Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every vertebrate animal cell. The name "glucocorticoid" is a portmanteau (glucose + cortex + steroid) and is composed from its role in regulation of glucose metabolism, synthesis in the adrenal cortex, and its steroidal structure (see structure below).

Glucocorticoids are part of the feedback mechanism in the immune system, which reduces certain aspects of immune function, such as inflammation. They are therefore used in medicine to treat diseases caused by an overactive immune system, such as allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and sepsis. Glucocorticoids have many diverse effects such as pleiotropy, including potentially harmful side effects. They also interfere with some of the abnormal mechanisms in cancer cells, so they are used in high doses to treat cancer. This includes inhibitory effects on lymphocyte proliferation, as in the treatment of lymphomas and leukemias, and the mitigation of side effects of anticancer drugs.

Glucocorticoids affect cells by binding to the glucocorticoid receptor. The activated glucocorticoid receptor-glucocorticoid complex up-regulates the expression of anti-inflammatory proteins in the nucleus (a process known as transactivation) and represses the expression of proinflammatory proteins in the cytosol by preventing the translocation of other transcription factors from the cytosol into the nucleus (transrepression).

Glucocorticoids are distinguished from mineralocorticoids and sex steroids by their specific receptors, target cells, and effects. In technical terms, "corticosteroid" refers to both glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids (as both are mimics of hormones produced by the adrenal cortex), but is often used as a synonym for "glucocorticoid". Glucocorticoids are chiefly produced in the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex, whereas mineralocorticoids are synthesized in the zona glomerulosa.

Cortisol (or hydrocortisone) is the most important human glucocorticoid. It is essential for life, and it regulates or supports a variety of important cardiovascular, metabolic, immunologic, and homeostatic functions. Various synthetic glucocorticoids are available; these are widely utilized in general medical practice and numerous specialties, either as replacement therapy in glucocorticoid deficiency or to suppress the body's immune system.

Effects

Glucocorticoid effects may be broadly classified into two major categories: immunological and metabolic. In addition, glucocorticoids play important roles in fetal development and body fluid homeostasis.

Immune
Glucocorticoids function via interaction with the glucocorticoid receptor (see details below):

 Upregulate the expression of anti-inflammatory proteins.
 Downregulate the expression of proinflammatory proteins.

Glucocorticoids are also shown to play a role in the development and homeostasis of T lymphocytes. This has been shown in transgenic mice with either increased or decreased sensitivity of T cell lineage to glucocorticoids.

Metabolic
The name "glucocorticoid" derives from early observations that these hormones were involved in glucose metabolism. In the fasted state, cortisol stimulates several processes that collectively serve to increase and maintain normal concentrations of glucose in the blood.

Metabolic effects:

 Stimulation of gluconeogenesis, in particular, in the liver: This pathway results in the synthesis of glucose from non-hexose substrates, such as amino acids and glycerol from triglyceride breakdown, and is particularly important in carnivores and certain herbivores. Enhancing the expression of enzymes involved in gluconeogenesis is probably the best-known metabolic function of glucocorticoids.
 Mobilization of amino acids from extrahepatic tissues: These serve as substrates for gluconeogenesis.
 Inhibition of glucose uptake in muscle and adipose tissue: A mechanism to conserve glucose
 Stimulation of fat breakdown in adipose tissue: The fatty acids released by lipolysis are used for production of energy in tissues like muscle, and the released glycerol provide another substrate for gluconeogenesis.
 Increase in sodium retention and potassium excretion leads to hypernatremia and hypokalemia
 Increase in hemoglobin concentration, likely due to hindrance of the ingestion of red blood cell by macrophage or other phagocyte.
 Increased urinary uric acid
 Increased urinary calcium and hypocalcemia
 Alkalosis
 Leukocytosis

Excessive glucocorticoid levels resulting from administration as a drug or hyperadrenocorticism have effects on many systems. Some examples include inhibition of bone formation, suppression of calcium absorption (both of which can lead to osteoporosis), delayed wound healing, muscle weakness, and increased risk of infection. These observations suggest a multitude of less-dramatic physiologic roles for glucocorticoids.

Developmental
Glucocorticoids have multiple effects on fetal development. An important example is their role in promoting maturation of the lung and production of the surfactant necessary for extrauterine lung function. Mice with homozygous disruptions in the corticotropin-releasing hormone gene (see below) die at birth due to pulmonary immaturity. In addition, glucocorticoids are necessary for normal brain development, by initiating terminal maturation, remodeling axons and dendrites, and affecting cell survival and may also play a role in hippocampal development. Glucocorticoids stimulate the maturation of the Na+/K+/ATPase, nutrient transporters, and digestion enzymes, promoting the development of a functioning gastro-intestinal system. Glucocorticoids also support the development of the neonate's renal system by increasing glomerular filtration.

Arousal and cognition

Glucocorticoids act on the hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal lobes. Along with adrenaline, these enhance the formation of flashbulb memories of events associated with strong emotions, both positive and negative. This has been confirmed in studies, whereby blockade of either glucocorticoids or noradrenaline activity impaired the recall of emotionally relevant information. Additional sources have shown subjects whose fear learning was accompanied by high cortisol levels had better consolidation of this memory (this effect was more important in men). The effect that glucocorticoids have on memory may be due to damage specifically to the CA1 area of the hippocampal formation.

In multiple animal studies, prolonged stress (causing prolonged increases in glucocorticoid levels) have shown destruction of the neurons in the hippocampus area of the brain, which has been connected to lower memory performance.

Glucocorticoids have also been shown to have a significant impact on vigilance (attention deficit disorder) and cognition (memory). This appears to follow the Yerkes-Dodson curve, as studies have shown circulating levels of glucocorticoids vs. memory performance follow an upside-down U pattern, much like the Yerkes-Dodson curve. For example, long-term potentiation (LTP; the process of forming long-term memories) is optimal when glucocorticoid levels are mildly elevated, whereas significant decreases of LTP are observed after adrenalectomy (low-glucocorticoid state) or after exogenous glucocorticoid administration (high-glucocorticoid state). Elevated levels of glucocorticoids enhance memory for emotionally arousing events, but lead more often than not to poor memory for material unrelated to the source of stress/emotional arousal. In contrast to the dose-dependent enhancing effects of glucocorticoids on memory consolidation, these stress hormones have been shown to inhibit the retrieval of already stored information. Long-term exposure to glucocorticoid medications, such as asthma and anti-inflammatory medication, has been shown to create deficits in memory and attention both during and, to a lesser extent, after treatment, a condition known as "steroid dementia".

Body fluid homeostasis
Glucocorticoids could act centrally, as well as peripherally, to assist in the normalization of extracellular fluid volume by regulating body's action to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). Centrally, glucocorticoids could inhibit dehydration induce water intake; peripherally, glucocorticoids could induce a potent diuresis.

Mechanism of action

Transactivation
Glucocorticoids bind to the cytosolic glucocorticoid receptor, a type of nuclear receptor that is activated by ligand binding. After a hormone binds to the corresponding receptor, the newly formed complex translocates itself into the cell nucleus, where it binds to glucocorticoid response elements in the promoter region of the target genes resulting in the regulation of gene expression. This process is commonly referred to as transcriptional activation, or transactivation.

The proteins encoded by these up-regulated genes have a wide range of effects, including, for example:

 Anti-inflammatory – lipocortin I, p11/calpactin binding protein, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor 1 (SLPI), and Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase (MAPK phosphatase)
 Increased gluconeogenesis – glucose 6-phosphatase and tyrosine aminotransferase

Transrepression
The opposite mechanism is called transcriptional repression, or transrepression. The classical understanding of this mechanism is that activated glucocorticoid receptor binds to DNA in the same site where another transcription factor would bind, which prevents the transcription of genes that are transcribed via the activity of that factor. While this does occur, the results are not consistent for all cell types and conditions; there is no generally accepted, general mechanism for transrepression.

New mechanisms are being discovered where transcription is repressed, but the activated glucocorticoid receptor is not interacting with DNA, but rather with another transcription factor directly, thus interfering with it, or with other proteins that interfere with the function of other transcription factors. This latter mechanism appears to be the most likely way that activated glucocorticoid receptor interferes with NF-κB - namely by recruiting histone deacetylase, which deacetylate the DNA in the promoter region leading to closing of the chromatin structure where NF-κB needs to bind.

Nongenomic effects
Activated glucocorticoid receptor has effects that have been experimentally shown to be independent of any effects on transcription and can only be due to direct binding of activated glucocorticoid receptor with other proteins or with mRNA.

For example, Src kinase which binds to inactive glucocorticoid receptor, is released when a glucocorticoid binds to glucocorticoid receptor, and phosphorylates a protein that in turn displaces an adaptor protein from a receptor important in inflammation, epidermal growth factor, reducing its activity, which in turn results in reduced creation of arachidonic acid - a key proinflammatory molecule. This is one mechanism by which glucocorticoids have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Pharmacology

A variety of synthetic glucocorticoids, some far more potent than cortisol, have been created for therapeutic use. They differ in both pharmacokinetics (absorption factor, half-life, volume of distribution, clearance) and pharmacodynamics (for example the capacity of mineralocorticoid activity: retention of sodium (Na+) and water; renal physiology). Because they permeate the intestines easily, they are administered primarily per os (by mouth), but also by other methods, such as topically on skin. More than 90% of them bind different plasma proteins, though with a different binding specificity. Endogenous glucocorticoids and some synthetic corticoids have high affinity to the protein transcortin (also called corticosteroid-binding globulin), whereas all of them bind albumin. In the liver, they quickly metabolize by conjugation with a sulfate or glucuronic acid, and are secreted in the urine.

Glucocorticoid potency, duration of effect, and the overlapping mineralocorticoid potency vary. Cortisol is the standard of comparison for glucocorticoid potency. Hydrocortisone is the name used for pharmaceutical preparations of cortisol.

The data below refer to oral administration. Oral potency may be less than parenteral potency because significant amounts (up to 50% in some cases) may not reach the circulation. Fludrocortisone acetate and deoxycorticosterone acetate are, by definition, mineralocorticoids rather than glucocorticoids, but they do have minor glucocorticoid potency and are included in this table to provide perspective on mineralocorticoid potency.

