History.

Prehistoric roots.

Estonia was first inhabited about 10,000 years ago, just after the Baltic ice lake had retreated from Estonia. Living in the same area for more than 5,000 years would put the ancestors of Estonians among the oldest permanent inhabitants in Europe. On the other hand, some recent linguistic estimations suggest that Finno-Ugrian language arrived around the Baltic Sea considerably later, perhaps during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 1800 BCE).  The oldest known endonym of the Estonians is, literally meaning "land people" or "country folk". It was used up until the mid-19th century, when it was gradually replaced by "Eesti rahvas" "Estonian people" during the Estonian national awakening. "Eesti", the modern endonym of Estonia, is thought to be derived from the word "Aestii", the name given by the ancient Germanic people to the Baltic people living northeast of the Vistula River. The Roman historian Tacitus in 98 AD was the first to mention the ""Aestii"" people, and early Scandinavians called the land south of the Gulf of Finland ""Eistland"" ( is also the current word in Icelandic for Estonia), and the people ""eistr"". Proto-Estonians (as well as other speakers of the Finnish language group) were also called "Chuds" () in Old East Slavic chronicles.  The Estonian language belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic family of languages, as does the Finnish language. The branch is a little more than 1000 years old. The first known book in Estonian was printed in 1525, while the oldest known examples of written Estonian originate in 13th-century chronicles.

National consciousness.

Although Estonian national consciousness spread in the course of the 19th century during the Estonian national awakening, some degree of ethnic awareness preceded this development. By the 18th century the self-denomination spread among Estonians along with the older. Anton thor Helle's translation of the Bible into Estonian appeared in 1739, and the number of books and brochures published in Estonian increased from 18 in the 1750s to 54 in the 1790s. By the end of the century more than a half of adult peasants could read. The first university-educated intellectuals identifying themselves as Estonians, including Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (1798–1850), Kristjan Jaak Peterson (1801–1822) and Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803–1882), appeared in the 1820s. The ruling elites had remained predominantly German in language and culture since the conquest of the early 13th century. Garlieb Merkel (1769–1850), a Baltic-German Estophile, became the first author to treat the Estonians as a nationality equal to others; he became a source of inspiration for the Estonian national movement, modelled on Baltic German cultural world before the middle of the 19th century. However, in the middle of the century, the Estonians became more ambitious and started leaning toward the Finns as a successful model of national movement and, to some extent, toward the neighbouring Latvian national movement. By the end of 1860 the Estonians became unwilling to reconcile with German cultural and political hegemony. Before the attempts at Russification in the 1880s, their view of Imperial Russia remained positive.  Estonians have strong ties to the Nordic countries stemming from important cultural and religious influences gained over centuries during Scandinavian and German rule and settlement. Indeed, Estonians consider themselves Nordic rather than Baltic, in particular because of close ethnic and linguistic affinities with the Finns.  After the Treaty of Tartu (1920) recognised Estonia's 1918 independence from Russia, ethnic Estonians residing in Russia gained the option of opting for Estonian citizenship (those who opted were called "optandid" - 'optants') and returning to their fatherland. An estimated 40,000 Estonians lived in Russia in 1920. In sum, 37,578 people moved from Soviet Russia to Estonia (1920–1923).

Emigration.

During World War II, when Estonia was invaded by the Soviet Army in 1944, large numbers of Estonians fled their homeland on ships or smaller boats over the Baltic Sea. Many refugees who survived the risky sea voyage to Sweden or Germany later moved from there to Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia. Some of these refugees and their descendants returned to Estonia after the nation regained its independence in 1991.  Over the years of independence, increasing numbers of Estonians have chosen to work abroad, primarily in Finland, but also in other European countries (mostly in the UK, Benelux, Sweden, and Germany), making Estonia the country with the highest emigration rate in Europe. This is at least partly due to the easy access to oscillating migration to Finland.  Recognising the problems arising from both low birth rate and high emigration, the country has launched various measures to both increase the birth rate and to lure migrant Estonians back to Estonia. Former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves has lent his support to the campaign "Talendid koju!" ("Bringing talents home!") which aims to coordinate and promote the return of Estonians who have particular skills needed in Estonia.

Estonians in Canada.

One of the largest permanent Estonian community outside Estonia is in Canada with about 24,000 people (according to some sources up to 50,000 people). In the late 1940s and early 1950s, about 17,000 arrived in Canada, initially to Montreal. Toronto is currently the city with the largest population of Estonians outside of Estonia. The first Estonian World Festival was held in Toronto in 1972. Some notable Estonian Canadians include Endel Tulving, Elmar Tampõld, Alison Pill, Uno Prii, Kalle Lasn, and Andreas Vaikla.

Estonians () are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language and share a common culture and history.


Cause.

Swimmer's itch probably has been around as long as humans. The condition was known to exist as early as the 1800s, but it was not until 1928 that a biologist found that the dermatitis was caused by the larval stage of a group of flatworm parasites in the family Schistosomatidae. The genera most commonly associated with swimmer's itch in humans are "Trichobilharzia" and "Gigantobilharzia". It can also be caused by schistosome parasites of non-avian vertebrates, such as "Schistosomatium douthitti", which infects snails and rodents. Other taxa reported to cause the reaction include "Bilharziella polonica" and "Schistosoma bovis". In marine habitats, especially along the coasts, swimmer's itch can occur as well.  These parasites use both freshwater snails and vertebrates as hosts in their parasitic life cycles as follows:

Risk factors.

Humans usually become infected after swimming in lakes or other bodies of slow-moving fresh water. Some laboratory evidence indicates snails shed cercariae most intensely in the morning and on sunny days, and exposure to water in these conditions may therefore increase risk. Duration of swimming is positively correlated with increased risk of infection in Europe and North America, and shallow inshore waters may harbour higher densities of cercariae than open waters offshore. Onshore winds are thought to cause cercariae to accumulate along shorelines. Studies of infested lakes and outbreaks in Europe and North America have found cases where infection risk appears to be evenly distributed around the margins of water bodies as well as instances where risk increases in endemic swimmer's itch "hotspots". Children may become infected more frequently and more intensely than adults but this probably reflects their tendency to swim for longer periods inshore, where cercariae also concentrate. Stimuli for cercarial penetration into host skin include unsaturated fatty acids, such as linoleic and linolenic acids. These substances occur naturally in human skin and are found in sun lotions and creams based on plant oils.

Control.

Various strategies targeting the mollusc and avian hosts of schistosomes, have been used by lakeside residents in recreational areas of North America to deal with outbreaks of swimmer's itch. In Michigan, for decades, authorities used copper sulfate as a molluscicide to reduce snail host populations and thereby the incidence of swimmer's itch. The results with this agent have been inconclusive, possibly because:  More importantly, perhaps, copper sulfate is toxic to more than just molluscs, and the effects of its use on aquatic ecosystems are not well understood.  Another method targeting the snail host, mechanical disturbance of snail habitat, has been also tried in some areas of North America and Lake Annecy in France, with promising results. Some work in Michigan suggests that administering praziquantel to hatchling waterfowl can reduce local swimmer's itch rates in humans. Work on schistosomiasis showed that water-resistant topical applications of the common insect repellent DEET prevented schistosomes from penetrating the skin of mice. Public education of risk factors, a good alternative to the aforementioned interventionist strategies, can also reduce human exposure to cercariae.

Swimmer's itch or cercarial dermatitis, is a short-term allergic immune reaction occurring in the skin of humans that have been infected by water-borne schistosomes. Symptoms, which include itchy, raised papules, commonly occur within 1–2 days of infection and do not generally last more than 2–3 weeks. However, people repeatedly exposed to cercariae develop heavier symptoms with faster onset. Cercarial dermatitis is common in freshwater, brackish and marine habitats worldwide. Incidence may be on the rise, although this may also be attributed to better monitoring. Nevertheless, the condition has been regarded as emerging infectious disease.


Prevalence.

Growing market shares and increasing variety of private label consumer packaged goods is now a global phenomenon. However, private label market shares exhibit widespread diversity across international markets and product categories. Empirical research on private label products has been of substantial interest to both marketing academics and managers. Considerable work has been done on well-defined areas of private-label research such as private-label brand strategy, market performance of private-label products, competition with national brands, market structure, and buyer behavior.  A Food Marketing Institute study found that store brands account for an average of 14.5 percent of in store sales with some stores projecting they will soon reach as high as 20 percent of all sales. Store branding is a mature industry; consequently, some store brands have been able to position themselves as premium brands. Sometimes store-branded goods mimic the shape, packaging, and labeling of national brands; for example, "Dr. Thunder" and "Mountain Lightning" are the names of the Sam's Choice store brand equivalents of Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew, respectively.

Examples.

Richelieu Foods is a private-label company producing frozen pizza, salad dressing, marinades, and condiments for other companies, including Hy-Vee, Aldi, Save-A-Lot, Sam's Club, Hannaford Brothers Co., BJ's Wholesale Club (Earth's Pride brand) and Shaw's Supermarkets (Culinary Circle brand). McBride plc is a Europe-based provider of private-label household and personal care products.  In 2007, there was a recall in the United States of more than 60 million cans of pet food sold under more than 100 brand names made by Menu Foods. The mass recall revealed that competing brands are often made by the same manufacturer. However, ingredients, designs and quality may differ substantially among the labels produced by the same manufacturer.

Economic assessment.

Research has found that some retailers believe that, while advertising by premium national brands brings shoppers to the store, the retailer typically makes more profit by selling the shopper a store brand. The Fashion Institute of Technology has published research on store branding and store positioning. Grocery chains such as Aldi and Save-A-Lot primarily sell store brands to promote overall lower prices, compared to supermarket chains that sell several brands.

Private Label Manufacturers Association.

