Foreign affairs.

Vasili III continued the policies of his father Ivan III and spent most of his reign consolidating Ivan's gains. Vasili annexed the last surviving autonomous provinces: Pskov in 1510, appanage of Volokolamsk in 1513, principalities of Ryazan in 1521 and Novgorod-Seversky in 1522.  Vasili also took advantage of the difficult position of Sigismund of Poland to capture Smolensk, the great eastern fortress of Lithuania (siege started 1512, ended in 1514), chiefly through the aid of the rebel Lithuanian, Prince Mikhail Glinski, who provided him with artillery and engineers. The loss of Smolensk was an important injury inflicted by Russia on Lithuania in the course of the Russo-Lithuanian Wars and only the exigencies of Sigismund compelled him to acquiesce in its surrender (1522).  In 1521 Vasili received an emissary of the neighboring Iranian Safavid Empire, sent by Shah Ismail I whose ambitions were to construct an Irano-Russian alliance against the common enemy, the Ottoman Empire.  Vasili was equally successful against the Crimean Khanate. Although in 1519 he was obliged to buy off the Crimean khan, Mehmed I Giray, under the very walls of Moscow, towards the end of his reign he established Russian influence on the Volga. In 1531–32 he placed the pretender Cangali khan on the throne of Khanate of Kazan.  Basil was the first grand-duke of Moscow who adopted the title of tsar and the double-headed eagle of the Byzantine Empire.

Domestic affairs.

Regarding internal policy, Vasili III enjoyed the support of the Church in his struggle with the feudal opposition. In 1521, metropolitan Varlaam was banished for refusing to participate in Vasili's fight against an appanage prince, Vasili Ivanovich Shemyachich. Rurikid princes Vasili Shuisky and Ivan Vorotynsky were also sent into exile. The diplomat and statesman, Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev, was executed in 1525 for criticizing Vasili's policies. Maximus the Greek (publicist), Vassian Patrikeyev (statesman) and others were sentenced for the same reason in 1525 and 1531. During the reign of Vasili III, the landownership of the gentry increased, while authorities actively tried to limit immunities and privileges of boyars and the nobility.

Family life.

By 1526 when he was 47 years old, Vasili had been married to Solomonia Saburova for over 20 years with no heir to his throne being produced. Conscious of her husband's disappointment, Solomonia tried to remedy this by consulting sorcerers and going on pilgrimages. When this proved unsuccessful, Vasili consulted the boyars, announcing that he did not trust his two brothers to handle Russia's affairs.  The boyars suggested that he take a new wife, and despite much opposition from the clergy, he divorced his barren wife and married Princess Elena Glinskaya, the daughter of a Serbian princess and niece of his friend Michael Glinski. Not many of the boyars approved of his choice, as Elena was of Catholic upbringing. Vasili was so smitten that he defied Russian social norms and trimmed his beard to appear younger. After three days of matrimonial festivity, the couple consummated their marriage, though initially it appeared that Elena was as sterile as Solomonia. The Russian populace began to suspect this was a sign of God's disapproval of the marriage. However, to the great joy of Vasili and the populace, the new tsaritsa gave birth to a son, who would succeed him as Ivan IV. Three years later, a second son, Yuri, was born. According to a story, Solomonia Saburova also bore a son in the convent where she had been confined, just several months after the controversial divorce.

Death.

Whilst out hunting on horseback near Volokolamsk, Vasili felt a great pain in his right hip, the result of an abscess. He was transported to the village of Kolp, where he was visited by two German doctors who were unable to stop the infection with conventional remedies. Believing that his time was short, Vasili requested to be returned to Moscow, where he was kept in the Saint Joseph Cathedral along the way. By 25 November 1533, Vasili reached Moscow and asked to be made a monk before dying. Taking on the name Varlaam, Vasili died at midnight, 4 December 1533.

Vasili III Ivanovich (, also Basil; 26 March 14793 December 1533) was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil (Гавриил). He had three brothers: Yuri, born in 1480, Simeon, born in 1487 and Andrei, born in 1490, as well as five sisters: Elena (born and died in 1474), Feodosiya (born and died in 1475), another Elena (born 1476), another Feodosiya (born 1485) and Eudoxia (born 1492). He is sometimes mockingly referred to as Vasili the Adequate due to his rule taking place between those of Ivan the Great and his son Ivan the Terrible, as well as the relative uneventfulness of his reign.


History and etymology.

During Roman times, in the provinces of upper and lower Pannonia (today Hungary and Slavonia), taxes were collected in the then highly valued marten skins. Hence the Croatian word "marturina" ("tax"), which derived from the Medieval Latin word for "marten" "martus", which came from Proto-Germanic "*marþuz" through Old Dutch and Old French (modern Croatian for "marten": "kuna"). The kuna was a currency unit in several Slavic states, most notably Kievan Rus and its successors until the early 15th century. It was equal to (later ) gryvna of silver. The plural form of kuna in the Croatian language is "kune".  It has no relation to the various Slavic currencies named "koruna" (translated as "kruna" in Croatian) which means "crown".  In the Middle Ages, many foreign monies were used in Croatia, but since at least 1018 a local currency was in use. Between 1260 and 1380, Croatian Viceroys issued a marten-adorned silver coin called the banovac. However, the diminishing autonomy of Croatia within the Croatian-Hungarian Kingdom led to the gradual disappearance of that currency in the 14th century.  The idea of a kuna currency reappeared in 1939 when Banovina of Croatia, an autonomous province established within Kingdom of Yugoslavia, planned to issue its own money, along with the Yugoslav dinar. In 1941, when the Ustaše regime formed the Independent State of Croatia, they introduced the Independent State of Croatia kuna. This currency remained in circulation until 1945, when it – along with competing issues by the communist Partisans – disappeared with the establishment of FPR Yugoslavia and was replaced by the Yugoslav dinar.

Modern currency.

The modern kuna was introduced on May 30, 1994, starting a period of transition from the Croatian dinar, introduced in 1991, which ended on December 31, 1994. One kuna was equivalent to 1000 dinars at a fixed exchange rate. The kuna was pegged to the German mark from the start. With the replacement of the mark by the euro, the kuna's peg effectively switched to the euro.  The choice of the name "kuna" was controversial because the same currency name had been used by the Independent State of Croatia kuna, but this was dismissed as a red herring, since the same name was also in use during the Banovina of Croatia and by the ZAVNOH. An alternative proposal for the name of the new currency was "kruna" (crown), divided into 100 "banica" (viceroy's wife), but this was deemed too similar to the Austro-Hungarian krone and found inappropriate for the country which is a republic, even though the Czech Republic and, until 2008, Slovakia have used currencies called "crown".  The self-proclaimed Serbian entity Republic of Serbian Krajina did not use the kuna or the Croatian dinar. Instead, they issued their own Krajina dinar until the region was reintegrated into Croatia in 1995.  A long-time policy of the Croatian National Bank has been to keep the fluctuations of the kuna's exchange rate against the euro (or, previously, the mark) within a relatively stable range. Since the introduction of the euro in 1999, the exchange rate between the two currencies rarely fluctuated to a substantial degree, remaining at a near constant 7.4:1 (HRK to EUR) rate. Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July 2013 and it obliged to join the European Monetary System once the conditions for transition are met. The kuna is expected to be replaced by the euro, even though the initial time estimate of standard four years after joining the European Union proved too short.

Coins.

In 1994, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 lipa (Croatian word for linden or tilia tree), 1, 2, 5 and 25 kuna. The coins are issued in two versions: one with the name of the plant or animal in Croatian (issued in odd years), the other with the name in Latin (issued in even years). Overall more coins have been minted with Croatian names than with names in Latin.  Due to their low value, 1 and 2 lipa coins are rarely used. Since 2009, these coins are no longer minted, but the Croatian National Bank has stated that it had no plans for withdrawing them, and the 1 and 2 lipa coins are still minted as non-circulating.

Commemorative coins.

Commemorative coins of the Croatian kuna have been issued since 1994.

Banknotes.

The notes were designed by Miroslav Šutej and Vilko Žiljak, and all feature prominent Croatians on front and architectural motifs on back. The geometric figures at lower left on front (except the 5-kuna note) are intaglio printed for recognition by the blind people. To the right of the coat of arms on front is a microprinted version of the Croatian national anthem, Lijepa naša domovino ("Our Beautiful Homeland"). The overall design is reminiscent of Deutsche Mark banknotes of the fourth series.  The first series of notes was dated 31 October 1993. The 5, 10 and 20 kuna notes from this series were withdrawn on 1 April 2007, and the 50, 100 and 200 kuna notes were withdrawn on 1 January 2010, but remain exchangeable at the HNB in Zagreb.  New series of notes with similar designs but improved security features were released in 2001, 2004, 2012 and 2014.

The kuna is the currency of Croatia, in use since 1994 (sign: kn; code: HRK). It is subdivided into 100 lipa. The kuna is issued by the Croatian National Bank and the coins are minted by the Croatian Monetary Institute. The plural form of the kuna in Croatian is kune.


History.

