Peter John Randall,  (20 August 1930 – 23 April 2007) was a British Army soldier and a recipient of the George Medal, and the RSPCA's Margaret Wheatley Cross, for his actions on 8 October 1954 where he saved the life of a fellow soldier and a military dog from a burning truck.

Early life
Peter Randall was born on 20 August 1930. His father had served with the Royal Navy in World War I and would go on to serve in World War II, receiving a US President's medal for rescuing American airmen while at sea. Peter left school at the age of 14, trying various jobs before joining the British Army at 16.

Military service
He was first assigned to the Royal Sussex Regiment as a clarinet bandsman. He switched to the 4th Queen's Own Hussars before moving to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps following his marriage. While based at Hemel Hempstead with the Veterinary Corps, he aided in training the horses for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Peter was posted to British East Africa (now Kenya) as a corporal in charge of a dog unit during the Mau Mau Uprising. On 8 October 1954, while en route to Thompson Falls (now Nyahururu) in a truck with ten men of the King's African Rifles, the vehicle hit a pothole in the road and flipped over. Sitting upfront, both Randall and the driver were covered in fuel and set alight. The soldiers in the back of the truck managed to scramble free, but Randall on leaving the cab saw that the driver was unconscious and re-entered the front of the truck to drag him to safety. Once the driver came around, Peter realized that a dog was chained up inside the burning truck. Removing his clothes, he went back into the truck once again and released the animal.

He was taken to a British Military hospital in Nairobi, where he underwent several operations. Plastic boots were placed on his burned feet and steel pins inserted through his knees so that they could be supported by scaffolding placed around his bed. Once he was flown back to Britain, and still bedridden, he received a letter from General Sir George Erskine awarding him the George Medal for rescuing the truck driver. The following month, he was notified by the RSPCA were to present him with the Margaret Wheatley Cross for rescuing the dog from the burning truck. The investiture of the George Medal with Queen Elizabeth II took place on 6 December 1955, he was the only member of Royal Army Veterinary Corps to receive the medal since it was implemented in 1940.

As his injuries prevented him from being posted to hot countries, he left the Army in 1959.

Later life
He first worked as a gamekeeper in Lincolnshire, before returning to Melton Mowbray as a shop manager. He became a school governor and Chairman of the local Chamber of Trade. As a security officer, he moved to the Isle of Wight before retiring to Groby, Leicestershire. For his work with the mentally handicapped, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2000.

In 2004, he attended a meeting of the Malaya and Borneo Veterans' Association in Penang, Malaysia. At the time he was Chairman of the Gallantry Medallists League and of the Leicester branch of the Malaya and Borneo Veterans' Association. He was in a traffic accident, being hit by a car. He went into a coma, and was transferred back to Britain. He never awoke from his coma and died on 23 April 2007.

Personal life
His wife Rose died in 2006. They had a daughter and a son.

References

British military personnel of the Mau Mau Uprising
Royal Sussex Regiment soldiers
4th Queen's Own Hussars soldiers
Recipients of the George Medal
Royal Army Veterinary Corps soldiers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
2007 deaths
1930 births
British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency
British special constables
People from Groby
Military personnel from Hampshire
Road incident deaths in London

Peter Randall (British Army soldier)


Anniston Regional Airport , formerly known as Anniston Metropolitan Airport, is a city-owned public-use airport located five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) southwest of the central business district of Anniston, a city in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation airport.

Facilities and aircraft
Anniston Regional Airport covers an area of 596 acres (241 ha) at an elevation of 612 feet (187 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 5/23 with an asphalt surface measuring 7,000 by 150 feet (2,134 x 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending April 30, 2012, the airport had 33,644 aircraft operations, an average of 92 per day: 71% general aviation, 15% military, 14% air taxi, and <1% scheduled commercial. At that time there were 32 aircraft based at this airport: 50% single-engine, 31% multi-engine, 6% jet, 6% glider, and 6% ultralight.