The Private Label Manufacturer's Association (PLMA) in the United States categorizes private-label manufacturers into four categories:

Private label products are those manufactured by one company for sale under another company's brand. Private-label goods are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics. Private label brands managed solely by a retailer for sale in a specific chain of stores are called store brands.


Life.

Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two years after his birth, he started out as a student of Indo-European languages, earning his degree in 1895. He then studied comparative linguistics, gaining a good command of Sanskrit. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the role of the jester in Indian drama in 1897.  It was not until 1902 that his interest turned towards medieval and Renaissance history. He continued teaching as an Orientalist until he became a Professor of General and Dutch History at Groningen University in 1905. In 1915, he was made Professor of General History at Leiden University, a post he held until 1942. In 1916 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.  In 1942, he spoke critically of his country's German occupiers, comments that were consistent with his writings about Fascism in the 1930s. He was held in detention by the Nazis between August and October 1942. Upon his release, he was banned from returning to Leiden. He subsequently lived at the house of his colleague Rudolph Cleveringa in De Steeg in Gelderland, near Arnhem, where he died just a few weeks before Nazi rule ended. He lies buried in the graveyard of the Reformed Church at 6 Haarlemmerstraatweg in Oegstgeest.

Works.

Huizinga had an aesthetic approach to history, where art and spectacle played an important part. His most famous work is "The Autumn of the Middle Ages" (a.k.a. "The Waning of the Middle Ages") (1919).  Worthy of mentioning are also "Erasmus" (1924) and "Homo Ludens" (1938). In the latter book he discussed the possibility that play is the primary formative element in human culture. Huizinga also published books on American history and Dutch history in the 17th century.  Alarmed by the rise of National Socialism in Germany, Huizinga wrote several works of cultural criticism. Many similarities can be noted between his analysis and that of contemporary critics such as Ortega y Gasset and Oswald Spengler. Huizinga argued that the spirit of technical and mechanical organisation had replaced spontaneous and organic order in cultural as well as political life.  The Huizinga Lecture (Dutch: "Huizingalezing") is a prestigious annual lecture in the Netherlands about a subject in the domains of cultural history or philosophy in honour of Johan Huizinga.

Family.

Huizinga's son Leonhard Huizinga became a well-known writer in the Netherlands, especially renowned for his series of tongue-in-cheek novels on the Dutch aristocratic twins ("Adriaan en Olivier").

Johan Huizinga (; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.


Location.

Andravida is located in the plains of northwestern Elis, at about 7 km from the Ionian Sea coast. It is 3 km south of Lechaina, 6 km north of Gastouni, 30 km northwest of Pyrgos and 55 km southwest of Patras.  The Greek National Road 9 (also E55) Patras-Pyrgos-Pylos passes east of the town. The Andravida Air Base is 2.5 km to the east of the city center.

History.

Andravida's early history is obscure: the name is of unknown provenance—several proposals have been made, the most probable of which is that it derives from a Slavic name for "place of the otters"—and the site is not mentioned before the conquest by the Crusaders in 1205, even though it certainly existed before that. According to the "Chronicle of the Morea", Andravida, like most of the towns and regions of the northern and western Peloponnese, was captured without a fight in 1205 by the Crusader leader William of Champlitte, and it was there that the local Greek magnates and lords of Elis and of the mountains of Skorta and Mesarea paid him homage and recognized him as their lord.  Soon after the Frankish conquest, Andravida (known as "Andreville" in French, "Andrevilla" in Aragonese and "Andravilla" in Italian) became the residence of the princes of the newly established Principality of Achaea. As the medievalist Antoine Bon points out, Andravida's choice as the "de facto" capital of the principality rested on its favourable location: situated in the midst of the fertile plain of Elis, it was well provisioned and could sustain horses, it was located near the major port town of Glarentza, but not on the coast and hence not vulnerable to seaborne raids, and was equally far from the mountains of the central Peloponnese with their rebellious inhabitants. Consequently, despite its importance, it was never fortified. The town also became the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric, attested since 1212, which assimilated the pre-existing Greek bishopric of Olena and retained the latter's name.  Only a few traces survive of the Frankish town, and most of the testimony about its buildings comes from literary sources: a palace for the Princes; the Church of Saint Stephen, possibly belonging to the Franciscans; the Church and hospice of Saint James, given to the Teutonic Order in 1241 and serving as the burial place for the princely House of Villehardouin; the convent of Saint Nicholas of Carmel; and the Church of Saint Sophia, serviced by the Dominicans and the largest of them all, by virtue of which it often served as the site of assemblies and parliaments of the principality's nobility. Early 19th-century travellers like François Pouqueville and Jean Alexandre Buchon reported that the three churches were still largely extant, but today only Saint Sophia survives to a substantial extent.  Like the rest of the Principality's remnants in Elis and Achaea, Andravida was conquered by the Despotate of the Morea in the late 1420s. In 1460 it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and remained under Ottoman rule, with the exception of a brief Venetian period in 1686–1715, until Greek independence.

Subdivisions.

The municipal unit Andravida is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):  The small village Agios Georgios (pop. 77) lies 6 km east of Andravida town centre, on the east side of the air base.

Andravida (, ) is a town and a former municipality in Elis, in the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andravida-Kyllini, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 40.728 km. Its population is about 4,300. The town was the capital of the Frankish Principality of Achaea in the late Middle Ages.


Numbering.

To regulate these additives and inform consumers, each additive is assigned a unique number called an "E number", which is used in Europe for all approved additives. This numbering scheme has now been adopted and extended by the "Codex Alimentarius" Commission to internationally identify all additives, regardless of whether they are approved for use.  E numbers are all prefixed by "E", but countries outside Europe use only the number, whether the additive is approved in Europe or not. For example, acetic acid is written as E260 on products sold in Europe, but is simply known as additive 260 in some countries. Additive 103, alkannin, is not approved for use in Europe so does not have an E number, although it is approved for use in Australia and New Zealand. Since 1987, Australia has had an approved system of labelling for additives in packaged foods. Each food additive has to be named or numbered. The numbers are the same as in Europe, but without the prefix "E".  The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists these items as "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS); they are listed under both their Chemical Abstracts Service number and FDA regulation under the United States Code of Federal Regulations.

Categories.

Food additives can be divided into several groups, although there is some overlap because some additives exert more than one effect. For example, salt is both a preservative as well as a flavor.

Safety and regulation.

With the increasing use of processed foods since the 19th century, food additives are more widely used. Many countries regulate their use. For example, boric acid was widely used as a food preservative from the 1870s to the 1920s, but was banned after World War I due to its toxicity, as demonstrated in animal and human studies. During World War II, the urgent need for cheap, available food preservatives led to it being used again, but it was finally banned in the 1950s. Such cases led to a general mistrust of food additives, and an application of the precautionary principle led to the conclusion that only additives that are known to be safe should be used in foods. In the United States, this led to the adoption of the Delaney clause, an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, stating that no carcinogenic substances may be used as food additives. However, after the banning of cyclamates in the United States and Britain in 1969, saccharin, the only remaining legal artificial sweetener at the time, was found to cause cancer in rats. Widespread public outcry in the United States, partly communicated to Congress by postage-paid postcards supplied in the packaging of sweetened soft drinks, led to the retention of saccharin, despite its violation of the Delaney clause. However, in 2000, saccharin was found to be carcinogenic in rats due only to their unique urine chemistry.

Hyperactivity.

Periodically, concerns have been expressed about a linkage between additives and hyperactivity, however "no clear evidence of ADHD was provided".  In 2007, Food Standards Australia New Zealand published an official shoppers' guidance with which the concerns of food additives and their labeling are mediated. In the EU it can take 10 years or more to obtain approval for a new food additive. This includes five years of safety testing, followed by two years for evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority and another three years before the additive receives an EU-wide approval for use in every country in the European Union. Apart from testing and analyzing food products during the whole production process to ensure safety and compliance with regulatory standards, Trading Standards officers (in the UK) protect the public from any illegal use or potentially dangerous mis-use of food additives by performing random testing of food products.  There has been significant controversy associated with the risks and benefits of food additives. Natural additives may be similarly harmful or be the cause of allergic reactions in certain individuals. For example, safrole was used to flavor root beer until it was shown to be carcinogenic. Due to the application of the Delaney clause, it may not be added to foods, even though it occurs naturally in sassafras and sweet basil.

Micronutrients.

A subset of food additives, micronutrients added in food fortification processes preserve nutrient value by providing vitamins and minerals to foods such as flour, cereal, margarine and milk which normally would not retain such high levels. Added ingredients, such as air, bacteria, fungi, and yeast, also contribute manufacturing and flavor qualities, and reduce spoilage.

Standardization of its derived products.

ISO has published a series of standards regarding the topic and these standards are covered by ICS 67.220.

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste, appearance, or other qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as with wines. With the advent of processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. Food additives also include substances that may be introduced to food indirectly (called "indirect additives") in the manufacturing process, through packaging, or during storage or transport.


History.

The nucleolus was identified by bright-field microscopy during the 1830s. Little was known about the function of the nucleolus until 1964, when a study of nucleoli by John Gurdon and Donald Brown in the African clawed frog "Xenopus laevis" generated increasing interest in the function and detailed structure of the nucleolus. They found that 25% of the frog eggs had no nucleolus and that such eggs were not capable of life. Half of the eggs had one nucleolus and 25% had two. They concluded that the nucleolus had a function necessary for life. In 1966 Max L. Birnstiel and collaborators showed via nucleic acid hybridization experiments that DNA within nucleoli code for ribosomal RNA.

Structure.