Therapeutic use
Glucocorticoids may be used in low doses in adrenal insufficiency. In much higher doses, oral or inhaled glucocorticoids are used to suppress various allergic, inflammatory, and autoimmune disorders. Inhaled glucocorticoids are the second-line treatment for asthma. They are also administered as post-transplantory immunosuppressants to prevent the acute transplant rejection and the graft-versus-host disease. Nevertheless, they do not prevent an infection and also inhibit later reparative processes. Newly emerging evidence showed that glucocorticoids could be used in the treatment of heart failure to increase the renal responsiveness to diuretics and natriuretic peptides. Glucocorticoids are historically used for pain relief in inflammatory conditions. However, corticosteroids show limited efficacy in pain relief and potential adverse events for their use in tendinopathies.

Replacement
Any glucocorticoid can be given in a dose that provides approximately the same glucocorticoid effects as normal cortisol production; this is referred to as physiologic, replacement, or maintenance dosing. This is approximately 6–12 mg/m2/day of hydrocortisone (m2 refers to body surface area (BSA), and is a measure of body size; an average man's BSA is 1.9 m2).

Therapeutic immunosuppression

Glucocorticoids cause immunosuppression, and the therapeutic component of this effect is mainly the decreases in the function and numbers of lymphocytes, including both B cells and T cells.

The major mechanism for this immunosuppression is through inhibition of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB). NF-κB is a critical transcription factor involved in the synthesis of many mediators (i.e., cytokines) and proteins (i.e., adhesion proteins) that promote the immune response. Inhibition of this transcription factor, therefore, blunts the capacity of the immune system to mount a response.

Glucocorticoids suppress cell-mediated immunity by inhibiting genes that code for the cytokines IL-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8 and IFN-γ, the most important of which is IL-2. Smaller cytokine production reduces the T cell proliferation.

Glucocorticoids, however, not only reduce T cell proliferation, but also lead to another well known effect - glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis. The effect is more prominent in immature T cells still inside in the thymus, but peripheral T cells are also affected. The exact mechanism regulating this glucocorticoid sensitivity lies in the Bcl-2 gene.

Glucocorticoids also suppress the humoral immunity, thereby causing a humoral immune deficiency. Glucocorticoids cause B cells to express smaller amounts of IL-2 and of IL-2 receptors. This diminishes both B cell clone expansion and antibody synthesis. The diminished amounts of IL-2 also cause fewer T lymphocyte cells to be activated.

The effect of glucocorticoids on Fc receptor expression in immune cells is complicated. Dexamethasone decreases IFN-gamma stimulated Fc gamma RI expression in neutrophils while conversely causing an increase in monocytes. Glucocorticoids may also decrease the expression of Fc receptors in macrophages, but the evidence supporting this regulation in earlier studies has been questioned. The effect of Fc receptor expression in macrophages is important since it is necessary for the phagocytosis of opsonised cells. This is because Fc receptors bind antibodies attached to cells targeted for destruction by macrophages.

Anti-inflammatory
Glucocorticoids are potent anti-inflammatories, regardless of the inflammation's cause; their primary anti-inflammatory mechanism is lipocortin-1 (annexin-1) synthesis. Lipocortin-1 both suppresses phospholipase A2, thereby blocking eicosanoid production, and inhibits various leukocyte inflammatory events (epithelial adhesion, emigration, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, respiratory burst, etc.). In other words, glucocorticoids not only suppress immune response, but also inhibit the two main products of inflammation, prostaglandins and leukotrienes. They inhibit prostaglandin synthesis at the level of phospholipase A2 as well as at the level of cyclooxygenase/PGE isomerase (COX-1 and COX-2), the latter effect being much like that of NSAIDs, thus potentiating the anti-inflammatory effect.

In addition, glucocorticoids also suppress cyclooxygenase expression.

Glucocorticoids marketed as anti-inflammatories are often topical formulations, such as nasal sprays for rhinitis or inhalers for asthma. These preparations have the advantage of only affecting the targeted area, thereby reducing side effects or potential interactions. In this case, the main compounds used are beclometasone, budesonide, fluticasone, mometasone and ciclesonide. In rhinitis, sprays are used. For asthma, glucocorticoids are administered as inhalants with a metered-dose or dry powder inhaler. In rare cases, symptoms of radiation induced thyroiditis has been treated with oral glucocorticoids.

Hyperaldosteronism
Glucocorticoids can be used in the management of familial hyperaldosteronism type 1. They are not effective, however, for use in the type 2 condition.

Heart failure
Glucocorticoids could be used in the treatment of decompensated heart failure to potentiate renal responsiveness to diuretics, especially in heart failure patients with refractory diuretic resistance with large doses of loop diuretics.

Resistance

Resistance to the therapeutic uses of glucocorticoids can present difficulty; for instance, 25% of cases of severe asthma may be unresponsive to steroids. This may be the result of genetic predisposition, ongoing exposure to the cause of the inflammation (such as allergens), immunological phenomena that bypass glucocorticoids, pharmacokinetic disturbances (incomplete absorption or accelerated excretion or metabolism) and viral and/or bacterial respiratory infections.

Side effects
Glucocorticoid drugs currently being used act nonselectively, so in the long run they may impair many healthy anabolic processes. To prevent this, much research has been focused recently on the elaboration of selectively acting glucocorticoid drugs. Side effects include:

 Immunodeficiency (see section below)
 Hyperglycemia due to increased gluconeogenesis, insulin resistance, and impaired glucose tolerance ("steroid diabetes"); caution in those with diabetes mellitus
 Increased skin fragility, easy bruising
 Negative calcium balance due to reduced intestinal calcium absorption
 Steroid-induced osteoporosis: reduced bone density (osteoporosis, osteonecrosis, higher fracture risk, slower fracture repair)
 Weight gain due to increased visceral and truncal fat deposition (central obesity) and appetite stimulation; see corticosteroid-induced lipodystrophy
 Hypercortisolemia with prolonged or excessive use (also known as, exogenous Cushing's syndrome)
 Impaired memory and attention deficits See steroid dementia syndrome.
 Adrenal insufficiency (if used for long time and stopped suddenly without a taper)
 Muscle and tendon breakdown (proteolysis), weakness, reduced muscle mass and repair
 Expansion of malar fat pads and dilation of small blood vessels in skin
 Lipomatosis within the epidural space
 Excitatory effect on central nervous system (euphoria, psychosis)
 Anovulation, irregularity of menstrual periods
 Growth failure, delayed puberty
 Increased plasma amino acids, increased urea formation, negative nitrogen balance
 Glaucoma due to increased ocular pressure
 Cataracts
 Topical steroid withdrawal

In high doses, hydrocortisone (cortisol) and those glucocorticoids with appreciable mineralocorticoid potency can exert a mineralocorticoid effect as well, although in physiologic doses this is prevented by rapid degradation of cortisol by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isoenzyme 2 (11β-HSD2) in mineralocorticoid target tissues. Mineralocorticoid effects can include salt and water retention, extracellular fluid volume expansion, hypertension, potassium depletion, and metabolic alkalosis.

Immunodeficiency
Glucocorticoids cause immunosuppression, decreasing the function and/or numbers of neutrophils, lymphocytes (including both B cells and T cells), monocytes, macrophages, and the anatomical barrier function of the skin. This suppression, if large enough, can cause manifestations of immunodeficiency, including T cell deficiency, humoral immune deficiency and neutropenia.

Withdrawal

In addition to the effects listed above, use of high-dose glucocorticoids for only a few days begins to produce suppression of the patient's adrenal glands suppressing hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) leading to suppressed production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by the anterior pituitary. With prolonged suppression, the adrenal glands atrophy (physically shrink), and can take months to recover full function after discontinuation of the exogenous glucocorticoid.

During this recovery time, the patient is vulnerable to adrenal insufficiency during times of stress, such as illness. While suppressive dose and time for adrenal recovery vary widely, clinical guidelines have been devised to estimate potential adrenal suppression and recovery, to reduce risk to the patient. The following is one example:

 If patients have been receiving daily high doses for five days or less, they can be abruptly stopped (or reduced to physiologic replacement if patients are adrenal-deficient). Full adrenal recovery can be assumed to occur by a week afterward.
 If high doses were used for six to 10 days, reduce to replacement dose immediately and taper over four more days. Adrenal recovery can be assumed to occur within two to four weeks of completion of steroids.
 If high doses were used for 11–30 days, cut immediately to twice replacement, and then by 25% every four days. Stop entirely when dose is less than half of replacement. Full adrenal recovery should occur within one to three months of completion of withdrawal.
 If high doses were used more than 30 days, cut dose immediately to twice replacement, and reduce by 25% each week until replacement is reached. Then change to oral hydrocortisone or cortisone as a single morning dose, and gradually decrease by 2.5 mg each week. When the morning dose is less than replacement, the return of normal basal adrenal function may be documented by checking 0800 cortisol levels prior to the morning dose; stop drugs when 0800 cortisol is 10 μg/dl. Predicting the time to full adrenal recovery after prolonged suppressive exogenous steroids is difficult; some people may take nearly a year.
 Flare-up of the underlying condition for which steroids are given may require a more gradual taper than outlined above.

See also

 List of corticosteroids
 List of corticosteroid cyclic ketals
 List of corticosteroid esters
 Aminoglutethimide blocks glucocorticoid secretion
 GITR (glucocorticoid-induced TNF receptor)
 Glucocorticoid receptor
 Immunosuppressive drug
 Membrane glucocorticoid receptor
 Metyrapone blocks glucocorticoid secretion
 Selective glucocorticoid receptor agonist
 Topical glucocorticoids
 Topical steroid
 Steroid atrophy
 Topical steroid withdrawal
 Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)

References

Further reading

External links

Chemical substances for emergency medicine
Corticosteroids
Glucocorticoids
Hepatotoxins

Glucocorticoid


El término Biblioteca Galáctica se ha usado diversas veces en el ámbito de la ciencia ficción en diferentes universos fictícios, por lo que puede referirse a:
Biblioteca Galáctica, la biblioteca localizada en Trantor, la capital del Imperio Galáctico.
Biblioteca Galáctica, la biblioteca de la Civilización de las Cinco Galaxias.