The episcopal see was established in ancient Roman times in the city of Mainz, which had been a Roman provincial capital, Moguntiacum. The first bishops before the 4th century have legendary names, beginning with Crescens. The first verifiable Bishop of Mainz was Martinus in 343. The ecclesiastical and secular importance of Mainz dates from the accession of St. Boniface to the see in 747. Boniface was previously an archbishop though without an assigned see, but that ecclesiastical status did not immediately devolve upon the see itself until his successor Lullus; during his reign Mainz became an archdiocese, in 781. Another early bishop of Mainz was Aureus of Mainz.  The territory of the Electorate included several non-contiguous blocks of territory: lands near Mainz on both the left and right banks of the Rhine; territory along the Main River above Frankfurt (including the district of Aschaffenburg); the Eichsfeld region in Lower Saxony and Thuringia; and the territory around Erfurt in Thuringia.  As was generally the case in the Holy Roman Empire, the territory of a prince-bishopric or archbishopric differed from that of the corresponding diocese or archdiocese, which was the purely spiritual jurisdiction of the prince-bishop or archbishop. During the early modern age, the archdiocese of Mainz (see map below) was the largest ecclesiastical province of Germany, covering Mainz and 10 suffragant dioceses.  In 1802, Mainz lost its archiepiscopal character. In the secularizations that accompanied the "" (German mediatization) of 1803, the seat of the elector, Karl Theodor von Dalberg, was moved to Regensburg, and the electorate lost its left bank territories to France, its right bank areas along the Main below Frankfurt to Hesse-Darmstadt and the Nassau princes, and Eichsfeld and Erfurt to the Kingdom of Prussia. Dalberg retained the Aschaffenburg area as the Principality of Aschaffenburg. In 1810 Dalberg merged Aschaffenburg, Frankfurt, Wetzlar, Hanau, and Fulda, to form the new Grand Duchy of Frankfurt in 1810. Dalberg resigned in 1813 and in 1815 the Congress of Vienna divided his territories between the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the Free City of Frankfurt.  The modern Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz was founded in 1802 when Mainz lost its archdiocese status and its territory west of the Rhine River became a mere diocese within the territory of France. In 1814 its jurisdiction was extended over the territory of Hesse-Darmstadt. Since then it has had two cardinals and via various concordats was allowed to retain the medieval tradition of the cathedral chapter electing a successor to the bishop.

The Electorate of Mainz ( or ', ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz was the Primate of Germany ('), a purely honorary dignity that was unsuccessfully claimed from time to time by other archbishops. There were only two other ecclesiastical Prince-electors in the Empire: the Electorate of Cologne and the Electorate of Trier.


Background.

Frederick II of Prussia had won a bloody battle against Austria and was now besieging Prague. Austrian Marshal Daun arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Prague, but picked up 16,000 men who escaped from the battle. With this army he slowly moved to relieve Prague, forcing the Prussian forces to split.  Frederick took 34,000 of his men to intercept Daun. Daun knew that the Prussian forces were too weak to both besiege Prague and keep him away from Prague for a longer time (or to fight the Austrian army reinforced by the Prague garrison), so his Austrian forces took defensive positions on hills near Kolín. Frederick was forced to attack the Austrians, who were waiting on the defensive with a force of 35,160 infantry, 18,630 cavalry and 154 guns. The battlefield of Kolín consisted of gently rolling hill slopes.  Frederick's plan was to envelop the Austrian right wing with most of his army. Along the Austrian lines (Prussian right wing and center) he kept only enough troops to hide the concentration on the Prussian left wing. The Prussian main force would turn right toward the Austrians to attack their right flank. The Prussian left wing would locally outnumber the Austrians. After the Austrian right wing was defeated the battle would be decided.

Battle.

Frederick's main force turned toward the Austrians too early and attacked their defensive positions frontally instead of outflanking them. Austrian Croatian light infantry (Grenzers) played an important role in this; harassing the regular Prussian infantry under Generals Christopher Hermann von Manstein and Joachim Christian von Tresckow, they provoked them into a premature attack.  The disunited Prussian columns blundered into a series of uncoordinated attacks, each against superior numbers. By the afternoon, after about five hours of fighting, the Prussians were disoriented and Daun's troops were driving them back. Prussian cuirassiers under Oberst Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (promoted to major-general on that day) finally showed up. There were many charges and counter-charges on the Křečhoř Hill. The first Guard battalion under General Friedrich Bogislav von Tauentzien saved the Prussian army from a worse fate, covering the Prussian retreat.

Results.

The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war, and forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice. The Austrians, reinforced by the 48,000 troops in Prague, followed them, 100,000 strong, and, falling on Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, who was retreating eccentrically (for commissariat reasons) at Zittau, inflicted a severe check upon him. The king was compelled to abandon Bohemia.

The Battle of Kolín on 18 June 1757 saw 44,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 32,000 Prussians under Frederick the Great during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War). The Prussians lost nearly 14,000 men, while the Austrians lost 8,000 men.


Appearance.

The Malinois is a medium-to-large and square-proportioned dog in the sheepdog family. The Malinois has a short mahogany coat with black markings. It has black erect ears and a black muzzle. It has a square build in comparison to the German Shepherd.

Coat and colour.

Due to its history as a working dog (i.e., being bred for function over form), the Malinois can vary greatly in appearance. The acceptable colours of pure-bred Malinois are a base colour fawn to mahogany and tan with a black mask and black ears with some degree of black tipping on the hairs, giving an overlay appearance. The colour tends to be lighter with less black agouti or overlay on the dog's underside, breeching, and inner leg. White markings are also allowed on the tips of the toes and the chest. A Belgian malinois may have a longer and darker hair coat than the typical malinois, but may still be referred to as a Belgian malinois.  The other varieties of Belgian Shepherd are distinguished by their coats and colours: the Tervuren is the same colour as the Malinois but has long hair, the wire-coated Laekenois is fawn and lacks the black mask and ears, and the Groenendael (registered as Belgian Sheepdog by the American Kennel Club) has long hair and is solid black. When the Malinois was first bred, the four breeds would usually be cross bred; this would result in Malinois with longer hair, or even a darker coat. Today the four breeds are considered different breeds.

Size.

Males are about, while females are about at the withers. Female Malinois average ; males are heavier at.

Temperament.

Well-raised and trained Malinois are usually active, intelligent, friendly, protective, alert, and hard-working. Belgian Malinois exhibit energy levels that are among the highest of all dog breeds. A typical Malinois will have puppy-like energy until the age of three, though it is not uncommon for them to exhibit this energy level until the age of five. Many have excessively high prey drive. Some may be excessively exuberant or playful, especially when young.  They can be destructive or develop neurotic behaviours if not provided enough stimulation and exercise. This often causes problems for owners who are unfamiliar with the breed and are not prepared to provide the exercise they require or a job for them to do. They are medium-sized, strong dogs that require consistent obedience training, and enjoy being challenged with new tasks. They are known to be very easy to train, due to their high drive for rewards.

Working dog.

In Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, the Malinois is bred primarily as a working dog for personal protection, detection, police work, search and rescue, and sport work like Schutzhund. The United States Secret Service and Royal Australian Air Force use the breed along with other working lines such as Dutch Shepherd, and also GSD. In the United States Armed Forces, German shepherds lead the way, but close behind follows the Belgian Malinois.  In India, the ITBP and National Security Guard (NSG) commando unit have inducted Malinois breed into its K-9 unit.  Malinois dogs are used by the Oketz, the K-9 unit of the Israel Defense Forces. Malinois are a suitable size to be picked up by their handlers when required, while still being large enough to control human aggressors.  In 2011, United States Navy SEALs used a Belgian Malinois war dog named "Cairo" in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed.  In 2014, two Belgian Malinois dogs, Jordan and Hurricane, were used to stop a man who jumped over a fence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Belgian Malinois have also been called a "game changer" in the fight against rhino poaching in South Africa's Kruger National Park, where one dog, K9 Killer, has been responsible for more than 100 arrests.  In 2019, a male Belgian Malinois, Conan, was used during the Barisha raid to chase Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Activities.

Malinois can compete in dog agility trials and in dock diving, flyball, herding, obedience, showmanship, and tracking events, and are one of the most popular breeds used in protection sports such as the Schutzhund. In America, herding is a popular activity.  Herding instincts can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. In 2011, the AKC awarded 39 new herding titles to Belgian Malinois.

Health.

The average lifespan of the Belgian Malinois is 10–12 years. Notable health problems prevalent to the Malinois include cataracts, epilepsy, thyroid disease, progressive retinal atrophy, and hip dysplasia.

Notable dogs.

Dickin Medal recipients.

Awarded the Dickin Medal for conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving in military conflict

PDSA Gold medal recipients.

Awarded the PDSA Gold Medal for animal bravery:

The Malinois is a medium-to-large breed of dog, sometimes classified as a variety of the Belgian Shepherd dog rather than as a separate breed. The name "Malinois" is derived from Malines, the French name for the breed's Flemish city of origin, Mechelen.


Structure.

Layers.

The peritoneum is one continuous sheet, forming two layers and a potential space between them: the peritoneal cavity.  The outer layer, the parietal peritoneum, is attached to the abdominal wall and the pelvic walls. The tunica vaginalis, the serous membrane covering the male testis, is derived from the vaginal process, an outpouching of the parietal peritoneum.  The inner layer, the visceral peritoneum, is wrapped around the visceral organs, located inside the intraperitoneal space for protection. It is thinner than the parietal peritoneum. The mesentery is a double layer of visceral peritoneum that attaches to the gastrointestinal tract. There are often blood vessels, nerves, and other structures between these layers. The space between these two layers is technically outside of the peritoneal sac, and thus not in the peritoneal cavity.  The potential space between these two layers is the peritoneal cavity, filled with a small amount (about 50 mL) of slippery serous fluid that allows the two layers to slide freely over each other.

Subdivisions.

Peritoneal folds are omenta, mesenteries and ligaments; they connect organs to each other or to the abdominal wall. There are two main regions of the peritoneal cavity, connected by the omental foramen.  The mesentery is the part of the peritoneum through which most abdominal organs are attached to the abdominal wall and supplied with blood and lymph vessels and nerves.

Other ligaments and folds.