Three major components of the nucleolus are recognized: the fibrillar center (FC), the dense fibrillar component (DFC), and the granular component (GC). Transcription of the rDNA occurs in the FC. The DFC contains the protein fibrillarin, which is important in rRNA processing. The GC contains the protein nucleophosmin, (B23 in the external image) which is also involved in ribosome biogenesis.  However, it has been proposed that this particular organization is only observed in higher eukaryotes and that it evolved from a bipartite organization with the transition from anamniotes to amniotes. Reflecting the substantial increase in the DNA intergenic region, an original fibrillar component would have separated into the FC and the DFC.  Another structure identified within many nucleoli (particularly in plants) is a clear area in the center of the structure referred to as a nucleolar vacuole. Nucleoli of various plant species have been shown to have very high concentrations of iron in contrast to human and animal cell nucleoli.  The nucleolus ultrastructure can be seen through an electron microscope, while the organization and dynamics can be studied through fluorescent protein tagging and fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Antibodies against the PAF49 protein can also be used as a marker for the nucleolus in immunofluorescence experiments.  Although usually only one or two nucleoli can be seen, a diploid human cell has ten nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) and could have more nucleoli. Most often multiple NORs participate in each nucleolus.

Function and ribosome assembly.

In ribosome biogenesis, two of the three eukaryotic RNA polymerases (pol I and III) are required, and these function in a coordinated manner. In an initial stage, the rRNA genes are transcribed as a single unit within the nucleolus by RNA polymerase I. In order for this transcription to occur, several pol I-associated factors and DNA-specific trans-acting factors are required. In yeast, the most important are: UAF (upstream activating factor), TBP (TATA-box binding protein), and core binding factor (CBF)) which bind promoter elements and form the preinitiation complex (PIC), which is in turn recognized by RNA pol. In humans, a similar PIC is assembled with SL1, the promoter selectivity factor (composed of TBP and TBP-associated factors, or TAFs), transcription initiation factors, and UBF (upstream binding factor). RNA polymerase I transcribes most rRNA transcripts 28S, 18S, and 5.8S) but the 5S rRNA subunit (component of the 60S ribosomal subunit) is transcribed by RNA polymerase III.  Transcription of rRNA yields a long precursor molecule (45S pre-rRNA) which still contains the ITS and ETS. Further processing is needed to generate the 18S RNA, 5.8S and 28S RNA molecules. In eukaryotes, the RNA-modifying enzymes are brought to their respective recognition sites by interaction with guide RNAs, which bind these specific sequences. These guide RNAs belong to the class of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) which are complexed with proteins and exist as small-nucleolar-ribonucleoproteins (snoRNPs). Once the rRNA subunits are processed, they are ready to be assembled into larger ribosomal subunits. However, an additional rRNA molecule, the 5S rRNA, is also necessary. In yeast, the 5S rDNA sequence is localized in the intergenic spacer and is transcribed in the nucleolus by RNA pol.  In higher eukaryotes and plants, the situation is more complex, for the 5S DNA sequence lies outside the Nucleolus Organiser Region (NOR) and is transcribed by RNA pol III in the nucleoplasm, after which it finds its way into the nucleolus to participate in the ribosome assembly. This assembly not only involves the rRNA, but ribosomal proteins as well. The genes encoding these r-proteins are transcribed by pol II in the nucleoplasm by a "conventional" pathway of protein synthesis (transcription, pre-mRNA processing, nuclear export of mature mRNA and translation on cytoplasmic ribosomes). The mature r-proteins are then imported into the nucleus and finally the nucleolus. Association and maturation of rRNA and r-proteins result in the formation of the 40S (small) and 60S (large) subunits of the complete ribosome. These are exported through the nuclear pore complexes to the cytoplasm, where they remain free or become associated with the endoplasmic reticulum, forming rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER).  In human endometrial cells, a network of nucleolar channels is sometimes formed. The origin and function of this network has not yet been clearly identified.

Sequestration of proteins.

In addition to its role in ribosomal biogenesis, the nucleolus is known to capture and immobilize proteins, a process known as nucleolar detention. Proteins that are detained in the nucleolus are unable to diffuse and to interact with their binding partners. Targets of this post-translational regulatory mechanism include VHL, PML, MDM2, POLD1, RelA, HAND1 and hTERT, among many others. It is now known that long noncoding RNAs originating from intergenic regions of the nucleolus are responsible for this phenomenon.

The nucleolus (, plural: nucleoli ) is the largest structure in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. It is best known as the site of ribosome biogenesis. Nucleoli also participate in the formation of signal recognition particles and play a role in the cell's response to stress. Nucleoli are made of proteins, DNA and RNA and form around specific chromosomal regions called nucleolar organizing regions. Malfunction of nucleoli can be the cause of several human conditions called "nucleolopathies" and the nucleolus is being investigated as a target for cancer chemotherapy.


Composition, structure, and properties.

Ferrites are usually ferrimagnetic ceramic compounds derived from iron oxides. Magnetite (FeO) is a famous example. Like most of the other ceramics, ferrites are hard, brittle, and poor conductors of electricity.  Many ferrites adopt the spinel structure with the formula ABO, where A and B represent various metal cations, usually including iron (Fe). Spinel ferrites usually adopt a crystal motif consisting of cubic close-packed (fcc) oxides (O) with A cations occupying one eighth of the tetrahedral holes and B cations occupying half of the octahedral holes, i.e.,.  Ferrite crystals do not adopt the ordinary spinel structure, but rather the inverse spinel structure: One eighth of the tetrahedral holes are occupied by B cations, one fourth of the octahedral sites are occupied by A cations. and the other one fourth by B cation. It is also possible to have mixed structure spinel ferrites with formula [MFe][MFe]O where δ is the degree of inversion.  The magnetic material known as "ZnFe" has the formula ZnFeO, with Fe occupying the octahedral sites and Zn occupy the tetrahedral sites, it is an example of normal structure spinel ferrite.  Some ferrites adopt hexagonal crystal structure, like barium and strontium ferrites BaFeO (BaO:6FeO) and SrFeO (SrO:6FeO).  In terms of their magnetic properties, the different ferrites are often classified as "soft", "semi-hard" or "hard", which refers to their low or high magnetic coercivity, as follows.

Soft ferrites.

Ferrites that are used in transformer or electromagnetic cores contain nickel, zinc, and/or manganese compounds. They have a low coercivity and are called soft ferrites. The low coercivity means the material's magnetization can easily reverse direction without dissipating much energy (hysteresis losses), while the material's high resistivity prevents eddy currents in the core, another source of energy loss. Because of their comparatively low losses at high frequencies, they are extensively used in the cores of RF transformers and inductors in applications such as switched-mode power supplies and loopstick antennas used in AM radios.  The most common soft ferrites are:  For applications below 5 MHz, MnZn ferrites are used; above that, NiZn is the usual choice. The exception is with common mode inductors, where the threshold of choice is at 70 MHz.

Hard ferrites.

In contrast, permanent ferrite magnets are made of hard ferrites, which have a high coercivity and high remanence after magnetization. Iron oxide and barium or strontium carbonate are used in manufacturing of hard ferrite magnets. The high coercivity means the materials are very resistant to becoming demagnetized, an essential characteristic for a permanent magnet. They also have high magnetic permeability. These so-called "ceramic magnets" are cheap, and are widely used in household products such as refrigerator magnets. The maximum magnetic field "B" is about 0.35 tesla and the magnetic field strength "H" is about 30 to 160 kiloampere turns per meter (400 to 2000 oersteds). The density of ferrite magnets is about 5 g/cm.  The most common hard ferrites are:

Production.

Ferrites are produced by heating a mixture of the oxides of the constituent metals at high temperatures, as shown in this idealized equation: In some cases, the mixture of finely-powdered precursors is pressed into a mold. For barium and strontium ferrites, these metals typically supplied as their carbonates, BaCO or SrCO. During the heating process, these carbonates undergo calcination: After this step, the two oxides combine to give the ferrite. The resulting mixture of oxides undergoes sintering.

Processing.

Having obtained the ferrite, the cooled product is milled to particles smaller than 2 μm, sufficiently small that each particle consists of a single magnetic domain. Next the powder is pressed into a shape, dried, and re-sintered. The shaping may be performed in an external magnetic field, in order to achieve a preferred orientation of the particles (anisotropy).  Small and geometrically easy shapes may be produced with dry pressing. However, in such a process small particles may agglomerate and lead to poorer magnetic properties compared to the wet pressing process. Direct calcination and sintering without re-milling is possible as well but leads to poor magnetic properties.  Electromagnets are pre-sintered as well (pre-reaction), milled and pressed. However, the sintering takes place in a specific atmosphere, for instance one with an oxygen shortage. The chemical composition and especially the structure vary strongly between the precursor and the sintered product.  To allow efficient stacking of product in the furnace during sintering and prevent parts sticking together, many manufacturers separate ware using ceramic powder separator sheets. These sheets are available in various materials such as alumina, zirconia and magnesia. They are also available in fine, medium and coarse particle sizes. By matching the material and particle size to the ware being sintered, surface damage and contamination can be reduced while maximizing furnace loading.

Uses.

Ferrite cores are used in electronic inductors, transformers, and electromagnets where the high electrical resistance of the ferrite leads to very low eddy current losses. They are commonly seen as a lump in a computer cable, called a ferrite bead, which helps to prevent high frequency electrical noise (radio frequency interference) from exiting or entering the equipment.  Early computer memories stored data in the residual magnetic fields of hard ferrite cores, which were assembled into arrays of "core memory". Ferrite powders are used in the coatings of magnetic recording tapes.  Ferrite particles are also used as a component of radar-absorbing materials or coatings used in stealth aircraft and in the absorption tiles lining the rooms used for electromagnetic compatibility measurements. Most common audio magnets, including those used in loudspeakers and electromagnetic instrument pickups, are ferrite magnets. Except for certain "vintage" products, ferrite magnets have largely displaced the more expensive Alnico magnets in these applications. In particular, for hard hexaferrites today the most common uses are still as permanent magnets in refrigerator seal gaskets, microphones and loud speakers, small motors for cordless appliances and in automobile applications.  Ferrite nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic properties.

