June 2017.  Duhamel was the official pace car driver for the 2009 Indianapolis 500, driving the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car. In 2010, he played the lead role in the film "When in Rome" as Nick Beamon. In 2014 Duhamel starred in the touching drama "You're Not You" (2014) playing the husband of Kate (Hilary Swank), who has the degenerative disease ALS.  On March 23, 2013, Duhamel hosted the 2013 Kids' Choice Awards, which was broadcast live from Los Angeles, California. He and his co-star from "Safe Haven", Julianne Hough, performed a "Safe Haven"-themed showcase appearance via video on "The Price is Right" with Drew Carey.  In 2016, he starred as Frank Dunning in the Hulu science fiction thriller miniseries "11.22.63".  In 2018, he was used on a Taco Bell commercial to advertise Mexican spiced fries with nacho cheese sauce called "Web of Fries".  In March 2018, it was announced that Josh Duhamel will be starring alongside Megan Fox, in the independent family comedy "Think Like a Dog". In the same year, he starred in the romantic comedy-drama film, "Love, Simon".  On February 11, 2019, it was announced that Duhamel was cast as Sheldon Sampson in the upcoming Netflix superhero series, "Jupiter's Legacy".

Personal life.

Duhamel met and began dating singer Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known by her stage name Fergie in September 2004, after Ferguson appeared on Duhamel's show "Las Vegas" with her band The Black Eyed Peas. The couple wed on January 10, 2009, in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu, California. They have a son born in August 2013. On September 14, 2017, the couple announced that they had separated earlier in the year. On June 1, 2019, the couple filed for divorce after two years of separation. As of late-November 2019, their divorce is finalized.  Duhamel is a practicing Catholic and attends church.  In 2005, he became the co-owner of 10 North Main, a restaurant in Minot, North Dakota.  In 2012, Duhamel was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame, a signature event of Norsk Høstfest.

Joshua David Duhamel (; born November 14, 1972) is an American actor and former fashion model. After various modeling work, he made his acting debut as Leo du Pres on the ABC daytime soap opera "All My Children" and later starred as Danny McCoy on NBC's "Las Vegas".


Name.

The name "Tower of David" was first used for the citadel in the 5th century CE by the Byzantine Christians, who believed the site to be the palace of King David. They borrowed the name "Tower of David" from the Song of Songs, attributed to Solomon, King David's son, who wrote: "Thy neck is like the Tower of David built with turrets, whereon there hang a thousand shields, all the armor of the mighty men" ().  In the 19th century the name took a new signification, as it became popularly used for the 17th-century Ottoman minaret prominently visible on the wall of the citadel; ever since people use the name "Tower of David" either for the whole citadel or just for the minaret.

History.

Hasmonean period.

During the 2nd century BCE, the Old City of Jerusalem expanded further onto the so-called Western Hill. This 773-meter-high prominence, which comprises the modern Armenian and Jewish Quarters as well as Mount Zion, was bounded by steep valleys on all sides except for the northern one. The first settlement in this area was about 150 BCE around the time of the Hasmonean kings when what Josephus Flavius named "the First Wall" was constructed.

Herod's towers.

Herod, who wrestled the power away from the Hasmonean dynasty, added three massive towers to the fortifications in 37–34 BCE. He built these at the vulnerable northwest corner of the Western Hill, where the Citadel is now located. His purpose was not only to defend the city, but to safeguard his own royal palace located nearby on Mount Zion. Herod named the tallest of the towers, in height, the Phasael in memory of his brother who had committed suicide while in captivity. Another tower was called the Mariamne, named for his second wife whom he had executed and buried in a cave to the west of the tower. He named the third tower the Hippicus after one of his friends. Of the three towers, only the base of one of them survives until today—either the Phasael or, as argued by archaeologist Hillel Geva who excavated the Citadel, the Hippicus Tower. Of the original tower itself (now called the "Tower of David"), some sixteen courses of the Herodian stone ashlars are still rising from ground level (partially hidden by a much later built glacis), upon which were added smaller stones in a later period, which added back significantly to the height of the remaining stump of the Herodian tower.  During the Jewish war with Rome, Simon bar Giora made the tower his place of residence. Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, the three towers were preserved as a testimony of the might of the fortifications overcome by the Roman legions, and the site served as barracks for the Roman troops.  When the empire adopted Christianity as its favoured religion in the 4th century, a community of monks established itself in the citadel. It was during the Byzantine period that the remaining Herodian tower, and by extension the Citadel as a whole, acquired its alternative name—the Tower of David—after the Byzantines, mistakenly identifying the hill as Mount Zion, presumed it to be David's palace mentioned in.

Early Muslims, Crusaders, Ayyubids.

After the Arab conquest of Jerusalem in 638, the new Muslim rulers refurbished the citadel. This powerful structure withstood the assault of the Crusaders in 1099, and surrendered only when its defenders were guaranteed safe passage out of the city.  During the Crusader period, thousands of pilgrims undertook the pilgrimage to Jerusalem by way of the port at Jaffa. To protect pilgrims from the menace of highway robbers, the Crusaders built a tower surrounded by a moat atop the citadel, and posted lookouts to guard the road to Jaffa. The citadel also protected the newly erected palace of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem, located immediately south of the citadel.  In 1187, Sultan Saladin captured the city including the citadel. In 1239 the Ayyubid emir of Karak, An-Nasir Dawud, attacked the Crusader garrison and destroyed the citadel. In 1244 the Khwarazmians defeated and banished the Crusaders from Jerusalem for a last time, destroying the entire city in the process. The Mamluks destroyed the citadel in 1260.

Mamluk and Ottoman citadel.

In 1310 the citadel was rebuilt by Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, who gave it much of its present shape.  The citadel was expanded between 1537 and 1541 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, whose architects designed a large entrance, behind which stood a cannon emplacement. For 400 years, the citadel served as a garrison for Turkish troops. The Ottomans also installed a mosque near the southwest corner of the citadel commonly known as the Mihrab el-Qal'a ed-Dawood ("Prayer niche of David's fortress"), erecting a minaret during the years 1635-1655. In the 19th century the conspicuous minaret, which still stands today, took over the title of "Tower of David", so that the name can now refer to either the whole Citadel or the minaret alone. At least two mosques are known to exist with in the Jerusalem Citadel.  During World War I, British forces under General Edmund Allenby captured Jerusalem. General Allenby formally proclaimed the event standing on a platform at the outer eastern gate of the citadel.

British and Jordanian periods.

During the period of the British Mandate (1917–1948), the High Commissioner established the Pro-Jerusalem Society to protect the city's cultural heritage. This organisation cleaned and renovated the citadel and reopened it to the public as a venue for concerts, benefit events and exhibitions by local artists. In the 1930s, a museum of Palestinian folklore was opened in the citadel, displaying traditional crafts and clothing.  Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Arab Legion captured Jerusalem and converted the citadel back to its historical role as a military position, as it commanded a dominant view across the armistice line into Jewish Jerusalem. Since the Israeli occupation after the Six-Day War in 1967, the citadel's cultural role was revived.

Tower of David Museum.

The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem was opened in 1989 by the Jerusalem Foundation. Located in a series of chambers in the original citadel, the museum includes a courtyard which contains archeological ruins dating back 2,700 years.  The exhibits depict 4,000 years of Jerusalem's history, from its beginnings as a Canaanite city to modern times. Using maps, videotapes, holograms, drawings and models, the exhibit rooms each depict Jerusalem under its various rulers. Visitors may also ascend to the ramparts, which command a 360-degree view of the Old City and New City of Jerusalem.  As of 2002, the Jerusalem Foundation reported that over 3.5 million visitors had toured the museum.

Archaeology.

In 2010, a survey of the site was conducted by Yehudah Rapuano on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

The Tower of David (, "Migdál Davíd",, "Burj Dāwūd"), also known as the Jerusalem Citadel, is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.


Life.

He was born in Leuven. He first appears in the historic record in 1501 in Bruges, at the church of St. Donatian, where he taught singing to the choirboys. Later in 1501 he became singing master, then he became succentor, and at the end of 1501 was ordained a priest. He took a similar musical post in Mechelen at the church of St. Rombout in 1504, but he had fallen into debt, and left his job in a hurry in 1505, evidently fleeing from bill collectors. In late 1505 he joined the singers in the chapel of Philip the Fair. Along with Pierre de la Rue, Alexander Agricola, and others in the chapel, he went to Spain in 1506 with Philip when he was summoned there to become king; although Philip died of typhoid later that year, the singers remained until 1508, maintained by Philip's insane widow, Joanna of Castile. The chapel was disbanded in 1508 and the singers scattered.  Divitis left Spain and returned to northern Europe. His next documented appointment was in 1510 when he was singing master for the chapel of Anne of Brittany; and when the singers were absorbed by the French court after her death in 1514, he went with them, and stayed in the French court chapel until at least 1525, when François I was decisively defeated and captured at the Battle of Pavia. Nothing certain is known of Divitis after this date. He may have gone to Rome, based on the similarity of his name to that of a man listed in the chapel choir in 1526. He is mentioned as being dead by 1534 by a manuscript copyist, but the implication in the reference is that he had been dead for several years.