Incidents
Anniston Metropolitan Airport was the intended destination of GP Express Flight 861, which crashed about  northeast of the airport on June 8, 1992.

References

External links
 Anniston Regional Airport at City of Anniston website
 Anniston Aviation, the fixed-base operator (FBO)
 Aerial image as of March 1998 from USGS The National Map

Airports in Alabama
Anniston, Alabama
Transportation buildings and structures in Calhoun County, Alabama
Former Essential Air Service airports

Anniston Regional Airport


Banner Cross Methodist Church is situated in the district of Banner Cross in the city of Sheffield, England. The church stands on Ecclesall Road South,  south-west of the city centre. The church and attached schoolroom as well as the boundary wall and gate piers are all Grade II listed buildings.

History

First church

Plans for a Methodist church in the Banner Cross district were formed in the early years of the 20th century when it was revealed that housing was to be built in the area. Prior to that Banner Cross had consisted mostly of farmland and secluded large halls and houses. In 1902 a group of trustees was formed to raise funds for a place of worship. Land was eventually purchased on Glenalmond Road, near its junction with Ecclesall Road South, and a church and school room was built at a combined cost of £3,034. The building was designed by the London architects George Baines and Son of Victoria Street and built by Charles Ward of Sheffield. It was opened on 27 June 1907 with the first minister being the Reverend W.H. Wheeldon. In 1921 a Church Extension Scheme was set up to raise funds for a larger place of worship on Ecclesall Road South next to the old church and on the same plot of land. By 1921 church membership had reached 200 and by 1928 £5,000 had been raised towards a new church.

New church is built

The architect of the new church was William John Hale who had previously built several churches and schools in Sheffield. The trustees authorised an overall budget of £10,000 for the church with £7,434 of this going to the builders W. Marlow and Sons Ltd. The official laying of the first stone took place on 21 April 1928 although on 30 June 1928 there was another stone laying ceremony organised by the Sunday School with 70 scholars taking part. The church was opened on 13 July 1929 with the dedicatory prayer given by the Reverend Richard Pyke. The old church was converted into a schoolroom and this enabled the Sunday school to expand and incorporate all its departments into one unit. A manse was built for the church in 1931 on Millhouses Lane and in 1937 a lecture hall was added to the church replacing an earlier wooden hut which had served the purpose for almost 20 years. During the Second World War one of the vestries was used as a library for the general public while the schoolroom was used as a Rest Centre. In 1962 the congregation was enlarged when the nearby Greystones and Montgomery Methodist Churches were closed.

Present day

The current minister at Banner Cross is Reverend Tim Crome, the 20th serving cleric since the church was established in 1907. Reverend Crome started his ministry at the church on 1 September 2012, taking over from Robert D. Lewis. The church is open daily for various activities such as Coffee Mornings, Parent and Toddler group, Lunch and Friendship group. Boys' Brigade, Youth Club, Bible study, Brownies, Rainbows and Girl Guides.

Architecture
The church is built in the Gothic Revival style and is constructed from coursed squared stone with red brick dressings around some of the more decorative windows. The main tower of the church has a monumental look about it which has been compared to The Cenotaph in London. The design of the building is different from Hale's earlier churches, with a move away from complex detailing to a more simple style characterised by bold massing and rigid geometry. The adjacent 1907 church which now serves as the schoolroom is built in the Arts and Crafts style from rock-faced stone and brick, with ashlars dressings and gabled and hipped slate roofs.

References

Methodist churches in South Yorkshire
Churches in Sheffield
History of Sheffield
Churches completed in 1929
20th-century churches in the United Kingdom
Grade II listed churches in South Yorkshire
Grade II listed buildings in Sheffield
20th-century Methodist church buildings

Banner Cross Methodist Church


Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for contagion. It is the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss, or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are exhibited unconsciously have no corresponding organic causes that are known.