History.

Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei of the Tokyo Institute of Technology synthesized the first ferrite compounds in 1930. This led to the founding of TDK Corporation in 1935, to manufacture the material.  Barium hexaferrite (BaO•6FeO) was discovered in 1950 at the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium ("Philips Physics Laboratory"). The discovery was somewhat accidental—due to a mistake by an assistant who was supposed to be preparing a sample of hexagonal lanthanum ferrite for a team investigating its use as a semiconductor material. On discovering that it was actually a magnetic material, and confirming its structure by X-ray crystallography, they passed it on to the magnetic research group. Barium hexaferrite has both high coercivity (170 kA/m) and low raw material costs. It was developed as a product by Philips Industries (Netherlands) and from 1952 was marketed under the trade name "Ferroxdure". The low price and good performance led to a rapid increase in the use of permanent magnets.  In the 1960s Philips developed strontium hexaferrite (SrO•6FeO), with better properties than barium hexaferrite. Barium and strontium hexaferrite dominate the market due to their low costs. However other materials have been found with improved properties. BaO•2(FeO)•8(FeO) came in 1980. and BaZnFeO came in 1991.

A ferrite is a ceramic material made by mixing and firing large proportions of iron(III) oxide (FeO, rust) blended with small proportions of one or more additional metallic elements, such as barium, manganese, nickel, and zinc. They are electrically nonconductive, meaning that they are insulators, and ferrimagnetic, meaning they can easily be magnetized or attracted to a magnet. Ferrites can be divided into two families based on their resistance to being demagnetized (magnetic coercivity).


Terminology.

Sometimes in usage, the term "pistol" refers to a handgun having a single fixed chamber integral with its barrel, making pistols distinct from the other main type of handgun, the revolver, which has multiple chambers within a rotating cylinder that is separately aligned with a single barrel; and the derringer, which is a compact weapon often with multiple barrels.  UK/Commonwealth usage does not always make this distinction, particularly when the terms are used by the military. For example, the official designation of the Webley Mk VI revolver was "Pistol, Revolver, Webley, No. 1 Mk VI". In contrast to Merriam-Webster, the Oxford English Dictionary (a descriptive dictionary) describes "pistol" as a small firearm to be used in one hand and the usage of "revolver" as being a type of handgun and gives its original form as "revolving pistol"

History and etymology.

The pistol originates in the 16th century, when early handguns were produced in Europe. The English word was introduced in ca. 1570 from the Middle French "pistolet" (ca. 1550).  The etymology of the French word "pistolet" is disputed. It may be from a Czech word for early hand cannons, "píšťala" ("whistle" or "pipe"), or alternatively from Italian "pistolese", after Pistoia, a city renowned for Renaissance-era gunsmithing, where hand-held guns (designed to be fired from horseback) were first produced in the 1540s.  The first suggestion derives the word from Czech "píšťala", a type of hand-cannon used in the Hussite Wars during the 1420s. The Czech word was adopted in German as "pitschale", "pitschole", "petsole", and variants.  The second suggestion is less likely; the use of the word as a designation of a gun is not documented before 1605 in Italy, long after it was used in French and German. The Czech word is well documented since the Hussite wars in 1420s.

Action.

Single shot.

Single shot handguns were mainly seen during the era of flintlock and musket weaponry where the pistol was loaded with a lead ball and fired by a flint striker, and then later a percussion cap. However, as technology improved, so did the single shot pistol. New operating mechanisms were created, and due to this, they are still made today. They are the oldest type of pistol, and are often used to hunt wild game.

Multi-barreled.

Multi-barreled pistols, such as the Pepperbox, were common during the same time as single shot pistols. As designers looked for ways to increase fire rates, multiple barrels were added to all guns including pistols. One example of a multi-barreled pistol is the Duck's foot pistol, which generally had either four or eight barrels, although some 20th-century models had three barrels.

Harmonica pistol.

Around 1850, pistols such as the Jarre harmonica gun were produced that had a sliding magazine. The sliding magazine contained pinfire cartridges or speedloaders. The magazine needed to be moved manually in many designs, hence distinguishing them from semi-automatic pistols.

Revolver.

With the development of the revolver, short for revolving pistol, in the 19th century, gunsmiths had finally achieved the goal of a practical capability for delivering multiple loads to one handgun barrel in quick succession. Revolvers feed ammunition via the rotation of a cartridge-filled cylinder, in which each cartridge is contained in its own ignition chamber, and is sequentially brought into alignment with the weapon's barrel by an indexing mechanism linked to the weapon's trigger (double-action) or its hammer (single-action). These nominally cylindrical chambers, usually numbering between five and eight depending on the size of the revolver and the size of the cartridge being fired, are bored through the cylinder so that their axes are parallel to the cylinder's axis of rotation; thus, as the cylinder rotates, the chambers revolve about the cylinder's axis.

Lever-action.

Lever action pistols are very rare. The most notable of which is the Volcanic pistol.

Semi-automatic.

The semi-automatic pistol was the next step in the development of the pistol. By avoiding multiple chambers—which need to be individually reloaded—semi-automatic pistols delivered faster rates of fire and required only a few seconds to reload (depending on the skill of the shooter). In blowback-type semi-automatics, the recoil force is used to push the slide back and eject the shell (if any) so that the magazine spring can push another round up; then as the slide returns, it chambers the round. An example of a modern blow back action semi-automatic pistol is the Walther PPK. Blowback pistols are some of the more simply designed handguns. Many semi-automatic pistols today operate using short-recoil. This design is often coupled with the Browning type tilting barrel.

A pistol is a type of handgun, which is a short-barrelled projectile weapon inclusive of the revolver and the derringer. The English word was introduced in ca. 1570—when early handguns were produced in Europe—and derives from the Middle French "pistolet" (ca. 1550). The most common type of pistol in modern times is the semi-automatic pistol, while the older single-shot pistols are now far less common and used primarily for hunting, and the fully automatic machine pistols are rare due to strict laws and regulations governing their manufacture and sale.


Early life.

Pablo Neruda was born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto on 12 July 1904, in Parral, Chile, a city in Linares Province, now part of the greater Maule Region, some 350 km south of Santiago, to José del Carmen Reyes Morales, a railway employee, and Rosa Neftalí Basoalto Opazo, a schoolteacher who died two months after he was born. Soon after her death, Reyes moved to Temuco, where he married a woman, Trinidad Candia Malverde, with whom he had another child born nine years earlier, a boy named Rodolfo de la Rosa. Neruda grew up in Temuco with Rodolfo and a half-sister, Laura Herminia "Laurita", from one of his father's extramarital affairs (her mother was Aurelia Tolrà, a Catalan woman). He composed his first poems in the winter of 1914. Neruda was an atheist.

Literary career.

Neruda's father opposed his son's interest in writing and literature, but he received encouragement from others, including the future Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral, who headed the local school. On 18 July 1917, at the age of thirteen, he published his first work, an essay titled "Entusiasmo y perseverancia" ("Enthusiasm and Perseverance") in the local daily newspaper "La Mañana", and signed it Neftalí Reyes. From 1918 to mid-1920, he published numerous poems, such as "Mis ojos" ("My eyes"), and essays in local magazines as Neftalí Reyes. In 1919, he participated in the literary contest Juegos Florales del Maule and won third place for his poem "Comunión ideal" or "Nocturno ideal". By mid-1920, when he adopted the pseudonym Pablo Neruda, he was a published author of poems, prose, and journalism. He is thought to have derived his pen name from the Czech poet Jan Neruda. The young poet's intention in publishing under a pseudonym was to avoid his father's disapproval of his poems.  In 1921, at the age of 16, Neruda moved to Santiago to study French at the Universidad de Chile, with the intention of becoming a teacher. However, he was soon devoting all his time to writing poems and with the help of well-known writer Eduardo Barrios, he managed to meet and impress Don Carlos George Nascimento, the most important publisher in Chile at the time. In 1923, his first volume of verse, "Crepusculario" ("Book of Twilights"), was published by Editorial Nascimento, followed the next year by "Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada" ("Twenty Love Poems and A Desperate Song"), a collection of love poems that was controversial for its eroticism, especially considering its author's young age. Both works were critically acclaimed and have been translated into many languages. Over the decades, "Veinte poemas" sold millions of copies and became Neruda's best-known work, though a second edition did not appear until 1932. Almost one hundred years later, Veinte Poemas still retains its place as the best-selling poetry book in the Spanish language. By the age of 20, Neruda had established an international reputation as a poet, but faced poverty.  In 1926, he published the collection "Tentativa del hombre infinito" ("The Attempt of the Infinite Man") and the novel "El habitante y su esperanza" ("The Inhabitant and His Hope"). In 1927, out of financial desperation, he took an honorary consulship in Rangoon, the capital of the British colony of Burma, then administered from New Delhi as a province of British India. Rangoon was a place he had never heard of before. Later, mired in isolation and loneliness, he worked in Colombo (Ceylon), Batavia (Java), and Singapore. In Batavia the following year he met and married (6 December 1930) his first wife, a Dutch bank employee named Marijke Antonieta Hagenaar Vogelzang, known as Maruca.<ref

Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair" (1924).


Reign.