Biblioteca galáctica


The Hama massacre () occurred in February 1982 when the Syrian Arab Army and the Defense Companies, under orders of president Hafez al-Assad, besieged the town of Hama for 27 days in order to quell an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood against the Ba'athist government. The campaign that had begun in 1976 by Sunni Muslim groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, was brutally crushed in an anti-Sunni massacre at Hama, carried out by the Syrian Arab Army and Alawite militias under commanding General Rifaat al-Assad.

Prior to the start of operations, Hafez al-Assad issued orders to seal off Hama from the outside world; effectively imposing a media blackout, total shut down of communications, electricity and food supplies to the city for months. Initial diplomatic reports from Western countries stated that 1,000 were killed. Subsequent estimates vary, with the lower estimates reporting at least 10,000 deaths, while others put the number at 20,000 (Robert Fisk) or 40,000 (Syrian Human Rights Committee and SNHR). The massacre remains the "single deadliest act" of violence perpetrated by an Arab state upon its own population, in the history of Modern Middle East.

Nearly two-thirds of the city was destroyed in the Ba'athist military operation. Robert Fisk, who was present at Hama during the events of massacre, reported that indiscriminate bombing had razed much of the city to the ground and vast majority of the victims were civilians. Patrick Seale, reporting in The Globe and Mail, described the operation as a "two-week orgy of killing, destruction and looting" which destroyed the city and killed a minimum of 25,000 inhabitants.

The attack has been described as a "genocidal massacre" which was motivated by sectarian animosities against the Sunni community of Hama. Memory of the massacre remains an important aspect of Syrian culture and evokes strong emotions amongst Syrians to the present day.

Background

The Ba'ath Party of Syria, which advocates Ba'athism, the ideologies of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism had clashed with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group which advocates a Sunni Islamist ideology, since 1940. The two groups were opposed in important ways. The Ba'ath party was nominally secular, nationalist. The Muslim Brotherhood, like other Islamist groups, saw nationalism as un-Islamic and religion as inseparable from politics and government. Most Ba'ath party members were from humble, obscure backgrounds and favored radical economic policies, while Sunni Muslims had dominated the souqs and landed power of Syria, and tended to view government intervention in the economy as threatening. Not all Sunni notables believed in fundamentalism, but even those who did not often saw the Brotherhood as a useful tool against the Ba'ath.

The town of Hama in particular was a "stronghold of landed conservatism and of the Muslim Brothers," and "had long been a redoubtable opponent of the Ba'athist state." The first full-scale clash between the two occurred shortly after the 1963 coup, in which the Ba'ath party first gained power in Syria. In April 1964 riots broke out in Hama, where Muslim insurgents put up "roadblocks, stockpiled food and weapons, ransacked wine shops." After an Ismaili Ba'ath militiaman was killed, riots intensified and rebels attacked "every vestige" of the Ba'ath party in Hama. Tanks were brought in to crush the rebellion and 70 members of the Muslim Brotherhood died, with many others wounded or captured, and still more disappearing underground.

After the clashes in Hama, the situation periodically erupted into clashes between the government and various Islamic sections. However, a more serious challenge occurred after the Syrian invasion of Lebanon in 1976. In October 1980, Muhammad al-Bayanuni, a respected member of the religious hierarchy of Aleppo, became the Islamic Front's Secretary-General, but its leading light remained 'Adnan Sa'd al-Din, the General Supervisor of the Muslim Brothers. The chief ideologue of the Islamic Front was a prominent religious scholar from Hama, Sa'id Hawwa, who along with Sa'd al-Din had been a leader of the northern militants during the mid-1970s. Anti-regime activists such as Marwan Hadid and Muhammad al-Hamid were also carefully listened to.

From 1976 to 1982, Sunni Islamists fought the Ba'ath Party-controlled government of Syria in what has been called a "long campaign of terror". In 1979 the Brotherhood undertook guerrilla activities in multiple cities within the country targeting military officers and government officials. The resulting government repression included abusive tactics, torture, mass arrests, and a number of selective assassinations, particularly of prominent mosque preachers. In July 1980, the ratification of Law No. 49 made membership in the Muslim Brotherhood a capital offense.

Throughout the first years of the 1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood and various other Islamist factions staged hit-and-run and bomb attacks against the government and its officials, including a nearly successful attempt to assassinate President Hafez al-Assad on 26 June 1980, during an official state reception for the president of Mali. When a machine-gun salvo missed him, al-Assad allegedly ran to kick a hand grenade aside, and his bodyguard (who survived and was later promoted to a much higher position) smothered the explosion of another one. Surviving with only light injuries, al-Assad's revenge was swift and merciless: only hours later a large number of imprisoned Islamists (reports say from 600 to 1000 prisoners) were executed in their cells in Tadmor Prison (near Palmyra), by units loyal to the President's brother Rifaat al-Assad.

In an earlier massacre in 1981, over 300 residents of Hama were killed by the Baathist security forces.

Attack by insurgents in Hama
The events of the Hama massacre began at 2 am on 2 February 1982. An army unit searching the old city "stumbled on the hideout of the local guerilla commander, Omar Jawwad (aka Abu Bakr) and were ambushed. Other insurgent cells were alerted by radio and "roof-top snipers killed perhaps a score" of Syrian soldiers. Reinforcements were rushed to besiege Abu Bakr who then "gave the order for a general uprising" in Hama. Mosque loudspeakers used for the call to prayer called for jihad against the Ba'ath, and hundreds of Islamic insurgents rose to attack the homes of government officials and Baath Party leaders, overrun police posts and ransack armouries. By daybreak of the morning of 2 February, some 70 leading Ba'athists had been killed and the Islamist insurgents and other opposition activists proclaimed Hama a "liberated city", urging Syrians to rise up against the "infidel".

Counter-attack by government forces

According to author Patrick Seale, "every party worker, every paratrooper sent to Hama knew that this time Islamic militancy had to be torn out of the city, whatever the cost." The military was mobilized, and president Hafez al-Assad sent Rifaat's special forces (the Defense companies), elite army units and Mukhabarat agents to the city. Before the attack, the Syrian government called for the city's surrender and warned that anyone remaining in the city would be considered a rebel. Hama was besieged by 12,000 troops for three weeks – the first week spent "in regaining control of the town," and the last two "in hunting down the insurgents." Robert Fisk, a journalist who was in Hama midway through the battle, described civilians fleeing pervasive destruction.

According to Amnesty International, the Syrian military bombed the old city center from the air to facilitate the entry of infantry and tanks through the narrow streets; buildings were demolished by tanks during the first four days of fighting. Large parts of the old city were destroyed. There were also unsubstantiated reports of use of hydrogen cyanide by the government forces.

Rifaat's forces ringed the city with artillery, shelled it, then combed the rubble for surviving Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters. Suspecting that rebels were still hiding in tunnels under the old city, he had diesel fuel pumped into them and stationed tanks at their entrances to shell fleeing militants. Alawite military units loyal to Rifaat al-Assad such as the Defense Companies entered the city and indiscriminately massacred thousands of Sunni civilian survivors.

The indiscriminate bombardment by government forces razed much of city's districts, streets, heritage sites, mosques and churches. The Azm palace was severely damaged. Baathist paramilitaries continued looting for weeks and numerous families were rounded up and shot. Baathist dissident Akram al-Hawrani asserted that women, children and all Hama inhabitants irrespective of their political leanings were targeted indiscriminately during the regime onslaught. Even Ba'ath party members, according to Hawrani, were victims of the "savage slaughter" ordered by Hafez al-Assad.

Estimates of fatalities
Initial diplomatic reports from western governments in 1982 had stated that 1,000 were killed in the fighting. Subsequent estimates of casualties varied from 10,000 to 40,000 people killed, including about 1,000 soldiers. Robert Fisk, who was in Hama shortly after the massacre, originally estimated fatalities at 10,000, but has since doubled the estimate to 20,000. Syrian general and brother to the president Rifaat al-Assad reportedly boasted of killing 38,000 people. Amnesty International initially estimated the death toll was between 10,000 and 25,000.

Reports by Syrian Human Rights Committee claimed "over 25,000" or between 30,000 and 40,000 people were killed.
Twenty years later, Syrian journalist Subhi Hadidi, wrote that forces "under the command of General Ali Haydar, besieged the city for 27 days, bombarding it with heavy artillery and tank [fire], before invading it and killing 30,000 or 40,000 of the city's citizens – in addition to the 15,000 missing who have not been found to this day, and the 100,000 expelled." Report published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on the 40th anniversary of the Hama massacre estimates that around 40,000 inhabitants were killed in the massacre; in addition to about 17,000 civilians who were disappeared and have not been found as of the present day.

Aftermath
Around two-thirds of the city was completely demolished in the military operations during the massacre.  After the Hama massacre, the Islamic revolution was crushed, and since then, the Brotherhood has operated in exile and other opposition factions either surrendered or slipped into hiding. Government attitudes in Syria hardened considerably during the uprising, and Assad would rely more on repression than he would rely on political tactics during the remainder of his rule, although an economic liberalization program was launched in the 1990s.

After the massacre, the already evident disarray in the insurgents' ranks increased, and the rebel factions experienced acrimonious internal splits. Particularly damaging to their cause was the deterrent effect of the massacre, as well as the realization that no Sunni uprisings had occurred in the rest of the country in support of the Hama rebels. Most of the members of the rebel groups either fled from the country or remained in exile, mainly in Iran, while others made their way to the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. The Muslim Brotherhood—the largest opposition group—split into two factions, after giving up on armed struggle. One faction, more moderate than the other faction and recognized by the international Muslim Brotherhood, eventually headquartered itself in the UK, where it remains today, while the less moderate faction headquartered itself in Iran and retained a military structure for several years, with backing from the Iranian government, before it rejoined the London-based mainstream.