Music and influence.

Surviving works by Divitis include masses, motets, Magnificat settings (a genre that was to become quite popular in the middle 16th century), and a chanson. The three masses by Divitis use parody technique, and are among the first to do so; he is cited as influential in development of the genre, along with Jean Mouton and the other members of the French royal chapel. Each of his masses is for four voices, although an isolated six-voice setting of the Credo survives attributed to him. One of them, "Missa Gaude Barbara", is based on a motet of that name by Mouton, and may have been a tribute to his colleague.  Motets by Divitis are often for five and six voices, which was another relatively innovative feature in music around the beginning of the 16th century. They are contrapuntal in texture, and two of them ("Ista est speciosa" and "Per lignum crucis") are entirely canonic. His setting of the Marian antiphon "Salve regina" uses an identical tenor line, rests and all, to that which appears in Josquin's setting of the popular song "Adieu mes amours"; it is uncertain whether Divitis consciously based his setting on Josquin, or on the popular song, which probably came first.

Antonius Divitis (also Anthonius de Rycke, and Anthoine Le Riche – "the rich") (c. 1470 – c. 1530) was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance, of the generation slightly younger than Josquin des Prez. He was important in the development of the parody mass.


History.

During the 1970s, the promoters of the Algiers rapid transit subway project envisioned a network. The project was officially inaugurated in 1982, with technical studies completed in 1985. Authorities retained a German company and a Japanese specialist for building the network. The collapse of oil prices in the 1980s considerably affected the Algerian state's ability to continue funding the project. Authorities discussed the possibility of folding the subway development programme into other mass-transit projects but eventually decided to continue with the original Metro program, albeit slowly.  In 1988, Algeria awarded construction contracts to two national companies: COSIDER and GENISIDER. Neither was experienced in running large urban transit development projects. Construction encountered financial and political difficulties, with only four stations constructed in 15 years. Moreover, the Algiers soil is difficult to dig in, and the city's topography is irregular. Work did not advance significantly for many years.  In 1994, a first 450 m long section, called Emir-Abdelkader, was completed. Another 650 m section, connecting the Central Post Office to Khélifa-Boukhalfa, was completed soon after. In 1999, the Metro of Algiers Company (EMA) invited international companies to participate in a tender offering, resulting in two new contractors being added to the project: French Systra-Sgte for project management, and Agéro-German GAAMA for construction and completion, within 38 months, of the civil engineering tasks and earthworks.  In 2003, benefiting from the return of economic stability and improved security, the government increased funding and introduced a new organizational and operational structure.  In January 2006, further changes were introduced to the project, with integral system development handed to Siemens Transportation Systems. This included the installation of fixed material, signals and electrification. Vinci was responsible for civil engineering, and the Spanish company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) was to deliver a new set of rolling stock, including 14 trains of 6 cars each. The network would use the Trainguard MT CBTC technology, which had already been implemented on line 1 and 14 of the Paris Métro.

System.

With a length of, the first section of Line 1 to open included ten stations, connecting Tafourah–Grande Poste to Haï El Badr. Nine of the ten stations are underground with two central tracks flanked by two long side platforms. Only the Haï El Badr terminus station is on the surface and it has three tracks and two island platforms. In July 2015, this was supplemented by the opening of the, four-station expansion from "Haï el Badr" to "El Harrach Centre". The system now serves 14 stations, over a total route length of approximately.

Operations.

The total cost of the first phase of line 1 rose to 77 billion DZD (900 million euros), consisting of DZD 30 billion for civil engineering and DZD 47 billion for the equipment.

Extensions.

Invitations to tender were launched for the construction of a 4 km section between Bachdjarrah and El Harrach composed of 4 stations and one viaduct of 250 m above the access road to the Ouchaïah Wadi motorway. It is opened for public service on 4 July 2015.  Two other extensions to Line 1 had a planned public opening in 2017:

The Algiers Metro (, Berber: Adubrid en Dzayer, ), serving Algiers, the capital of Algeria, is a rapid transit system dating from the 1970s that was designed to address the need for mass transport caused by the city's growth. Formally launched in the 1980s, the project slowed due to financial difficulties and security issues in the 1990s. The project recommenced in 2003. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika attended the Metro's 31 October 2011 ribbon-cutting opening ceremony. The Algiers Metro then opened to passengers on the following day, 1 November 2011, making Algiers only the second capital city in Africa (after Cairo) to have a metro system.


Battle.

When forces of the German Sixth Army launched their attack against the city centre of Stalingrad on 13 September 1942, Mamayev Kurgan (appearing in military maps as "Height 102.0") saw particularly fierce fighting between the German attackers and the defending soldiers of the Soviet 62nd Army. Control of the hill became vitally important, as it offered control over the city. To defend it, the Soviets had built strong defensive lines on the slopes of the hill, composed of trenches, barbed-wire and minefields. The Germans pushed forward against the hill, taking heavy casualties. When they finally captured the hill, they started firing on the city centre, as well as on the city's main railway station under the hill. They captured the Volgograd railway station on 14 September 1942.  On the same day, the Soviet 13th Guards Rifle Division commanded by Alexander Rodimtsev arrived in the city from the east side of the river Volga under heavy German artillery fire. The division's 10,000 men immediately rushed into the battle. On 16 September they recaptured Mamayev Kurgan and kept fighting for the railway station, taking heavy losses. By the following day, almost all of them had died. The Soviets kept reinforcing their units in the city as fast as they could. The Germans assaulted up to twelve times a day, and the Soviets would respond with fierce counter-attacks.  The hill changed hands several times. By 27 September, the Germans again captured half of Mamayev Kurgan. The Soviets held their own positions on the slopes of the hill, as the 284th Rifle Division defended the key stronghold. The defenders held out until 26 January 1943, when the counterattacking Soviet forces relieved them. The battle of the city ended one week later with an utter German defeat.  When the battle ended, the soil on the hill had been so thoroughly churned by shellfire and mixed with metal fragments that it contained between 500 and 1,250 splinters of metal per square meter. The earth on the hill had remained black in the winter, as the snow kept melting in the many fires and explosions. In the following spring the hill would still remain black, as no grass grew on its scorched soil. The hill's formerly steep slopes had become flattened in months of intense shelling and bombardment. Even today, it is possible to find fragments of bone and metal still buried deep throughout the hill.

Memorial complex.

After the war, the Soviet authorities commissioned the enormous Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex. Vasily Chuikov, who led Soviet forces at Stalingrad, lies buried at Mamayev Kurgan, the only Marshal of the Soviet Union to be buried outside Moscow. Among the other people buried there, sniper Vasily Zaytsev was also reburied there in 2006.  The monumental memorial was constructed between 1959 and 1967, and is crowned by a huge allegorical statue of the Motherland on the top of the hill. The monument, designed by Yevgeny Vuchetich, has the full name "The Motherland Calls!" ( "Rodina Mat Zovyot!"). It consists of a concrete sculpture, 52 metres tall, and 85 metres from the feet to the tip of the 27-metre sword, dominating the skyline of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd).  The construction uses concrete, except for the stainless-steel blade of the sword, and is held on its plinth solely by its own weight. The statue is evocative of classical Greek representations of Nike, in particular the flowing drapery, similar to that of the Nike of Samothrace.

Mamayev Kurgan () is a dominant height overlooking the city of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) in Southern Russia. The name in Russian means "tumulus of Mamai". The formation is dominated by a memorial complex commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle, a hard-fought Soviet victory over Axis forces on the Eastern Front of World War II, turned into one of the bloodiest battles in human history. At the time of its installation in 1967 the statue, named "The Motherland Calls", formed the largest free-standing sculpture in the world; today it is the tallest sculpture of a woman in the world.


Buildings and history.

Lycée Henri-IV is located in the former royal Abbey of St Genevieve, in the heart of the Latin Quarter on the left bank of the river Seine, near the Panthéon, the church Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, and the rue Mouffetard. Rich in history, architecture and culture, the Latin Quarter contains France's oldest and the most prestigious educational establishments: the École Normale Supérieure, the Sorbonne, the Collège de France, the Lycée Saint-Louis and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand.  The abbey was first established in 506; it flourished as a consequence of royal patronage, becoming an integral part of the Sorbonne and housing a great library. The abbey was suppressed during the French Revolution, and in October 1796 the site became the first of many public schools in France. The lycée's name has changed several times since its inception–École Centrale du Panthéon (1794–1804); Lycée Napoléon (1804–1815); Collège Henri IV (1815–1848); Lycée Napoléon (1848–1870) and Lycée Corneille (1870–1872)–before its current name was settled on in 1873.  Today Henri-IV retains many features of the former abbey. The former abbey's library, which had the third-largest collection of books in Europe (transferred to the nearby Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève during the 19th century), is composed of four aisles forming a cross with a cupola in the intersection. It is one of the main features of the Lycée with its 18th-century "boiseries" and pavement as well as a cupola frescoed and carved by the painter Jean II Restout in the 1730s. Two aisles of the library are now used as libraries for "Lycée" and "Classes Préparatoires" levels and the two other aisles are used as rooms for conferences and exams. Another highlight is the "Salle des médailles" (Room of the medals), a long gallery once used as a cabinet of curiosities (a room used to display natural curiosities and artworks). It has richly decorated and carved baroque "boiseries" and mirrors dating back to the 18th century. The lycée's chapel dates back to the Middle Ages as does the cloister and the "Clovis tower", perhaps the lycée's most famous feature. The "Salle des Actes" displays medieval effigies of the abbey's monks, discovered during restoration in the 1990s. The main staircase, named the "escalier de la Vierge" (Virgin Mary's staircase), which has a 17th-century statue of the Virgin Mary as its centrepiece, is another striking feature.