Causes
MPI is distinct from other types of collective delusions by involving physical symptoms.  It is not well understood and its causes are uncertain. Qualities of MPI outbreaks often include:
symptoms that have no plausible organic basis;
symptoms that are transient and benign;
symptoms with rapid onset and recovery;
occurrence in a segregated group;
the presence of extraordinary anxiety;
symptoms that are spread via sight, sound or oral communication;
a spread that moves down the age scale, beginning with older or higher-status people;

British psychiatrist Simon Wessely distinguishes between two forms of MPI:

 Mass anxiety hysteria "consists of episodes of acute anxiety, occurring mainly in schoolchildren. Prior tension is absent and the rapid spread is by visual contact."
 Mass motor hysteria "consists of abnormalities in motor behaviour. It occurs in any age group and prior tension is present. Initial cases can be identified and the spread is gradual. ... [T]he outbreak may be prolonged."

While his definition is sometimes adhered to, others contest Wessely's definition and describe outbreaks with qualities of both mass motor hysteria and mass anxiety hysteria.

The DSM-IV-TR does not define a diagnosis for this condition but the text describing conversion disorder states that "In 'epidemic hysteria', shared symptoms develop in a circumscribed group of people following 'exposure' to a common precipitant."

Common symptoms
Timothy F. Jones of the Tennessee Department of Health compiles the following symptoms based on their commonality in outbreaks occurring in 1980–1990:

Prevalence and intensity
Adolescents and children are frequently affected in cases of MPI. The hypothesis that those prone to extraversion or neuroticism, or those with low IQ scores, are more likely to be affected in an outbreak of hysterical epidemic has not been consistently supported by research. Bartholomew and Wessely state that it "seems clear that there is no particular predisposition to mass sociogenic illness and it is a behavioural reaction that anyone can show in the right circumstances."

Intense media coverage seems to exacerbate outbreaks. The illness may also recur after the initial outbreak. John Waller advises that once it is determined that the illness is psychogenic, it should not be given credence by authorities. For example, in the Singapore factory case study, calling in a medicine man to perform an exorcism seemed to perpetuate the outbreak.

Research
Besides the difficulties common to all research involving the social sciences, including a lack of opportunity for controlled experiments, mass sociogenic illness presents special difficulties to researchers in this field. Balaratnasingam and Janca report that the methods for "diagnosis of mass hysteria remain contentious." According to Jones, the effects resulting from MPI "can be difficult to differentiate from [those of] bioterrorism, rapidly spreading infection or acute toxic exposure."

These troubles result from the residual diagnosis of MPI. There is a lack of logic in an argument that proceeds: "There isn't anything, so it must be MPI." It is an example of an argument from ignorance, with ignorance here intended to mean "an absence of contrary evidence". It precludes the notion that an organic factor could have been overlooked (i.e. that there may have been insufficient investigation), or the possibility that the answer may currently be unknown but known at a future point in time. Nevertheless, running an extensive number of tests extends the probability of false positives. Singer, of the Uniformed Schools of Medicine, has summarized the problems with such a diagnosis:
[Y]ou find a group of people getting sick, you investigate, you measure everything you can measure ... and when you still can't find any physical reason, you say "well, there's nothing else here, so let's call it a case of MPI."

Relationship to autism and mirror neurons
Due to the role of the visual and auditory systems in MPI, a link between MPI and mirror neurons has been suggested.
In this context, MPI appears as the neurological opposite of autism, caused by an overactive, not underactive, mirror neuron system.
This could in turn explain the gender difference bias observed in these two conditions, with autism predominantly affecting males (persons with autism show diminished activity in the mirror neuron system), and MPI predominantly affecting young girls, which appear have a more sensitive mirror system.

In history

Middle Ages
The earliest studied cases linked with epidemic hysteria are the dancing manias of the Middle Ages, including St. John's dance and tarantism. These were supposed to be associated with spirit possession or the bite of the tarantula. Those with dancing mania would dance in large groups, sometimes for weeks at a time. The dancing was sometimes accompanied by stripping, howling, the making of obscene gestures, or even (reportedly) laughing or crying to the point of death. Dancing mania was widespread over Europe.