Internationally, the Hama massacre became a symbol of the al-Assad government's human rights violations as well as a symbol of its brutal repression. Within Syria, mention of the massacre has been strictly suppressed, but the general contours of the events—and various partisan versions, on all sides—are well known throughout the country. When the massacre is publicly referenced, it is only referenced as the "events" or it is referenced as the "incident" at Hama. In 2012, Professor Gregory Stanton of Genocide Watch characterized the Hama massacre as a 'genocidal massacre', and he also stated that its methods could prompt the regime to pursue future mass killings during the Syrian Civil War (which was just beginning at the time).

Memory of the Hama Massacre has become an important aspect of Syrian culture and on an emotional level, it has evoked a strong feeling of resentment amongst Syrians to the present day. During the Syrian Revolution in 2011, older Syrians frequently warned younger activists about the Assad regime's determination to "do Hama again", i.e., its willingness to exterminate hundreds of thousands of civilians in order to ensure its survival. The satirical slogan "Asad 'alayya wa fi-l-huriibi na'iimah (Against me a lion and in the wars an ostrich...)" became popular amongst Syrian dissidents for Hafez al-Assad's comparatively muted response to Israeli invasion of Lebanon the same year.

Lawsuits
In December 2013, human rights organization "Trial International" filed a criminal lawsuit against Rifaat al-Assad over his role as commander of Defense Brigades that organized the ground campaign of the massacre. Charges in the war-crimes lawsuit included organizing extrajudicial killings, large-scale torture, sexual violence, mass-rapes, summary executions and forced disappearances.

A criminal investigation was launched by the Swizz Office of the Attorney General the same year. Almost a decade later in August 2023, the Federal Criminal Court ordered the extradition of Rifa'at al-Assad, prompting Switzerland to issue an arrest warrant to prosecute him.

See also
 2004 al-Qamishli riots
 Counterinsurgency
 History of Syria, Baath Party rule under Hafez al-Assad
 Human rights in Syria
 List of massacres in Syria
 List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
 Siege of Hama (2011)
 Siege of Homs

References

Notes

Bibliography
Benkorich, Nora; 16 Feb. 2012, Trente ans après, retour sur la tragédie de Hama
Benjamin, Daniel; Steven Simon. 2002. The Age of Sacred Terror. Random House.

Global Politician.com. 2006 May 23. The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.

Human Rights Watch. 2010 July 16. A wasted decade. V. Legacy of enforced disappearances. Report on human rights in Syria.

Syrian Human Rights Committee. 2006 Massacre of Hama (February 1982) Genocide and a crime against Humanity.
Syrian Human Rights Committee. 2005 (Arabic) The Massacre of Hama: Law Enforcement Requires Accountability.
United States of America. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. Background note: Syria.

Further reading
 Kathrin Nina Wiedl: The Hama Massacre – reasons, supporters of the rebellion, consequences. München 2007, .

More Detailed Account of the actual Hama Massacre and Killings

Islamist uprising in Syria
Conflicts in 1982
1982 in Syria
Anti-Sunni massacres
Terrorism committed by Syria
History of Hama
Massacres in 1982
Massacres in Syria
Political repression in Syria
February 1982 events in Asia
Massacres committed by Syria
Genocidal massacres
Genocides in Asia

1982 Hama massacre


B. Joseph Pine II ve James H. Gilmore tarafından yazılan İş Hayatı Bir Tiyatro ya da özgün adıyla The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, Harvard Business School Yayınları'ndan Türkçeye çevrilmiştir. Kitap, iş hayatında, günümüzün ve geleceğin fırsatlarının, öncelikle insanlarda kalıcı izlenimler yaratmakta yattığını ele alırken, iş hayatını bir tiyatro sanatı temelinde inceleyerek, kalıcı olabilmenin yolunun eşsiz deneyimler sunabilmekten geçtiğini belirtir. Her yeni ürün ve hizmetin kolaylıkla kopya edildiğine değinen kitap, şirketlerine yeni değerler katma yollarını arayanlar için bir kılavuz olmayı amaçlar.

Kitapta, Walt Disney, AOL, Nordstrom, Starbucks, ve IBM'den örnekler bulunur.

Kaynakça

Bibliyografya
 Fenko, A. (2007). 'The experience economy' by J. Pine and J. Gilmore (book review). Svoy Business, 54, 56-61

İş kitapları
İngilizce kitaplar

İş Hayatı Bir Tiyatro ve de Her Şirket Bir Sahne


An Holothrix thodei in uska species han Liliopsida nga ginhulagway ni Robert Allen Rolfe. An Holothrix thodei in nahilalakip ha genus nga Holothrix, ngan familia nga Orchidaceae. Waray hini subspecies nga nakalista.

Mga kasarigan

Holothrix

Holothrix thodei


Ioan Gh. Aramă () a fost un magistrat militar român, care a condus Direcția Justiției Militare din Ministerul de Război în timpul celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial.

Cariera militară
S-a născut în anul 1890. A absolvit Școala de Ofițeri, fiind avansat la gradul de sublocotenent (1913). A participat la Primul Război Mondial.

A îndeplinit funcția de șef al Direcției Justiției Militare din Ministerul de Război (20 mai 1937 - 10 decembrie 1941). În urma reorganizării Inspectoratului General al Justiției Militare, prin Decizia Ministerială Nr. 3000 din 20 decembrie 1941, generalul Aramă a deținut funcțiile de director al Secției Justiției din cadrul Direcției Justiției Militare (20 decembrie 1941 - 28 august 1943) și director al Direcției Justiției Militare (28 august 1943 - 20 martie 1945), fiind trecut la dispoziția Ministerului de Război în 20 martie 1945.

După instalarea guvernului Petru Groza generalul de brigadă magistrat Ioan Gh. Aramă a fost trecut din oficiu în poziția de rezervă, alături de alți generali, prin decretul nr. 860 din 24 martie 1945, invocându-se legea nr. 166, adoptată prin decretul nr. 768 din 19 martie 1945, pentru "trecerea din oficiu în rezervă a personalului activ al armatei care prisosește peste nevoile de încadrare".

Ulterior, a fost acuzat de autoritățile comuniste că s-a dovedit prin activitatea sa unul din "principalele instrumente ale teroarei exercitate de generalul Antonescu". Ioan Aramă a fost condamnat la 7 ani de închisoare în 1951 dar a fost eliberat în 1955.

Note

Nașteri în 1890
Generali români din Al Doilea Război Mondial
Decese în secolul al XX-lea

Ioan Aramă


Pan est un roman de l'écrivain norvégien Knut Hamsun publié en 1894.

Résumé
Le roman raconte deux années de la vie de Thomas Glahn, un chasseur du Nordland qui vit dans une hutte dans la forêt au-dessus de Sirilund avec son chien Esope. Glahn est très sensible au passage des saisons et entretient un rapport privilégié avec la nature qui l'entoure. Il fait la rencontre d'Edvarda, une jeune fille de la ville avec laquelle il noue une relation ambiguë, ainsi que d'Eva, la fille du forgeron, dont la candeur l'attire et dont il va causer involontairement la perte. Après une série de malentendus avec la société de Sirilund, Glahn quitte le Nordland pour oublier Edvarda et se laisse tuer au cours d'une chasse au gibier au fin fond de la jungle en Inde.

Thèmes du roman
On retrouve dans Pan de nombreux thèmes  chers à Knut Hamsun : le conflit entre la société hypocrite et l'authenticité de la vie dans la nature, le rapport ambivalent à la femme, à la fois ennemie et objet de désir, l'individualisme, etc.

Éditions en français

 Pan, trad. Mme R. Rémusat, Paris, Éditions de la Revue blanche, 1901
 Pan, trad. Georges Sautreau, Paris, Éditions Rieder, 1932
 Pan, éd. Régis Boyer, Paris, PUF, coll. « Quadrige », 1994 ; réédition dans le volume omnibus Romans, Le Livre de Poche, « La Pochothèque », 1999
 Pan, trad. Georges Sautreau, Paris, Le Livre de poche, 1997

Liens externes

Roman norvégien

Pan (roman)


The Mansi (Mansi: Мāньси / Мāньси мāхум, Māńsi / Māńsi māhum, ) are an Ugric Indigenous people living in Khanty–Mansia, an autonomous okrug within Tyumen Oblast in Russia. In Khanty–Mansia, the Khanty and Mansi languages have co-official status with Russian. The Mansi language is one of the postulated Ugric languages of the Uralic family. The Mansi people were formerly known as the Voguls.

Together with the Khanty people, the Mansi are politically represented by the Association to Save Yugra, an organisation founded during Perestroika of the late 1980s. This organisation was among the first regional indigenous associations in Russia.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, there were 12,228 Mansi in Russia.

History

The ancestors of Mansi people populated the areas west of the Urals. Mansi findings have been unearthed in the vicinity of Perm.

In the first millennium BC, they migrated to Western Siberia where they assimilated with the native inhabitants.Other researchers say that the Khanty people originated in the south Ural steppe and moved northwards into their current location about 500 AD.

The Mansi have been in contact with the Russian state at least since the 16th century when most of western Siberia was brought under Russian control by Yermak Timofeyevich. Due to their higher exposure to Russian and Soviet control, they are generally more assimilated than their northern neighbours, the Khanty.

Relationship with historical Magyar conquerors
The Mansi are one of the closest linguistic relatives of modern Hungarians. Genetic data by Maroti et al. 2022, revealed high genetic affinity between Magyar conquerors and modern day Bashkirs, with both could be modeled as ~50% Mansi-like, ~35% Sarmatian-like, and ~15% Hun/Xiongnu-like. The admixture event is suggested to have taken place in the Southern Ural region at 643–431 BCE.

Culture
The Mansi share many similarities with the Khanty people and together they are called Ob-Ugric peoples. Their languages are closely related but also clearly distinct from each other.

Traditional livelihood
The Mansi were semi-nomadic hunters and fishermen. Some Mansi also raised reindeer. A few Mansi engaged in agriculture (cultivating barley) and raised cattle and horses.

During the winter, the Mansi lived in stationary huts made out of earth and branches at permanent villages. During the spring, the Mansi moved towards hunting and fishing grounds, where they constructed temporary rectangular-shaped shelters out of birch-bark and poles.

Weapons used by the Mansi were advanced for the period and included longbows, arrows, spears, and the use of iron helmets and chain mail.