The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ("lycées") in France.


Etymology.

The name, "Rumex obtusifolius", was assigned by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century, and has remained unchanged, although there are numerous subspecies. "Rumex" was Pliny's name for sorrel, while "obtusifolius" means 'obtuse-leaved' (obtuse + foliage).

Description.

"Rumex obtusifolius" is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant that grows to a height of. It is easily recognizable by its very large oval leaves with cordate bases and rounded tips, some of the lower leaves having red stems. The edges of the leaves are slightly "crisped" or wavy, the upper surface is hairless and the under surface may be papillose. The leaves of this plant can grow to about in length and wide. The taproot is large, with numerous branches extending to a depth of, with tough stems, often reddish, and unbranched until just below the inflorescence.  The junctions of the petioles with the stems are covered by a sheath formed by two fused stipules known as an ocrea, a thin, paper-like membrane - a characteristic of the family Polygonaceae. The stem leaves are alternate and are narrowly ovate–lanceolate. The inflorescence consists of large clusters of racemes which contain small greenish flowers that change to red as they mature. The perianth-segments are in two whorls of three. Segments in the outer whorl are small and spreading while the inner whorl forms fruit valves, which are widely ovately-triangular. The seeds produced are dry and reddish brown. This plant blooms June through September.  "Rumex crispus" - curly dock - is similar in appearance, but with thinner and wave-like leaves. In more detail, the calyx of curly dock has smooth margins while the calyx of broad-leaved dock has horned margins.

Distribution and habitat.

"Rumex obtusifolius" is widely distributed throughout the world. It is a plant growing readily on arable land, meadows, waste ground, roadsides, ditches, shorelines and riverbanks, woodland margins, forest clearings, and orchards. Seedlings can be identified by the oval leaves with red stems and rolled leaves sprouting from the center of the plant. Regrowth from the rosette usually takes place in spring.

Uses.

Leaves of the plant can be used as salad, to prepare a vegetable broth or to be cooked like spinach. They contain oxalic acid which can be hazardous if consumed in large quantities. Dried seeds are used as a spice. In Romania, the leaves are sometimes used as an alternative to other plants in the making of sarmale. A tea prepared from the root was thought to cure boils. In the United Kingdom, the plant is often found growing near stinging nettles and the underside of the dock leaf, squeezed to extract a little juice, can be rubbed on the skin to counteract the itching caused by brushing against a nettle plant.

History.

In George Eliot's "Adam Bede", set in the early 19th century, broad dock leaves were used to wrap farmhouse butter.

Host plant.

"Rumex obtusifolius" is a major host plant for many different insects as well, including the "Acronicta rumicis" moth. For "A. rumicis" research, this host plant is generally targeted because it is found highly within the moth's range.

Invasiveness and eradication.

"Rumex obtusifolius" is an aggressive invasive species on all temperate continents. Broad-leaved dock is designated an "injurious weed" under the UK Weeds Act 1959. It has been an invasive species of the Great Lakes region of North America where it was first sighted in 1840.  Various parasites and predators of "R. obtusifolius" include 32 insect species and 12 fungi species. In the UK, the invertebrate herbivore species is a leaf beetle, "Gastrophysa viridula".

Rumex obtusifolius, commonly known as bitter dock, broad-leaved dock, bluntleaf dock, dock leaf or butter dock, is a perennial plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is native to Europe, but is found on all temperate continents. It is a highly invasive species in some zones, resulting from its abundant seed dispersal, adaptability to reproduce, aggressive roots, ability to tolerate extreme climates, and hardiness.


Background and development.

In 1800, First Consul Bonaparte and his ally, the Spanish prime-minister and Generalissimo Manuel de Godoy, ultimately demanded Portugal, the last British ally on the continent, to break her alliance with Britain. Portugal refused to cede, and, in April 1801, French troops arrived in the country. They were bolstered by Spanish troops under the command of Manuel de Godoy. Godoy had, under his command, the Spanish Army of Extremadura, with five divisions.  The Spanish attack to Portugal started on the early morning of the 20 May, and focused on the Portuguese border region that included the main Garrison Town and Fortifications of Elvas and the smaller fortified towns of Campo Maior, Olivença ("Olivenza" in Spanish) and Juromenha. The main force of the Spanish Army advanced to Elvas, while two divisions advanced to Campo Maior and another division advanced to Olivença and Juromenha. Without having their fortifications complete and defended only by a few hundred soldiers, most of the militias, Olivença and nearby Juromenha quickly surrendered to the Spanish forces. The Portuguese garrison of Campo Maior - under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Dias Azevedo - resisted the assault for 17 days, forcing the Spanish to maintain two entire divisions in its siege. The main Spanish force - under the direct command of Godoy - tried to assault Elvas but was easily repelled by the strong Portuguese garrison commanded by General Francisco de Noronha. The Spanish troops then withdrew to a safe distance from the fortress, with Godoy not daring to attack it again until the end of the war. The war entered in a stalemate, with most of the Spanish forces hold in sieges of fortresses and the rest not being able to face the blockade made by the main core of the Portuguese Army, in order to advance further inside Portugal. Despite this, Godoy picked oranges from the outside of Elvas and sent them to the Queen of Spain with the message that he would proceed to Lisbon. Thus, the conflict became known as the "War of the Oranges".  On 6 June 1801 Portugal agreed to the tenets of the Treaty of Badajoz. Portugal agreed to close its ports to English ships, to give commercial concessions to France, to cede Olivenza to Spain and to pay an indemnity. On 29 September 1801 Portugal agreed to both maintaining the tenets of the Treaty of Badajoz and the alterations made to it, which were all embodied within the Treaty of Madrid.  In response, from July 1801 until the signing of the Peace of Amiens in 1802, a British force of 3,500 men under Colonel William Henry Clinton occupied the Portuguese island of Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean. Intended to forestall any French or Spanish attack on the island, the occupation took place with the tacit consent of the Portuguese.

Aftermath.

After the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in which the Franco-Spanish fleet lost to Britain, the government of Portugal restored relations with its old ally. This led France to declare the Peace of Badajoz treaty cancelled, again marching on Portugal and invading it, starting the Peninsular War, that lasted from 1807 to 1810.  The French invasion forced the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil in 1807, with Rio de Janeiro becoming the capital of the Portuguese Monarchy. From Rio de Janeiro, the Portuguese monarch denounced the Treaty of Badajoz as having been signed under coercion, declaring it "null and ineffective".  Later on, the Treaty of Vienna - signed by Spain in 1817 - stated clearly that the winning countries are to "endeavour with the mightiest conciliatory effort to return Olivença to Portuguese authority".

Outcome.

After the Napoleonic Wars, and the Congress of Vienna, neither Spain nor Portugal gave back the territories acquired both in America (Eastern Missions) and the Peninsula (Olivença); the latter remaining an issue with the Portuguese government (see Question of Olivença).

The War of the Oranges (; ; ) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French military, invaded Portugal. It was a precursor to the Peninsular Wars, resulting in the Treaty of Badajoz, the loss of Portuguese territory, in particular Olivenza, as well as ultimately setting the stage for the complete invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by French forces.


Workload Manager.