The dates for Samo's rule are based on Fredegar, who says that he went to the Slavs in the fortieth year of Chlothar II (i.e., 623–24) and reigned for thirty five years. The interpretation that places the start of Samo's reign in the year of Fredegar's arrival has been questioned on the basis that the Wends would have most likely rebelled after the defeat of the Avar khagan at the First Siege of Constantinople in 626. The Avars first arrived in the Pannonian Basin and subdued the local Slavs in the 560s. Samo may have been one of the merchants who supplied arms to the Slavs for their frequent revolts. Whether he became king during a revolt of 623–24 or during one that inevitably followed the Avar defeat in 626, he definitely took advantage of the latter to solidify his position. A string of victories over the Avars proved his "utilitas" (usefulness) to his subjects and secured his election as "rex" (king). Samo went on to secure his throne by marriage into the major Wendish families, wedding at least twelve women and fathering twenty-two sons and fifteen daughters.  The most well-documented event of Samo's career was his victory over the Frankish royal army under Dagobert I in 631 or 632. Provoked to action by a "violent quarrel in the Pannonian kingdom of the Avars or Huns" during his ninth year (631–32), Dagobert led three armies against the Wends, the largest being his own Austrasian army. The Franks were routed near Wogastisburg (Latin "castrum Vogastisburg"), an unidentified location meaning "fortress/castle of Vogast." The majority of the besieging armies were slaughtered, while the rest of the troops fled, leaving weapons and other equipment lying on the ground. In the aftermath of the Wendish victory, Samo invaded Frankish Thuringia several times and undertook looting raids there. The Sorbian prince Dervan abandoned the Franks and "placed himself and his people under Samo's realm".  In 641, the rebellious duke of Thuringia, Radulf, sought an alliance with Samo against his sovereign, Sigebert III. Samo also maintained long-distance trade relationships. On his death, however, his title was not inherited by his sons. Ultimately, Samo can be credited with forging a Wendish identity by speaking on behalf of the community that recognised his authority.

Main sources.

The main source of written information on Samo and his empire is the "Fredegarii Chronicon", a Frankish chronicle written in the mid-7th century (c. 660). Though theories of multiple authorship once abounded, the notion of a single Fredegar is now common scholarly fare. The last or only Fredegar was the author of a brief account of the Wends including the best, and only contemporary, information on Samo. According to Fredegar, "Samo [was] a Frank by birth [or nation] from the "pago Senonago"", which could be present-day Soignies in Belgium or present-day Sens in France. Although he was of Frankish origin, Samo demanded that an ambassador (Sicharius) of Dagobert I (King of the Franks) put on Slavic clothes before entering his castle.  All other sources for Samo are derived from Fredegar and are much more recent. The "Gesta Dagoberti I regis Francorum" ("Deeds of King Dagobert I of the Franks") was written in the first third of the 9th century. The "Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum" ("Conversion of the Bavarians and Karantanians") from Salzburg (the Bavarian ecclesiastic centre), written in 871–72, is a very tendentious source, as its name suggests. According mainly to the "Conversio", Samo was a Karantanian merchant.  The sources Fredegar used to compile his Wendish account are unknown. A few scholars have attacked the entire account as fictitious, but Fredegar displays a critical attitude and a knowledge of detail that suggest otherwise. It is possible that he had an eyewitness in the person of Sicharius, the ambassador of Dagobert I to the Slavs. According to Fredegar, the "Wends" had long been subjects and "befulci" of the Avars. "Befulci" is a term, cognate with the word "fulcfree" found in the Edict of Rothari, signifying "entrusted [to guard]", from the Old German root "felhan, falh, fulgum" and Middle German "bevelhen". Fredegar appears to have envisaged the Wends as a military unit of the Avar host. He probably based his account on "native" Wendish accounts. Fredegar records the story of the "origo gentis" (origin of the people) of the Wends. The Wends were Slavs, but Samo was the only king of the Wends, at least according to Fredegar.  It has also been suggested that Fredegar's sources may have been the reports of Christian missionaries, especially disciples of Columbanus and the Abbey of Luxeuil. If this is correct, it may explain why he is remarkably free of typical stereotypes of heathen Slavs, and why he was familiar with the Wends as a specifically pagan nation.

Popular literature.

Few written works have their storyline taking place during Samo's Empire. One of them is the book "Fire Worshipers".

Samo founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire ("realm", "kingdom", or "tribal union"), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovenia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to Fredegarius, the only contemporary source, Samo was a Frankish merchant who unified several Slavic tribes against robber raids and violence by nearby settled Avars, showing such bravery and command skills in battle that he was elected as the "Slavic king" (). In 631, Samo successfully defended his realm against the Frankish Kingdom in the three-day Battle of Wogastisburg.


Growth.

It is a strongly aromatic shrub growing as high as tall. The leaves are evergreen, long, and broad. The flowers are pinkish-purple (lavender-coloured), produced on spikes long at the top of slender, leafless stems long.

Etymology.

The species name "angustifolia" is Latin for "narrow leaf". Previously, it was known as "Lavandula officinalis", referring to its medicinal properties.

Cultivation.

English lavender is commonly grown as an ornamental plant. It is popular for its colourful flowers, its fragrance, and its ability to survive with low water consumption. It does not grow well in continuously damp soil and may benefit from increased drainage provided by inorganic mulches such as gravel. It does best in Mediterranean climates similar to its native habitat, characterised by wet winters and dry summers. It is fairly tolerant of low temperatures and is generally considered hardy to USDA zone 5. It tolerates acid soils but favours neutral to alkaline soils, and in some conditions it may be short-lived.

Cultivars.

The following cultivars of "L. angustifolia" and its hybrids have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-

Dwarf cultivars.

Compacta, Folgate, Dwarf Blue, Dwarf White, Hidcote Pink, Hidcote Superior, Munstead, Nana Atropurpurea, Nana Rosea, Sarah, Summerland Supreme, Lady Lavender

Semi-dwarf cultivars.

Bowles Early, Hidcote Variety, Loddon Blue, Martha Roderick, Jean Davis, Twickle Purple, Pink Perfume

Giant cultivars.

Alba, Blackhouse Purple, Biostos, Bridestowe, Graves, Gray Lady, Gwendolyn Anley, Hidcote Giant, Irene Doyle, Mailette, Middachten

Uses.

The flowers and leaves are used as a herbal medicine, either in the form of lavender oil or as a herbal tea. The flowers are also used as a culinary herb, most often as part of the North American version of the French herb blend called "herbes de Provence".  Lavender essential oil, when diluted with a carrier oil, is commonly used as a relaxant with massage therapy. Products for home use, such as lotions, eye pillows (including lavender flowers or the essential oil itself) and bath oils, etc., are also used. Both the petals and the oil are the most popular ingredients in handmade soap.  Dried lavender flowers and lavender essential oil are also used as a prevention against clothing moths, which do not like their scent.  "Lavandula angustifolia" is included in the Tasmanian Fire Service's list of low flammability plants, indicating that it is suitable for growing within a building protection zone.

Hybrids.

"Lavandula" hybrids are referred to as lavandins. Hybrids between "L. angustifolia" and "L. latifolia" (spike lavender) are called "Lavandula x intermedia". They bloom later than the ordinary English lavenders.

Lavandula angustifolia (lavender most commonly true lavender or English lavender, though not native to England; also garden lavender, common lavender, narrow-leaved lavender), formerly "L. officinalis", is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean (Spain, France, Italy, Croatia etc.).


History.

Sources.

Researchers know relatively little about the Eastern Slavs prior to approximately 859 AD, when the first events recorded in the "Primary Chronicle" occurred. The Eastern Slavs of these early times apparently lacked a written language. The few known facts come from archaeological digs, foreign travellers' accounts of the Rus' land, and linguistic comparative analyses of Slavic languages.  Very few native Rus' documents dating before the 11th century (none before the 10th century) have survived. The earliest major manuscript with information on Rus' history, the "Primary Chronicle", dates from the late 11th and early 12th centuries. It lists twelve Slavic tribal unions which, by the 10th century, had settled in the later territory of the Kievan Rus between the Western Bug, the Dniepr and the Black Sea: the "Polans", "Drevlyans", "Dregovichs", "Radimichs", "Vyatichs", "Krivichs", "Slovens", "Dulebes" (later known as Volhynians and Buzhans), "White Croats", "Severians", "Ulichs", and "Tivertsi".

Migration.

There is no consensus among scholars as to the urheimat of the Slavs. In the first millennium AD, Slavic settlers are likely to have been in contact with other ethnic groups who moved across the East European Plain during the Migration Period. Between the first and ninth centuries, the Sarmatians, Huns, Alans, Avars, Bulgars, and Magyars passed through the Pontic steppe in their westward migrations. Although some of them could have subjugated the region's Slavs, these foreign tribes left little trace in the Slavic lands. The Early Middle Ages also saw Slavic expansion as an agriculturist and beekeeper, hunter, fisher, herder, and trapper people. By the 8th century, the Slavs were the dominant ethnic group on the East European Plain.  By 600 AD, the Slavs had split linguistically into southern, western, and eastern branches. The East Slavs practiced "slash-and-burn" agricultural methods which took advantage of the extensive forests in which they settled. This method of agriculture involved clearing tracts of forest with fire, cultivating it and then moving on after a few years. Slash and burn agriculture requires frequent movement, because soil cultivated in this manner only yields good harvests for a few years before exhausting itself, and the reliance on slash and burn agriculture by the East Slavs explains their rapid spread through eastern Europe. The East Slavs flooded Eastern Europe in two streams. One group of tribes settled along the Dnieper river in what is now Ukraine and Belarus to the North; they then spread northward to the northern Volga valley, east of modern-day Moscow and westward to the basins of the northern Dniester and the Southern Buh rivers in present-day Ukraine and southern Ukraine.  Another group of East Slavs moved to the northeast, where they encountered the Varangians of the Rus' Khaganate and established an important regional centre of Novgorod. The same Slavic population also settled the present-day Tver Oblast and the region of Beloozero. Having reached the lands of the Merya near Rostov, they linked up with the Dnieper group of Slavic migrants.

Pre-Kievan period.