Folklore
A notable part of the traditional Mansi religion is the bear cult. A bear celebration is held in connection with the bear hunt (a similar concept to the Finnish peijaiset); it lasts for several days and involves songs, dances and plays. Mansi folklore also includes mythical and heroic stories and fate songs, which are biographical poems. An example of the traditional material culture of Ob-Ugric peoples is ornamenting leather clothing and birchbark objects with mosaics.

Genetics
According to a 2019 study, in addition to having a high level of East Eurasian-like ancestry, the Mansi have also West Eurasian admixture. Their admixture can be modelled to be about 60 % Bronze Age Baikal Lake-like and 40% Srubnaya-like, or about 54% Nganasan-like and about 38% Srubnaya-like, with additional ANE-related admixture.

In a 2018 study, Mansi samples showed variation in the amounts of West and East Eurasian admixtures. Some of them clustered with the Khanty, while outlier samples had additional West Eurasian admixture, making them closer to Uralic-speakers from Volga-Ural region.

Notable Mansi
Matrena Vakhrusheva (1918–2000), linguist, philologist, writer; co-wrote the first Mansi-Russian dictionary
Yuvan Shestalov (1937–2011), writer
Ruslan Provodnikov (b. 1984), boxer (Mansi mother)
Sergey Ustiugov (b. 1992), cross-country skier (Mansi father)

References

External links

The Mansis
Dr Gabor Szekely's 1st visit to the Mansis
Dr Gabor Szekely's 2nd visit to the Mansis
The History of the Mansi

Mansi
Ethnic groups in Russia
Indigenous peoples of North Asia
Nomadic groups in Eurasia
Ugric peoples
Modern nomads
Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East
History of Ural

Mansi people


طاحونة القهوة  هي أداة تمكن من طحن حبوب البن ، و قد ظهرت لأول مرة في أوروبا وتركيا بعدما عرفوا البن في القرن 14 .

معرض صور

مراجع

أدوات المطبخ
قهوة

طاحونة القهوة


Segundo Leonidas Iza Salazar (18 de junho de 1982) é um ativista equatoriano e líder indígena de ascendência Kichwa - Panzaleo que atua como presidente da Confederação de Nacionalidades Indígenas do Equador (CONAIE) desde 27 de junho de 2021. Ao lado de Jaime Vargas, Iza liderou as manifestações realizadas no Equador em outubro de 2019 pela CONAIE contra as medidas econômicas tomadas pelo então governo de Lenín Moreno.

Biografia
Ele nasceu de José María Iza Viracocha e Rosa Elvira Salazar; o primeiro foi um líder indígena histórico. Além disso, é primo de Leonidas Iza Quinatoa, ex-deputado e participante da primeira revolta indígena. Estudou Engenharia Ambiental na Universidade Técnica de Cotopaxi. Ele também afirma ter lido escritos de pensadores de esquerda, destacando, entre aqueles que influenciaram seu pensamento, o ensaio de Eduardo Galeano intitulado As veias abertas da América Latina e a obra de José Carlos Mariátegui.

Sua atuação no movimento indígena como catequista começou aos quinze anos, após ler a obra de Galeano. Mais tarde, tornou-se presidente da comunidade de San Ignacio de Toacaso no cantão de Latacunga em 2010, tornando-se membro e posteriormente líder da Comissão da Juventude 2013 e do Comitê Provincial de Pachakutik. Em 2012, ele observou a oposição de seu partido à eleição presidencial de Auki Tituaña em 2013 no Equador como companheiro de chapa de Guillermo Lasso.

Durante o Congresso do Movimento Indígena e Camponês de Cotopaxi (MICC), realizado entre 30 de setembro e 1º de outubro de 2016, foi eleito presidente da entidade. Representando a União das Organizações Camponesas do Cotopaxi Norte (Unocan) e com o apoio de outras vinte e duas organizações, conseguiu vencer Manuel Vega (75 votos) e Gerardo Saca (18 votos) com um total de 102 votos.

Presidência da CONAIE
Leonidas Iza é o atual presidente da Confederação de Nacionalidades Indígenas do Equador (CONAIE). Iza representou o Movimento Indígena e Camponês de Cotopaxi (MICC) e conseguiu angariar votos de alguns dos delegados do Litoral, da Amazônia e do Planalto. Sua nomeação foi confirmada no domingo, 27 de junho de 2021, último dia do VII Congresso Nacional da CONAIE, realizado na cidade de Salasaca, na província de Tungurahua, Equador. Iza obteve 821 votos; Maria Andrade, 287; e Marco Guatemal, 153.

Durante os protestos equatorianos de 2022, inicialmente lançados devido ao aumento dos preços dos combustíveis e à contínua discriminação contra a população indígena, ele foi preso pela polícia em 15 de junho no Setor Pastocalle, Cotopaxi.

Nascidos em 1982
Homens
Ativistas indígenas
Líderes ameríndios
!Mais Teoria da História na Wiki (Mais Povos Originários)

Leonidas Iza


Daniel Levin Antonsson (Göteborg, Švedska, 16. prosinca 1974.) švedski je heavy metal-glazbenik. Bio je basist sastava melodičnog death metala Dimension Zero. Također je svirao u skupinama Dark Tranquillity i Soilwork. Prvi sastav s kojim je svirao jest Pathos.

Diskografija

 Dark Tranquillity – We Are the Void (2010.)
 Dimension Zero – This Is Hell (2003.)
 Dimension Zero – He Who Shall Not Bleed (2007.)
 Soilwork – Sworn to a Great Divide (2007.)
 Pathos – Hoverface (1997.)
 Pathos – Uni Verse Universe (1998.)
 Pathos – Katharsis (2002.)
 Akani – Through My Darkest Infernal (2016.)

Izvori

Švedski basisti heavy metala
Melodični death metal

Daniel Antonsson


The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US), Camper (UK) or Bulli (Germany), is a forward control light commercial vehicle introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Following – and initially deriving from – Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle), it was given the factory designation Type 2.

As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to forward control competitors in the United States in the 1960s, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Chevrolet Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adapting the rear-engine configuration of the Corvair car in the same manner in which the VW Type 2 adapted the Type 1 layout.

European competition included the 1947–1981 Citroën H Van, the 1959–1980 Renault Estafette (both FF layout), the 1952–1969 semi forward-control Bedford CA and the 1953–1965 FR layout Ford Transit. Japanese manufacturers also introduced similar vehicles, such as the Nissan Caravan, Toyota LiteAce and Subaru Sambar. Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", and, because of its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, "Hippie van/bus".

Brazil contained the last factory in the world that produced the T2 series of Type 2, which ceased production on 31 December 2013, due to the introduction of more stringent safety regulations in the country. This (after the 2002 termination of its T3 successor in South Africa) marked the end of the era of rear-engine Volkswagens, which originated in 1935 with their Type 1 prototypes.

History

The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production. Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to the Netherlands, where he saw a Plattenwagen, an improvised parts-mover based on the Type 1 chassis, and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated 23 April 1947, proposing a payload of  and placing the driver at the very front. The sketch is now in the Rijksmuseum. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.

When capacity freed up, a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 82, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a  flat four engine.

Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial ), engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve , exceeding the Type 1's . Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.

An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year.
These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.

Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which replaced the T3). However, only generations T1 to T3 can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).

The Type 2, along with the 1939 Citroën TUB and the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1958 RAF-977, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van adopted the use of the rear-engine layout of the Corvair car in the same manner that the Type 2 had used the rear-engine layout of the Type 1, using the Corvair's horizontally opposed, 6 cylinder air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier, various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, and the Mazda Bongo, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which could not easily be loaded from the rear because the engine cover intruded on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise. The Corvair pickup used a folding side panel that functioned as a ramp into the bed when opened, and was called the "Rampside". The VW "pickup" in both single and double cab versions had a bed/floor that was flat from front to back at the height of the engine compartment cover, which had the advantage of a flat load floor but at a greater height, while the Corvair "pickup" bed/floor stepped down in front of the engine compartment to a much lower load floor which worked well with the unique "Rampside" configuration for loading.

Decades after production of the Type 2 ended, Volkswagen announced in 2017 that they would be bringing an electric VW microbus out based on the new MEB platform in 2022.

Variants

The Type 2 was available as a:
 Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.
 Double-door Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.
 High Roof Panel Van (), a delivery van with raised roof.
 Kombi, from  (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.
 Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.
 Lotação (share taxi), a version exclusive to Brazil, with 6 front-hinged doors for the passenger area and 4 bench-seats, catering to the supplemental public transport segment. Available from 1960 to 1989, in both the split-window and "clipper" (fitted with the bay-window front panel) bodystyles.
 Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps.
 Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.
 Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from .
 Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior. Included optional "pop up" top.
 Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.
 Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.

Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.

In South Africa, it is known as a well-loved variation of the ice cream van (first, second and third generations).

First generation (T1; 1950)

The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950 to 1956, the T1 (not called that at the time) was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air-cooled engine, a , DIN-rated , air-cooled flat-four-cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – a   in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the  engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are rare. Since the engine was discontinued almost immediately, no spare parts were made available.

The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's retrospective T1, 2, 3, 4 etc. naming system). From the 1964 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. That year also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans.

In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of  instead of the previous , smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 L,  DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine –  as standard equipment to the US market at  DIN with an  bore,  stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to  DIN.

German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud  Pitch Circle Diameter rims. Wheel tracks varied between German and Brazilian production and with 14-inch, 15-inch and 16-inch wheel variants but commonly front track varied from 1290 mm to 1310 mm and rear track from 1370 mm to 1390 mm.

Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname "Samba" or in Australia, officially "Alpine".

Samba

The Volkswagen "Samba", officially the Kleinbus Sonderausführung (small bus, special version) and marketed as the Microbus Deluxe and Sunroof Deluxe in the United States, was the most luxurious version of the T1. Volkswagen started producing Sambas in 1951; in 1952 the name in the home market was changed to Sondermodell (special model). the precise origin of the Samba nickname is unclear: sources refer to "samba cars", special train cars for dancing used by the Bundesbahn in the 1950s, while others suggest that it is an abbreviation for either Sonder-Ausführung mit besonderer Ausstattung (special version with special equipment) or for Sonnendach-Ausführung mit besonderem Armaturenbrett (sunroof version with special dashboard). The Samba name first appeared in official literature in Dutch price lists.