In addition, in the pelvic cavity there are several structures that are usually named not for the peritoneum, but for the areas defined by the peritoneal folds:

Classification of abdominal structures.

The structures in the abdomen are classified as intraperitoneal, retroperitoneal or infraperitoneal depending on whether they are covered with visceral peritoneum and whether they are attached by mesenteries (mensentery, mesocolon).  Structures that are "intraperitoneal" are generally mobile, while those that are "retroperitoneal" are relatively fixed in their location.  Some structures, such as the kidneys, are "primarily retroperitoneal", while others such as the majority of the duodenum, are "secondarily retroperitoneal", meaning that structure developed intraperitoneally but lost its mesentery and thus became retroperitoneal.

Development.

The peritoneum develops ultimately from the mesoderm of the trilaminar embryo. As the mesoderm differentiates, one region known as the lateral plate mesoderm splits to form two layers separated by an intraembryonic coelom. These two layers develop later into the visceral and parietal layers found in all serous cavities, including the peritoneum.  As an embryo develops, the various abdominal organs grow into the abdominal cavity from structures in the abdominal wall. In this process they become enveloped in a layer of peritoneum. The growing organs "take their blood vessels with them" from the abdominal wall, and these blood vessels become covered by peritoneum, forming a mesentery.  Peritoneal folds develop from the ventral and dorsal mesentery of the embryo.

Clinical significance.

Peritoneal dialysis.

In one form of dialysis, called peritoneal dialysis, a glucose solution is sent through a tube into the peritoneal cavity. The fluid is left there for a prescribed amount of time to absorb waste products, and then removed through the tube. The reason for this effect is the high number of arteries and veins in the peritoneal cavity. Through the mechanism of diffusion, waste products are removed from the blood.

Peritonitis.

Peritonitis is the inflammation of the peritoneum. It is more commonly associated to infection from a punctured organ of the abdominal cavity. It can also be provoked by the presence of fluids that produce chemical irritation, such as gastric acid or pancreatic juice. Peritonitis causes fever, tenderness, and pain in the abdominal area, which can be localized or diffuse. The treatment involves rehydration, administration of antibiotics, and surgical correction of the underlying cause. Mortality is higher in the elderly and if present for a prolonged time.

Primary peritoneal carcinoma.

Primary peritoneal cancer is a cancer of the cells lining the peritoneum.

Etymology.

"Peritoneum" is derived from Greek περιτόναιον "peritonaion" "peritoneum, abdominal membrane" via Latin. In Greek, περί "peri" means "around," while τείνω "teino" means "to stretch"; thus, "peritoneum" means "stretched over."

The peritoneum is the serous membrane forming the lining of the abdominal cavity or coelom in amniotes and some invertebrates, such as annelids. It covers most of the intra-abdominal (or coelomic) organs, and is composed of a layer of mesothelium supported by a thin layer of connective tissue. This peritoneal lining of the cavity supports many of the abdominal organs and serves as a conduit for their blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves.


Usefulness and limitations of income statement.

Income statements may help investors and creditors determine the past financial performance of the enterprise, predict the future performance, and assess the capability of generating future cash flows using the report of income and expenses.  However, information of an income statement has several limitations:  Guidelines for statements of comprehensive income and income statements of business entities are formulated by the International Accounting Standards Board and numerous country-specific organizations, for example the FASB in the U.S..  Names and usage of different accounts in the income statement depend on the type of organization, industry practices and the requirements of different jurisdictions.  If applicable to the business, summary values for the following items should be included in the income statement:

Operating section.

"Expenses" recognised in the income statement should be analysed either by nature (raw materials, transport costs, staffing costs, depreciation, employee benefit etc.) or by function (cost of sales, selling, administrative, etc.). (IAS 1.99) If an entity categorises by function, then additional information on the nature of expenses, at least, – depreciation, amortisation and employee benefits expense – must be disclosed. (IAS 1.104) The major exclusive of costs of goods sold, are classified as operating expenses. These represent the resources expended, except for inventory purchases, in generating the revenue for the period. Expenses often are divided into two broad sub classicifications selling expenses and administrative expenses.

Irregular items.

They are reported separately because this way users can better predict future cash flows - irregular items most likely will not recur. These are reported net of taxes.  Cumulative effect of changes in accounting policies (principles) is the difference between the book value of the affected assets (or liabilities) under the old policy (principle) and what the book value would have been if the new principle had been applied in the prior periods. For example, valuation of inventories using LIFO instead of weighted average method. The changes should be applied retrospectively and shown as adjustments to the "beginning" balance of affected components in Equity. All comparative financial statements should be restated. (IAS 8)  However, changes in estimates (e.g., estimated useful life of a fixed asset) only requires prospective changes. (IAS 8)  No items may be presented in the income statement as extraordinary items under IFRS regulations, but are permissible under US GAAP. (IAS 1.87) "Extraordinary items" are both unusual (abnormal) and infrequent, for example, unexpected natural disaster, expropriation, prohibitions under new regulations. [Note: natural disaster might not qualify depending on location (e.g., frost damage would not qualify in Canada but would in the tropics).]  Additional items may be needed to fairly present the entity's results of operations. (IAS 1.85)

Disclosures.

Certain items must be disclosed separately in the notes (or the statement of comprehensive income), if material, including: (IAS 1.98)

Earnings per share.

Because of its importance, earnings per share (EPS) are required to be disclosed on the face of the income statement. A company which reports any of the irregular items must also report EPS for these items either in the statement or in the notes.  formula_1  There are two forms of EPS reported:

Sample income statement.

The following income statement is a very brief example prepared in accordance with IFRS. It does not show all possible kinds of accounts, but it shows the most usual ones. Please note the difference between IFRS and US GAAP when interpreting the following sample income statements.

Bottom line.

“Bottom line” is the net income that is calculated after subtracting the expenses from revenue. Since this forms the last line of the income statement, it is informally called “bottom line.” It is important to investors as it represents the profit for the year attributable to the shareholders.  After revision to IAS 1 in 2003, the Standard is now using profit or loss for the year rather than "net profit or loss" or "net income" as the descriptive term for the bottom line of the income statement.

Requirements of IFRS.

On 6 September 2007, the International Accounting Standards Board issued a revised "IAS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements", which is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009.  A business entity adopting IFRS must include:  All non-owner changes in equity (i.e., "comprehensive income" ) shall be presented in either in the statement of comprehensive income (or in a separate income statement and a statement of comprehensive income). Components of comprehensive income may not be presented in the statement of changes in equity.  "Comprehensive income" for a period includes profit or loss (net income) for that period and other comprehensive income recognised in that period.  All items of income and expense recognised in a period must be included in profit or loss unless a Standard or an Interpretation requires otherwise. (IAS 1.88) Some IFRSs require or permit that some components to be excluded from profit or loss and instead to be included in other comprehensive income. (IAS 1.89)

Items and disclosures.

The statement of comprehensive income should include: (IAS 1.82)  The following items must also be disclosed in the statement of comprehensive income as allocations for the period: (IAS 1.83)  "No" items may be presented in the statement of comprehensive income (or in the income statement, if separately presented) or in the notes as "extraordinary items".

An income statement or profit and loss account (also referred to as a profit and loss statement (P&L), statement of profit or loss, revenue statement, statement of financial performance, earnings statement, statement of earnings, operating statement, or statement of operations) is one of the financial statements of a company and shows the company's revenues and expenses during a particular period.


Liturgical context.

In the Catholic tradition, at the moment of consecration the elements (called "gifts" for liturgical purposes) are transformed (literally transubstantiated) into the body and blood of Christ. Catholic doctrine holds that the elements are not only spiritually transformed, but are (substantially) transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Although the elements retain the appearance, or "accidents," of bread and wine, they become the body and blood of Christ. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is known as the doctrine of the Corporeal Presence within the Roman Catholic tradition. Other Christians (notably in the Anglican Church, Old Catholic Church, and Lutheran Church) accept the doctrine of the Real Presence, whilst rejecting transubstantiation as a philosophical concept ("cf". sacramental union). Owing to these beliefs, the consecrated elements are given the same adoration and devotion that Christians of these traditions accord to Christ himself.  Within churches of these traditions the reserved sacrament serves as a focal point of religious devotion. In many of them, during Eucharistic adoration, the celebrant displays the sacrament in the monstrance, typically on the altar. When not being displayed, the reserved sacrament is locked in a tabernacle (more common in Roman Catholicism) or aumbry (more common in the other traditions mentioned).

Use and design.

In the service of Benediction, (the priest blesses the people with the Eucharist displayed in the monstrance. This blessing differs from the priest's blessing, as it is seen to be the blessing by Christ rather than that of the individual priest. The exposition of the monstrance during Benediction is traditionally accompanied by chanting or singing of the hymn "Tantum Ergo".  Monstrances are usually elaborate in design; most are carried by the priest. Others may be much larger fixed constructions, typically for displaying the host in a special side chapel, often called the "Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament". For portable designs, the preferred form is a sunburst on a stand, usually topped by a cross.  Medieval monstrances were more varied in form than contemporary ones. Those used for relics, and occasionally for the host, typically had a crystal cylinder in a golden stand, and those usually used for hosts had a crystal window in a flat-faced golden construction, which could stand on its base. The monstrance was most often made of silver-gilt or other precious metal, and highly decorated. In the center of the sunburst, the monstrance normally has a small round glass the size of a Host, through which the Blessed Sacrament can be seen. Behind this glass is a round container made of glass and gilded metal, called a lunette, which holds the Host securely in place. When not in the monstrance, the Host in its luna is placed in a special standing container, called a standing "pyx", in the Tabernacle. Before the current design, earlier "little shrines" or reliquaries of various shapes and sizes were used.

