A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a type of gate. It only allows one person to pass at a time.  It can also be made so as to make one-way traffic of people. It can also make passage only to people who put in a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar. A turnstile can be used for paid access (sometimes called a faregate when used for this). For example, it can be used in public transport as a ticket barrier or at a pay toilet.

Turnstiles are used at a variety of places. This includes stadiums, amusement parks, museums, and mass transit stations.

Other websites

Page showing various designs of turnstiles in the history of the New York subway system.
Turnstile Models

Gates

Turnstile


Framework for Integrated Test, or "Fit", is an open-source (GNU GPL v2) tool for automated customer tests. It integrates the work of customers, analysts, testers, and developers.

Customers provide examples of how their software should work. Those examples are then connected to the software with programmer-written test fixtures and automatically checked for correctness. The customers' examples are formatted in tables and saved as HTML using ordinary business tools such as Microsoft Excel. When Fit checks the document, it creates a copy and colors the tables green, red, and yellow according to whether the software behaved as expected.

Fit was invented by Ward Cunningham in 2002. He created the initial Java version of Fit. As of June 2005, it has up-to-date versions for Java, C#, Python, Perl, PHP and Smalltalk.

Although Fit is an acronym, the word "Fit" came first, making it a backronym. Fit is sometimes italicized but should not be capitalized. In other words, "Fit" and "Fit" are appropriate usage, but "FIT" is not.

Fit includes a simple command-line tool for checking Fit documents. There are third-party front-ends available. Of these, FitNesse is the most popular. FitNesse is a complete IDE for Fit that uses a Wiki for its front end. As of June 2005, FitNesse had forked Fit, making it incompatible with newer versions of Fit, but plans were underway to re-merge with Fit.

See also
 YatSpec - a Java testing framework that supersedes Fit
 Concordion - a Java testing framework similar to Fit
 Endly - a language agnostic and declarative end to end testing framework

References

 R Mugridge & W Cunningham, Fit for Developing Software: Framework for Integrated Tests, Prentice Hall PTR (2005)

External links
 Fit website
 FitNesse website
 PHPFIT is a PHP5 port of the Framework for Integrated Test (FIT)

Free software testing tools
Groupware
Software testing tools

Framework for integrated test


A Q meter is a piece of equipment used in the testing of radio frequency circuits. It has been largely replaced in professional laboratories by other types of impedance measuring devices, though it is still in use among radio amateurs. It was developed at Boonton Radio Corporation in Boonton, New Jersey in 1934 by William D. Loughlin.

Description
A Q meter measures the quality factor of a circuit, Q, which expresses how much energy is dissipated per cycle in a non-ideal reactive circuit:

This expression applies to an RF and microwave filter, bandpass LC filter, or any resonator. It also can be applied to an inductor or capacitor at a chosen frequency. For inductors

Where  is the reactance of the inductor,  is the inductance,  is the angular frequency and  is the resistance of the inductor. The resistance  represents the loss in the inductor, mainly due to the resistance of the wire. A Q meter works on the principle of series resonance.

For LC band pass circuits and filters:

Where  is the resonant frequency (center frequency) and  is the filter bandwidth. In a band pass filter using an LC resonant circuit, when the loss (resistance) of the inductor increases, its Q factor is reduced, and so the bandwidth of the filter is increased. In a coaxial cavity filter, there are no inductors and capacitors, but the cavity has an equivalent LC model with losses (resistance) and the Q factor can be applied as well.

Operation

Internally, a minimal Q meter consists of a tuneable RF generator with a very low (pass) impedance output and a detector with a very high impedance input. There is usually provision to add a calibrated amount of high Q capacitance across the component under test to allow inductors to be measured in isolation. The generator is effectively placed in series with the tuned circuit formed by the components under test, and having negligible output resistance, does not materially affect the Q factor, while the detector measures the voltage developed across one element (usually the capacitor) and being high impedance in shunt does not affect the Q factor significantly either.

The ratio of the developed RF voltage to the applied RF current, coupled with knowledge of the reactive impedance from the resonant frequency, and the source impedance, allows the Q factor to be directly read by scaling the detected voltage.

See also
 LCR meter
 ESR meter

References

Further reading

"An experimental 'Q' meter" — article by Lloyd Butler (originally published in Amateur Radio, November 1988; revised April 2004)

Electronic test equipment
Radio electronics
Measuring instruments

Q meter


Prejudice means preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.  The word comes from the Latin "pre" (before) and "judge".  People may prejudge any question, but the word is often used for an opinion about a person or group of people.  English understanding of the Latin has changed in past centuries.  In old English the word "prejudice" denotes the use of "good judgment" before an event, e.g., "I decided (showed prejudice) not to run with the bulls because I could have been hurt".

The word "prejudice" is often used when people dislike another group of people that are different from them. They may decide they do not like them because of their skin color (this is "racial prejudice"), religion (religious prejudice) or nationality. Such prejudices can lead to discrimination, hatred or even war.

Judges in a court of law should not be prejudiced when deciding whether someone is guilty. They should have an "open mind" so that they can make a fair decision (this is also known as not having a bias; most judges in a court of law have sworn to be unbiased when deciding a penalty). For example, if that person is the judge's friend then the judge would be prejudiced because he (or she) would not want his (or her) friend to get into trouble. In many other situations it is important not to be prejudiced, such as serving as an adjudicator in a competition or a juror in a trial.

Modern people sometimes use "prejudice" to mean "bigotry."  This leaves them with two words for one thing, and none for the other.

Related pages
 Bigotry
 Discrimination
 Bias
 Stereotype

Discrimination

Prejudice


Arthur Honegger (10 March 1892 - 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer, who was born in Le Havre, France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of the group of composers called Les Six. His most popular piece of music is an orchestral work called Pacific 231, which imitates the sound of a steam locomotive.

His full name was Oscar-Arthur Honegger, but his first name was never used. He studied harmony and violin in Paris until his parents moved to Zürich, Switzerland, when he studied at the Conservatory there. He then went back to Paris to study with Charles-Marie Widor and Vincent d'Indy. He wrote a ballet Le dit des jeux du monde in 1918. In 1926 he married Andrée Vaurabourg, a pianist and fellow student at the Paris Conservatoire. They often went on tour together, and his wife played the piano parts to his compositions. The couple had one daughter, Pascale, born in 1932. Honegger also had a son, Jean-Claude (1926-2003) whose mother was the singer Claire Croiza.

In the early 1920s Honegger became famous with the "dramatic psalm" "Le Roi David" ("King David"), which is still often sung by choirs. He wrote a lot of music between the wars, including the oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher, one of his best works. It tells the story of Joan of Arc.

During World War II Honegger could not leave Paris. He joined the French Resistance. He continued to write very serious music, including four symphonies (numbers 2-5) and some religious music.

Honegger loved trains. As a student he had spent some time travelling to Paris twice a week by train from Le Havre. His popular orchestral work Pacific 231 describes a train on the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was an early piece, written in 1923.

In 1947 Honegger suffered a severe heart attack, and after that he composed little. A second heart attack caused his death eight years later in Paris.

Honegger's music is different to that of the other members of Les Six, partly because Honegger liked the Romantic music of Wagner, Strauss and Reger. His music is tonal but with numerous strong dissonances. His musical style was also influenced by the music of Bach.

1892 births
1955 deaths
20th-century composers
Deaths from myocardial infarction
People from Le Havre
Swiss composers

Arthur Honegger


The King Fahad Mosque is a mosque in Culver City, California. It is significant in the Muslim community. A mosque is the main public building in Islam. As a gift to the Muslim community of Southern California from Saudi Arabia, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Minister of State and Cabinet Member, provided funding for the land in 1993. King Fahad pledged funds for the construction of the building in 1995. It will serve as a religious and educational center for both Muslims and non-Muslims, worldwide.

Inside the Mosque, the Qiblah (direction of prayer) was built facing towards the Ka'ba (mosque) in the city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. This is the direction that all Muslims face when they pray. Following Islamic tradition, there is a marble facade, hand made tiles from Turkey, and a 72 foot high minaret topped with a gold leaf crescent. The minaret is an architectural symbol of Islam.

The building covers . It is has a central prayer area, an auditorium, conference rooms, and modern amenities for wudu (a-self-purification process performed before prayer).

The King Fahad Mosque is located at 10980 Washington Boulevard in Culver City, California. It is open daily for all five prayers. Owned and operated by The Islamic Foundation of Shaikh Ibn Taimmiyyah, the entire project was guided by Director General, Dr. Khalil Al Khalil. The Islamic Foundation of Shaikh Ibn Taimmiyyah is located across the street from The King Fahad Mosque at 11004 Washington Boulevard.

Sheikh Al - Islam Ibn Taymiyah Foundation

Ibn Taymiyah Foundation has supervised the project of King Fahad Mosque in Los Angeles since its beginning. It is responsible for management and future activities. The establishment of this foundation dates back to 1400 AH (1980 CE). Its activities began in the "Muslim Student House" in the city's western area. The idea developed further and a house was purchased in the same area for prayers, lectures and Dawa activities.

The foundation is an Islamic charity organization legally recognized by United States authorities. It is exempted from taxes, entitled to own property and practice religious, educational, informational and intellectual activities throughout the United States.

The foundation's established objectives are:

 "Propagation of Islam in the light of the Glorious Quran and Traditions of Prophet Muhammad in keeping with the method of the righteous predecessors."
 "Preserving of the Islamic Faith, unifying Muslim ranks to regain their rights and be proud of their religion and civilization."
 "Construction of mosques, schools and colleges, organization of conferences and publication of books."
 "Linking Muslims in America with their Muslim brothers everywhere."
 "Enhancing cordial and humanitarian relations with various foundations, engaging into a mutual dialogue based on justice and pride."

The foundation supervises two other mosques:

 Masjid al Salam in central Los Angeles
 Riverside Mosque

The foundation supervises "Zamzam Schools" for girls' education and the memorization of the Qur'an.

Buildings and structures in California
Culver City, California
Islamic organizations based in the United States
Mosques

King Fahd Mosque, Culver City


is the rune denoting the sound p (voiceless bilabial stop) in the Elder Futhark runic alphabet. It does not appear in the Younger Futhark. It is named peorð in the Anglo-Saxon rune-poem and glossed enigmatically as follows:

"Peorð is a source of recreation and amusement to the great, where warriors sit happily together in the beerhall."