In the US Volkswagen vans were informally identified by the window count. This particular model had 23 and later 21 windows including eight high windows in the roof. The 23 window variant also had curved windows in the rear corners.

The Samba had bi-parting doors in lieu of a sliding door, and could be ordered with a large fabric sunroof. Volkswagen advertised the Samba for making tourist trips through the Alps.

Standard paint finishes on the Samba were two-tone, usually with the upper bodywork in white. The lower bodywork carried a contrasting color, the areas separated by a decorative strip. The roof carried slightly forward of the windshield at the front, creating an integral visor. The windows had chrome tables and the van had a more comprehensive dashboard than the normal T1.

When Volkswagen started producing the successor of the T1 (the T2) the company also stopped producing the Samba, ending the Samba and the concept of a van with such a high window count.

US Chicken Tax

Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in a historic episode during the early 1960s known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of US chicken. Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost ten times the average US tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.

In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just before the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.

The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups; vans imported in passenger configuration were not affected. In 1964, US imports of trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, practically disappeared from the US market. While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. Any post-1971 specimen found ostensibly has had its import tariff paid. The "Chicken tax" remains in effect today, even though it is now commonly circumvented by converting passenger vehicles to utility vehicles after they have entered the United States, a form of tariff engineering. This practice is ironically exercised by Ford (for its Transit Connect van), one of the companies the tax was meant to protect.

Second generation (T2; 1967)

In late 1967, the second generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) was introduced. It was built in West Germany until 1979. In Mexico, the Volkswagen Kombi and Panel were produced from 1970 to 1994. Early models are often called the T2a (or "Early Bay"), models after 1971 are called the T2b (or "Late Bay") and models after 1991 are called the T2c.

This second-generation Type 2 lost its distinctive split front windshield, and was  longer and considerably heavier than its predecessor. Its common nicknames are Breadloaf and Bay-window, or Loaf and Bay for short. At 1.6 L and  DIN, the engine was also slightly larger. The battery and electrical system was upgraded to 12 volts, making it incompatible with electric accessories from the previous generation. The new model eliminated the swing axle rear suspension and transfer boxes previously used to raise ride height. Instead, half-shaft axles fitted with constant velocity joints raised ride height without the wild changes in camber of the Beetle-based swing axle suspension. The updated Bus transaxle is sought by off-road racers using air-cooled Volkswagen components.

T2b
The T2b was introduced by way of gradual change over three years. The first models featured rounded bumpers incorporating a step for use when the door was open (replaced by indented bumpers without steps on later models), front doors that opened to 90° from the body, no lip on the front guards, unique engine hatches, and crescent air intakes in the D-pillars (later models after the Type 4 engine option was offered, have squared off intakes). The 1971 Type 2 featured a new, 1.6 L engine with dual intake ports on each cylinder head and was DIN-rated at . An important change came with the introduction of front disc brakes and new roadwheels with brake ventilation holes and flatter hubcaps. Up until 1972, front indicators are set low on the nose rather than high on either side of the fresh air grille – giving rise to their being nicknamed "Low Lights". 1972's most prominent change was a bigger engine compartment to fit the larger 1.7- to 2.0-litre engines from the Volkswagen Type 4, and a redesigned rear end which eliminated the removable rear apron and introduced the larger late tail lights. The air inlets were also enlarged to accommodate the increased cooling air needs of the larger engines.

In 1971 the 1600cc Type 1 engine as used in the Beetle, was supplemented with the 1700cc Type 4 engine – as it was originally designed for the Type 4 (411 and 412) models. European vans kept the option of upright fan Type 1 1600 engine but the 1700 Type 4 became standard for US spec models.

In the Type 2, the Type 4 engine, or "pancake engine", was an option for the 1972 model year onward. This engine was standard in models destined for the US and Canada. Only with the Type 4 engine did an automatic transmission become available for the first time in the 1973 model year. Both engines were 1.7 L, DIN-rated at  with the manual transmission and  with the automatic. The Type 4 engine was enlarged to 1.8 L and  DIN for the 1974 model year and again to 2.0 L and  DIN for the 1976 model year. The two-litre option appeared in South African manufactured models during 1976, originally only in a comparably well-equipped "Executive" model. The 1978 2.0 L now featured hydraulic valve lifters, eliminating the need to periodically adjust the valve clearances as on earlier models. The 1975 and later US model years received Bosch L-Jetronic electronic fuel injection as standard equipment; 1978 was the first year for electronic ignition, utilizing a hall effect sensor and digital controller, eliminating maintenance-requiring contact-breaker points. As with all Transporter engines, the focus in development was not on power, but on low-end torque. The Type 4 engines were considerably more robust and durable than the Type 1 engines, particularly in Transporter service.

In 1972, for the 1973 model year, exterior revisions included relocated front turn indicators, squared off and set higher in the valance, above the headlights. Also, square-profiled bumpers, which became standard until the end of the T2 in 1979, were introduced in 1973. Crash safety improved with this change because of a compressible structure behind the front bumper. This meant that the T2b was capable of meeting US safety standards for passenger cars of the time, though not required of vans. The "VW" emblem on the front valance became slightly smaller.

Later model changes were primarily mechanical. By 1974, the T2 had gained its final shape. Very late in the T2's design life, during the late 1970s, the first prototypes of Type 2 vans with four-wheel drive (4WD) were built and tested.

T2c

The T2c, with a roof raised by about  was built starting in the early 1990s for the Mexican, South American and Central American markets. Since 1991, the T2c has been built in México with the water-cooled 1.8 L inline four-cylinder  carbureted engine—easily identified by the large, black front-mounted radiator—and since 1995 with the 1.6 L air-cooled engines for the Brazilian market.

Once production of the original Beetle ended in late 2003, the T2 was the only Volkswagen model with an air-cooled, rear-mounted boxer engine, but then the Brazilian model shifted to a water-cooled engine on 23 December 2005. There was a 1.6 L  water-cooled diesel engine available from 1981 to 1985, which gave fuel economy of 15 km/L to 18 km/L—but gave slow performance and its insufficient cooling system led to short engine life.

The end of the Volkswagen air-cooled engine on a worldwide basis was marked by a Special Edition Kombi. An exclusive silver paint scheme, and limited edition emblems were applied to only 200 units in late 2005, and were sold as 2006 models.

Stricter emissions regulations introduced by the Brazilian government for 2006 forced a shift to a flexible-fuel water-cooled engine able to run on petrol or alcohol. Borrowed from the Volkswagen Gol, the engine is a rear-mounted EA-111 1.4 L 8v Total Flex ,  on petrol, and  when run on ethanol, and  torque.

Production of the Brazilian Volkswagen Kombi ended in 2013 with a production run of 600 Last Edition vehicles. A short film entitled "Os Últimos Desejos da Kombi" (English: The Kombi's Last Wishes) was made by Volkswagen Brazil to commemorate the end of production. Brazilian requirements that new cars have driver and passenger airbags and anti-lock brakes were also factors in the end of T2 production.

Third generation (T3; 1979)

The Volkswagen Type 2 (T3), (T25 within the UK) or Vanagon in the United States, the T3 platform was introduced in 1979, and was one of the last new Volkswagen platforms to use an air-cooled engine. The Volkswagen air-cooled engine was phased out for a water-cooled boxer engine (still rear-mounted) in 1983. Compared to its predecessor the T2, the T3 was larger and heavier, with square corners replacing the rounded edges of the older models. The T3 is sometimes called "the wedge" by enthusiasts to differentiate it from earlier Kombis.

Fourth generation (T4; 1990)

For 1990, the T4 generation was released, with the model range dropping the Type 2 name in favor of the Transporter nameplate. Over 15 years after the Golf was introduced as the replacement for the Type 1 (Beetle), the Transporter range also adopted a front-engine, front-wheel drive configuration (Syncro 4WD returned as an option). Worldwide, the model range now used water-cooled, fuel-injected engines, with inline (and later VR6) engines replacing the "wasserboxer".

Through much of the world, the T4 was marketed as the Transporter, with 3-row passenger vans known as the Caravelle; the Vanagon name was used in Japan. In the United States, the T4 was marketed as the Eurovan mid-size van for 1993 and from 1999 to 2003; from 1995 to 2005, the Eurovan served as the basis for multiple recreational vehicles marketed through the United States and Canada. Sales of the Transporter in North America ended in 2003.

Fifth generation (T5; 2003)

The Volkswagen Transporter T5 range is the fifth generation of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles medium-sized light commercial vehicle and people movers. Launched 6 January 2003, the T5 went into full production in April 2003, replacing the fourth generation range.

Key markets for the T5 are Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Turkey. It is not sold in the US market because it is classed as a light truck, accruing the 25% chicken tax on importation. The T5 has a more aerodynamic design. The angle of the windshield and A-pillar is less; this makes for a large dashboard and small bonnet.

In June 2009, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles announced the one-millionth T5 rolled off the production line in Hanover.

T5 GP introduced in 2010. Heavily facelifted with some new power plants including the 180 bi-turbo range topper. These new engines saw the demise of the now "dirty" 5 cylinder units.

Late 2015 will see the arrival of the "Neu Sechs", the New 6. The T6 will offer further engine changes in early 2016, but will launch with the previous generation engines. The new engines will see the introduction of Ad-Blu to meet with euro 6 emission compliance. The new 6 was expected by many to be more than just a facelift.

Sixth generation (T6; 2015)

The new T6 launched with the old Euro 5 non-AdBlue power-plants, but is offered with a Euro 6 diesel engine with 204bhp and AdBlue. Three further Euro 6 Adblue diesel power-plants with 84ps, 102ps and 150ps are also offered.

There is some debate in the community over whether the T6 is a new model, or simply a face-lift of the T5. There are obvious external changes to the nose and tailgate, while internally there is a new dash in two different versions. Volkswagen claims refinement to ride, handling and noise levels.