A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is the vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the more convenient exhibition of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic host during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It is also used as reliquary for the public display of relics of some saints. The word "monstrance" comes from the Latin word "monstrare", while the word "ostensorium" came from the Latin word "ostendere". Both terms, meaning "to show", are used for vessels intended for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, but "ostensorium" has only this meaning.


Anatomy.

Batoids are flat-bodied, and, like sharks, are cartilaginous marine fish, meaning they have a boneless skeleton made of a tough, elastic cartilage. Most batoids have five ventral slot-like body openings called gill slits that lead from the gills, but the Hexatrygonidae have six. Batoid gill slits lie under the pectoral fins on the underside, whereas a shark's are on the sides of the head. Most batoids have a flat, disk-like body, with the exception of the guitarfishes and sawfishes, while most sharks have a spindle-shaped body. Many species of batoid have developed their pectoral fins into broad flat wing-like appendages. The anal fin is absent. The eyes and spiracles are located on top of the head. Batoids have a ventrally located mouth and can considerably protrude their upper jaw (palatoquadrate cartilage) away from the cranium to capture prey. The jaws have euhyostylic type suspension, which relies completely on the hyomandibular cartilages for support. Bottom-dwelling batoids breathe by taking water in through the spiracles, rather than through the mouth as most fishes do, and passing it outward through the gills.

Reproduction.

Batoids reproduce in a number of ways. As is characteristic of elasmobranchs, batoids undergo internal fertilization. Internal fertilization is advantageous to batoids as it conserves sperm, does not expose eggs to consumption by predators, and ensures that all the energy involved in reproduction is retained and not lost to the environment. All skates and some rays are oviparous (egg laying) while other rays are ovoviviparous, meaning that they give birth to young which develop in a womb but without involvement of a placenta.  The eggs of oviparous skates are laid in leathery egg cases that are commonly known as mermaid's purses and which often wash up empty on beaches in areas where skates are common.  Capture-induced premature birth and abortion (collectively called capture-induced parturition) occurs frequently in sharks and rays when fished. Capture-induced parturition is rarely considered in fisheries management despite being shown to occur in at least 12% of live bearing sharks and rays (88 species to date).

Habitat.

Most species live on the sea floor, in a variety of geographical regions – mainly in coastal waters, although some live in deep waters to at least. Most batoids have a cosmopolitan distribution, preferring tropical and subtropical marine environments, although there are temperate and cold-water species. Only a few species, like manta rays, live in the open sea, and only a few live in freshwater, while some batoids can live in brackish bays and estuaries.

Feeding.

Most batoids have developed heavy, rounded teeth for crushing the shells of bottom-dwelling species such as snails, clams, oysters, crustaceans, and some fish, depending on the species. Manta rays feed on plankton.

Evolution.

Batoids belong to the ancient lineage of cartilaginous fishes. Fossil denticles (tooth-like scales in the skin) resembling those of today's chondrichthyans date at least as far back as the Ordovician, with the oldest unambiguous fossils of cartilaginous fish dating from the middle Devonian. A clade within this diverse family, the Neoselachii, emerged by the Triassic, with the best-understood neoselachian fossils dating from the Jurassic. The oldest confirmed ray is "Antiquaobatis", from the Pliensbachian of Germany. The clade is represented today by sharks, sawfish, rays and skates.

Classification.

The classification of batoids is currently undergoing revision; however, molecular evidence refutes the hypothesis that skates and rays are derived sharks. Nelson's 2006 "Fishes of the World" recognizes four orders. The Mesozoic Sclerorhynchoidea are basal or "incertae sedis"; they show features of the Rajiformes but have snouts resembling those of sawfishes. However, evidence indicates they are probably the sister group to sawfishes. Phylogenetic tree of Batoidea:  Order Torpediniformes  Order Rhinopristiformes  Order Rajiformes  Order Myliobatiformes

Differences between sharks and rays.

All sharks and rays are cartilaginous fishes, contrasting with bony fishes. Many rays are adapted for feeding on the bottom. Guitarfishes are somewhat between sharks and rays, displaying characteristics of both (though they are classified as rays).

Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fishes commonly known as rays. They and their close relatives, the sharks, comprise the subclass Elasmobranchii. Rays are the largest group of cartilaginous fishes, with well over 600 species in 26 families. Rays are distinguished by their flattened bodies, enlarged pectoral fins that are fused to the head, and gill slits that are placed on their ventral surfaces.


Biography.

Odermatt was born in Oberdorf, canton Nidwalden, Switzerland. He joined the Nidwalden Police in 1948. He was forced to give up his original career as a bakery and pastry chef on health grounds. As the policeman Arnold Odermatt first appeared with his Rolleiflex at the scene of an accident – to provide photos to complement the police report, people found this rather disconcerting. At that time, photography was anything other than an independent means of providing the police with evidence.  A colleague observed Arnold Odermatt as he took pictures for the force and was suspicious. He was ordered to report to his commander immediately. Odermatt managed to convince his superiors of the pioneering work he was doing. They allowed him to convert an old toilet in an observation post in Stans into a makeshift darkroom. When the observation post was moved into another building several years later, Switzerland’s first police photographer was given his own laboratory.  Arnold Odermatt's biggest role model was the famous Magnum photographer Werner Bischof. He met him once by chance, as he was on security duty on the Bürgenstock and wanted to photograph Charlie Chaplin. Odermatt's own style was characterised by sobriety and authenticity. The spartan linguistic expression of his police reports can also be found in Odermatt’s images. His craftsmanship is beyond question, nothing of note is missed by his photographic eye. In KARAMBOLAGE, his most famous series of work, you can’t see the maimed victims but you do see the ethereal, surreal sculptures of scrap metal. With the softness and melancholy of Jacques Tati, he looks at the consequences of speed and the hectic nature of modern times.  For 40 years, Arnold Odermatt captured the daily work of the Nidwalden police force. It was only rarely that the local press, the court or an insurance company were interested in his photos. It was only when his son, the film and theatre director Urs Odermatt, showed the photos in for the first time at a solo exhibition in Frankfurt am Main that the art scene first became interested in his work. After the inspiring exhibition, the photo book 'Meine Welt' followed. Suddenly the everyday observations from the central Swiss province had gained the same status as those of his well-travelled predecessor, Werner Bischof.  At an early stage in his police career, when Arnold used the camera to catalogue traffic accidents, this was a revolutionary innovation in the Swiss police. If Arnold Odermatt were to turn up at a crime scene with his camera today, he could expect to be told that photography was not for him, but was instead the job of a specially trained police photographer.

Films.

In the 1960s Arnold Odermatt documented the early construction of the Swiss motorways in Acheregg and the Lopper tunnel, with extensive photos and 16mm black-and-white film footage. In 1991 Urs Odermatt put all of this historical film material together in the documentary film Lopper.  In the 1990s, working as a stills photographer, during filming, Arnold Odermatt worked on the feature films Rotlicht!, Gekauftes Glück und Wachtmeister Zumbühl by Urs Odermatt.

Arnold Odermatt (born 25 May 1925) is a Swiss police photographer whose work spanned more than 40 years. Originally trained as a baker, he was a photographer for the Nidwalden district police from 1948 until his retirement in 1990. He is best known for his eerily beautiful black and white photographs of the aftermaths of motor vehicle accidents. Odermatt joined the police in 1948 and rose to become a lieutenant, chief of the transport police and deputy chief inspector of the Nidwaldner District Police before he retired.


Life.

Eleanor was born in 1498 at Leuven, the eldest child of Philip of Austria and Joanna of Castile, who would later become co-sovereigns of Castile. Her father was also the son of the reigning Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and his deceased consort Mary of Burgundy, while her mother was the daughter of the Catholic Monarchs; namely Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Her siblings were Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, Queen Isabella of Denmark, Queen Mary of Hungary and Queen Catherine of Portugal. She was named after her paternal great-grandmother, Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress.  When she was a child, Eleanor's relatives tried to marry her to the future King of England, Henry VIII, to whom she was betrothed. However, when Henry's father died and he became King, Henry decided to marry Eleanor's aunt, Catherine of Aragon, who was the widow of King Henry's older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Her relatives also tried to marry her to the French Kings Louis XII or Francis I or to the Polish King Sigismund I, but nothing came of these plans. Eleanor was also proposed as a marriage candidate for Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, in 1510.  In 1517 Eleanor may have had a love affair with Frederick II, Elector Palatine. Her brother King Charles, who had succeeded their elderly grandfather King Ferdinand as King of Spain the year before, once discovered her reading a love letter from Frederick. Charles forced Eleanor and Frederick to swear in front of an attorney that they were not secretly married, after which he expelled Frederick from court. She followed her brother to Spain in 1517.

Queen of Portugal.

Eleanor married her uncle by marriage, King Manuel I of Portugal, after a proposed marriage with her cousin, the future King John III of Portugal, did not occur. Her brother Charles arranged the marriage between Eleanor and the King of Portugal to avoid the possibility of Portuguese assistance for any rebellion in Castile. Manuel had previously been married to two of Eleanor's maternal aunts, Isabella of Aragon and Maria of Aragon.  Manuel and Eleanor married on 16 July 1518. They had two children: the Infante Charles (born 18 February 1520 – died 15 April 1521) and the Infanta Maria (born 8 June 1521, and who was later one of the richest princesses of Europe). She became a widow on 13 December 1521, when Manuel died of the plague. As Queen Dowager of Portugal, Eleanor returned to the court of Charles in Spain. Eleanor's sister Catherine later married Eleanor's stepson, King John III of Portugal.  In July 1523, Eleanor was engaged to Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, in an alliance between Charles and Bourbon against France, but the marriage never took place. In 1526, Eleanor was engaged to King Francis I of France during his captivity in Spain.