The name is not comprehensible from Old English, i.e. no word similar to peorð is known in this language.
According to a 9th-century manuscript of Alcuin (Codex Vindobonensis 795), written using the Gothic alphabet in Britain, the letters  p (based on a Greek Π) and  q (an inverted Π) are called "pairþra" and "qairþra", respectively.  One of these names clearly is derived from the other.  However, the names are not comprehensible in Gothic either, and it is not clear which is derived from which, although it is known that the Elder Futhark had a p, but no q rune.
In any case, it seems evident that peorð is related to pairþra.
The Anglo-Saxon futhorc adopted exactly the same approach for the addition of a labiovelar rune,  cƿeorð, in both shape and name based on peorð, but it is not known if the Gothic runes already had a similar variant rune of p, or if the labiovelar letter was a 4th-century creation of Ulfilas.

The Common Germanic name could be referring to a pear-tree (or perhaps generally a fruit-tree).
Based on the context of "recreation and amusement" given in the rune poem, a common speculative interpretation is that the intended meaning is "pear-wood" as the material of either a woodwind instrument, or a "game box" or game pieces made from wood.

From peorð, Proto-Germanic form *perðu, *perþō or *perþaz may be reconstructed on purely phonological grounds. The expected Proto-Germanic term for "pear tree" would be *pera-trewô (*pera being, however, a post-Proto-Germanic loan, either West Germanic, or Common Germanic, if Gothic pairþra meant "pear tree", from Vulgar Latin pirum (plural  pira), itself of unknown origin).
The Ogham letter name Ceirt, glossed as "apple tree", may in turn be a loan from Germanic into Primitive Irish.

The earliest attestation of the rune is in the Kylver Stone futhark row (ca. AD 400). The earliest example in a linguistic context (as opposed to an abecedarium) is already in futhorc, in the Kent II, III and IV coin inscriptions (the personal names pada and æpa/epa), dated to ca. AD 700. On St. Cuthbert's coffin (AD 698), a p rune takes the place of Greek Ρ. The Westeremden yew-stick (ca. AD 750) has op hæmu "at home" and up duna "on the hill".

Looijenga (1997) speculates that the p rune arose as a variant of the b rune, parallel to the secondary nature of Ogham peith. The uncertainty surrounding the rune is a consequence of the rarity of the *p phoneme in Proto-Germanic, itself due to the rarity of its parent-phoneme *b in Proto-Indo-European.

The rune is discontinued in Younger Futhark, which expresses /p/ with the b rune, for example on the Viking Age Skarpåker Stone,
iarþ sal rifna uk ubhimin
for Old Norse
Jörð skal rifna ok upphiminn.
"Earth shall be rent, and the heavens above."

References
A. Bammesberger, G. Waxenberger (eds.), Das fuþark und seine einzelsprachlichen Weiterentwicklungen, Walter de Gruyter (2006), , 85-98 (Birkhan), 418f. (Schulte).
W. Krause. Die Sprache der urnordischen Runeninschriften, C. Winter (1971), p. 37

See also
Runic alphabet
Rune poem
Gothic alphabet
Ogham

Runes

Peorð


The Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test (VDRL) is a blood test for syphilis and related non-venereal treponematoses that was developed by the eponymous US laboratory. The VDRL test is used to screen for syphilis (it has high sensitivity), whereas other, more specific tests are used to diagnose the disease.

History
The VDRL type test was invented before World War I, with its first iteration being that developed by August Paul von Wasserman with the aid of Albert Neisser in 1906. The VDRL test, as it is largely still done today, was developed in 1946 by Harris, Rosenberg, and Riedel. The lab was renamed to the Treponemal Pathogenesis and Immunology Branch of the United States Public Health Service.

Mechanism
The VDRL is a nontreponemal serological screening for syphilis that is also used to assess response to therapy, to detect central nervous system involvement, and as an aid in the diagnosis of congenital syphilis. The basis of the test is that an antibody produced by a patient with syphilis reacts with an extract of ox heart (diphosphatidyl glycerol). It therefore detects anti-cardiolipin antibodies (IgG, IgM or IgA), visualized through foaming of the test tube fluid, or "flocculation".

The rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test uses the same antigen as the VDRL, but in that test, it has been bound to several other molecules, including a carbon particle to allow visualization of the flocculation reaction without the need of a microscope. Many other medical conditions can produce false positive results, including some viruses (mononucleosis, hepatitis), drugs, pregnancy, rheumatic fever, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and leprosy.

The syphilis anti-cardiolipin antibodies are beta-2 glycoprotein independent, whereas those that occur in antiphospholipid syndrome (associated to lupus for example) are beta-2 glycoprotein dependent, and this can be used to tell them apart in an ELISA assay.  This test is very useful as the trend of titres are correlated to disease activity (i.e. falling titres indicate successful treatment). It has a very good sensitivity for syphilis, except in late tertiary form.

Other tests

There are a number of treponemal-specific tests such as the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) test, T. pallidum hemagglutination assays (TPHA), and the microhemagglutination assay (MHA-TP).

The MHA-TP is used to confirm a syphilis infection after another method tests positive for the syphilis bacteria. The MHA-TP test detects antibodies to the bacteria that cause syphilis and can be used to detect syphilis in all stages, except during the first 3 to 4 weeks. This test is not done on spinal fluid. The MHA-TP test is rarely used any more. Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assay (TP-PA) and the Toluidine red unheated serum test (TRUST), which may be used to confirm a positive VDRL result, are more specific for syphilis than non-treponemal tests and in the presence of a positive test, more likely indicate active infection. Unfortunately, other treponemal infections such as yaws, bejel, and pinta and possibly nonpathogenic commensal treponemes can result in a positive. Not all these disease are venereal; it has been recommended that a careful explanation of this fact be included with test results.

References

Infectious disease blood tests
Syphilis


The Aristolochiaceae, or Birthwort family, are a family of flowering plants with seven genera and about 400 species belonging to the order Piperales. The type genus is Aristolochia L.

Description
They are mostly perennial, herbaceous plants, shrubs, woody vines or even lianas.

The membranous, cordate simple leaves are spread out, growing alternately along the stem on leaf stalks. The margins are commonly entire. There are no stipules.

The bizarre flowers are large to medium-sized, growing in the leaf axils. They are bilaterally or radially symmetrical.

Classification
The Aristolochiaceae are magnoliids, a basal group of angiosperms which are not part of the large categories of monocots or eudicots.

Some newer classification schemes place the family Aristolochiaceae in the order Piperales.

Phytochemistry
Many members of Aristolochia and some of Asarum contain the toxin aristolochic acid, which defence against predators, in this case herbivores. It is known to be carcinogenic in rats. Aristolochia itself is carcinogenic to humans.

Ecology
Pipevine swallowtail butterflies lay their eggs on pipevine (Aristolochia species), and the larvae dine on the plant but are not affected by the toxin, which then offers the adult butterfly protection against predators.

References

Piperales
Plant families

Aristolochiaceae


Chinatown MRT Station (NE4/DT19) is an MRT Station in Singapore. It is an interchange station along the North East MRT Line and Downtown MRT Line.  It was the first MRT station with both lines operated by SBS Transit.

On the North East Line, it lies between the Outram Park and Clarke Quay MRT stations and between Telok Ayer and Fort Canning MRT stations on the Downtown Line. It is directly below and serves the ethnic district of Chinatown. The construction of the station was considered an engineering achievement, due to the busy traffic on the roads above and a number of nearby historical buildings that had to be preserved during the construction. The section of track between Telok Ayer and this station is the shortest between any two stations on the MRT network; it takes around 35 to 40 seconds for a train to travel between the stations. The distance between Chinatown and the next station, Clarke Quay, is the shortest distance between two MRT stations in Singapore, a mere 360 metres.

History
This station is said to be the most challenging station to build on the North-East line, due to the large number of buildings above ground, most with reinforced concrete or timber piles and all in marine clay. Another feat was that they had to preserve Garden Bridge, a large overhead bridge on bore piles, while building the station below. The tidal Eu Tong Sen Canal was also diverted into four two-meter diameter steel pipes slung under the temporary traffic decks (two on each side). Part of the New Bridge Road was often closed between 12 January 1998 and 20 October 2001 for the construction of Chinatown MRT Station. This station was named People's Park before it was renamed in 1999. It was originally H3 / C3 before opening.

References

Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations

Chinatown MRT station


The Andravida  or  Eleia Horse is a light draft breed found in the region of Ilia in Greece. It owes its development to the crossing of Anglo-Norman with local breeds with additional crosses of Nonius stallions after 1920. The breed is close to extinction and its stud book was only established in 1995.

The members of the breed are predominantly brown, bay, chestnut, red roan, black and occasionally grey, though, this tends to be a rare phenomenon. The head is rectangular in shape - quite unremarkable and plain with long ears and a straight profile. The chest is broad and heavy-set with thick muscles; the back is slightly dipped; the shoulders should be well-sloped and the croup only gently so. The horse's legs should be free of excess hair, very strong and thick with good bone. The breed's temperament is described as willing but strong. The breed is of moderate height ranging between  high with the average being at around .

The breed is believed to trace to the cavalry horses of Ancient Greece; in the fourth century BC used by the Athenian Army. In peace times, the breed was used to transport goods from remote villages and for riding. Beginning in the 13th century, Arabian blood was introduced to create the lighter strain of this breed.  In the 20th century, Anglo-Norman blood was added, but numbers went into decline. The breed was saved from extinction in the early 1990s, when Andravida's Selle Francais stallion Calin de Nanteuil, renamed Pegasus, covered some mares, resulting in 50 healthy foals that went to breeders throughout western Greece. Despite this, however, the breed's numbers are still very low, and they are rarely, if at all, found outside of Ilia, where they are bred almost exclusively.

References

Further reading

 PDF of a conference on rare breeds in Greece

External links
 Forumish post at Everything2.com

Horse breeds
Horse breeds originating in Greece

Andravida horse


Relapse Records is an independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

History
The label wis stairtit bi Matthew F. Jacobson in August 1990 in his parents' basement in Aurora, Colorado.  The first twa releases on the label wir 7-inch singles bi the baunds Velcro Overdose an Face of Decline, closely follaed bi three daith metal baunds that wad become amang the biggest on the label, Deceased, Suffocation, an Incantation.