In the eighth and ninth centuries, the south branches of East Slavic tribes had to pay tribute to the Khazars, a Turkic-speaking people who adopted Judaism in the late eighth or ninth century and lived in the southern Volga and Caucasus regions. Roughly in the same period, the Ilmen Slavs and Krivichs were dominated by the Varangians of the Rus' Khaganate, who controlled the trade route between the Baltic Sea and the Byzantine Empire.  The earliest tribal centres of the East Slavs included Novgorod, Izborsk, Polotsk, Gnezdovo, and Kiev. Archaeology indicates that they appeared at the turn of the tenth century, soon after the Slavs and Finns of Novgorod had rebelled against the Norse and forced them to withdraw to Scandinavia. The reign of Oleg of Novgorod in the early tenth century witnessed the return of the Varangians to Novgorod and relocation of their capital to Kiev on the Dnieper. From this base, the mixed Varangian-Slavic population (known as the Rus) launched several expeditions against Constantinople.  At first the ruling elite was primarily Norse, but it was rapidly Slavicized by the mid-century. Sviatoslav I of Kiev (who reigned in the 960s) was the first Rus ruler with a Slavonic name.

Post-Kievan period.

The disintegration, or parcelling of the polity of Kievan Rus' in the 11th century resulted in considerable population shifts and a political, social, and economic regrouping. The resultant effect of these forces coalescing was the marked emergence of new peoples. While these processes began long before the fall of Kiev, its fall expedited these gradual developments into a significant linguistic and ethnic differentiation among the Rus' people into Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians. All of this was emphasized by the subsequent polities these groups migrated into: southwestern and western Rus', where the Ruthenian and later Ukrainian and Belarusian identities developed, was subject to Lithuanian and later Polish influence; whereas the Russian ethnic identity developed in the Muscovite northeast and the Novgorodian north.

Modern East Slavs.

Modern East Slavic peoples and ethnic/subethnic groups include:

The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking the East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the loose medieval Kievan Rus federation state, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn and Ukrainian people.


Promotional merchandising.

The annual cycle of merchandising differs between countries and even within them, particularly relating to cultural customs like holidays, and seasonal issues like climate and local sporting and recreation. Events such as Chinese festivals and Japanese festivals are incorporated in an annual cycle of shop decorations and merchandise promotion.  In the United States, the basic retail cycle begins in early January with merchandise for Valentine's Day, which is not until mid-February. Presidents' Day sales are held shortly thereafter. Following this, Easter is the major holiday, while springtime clothing and garden-related merchandise is already arriving at stores, often as early as mid-winter (toward the beginning of this section, St. Patrick's Day merchandise, including green items and products pertaining to Irish culture, is also promoted). Mother's Day and Father's Day are next, with graduation gifts (typically small consumer electronics like digital cameras) often being marketed as "dads and grads" in June (though most college semesters end in May; the grads portion usually refers to high school graduation, which ends one to two weeks after Father's Day in many U.S. states). Summer merchandise is next, including patriotic-themed products with the American flag, out by Memorial Day in preparation for Independence Day (with Flag Day in between). By July, back-to-school is on the shelves and autumn merchandise is already arriving, and at some arts and crafts stores, Christmas decorations. (Often, a Christmas in July celebration is held around this time.) The back-to-school market is promoted heavily in August, when there are no holidays to promote. By September, particularly after Labor Day, summer merchandise is on final closeout and overstock of school supplies is marked-down some as well, and Halloween (and often even more of the Christmas) merchandise is appearing. As the Halloween decorations and costumes dwindle in October, Christmas is already being pushed on consumers, and by the day after Halloween retailers are going full-force with advertising, even though the "official" season doesn't start until the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas clearance sales begin even before Christmas at many retailers, though others begin on the day after Christmas and continue on at least until New Year's Day but sometimes as far out as February.  Merchandising also varies within retail chains, where stores in places like Buffalo might carry snow blowers, while stores in Florida and southern California might instead carry beach clothing and barbecue grills all year. Coastal-area stores might carry water skiing equipment, while ones near mountain ranges would likely have snow skiing and snowboarding gear if there are ski areas nearby.

Trading industry.

In Eastern Europe, particularly in Russian, the term "merchandising" is commonly used within the trading industry and denotes all marketing and sales stimulation activities around PoS (point of sale): design, creation, promotion, care, and training of the sales staff. A merchandiser is someone who is continuously involved in business promotion by buying and selling of goods. In Asian countries, such as India, this term is more synonymous with activities right from sampling and idea conception to dispatching of the shipment. It is a job description that involves leading and working with different departments within the organization, suppliers and buyers to deal with timely deadlines and accepted quality levels.

Retail supply chain.

In the supply chain, merchandising is the practice of making products in retail outlets available to consumers, primarily by stocking shelves and displays. While this used to be done exclusively by the stores' employees, many retailers have found substantial savings in requiring it to be done by the manufacturer, vendor, or wholesaler that provides the products to the retail store. In the United Kingdom, there are a number of organizations that supply merchandising services to support retail outlets with general stock replenishment and merchandising support in new stores. By doing this, retail stores have been able to substantially reduce the number of employees needed to run the store.  While stocking shelves and building displays is often done when the product is delivered, it is increasingly a separate activity from delivering the product. In grocery stores, for example, almost all products delivered directly to the store from a manufacturer or wholesaler will be stocked by the manufacturer's/wholesaler's employee who is a full-time merchandiser. Product categories where this is common are Beverage (all types, alcoholic and non-alcoholic), packaged baked goods (bread and pastries), magazines and books, and health and beauty products. For major food manufacturers in the beverage and baked goods industries, their merchandisers are often the single largest employee group within the company. For nationwide branded goods manufacturers such as The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, their respective merchandiser work forces number in the thousands.

Licensing.

In marketing, one of the definitions of merchandising is the practice in which the brand or image from one product or service is used to sell another. Trademarked brand names, logos, or character images are licensed to manufacturers of products such as toys or clothing, which then make items in or emblazoned with the image of the license, hoping they'll sell better than the same item with no such image. For the owners of the IP (intellectual property) in question, merchandising is a very popular source of revenue, due to the low cost of letting a third party manufacture the merchandise, while the IP owners collect the merchandising fees.

Children.

Merchandising for children is most prominently seen in connection with films and videogames, usually those in current release and with television shows oriented towards children.  Merchandising, especially in connection with child-oriented films and TV shows, often consists of toys made in the likeness of the show's characters (action figures) or items which they use. However, sometimes it can be the other way around, with the show written to include the toys, as advertising for the merchandise. The first major example of this was the TV show "G.I. JOE A Real American Hero.," produced by Hasbro in the early 1980s, but this practice has been common in children's broadcasting ever since.  Sometimes merchandising from a television show can grow far beyond the original show, even lasting decades after the show has largely disappeared from popularity. In other cases, large amounts of merchandise can be generated from a pitifully small amount of source material (Mashimaro).

Adult.

The most common adult-oriented merchandising is that related to professional sports teams (and their players).  A smaller niche in merchandising is the marketing of more adult-oriented products in connection with similarly adult-oriented films and TV shows. This is common especially with the science fiction and horror genres. (Example: McFarlane Toys) Occasionally, shows which were intended more for children find a following among adults, and you can see a bit of a crossover, with products from that show oriented towards both adults and children. ("Gundam" model kits) An early example of this phenomenon was the cartoon character Little Lulu, who became licensed to products for adults, such as Kleenex facial tissue.  Sometimes a brand of non-media products can achieve enough recognition and respect that simply putting its name or images on a completely unrelated item can sell that item. (An example would be Harley-Davidson branded clothing.)

In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to the variety of products available for sale and the display of those products in such a way that it stimulates interest and entices customers to make a purchase.


Life.

Ferdinand Tönnies was born 26 July 1855 on the Haubuarg 'De Reap", Oldenswort on the Eiderstedt Peninsula into a wealthy farmer's family in North Frisia, Schleswig, then under Danish rule. He was the third child of church chief and farmer August Ferdinand Tönnies (1822–1883) and his wife Ida Frederica (born Mau, 1826–1915) who came from a theological family from East Holstein. The two had seven children, four sons and three daughters. On the day he was born, Ferdinand Tönnies received the baptismal name of Ferdinand Julius.  Tönnies was the only sociologist of his generation who came from the countryside. At the age of 16, he graduated from high school in Husum and later studied at the universities of Jena, Bonn, Leipzig, Berlin, and Tübingen. At age 22, he received a doctorate in philology at the University of Tübingen in 1877 (with a Latin thesis on the ancient Siwa Oasis). At the age of 25, he habilitated with a thesis on the life and work of Thomas Hobbes at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel. He taught at the University of Kiel from 1909 to 1933 and eventually became a private lecturer. He held this post at the University of Kiel for only three years. Because he sympathized with the Hamburg dockers' strike of 1896, the conservative Prussian government considered him to be a social democrat, and Tönnies would not be called to a professorial chair until 1913. He returned to Kiel as a professor emeritus in 1921 where he took on a teaching position in sociology and taught until 1933 when he was ousted by the Nazis, due to earlier publications in which he had criticized them. Remaining in Kiel, he died three years later in 1936.  Many of his writings on sociological theories—including "Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft" (1887)—furthered pure sociology. He coined the metaphysical term "Voluntarism". Tönnies also contributed to the study of social change, particularly on public opinion, customs and technology, crime, and suicide. He also had a vivid interest in methodology, especially statistics, and sociological research, inventing his own technique of statistical association.

"Gemeinschaft" and "Gesellschaft".