Queen of France.

In 1529, by the treaty called "La Paz de las Damas" ("The Ladies' Peace"), it was stipulated that the marriage should take place. She was married to Francis on 4 July 1530. They had no children.  Eleanor left Spain in the company of her future stepsons, who were now to be released having been held hostage by her brother. The group met Francis at the border, where Eleanor and Francis were married, and then departed for an official entrance to Bordeaux. Eleanor was crowned Queen of France in Saint-Denis on 31 May 1531. She was dressed in purple velvet at her coronation. Eleanor was ignored by Francis, who seldom performed his marital obligations and preferred his lover Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly. At the official entrance of Eleanor to Paris, Francis displayed himself openly to the public in a window with his lover Anne for a period of two hours.  Queen Eleanor performed as the queen of France at official occasions, such as at the wedding between her stepson Henry and Catherine de' Medici in 1533. She also performed charity and was praised for this. She also took her stepdaughters, Madeleine and Margaret, into her household to raise them further.  As the French queen, Eleanor did not have any political power; however, she was used as a contact between France and the Holy Roman Empire. Queen Eleanor was present at the peace negotiations between Francis and Charles in Aigues-Mortes in 1538. In 1544, she was given the task of entering peace negotiations with Charles and their sister Mary. In November 1544, she visited Charles in Brussels.

Later life.

As a queen dowager, Eleanor left France for Brussels in 1548. She witnessed the abdication of Charles in October 1555 and left for Spain with him and their sister Mary in August 1556. She lived with her sister in Jarandilla de la Vera, where they often visited their brother, who retired to a monastery nearby. In 1558, she met her daughter Maria in Badajoz for the first time in 28 years. Eleanor died in 1558 on the return trip from Badajoz.

Eleanor of Austria (15 November 1498 – 25 February 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–1521) and of France (1530–1547). She also held the Duchy of Touraine (1547–1558) in dower. She is called "Leonor" in Spanish and Portuguese and "Eléonore" or "Aliénor" in French.


Rules.

There are only two rules that govern racewalking. The first dictates that the athlete's back toe cannot leave the ground until the heel of the front foot has touched. Violation of this rule is known as "loss of contact." The second rule requires that the supporting leg must straighten from the point of contact with the ground and remain straightened until the body passes directly over it. These rules are judged by the unaided human eye. Athletes regularly lose contact for a few milliseconds per stride, which can be caught on film, but such a short flight phase is said to be undetectable to the human eye.  Athletes stay low to the ground by keeping their arms pumping low, close to their hips. If one sees a racewalker's shoulders rising, it may be a sign that the athlete is losing contact with the ground. What appears to be an exaggerated swivel to the hip is, in fact, a full rotation of the pelvis. Athletes aim to move the pelvis forward and to minimize sideways motion in order to achieve maximum forward propulsion. Speed is achieved by stepping quickly with the aim of rapid turnover. This minimizes the risk of the feet leaving the ground. Strides are short and quick, with pushoff coming forward from the ball of the foot, again to minimize the risk of losing contact with the ground. World-class racewalkers (male and female) can average under four and five minutes per kilometre in a 20-km racewalk.

Distances.

Races have been walked at distances as short as —at the 1920 Summer Olympics—and as long as 100 km (62.1 mi). The men's world record for the 50-mile race walk is held by Israeli Shaul Ladany, whose time of 7:23:50 in 1972 beat the world record that had stood since 1935. The modern Olympic events are the 20 km (12.4 mi) race walk (men and women) and 50 km (31 mi) race walk (men only). One example of a longer racewalking competition is the annual Paris-Colmar which is 450 to 500 km. Indoor races are 3000 m and 5000 m.

Judges.

There are judges on the course to monitor form. Three judges submitting "red cards" for violations results in disqualification. There is a scoreboard placed on the course so competitors can see their violation status. If the third violation is received, the chief judge removes the competitor from the course by showing a red paddle. For monitoring reasons, races are held on a looped course or on a track so judges get to see competitors several times during a race. A judge could also "caution" a competitor that he or she is in danger of losing form by showing a paddle that indicates either losing contact or bent knees. No judge may submit more than one card for each walker and the chief judge may not submit any cards; it is his or her job only to disqualify the offending walker. Disqualifications are routine at the elite level, such as the famous case of Jane Saville, disqualified within sight of a gold medal in front of her home crowd in the 2000 Summer Olympics, or Yet Lyu, disqualified 20 meters before the finish line at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics.

Beginnings.

Racewalking developed as one of the original track and field events of the first meeting of the English Amateur Athletics Association in 1880. The first racewalking codes came from an attempt to regulate rules for popular 19th-century long-distance competitive walking events, called pedestrianism. Pedestrianism had developed, like footraces and horse racing, as a popular working class British and American pastime, and a venue for wagering. Walkers organised the first English amateur walking championship in 1866, which was won by John Chambers, and judged by the "fair heel and toe" rule. This rather vague code was the basis for the rules codified at the first Championships Meeting in 1880 of the Amateur Athletics Association in England, the birth of modern athletics. With football (soccer), cricket, and other sports codified in the 19th century, the transition from professional pedestrianism to amateur racewalking was, while relatively late, part of a process of regularisation occurring in most modern sports at this time.

Olympics.

Racewalking is an Olympic athletics (track and field) event with distances of 20 kilometres for both men and women and 50 kilometres for men only. Racewalking first appeared in the modern Olympics in 1904 as a half-mile walk in the 'all-rounder,' the precursor to the 10-event decathlon. In 1908, stand-alone 1,500m and 3,000m racewalks were added, and—excluding 1924—there has been at least one racewalk (for men) in every Olympics since. The women's racewalk became an Olympic event only in 1992, following years of active lobbying by female internationals. A World Cup in racewalking is held biennially, and racewalk events appear in the World Athletics Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Pan American Games, among others.

World Race Walking Challenge.

Since 2003, the IAAF has organised the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, an annual worldwide competition series in which elite athletes accumulate points for the right to compete in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge Final and to share over US$200,000 of prize money. The series of televised events takes place in several countries each year including Mexico, Spain, Russia and China.

High school.

Racewalking is sometimes included in high school indoor and outdoor track meets, the rules often more relaxed. The distances walked tend to be relatively short, with the 1500 m being the most commonly held event. Racing also occurs at 3 km, 5 km and 10 km, with records kept and annual rankings published.

Top performers.

Women.

20 km.

As of June 2019

50 km.

The women's 50 km walk is a new event, having been controversially added to the World Athletics Championships for the first time in 2017.  As of May 2019:

In popular culture.

In Malcolm in the Middle season 4 episode 'Malcolm holds his tongue' Hal gets into the sport and exposes his local park rival as 'nothing but a common jogger' by proving that both of his feet leave the ground at once every 4th step.  Racewalking is sometimes derided as a contrived or "artificial" sport.  In the 1966 film "Walk, Don't Run", Jim Hutton plays a racewalker competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Cary Grant and Samantha Eggar co-star.  In 1992 long-time Olympic commentator Bob Costas compared it to "a contest to see who can whisper the loudest".

Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although it is a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. This is assessed by race judges. Typically held on either roads or on running tracks, common distances range from up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).


Clinical signs.

Swine fever causes fever, skin lesions, convulsions, Splenic Infarctions and usually (particularly in young animals) death within 15 days.  The disease has acute and chronic forms, and can range from severe, with high mortality, to mild or even unapparent.  In the acute form of the disease, in all age groups, there is fever, huddling of sick animals, loss of appetite, dullness, weakness, conjunctivitis, constipation followed by diarrhoea, and an unsteady gait. Several days after the onset of clinical signs, the ears, abdomen and inner thighs may show a purple discoloration. Animals with acute disease die within 1-2 weeks. Severe cases of the disease appear very similar to African swine fever. With low virulence strains, the only expression may be poor reproductive performance and the birth of piglets with neurologic defects such as congenital tremor  The signs are indistinguishable from those of African swine fever.

Immunization.

A small fraction of the infected pigs may survive and are rendered immune. Artificial immunization procedures were first developed by Marion Dorset.

Epidemiology.

The disease is endemic in much of Asia, Central and South America, and parts of Europe and Africa. It was believed to have been eradicated in the United Kingdom by 1966 (according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), but an outbreak occurred in East Anglia in 2000. On January 31, 1978 USDA Secretary Bob Bergland declared that the United States was free of the disease. Other regions believed free of CSF include Australia, Canada (1962), Ireland, New Zealand, and Scandinavia.

Virus.

The infectious agent responsible is a virus CSFV (previously called hog cholera virus) of the genus "Pestivirus" in the family "Flaviviridae". CSFV is closely related to the ruminant pestiviruses that cause bovine viral diarrhoea and border disease.  The effect of different CSFV strains varies widely, leading to a wide range of clinical signs. Highly virulent strains correlate with acute, obvious disease and high mortality, including neurological signs and hemorrhages within the skin.  Less virulent strains can give rise to subacute or chronic infections that may escape detection, while still causing abortions and stillbirths. In these cases, herds in high-risk areas are usually serologically tested on a thorough statistical basis.  Infected piglets born to infected but subclinical sows help maintain the disease within a population. Other signs can include lethargy, fever, immunosuppression, chronic diarrhoea, and secondary respiratory infections. The incubation period of CSF ranges from 2 to 14 days, but clinical signs may not be apparent until after 2 to 3 weeks. Preventive state regulations usually assume 21 days as the outside limit of the incubation period. Animals with an acute infection can survive 2 to 3 months before their eventual death.  Eradicating CSF is problematic. Current programmes revolve around rapid detection, diagnosis, and slaughter. This may possibly be followed by emergency vaccination (ATCvet codes: for the inactivated viral vaccine, for the live vaccine). Vaccination is only used where the virus is widespread in the domestic pig population and/or in wild or feral pigs. In the latter case, a slaughter policy alone is usually impracticable. Instead, countries within the EU have implemented hunting restrictions designed to limit the movement of infected boars, as well as using marker and emergency vaccines to inhibit the spread of infection. Possible sources for maintaining and introducing infection include the wide transport of pigs and pork products, as well as endemic CSF within wild boar and feral pig populations.