On a mainframe computer many different applications execute at the same time. The expectations for executing work are consistent execution times and predictable access to databases. On z/OS the Workload Manager (WLM) component fulfills these needs by controlling work's access to system resources based on external specifications by the system administrator.  The system administrator classifies work to service classes. The classification mechanism uses work attributes like transaction names, user identifications or program names which specific applications are known to use. In addition the system administrator defines goals and importance levels for the service classes representing the application work. The goals define performance expectations for the work. Goals can be expressed as response times, a relative speed (termed velocity) or as discretionary if no specific requirement exists. The response time describes the duration for the work requests after they entered the system and until the application signals to WLM that the execution is completed. WLM is now interested to assure that the average response time of a set of work requests ends in the expected time or that a percentage of work requests fulfill the expectations of the end user.  The definition of a response time also requires that the applications communicate with WLM. If this is not possible a relative speed measure – named execution velocity - is used to describe the end user expectation to the system. This measurement is based on system states which are continuously collected. The system states describe when a work request uses a system resource and when it must wait for it because it is used by other work. The latter is named a delay state. The quotient of all using states to all productive states (using and delay states) multiplied by 100 is the execution velocity. This measurement does not require any communication of the application with the WLM component but it is also more abstract than a response time goal.  Finally the system administrator assigns an importance to each service class to tell WLM which service classes should get preferred access to system resources if the system load is too high to allow all work to execute. The service classes and goal definitions are organized in service policies together with other constructs for reporting and further controlling and saved as a service definition for access to WLM. The active service definition is saved on a couple data set which allows all z/OS systems of a Parallel Sysplex cluster to access and execute towards the same performance goals.  WLM is a closed control mechanism which continuously collects data about the work and system resources; compares the collected and aggregated measurements with the user definitions from the service definition and adjusts the access of the work to the system resources if the user expectations have not been achieved. This mechanism runs continuously in pre-defined time intervals. In order to compare the collected data with the goal definitions a performance index is calculated. The performance index for a service class is a single number which tells whether the goal definition could be met, has been overachieved or was missed. WLM modifies the access of the service classes based on the achieved performance index and importance. For this it uses the collected data to project the possibility and result of a change. The change is executed if the forecast comes to the result that it is beneficial for the work based on the defined customer expectations. WLM uses a data base ranging from 20 seconds to 20 minutes to contain a statistically relevant basis of samples for its calculations. Also in one decision interval a change is performed for the benefit of one service class to maintain a controlled and predictable system.  WLM controls the access of the work to the system processors, the I/O units, the system storage and starts and stops processes for work execution. The access to the system processors for example is controlled by a dispatch priority which defines a relative ranking between the units of work which want to execute. The same dispatch priority is assigned to all units of work which were classified to the same service class. As already stated the dispatch priority is not fixed and not simply derived from the importance of the service class. It changes based on goal achievement, system utilization and demand of the work for the system processors. Similar mechanisms exist for controlling all other system resources. This way of z/OS Workload Manager controlling the access of work to system resources is named goal oriented workload management and is in contrast to resource entitlement based workload management which defines a much more static relationship how work can access the system resources. Resource entitlement based workload management is found on larger UNIX operating systems for example.  A major difference to workload management components on other operating systems is the close cooperation between z/OS Workload Manager and the major applications; middleware and subsystems executing on z/OS. WLM offers interfaces which allow the subsystems to tell WLM when a unit of work starts and ends in the system and to pass classification attributes which can be used by the system administrator to classify the work on the system. In addition WLM offers interfaces which allow load balancing components to place work requests on the best suited system in a parallel sysplex cluster. Additional instrumentation exists which helps database and resource managers to signal contention situations to WLM so that WLM can help the delayed work by promoting the holder of resource locks and latches.  Over time z/OS Workload Manager became the central control component for all performance related aspects in a z/OS operating system. In a Parallel Sysplex cluster the z/OS Workload Manager components work together to provide a single image view for the executing applications on the cluster. On a System z with multiple virtual partitions z/OS WLM allows to interoperate with the LPAR Hypervisor to influence the weighting of the z/OS partitions and to control the amount of CPU capacity which can be consumed by the logical partitions.

In IBM mainframes, Workload Manager (WLM) is a base component of MVS/ESA mainframe operating system, and its successors up to and including z/OS. It controls the access to system resources for the work executing on z/OS based on administrator-defined goals. Workload Manager components also exist for other operating systems. For example, an IBM Workload Manager is also a software product for AIX operating system.


Life.

In the 1160s, Henry II began to alter his policy of indirect rule in Brittany and to exert more direct control. Henry had been at war with Conan IV, Duke of Brittany. Local Breton nobles rebelled against Conan, so Conan sought Henry II's help. In 1164, Henry intervened to seize lands along the border of Brittany and Normandy and, in 1166, he invaded Brittany to punish the local barons. Henry then forced Conan to abdicate as duke and to give Brittany to his five-year-old daughter, Constance, who was handed over and betrothed to Henry's son Geoffrey. This arrangement was quite unusual in terms of medieval law, as Conan might have had sons who could have legitimately inherited the duchy. Geoffrey and Constance eventually married, in July 1181.  Growing tensions between Henry and Louis VII of France finally spilled over into open war in 1167, triggered by a trivial argument over how money destined for the Crusader states of the Levant should be collected. Louis allied himself with the Welsh, Scots and Bretons and the French king attacked Normandy. Henry responded by attacking Chaumont-sur-Epte, where Louis kept his main military arsenal, burning the town to the ground and forcing Louis to abandon his allies and make a private truce. Henry was then free to move against the rebel barons in Brittany, where feelings about his seizure of the duchy were still running high.  Geoffrey was fifteen years old when he joined the first revolt against his father. He later reconciled to Henry in 1174 when he participated in the truce at Gisors. Geoffrey prominently figured in the second revolt of 1183, fighting against Richard, on behalf of Henry the Young King.  Geoffrey was a good friend of Louis VII's son Philip, and the two men were frequently in alliance against King Henry. Geoffrey spent much time at Philip's court in Paris, and Philip made him his seneschal. There is evidence to suggest that Geoffrey was planning another rebellion with Philip's help during his final period in Paris in the summer of 1186. As a participant in so many rebellions against his father, Geoffrey acquired a reputation for treachery. Gerald of Wales wrote the following of him: "He has more aloes than honey in him; his tongue is smoother than oil; his sweet and persuasive eloquence has enabled him to dissolve the firmest alliances and by his powers of language able to corrupt two kingdoms; of tireless endeavour, a hypocrite in everything, a deceiver and a dissembler."  Geoffrey also was known to attack monasteries and churches in order to raise funds for his campaigns. This lack of reverence for religion earned him the displeasure of the Church and, as a consequence, of the majority of chroniclers who wrote about his life.

Family.

Geoffrey and Constance had three children, one born after Geoffrey's death:

Death.

Geoffrey died on 19 August 1186, at the age of 27, in Paris. There is also evidence that supports a death date of 21 August 1186. There are two alternative accounts of his death. The more common first version holds that he was trampled to death in a jousting tournament. At his funeral, a grief-stricken Philip is said to have tried to jump into the coffin. Roger of Hoveden's chronicle is the source of this version; the detail of Philip's hysterical grief is from Gerald of Wales.  In the second version, in the chronicle of the French royal clerk Rigord, Geoffrey died of sudden acute chest pain, which reportedly struck immediately after his speech to Philip, boasting his intention to lay Normandy to waste. Possibly, this version was an invention of its chronicler, sudden illness being God's judgment of an ungrateful son plotting rebellion against his father, and for his irreligiosity. Alternatively, the tournament story may be an invention of Philip's to prevent Henry II's discovery of a plot; inventing a social reason, a tournament, for Geoffrey's being in Paris, Philip obscured their meeting's true purpose.  Marie of Champagne, with whom Geoffrey was on good terms, was present at the requiem for her half-brother and established a mass chantry for the repose of his soul.  Geoffrey was buried in the choir of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, but his tombstone was destroyed in the 18th century before the French revolution. His body was exhumed in 1797 and measured at 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m).

Succession.

After Geoffrey's death, Henry II arranged for Constance, Geoffrey's widow, to marry Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. Ranulf would become Duke of Brittany, jure uxoris, for a short time before this marriage was annulled.

External links.

Geoffrey II (;, ; 23 September 1158 – 19 August 1186) was Duke of Brittany and 3rd Earl of Richmond between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth of five sons of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.


Purpose.

According to Neil Veldhuis, Director of Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute, the purpose of Tax Freedom Day is to provide citizens of tax-paying countries with a metric with which to estimate their "total tax bill". The premise is that by comparing the benefits received by citizens to the amount they pay in taxes, the value of paying taxes can be assessed.

History and methodology.

The concept of Tax Freedom Day was developed in 1948 by Florida businessman Dallas Hostetler, who trademarked the phrase "Tax Freedom Day" and calculated it each year for the next two decades. In 1971, Hostetler retired and transferred the trademark to the Tax Foundation. The Tax Foundation has calculated Tax Freedom Day for the United States ever since, using it as a tool for illustrating the proportion of national income diverted to fund the annual cost of government programs. In 1990, the Tax Foundation began calculating the specific Tax Freedom Day for each individual state.  Tax Freedom Day only examines taxation and does not account for debt and inflation as a means for funding government.  Leap years have one day more, 29 February. This creates some bias in Tax Freedom Day charts. However, this bias is equal to roughly 1/366, which is about 0.27%.

United States.

In the United States, it is annually calculated by the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based tax research organization. In the U.S., Tax Freedom Day in 2019 is April 16, for a total average effective tax rate of 29% of the nation's income. The latest that Tax Freedom Day has occurred was May 1 in 2000. In 1900, Tax Freedom Day arrived January 22, for an effective average total tax rate of 5.9 percent of the nation's income. According to the Tax Foundation, the most important factor driving changes in Tax Freedom Day from year to year is growth in incomes, as the progressive structure of the U.S. federal tax system causes taxes as a percentage of income to rise along with inflation.  The Tax Foundation also calculates Tax Freedom day inclusive of annual federal borrowing, which came 22 days later in 2019, on May 8. The 22 days represent the federal deficit.  Tax Freedom Day varies among the 50 U.S. states, as incomes and state and local taxes differ from state to state. In 2019, Alaska had the lowest total tax burden, earning enough to pay all their tax obligations by March 25. Washington, D.C. had the heaviest tax burden – Tax Freedom Day there arrived May 3.