Jacobson stairtit Relapse Records on a release-bi-release basis an wisna expectin ony far-reachin extensive plan for the future, till ane day he realized that there coud be a future for the label ayont his awn labor o love. He uised his extensive leet o contacts that he gained frae his wirk at fanzine, Horrendlfled, tae netwirk no anerlie the label but an aa the airtists Matthew haed signed.

Efter this, Jacobson became acquaintit wi William Yurkiewicz Jr., who became his pairtner in the record label. Yurkiewicz haed foondit his awn record label, which wis suin tae release albums frae the baunds General Surgery, Disrupt, Destroy, Misery, an Yurkiewicz's awn baund Exit-13. The twa joined forces tae create Relapse Records, aimin tae release heich-quality, professionally packaged extreme muisic.

In 1991, the label moved their heidquarters tae Millersville, Pennsylvania. In 1992, the label expandit its range wi the creation o its subsidiary label called Release Entertainment, which specializes in experimental, ambient, industrial, an noise titles. Wi continued growth came a mail-order/wholesale operation that suin became the lairgest unnergrund distribution center for aw things metal in the Unitit States. The mail-order service carried a wide array o extreme muisic recordins an merchandise, as well as publications frae aroond the warld.

Throughoot the years Relapse haes continued tae grow an sign on mair influential airtists frae a broader range o genres. In 1996, Relapse unveiled the Resound Music Resource Guide. Resound gave fans direct access tae the label's roster through interviews an reviews, as well as being pairt mail-order catalog.

In 1998, Relapse opened a promotions office in Berlin, as well as establishin a German Distribution deal. The seicont milestone came in 2003 when the first iver Relapse Contamination Festival wis held Januar 18 an 19 at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania an featured various Relapse airtists.  In 2000, the label relocatit tae Upper Darby, ootside o Philadelphia an began plans tae include a pheesical record store.  In Juin 2001, the label opened their first record store aff o South Street in Philadelphia, near several ither notable unnergrund record stores.

Muisical style
The label specializes in various types o hivy metal. Recently, wi the increasin popularity o extreme metal, Relapse Records haes ostensibly become mair mainstream, wi baunds on their roster frequently appearin on the front cover o the magazine Kerrang! an video plays on TV muisic channels, alang wi some albums chairtin on the Billboard 200. The wird haes an aa been spread bi the sponsorship o such festivals as the Milwaukee Metalfest.

It wad be haurd housomeivver tae label the company as dealin in ane specific style or anither as there are airtists o such a wide variety on their roster, rangin frae stoner rock an hardcore baunds through grindcore an daith metal rict the way tae retro thrash metal an doom metal.
If you wur tae factor in the offeecially licensed reissues the label haes an aa released then you wad an aa hae tae add anither cavalcade o different genres intae the definition o their "style."

See an aa
Leet o record labels
Relapse Records airtists

Freemit airtins
Offeecial wabsteid

American independent record labels
Hivy metal record labels
Daith metal record labels
Grindcore record labels
Record labels established in 1990

Relapse Records


The North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, in the U.S. State of South Carolina, features the salt marshes and ocean dominated tidal creeks of the North Inlet Estuary plus the brackish waters and marshes of the adjacent Winyah Bay Estuary. North Inlet is a relatively pristine system in which water and habitat quality are much higher than those in Winyah Bay. As the estuary with the third largest watershed on the east coast, Winyah Bay has been greatly influenced by agriculture, industry and other human activities. More than 90 percent of North Inlet's watershed is in its natural forested state

The reserve is home to many threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles, sturgeons, least terns and wood storks.

Reserve resources range from tidal and transitional marshes to oyster reefs, beaches, and inter-tidal flats and from coastal island forests to open waterways.

References

Protected areas of South Carolina
National Estuarine Research Reserves of the United States
Protected areas of Georgetown County, South Carolina
Estuaries of South Carolina
Landforms of Georgetown County, South Carolina


Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen (15 March 1857 – 29 June 1925), better known as Christian Michelsen, was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first prime minister of independent Norway and Norway's 9th prime minister from 1905 to 1907. Michelsen is most known for his central role in the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905, and was one of Norway's most influential politicians of his time.

Background
Born in Bergen, he was named after his grandfather, bishop Peder Christian Hersleb Kjerschow. He was the eldest of five siblings born into a merchant family. Michelsen attended the Bergen Cathedral School. He studied law at The Royal Frederick University and went on to become a lawyer. He later established the shipping company, Chr. Michelsen & Co., which became one of the largest in Norway.

Political career
He became a member of the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) in 1891, representing the Liberal Party of Norway. He considered himself mostly above petty party strifes, and one of his major aims was to create a coalition of parties reaching from the Conservative Party to the Liberal Party, which he called the Coalition Party. He served as Finance Minister in the second cabinet Hagerup, and was one of the strongest proponents of a more firm policy towards the union between Sweden and Norway. In March 1905, Michelsen replaced Francis Hagerup as Prime Minister, and immediately became the leader of the movement towards dissolution of the union (Unionsoppløsningen i 1905).

The formal basis for the dissolution was King Oscar II's refusal to accept the Norwegian consular laws (Konsulatsaken). The Swedish government had for several years insisted that laws governing foreign affairs had to be a part of the union agreement, and as such, consular laws could not be passed by the Norwegian Storting without consent of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag). The Swedes were willing to accept the Norwegian urge for separate consular affairs, but they demanded that Norway accept the precedent under which the union had operated for 90 years, namely that the Foreign Minister be Swedish. This, the Norwegians felt, acknowledged Sweden as having the upper hand in the Union. While this supremacy existed in reality, Norwegians were unwilling to accept the unequal relationship on a formal, legal basis.

On 27 May 1905 King Oscar refused to sign the bill, and in response the Norwegian cabinet ministers resigned collectively. The king took no further action, probably aware that a dissolution of the Union was imminent, and the Swedish politicians did nothing, probably believing that this was another Norwegian political retreat. On 7 June, the Norwegian Storting declared that because the King had been unable to form a new government in Norway after Michelsen's resignation, he had lost the capacity to rule and hence ceased to be king of Norway. This strategic move gave the dissolution a somewhat legal basis, and was primarily the work of Christian Michelsen.  He knew that the Norwegian people, after months of well-directed information in a unanimous press, was united in a way that is extremely rare in a democracy. In the referendum that proved the Norwegian will to dissolve the union, retention of the union garnered a mere 184 votes nationwide, which represented only one vote out of every 2000 cast.

Michelsen, though a believer in a democratic republic in Norway, accepted that a democratic monarchy would have the greatest chances to be accepted abroad and among a majority of Norwegians. Prince Carl of Denmark became King Haakon VII of Norway after a new referendum had given the monarchy proponents approximately 79% of the votes cast.

In 1906 Michelsen won the election on an "above-the-parties" ticket, which quickly alienated the leading Liberals from him. In 1907 he resigned, having tired of petty squabbles among the political leaders, and accepting that his political views had been defeated. Jørgen Løvland carried on Michelsen's work, but lacked the will to force the coalition to stand united, and in 1908 the coalition broke down.  In social policy, Michelsen's time as prime minister saw the passage of the 1906 Law on Central and Local Government Contributions to Unemployment Funds, which introduced voluntary insurance.

In 1925, he, along with the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen and the industrialist Joakim Lehmkuhl, founded the Fatherland League.

Personal life
He was married in 1881 to Johanne Benedicte Wallendahl (1861–1910).  In 1905, he was awarded the Grand Cross of The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav and in 1907 he received the Collar as well.

Gamlehaugen

In the year 1899, Michelsen began the construction of the Gamlehaugen mansion, which was completed in 1900. The estate today functions as a residence of the Norwegian royal family and is open to the public.

Chr. Michelsen Institute
Michelsen  bequeathed most of his estate to a fund which made possible the establishment and operation of Chr. Michelsen Institute for Science and Intellectual freedom. In recent times, the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) was established as an independent centre for research on international development and policy. Founded in Bergen in 1930, CMI conducts both applied and theoretical research, and has a multidisciplinary profile anchored in four thematic research groups, namely human rights, democracy and development, peace, conflict and the state, poverty reduction and public sector reform.

See also

Michelsen's Cabinet

References

1857 births
1925 deaths
People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School
Liberal Party (Norway) politicians
Coalition Party (Norway) politicians
Mayors of Bergen
Members of the Storting
Norwegian republicans
Collett family
Ministers of Finance of Norway
Fatherland League (Norway)
Ministers of Justice of Norway

Christian Michelsen


A miniature sheet or souvenir sheet is a small group of postage stamps still attached to the sheet on which they were printed. They may be either regular issues that just happen to be printed in small groups, or special issues often commemorating some event, such as a national anniversary, philatelic exhibition, or government program. The number of stamps ranges from one to about 25; larger sheets of stamps are simply called "sheets" with no qualifier.

The stamps on the sheet may be perforated in the usual way, or imperforate. The margins or selvage of the sheet may have additional printing, ranging from a simple statement of the occasion being commemorated, up to a full picture of which the stamp(s) are just a small part.

Related pages
 Postage stamp

Other websites

Postage stamps

Miniature sheet


In biology and botany, indeterminate growth is growth that is not terminated in contrast to determinate growth that stops once a genetically pre-determined structure has completely formed. Thus, a plant that grows and produces flowers and fruit until killed by frost or some other external factor is called indeterminate. For example, the term is applied to tomato varieties that grow in a rather gangly fashion, producing fruit throughout the growing season. In contrast, a determinate tomato plant grows in a more bushy shape and is most productive for a single, larger harvest, then either tapers off with minimal new growth or fruit or dies.

Inflorescences
In reference to an inflorescence (a shoot specialised for bearing flowers, and bearing no leaves other than bracts), an indeterminate type (such as a raceme) is one in which the first flowers to develop and open are from the buds at the base, followed progressively by buds nearer to the growing tip. The growth of the shoot is not impeded by the opening of the early flowers or development of fruits and its appearance is of growing, producing, and maturing flowers and fruit indefinitely. In practice the continued growth of the terminal end necessarily peters out sooner or later, though without producing any definite terminal flower, and in some species it may stop growing before any of the buds have opened.