Volkswagen Microbus Concept

In 2001, a Volkswagen Microbus Concept was created, with design cues from the T1 generation in a spirit similar to the New Beetle nostalgia movement. Volkswagen planned to start selling it in the United States market in 2007, but it was scrapped in May 2004 and replaced with a more cost-effective design to be sold worldwide.

Names and nicknames
Like the Beetle, from the beginning, the Type 2 earned many nicknames from its fans. Popular nicknames in German include VW-Bus, Bulli/Bully (a portmanteau of Bus and Lieferwagen (delivery van)), Hippie-van, or simply der Bus. The Type 2 was meant to be officially named the Bully, but Heinrich Lanz, producer of the Lanz Bulldog farm tractor, intervened. The model was then presented as the Volkswagen Transporter and Volkswagen Kleinbus, but the Bully nickname still caught on.

The official German-language model names Transporter and Kombi (Kombinationskraftwagen, combined-use vehicle) have also caught on as nicknames. Kombi is not only the name of the passenger variant but also the Australasian and Brazilian term for the whole Type 2 family, in much the same way that they are all called VW-Bus in Germany, even the pickup truck variations. In Mexico, the German Kombi was translated as Combi and became a household word thanks to the vehicle's popularity in Mexico City's public transportation system. In Peru, where the term Combi was similarly adopted, the term Combi Asesina (Murderous Combi) is often used for buses of similar size, because of the notorious recklessness and competition of bus drivers in Lima to get passengers. In Portugal it is known as Pão-de-Forma (Breadloaf) because its design resembles a bread baked in a mold. Similarly, in Denmark, the Type 2 is referred to as Rugbrød (Rye bread). Finns dubbed it Kleinbus (mini-bus), as many taxicab companies adopted it for group transportation; the name Kleinbus has become an appellative for all passenger vans. The vehicle is also known as Kleinbus in Chile.

In the US, however, it is a VW bus, minibus, hippie-mobile, hippie bus, hippie van, "combie", Microbus, or Transporter to aficionados. The early versions produced before 1967 used a split front windshield (giving rise to the nickname "Splitty"), and their comparative rarity has led to their becoming sought after by collectors and enthusiasts. The next version, sold in the US market from 1968 to 1979, is characterised by a large, curved windshield and is commonly called a "bay-window". It was replaced by the Vanagon, of which only the Westfalia camper version has a common nickname, "Westy".

A popular nickname for the T3 was "2.6i" or "transi" in reference to the 2.6 liter Microbus/Caravelle sold in South Africa and their robust design being a popular choice for transportation of children respectively. Kombi is also a generic nickname for vans and minibuses in South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, often used as a means of public transportation. In Nigeria it is called Danfo.

In the UK, it is known as a "Campervan". In France, it was called a "camping-car" (usually hyphenated) though this has been expanded to include other, often more specialized vehicles in more recent times.

Among VW enthusiasts in countries of the former Yugoslavia, especially in Serbia and Croatia, VW T2 bus is commonly called a "Terrorist", probably due to its cameo appearance in the Back to the Future film in which it is driven by a group of Libyan terrorists.

Mexican production

T2 production began in 1970 at the Puebla assembly factory.

Offered initially only as a nine-passenger version called the Volkswagen Combi (Kombi in Brazil), and from 1973 also its cargo van version called the Volkswagen Panel, both variants were fitted with the 1.5 L air-cooled boxer engine and four-speed manual gearbox. In 1974, the 1.6 L  boxer engine replaced the 1.5 previous one, and production continued this way up to 1987. In 1987, the water-cooled 1.8 L  inline four-cylinder engine replaced the air-cooled 1.6 L. This new model is recognisable by its black grille (for its engine coolant radiator), bumpers and moldings.

In 1975, Volkswagen de México ordered two specially made pickups from Germany, one single cab and one double cab, for the Puebla plant. These were evaluated for the possibility of building pickups in Mexico, and were outfitted with every option except the Arctic package, including front and rear fog lights, intermittent wipers, trip odometer, clock, bumper rubber, PVC tilt, and dual doors on the single cab storage compartment. VW de Mexico was interested in having the lights, wiring, brake systems and other parts manufactured in Mexico. Ultimately, VW de Mexico declined to produce pickups, and the pickups were sold to an Autohaus, a Volkswagen dealer in San Antonio, Texas, since they could not be sold in Mexico. By law, no German-made Volkswagens were to be sold in Mexico. These were probably the only pickups that were produced in Germany for Mexican import, and have the "ME" export code on the M-code plate. The green double cab was sold to a new owner in New York, and has been lost track of. The light gray (L345, licht grau) single cab still exists. Pickups were not manufactured in Mexico, nor were they imported into Mexico from Germany, save for these two examples.

In 1988, a luxury variant – the Volkswagen Caravelle – made its debut in the Mexican market to compete with the Nissan Ichi Van, which was available in cargo, passenger and luxury versions.

The main differences between the two are that the Caravelle was sold as an eight-passenger version, while the Combi was available as a nine-passenger version, the Caravelle was only painted in metallic colors, while the Combi was only available in non-metallic colors, and the Caravelle was fitted with an AM/FM stereo cassette sound system, tinted windows, velour upholstery, reading lights, mid and rear headrests, and wheel covers from the European T3 model.

In 1991, the  higher roof made its debut in all variants, and the Combi began to be offered in eight- or nine-passenger variants. In 1991, since Mexican anti-pollution regulations required a three-way catalytic converter, a Digifant fuel injection system replaced the previous carburetor. The three variants continued without change until 1994.

In 1994, production ended in Mexico, with models being imported from Brazil. The Caravelle was discontinued, and both the Combi and the Panel were only offered in white color and finally in 2002, replaced by the T4 EuroVan Pasajeros and EuroVan Carga, passenger and cargo van in long wheelbase version, inline five-cylinder 2.5 L 115 bhp and five-speed manual gearbox imported from Germany.

Hippie van

The VW Type 2 became popular with the counterculture of the 1960s, thanks to its ability to transport a large group of people while being cheap and easy to maintain. Its design was simple yet spacious, thanks largely to the rear-mounted engine. It contrasted with the large sedans and station wagons that were normal at the time, giving the van an alternative and rebellious image. Vans were often painted with extravagant designs in bright colors, making them stand out on the road even more. The "hippie van" remains iconic today, thanks to being featured on the cover of albums by musicians such as Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys, and being used by fans of the Grateful Dead while following the band on tour. But most iconic of all, the music festival Woodstock, which was held in the summer of 1969, saw plenty of brightly-painted vans transporting excited young crowds.

See also
 Van
 Minibus
 Volkswagen Bus
 Volkswagen Transporter
 Volkswagen I.D. Buzz
 Volkswagen Westfalia Camper
 Volkswagen California

References

External links

Type 2
Minibuses
Vans
Minivans
Pickup trucks
Cab over vehicles
Rear-engined vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars powered by boxer engines
Cars introduced in 1950
1950s cars
1960s cars
1970s cars
1980s cars
1990s cars
2000s cars
2010s cars

Volkswagen Type 2


El Puerto de Singapur se refiere al puerto marítimo comercial de Singapur. Actualmente, es el puerto más activo del mundo en términos de tonelaje y de contenedores, abasteciendo más de la mitad de la demanda de crudo del mundo.

La importancia del puerto es que se encuentra ubicada en el estrecho de Johor por lo que se es ruta obligada entre el Océano Pacífico y el Océano Índico.

Historia

Antes de 1872
A finales del siglo XIII, se creó el asentamiento de Singapur en la rivera norte del río Singapur. Era conocido como el puerto antiguo. Fue el único puerto en el sur del Estrecho de Malaca y servía a los barcos y mercaderes en la región, competía con otros puertos a través de la costa de Malaca tales como Jambi, Kota Cina, Lambri, Semudra, Palembang, Kedah y Tamiang. El puerto tenía dos funciones. La primera era tener acceso a productos que se demandaban por los mercados internacionales; de acuerdo con el Daoyu Zhilüe (Brief Annals of Foreign Islands, 1349) del mercader chino Wang Dayuan (nacido en 1311) estos productos incluían elementos ornamentales de armaduras de alta calidad, y algodón. Aunque estos bienes estaban disponibles a través de otros puertos del sudeste asiático, los de Singapur eran reconocidos por su calidad. La segunda función era que Singapur actuaba como una vía de acceso al mercado regional e internacional de sus regiones colindantes. Johor y el Archipiélago de Riau suministraban productos para exportar donde fuera, mientras que Singapur era la principal fuente de suministros extranjeros de la región. Objetos arqueológicos de cerámica y jarrones en el archipiélago Riau evidencian esta afirmación. Además, el algodón se transbordaba de Java o India a través del puerto de Singapur.

Hacia el siglo XV, aunque el puerto de Singapur rechazó el comercio internacional debido al ascenso del Sultanato de Malaca, el comercio continuó con la isla. Un mapa de Singapur del matemático portugués Manuel Godinho d'Eredia muestra la localización de un oficial shabandar, los malayos era oficialmente los responsables del comercio internacional, cascos del siglo XV, cerámicas de Siam de finales del siglo XVI o porcelana China blanca y azul de principios del siglo XVII, han sido encontrados en el puerto de Singapur y en el Río Kallang. Singapur también ofertaba productos locales con demanda internacional. La madera local de Singapur era exportada a Malaca y más tarde era adquirida por comerciantes chinos para fabricar muebles. A principios del siglo XVII el asentamiento principal de Singapur y de su puerto fueron destruidos por un batallón proveniente de Aceh. Después de esto, no hubo un puerto significativo en Singapur hasta que en 1819 Sir Stamford Raffles, sorprendido por las aguas profundas y calmadas del Puerto Keppel estableció para el Reino Unido un nuevo asentamiento y un puerto internacional en la isla.