Around the world.

Many other organizations in countries throughout the world now produce their own "Tax Freedom Day" analysis. According to the Tax Foundation, Tax Freedom Day reports are currently being published in eight countries. Due to the different ways that nations collect and categorize public finance data, however, Tax Freedom Days are not comparable from one country to another.

European Union.

A 2010 study published in L'Anglophone, a Brussels newspaper, compared the tax burdens of "Average Joes" in each of the 27 EU member states and projected the Tax Freedom Day for workers earning a typical wage. Income taxes, social security contributions (by the employee and the employer) and projected VAT contributions were included in the calculations.  Regarding the discrepancy between their calculation of August 3 as the typical Belgian worker's Tax Freedom Day and that of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), L'Anglophone's authors wrote: "[PWC's] figures count revenue from all taxes (including those on corporate profits, petrol, cigarettes, &c.) and thus present a more complete picture of the country’s total tax burden," adding that it is "an average applied to all Belgians – not all Belgian workers; in 2008, less than half of Belgium’s population (4.99 million working out of 10.67 million citizens) was legally working. Consequently, a huge share of Belgium’s tax burden is borne by the working population."

Criticism.

In the book "", philosopher Joseph Heath criticizes the idea that tax-paying is inherently different from consumption:  It would make just as much sense to declare an annual "mortgage freedom day", in order to let mortgage owners know what day they "stop working for the bank and start working for themselves"....But who cares? Homeowners are not really "working for the bank"; they're merely financing their own consumption. After all, they're the ones living in the house, not the bank manager.

Mathematical.

For Canada, the Fraser Institute also includes a "Personal Tax Freedom Day Calculator" that estimates a customized Tax Freedom Day based on additional variables such as age of household head, sex of household head, marital status and number of children. However, the Fraser Institute's figures have been disputed. For example, a 2005 study by Osgoode Hall Law Professor Neil Brooks argued the Fraser Institute's Tax Freedom Day analysis includes flawed accounting, including the exclusion of several important forms of income and overstating tax figures, moving the date nearly two months later.  In America, while Tax Freedom Day presents an "average American" tax burden, it is not a tax burden typical for an American. That is, the tax burdens of most Americans are substantially overstated by Tax Freedom Day. The larger tax bills associated with higher incomes increases the average tax burden above that of most Americans.  The Tax Foundation defends its methodology by pointing out that Tax Freedom Day is the U.S. economy's overall average tax burden—not the tax burden of the "average" American, which is how it is often misinterpreted by members of the media. Tax Foundation materials do not use the phrase "tax burden of the average American", although members of the media often make this mistake.  Another criticism is that the calculation includes capital gains taxes but not capital gains income, thus overstating the tax burden. For example, in the late 1990s the US Tax Freedom Day moved later, reaching its latest date ever in 2000, but this was largely due to capital gains taxes on the bull market of that era rather than an increase in tax rates. In other words, variations in capital gains income and their associated taxes cause changes in the amount of taxes, but not in the income used in the calculation of Tax Freedom Day.  The Tax Foundation argues that the Tax Freedom Day calculation does not include capital gains as income because it uses income and tax data directly from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). BEA has never counted capital gains as income since they don't represent current production available to pay taxes, and so the Tax Foundation excludes them as well. Additionally, the Tax Foundation argues that the exclusion of capital gains income is irrelevant in most years since including capital gains would only shift Tax Freedom Day by 1 percent in either direction in most years. A 1 percent change would represent 3.65 days. From 1968 to 2009 the date has never left the 21-day range of April 13 to May 3.

Tax Freedom Day is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to pay its taxes. Every dollar that is officially considered income by the government is counted, and every payment to the government that is officially considered a tax is counted. Taxes at all levels of government – local, state and federal – are included.


456.

Pietro Camardella designed the original 456 grand tourer at Pininfarina. It was available in GT and (from 1996) GTA models. The former has a six-speed manual, and the latter has a four-speed automatic developed in partnership with FF Developments, in Livonia, MI (which was later purchased by Ricardo Engineering in the UK.) The automatic transmission was the second and last hydraulic automatic transmission offered by Ferrari. (The transmission found its latest use in the 400/412 series.) The 5.5 L (5,473.91 cc) 65° V12 engine was derived from the Dino V6 rather than the more conventional 60° V12s used in the 412 and Daytona. It is rated at, with 4 valves per cylinder and Bosch Motronic M2.7 engine management. Ferrari claims it could push the car to a top speed of, making it the world's second fastest production four-seater automobile behind the Porsche 959. Acceleration from 0- takes 4.8 seconds, with a 13.3 second quarter-mile time. At the time of its development, it was the most powerful regular production road car ever developed by Ferrari. In 1996, the engine management system changed to Motronic M5.2 management and the engine with the updated system given the F116C code.  The name 456 is derived from the fact that each cylinder displaces 456 cubic centimeters. This was the last Ferrari to use this naming convention until the 488 GTB. Despite its exceptional performance, the 456 has a relatively unstressed engine, which has proven to be a very reliable unit. A further developed version of this engine was used in the front engined 550 Maranello grand tourer that was introduced in 1996 and which became the most powerful naturally aspirated Ferrari road car aside the 456.  The chassis is a tubular steel space-frame construction with a one-piece composite bonnet and body panels of aluminium. The body panels are welded to the chassis by using a special "sandwich filler" called "feran" that, when laid between, allows steel and aluminium to be welded. Pininfarina was responsible for the bodywork of the 456 until 1996 when production was moved to Ferrari. Total number of bodies made by Pininfarina amounts up to 1,435. All early cars have Pininfarina script and badge, whilst all "Modificatas" only have the "disegno Pininfarina" scripts.

456M.

The 456M (M standing for "Modificata") was unveiled in 1998, starting with chassis number 109589. Many changes were made to improve aerodynamics and cooling and the interior – still featuring Connolly Leather – was refreshed with new seats and other conveniences (fewer gauges on dash, and a new Becker stereo fitted in front of the shifter rather than behind as in the very shallow and special Sony head unit in the 456 GT). The 456 had a smaller grille with fog lights outside the grille. The undercarriage spoiler on the 456M is fixed, where the older 456 had a motorised spoiler that began its deployment above. The bonnet was the first commercial application of carbon fibre, the previous being made of a composite material. Power output remained unchanged on the Modificata using Bosch Motronic M5.2 engine management at ; the cylinder firing order was changed for smoother running and the torque remained the same for later versions of the 456 GT.

456 Bicolore Scaglietti.

In the final year of production 2002/3, customers could specify their vehicle using the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Program. Launched at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show using Michael Schumacher's own 456M GT as an example, customers could work with Ferrari personnel to create a highly individual car. Schumacher's car had a two colour paint scheme, custom leather interior, re-worked instruments, an uprated handling pack and cross-drilled Brembo brakes. Such cars would be thus designated as a Tipo 456M GT(A) Scaglietti. The car is also known as the 456M GT "Schumacher Edition" as Schumacher was the first to commission the car. A total of 30 cars were produced, with only 10 being made with the 6-speed manual transmission.

Production.

The total production of the 456 amounted to 3,289 units. These consisted of the following versions:  456: 1,951  456M: 1,338

Performance.

According to manufacturer estimates, the 456 GT can attain a top speed of and can accelerate from. 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.2 seconds. The GTA can attain the same acceleration at 5.5 seconds. The Modificata models had the same performance statistics as their respective predecessors.  "Car & Driver" magazine test results for 1995 456 GT were:  "Road & Track" magazine test results for the 1995 456 GT were:  "Road & Track" magazine test results for the 1997 456 GTA were:  "Motor Trend" magazine's test results for the 1997 456 GTA were:

Other body styles.

While the 456 2+2 coupé was the only version offered to the general public, four other body styles exist made on special request of specific customers:

Awards.

The 5.5 L V12 engine used in the 456 won the "over 4 litre" class of the International Engine of the Year award for 2000 and 2001.

External links.

<br

The Ferrari 456 and 456M (Type F116) are front-engine grand tourers which were produced by Ferrari from 1992 to 2003. The 456 was a replacement for the front-engine 412 as the company's V12-powered four seater. The updated 456M, which was the last Ferrari model to use pop-up headlamps, was replaced in 2004 by the 612 Scaglietti.


Career.

Lysenko's first world record was 77.06 metres, achieved on July 15, 2005 in Moscow, beating the old record of Mihaela Melinte by 0.99 metres. On June 12, 2006 she lost the record to Gulfiya Khanafeyeva, who threw 77.26 metres at the Russian athletics championships in Tula. However, Lysenko threw 77.41 metres on June 24 in Zhukovsky and 77.80 metres in Tallinn, Estonia on August 15. On July 21, 2007 it was reported that she failed a drug test, testing positive for a women's hormone blocker. In 2008, she was found guilty of using 6α-methylandrostendione and received a two-year ban (15.07.07 – 14.07.09) and disqualification of all results from 9 May 2007, including her world record of 78.61 m set on May 26, 2007.  Lysenko returned to competition in July 2009, taking the Russian title with 76.41 m. She won the gold at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup and ranked third in the inaugural IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge at the end of the year, with a combined score of 223.96 metres for her three best throws. In 2011, she won her first world championship in the first world championships where the top three women all went over 75 m. She was awarded the hammer throw gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics with a throw of 78.18 m. She won the 2013 World Championships with a world leading throw of 78.80 m.  In May 2016 La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that a retest of Lysenko's samples from the 2012 Summer Olympics had tested positive for doping products, her third failure. If confirmed in the B sample, she stood to lose her Olympic and second World titles and faced a lifetime ban from the sport. In October, she was stripped of her Olympic gold medal.