Not all plants produce indeterminate inflorescences however; some produce a definite terminal flower that terminates the development of new buds towards the tip of that inflorescence. In most species that produce a determinate inflorescence in this way, all of the flower buds are formed before the first ones begin to open, and all open more or less at the same time. In some species with determinate inflorescences however, the terminal flower blooms first, which stops the elongation of the main axis, but side buds develop lower down. One type of example is Dianthus; another type is exemplified by Allium; and yet others, by Daucus.

Animals

In zoology, indeterminate growth refers to the condition where animals grow rapidly when young, and continue to grow after reaching adulthood although at a slower pace. It is common in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and many molluscs. The term also refers to the pattern of hair growth sometimes seen in humans and a few domestic breeds, where hair continues to grow in length until it is cut.

Mushrooms

Some mushrooms – notably Cantharellus californicus – also exhibit indeterminate growth.

See also
 Determinate cultivar

References

Plant morphology
Biology

Indeterminate growth


Iron(II) oxide is an chemical compound composed of iron in the +2 oxidation state bonded to oxygen atoms. It easily converts to a mixture of iron and iron(III) oxide at room temperature. It is stable though when it is very hot. It is a black powder. If it gets hydrated (bonded to extra water molecules), it turns green. The green chemical, named iron(II) hydroxide, gets oxidized by oxygen to a reddish color of iron(III) oxide.

Related pages
 Iron(II,III) oxide

Iron compounds
Oxides

Iron(II) oxide


The Golden Rule is a moral which says treat others how you would want to be treated. This moral in various forms has been used as a basis for society in many cultures and civilizations. It is called the 'golden' rule because there is value in having this kind of respect and caring attitude for one another.

People of many religions see the value of this mandate and have similar expressions. In Christianity, Jesus Christ taught this idea to his disciples and others when he gave his Sermon on the Mount. It is recorded in the Holy Bible in the book of Matthew, Chapter 7 and verse 12. Jesus explained to his listeners that all the things that were recorded in the Jewish law and that the prophets had taught about concerning morality was summed up in this one rule. The context of this statement (Matthew 7) is about God's mercy and kindness. The principle that was shared is to not always treat others as they might deserve to be treated, as we may judge some as undeserving, but instead to always be merciful and charitable, not withholding good.

In other religions and belief systems there is a similar concept of "the ethic of reciprocity", also called the Golden Rule. They usually give a similar idea, although sometimes it has been expressed in the form such as "Do not treat others as you would not like to be treated."

One of the earliest rules of this type is from the Old Testament days of Moses: "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18).  Similar rules have also appeared over time:

 ca. 950 BC: "...by making dharma (right conduct) your main focus, treat others as you treat yourself." - Mahabharata Shānti-Parva 167:9 (Hinduism)
 ca. 600 BC: "Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing." – Thales (Greek philosopher)
 ca. 500 BC: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." - Buddha Udanavarga 5:18 (Buddhism)
 ca. 500 BC: "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated." — Sutrakritanga, 1.11.33 (Jainism)
 ca. 480 BC: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?" - Confucius Analects 15:24
 ca. 400 BC: "Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you." - Isocrates (Greek philosopher)
 ca. 350 BC: "That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another." - Egyptian Papyrus, Brooklyn 47:218:135
 ca. 50 BC: "What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either." - Sextius (Greek philosopher)
 ca. 1 AD: "Do not do to others what you know has hurt yourself" - Tirukkural (Tamil Hinduism)
 ca. 400 AD: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation..." - Babylonian Talmud Shabbath 31:a (Judaism)
 ca. 600 AD: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." - Muhammad, various hadiths (Islam)
 ca. 800 AD: "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29 (Zoroastrianism)
 ca. 1200 AD: "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." Treatise on the Response of the Tao (Taoism)
 ca. 1400 AD: "If the entire Dharma can be said in a few words, then it is — that which is unfavorable to us, do not do that to others." Padmapuraana 19/357–358 (Hinduism)
 ca. 1850 AD: "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." Baha'ullah (Baha'i Faith)

Related pages
Quid pro quo is when a return favour is definitely expected.

Philosophy
Phrases
Life skills

Golden Rule


Tube feet are small tube-like projections on the underside (oral side) of echinoderms. They are part of the water vascular system of echinoderms.

Tube feet are used to move, feed and breathe. They are arranged in grooves along the arms. They operate through hydraulic pressure.  They are used to pass food to the oral mouth at the center, and can attach to surfaces. Tube feet allow these animals to stick to the ocean floor and move slowly. A sea star that is overturned simply turns one arm over and attaches it to a solid surface, and levers itself the right way up.

Tube feet are used by starfish are used to open up bivalve shells.  The shells of brachiopods and bivalves are held together by strong muscles. What the starfish does is clamp hold of them on either side with its tube feet, and apply a steady pull. The starfish, with its muscles and hydraulic system, can pull for much longer than any bivalve muscle can withstand. Apparently, ten minutes are usually enough to open the shell a bit. Then the starfish slips its stomach inside the shell. The stomach can get through a slot as narrow as 0.1mm. The starfish then dissolves the mollusc where it lives, absorbing the nutrients. This digestion process takes much longer than opening the shell, perhaps a couple of days.

References

Echinoderms
Animal anatomy

Tube feet


Charles Cecil MBE (born 11 August 1962) is an English video game designer. He has worked in the interactive entertainment industry for 25 years. He is currently the Managing Director for UK based company Revolution Software which has released such critical and commercial hits as Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series. Cecil is on the advisory panel of the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival, and Develop Conference and regularly talks at events and to mainstream press about creative and commercial aspects of the video games industry. He is also a co-founder and director of Game Republic, an alliance of game developers, and is a Board member of Screen Yorkshire, a regional agency that supports movie, television and interactive entertainment in Yorkshire. In 2006, Cecil was awarded the status of 'industry legend' by Develop, Europe's leading development magazine.

1962 births
Living people
Video game designers
English businesspeople
People from York

Charles Cecil


Assumption reinsurance is a form of reinsurance whereby the reinsurer is substituted for the ceding insurer and becomes directly
liable for policy claims. This ordinarily requires a notice and release from affected policyholders. In the more typical reinsurance arrangement, the reinsurer has an obligation to indemnify the ceding insurer, which remains liable for claims on policies it has issued, and policyholders' approval is not required.

Types of insurance
Reinsurance

Assumption reinsurance


Toast is sliced bread that has been browned by radiant heat. The browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread and making it firmer. The firm surface is easier to spread toppings on and the warmth can help butter reach its melting point. Toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable. Bread is toasted using a toaster or a toaster oven. Toast may contain acrylamide caused by the browning process, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. However, claims that acrylamide in burnt toast causes cancer have not been proven.

Butter or margarine, and sweet toppings, such as jam or jelly, are commonly spread on toast. Regionally, savory spreads, such as peanut butter or yeast extract, may also be popular. Toast may accompany savory dishes such as soups or stews, or it can be topped with ingredients like eggs or baked beans to make a light meal. Toast is a common breakfast food. A sandwich may also use toasted bread.

Etymology and history
The word toast comes from the Latin torrere 'to burn'. One of the first references to toast in print is in a recipe for Oyle Soppys (flavoured onions stewed in a gallon of stale beer and a pint of oil) from 1430. In the 1400s and 1500s, toast was discarded or eaten after it was used as a flavoring for drinks. In the 1600s, toast was still thought of as something to be put into drinks. In his 1602 play The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare gives Falstaff the line: "Go fetch me a quart of sack; put a toast in't." Toast has been used as an element of American haute cuisine since at least the 1850s. Toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable.

Preparation
Bread sold ready-sliced is commonly used in modern preparations; some of these specifically market their suitability for toasting.

Toasters

In a modern home kitchen, toast is usually made in a special-purpose electrical appliance, a toaster. Sliced bread is placed into the slots on the top of the toaster, the desired degree of toasting is set, and a lever is pushed down to expose the bread to the heated elements. The toast is popped up when it is ready. Bread toasted in a conventional toaster can "sweat" when it is served (i.e. water collects on the surface of the cooled toast). This occurs because moisture in the bread becomes steam while being toasted due to heat and when cooled the steam condenses into water droplets on the surface of the bread.

Bread can also be toasted under a red-hot grill. Hotels, restaurants, and other food service locations often use a conveyor toaster, with heating elements both above and below the slices of bread, which are carried slowly between the red-hot elements by a metal conveyor belt, making toast continuously.

Toaster ovens are special small appliances made for toasting bread or heating small amounts of other foods.

Alternative preparations
Bread can be toasted under a grill (or broiler). "Oven toast" can be prepared in an open oven, or laid on an oven rack, usually buttered before toasting. It can also be made by heating bread in a skillet or pan. Bread can also be toasted by holding it near, but not directly over, an open flame or red-hot coals, such as a campfire or fireplace with a toasting fork or equivalent implement.

Consumption

Toast is most commonly eaten with butter or margarine spread over it, and may be served with preserves, spreads, or other toppings in addition to or instead of butter. Toast with jam or marmalade is popular. A few other condiments that can be enjoyed with toast are chocolate spread, cream cheese, and peanut butter. Yeast extracts such as Marmite in the UK, New Zealand and South Africa, and Vegemite in Australia are considered national traditions. Some sandwiches, such as the BLT, call for toast to be used rather than bread.

Toast is an important component of many breakfasts. In the United Kingdom, toast is part of a traditional breakfast: it may be incorporated in a full breakfast or eaten with baked beans. A dish popular there with children is eggs and soldiers. Strips of toast (the soldiers) are dipped into the runny yolk of a soft-boiled egg through a hole made in the top of the eggshell, and eaten.

Toast is also used in some traditional bland specialty diets for people with gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. This is because toasting breaks down the starch in the bread and makes it easier to digest.