De 1819 a 1963
Interesado en atraer a los comerciantes asiáticos y europeos al nuevo puerto, Raffles ordenó que la tierra a lo largo de las orillas del río Singapur, en particular, el banco del sur, podían ser reclamados en caso necesario. Se animó a los comerciantes Chinos e Ingleses a asentarse en las inmediaciones. A los comerciantes chinos, debido a su frecuente interacción comercial con los comerciantes del sudeste asiático durante todo el año, se les ordenó establecer sus casas de comercio en el curso inferior del río, mientras que a los comerciantes ingleses, que dependían de la llegada anual del comercio de la India se les ofreció que crearan los almacenes aguas arriba del río. El puerto se basó en tres principales rutas de comercio que existían en el sudeste asiático en ese momento: la ruta china, que unía el sudeste de Asia con los puertos del sur de China de Fujian y Guangdong, la ruta del sudeste asiático, que unía las islas del archipiélago de Indonesia; y la ruta entre Europa y el Índico, que unía Singapur con los mercados de Europa y el litoral del Océano Índico. Estas rutas, que eran complementarias, situaron a Singapur como punto de trasbordo del comercio regional e internacional. Durante la década de 1830, Singapur había superado a Batavia (hoy Yakarta) como el centro del comercio de junco chino, y también se convirtió en el centro de comercio de los ingleses en el sudeste de Asia. Esto se debió a que los comerciantes asiáticos del sudeste preferían el puerto libre de Singapur a otros importantes puertos regionales que tenían restricciones. Singapur había adelantado también a Tanjung Pinang como la puerta de exportación de la industria de uncaria y la pimienta del archipiélago de Riau-Lingga en la década de 1830 y Johor del Sur en la década de 1840. También se había convertido el centro del comercio de Chaozhou en los productos marinos y el arroz.

Mientras el volumen de su comercio marítimo aumentaba en el siglo XIX, Singapur se convirtió en un puerto de escala clave para los buques de vela y de vapor en su paso a lo largo de las rutas marítimas de Asia. Desde la década de 1840, Singapur se convirtió en una importante estación carbonera para las redes de transporte de vapor que estaban empezando a formarse. Hacia finales del siglo XIX, Singapur se convirtió en un puerto de servicios de primera necesidad para el interior geográfico de la Península Malaya. Después del establecimiento del 'British Forward Movement', Singapur se convirtió en la capital administrativa de la Malasia británica. Carreteras y ferrocarriles se construyeron para el transporte de materias primas como el petróleo, el caucho y el estaño de la península de Malaca a Singapur para ser procesada en productos de primera necesidad, y luego embarcarlos a Gran Bretaña y otros mercados internacionales. Durante el período colonial, ésta fue la función más importante del puerto de Singapur.

Desde 1963
Singapur dejó formar parte del Imperio Británico cuando se unió con Malasia en 1963. Perdió su posición estratégica ya que ya no era la capital administrativa o económica de la península de Malaca. El procesamiento de Singapur de materias primas extraídas de la península se redujo drásticamente debido a la ausencia de un mercado común entre Singapur y los estados peninsulares.

Desde la independencia completa de Singapur en 1965, ha tenido que competir con otros puertos de la región para atraer al sector naval y el comercio en su puerto. Lo ha hecho mediante el desarrollo de una economía orientada a la exportación, basada en el valor agregado manufacturero. Obtiene productos en bruto o parcialmente manufacturados de los mercados regionales y mundiales, y exporta productos con valor agregado de nuevo a estos mercados a través de acuerdos de acceso a los mercados mediante las directivas de la Organización Mundial del Comercio o acuerdos de libre comercio.

Durante la década de 1980, la actividad de comercio marítimo había acabado en las inmediaciones del río Singapur, excepto en la forma de transporte de pasajeros, mientras terminales de otros puertos se hicieron cargo de esta función. El puerto de Keppel tiene ahora la superficie de tres terminales de contenedores. Otras terminales fueron construidas en Jurong y Pasir Panjang, así como en Sembawang, en el norte. Hoy en día, las operaciones del puerto de Singapur están a cargo de dos consorcios: PSA International (anteriormente la autoridad portuaria de Singapur, de ahí sus siglas en inglés PSA) y el puerto de Jurong, que en conjunto operan seis terminales de contenedores y tres terminales de uso general en todo Singapur.

En la década de 1990, el Puerto se hizo más conocido y superó a Yokohama, y con el tiempo se convirtió en el puerto más activo en términos de tonelaje.

Operaciones

Se trata del puerto de mayor tráfico del mundo en términos de manejo de cargas por tonelaje, con 1.150 millones de Tm manejadas en 2005. En cuanto al tonelaje de mercancías, Singapur está detrás de Shanghái con 423 millones de toneladas de carga manejados. El puerto mantiene la posición como mayor puerto mundial de tráfico de transbordo en 2005, y también como el mayor puerto de abastecimiento de combustible, con 25 millones de toneladas vendidas en un mismo año.

Singapur está situada primera en 2005 mundialmente en términos de tráfico de Contenedores, con 23,2 millones de (TEU)s manejados. El alto tráfico de contenedores ha hecho que supere a Hong Kong desde el primer cuatrimestre de 2005, y lidera la lista desde entonces, con una estimación de 19.335 TEUs manejados hasta octubre, comparados con los 18.640 TEUs manejados por Hong Kong en el mismo periodo. El creciente tráfico regional lo consolida en el Sudeste asiático, y el tráfico de transbordo en la ruta Europa-Este asiático a través de Singapur ha ayudado al puerto a encabezar las listas, un título que no conseguía desde que adelantó a Hong Kong una vez en 1998.

El puerto de Singapur juega un papel importante en las economías emergentes.

Operadores

Las instalaciones de contenedores de PSA en Singapur son las siguientes:
 Amarraderos de contenedores: 44
 Longitud de Muelle: 12.800 m
 Área: 436 hectáreas
 Calado máximo: 16 m
 Grúas del muelle: 143
 Capacidad soportable: 24.700 kTEU

PSA de Singapur es propietaria de 13 amarraderos, parte de la fase dos de la Terminal de Contenedores de Paisir que se construirán en 2009. Las fases tres y cuatro añadirán 16 amarraderos adicionales que se estima finalicen su construcción en 2013.

Las instalaciones del Puerto de Jurong son las siguientes:
 Amarraderos: 23
 Longitud de amarraderos: 4.545 m
 Calado máximo: 16 m
 Eslora máxima: 150.000 tm (DWT)
 Área: 1.2 km² de zona de libre comercio, 320.000 m² de zona con tasas
 Instalaciones de almacenamiento: 280.000 m²

PSA de Singapur también posee un contrato por 40 años de operador libre de impuestos, en el puerto de Gwadar en la costa suroeste de Pakistán. Gwadar comenzó a funcionar en marzo de 2008, con 3 amarraderos de uso variado, un muelle de 602 metros y 12,5 metros de profundidad. Otros 9 amarraderos de 20 metros de profundidad están en construcción.

Terminales

Producciones Audiovisuales
El puerto fue incluido en el programa Megaestructuras del canal National Geographic con el título de "El puerto con mayor tránsito del mundo".

Notas

Referencias
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Enlaces externos

 Página web oficial de la autoridad marítima y portuaria de Singapur (Inglés)
 Estadísticas operativas del puerto (Inglés)
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 Singapore Maritime Portal  Portal Marítimo de Singapur (Inglés)

Puertos marítimos
Puertos de Singapur
Transporte de Singapur

Puerto de Singapur


Dirtbusters er en dansk dokumentarfilm fra 2013 instrueret af Rene Odgaard.

Handling
Dirtbusters er et broderskab af vilde fyre fra Fyn, der ophøjer rengøring til noget, man er stolt af at udføre. Men bag Dirtbusters ligger også en filosofi om, at det er sundt at gøre det modsatte af, hvad samfundet forventer.

Referencer

Eksterne henvisninger

Dokumentarfilm fra Danmark
Danske film fra 2013

Dirtbusters


Încrucișare genetică  este procesul de reproducere a unui animal din părinți proveniți din două rase, soiuri sau populații diferite, de multe ori cu intenția de a crea descendenți care conțin trăsături ale ambelor rase sau de a produce un organism hibrid viguros. În timp ce încrucișarea este utilizată pentru menținerea sănătății și a viabilității organismelor, încrucișarea iresponsabilă poate produce, de asemenea, organisme de calitate inferioară sau poate dilua o rasă pură până la punctul de dispariție al unei rase.

Încrucișări la diferite animale

Bovine
La bovine există sisteme de încrucișare. Cel mai utilizat sistem este utilizat atunci când femelele de rasă pură sunt adaptate în mod deosebit unui mediu specific și sunt încrucișate cu tauri proveniți dintr-un alt mediu pentru a produce o generație cu trăsături ale ambilor părinți.

Oi
Numărul mare de rase de oi, care variază foarte mult, creează oportunități pentru încrucișare cu scopul adaptării la necesitățile industriei textile.

Animale hibride
Un animal hibrid este unul care are părinți din două specii separate, fiind diferite de animalele metise, care au părinți din aceeași specie. Hibrizii sunt de obicei, dar nu întotdeauna, sterili.

Unul dintre cele mai vechi tipuri de animale hibride este catârul, o încrucișare între o femelă cal și un mascul măgar. Ligrul este o încrucișare hibridă între un mascul leu și o femelă tigru. Yattle este o încrucișare între o vacă și un iac. Alte animale hibride sunt tigonul (între un mascul tigru și o femelă leu) și yakalo (între un iac și o bivoliță). Incașii cunoșteau că încrucișarea între Lama glama (lama) și Lama pacos (alpaca) producea un hibrid care nu avea nici unul din avantajele vreunuia dintre părinți săi.

La un moment dat s-a crezut că lupii și câinii erau specii separate, iar încrucișările între câini și lupi au fost numite lupi hibrizi. Astăzi lupii și câinii sunt recunoscuți ca făcând parte din specia Canis lupus, dar vechiul termen de "lup hibrid" este încă folosit.

Rase mixte
Un animal de rasă mixtă este definit ca având o origine nedocumentată sau necunoscută, în timp ce un animal provenit prin încrucișare genetică are în general părinți din două rase sau specii distincte. Un câine de origine necunoscută este adesea numit un câine mixt, "mutt" sau "mongrel". O pisică de origine necunoscută este adesea menționată generic ca pisică domestică cu păr scurt sau pisică domestică cu păr lung, iar în unele dialecte este adesea numită "moggy".

Referințe

Legături externe

Genetică
Reproducerea animalelor

Încrucișare genetică