Tatyana Viktorovna Lysenko (, born October 9, 1983 in Bataysk) is a Russian hammer thrower. A two-time World Champion, her career has been blighted by repeated doping infractions. In February 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport handed her an eight-year ban for doping, starting from 2 July 2016.


Overview.

Naadam is the most widely watched festival among Mongols and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. It has its origin in the activities, such as military parades and sporting competitions such as archery, horse riding and wrestling, that followed the celebration of various occasions, including weddings or spiritual gatherings. It later served as a way to train soldiers for battle and was also connected to Mongols' nomadic lifestyle. Mongolians practice their unwritten holiday rules that include a long song to start the holiday, then a "Biyelgee" dance. Traditional cuisine, or "Khuushuur", is served around the Sports Stadium along with a special drink made of horse milk ("airag"). The three games of wrestling, horse racing, and archery are recorded in the 13th-century book "The Secret History of the Mongols". During the Qing dynasty's rule, Naadam became a festival officially held by sums. Now it formally commemorates the 1921 Revolution, when Mongolia declared independence from Qing dynasty and coincides with Mongolian State Flag Day. Naadam also celebrates the achievements of the new state. It was celebrated as a Buddhist/shaman holiday until secularization in the 1930s under the Communist influence of the Soviet Union. The biggest festival (National Naadam) is held in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, during the National Holiday from July 11 to 13, in the National Sports Stadium. It begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians. After the ceremony, the competitions begin. The competitions are mainly horseback riding. Naadam is also celebrated in different regions of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia in July and August. In the Tuva Republic, Naadam is on 15 August.  The three sports are called ""Danshig"" games. They became the great celebration of the new nation, where the nobility got together to dedicate to the Bogd Khan (Jabzundamba Khutugtu), the new head of state.  Genghis Khan's nine horse tails, representing the nine tribes of the Mongols, are still ceremonially transported from Sukhbaatar Square to the Stadium to open the Naadam festivities. At the opening and closing ceremonies, there are impressive parades of mounted cavalry, athletes and monks.  Another popular Naadam activity is the playing of games using "shagai," sheep anklebones that serve as game pieces and tokens of both divination and friendship. In the larger Naadam festivals, tournaments may take place in a separate venue. And the festival looks amazingly colorful like red and blue.

Three Games.

Wrestling.

A total of 512 or 1024 wrestlers meet in a single-elimination tournament that lasts nine or ten rounds. Mongolian traditional wrestling is an untimed competition in which wrestlers lose if they touch the ground with any part of their body other than their feet or hands. When picking pairs, the wrestler with the greatest fame has the privilege to choose his opponent. Wrestlers wear two-piece costumes consisting of a tight shoulder vest ("zodog") and shorts ("shuudag"). Only men are allowed to participate.  Each wrestler has an "encourager" called a "zasuul". The zasuul sings a song of praise for the winning wrestler after rounds 3, 5, and 7. Winners of the 7th or 8th stage (depending on whether the competition features 512 or 1024 wrestlers) earn the title of "zaan", "elephant". The winner of the 9th or 10th stage is called "arslan", "lion". In the final competition, all the "zasuuls" drop in the wake of each wrestler as they take steps toward each other. Two-time arslans are called the titans / giants, or "avraga".

Horse racing.

Unlike Western horse racing, which consists of short sprints generally not much longer than 2 km, Mongolian horse racing as featured in Naadam is a cross-country event, with races 15–30 km long. The length of each race is determined by age class. For example, two-year-old horses race for ten miles and seven-year-olds for seventeen miles. Up to 1000 horses from any part of Mongolia can be chosen to participate. Race horses are fed a special diet.  Children from 5 to 13 are chosen as jockeys and train in the months preceding the races. While jockeys are an important component, the main purpose of the races is to test the skill of the horses.  Before the races begin, the audience sings traditional songs and the jockeys sing a song called "Gingo". Prizes are awarded to horses and jockeys. The top five horses in each class earn the title of "airgiyn tav" and the top three are given gold, silver, and bronze medals. The winning jockey is praised with the title of "tumny ekh" or leader of ten thousand. The horse that finishes last in the Daaga race (two-year-old horses race) is called "bayan khodood" (meaning "full stomach"). A song is sung to the Bayan khodood wishing him luck to be next year's winner. More about horse riding in Mongolia

Archery.

In this competition both men and women may participate. It is played by teams of ten. Each archer is given four arrows; the team must hit 33 ""surs"." Men shoot their arrows from 75 meters away while women shoot theirs from 65 meters away. Traditionally the archers wear their national clothing ("Deel") during the competition. All the archers wear leather bracers up to the elbow on their outstretched arm, so that the "deel’s" cuff does not interfere with shooting. Mongolian archery is unique for having dozens of "surs" as targets. Each "sur" is a small woven or wooden cylinder. They are placed on top of each other forming a wall three-high, which is approximately 8 inches high by 5 feet wide. Knocking a "sur" out of the wall with an arrow counts as a hit, though knocking a "sur" out of the centre will bring a competitor more points. When the archer hits the target, the judge says "uuhai" which means "hooray". After each hit, an official repairs the damaged wall and makes it ready for the next attempt. The winners of the contest are granted the titles of "national marksman" and "national markswoman".

Naadam (, classical Mongolian: "Naɣadum",, "literally "games"") is a traditional festival in Mongolia. The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurvan naadam" (), "the three games of men". The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery, and are held throughout the country during midsummer. Women have started participating in the archery and girls in the horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling.


History.

The town grew around the Abbey of Echternach, which was founded in 698 by St Willibrord, an English monk from Ripon, Northumbria (in present-day North Yorkshire, England), who became the first bishop of Utrecht and worked to Christianize the Frisians. As bishop, he was the Echternach monastery's abbot until his death in 739. It is in his honour that the notable Dancing procession of Echternach takes place annually on Whit Tuesday.  The river Sauer that flows past the town now forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany; in the later Roman Empire and under the Merovingians by contrast, the Sauer did not form a border or march in this area. The Roman villa at Echternach (traces of which were rediscovered in 1975) was reputed to be the largest North of the Alps. It was later part of the Electorate of Trier (present-day Germany) and was presented to Willibrord by Irmina (Irmine), daughter of Dagobert II, king of the Franks. Other parts of the Merovingians' Roman inheritance were presented to the Abbey by king of the Franks Pepin the Short.  Echternach continued to have royal patronage from the house of Charlemagne. Though the monks were displaced by the canons of the bishop of Trier between 859 and 971, and although Willibrord's buildings burned down in 1017, the Romanesque basilica, with its symmetrical towers, to this day houses Willibrord's tomb in its crypt. The abbey's library and scriptorium had a European reputation. As it flourished, the town of Echternach grew around the abbey's outer walls and was granted a city charter in 1236. The abbey was rebuilt in a handsome Baroque style in 1737. In 1794 the church was sacked and the abbey used as a porcelain factory. In 1797, in the wake of the French Revolution, the monks were dispersed and the abbey's contents and its famous library were auctioned off. Some of the library's early manuscripts, such as the famous Echternach Gospels, are now in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. In the 19th century, a porcelain factory was established in the abbey and the town declined, until the advent of the railroad brought renewed life and an influx of tourists.  During the concluding months of World War II in Europe, on December 16, 1944, Echternach served as the southernmost point on the battlefront for the attempt of the German Wehrmacht forces attacking the Allies to retake Antwerp, during the Battle of the Bulge. The town was badly damaged in World War II, but was thoroughly restored.

Culture.

There are two main churches in Echternach. The larger is the Abbey's Basilica of St Willibrord, which survives from the original abbey and is a fair monument of Romano-Gothic architecture. The basilica is now surrounded by the eighteenth-century abbey (today a high school) and is located in the heart of the town's historical centre. The other is the parish church of St Peter and Paul, under whose altar lie the remains of St Willibrord. The nearby Prehistory Museum traces mankind's history over the past one million years.  Close to Echternach lies the Echternach lake which hosts several activities every year, like the e-Lake music festival or the "Mill Man Trail" bike race. Since 1975, Echternach has been the site of an International Music Festival, held annually in May and June. The festival was discontinued in 2018.

Echternach ( ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town (current population 5,610) in Luxembourg.


Inheritance.