In southern Sri Lanka, it is common for toast to be paired with a curry soup and mint tea. In Japan, people like to toast thick slices of bread. Toast became a staple dish in Japan after World War II, especially after it was introduced in school lunches throughout the country due to the shortage of rice. Thick slices of toasted bread are also eaten in regions of the US, where they are known as Texas toast. Street vendors in South Korea serve toast with a variety of toppings, usually fried eggs, vegetables and slices of meat, topped with sauces. Korean toast is to be eaten as a sandwich. In Southeast Asia, coconut jam is a popular spread for toast. Avocado toast is seen as a symbol of millennial culture.

By 2013, "artisanal toast" had become a significant food trend in upscale American cities like San Francisco, where some commentators decried the increasing number of restaurants and bakeries selling freshly made toast at what was perceived to be an unreasonably high price.

Health concerns
Toasted bread may contain Benzo[a]pyrene and high levels of acrylamide, a carcinogen generated during the browning process. High acrylamide levels can also be found in other heated carbohydrate-rich foods. The darker the surface colour of the toast, the higher its concentration of acrylamide. The British Food Standards Agency recommended that bread should be toasted to the lightest colour acceptable, later modified to "aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter when frying, baking, toasting or roasting starchy foods". Epidemiological studies available  suggested that it was unlikely that dietary acrylamide consumption increased the risk of developing cancer.

Cultural references
Another popular idiom associated with the word "toast" is the expression "to toast someone's health", which is typically done by one or more persons at a gathering by raising a glass in salute to the individual. This meaning is derived from the early meaning of "toast", which from the 1400s to the 1600s meant warmed bread that was placed in a drink. By the 1700s, there were references to the drink in which toast was dunked being used in a gesture that indicates respect: "Ay, Madam, it has been your Life's whole Pride of late to be the Common Toast of every Public Table."

The slang idiom "you're toast", "I'm toast", or "we're toast" is used to express a state of being "outcast", "finished", "burned, scorched, wiped out, [or] demolished" (without even the consolation of being remembered, as with the slang term "you're history")." The first known use of "toast" as a metaphorical term for "you're dead" was in the film Ghostbusters (1984), in which Bill Murray's character Peter Venkman declares, "This chick is toast", before the Ghostbusters attempt to burn the villain with their nuclear-powered weapons. "Hey, dude. You're toast, man", which appeared in The St. Petersburg Times of October 1, 1987, is the "...earliest [printed] citation the Oxford English Dictionary research staff has of this usage." In marijuana slang, to be "toasted" is to experience cannabis intoxication.

Humorous observations have been made about buttered toast. It has been noted that buttered toast has a perceived tendency, when dropped, to land with the buttered side to the floor, the least desirable outcome. Although the concept of "dropped buttered toast" was originally a pessimistic joke, a 2001 study of the buttered toast phenomenon found that when dropped from a table, a buttered slice of toast landed butter-side down at least 62% of the time. The phenomenon is widely believed to be attributable to the combination of the size of the toast and the height of the typical dining table, which means that the toast will not rotate far enough to right itself before encountering the floor. A joke that plays on this tendency is the buttered cat paradox; if cats always land on their feet and buttered toast always lands buttered side down, it questions what happens when buttered toast is attached to a cat's back.

A more recent cultural phenomenon is the popularity of avocado toast, which is toast spread with mashed avocado. It is associated with the Millennial generation in particular as a stereotypical food consumed by that group.

Other foods which are toasted
Cheese and marshmallows are also toasted by exposure to dry radiant heat. A toasted cheese sandwich melts the cheese and toasts the bread. Bagels, English muffins, Pop Tart pastries, and crumpets can also be toasted.

See also

 Bruschetta
 Crouton
 French toast
 Fried bread
 Kaya toast
 List of toast dishes
 List of bread dishes
 Panino
 Roti bakar
 Texas toast
 Toast rack
 Toaster
 Tostada

References

External links

Breads
Toast dishes
Culinary terminology
Bread dishes

Toast (food)


The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, they are the most fished catfish species with around 8 million anglers targeting them per year. They also have very few teeth and swallow food whole. The popularity of channel catfish for food has contributed to the rapid expansion of aquaculture of this species in the United States. It has also been widely introduced in Europe, Asia and South America, and it is legally considered an invasive species in many countries.

Distribution and habitat

Channel catfish are native to the Nearctic, being well distributed in lower Canada and the eastern and northern United States, as well as parts of northern Mexico. They have also been introduced into some waters of landlocked Europe (Czech Republic and Romania) and parts of Malaysia and almost as many parts of Indonesia. They thrive in small and large rivers, reservoirs, natural lakes, and ponds. Channel "cats" are cavity nesters, meaning they lay their eggs in crevices, hollows, or debris, to protect them from swift currents. In Canada, the species is largely, though not exclusively, limited to the Great Lakes watershed from Lake Nipigon southward.

Characteristics

Channel catfish possess very keen senses of smell and taste. At the pits of their nostrils (nares) are very sensitive odor-sensing organs with a very high concentration of olfactory receptors. In channel catfish, these organs are sensitive enough to detect several amino acids at about one part per 100 million in water. In addition, the channel catfish has taste buds distributed over the surface of its entire body. These buds are especially concentrated on the fish's four pair of barbels (whiskers) surrounding the mouth — about 25 buds per square millimeter. This combination of exceptional senses of taste and smell allows the channel catfish to find food in dark, stained, or muddy water with relative ease. They also possess a Weberian apparatus, which amplifies sound waves that would otherwise not be perceivable. The barbels of channel catfish have been falsely thought to sting on contact. They do not; however, these catfish do have spines on their pectoral and dorsal fins that, if not handled carefully, can cause injury.

Length and weight

[[File:CCatfish.png|350px|right | thumb | Weight vs. length for Channel Catfish, where b = 3.2293 and  cm.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Anderson RO, Neumann RM | date = 1996 | title = Length, Weight, and Associated Structural Indices", in Fisheries Techniques | edition = second | veditors = Murphy BE, Willis DW | publisher = American Fisheries Society }}</ref>]]
A member of the American catfish genus Ictalurus, channel catfish have a top-end size of about 40–50 pounds (18–23 kg). The world record channel catfish weighed 58 pounds, and was taken from the Santee-Cooper Reservoir in South Carolina, on July 7, 1964. Realistically, a channel catfish over 20 lb (9 kg) is a spectacular specimen, and most catfish anglers view a 10-lb (4.5-kg) fish as a very admirable catch. Furthermore, the average size channel catfish an angler could expect to find in most waterways would be between 2 pounds (1 kg) and 4 pounds (2 kg), and between 12 in (31 cm) and 24 in (61 cm).

Channel catfish often coexist in the same waterways with its close relative, the blue catfish, which is somewhat less common, but tends to grow much larger (with several specimens confirmed to weigh above 100 lb).

As channel catfish grow longer, they increase in weight. The relationship between length and weight is not linear. The relationship between length (L, in cm) and weight (W, in kg) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form:

Invariably, b is close to 3.0 for all species,  is the length of a typical fish weighing 1 kg. For channel catfish, b = 3.2293, somewhat higher than for many common species, and  cm.

Ecology
Feeding
Catfish have enhanced capabilities of taste perception, hence called the "swimming tongue", due to the presence of taste buds all over the external body surface and inside the oropharyngeal cavity. Specifically, they have high sensitivity to amino acids, which explains their unique communication methods as follows. The catfish has a facial taste system that is extremely responsive to L-alanine and L-arginine. More specifically, their facial taste system senses heightened levels of L-amino acids in freshwater. Feeding behavior to food is due to amino acids released by food. This is reported to cause maxillary and mandibular barbel movements, which orient the catfish's posture and food search. When the food stimulates the taste receptors, it causes more excitation which is seen in exaggerated biting, turning, or mastication.

 Diet
Adult channel catfish, over 45 cm (17.7 in), consume fishes such as yellow perch and sunfish. The diet of adults consists of snails, clams, crustaceans (such as crayfish), snakes, frogs, small fish, insects, aquatic plants, algae, seeds, grains, nuts, and even small birds and small mammals occasionally. Younger channel catfish are more consistently omnivorous, eating a large variety of plants and animals.

Communication
The channel catfish is adapted to limited light conditions. Members of the genus Ictalurus'', which inhabit muddy waters, do not depend solely on visual cues. Instead, they are known to rely heavily on chemotactic cues. Sound production may be another important means of communication among channel catfish and other species living in turbid habitats.

Chemical communication

The North American channel catfish is an ostariophysan, or a bony fish occupying a freshwater habitat. These fishes are known to produce club cells and alarm substances for communication purposes. Both the fish's habitat and the presence of chemosensory cells covering the body are presumably the results of favored selection for this method of communication. Catfishes are capable of producing and recognizing individual specific pheromones. Through these pheromones, a catfish can identify not only the species and sex of a conspecific, but also its age, size, reproductive state, or hierarchical social status.

Territoriality in channel catfish is identifiable by a change in body odor, which is recognizable by other members of the same species. This chemical change in the amino-acid composition of the skin mucus can be noted by chromatographic methods, and are not long-lasting; rather, they last only long enough to communicate to other fish in the vicinity. Changes may be the result of the release of the contents of the club cells. These cells do not open directly to the surface of the skin, but injury caused by fighting and other agonistic behaviors may release the cells' contents. Since catfish have a dominance hierarchy system, information relative to the change of status of any fish is important in recognition of the social strata.

Signal distinction

In the channel catfish, while a communication signal is directed toward the receiver and contains a specific message, an information signal is a part of the general existence of the individual or the group. For example, release of an alarm signal will communicate danger, but the individual's recognition odor is only an information signal identifying one fish from another. With regards to the function and contents of the club cells, the club cells may serve different functions throughout the fish's lifecycle. Variation in the contents of the club cells' information signals therefore may change with the species' needs at different stages of life.

Sound production

All species of catfishes can generate sound through stridulation, and many produce sounds through drumming. Stridulation consists of the clicking or grinding of bony parts on the fish's pectoral fins and pectoral girdle, and drumming consists of the contraction of specialized sonic muscles with subsequent reverberation through the swim bladder. Variability in the sound signals created by the channel catfish depends on the mechanism by which the sound is produced, the function of the resultant sound, and physical factors such as sex, age, and temperature. This variation may result in increased complexity of the outgoing signal and may allow for increased usefulness of the signal in interspecies communication. In the channel catfish, sounds are produced only by pectoral stridulation, as this species does not express sonic muscles. However, the swim bladder may still be used to help with audition.