Classical swine fever (CSF) or hog cholera (also sometimes called pig plague based on the German word ) is a highly contagious disease of swine (Old World and New World pigs). It is mentioned as a potential bioweapon.


History of the term.

As early as July 1985, President Ronald Reagan stated that "we are not going to tolerate... attacks from outlaw states by the strangest collection of misfits, looney tunes, and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich," but it fell to the Clinton administration to elaborate on this concept. In the 1994 issue of "Foreign Affairs", U.S. National Security Advisor Anthony Lake labelled five nations as "rogue states": North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, and Ba'athist Iraq. He described these regimes as "recalcitrant and outlaw states that not only choose to remain outside the family [of democratic nations] but also assault its basic values". In theory, to be classified as a "rogue state", a state had to do the following: seek to obtain weapons of mass destruction, support terrorism, and severely abuse its own citizens. While four of the listed countries met all these conditions, Cuba, though known from repressing it citizens and its vocal criticism of the United States, was put on the list solely because of the political influence of the Cuban-American community and specifically that of the Cuban American National Foundation (pre-Jorge Mas Santos), whereas Syria and Pakistan avoided being added to the list because the United States hoped that Damascus could play a constructive role in the Arab-Israeli peace process, and because Washington had long maintained close relations with Islamabad—a vestige of the Cold War.  Three other nations, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Sudan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, were treated as "rogue states" as well. The US State Department at times labelled Yugoslavia as a "rogue state" because its leader, Slobodan Milošević, had been accused of violating the rights of his nation's citizens, including but not limited to attempted genocide in Croatia and orchestrating the Srebrenica massacre in eastern Bosnia.  The United States employed several tools to isolate and punish "rogue states". Tough unilateral economic sanctions, often at congressional behest, were imposed on or tightened against Iran, Libya, Cuba, Sudan, and Afghanistan. After the conclusion of the Gulf War in 1991, the United States selectively used airpower against Iraq for years during the Iraqi no-fly zones to force them in complying with various United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding disarmament (i.e., Resolution 687) and human rights (i.e., Resolution 688). Cruise missiles were fired at Afghanistan and Sudan in retaliation for terrorist attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998. In March 1999, NATO launched a massive air-bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in response to the Yugoslav Army's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in the province of Kosovo.  In the last six months of the Clinton administration, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announced that the term "rogue state" would be abolished in June 2000, in favour of the term "states of concern", as three of the nations listed as "rogue states" (Libya, Iran, and North Korea) no longer met the conditions established to define a "rogue state".  Libya was removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in 2006 after achieving success through diplomacy. Relations with Libya also became more mutual following the eight month Libyan Civil War in 2011, which resulted in the National Transitional Council ousting longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from power.  In 2015, after the US reopened its embassy in Cuba and restarted diplomatic relations with the Cuban government, Cuba was removed from the list of State sponsors of terrorism and was no longer referred to as a "rogue state".  More recently, the Donald Trump administration labelled Venezuela a "rogue state" due to its gross human rights violations, economic collapse and rampant excess deaths, anti-American stances and its reported involvement in international drug trafficking. During the 2017 UN general assembly, UN ambassador Nikki Haley called Venezuela a global threat and a "dangerous narco-state". Some figures of the Venezuelan government, like Vice-president Tareck el Aissami and minister of defense Vladimir Padrino López, were permanently banned from entering US territory, due to their involvement with human rights abuses and drug cartels. Later in the year, the US government banned all high ranking Venezuelan government officials from entering US territory. Currently, due to the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, Nicolas Maduro's government (which controls Venezuela "de facto") is not recognized as legitimate by the United States or any other state in the Western Hemisphere, with the exceptions of Cuba, Dominica, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.

Later terms.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration returned to using a similar term. The concept of "rogue states" was replaced by the Bush administration with the "Axis of Evil" concept (gathering Iraq, Iran, and North Korea). U.S. President George W. Bush first spoke of this "Axis of Evil" during his January 2002 State of the Union Address. More terms, such as "Beyond the Axis of Evil" and "Outposts of Tyranny", would follow suit.  As the U.S. government remains the most active proponent of the expression "rogue state", the term has received much criticism from those who disagree with U.S. foreign policy. Both the concepts of "rogue states" and the "Axis of Evil" have been criticized by certain scholars, including philosopher Jacques Derrida and linguist Noam Chomsky, who considered it more or less a justification of imperialism and a useful word for propaganda. Some critics charge that "rogue state" merely means any state that is generally hostile to the U.S., or even one that opposes the U.S. without necessarily posing a wider threat. Others, such as author William Blum, have written that the term is also applicable to the U.S. and Israel. In his "", Blum makes the case that the United States defines itself as a rogue state through its foreign policy.

Usage by and against Turkey.

In 23 February 1999, Turkish President Süleyman Demirel described Greece as a "rogue state" because of its alleged support to PKK. Demirel said that: "Greece serves as a sanctuary for members of the PKK seeking shelter and provides training facilities and logistics to the terrorists."  On June 28, 2012, after the shooting down of a Turkish warplane by the Syrian Army during the Syrian Civil War, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared Syria to be a "rogue state".  Commentator Robert Ellis, writing in the British newspaper "The Independent" in 2016, wrote that Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan risks "being regarded as a rogue state" due to its increasingly authoritarian government, the deterioration of the human rights in the country, the Turkish government's involvement in Syria and its alleged support of terrorist groups.

United States as a rogue state.

Some critics of US foreign policy describe America as a rogue state. William Blum's 2000 book "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower" suggests that US-led interventions around the world during and after the Cold War have threatened the world's peace. Noam Chomsky has also described the US as a rogue state after the assassination of Qassim Suleimani. Its nuclear proliferation and large numbers of nuclear warheads (the second most in the world), sponsorship of terrorist or guerilla groups to overthrow opposing governments especially in Latin America, violations of human rights in war time are all characteristic of a rogue state. Some commentators have also criticised the Trump administration as authoritarian.

Rogue state or outlaw state is a term applied by some international theorists to states they consider threatening to the world's peace. This means being seen to meet certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian or totalitarian governments that severely restrict human rights, sponsoring terrorism and seeking to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. The term is used most by the United States (though the US State Department officially stopped using the term in 2000), and in his speech at the United Nations (UN) in 2017, Donald Trump reiterated this phrase. However, it has been applied by other countries as well.


Belarus.

Although many fortified churches in various styles existed in the lands of Belarus, only a handful survived until the present. The most famous include Christian Orthodox churches in Muravanka, and Synkavichy, as well as Catholic fortified churches in Kamai and Ishkold'. In addition to Christian churches Belarus also has the ruins of several fortified synagogues, of which the Chief Synagogue in Bykhaw is most notable.

France.

About 65 fortified churches are found in the Thiérache region of France.

Germany.

Several fortified churches have been preserved, especially in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse. Examples are the churches of Kleinbreitenbach in Plaue, Kößlarn, Grafengehaig, Großrückerswalde, Mittelsaida, Büchenbach/Erlangen, Kriegenbrunn/Erlangen, Morsbach/Künzelsau, Espendfeld/Arnstadt, Finkenbach-Gersweiler, "St. Wolfgang" in Rothenburg, and the fortified church of Wenkbach.

Ireland.

Several fortified churches survive from the medieval period, including Hospital Church (Knights Hospitaller), Taghmon Church, Old St. Mary's Church, Clonmel and St Finian's Church, Newcastle.

Poland.

A rare surviving example of a fortress church used for defensive purposes is the Church of St. Andrew in Kraków, one of the oldest and best preserved Romanesque buildings in Poland. Located at ul. Grodzka street, it was built by a medieval Polish statesman Palatine Sieciech in 1079–1098. St. Andrew was the only Romanesque church in Kraków to withstand the Mongol attack of 1241. Along the lower part of the broader section of its façade are small openings that served as defensive windows during military siege.

Portugal.

Some medieval fortified churches, monasteries, and cathedrals survive in Portugal. These buildings were built either in Romanesque or Gothic styles. Romanesque examples are the Lisbon Cathedral and the Old Cathedral of Coimbra. Gothic examples are the Church of Leça do Balio and the Guarda Cathedral.

Romania.

The southeastern Transylvania region in Romania has among the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries. More than 150 villages in the area count various types of fortified churches, seven of them being included in the UNESCO World Heritage under the name of "Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania".

Slovenia.

During the Ottoman-Habsburg Wars from the late 15th to the late 17th century, the Slovene Lands were subjected to constant Ottoman raids, which reached their peak in the late 15th and early 16th century. During that period, around 300 village churches were fortified in the territory of present-day Slovenia, with another 50 in the neighboring area of southern Carinthia.  They were known as "tabors" (which in modern Slovene means "camp"). A dozen of such churches remain today, the most famous of which are the Holy Trinity Church in Hrastovlje, Mount Saint Mary near Ljubljana, and Podbrezje in Upper Carniola.  In some cases, entire villages were fortified. Remaining examples are Šmartno in the Gorizia Hills, and Štanjel.