Anne de Beauchamp was born at Caversham Castle in Oxfordshire (now Berkshire). She married Richard Neville 'the Kingmaker' – and her brother Henry Beauchamp married Richard's sister Cecily – in 1436. Following the death of Anne's father in 1439, and subsequently that of her brother Henry in 1446, and his infant daughter Lady Anne in 1449, Neville inherited the title and the considerable estates of the Earldom of Warwick through his wife.  However, this was contested by Anne's three older half-sisters, children of her father's first marriage to Elizabeth, heir of Berkeley. One of these, Lady Eleanor, was married to Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset (killed at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455). The litigation over the Warwick inheritance only fuelled the enmity between this branch of the Nevilles and the Beauforts who were closely related. Anne Beauchamp's husband, Richard, was the grandson of Lady Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, sister of the Duke's late father. Law considered that Anne Beauchamp being a full-blooded aunt of the last countess was more eligible to inherit than her older half-sisters, who were thus not coheirs with her, including the eldest – Lady Margaret, Countess of Shrewsbury (d. 1468). Richard Neville succeeded in keeping the Warwick and Despencer estates intact.

Children's marriages.

Her older daughter, Lady Isabel, married George, Duke of Clarence, the younger brother of King Edward IV of England. Her younger daughter, Lady Anne Neville, was married to Edward of Westminster, the only son of King Henry VI. When Edward of Westminster was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury, Anne Neville was married to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III of England. Although their mother was still living, the husbands of the two Neville sisters fought over their inheritance, while Anne was declared legally dead by Parliament. To win his brother George's final consent to the marriage with Anne, Richard renounced most of Warwick's land and property including the earldoms of Warwick (which the Kingmaker had held in his wife's right) and Salisbury and surrendered to Clarence the office of Great Chamberlain of England. After George was executed for treason in 1478, his son Edward inherited the title of Earl of Warwick, while Richard's son was styled Earl of Salisbury.

Later life.

Anne died in obscurity, having survived her husband, her daughters and the sons-in-law who had effectively disinherited her. She was in sanctuary at Beaulieu Abbey in 1486 when she petitioned Henry VII for the return of her estate. She recovered a small portion, but only on condition that she broke the entail and remit the bulk of them to Henry VII. "The 'Warwick and Spencer lands', her own patrimony became part of the crown estate."

Fictional portrayals.

Anne, Countess of Warwick appears prominently in the Philippa Gregory novels "The White Queen" (2009), "The Red Queen" (2010), and "The Kingmaker's Daughter" (2012), and is played by Juliet Aubrey in the 2013 television adaptation of all three novels, "The White Queen". She is depicted as a coldly ambitious mother to Isabel and Anne Neville, and her husband's staunchest supporter.  A more sympathetic portrayal of the Countess of Warwick is in the novel "The Sunne in Splendour" by Sharon Kay Penman, and a maternal view of her is observed in "The Reluctant Queen" by Jean Plaidy. Novelist Sandra Worth represents the Countess as her husband's conscience in her five novels about the Wars of the Roses. The Countess is depicted as being especially close to her grandson Edward of Middleham. Another sympathetic portrayal of Anne Beauchamp is "Wife to the Kingmaker", a 1974 title by Sandra Wilson.

Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick (13 July 1426 – 20 September 1492) was the daughter of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, and his second wife Isabel le Despenser, a daughter of Thomas le Despenser (22 September 1373 – 13 January 1399/1400) and Constance of York. Anne Beauchamp was the mother of Anne Neville, Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Richard III.


Early life.

Darya Nikolayevna was born to the Russian nobles Nikolai Avtonomovich Ivanov and Anna Ivanovna Davydova or Tatiana Tutcheva

Marriage and family.

Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova married the noble Gleb Alexeyevich Saltykov, uncle of Nikolai Saltykov. Darya Nikolayevna married young, into the famous Saltykov Family. She had two sons: Theodore (1750–1801) and Nicholas (1751-1775). Darya Saltykova was widowed in 1755 at the age of 25. With her husband's death, she inherited a substantial estate, where she lived with her two young sons and a great number of serfs.

Sadist and serial killer.

Many early complaints to authorities about the deaths at the Saltykova estate were ignored, or resulted in punishment for complaining. Darya Nikolayevna was well connected with those in power at the Russian royal court and with the Russian nobility. Eventually, relatives of the murdered women were able to bring a petition before Empress Catherine II. Catherine decided to try Saltykova publicly, in order to further her "lawfulness" initiative. Saltykova was arrested in 1762.  Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova was held for six years until 1768 while the authorities conducted a painstaking investigation. Catherine's Collegium of Justice questioned many witnesses and examined the records of the Saltykov estate. The investigating official counted as many as 138 suspicious deaths, of which the vast majority were attributed to Saltykova.  Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova was found guilty of having killed 38 female serfs by beating and torturing them to death, but the Empress Catherine was unsure how to punish her; the death penalty was abolished in Russia in 1754, and the new Empress needed the support of the nobility.

Imprisonment and death.

In 1768, Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova was chained on a public platform in Moscow for one hour, with a sign around her neck with the text: "This woman has tortured and murdered." Many people came to look at her while she was being scornfully ridiculed. Afterward, Saltykova was sent for life imprisonment in the cellar of Ivanovsky Convent in Moscow. Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova died on December 9, 1801 and was buried next to her relatives in the Donskoy Monastery necropolis.

Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova (;, Ива́нова; March 22, 1730 – December 27, 1801), commonly known as Saltychikha (), was a Russian noblewoman, sadist, and serial killer from Moscow, who became notorious for torturing and killing most of her slaves, mostly females. Saltykova has been compared to the earlier Hungarian "Blood Countess", Elizabeth Báthory, who committed similar crimes in her home, Čachtice Castle, against servant girls and local serfs.


Life and career.

Gruša was born in Pardubice, then Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic), and later moved to Prague. He graduated from the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague. He worked for periodicals "Tvář", "Sešity" and "Nové knihy".  He started coming under the scrutiny of the communist regime of then Czechoslovakia in 1969 because of his writings. He was banned from publishing and had to work in a construction cooperative. He took part in distribution of samizdat literature. He was arrested in 1974 for "the crime of initiating disorder" after distributing nineteen copies of his first novel, "Dotazník" ("The Questionnaire") and voicing his intention to have it published in Switzerland. After world-wide protest, he was released after two months. He later became a signatory of the human rights document, Charter 77. In 1981 his citizenship was revoked, and between 1982 and 1990 he lived in the Federal Republic of Germany.  In 1990 conditions in Czechoslovakia became more favorable and he returned to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1991–1997, he served as an ambassador to Germany. Later, he joined the minority government of Václav Klaus as a Minister of Education. The government lost support of the opposition parties and President Václav Havel orchestrated establishment of a new caretaker government. Even though Gruša was a non-party minister, he was replaced by Jan Sokol. He served as an ambassador to Austria until 2004. From 2005 to 2009 he was Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. From 2004 to 2009 he was the President of PEN International.  Gruša participated in standardisation of the term "Tschechien" as the official name of the Czech Republic in German language. See Name of the Czech Republic for overview.  Gruša died at the age of 72 on 28 October 2011 during a heart operation in Germany. Václav Havel wrote (before his own death a month and a half later on December 18) that Gruša was "one of a few close people whom I deeply respected and who have left this world recently."

Works.

English translated  Czech language  Original in German

Jiří Gruša (10 November 1938, in Pardubice – 28 October 2011, in Bad Oeynhausen) was a Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician.


Purpose.

In business, the purpose of the return on investment (ROI) metric is to measure, per period, rates of return on money invested in an economic entity in order to decide whether or not to undertake an investment. It is also used as an indicator to compare different investments within a portfolio. The investment with the largest ROI is usually prioritized, even though the spread of ROI over the time period of an investment should also be taken into account. Recently, the concept has also been applied to scientific funding agencies’ (e.g., National Science Foundation) investments in research of open source hardware and subsequent returns for direct digital replication.  ROI and related metrics provide a snapshot of profitability, adjusted for the size of the investment assets tied up in the enterprise. ROI is often compared to expected (or required) rates of return on money invested. ROI is not time-adjusted (unlike e.g. net present value): most textbooks describe it with a "Year 0" investment and two to three years’ income.  Marketing decisions have an obvious potential connection to the numerator of ROI (profits), but these same decisions often influence assets’ usage and capital requirements (for example, receivables and inventories). Marketers should understand the position of their company and the returns expected. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 77 percent responded that they found the "return on investment" metric very useful.  Return on investment may be extended to terms other than financial gain. For example, social return on investment (SROI) is a principles-based method for measuring extra-financial value (i.e., environmental and social value not currently reflected in conventional financial accounts) relative to resources invested. It can be used by any entity to evaluate the impact on stakeholders, identify ways to improve performance and enhance the performance of investments.

Risk with ROI usage.

As a decision tool, it is simple to understand. The simplicity of the formula allows users to freely choose variables, e.g., length of the calculation time, whether overhead cost is included, or which factors are used to calculate income or cost components. To use ROI as an indicator for prioritizing investment projects is risky since usually the ROI figure is not accompanied by an explanation of its make-up. For long-term investments, the need for a Net Present Value adjustment is great. Similar to Discounted Cash Flow, a Discounted ROI should be used instead. One of greatest risks associated with the traditional ROI calculation is that it does not fully "capture the short-term or long-term importance, value, or risks associated with natural and social capital" because it does not account for the environmental, social and governance performance of an organization. Without a metric for measuring the short- and long-term environmental, social and governance performance of a firm, decision makers are planning for the future without considering the extent of the impacts associated with their decisions.