Due to the high density of water, sound travels 4.8 times faster and over longer distances under water than in air. Consequently, sound production via stridulation is an excellent means of underwater communication for channel catfish. The pectoral spine of the channel catfish is an enlarged fin ray with a slightly modified base that forms a complex articulation with several bones of the pectoral girdle. Unlike the other pectoral fin rays, the individual fin segments of the spine are hypertrophied and fused, except for at the distal tip. The surface of the spine is often ornamented with a serrated edge and venomous tissues, designed to deter predators. Sounds produced during fin abduction result from the movement of the base of the pectoral spine across the pectoral girdle channel. Each sweep of sound consists of a number of discrete pulses created by the ridges lining the base of the pectoral spine as they pass over the rough surface of the girdle's channel. The stridulation sounds are extremely variable due to the range and flexibility of motion in fin use. Different sounds may be used for different functions in communication, such as in behavior towards predators and in asserting dominance.

In many channel catfish, individuals favor one fin or another for stridulatory sound production (in the same way as humans are right-handed or left-handed). The first ray of the channel catfish pectoral fin is a bilaterally symmetrical spinous structure that is minimally important for movement; however, it can be locked as a defensive adaptation or used as a means for sound production. According to one scholar, most fish tend to produce sound with their right fin, although sound production with the left fin has also been observed.

Hearing
The inferior division of the inner ear, most prominently the utricle, is considered the primary area of hearing in most fishes. The hearing ability of the channel catfish is enhanced by the presence of the swim bladder. It is the main structure that reverberates the echo from other individuals' sounds, as well as from sonar devices. The volume of the swim bladder changes if fish move vertically, thus is also considered to be the site of pressure sensitivity. The latency of swim bladder adaptation after a change in pressure affects hearing and other possible swim bladder functions, presumably making audition more difficult. Nevertheless, the presence of the swim bladder and a relatively complex auditory apparatus allows the channel catfish to discern different sounds and tell from which directions sounds have come.

Communication to predators
Pectoral stridulation has been considered to be the main means of agonistic communication towards predators in channel catfish. Sudden, relatively loud sounds are used to startle predators in a manner analogous to the well-documented, visual flash display of various lepidopterans. In most catfish, a drumming sound can be produced for this use, and the incidences of the drumming sounds can reach up to 300 or 400 per second. However, the channel catfish must resort instead to stridulation sounds and pectoral spine display for predator avoidance. In addition to communication towards predators, stridulation can be seen as a possible alarm signal to other catfish, in the sense of warning nearby individuals that a predator is near.

Fishing

Channel catfish are omnivores, and can be caught using a variety of natural and prepared baits, including crickets, nightcrawlers, minnows, shad, freshwater drum, crawfish, frogs, bullheads, sunfish, chicken liver, raw steak, hot dogs, and suckers. Catfish have even been known to take Ivory soap as bait.

Juglines, trotlines, limb lines, and bank lines are popular methods of fishing for channel catfish in addition to traditional rod-and-reel fishing. Another method uses traps, either "slat traps" — long wooden traps with an angled entrance — and wire hoop traps. Typical bait for these traps include rotten cheese and dog food, or "stink bait", and old rotted shad work well. Catches of as many as 100 fish a day are common in catfish traps. An unusual method practiced in the Southeastern United States is noodling – catching catfish by hand.

When removing the hook from a catfish, anglers should be mindful of the sharp spines on the pectoral and dorsal fins.

Genetics
The channel catfish is one of only a handful of ostariophysan freshwater fish species whose genomes have been sequenced. The channel catfish reference genome sequence was generated alongside genomic sequence data for other scaled and unscaled fish species (other catfishes, the common pleco and southern striped Raphael; also common carp), in order to provide genomic resources and aid understanding of the evolutionary loss of scales in catfishes. Results from comparative genomics and transcriptomics analyses and experiments involving channel catfish have supported a role for secretory calcium-binding phosphoproteins (SCPP) in scale formation in teleost fishes.

In addition to the whole nuclear genome resources above, full mitochondrial genome sequences have been available for channel catfish since 2003. Other studies of genetic diversity, outcrossing, etc. in channel catfish have focused primarily on inbred lines and farm strains of relevance to the aquaculture of this species. For example, earlier studies have compared the genetic diversity of domestic versus wild populations of channel catfish using AFLPs.

References

Further reading

External links

channel catfish
Freshwater fish of the United States
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
channel catfish
Symbols of Kansas
Symbols of Missouri
Symbols of Iowa
Symbols of Nebraska

Channel catfish


The Greek Orthodox Church of St. George is a church in the suburb of Mile End, in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and spiritual direction of Archbishop Makarios of Australia and is the largest Greek Orthodox church in Adelaide. This is partly due to the high population of Greek Australians in the area, mostly from Thebarton, Torrensville and Mile End.

Greeks of North-East West Torrens

Throughout the 1950s the area became home to a large number of Greek migrants, and by 1966 they formed 13.4 per cent of the population in Thebarton.

The "Greek Orthodox Community and Parish of Saint George Thebarton and Western Suburbs Inc." was formed in 1960 to help the expatriate Greeks, and in 1965 the members of that community built St. George's church.

Today, the suburbs of Torrensville and Thebarton have a significant Greek Australian population, with 4,471 Greek Australians living in the area, that is 18.7 per cent of the total population, according to census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2001.

Church Services
Sunday services begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at approximately 11:00 a.m. Weekday services are held on major feast days between 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Holy Week Services are especially solemn and are the highlight of the Orthodox Church calendar.

The Good Friday evening service, which is officiated by the Assistant Bishop to Archbishop Nikandros of Dorylaeon, includes an anticlockwise procession on the streets with an epitaph being carried from the church at approximately 9:30 p.m. Police accompany the clergy and crowd for the entire procession, and close down the southbound lanes of South Road while the crowds walk behind the clergy and the epitaph.

On Holy Saturday evening, the midnight office begins at 11:00 p.m. At midnight the priest lights the trikeria (three candles) and invites the people to "Come, receive the Light from the light that is never overtaken by night". The people rush to be first to receive the flame in order to pass it on until the entire crowd (inside and outside) have their candles lit from the holy flame. This is followed by the priest going outside on to a temporary stage to read the Paschal gospel and the traditional Paschal hymn "Χριστός Ανέστη". The Paschal Sunday service continues until approximately 2:30 a.m.

School services are held four times a year, where all students and teachers from St. George College attend a liturgy for communion. As the number of students at the college exceed the seated capacity of the church, the school now holds separate liturgies for the school. One for the primary students and one for the high-school students.

Publications
The Community and Parish publishes a quarterly magazine, "St. George Community News".

Attendance
Sunday morning service attendance is approximately 300 - 500, which is the approximate capacity of the church. Celebrations such as the feast day of St. George usually have over 1000 people attending, and the outdoor sound system is turned on for the benefit of the hundreds outside. By far, the Good Friday evening service and the midnight Easter service have the greatest attendance of the year, with upwards of 5000 having attended in the past.

People who serve in the church

Father Diogenis Patsouris, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne OAM was appointed parish priest of Saint George in 1970. Father Konstantinos Skoumbourdis was appointed assistant priest on 1 August 2012. The Head Chanter at the church was Ilias Frangoulis, Archon Protopsaltis of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia  until his retirement on 26 October 2011; he was succeeded by John Saredakis who was then succeeded by Con Psaromatis in January 2023. The Left Chanter is John Archontoulis who has been a Chanter at St George since its establishment in 1960. The chanters and assistant chanters form the choir, which chants every Sunday at St George Church.

Gallery

External links

 Official website

Footnotes

Churches in Adelaide
Greek Orthodox churches in Australia
Greek-Australian culture

Community and Parish of Saint George Thebarton, Adelaide, South Australia


In geometry, two figures or objects  and  are congruent (written as ) if they have the same shape and size, or if one has the same shape and size as the mirror image of the other.

More formally, two sets of  points are called congruent, if and only if one can be transformed into the other by isometry. For isometry, rigid motions are used.

This means that two geometrical figures are congruent if one object can be repositioned, rotated or reflected—but not resized—so that it coincides exactly with the other object. if one can be moved or rotated so that it fits exactly where the other one is, then the two figures are congruent. If one of the object has to change its size, then the two objects are not congruent: they are just called similar.

As an example, two distinct plane figures on a piece of paper are congruent if we can cut them out and then match them up completely (turning the paper over here is permitted).

Congruent polygons are polygons that if you fold a regular polygon in half that is a congruent polygon.

Examples
 All squares that have the same length of their sides are congruent.
 All equilateral triangles that have the same length of their sides are congruent.

Tests for congruence

Triangles
 Two angles and the side between them are the same on two triangles (ASA congruence)
 Two angles and a side not between them are the same on both triangles (AAS congruence)
 All three sides of both triangles are the same (SSS congruence)
 Two sides and the angle between them makes two triangles congruent (SAS congruence)

How to obtain new congruent shapes
The following are a few rules to make new shapes congruent to the original one:

 If we shift a geomentrical shape in the plane, then we get a shape which is congruent to the original one.
 If we rotate instead of shifting, then we also get a shape congruent to the original one.
 Even if we take a mirror image of the original shape, then we still get a congruent shape.
 If we combine the three activities one after the other, then we still get congruent shapes.
 There are no more congruent shapes. More specifically, if a shape is congruent to the original one, then it can be reached by the three activities described above.

The relationship, that a shape is congruent to another shape, has three famous properties:

 If we leave the original shape alone at its original place, then it is congruent to itself. This property is called reflexivity.
For example, if the shift above is not a proper shift, but only a shift making a motion of length zero. Or, similarly, if the rotation above is not a proper rotation, but only a rotation of angle zero.
 If a shape is congruent to another shape, then this other shape is also congruent to the original one. This behaviour, this property is called symmetry.
For example, if we shift back, or rotate back, or mirror back the new shape to the original one, then the original shape is congruent to the new one.
 If a shape C is congruent to a shape B, and the shape B is congruent to the original shape A, then the shape C is also congruent to the original shape A. This property is called transitivity.
For example, if we apply first a shift, and then a rotation, then the resulting new shape is still congruent to the original one.