United Kingdom.

There are medieval fortified churches near the Anglo-Scottish border, where defence was an important consideration until the 17th century when the two states were united in personal union. All Saints Church, Boltongate in Cumbria is an example. Also in Cumbria, St Michael's Church, Burgh by Sands has a defensive tower, and originally had two.  Defensive towers can also be found on the England–Wales border, for instance, St Michael's Church, Garway.

A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedral were incorporated into the town wall. Monastic communities, such as Lérins Abbey, are often surrounded by a wall, and some churches, such as St. Arbogast in Muttenz, Switzerland, have an outer wall as well. Churches with additional external defences such as curtain walls and wall towers are often referred to more specifically as fortress churches or "Kirchenburgen" (literally "church castles").


Biography.

Wrangel was born in Pskov, into the noble Baltic German Wrangel family and was a distant nephew of Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich von Wrangel. He graduated from the Naval Cadets College in 1815. He participated in Vasily Golovnin's world cruise on the ship "Kamchatka" in 1817–1819.

Kolymskaya expedition.

He was appointed in 1820 to command the Kolymskaya expedition to explore the Russian polar seas. Sailing from St. Petersburg, he arrived at Nizhnekolymsk on 2 November 1820, and early in 1821 journeyed to Cape Shelagskiy on sledges drawn by dogs. He sailed afterward up Kolyma River, advancing about 125 miles into the interior, through territory inhabited by the Yakuts. On 10 March 1822, he resumed his journey northward, and traveled 46 days on the ice, reaching 72° 2' north latitude. He left Nizhnekolymsk on 1 November 1823, and returned to St. Petersburg on 15 August 1824.  He established that north of the Kolyma River and Cape Shelagsky there was an open sea, not dry land, as people thought. Together with Fyodor Matyushkin and P. Kuzmin, Wrangel described the Siberian coastline from the Indigirka River to the Kolyuchinskaya Bay in the Chukchi Sea. (See Northeast Passage.) His expedition made a valuable research in glaciology, geomagnetics, and climatology and also collected data about natural resources and native population of that remote area.

"Krotky" world voyage.

Having been promoted to commander, Wrangel led the Russian world voyage on the ship "Krotky" in 1825–1827.

Governor of Russian Alaska.

He was appointed chief manager of the Russian-American Company in 1829, effectively governor of its settlements in North America (present day Alaska). Wrangel was the first of a series of bachelor appointees to the office of governor who had to find a wife before assuming the duties in America, the Russian American Company rules having been changed in 1829. Prior to his departure for Russia's American colonies, he was married to Elisabeth Theodora Natalie Karoline de Rossillon, daughter of Baron Wilhelm de Rossillon.  He traveled to his post early in 1829, by way of Siberia and Kamchatka. After thoroughly reforming the administration, he introduced the cultivation of the potato, opened and regulated the working of several mines, and urged upon the home government the organization of a fur company. He promoted investment, and sent out missionaries. He began a survey of the country, opened roads, built bridges and government buildings. He made geographical and ethnographical observations, which he embodied in a memoir to the navy department. Recalled in 1834, he returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama and the United States, where he visited several cities.

Admiral.

Wrangel was promoted to rear admiral in 1837, and made director of the ship-timber department in the navy office, which he held for twelve years. He became vice-admiral in 1847, but resigned in 1849, and temporarily severed his connection with the navy to assume the presidency of the newly reorganized Russian-American Company. Wrangel had been a member of the board of directors of the Russian-American Company from 1840 to 1849.  In 1854 he re-entered active service and was made chief director of the hydrographical department of the navy. He was the Minister of the Navy 1855–1857.

Retirement and death.

Wrangel retired in 1864. He opposed the sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867. Wrangel wrote the book "Journey along the northern coastline of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean" and other books about the peoples of northwestern America.  He lived in his last years in Ruil ("Roela" in Estonian) in the eastern part of Estonia. He had bought the manor in 1840. He died in Dorpat, Livonia.

Writings.

An account of the physical observations during his first journey was published in German (Berlin, 1827), and also in German extracts from Wrangel's journals, "Reise laengs der Nordküste von Sibirien und auf dem Eismeere in den Jahren 1820-1824" (2 vols., Berlin, 1839), which was translated into English as "Wrangell's Expedition to the Polar Sea" (2 vols., London, 1840). The complete report of the expedition appeared as "Otceschewie do Sjewernym beregam Sibiri, po Ledowitomm More" (2 vols., St. Petersburg, 1841), and was translated into French with notes by Prince Galitzin, under the title "Voyage sur les côtes septentrionales de la Sibérie et de la mer glaciale" (2 vols., 1841). From the French version of the complete report an English one was made under the title "A Journey on the Northern Coast of Siberia and the Icy Sea" (2 vols., London, 1841). The book influenced Charles Darwin's thinking on animal navigation, leading him to propose that humans and animals possess an innate ability for dead reckoning. Darwin wrote:  Wrangel also published:

Ferdinand Friedrich Georg Ludwig Freiherr von Wrangel (, tr. ; – ) was a Baltic German explorer and seaman in the Imperial Russian Navy, Honorable Member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, a founder of the Russian Geographic Society. He is best known as chief manager of the Russian-American Company, in fact governor of the Russian settlements in present-day Alaska.


History.

Miele's first products were a cream separator, butter churn, and tub washing machine, under the "Meteor" brand. Carl Miele supervised manufacturing personally, and Reinhard Zinkann apprenticed and handled finances and sales.  In 1927, Miele started the production of vacuum cleaners. In 1929, the first electric dishwasher in Europe was produced. From 1930, motorcycles were built. In 1932, Miele was the largest centrifuge factory in Europe. During World War II, Miele produced control units for torpedoes of the German Kriegsmarine.  The Miele trademark was used very early on and appeared on all machines, nameplates, printed materials and advertising produced by the company. From the mid-1920s, a recognition feature of the logo has been a sloping dash used as the dot on the "i".  The trademark has remained unchanged apart from three minor alterations to reflect contemporary tastes. A survey by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", one of Germany's leading daily newspapers, found that the "i" alone was sufficient to identify the Miele brand.  Miele exports products to global markets and is represented in 47 countries. Their expansion into the United States came in 1983, when they established corporate headquarters in Somerset, New Jersey. In 1999, they relocated to the new headquarters in Princeton, which was designed by the Driehaus Prize winner Michael Graves. Products are manufactured in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania and shipped to the United States, where there are showrooms in ten states.

Products.

Miele produces domestic appliances including laundry appliances; vacuum cleaners; dishwashers; rotary irons; built-in convection, steam, and speed ovens; hobs (cooker hoods, cook tops); free-standing and built-in refrigerators, freezers, and wine coolers; and coffee systems. The company also produces commercial laundry equipment including wet cleaning machines, lab glassware washers, dental disinfectors, and medical equipment washers.  In 2007, Miele was given an award for being the most successful company in Germany that year, beating the previous year's winner Google, which placed second, and Porsche, which came in third.  Rankings for this Best Brands prize are the result of market research covering key criteria such as current economic market success and brand recognition and popularity among consumers. Miele was recognized as Best Company and also achieved a top-five place in the category Best Product Brand. Miele was honored as Best Domestic Appliance Brand in the UK by Which? in 2007 and again in 2008, being only one of two brands to win twice in a row. They have since won again in 2010.  In North America, Miele is marketed as a high-end major appliance brand. It competes against brands such as Küppersbusch, Sub-Zero, Wolf & Cove, Gaggenau, Fagor, Viking Range, Dacor, Asko, JennAir, and Thermador.

Slogans.

Miele's slogan in German is "immer besser" which literally translates to "always better" but can also mean "better and better."

Miele ( ; ) is a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances and commercial equipment, headquartered in Gütersloh, Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The company was founded in 1899 by Carl Miele and Reinhard Zinkann, and has always been a family-owned and run company.


History.

Peter Ellis installed the first elevators that could be described as paternoster lifts in Oriel Chambers in Liverpool in 1868. Another was used in 1876 to transport parcels at the General Post Office in London. In 1877, British engineer Peter Hart obtained a patent on the first paternoster. In 1884, the engineering firm of J & E Hall of Dartford, Kent, installed its first "Cyclic Elevator", using Hart's patent, in a London office block.  The newly built Dovenhof in Hamburg was inaugurated in 1886. The prototype of the Hamburg office buildings equipped with the latest technology also had a paternoster. This first system outside of Great Britain already had the technology that would later become common, but was still driven by steam power like the English systems.  The highest paternoster lift in the world was located in Stuttgart in the 16 floor Tagblatt tower, which was completed in 1927.  Paternosters were popular throughout the first half of the 20th century because they could carry more passengers than ordinary elevators. They were more common in continental Europe, especially in public buildings, than in the United Kingdom. They are relatively slow elevators, typically travelling at about 30 cm per second (approx. 1 ft per second), to facilitate getting on and off.

Safety.