Calculation.

Return on investment can be calculated in different ways depending on the goal and application. The most comprehensive formula is:  Return on investment (%) = (current value of investment if not exited yet + income from investment - initial investment and other expenses) / initial investment and other expenses x 100%.  For a single-period review, divide the return (net profit) by the resources that were committed (investment):  or  or

Property.

Complications in calculating ROI can arise when real property is refinanced, or a second mortgage is taken out. Interest on a second, or refinanced, loan may increase, and loan fees may be charged, both of which can reduce the ROI, when the new numbers are used in the ROI equation. There may also be an increase in maintenance costs and property taxes, and an increase in utility rates if the owner of a residential rental or commercial property pays these expenses.  Complex calculations may also be required for property bought with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) with a variable escalating rate charged annually through the duration of the loan.

Marketing investment.

Marketing not only influences net profits but also can affect investment levels too. New plants and equipment, inventories, and accounts receivable are three of the main categories of investments that can be affected by marketing decisions. According to a recent study, business partnerships with "micro-influencers" can bring a greater ROI than collaborations with big celebrities.  RoA, RoNA, RoC, and RoIC, in particular, are similar measures with variations on how 'investment' is defined.  ROI is a popular metric for heads of marketing because of marketing budget allocation. Return on Investment helps identify marketing mix activities that should continue to be funded and which should be cut.

Return on Integration (ROInt).

To address the lack of integration of the short and long term importance, value and risks associated with natural and social capital into the traditional ROI calculation, companies are valuing their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance through an Integrated Management approach to reporting that expands ROI to Return on Integration. This allows companies to value their investments not just for their financial return but also the long term environmental and social return of their investments. By highlighting environmental, social and governance performance in reporting, decision makers have the opportunity to identify new areas for value creation that are not revealed through traditional financial reporting. The social cost of carbon is one value that can be incorporated into Return on Integration calculations to encompass the damage to society from greenhouse gas emissions that result from an investment. This is an integrated approach to reporting that supports Integrated Bottom Line (IBL) decision making, which takes triple bottom line (TBL) a step further and combines financial, environmental and social performance reporting into one balance sheet. This approach provides decision makers with the insight to identify opportunities for value creation that promote growth and change within an organization.

Return on investment (ROI) is a ratio between net profit (over a period) and cost of investment (resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time). A high ROI means the investment's gains compare favourably to its cost. As a performance measure, ROI is used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiencies of several different investments. In economic terms, it is one way of relating profits to capital invested.


Characteristics.

An X-ray pulsar consists of a magnetized neutron star in orbit with a normal stellar companion and is a type of binary star system. The magnetic-field strength at the surface of the neutron star is typically about 10 Tesla, over a trillion times stronger than the strength of the magnetic field measured at the surface of the Earth (60 μT).  Gas is accreted from the stellar companion and is channeled by the neutron star's magnetic field on to the magnetic poles producing two or more localized X-ray hot spots, similar to the two auroral zones on Earth, but far hotter. At these hotspots the infalling gas can reach half the speed of light before it impacts the neutron star surface. So much gravitational potential energy is released by the infalling gas, that the hotspots, which are estimated to about one square kilometer in area, can be ten thousand times, or more, as luminous than the Sun.  Temperatures of millions of degrees are produced so the hotspots emit mostly X-rays. As the neutron star rotates, pulses of X-rays are observed as the hotspots move in and out of view if the magnetic axis is tilted with respect to the spin axis.

Gas supply.

The gas that supplies the X-ray pulsar can reach the neutron star by a variety of ways that depend on the size and shape of the neutron star's orbital path and the nature of the companion star.  Some companion stars of X-ray pulsars are very massive young stars, usually OB supergiants (see stellar classification), that emit a radiation driven stellar wind from their surface. The neutron star is immersed in the wind and continuously captures gas that flows nearby. Vela X-1 is an example of this kind of system.  In other systems, the neutron star orbits so closely to its companion that its strong gravitational force can pull material from the companion's atmosphere into an orbit around itself, a mass transfer process known as Roche lobe overflow. The captured material forms a gaseous accretion disc and spirals inwards to ultimately fall onto the neutron star as in the binary system Cen X-3.  For still other types of X-ray pulsars, the companion star is a Be star that rotates very rapidly and apparently sheds a disk of gas around its equator. The orbits of the neutron star with these companions are usually large and very elliptical in shape. When the neutron star passes nearby or through the Be circumstellar disk, it will capture material and temporarily become an X-ray pulsar. The circumstellar disk around the Be star expands and contracts for unknown reasons, so these are transient X-ray pulsars that are observed only intermittently, often with months to years between episodes of observable X-ray pulsation.

Spin behaviors.

Radio pulsars (rotation-powered pulsars) and X-ray pulsars exhibit very different spin behaviors and have different mechanisms producing their characteristic pulses although it is accepted that both kinds of pulsar are manifestations of a rotating magnetized neutron star. The rotation cycle of the neutron star in both cases is identified with the pulse period.  The major differences are that radio pulsars have periods on the order of milliseconds to seconds, and all radio pulsars are losing angular momentum and slowing down. In contrast, the X-ray pulsars exhibit a variety of spin behaviors. Some X-ray pulsars are observed to be continuously spinning faster and faster or slower and slower (with occasional reversals in these trends) while others show either little change in pulse period or display erratic spin-down and spin-up behavior.  The explanation of this difference can be found in the physical nature of the two pulsar classes. Over 99% of radio pulsars are single objects that radiate away their rotational energy in the form of relativistic particles and magnetic dipole radiation, lighting up any nearby nebulae that surround them. In contrast, X-ray pulsars are members of binary star systems and accrete matter from either stellar winds or accretion disks. The accreted matter transfers angular momentum to (or from) the neutron star causing the spin rate to increase or decrease at rates that are often hundreds of times faster than the typical spin down rate in radio pulsars. Exactly why the X-ray pulsars show such varied spin behavior is still not clearly understood.

Observations.

X-ray pulsars are observed using that are satellites in low Earth orbit although some observations have been made, mostly in the early years of X-ray astronomy, using detectors carried by balloons or sounding rockets. The first X-ray pulsar to be discovered was Centaurus X-3, in 1971 with the Uhuru X-ray satellite.

X-ray pulsars or accretion-powered pulsars are a class of astronomical objects that are X-ray sources displaying strict periodic variations in X-ray intensity. The X-ray periods range from as little as a fraction of a second to as much as several minutes.


Playing career.

Drafted 113th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Turek moved with the franchise to Dallas, where he initially played as the third-string goaltender behind Andy Moog and Artūrs Irbe before serving as the backup to Ed Belfour. He won a Stanley Cup in this role in 1999. Despite his backup role, he achieved international glory with the Czech Republic national team, backstopping them to a gold medal at the 1996 World Championships. In this year, he also played in Germany for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers.  The Stars, fearing they would lose Turek to the Atlanta Thrashers in the upcoming expansion draft, traded him to the St. Louis Blues in the 1999 off-season, and finally got his chance to shine as he topped the league with seven shutouts and won the William M. Jennings Trophy in his first season. He helped the Blues to the Presidents' Trophy that year and the Blues entered the playoffs with high expectations. However, St. Louis was eliminated in seven games by the eighth-seeded San Jose Sharks, with some aggravated Blues fans pinning responsibility on Turek because of some soft goals he allowed, including one in Game 7 that was fired from centre ice by Sharks captain Owen Nolan. However, he played a second season with the Blues while being challenged for the starting position by backup Brent Johnson. He put up good numbers again, this time helping the Blues reach the playoffs as the fourth seed, where they again faced the Sharks in the first round. This time, Turek helped the Blues eliminate the Sharks in six games and then helped them sweep the Dallas Stars, his former team, in the second round. However, in the third round against the Colorado Avalanche, soft goals plagued him again (including one scored after an attempt to scoop the puck into his glove with his stick) and again in some fan circles bore the brunt of the blame for the Blues' third round 4–1 ouster. In the off-season, Turek was traded to the Calgary Flames.  In the 2003–04 season, Roman's status as the Flames' starting goaltender was altered drastically when Darryl Sutter traded a conditional draft pick for Miikka Kiprusoff, whose stellar performances relegated Turek to the bench. However, Turek was a dependable backup, as Kiprusoff led the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  In 2004, Turek restructured his contract to substantially drop his salary from $5 million plus bonuses for the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons. The restructuring brought his salary to between $1 million and $2 million, with potential earnings relying heavily on performance bonuses. The restructuring saved the Calgary Flames organization between $3 million and $4 million in the 2004–05 season.  Turek announced his retirement from the NHL on August 9, 2005.

Roman Turek (born May 21, 1970) is a Czech former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames in a nine-year National Hockey League (NHL) career. He last played in the Czech Extraliga for HC České Budějovice.