The famous three properties, reflexivity, symmetry and transitivity, together make the notion of equivalence. Hence, the property congruence is one sort of equivalence relation between shapes of a plane.

Related pages

 Equality (mathematics)
 Similarity (geometry)

References

Geometry

Congruence


Mutilation is when the way a body looks is permanently changed. This change may be due to an accident, or it may be the result of torture.

Losing a part of the body (like a hand), or permanent scars (different looking skin after a bad injury heals) on the body, might be a result of mutilation.

Related pages
Female genital mutilation

Torture
Violence

Mutilation


Anne-François-Louis Janmot (21 May 1814 – 1 June 1892) was a French painter and poet.

Early years
Janmot was born in Lyon, France, of Catholic parents who were deeply religious. He was extremely moved by the death of his brother in 1823 and his sisters in 1829. He became a student at the Royal College of Lyon where he met Frederic Ozanam and other followers of his philosophy professor, Abbe Noirot. In 1831 he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and a year later, he won the highest honor, the Golden Laurel. In 1833, he came to Paris to take painting lessons from Victor Orsel and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. With other Lyon painters, he entered the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. In 1835, he went to Rome with Claudius Lavergne, Jean-Baptiste Frénet and other students and met Hippolyte Flandrin.

After his return to Lyon in 1836, Janmot would attract the attention of critics of the Salon de Paris in conducting large-scale paintings with religious inspiration such as The Resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain (1839) or Christ in Gethsemane (1840). After 1845, he attracted the interest of Charles Baudelaire with his painting Flower of the Fields that allowed him to access to the Salon of 1846. Theophile Gautier was impressed by his Portrait of Lacordaire (1846). But the failure of his Poem of the Soul at the Universal Exhibition of 1855 disappointed him. In December of that year he married Leonie Saint-Paulet, from a noble family in Carpentras.

In 1856, Janmot obtained a commission to paint a fresco (since destroyed) representing the Last Supper for the church of St. Polycarp. Other orders followed, including the decoration of the dome of the Church of St. Francis de Sales and for the town hall that had been renovated by his friend the architect T. Desjardins. He was then appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts.

In Paris and Toulon
Surprisingly, Janmot moved to Paris in 1861 after having been promised a commission for the Church of St. Augustine, but this project was abandoned three years later. In experiencing significant family and financial problems, Janmot accepted a professorship at the Dominican School of Arcueil. At that time, in his home in Bagneux, he made many portraits of the members of his family (only photographs are currently available).

After the birth of her seventh child in August 1870, his wife died in Bagneux. While the Prussian troops approached and occupied his home, he fled to Algiers with his stepfather and made landscape paintings. He returned in June of the following year in Paris and led a solitary life. His house in Bagneux had been looted. In 1878, he produced a fresco in the chapel of the Franciscans in the Holy Land, but this work was not followed by any further order.

Faced with family and increasing financial problems, Janmot came to Toulon, and despite some orders (new Portrait of Lacordaire (1878, Museum of Versailles), Rosaire (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 1880), Martyrdom of St. Christine (Solliès-Pont, 1882), he lived a retired life. He finished the second part of the Poem of the Soul that the patron and former industrial Félix Thiollier was willing to publish.

In 1885, Janmot married a former student, Antoinette Currat, and returned to Lyon. He made charcoal drawings on the theme of the underworld, which can be regarded as a kind of continuation of the Poem of the Soul, including Purgatory (1885) and The End of Time (1888). In 1887 was published in Lyon and Paris an over 500-page book entitled Opinion of an artist on art and includes articles previously written by Janmot. He died five years later at the age of 78.

Art style

Janmot has been seen as a transitional figure between Romanticism and Symbolism, prefiguring the French part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; his work was admired by Puvis de Chavannes, Odilon Redon, and Maurice Denis.

Like Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin, another painter from Lyon and student of Ingres, Janmot carried out many commissions for church decorations. In his paintings the immaculate finish of Ingres was combined with a mysticism that has parallels in the work of his contemporaries the Nazarenes and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Works

Poem of the Soul
His most significant work, a cycle of 18 paintings and 16 drawings, with verse, called The Poem of the Soul, occupied him for 40 years.

{|
| colspan="2" | First part : the paintings || width="50px" | || colspan="2" | Second part : the drawings
|-
| align="right" | 1. || Génération divine || || align="right" | 19. || Solitude
|-
| align="right" | 2. || Le Passage des âmes || || align="right" | 20. || L'Infini
|-
| align="right" | 3. || L'Ange et la mère || || align="right" | 21. || Rêve de feu
|-
| align="right" | 4. || Le Printemps || || align="right" | 22. || Amour
|-
| align="right" | 5. || Souvenir du ciel || || align="right" | 23. || Adieu
|-
| align="right" | 6. || Le Toit paternel || || align="right" | 24. || Le Doute
|-
| align="right" | 7. || Le Mauvais Sentier || || align="right" | 25. || L'Esprit du Mal
|-
| align="right" | 8. || Cauchemar || || align="right" | 26. || L'Orgie
|-
| align="right" | 9. || Le Grain de blé || || align="right" | 27. || Sans Dieu
|-
| align="right" | 10. || Première Communion || || align="right" | 28. || Le Fantôme
|-
| align="right" | 11. || Virginitas || || align="right" | 29. || Chute fatale
|-
| align="right" | 12. || L'Échelle d'or || || align="right" | 30. || Le Supplice de Mézence
|-
| align="right" | 13. || Rayons de soleil || || align="right" | 31. || Les Générations du Mal
|-
| align="right" | 14. || Sur la Montagne || || align="right" | 32. || Intercession maternelle
|-
| align="right" | 15. || Un Soir || || align="right" | 33. || La Délivrance, ou vision de l'avenir
|-
| align="right" | 16. || Le Vol de l'âme || || align="right" | 34. || Sursum Corda
|-
| align="right" | 17. || L'Idéal
|-
| align="right" | 18. || Réalité
|}

Other works

 Self-portrait (1832), musée des beaux-arts de Lyon
Le Christ au Jardin des Oliviers (1840), musée des beaux-arts de Lyon
Flower of the Fields (1845), musée des beaux-arts de Lyon
L'assomption de la vierge (1845), musée d'art moderne de Saint-Étienne
Henri Lacordaire (1802-1861), musée national du château de Versailles et de Trianon
The Torture of Mezentius (1865), musée d'Orsay

Bibliography
 Élisabeth Hardouin-Fugier, Le Poème de l'âme par Louis Janmot, La Taillanderie, Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, 2007, ()
 Wolfgang Drost, Élisabeth Hardouin-Fugier, Louis Janmot, précurseur du symbolisme, C. Winter, Heidelberg 1994, ()
 Élisabeth Hardouin-Fugier, Louis Janmot, 1814–1892, Presses universitaires de Lyon, Lyon 1981, ()
 Louis Janmot, Opinion d'un artiste sur l'art, Vitte & Perrussel, Lyon 1887
 Jane Turner, From Monet to Cézanne: late 19th-century French artists?  Grove Art, New York, St Martin's Press, (2000) ()
 Sylvie Ramond, Gérard Bruyère et Léna Widerkher, Le Temps de la peinture, Lyon 1800-1914, Fage editions, Lyon (2007) 335 p. ()

Notes

References
Turner, J. (2000). From Monet to Cézanne: late 19th-century French artists. Grove Art. New York: St Martin's Press.

External links

 Le Poème de l'âme – L'idéal
 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
 Charcoal sketches online at ArtRenewal Center Museum
 The Poem of the Soul - description of themes of the work

1814 births
1892 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
Artists from Lyon
École des Beaux-Arts alumni
Catholic painters
19th-century French male artists
French Symbolist painters

Louis Janmot


Economic liberalization is a theory about applying the ideas of classical liberalism to the government of a state: In very broad terms, it is about removing as much state control as possible from the economy. The state that follows this path often allows privately owned companies to do some things that governments usually do.

The state can introduce competition in an economic sector while still controlling a publicly held company. This is the case with many railway systems, for example in France
The state can privatize a publicly held company, and guarantee a monopoly on the services it offers: This has been the case with the ocmpany responsible for transporting electricity in France, called Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE). It is a subsidiary of Électricité de France (EDF).

Economic policy

Economic liberalization


Fortran is a programming language first created in the 1950s. It is still in use today. It is a procedural language mainly used for scientific computing and numerical analysis.

History
The first FORTRAN compiler was created in 1954-57 by a team at IBM led by John W. Backus. This compiler was the first compiler for any High level language. The authors were worried that no one would use the language if programs written in it did not run nearly as fast as programs written in assembly language. So they made it an optimizing compiler.

Because of the heavy use by scientists doing numerical work the language grew in ways that encouraged compiler writers to produce compilers that generated high quality (fast) code. There are many high performance compiler vendors. Much work and research in compiler theory and design was caused by the need to generate good code for Fortran programs.

Several revisions of the language have appeared, including the very well known FORTRAN IV (the same as FORTRAN 66), FORTRAN 77 and Fortran 90. The most recent formal standard for the language was published in 1997 and is known as Fortran 95.

Initially, the language relied on precise formatting of the source code and heavy use of statement numbers and 'go to' statements, written as goto in Fortran.

Every version introduced 'modern' programming concepts, such as source code comments and output of text, IF-THEN-ELSE (in FORTRAN 77), recursion (in Fortran 90) and parallel constructs, while trying to maintain Fortran's 'lean' profile and high performance.

Meaning and spelling of the name

The name "Fortran" is short for "Formula Translation". The language was formerly known as FORTRAN (and older variants of it still are). Since Fortran 90, the capitalization has been abandoned. The published formal standards use "Fortran".

Standards
The two standards below are for current Fortran implementations.
 ANSI X3.198-1992 (R1997). Title: Programming Language "Fortran" Extended. Informally known as Fortran 90. This standard was published by ANSI and never became an International Standard (ISO).
 ISO/IEC 1539-1:1997. Title: Information technology - Programming languages - Fortran - Part 1: Base language. Informally known as Fortran 95. There are a further 2 parts to this standard. Part 1 has been formally adopted by ANSI.