Tönnies distinguished between two types of social groupings. "Gemeinschaft"—often translated as "community" (or left untranslated)—refers to groupings based on feelings of togetherness and on mutual bonds, which are felt as a goal to be kept up, their members being means for this goal. "Gesellschaft"—often translated as "society"—on the other hand, refers to groups that are sustained by it being instrumental for their members' individual aims and goals.  "Gemeinschaft" may be exemplified historically by a family or a neighborhood in a pre-modern (rural) society; "Gesellschaft" by a joint-stock company or a state in a modern society, i.e. the society when Tönnies lived. "Gesellschaft" relationships arose in an urban and capitalist setting, characterized by individualism and impersonal monetary connections between people. Social ties were often instrumental and superficial, with self-interest and exploitation increasingly the norm. Examples are corporations, states, or voluntary associations. In his book "Einteilung der Soziologie" (Classification of Sociology) he distinguished between three disciplines of sociology the latter being Pure or Theoretical ("reine, theoretische") Sociology, Applied ("angewandte") Sociology, and Empirical ("emprische") Sociology.  His distinction between social groupings is based on the assumption that there are only two basic forms of an actor's will, to approve of other men. For Tönnies, such an approval is by no means self-evident; he is quite influenced by Thomas Hobbes. Following his "essential will" (""Wesenwille""), an actor will see himself as a means to serve the goals of social grouping; very often it is an underlying, subconscious force. Groupings formed around an essential will are called a "Gemeinschaft". The other will is the "arbitrary will" (""Kürwille""): An actor sees a social grouping as a means to further his individual goals; so it is purposive and future-oriented. Groupings around the latter are called "Gesellschaft". Whereas the membership in a "Gemeinschaft" is self-fulfilling, a "Gesellschaft" is instrumental for its members. In pure sociology—theoretically—these two normal types of will are to be strictly separated; in applied sociology—empirically—they are always mixed.

Criticisms.

Tönnies' distinction between "Gemeinschaft" and "Gesellschaft", like others between tradition and modernity, has been criticized for over-generalizing differences between societies, and implying that all societies were following a similar evolutionary path, an argument which he never proclaimed. The equilibrium in "Gemeinschaft" is achieved through means of social control, such as morals, conformism, and exclusion, while "Gesellschaft" keeps its equilibrium through police, laws, tribunals and prisons. Amish, Hassidic communities are examples of "Gemeinschaft", while states are types of "Gesellschaft". Rules in "Gemeinschaft" are implicit, while "Gesellschaft" has explicit rules (written laws).

Ferdinand Tönnies (; Oldwenswort, 26 July 1855 – Kiel, 9 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist and philosopher. He was a major contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for his distinction between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft ("Community and Society"). He co-founded the German Society for Sociology alongside Max Weber and Georg Simmel and many other founders. He was president of the society from 1909 to 1934, after which he was ousted for having criticized the Nazis. Tönnies was considered the first German sociologist proper, published over 900 works and contributed to many areas of sociology and philosophy.


Plot.

Andri is a young man who has been raised by the Teacher ("der Lehrer") and the Mother ("die Mutter") as their Jewish adopted son alongside their daughter Barblin; the Teacher claims to have rescued Andri from the anti-Semitic Blacks ("die Schwarzen") in the neighbouring country. Apart from Andri and Barblin, the other characters are referred to by their occupations or roles (though most do have names). After some of twelve scenes (which are called "Bilder", meaning "pictures"), characters come forth to a witness box and talk about Andri's death in the past tense (each additional scene is denoted "Vordergrund", which means "foreground"). In this way, information about Andri's parentage and fate is gradually revealed. Each townsperson attempts to rationalise their involvement in Andri's death; only the Priest ("der Pater") is willing to accept any guilt. Every character alive at the end of the play makes such a statement, except for Barblin, the Mother, and the non-speaking characters.  At the beginning of the play, Andri is engaged to Barblin. The Soldier ("der Soldat") is interested in her sexually, but she strongly dislikes him. The townspeople hold anti-Semitic views, and there are rumours of a coming invasion by the Blacks. The Teacher sells land to the Landlord ("der Wirt") so that he can pay the Carpenter ("der Tischler") to take on Andri as an apprentice. However, Andri is later dismissed from his apprenticeship when the Carpenter thinks that Andri has made a poor-quality chair, which was in fact made by the Journeyman ("der Geselle"), who does not admit to it. The Carpenter instead employs Andri as a salesman.  The Doctor ("der Doktor") makes anti-Semitic remarks in front of Andri, unaware that Andri believes that he is Jewish. Andri tells the Teacher and the Mother that he and Barblin want to marry, and that they have been in love since childhood. The Teacher forbids the marriage without giving a reason; Andri thinks that it is because he is Jewish. The Teacher says (in an aside) that Andri is in fact his biological son. He tries to tell Andri this, but Andri has embraced his Jewishness and refuses to listen. At the same time, the Soldier rapes Barblin; Andri discovers that they had sex.  The Mother, believing Andri to be a Jew, asks the Priest to speak to Andri to help him accept his Jewishness. The Señora ("die Senora") then arrives in town; the townspeople are prejudiced against her because she is a foreigner. She helps Andri after he is assaulted by the Soldier. It is revealed that the Señora is Andri's real mother, but she leaves the town without telling Andri this (she gives Andri a ring). The Mother learns the truth about Andri's parentage, and the Teacher asks the Priest to explain the truth to Andri. Andri is not at all receptive and believes his fate to be sealed. The Señora is killed after a stone is thrown at her, and the Landlord claims that Andri is responsible (it is heavily implied that the Landlord killed her).  The Blacks invade, and the Soldier defects and joins them. The townspeople search for Andri, believing him to be a murderer; Andri hides outside, where the Teacher tries to persuade him of the truth, and then inside the Teacher's house with Barblin. Andri confronts Barblin about her relationship with the Soldier, and tells her to kiss him; he is not acting rationally at this point. The Soldier enters the house and arrests Andri.  The Blacks conduct a "Jew-Show" ("die Judenschau") in the town square, led by the "Jew-Inspector" ("der Judenschauer"), to find the Señora's killer. This is shown to be a show trial; despite Barblin and the Mother's attempts to disrupt the process, the other townspeople co-operate. Andri does not defend himself, and is killed by soldiers, who are implied to cut off his finger to take the Señora's ring. Afterwards, the Teacher hangs himself. Barblin has her head shaved (earlier in the play, the Blacks are rumoured to do to this the wives of Jews) and goes mad. She does not fully accept that Andri has died, and leaves his shoes on the stage, stopping people from touching them.

Dramatic techniques.

Andorra is an example of epic theatre (as opposed to classical theatre), which was popularised by Bertolt Brecht in the early 20th century. Epic theatre aims to activate the audience into thinking about the important questions and ideas within the play so that he or she can form their own rational opinion for themselves after having been an active, critical observer.  Frisch uses the "Verfremdungseffekt" (distancing effect) throughout the play, with the aim of distancing the audience from the action so that they can think about the themes of the play rather than getting immersed in the plot. Frisch uses these techniques, as he wanted to create a dramatic situation where a character is mistaken for a Jew when he really wasn't one. All the characters and events are subservient to this central idea.  Their personality is otherwise completely irrelevant to the plot, and it would only divert the audience's attention from what is important if these characters had a personality.

Themes.

The play was written fifteen years after the end of World War II and is more of a study of cultural prejudice than a specific reflection on the war. However, it concerns more than just prejudice: many of the characters have something to gain from Andri's being a Jew: the Teacher has been able to present himself as a Good Samaritan, the Soldier can get Barblin, the Carpenter can make money; even the Priest can demonstrate his Christian sympathy for the outsider. The motif of whitewashing, with which the play starts and ends, points to hypocrisy as a central theme.  Another recurring theme is people's shoes, and how they represent the roles assigned to their wearers. This idea is likely to have been inspired by the phrase "to put oneself in someone else's shoes", which exists in German as in English. At the end of the play, Andri's shoes are left on the stage; Barblin asks the other characters not to touch them until he comes back, although Andri is dead.

References.

Bibliography

Andorra is a play written by the Swiss dramatist Max Frisch in 1961. The original text came from a prose sketch Frisch had written in his diary titled "Der andorranische Jude" ("The Andorran Jew"). The Andorra in Frisch's play is fictional and not intended to be a representation of the real Andorra located between France and Spain. Frisch has stated that the title "Andorra" had only been intended as a working title but later liked using the term "Andorrans" so much he kept it.


Composition.

Produced in salivary glands, human saliva comprises 99.5% water, but also contains many important substances, including electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and various enzymes.

Daily salivary output.

There is much debate about the amount of saliva that is produced in a healthy person. Production is estimated at 1500ml per day and is generally accepted that during sleep the amount drops significantly. In humans, the submandibular gland contributes around 70–75% of secretion, while the parotid gland secretes about 20–25% and small amounts are secreted from the other salivary glands.

Functions.

Saliva contributes to the digestion of food and to the maintenance of oral hygiene. Without normal salivary function the frequency of dental caries, gum disease (gingivitis and periodontitis), and other oral problems increases significantly.

Lubricant.

Saliva coats the oral mucosa mechanically protecting it from trauma during eating, swallowing, and speaking. Mouth soreness is very common in people with reduced saliva (xerostomia) and food (especially dry food) sticks to the inside of the mouth.

Digestion.

The digestive functions of saliva include moistening food and helping to create a food bolus. The lubricative function of saliva allows the food bolus to be passed easily from the mouth into the esophagus. Saliva contains the enzyme amylase, also called ptyalin, which is capable of breaking down starch into simpler sugars such as maltose and dextrin that can be further broken down in the small intestine. About 30% of starch digestion takes place in the mouth cavity. Salivary glands also secrete salivary lipase (a more potent form of lipase) to begin fat digestion. Salivary lipase plays a large role in fat digestion in newborn infants as their pancreatic lipase still needs some time to develop.

Role in taste.