Paternoster elevators are only intended for transporting people; accidents have occurred when paternosters were misused for transporting bulky items such as ladders or library trolleys. The risk involved is estimated to be thirty times higher than conventional elevators; a representative of the Union of Technical Inspection Associations stated that Germany saw an average of one death per year prior to 2002, at which point many paternosters were made inaccessible to the general public.  The construction of new paternosters is no longer allowed in many countries because of the high risk of accident for people who cannot use the lift properly. In 2012, an 81-year-old man was killed when he fell into the shaft of a paternoster in the Dutch city of The Hague. Elderly people, disabled people, and children are the most in danger of being crushed or losing a limb.  In September 1975, the paternoster in Newcastle University's Claremont Tower was taken out of service after a passenger was killed when a car left its guide rail at the top of its journey and forced the two cars ascending behind it into the winding room above. In October 1988, a second non-fatal accident occurred in the same lift. A conventional lift was installed in its place in 1989–1990.  In West Germany, new paternoster installations were banned in 1974, and there was an attempt to shut down all existing installations in 1994. However, there was a wave of popular resistance to the ban at that time, and to another prospective ban in 2015., Germany has 231 paternosters.  In April 2006, Hitachi announced plans for a modern paternoster-style elevator with computer-controlled cars and standard elevator doors to alleviate safety concerns. A prototype was revealed. In 2009, Solon received special permission to build a brand new paternoster in its Berlin headquarters.

Surviving examples.

Many paternoster lifts have been shut down, but there are surviving examples still in use:

Finland.

The following locations have paternosters:

In popular culture.

The paternoster lift at Amsterdam police headquarters in Marnixstraat is frequently seen in the Thames Television television detective series "Van der Valk", shot between 1972 and 1992.

A paternoster (,, or ) or paternoster lift is a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments (each usually designed for two persons) that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building without stopping. Passengers can step on or off at any floor they like. The same technique is also used for filing cabinets to store large amounts of (paper) documents or for small spare parts. The much smaller belt manlift which consists of an endless belt with steps and rungs but no compartments is also sometimes called a paternoster.


History.

PEFC was founded in 1999 as an international umbrella organization providing independent assessment, endorsement and recognition of national forest certification systems. Its founding was inspired by the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and the specific requirements of small, family-owned and community forests.  In 2000, PEFC made its first endorsements of the national standards used by Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Austria. In 2004 it endorsed its first non-European national standards, used by Australia and Chile. As a concequence PEFC changed its name from "Pan European Forest Certification" to "Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes".  The endorsement of the Canadian standard in 2005 made PEFC the world’s largest resource of certified wood, with more than 100 million hectares of certified forest area. Three years later, PEFC certified area grew to 200 million hectares, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the total area certified against credible forest certification globally.  Today, PEFC is the world’s largest forest certification system and the certification system of choice for small forest owners.

Sustainable forest management criteria.

PEFC International is the only international forest certification scheme that bases its criteria on internationally accepted intergovernmental conventions and guidelines, thereby linking its sustainability benchmark criteria with existing governmental processes. This includes:  PEFC requires adherence to all eight core ILO conventions, even in countries which have not ratified them. These conventions are

National forest certification systems.

PEFC only recognize forests certified to standards that have been reviewed and endorsed by PEFC.  National forest certification systems that wish to be recognized by are required to set standards keeping with the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 59:1994 Code of good practice for standardization. National standard must be developed by so-called National Governing Bodies, and meet requirements for transparency, consultation and decision-making by consensus. These guidelines also outline processes for revising and amending standards, and provide those who utilise the standard with the security of future certainty.

Endorsements.

All PEFC-endorsed standards have been subjected to rigorous public review during their development. National forest certification systems wanting to obtain PEFC endorsement are subject to an independent assessment to ensure that it meets the many PEFC requirements for the standards development process, public review and forest management requirements. The consultant’s report is reviewed by an independent Panel of Experts and the PEFC Board, and if satisfactory, the new standard is approved by the PEFC members as a PEFC-endorsed standard. To ensure the independence of the certification bodies, they are not accredited by PEFC itself, but by a national accreditation agency.  In line with its commitment to transparency, PEFC makes its entire documentation of national forest certification system, including the independent assessments, publicly available. Information about all issued certificates, including information about suspended, withdrawn and expired certificates, is publicly available on the PEFC website.

Countries.

Countries with PEFC endorsed national certification systems include: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Viet Nam.

Criticism and alternative certification schemes.

Forest Stewardship Council is the main alternative forest certification system. Mutual recognition of FSC and PEFC certified material in the chain of custody has not yet happened. However, FSC and PEFC use the same forest management standard in countries such as the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway; Malaysia has submitted its timber certification scheme for PEFC endorsement that is largely based on FSC principles and criteria.  Several environmental non-governmental organisations, such as The Wilderness Society, Greenpeace and FERN have criticised the PEFC. Greenpeace does not believe alternatives to the FSC, including PEFC, can ensure responsible forest management.  In debates around forest certification schemes like PEFC, the forest-political background of critics such as Greenpeace and Robin Wood should be taken into consideration. In critical discussions, comparisons are mostly made between PEFC and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which was founded on the initiative of the big international environmental NGOs Greenpeace and WWF.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization which promotes sustainable forest management through independent third party certification. It is considered the certification system of choice for small forest owners.


Format.

First aid kits can be assembled in almost any type of container, and this will depend on whether they are commercially produced or assembled by an individual. Standard kits often come in durable plastic boxes, fabric pouches or in wall mounted cabinets. The type of container will vary depending on the purpose, and they range in size from wallet-sized through to large box.  It is recommended that all kits are in a clean, waterproof container to keep the contents safe and aseptic. Kits should also be checked regularly and restocked if any items are damaged or are out of date.

Appearance.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) sets a standard for first aid kits of being green, with a white cross, in order to make them easily recognizable to anyone requiring first aid. The ISO only endorse the use of the green background and white cross, and this has been adopted as a standard across many countries and regions, including the entire EU. First aid kits are sometimes marked (by an individual or organization) with a red cross on white background, but use of this symbol by anyone but the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or associated agency is illegal under the terms of the First Geneva Convention, which designates the red cross as a protected symbol in all countries signatory to it. One of the few exceptions is in North America, where despite the passing of the First Geneva convention in 1864, and its ratification in the United States in 1881, Johnson & Johnson has used the red cross as a mark on its products since 1887 and registered the symbol as a U.S. trademark for medicinal and surgical plasters in 1905.  Some first aid kits may also feature the Star of Life, normally associated with emergency medical services, but which are also used to indicate that the service using it can offer an appropriate point of care. Though not supported by the ISO, a white cross on red background is also widely recognized as a first aid symbol. However, for very small medical institutions and domestic purposes, the white cross on a plain green background is preferred.

Contents of first aid.

Commercially available first aid kits available via normal retail routes have traditionally been intended for treatment of minor injuries only. Typical contents include adhesive bandages, regular strength pain medication, gauze and low grade disinfectant.  Specialized first aid kits are available for various regions, vehicles or activities, which may focus on specific risks or concerns related to the activity. For example, first aid kits sold through marine supply stores for use in watercraft may contain seasickness remedies.

Airway, Breathing and Circulation.

First aid treats the ABCs as the foundation of good treatment. For this reason, most modern commercial first aid kits (although not necessarily those assembled at home) will contain a suitable infection barrier for performing artificial respiration as part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, examples include:  Advanced first aid kits may also contain items such as:  Some first aid kits, specifically those used by event first aiders and emergency services, include bottled oxygen for resuscitation and therapy.

Common Items.

The common kits used in the school may contain:

Trauma injuries.

Trauma injuries, such as bleeding, bone fractures or burns, are usually the main focus of most first aid kits, with items such as bandages and dressings being found in the vast majority of all kits.

Personal protective equipment.

The use of personal protective equipment or PPE will vary by the kit, depending on its use and anticipated risk of infection. The adjuncts to artificial respiration are covered above, but other common infection control PPE includes:

Medication.

Medication can be a controversial addition to a first aid kit, especially if it is for use on members of the public. It is, however, common for personal or family first aid kits to contain certain medications. Dependent on scope of practice, the main types of medicine are life saving medications, which may be commonly found in first aid kits used by paid or assigned first aiders for members of the public or employees, painkillers, which are often found in personal kits, but may also be found in public provision and lastly symptomatic relief medicines, which are generally only found in personal kits.  Life saving  Pain killers  Symptomatic relief  Topical medications

Improvised uses.

Besides the regular uses for first aid kits, they can be helpful in wilderness or survival situations. First aid kits can make up a part of a survival kit or a mini survival kit in addition to other tools.

Workplace of first aid kit.

In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all job sites and workplaces to make available first aid equipment for use by injured employees While providing regulations for some industries such as logging  in general the regulation lack specifics on the contents of the first aid kit. This is understandable, as the regulation covers every means of employment, and different jobs have different types of injuries and different first-aid requirements. However, in a non-mandatory section,  as the basis for the "suggested" minimum contents of a first aid kit. Another source for modern first aid kit information is United States Forest Service Specification 6170-6, which specifies the contents of several different-sized kits, intended to serve groups of differing size.  In general, the type of first aid facilities required in a workplace are determined by many factors, such as:

Historic first aid kits.

As the understanding of first aid and lifesaving measures has advanced, and the nature of public health risks has changed, the contents of first aid kits have changed to reflect prevailing understandings and conditions. For example, earlier US Federal specifications for first aid kits included incision/suction-type snakebite kits and mercurochrome antiseptic. There are many historic components no longer used today, of course; some notable examples follow. As explained in the article on snakebite, the historic snakebite kit is no longer recommended. Mercurochrome was removed in 1998 by the US FDA from the generally recognized as safe category due to concerns over its mercury content. Another common item in early 20th century first aid kits, picric acid gauze for treating burns, is today considered a hazardous material due to its forming unstable and potentially explosive picrates when in contact with metal. Examples of modern additions include the CPR face shields and specific body-fluid barriers included in modern kits, to assist in CPR and to help prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens such as HIV.

A first aid kit is a collection of supplies and equipment that is used to give medical treatment. There is a wide variation in the contents of first aid kits based on the knowledge and experience of those putting it together, the differing first aid requirements of the area where it may be used and variations in legislation or regulation in a given area.