Other websites and references

 Brian Meek: The Fortran (not the foresight) saga: the light and the dark, Fortran Forum, Vol 9 No 2, October 1990, pp 23-32. Online at http://www.fortranplus.co.uk/resources/brian_meeks_fortran_saga.pdf . A good overview over the long and intricate Fortran history.
 Lucy Joan Slater, More Fortran programs for economists, Cambridge University Press, 1972.

Programming languages
Computer science

Fortran


Marchesi Antinori Srl is an Italian wine company, based in Florence, Tuscany, that can trace its history back to 1385. They are one of the biggest wine companies in Italy, and their innovations played a large part in the "Super-Tuscan" revolution of the 1970s.

Antinori is a member of the Primum Familiae Vini and the 10th oldest family owned company in the world.

History

Rinuccio di Antinoro is recorded as making wine at the Castello di Combiate near the Tuscan town of Calenzano in 1180. The castello was destroyed in 1202, and the family moved to Florence, where they were involved in silk weaving and banking. In 1385, Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Guild of Winemakers, and this is the date usually taken as the start of the wine business.

The fame of their wine expanded over the years, to the extent that in 1506 they could afford to pay 4,000 florins for the Palazzo Antinori, built for the Boni family in the 1460s. At this time, Alessandro Antinori was one of the richest men in Florence, but like many Florentines he was soon bankrupted by the ravages of Charles V of Spain and the economic effect of his New World gold. Nonetheless the family prospered in the ensuing peace and gained the title of Marquis from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine in the 18th century.

In the second half of the 16th century, Bernardino Antinori  had a relationship with Dianora di Toledo, wife of Pietro de' Medici the son of Cosimo I. Pietro, who was known at the time for his brutality and dishonesty, discovered the relationship between the Antinori and his wife, which he accused of adultery and strangled her with a dog leash in July 1576 at the Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo. Bernardino was then arrested and killed in prison, for this reason Pietro was later exiled in Spain by his father Cosimo I.

In 1900, Piero Antinori bought several vineyards in the Chianti Classico region, including 47 hectares at Tignanello. His son Niccolò scandalised Tuscany in 1924 by making a Chianti containing Bordeaux wine varieties. He continued to experiment over the following years, with new blends, types of barrel, temperature control and bottle ageing. Niccolò retired in 1966, to be replaced by his son Piero who was even more innovative. He investigated early harvesting of white grapes, different types of barrique, stainless steel vats and malolactic fermentation of red wines.

The real revolution came in 1974 with the launch of Tignanello's first vintage, 1971: a barrique-aged wine from the vineyard bearing the same name containing Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Although the initial blend did not yet contain any Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, no white grape varieties were used, which meant that the wine was ineligible for the Chianti Classico appellation; from the vintage 1975 onwards the blend contained Cabernet Sauvignon. Technically Tignanello was not the first 'Super Tuscan' – that honour goes to Sassicaia, created by a relative of the Antinoris, the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta – even though the Antinoris were experimenting with Cabernet blends since the 1920s. But it was Tignanello that really shook up the Italian wine industry, leading to far-reaching changes in rules and attitudes. However, even though the Chianti Classico DOCG rules have now been changed to accommodate wines such as Tignanello, the Antinoris continue to sell it as a Toscana IGT wine. Emboldened by the success of the 20% Bordeaux blend Tignanello, in 1978 Antinori launched Solaia - containing 80% Cabernet Sauvignon - from the neighbouring vineyard.

Antinori responded to the inflation of the 1980s and 1990s with a frantic programme of investment in wineries and vineyards, most notably the Atlas Peak winery in California in 1985, and 325 hectares around Badia a Passignano in 1987. They also expanded into Piedmont and Apulia, and set up joint ventures in Bátaapáti, Hungary, Stag's Leap and Col Solare in the USA, Malta, Romania, and Chile.

Vineyards and wines

Tignanello - is a 47 hectare vineyard  acquired in 1900 and gives its name to Antinori's most famous wine, designated a Vino da Tavola since the mid-1970s and IGT Toscana since the early 1990s. Since 1982, Tignanello has been made from 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. The vineyard lies at 1150–1312 feet above sea level, within the Santa Cristina estate (also known as Tenuta Tignanello).
Solaia - 'The sunny one' is a 10 hectare vineyard adjacent to Tignanello in the Mercatale Val di Pesa zone of Chianti Classico. The eponymous wine was released in 1978 as an 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc blend, although that has now evolved to a mix of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 20% Sangiovese. Like Tignanello, fruit not used for the grand vin goes into Antinori's Chianti Classico Riserva, Tenute del Marchese and the IGT Villa Antinori (60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 5% Syrah).
Pèppoli Estate - Close to Tignanello, 55ha of the 100ha of the Peppoli estate are planted with vines.  The slopes face northeast, but the unique microclimate of the valley produces a fruity Pèppoli Chianti Classico and contributes to Marchese Antinori.
Badia a Passignano - The Antinoris bought the 325 hectare estate around the historic Vallombrosian abbey in 1987, including the right to use the abbey's cellars. Fifty hectares are planted with Sangiovese from Tignanello which provides the grapes for another Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva, Badia a Passignano. Piero Antinori regards this as his testbed for the ultimate expression of Sangiovese in Tuscany Some grapes go into Marchese Antinori.
Guado al Tasso - A massive estate of 900 hectares in the Bolgheri bowl, 60 miles SW of Florence, at just 150–200 feet above sea level. A third of it is planted with vines, mostly Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah, grapes here ripen two weeks before the Chianti holdings. The best known wines are Guado al Tasso, the Scalabrone rose, Il Bruciato and Vermentino. Matarocchio is a lesser-known and rarer expression of 100% Cabernet Franc.
La Braccesca estate - Vino Nobile di Montepulciano La Braccesca, Vigneto Santa Pia, Sabazio, and the Bramasole and Achelo Syrahs.
Pian delle Vigne Estate - Sixty hectares of vineyard in a 186 hectare estate bought in 1995, which provides their Brunello di Montalcino.
Fattoria Aldobrandesca - Aleatico comes from this Etruscan vineyard near Sovana in Southern Tuscany.
Monteloro Estate - North of Florence, supplies the white wines Villa Antinori Bianco and Capsula Viola.
Castello della Sala - 500 hectare estate with 160 hectares of vineyard producing Orvieto Classico, Campogrande and Casasole, a Pinot Nero, the Chardonnay-based Cervaro della Sala, and the Sauvignon Blanc-based sweet Muffato della Sala.
Antica Napa Valley - Antinori's wine estate in Napa, California. Produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc on 600 planted acres in Atlas Peak AVA.

Retail presence

Antinori also owns and partners in retail outlets such as Cantinetta Antinori and "Procacci" in Via Tornabuoni in Florence, Italy.

The retail presence even extends to the United States, e.g. at the Pebble Beach resort and retail distribution throughout the United States by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

Media
The company and family were featured in a segment of the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes reported by Morley Safer on October 12, 2008; the segment was aired again on May 3, 2009, and on May 22, 2016, following Safer's death.

See also

Italian wine
History of Chianti

References

External links

Wineries of Italy
History of Florence
Families of Florence
Food and drink companies established in the 14th century
1385 establishments in Europe

it:Antinori

Antinori


Nudibranchs are a widespread and successful group of marine Gastropod molluscs. The name means 'naked gills'. They are shelless and uncoiled Gastropods, famous for their brilliant colours. There are more than 3000 known species.

Nudibranchs are one of the groups which are informally known as sea slugs. This is a term which includes other Gastropod groups which look similar to nudibranchs. Sea slugs is an informal term; it is not a monophyletic group.

Biology
The body forms of nudibranchs vary greatly. They are opisthobranchs, a clade which shed their shells after the larval stage.

Unlike most other gastropods they are bilaterally symmetrical. They have undergone secondary detorsion. Most species have venomous appendages on their sides. These are used to deter predators. Many also have a simple gut and a mouth with a radula.

Unusually for molluscs, they lack a mantle cavity. Nudibranchs are hermaphrodite, and thus have a set of reproductive organs for both sexes, but they rarely fertilize themselves.

Most nudibranchs are carnivorous. Some feed on sponges, others on polyps, others on bryozoans, and some eat other sea slugs, or, on some occasions, members of their own species. Other groups feed on tunicates, barnacles, or anemones.

The surface dwelling nudibranch, Glaucus atlanticus is a specialist predator of jellyfish, such as the Portuguese Man o' War. This predatory mollusc sucks air into its stomach to keep it afloat and using its muscular foot it clings to the surface film. If it finds a small victim Glaucus simply envelops it with its large mouth, but if the prey is a larger siphonophore the mollusc nibbles off its fishing tentacles, the ones carrying the most potent nematocysts. Like some others of its kind Glaucus does not digest the nematocysts; instead, it uses them to defend itself by passing them from its gut to the surface of its skin.

Colours and defence

Among this group can be found the most colourful creatures on earth. In the course of evolution, sea slugs have lost their shell, and have developed other defence mechanisms. Their anatomy may resemble the texture and color of the surrounding plants, giving them camouflage (crypsis). Many have an intense and bright colouring, which warns that they are distasteful or poisonous (Warning coloration).

Nudibranchs that feed on hydroids can store the hydroids' nematocysts (stinging cells) in the dorsal body wall. The nematocysts wander through the alimentary canal without harming the nudibranch. Then, the cells are brought to specific places on the creature's hind body. Nudibranches can protect themselves from the hydroids and their nematocysts. It is not yet clear how, but special cells with large vacuoles probably play an important role. They can also take in plants' chloroplasts (plant cell organelles used for photosynthesis) and use them to make food for themselves.

Another method of protection is the release of a sour liquid from the skin. Once the specimen is physically irritated or touched by another creature, it will release the slime automatically.

Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the Nudibranchia is still under investigation.
Meanwhile, the nudibranchs are commonly divided into two main types, dorid nudibranchs and aeolid or eolid nudibranchs:
 Dorids are recognised by the branchial (gill) plume, which forms a cluster on the posterior part of the body, around the anus.
 Aeolids have cerata on their backs, instead of the branchial plume. Some are hosts to zooxanthellae, which are endosymbiont brown dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium.

References

Gastropods

ja:ウミウシ

Nudibranch