Saliva is very important in the sense of taste. It is the liquid medium in which chemicals are carried to taste receptor cells (mostly associated with lingual papillae). Persons with little saliva often complain of dysgeusia (i.e. disordered taste, e.g. reduced ability to taste, or having a bad, metallic taste at all times). A rare condition identified to affect taste is that of "", or excessive amounts of sodium in saliva that is "not" caused by any other condition (e.g., "Sjögren syndrome"), causing everything to taste'salty'.

Production.

The production of saliva is stimulated both by the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic.  The saliva stimulated by sympathetic innervation is thicker, and saliva stimulated parasympathetically is more fluid-like.  Sympathetic stimulation of saliva is to facilitate respiration, whereas parasympathetic stimulation is to facilitate digestion.  Parasympathetic stimulation leads to acetylcholine (ACh) release onto the salivary acinar cells. ACh binds to muscarinic receptors, specifically M, and causes an increased intracellular calcium ion concentration (through the IP/DAG second messenger system). Increased calcium causes vesicles within the cells to fuse with the apical cell membrane leading to secretion. ACh also causes the salivary gland to release kallikrein, an enzyme that converts kininogen to lysyl-bradykinin. Lysyl-bradykinin acts upon blood vessels and capillaries of the salivary gland to generate vasodilation and increased capillary permeability, respectively. The resulting increased blood flow to the acini allows the production of more saliva. In addition, Substance P can bind to Tachykinin NK-1 receptors leading to increased intracellular calcium concentrations and subsequently increased saliva secretion. Lastly, both parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous stimulation can lead to myoepithelium contraction which causes the expulsion of secretions from the secretory acinus into the ducts and eventually to the oral cavity.  Sympathetic stimulation results in the release of norepinephrine. Norepinephrine binding to α-adrenergic receptors will cause an increase in intracellular calcium levels leading to more fluid vs. protein secretion. If norepinephrine binds β-adrenergic receptors, it will result in more protein or enzyme secretion vs. fluid secretion. Stimulation by norepinephrine initially decreases blood flow to the salivary glands due to constriction of blood vessels but this effect is overtaken by vasodilation caused by various local vasodilators.  Saliva production may also be pharmacologically stimulated by the so-called sialagogues. It can also be suppressed by the so-called antisialagogues.

Behaviour.

Spitting.

Spitting is the act of forcibly ejecting saliva or other substances from the mouth. In many parts of the world, it is considered rude and a social taboo, and has even been outlawed in many countries. In Western countries, for example, it has often been outlawed for reasons of public decency and attempting to reduce the spread of disease; however, these laws are often not strictly enforced. In Singapore, the fine for spitting may be as high as SGD$2,000 for multiple offenses, and one can even be arrested. In some other parts of the world, such as in China, expectoration is more socially acceptable (even if officially disapproved of or illegal), and spittoons are still a common appearance in some cultures. Some animals, even humans in some cases, use spitting as an automatic defensive maneuver. Camels are well known for doing this, though most domestic camels are trained not to.  Because saliva can contain large amounts of virus copies in infected individuals (for example, in people infected with SARS-CoV-2), spitting in public places can pose a health hazard to the public.

Glue to construct bird nests.

Many birds in the swift family, Apodidae, produce a viscous saliva during nesting season to glue together materials to construct a nest. Two species of swifts in the genus Aerodramus build their nests using only their saliva, the base for bird's nest soup.

Wound licking.

A common belief is that saliva contained in the mouth has natural disinfectants, which leads people to believe it is beneficial to "lick their wounds". Researchers at the University of Florida at Gainesville have discovered a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF) in the saliva of mice. Wounds doused with NGF healed twice as fast as untreated and unlicked wounds; therefore, saliva can help to heal wounds in some species. NGF has not been found in human saliva; however, researchers find human saliva contains such antibacterial agents as secretory mucin, IgA, lactoferrin, lysozyme and peroxidase. It has not been shown that human licking of wounds disinfects them, but licking is likely to help clean the wound by removing larger contaminants such as dirt and may help to directly remove infective bodies by brushing them away. Therefore, licking would be a way of wiping off pathogens, useful if clean water is not available to the animal or person.

Classical conditioning.

In Pavlov's experiment, dogs were conditioned to salivate in response to a ringing bell, this stimulus is associated with a meal or hunger. Salivary secretion is also associated with nausea. Saliva is usually formed in the mouth through an act called gleeking, which can be voluntary or involuntary.

Making alcoholic beverages.

Some old cultures chewed grains to produce alcoholic beverages, such as chicha, kasiri or sake.

Substitutes.

A number of commercially available saliva substitutes exist.

Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is 99.5% water plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be extracted), enzymes (such as amylase and lipase), antimicrobial agents such as secretory IgA, and lysozymes.


Discovery.

The fossils of "Saltasaurus" were excavated by José Fernando Bonaparte, Martín Vince and Juan C. Leal between 1975 and 1977 at the Estancia "El Brete". The find was in 1977 reported in the scientific literature.  "Saltasaurus" was named and described by Bonaparte and Jaime E. Powell in 1980. The type species is "Saltasaurus loricatus". Its generic name is derived from Salta Province, the region of north-west Argentina where the first fossils were recovered. The specific name means "protected by small armoured plates" in Latin.  The holotype, PVL 4017-92, was found in a layer of the Lecho Formation dating from the early Maastrichtian stage of the Upper Cretaceous period, about seventy million years old. It consists of a sacrum connected to two ilia. Under the inventory number PVL 4017 over two hundred additional fossils have been catalogued. These include rear skull elements, teeth, vertebrae of the neck, back, hip and tail, parts of the shoulder girdle and the pelvis, and limb bones — plus various pieces of armour. These bones represent a minimum of five individuals, two adults and three juveniles or subadults.  Currently the only recognised species of "Saltasaurus" is "S. loricatus". A "S. robustus" and a "S. australis" have been suggested but these are now considered to belong to a separate genus, "Neuquensaurus". Earlier, armour plates from the area had been named as "Loricosaurus" by Friedrich von Huene who assumed them to be from an armoured ankylosaurian. It has been suggested these plates were in fact from "Saltasaurus".

Description.

"Saltasaurus" is very small compared to most other members of the Sauropoda. Powell estimated the adult length at six metres. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul estimated the maximum length at 8.5 metres, the weight at 2.5 tonnes. However, Donald Henderson in 2013 estimated the animal at in length and in weight.  The teeth of "Saltasaurus" were cylindrical, with spatulate points. "Saltasaurus" had a relatively short neck with shortened neck vertebrae. The vertebrae from the middle part of its tail had elongated centra. "Saltasaurus" had vertebral lateral fossae, pleurocoels, that resembled shallow depressions. Fossae that similarly resemble shallow depressions are known from "Malawisaurus", "Alamosaurus", "Aeolosaurus", and "Gondwanatitan". "Venenosaurus" also had depression-like fossae, but its pleurocoels penetrated deeper into the vertebrae, were divided into two chambers, and extend farther into the vertebral columns. In "Saltasaurus", the vertebral bone was generally cancellous and there were larger air chambers present as well. The limbs were short and stubby with especially short hands and feet. "Saltasaurus" had more robust radii than "Venenosaurus". The belly was extremely wide.  The osteoderms came in two types. There were larger oval plates with a length of up to twelve centimetres. These were keeled or spiked and perhaps were ordered in longitudinal rows along the back. The second type consists of small ossicles, rounded or pentagonal, about seven millimetres in diameter, that formed a continuous armour between the plates. A study in 2010 concluded that the larger plates had cancellous bone but that the ossicles had a denser bone tissue.

Palaeobiology.

Like all sauropods, "Saltasaurus" was herbivorous. Because of its barrel-like rump, shaped like a hippopotamus, Powell suggested that "Saltasaurus" was aquatic. Despite its small stature, "Saltasaurus" was still graviportal like other sauropods, meaning it could not run because its hindlimbs had to be held straight at the load-bearing phase of their walking cycle. Powell assumed adult individuals were protected against predators by their body armour, while juveniles were protected by the herd as a whole.  In the Cretaceous Period, sauropods in North America were no longer the dominant group of herbivorous dinosaurs, with the ornithopod and ceratopsian dinosaurs, such as "Edmontosaurus" and "Triceratops", becoming the most abundant (this being most evident by the Late Cretaceous epoch). However, on other landmasses such as South America and Africa (which were island continents much like modern Australia) sauropods, in particular the titanosaurs, continued to be the dominant herbivores.  "Saltasaurus" was one such titanosaur sauropod, and lived around 70 million years ago. When it was first discovered, in 1975, it forced palaeontologists to reconsider some assumptions about sauropods as "Saltasaurus" possessed crocodile-like armour (osteoderms) 10 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 in) in diameter. Previously, it had been assumed that size alone was sufficient defence for the massive sauropods. Since then, palaeontologists have investigated the possibility that other sauropods may also have had armour; for example, "Laplatasaurus".  A new discovery, from another formation, may shed light on the nesting habits of "Saltasaurus". A large titanosaurid nesting ground was discovered in Auca Mahuevo, in Patagonia, Argentina (another titanosaur nesting site has reportedly been discovered in Spain). Several hundred female saltasaurines dug holes with their back feet, laid eggs in clutches averaging around 25 eggs each, and buried the nests under dirt and vegetation. The small eggs, about 11–12 cm (4–5 in) in diameter, contained fossilised embryos, complete with skin impressions showing a mosaic armour of small bead-like scales. The armour pattern resembled that of "Saltasaurus".

Saltasaurus (which means "lizard from Salta") is a genus of titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous Period of Argentina. Small among sauropods, though still heavy by the standards of modern creatures, "Saltasaurus" was characterized by a short neck and stubby limbs. It was the first genus of sauropod known to possess armour of bony plates embedded in its skin. Such small bony plates, called osteoderms, have since been found on other titanosaurids.