Between the 15th and 19th centuries, instances of motor hysteria were common in nunneries. The young ladies that made up these convents were sometimes forced there by family. Once accepted, they took vows of chastity and poverty. Their lives were highly regimented and often marked by strict disciplinary action. The nuns would exhibit a variety of behaviors, usually attributed to demonic possession. They would often use crude language and exhibit suggestive behaviors. One convent's nuns would regularly meow like cats. Priests were often called in to exorcise demons.

18th to 21st centuries

In factories
MPI outbreaks occurred in factories following the industrial revolution in England, France, Germany, Italy and Russia as well as the United States and Singapore.

W. H. Phoon, Ministry of Labour in Singapore, gives a case study of six outbreaks of MPI in Singapore factories between 1973 and 1978. They were characterized by (1) hysterical seizures of screaming and general violence, wherein tranquilizers were ineffective (2) trance states, where a worker would claim to be speaking under the influence of a spirit or jinn and (3) frightened spells: some workers complained of unprecedented fear, or of being cold, numb, or dizzy. Outbreaks would subside in about a week. Often a bomoh (medicine man) would be called in to do a ritual exorcism. This technique was not effective and sometimes seemed to exacerbate the MPI outbreak. Females and Malay people were affected disproportionately.

Especially notable is the "June Bug" outbreak: In June 1962, a peak month in factory production, 62 workers at a dressmaking factory in a textile town in the Southern United States experienced symptoms including severe nausea and breaking out on the skin. Most outbreaks occurred during the first shift, where four fifths of the workers were female. Of 62 total outbreaks, 59 were women, some of whom believed they were bitten by bugs from a fabric shipment, so entomologists and others were called in to discover the pathogen, but none was found. Kerchoff coordinated the interview of affected and unaffected workers at the factory and summarizes his findings:
 Strain – those affected were more likely to work overtime frequently and provide the majority of the family income. Many were married with children.
 Affected persons tended to deny their difficulties. Kerchoff postulates that such were "less likely to cope successfully under conditions of strain."
 Results seemed consistent with a model of social contagion. Groups of affected persons tended to have strong social ties.

Kerchoff also links the rapid rate of contagion with the apparent reasonableness of the bug infestation theory and the credence given to it in accompanying news stories.

Stahl and Lebedun describe an outbreak of mass sociogenic illness in the data center of a university town in the United States Midwest in 1974. Ten of 39 workers smelling an unconfirmed "mystery gas" were rushed to a hospital with symptoms of dizziness, fainting, nausea and vomiting. They report that most workers were young women either putting their husbands through school or supplementing the family income. Those affected were found to have high levels of job dissatisfaction. Those with strong social ties tended to have similar reactions to the supposed gas, which only one unaffected woman reported smelling. No gas was detected in subsequent tests of the data center.

In schools
Mass hysteria affected schools in Berry, Alabama, and Miami Beach in 1974, with the former episode taking the form of recurring itches, and the latter initially triggering fears of poison gas (it was traced back to a popular student who happened to be sick with a virus).

Thousands were affected by the spread of a supposed illness in a province of Kosovo in March to June 1990, exclusively affecting ethnic Albanians, most of whom were young adolescents.
A wide variety of symptoms were manifested, including headache, dizziness, impeded respiration, weakness/adynamia, burning sensations, cramps, retrosternal/chest pain, dry mouth and nausea. After the illness had subsided, a bipartisan Federal Commission released a document, offering the explanation of psychogenic illness. Radovanovic of the Department of Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences Faculty of Medicine in Safat, Kuwait, reports:

This document did not satisfy either of the two ethnic groups. Many Albanian doctors believed that what they had witnessed was an unusual epidemic of poisoning. The majority of their Serbian colleagues also ignored any explanation in terms of psychopathology. They suggested that the incident was faked with the intention of showing Serbs in a bad light but that it failed due to poor organization.

Rodovanovic expects that this reported instance of mass sociogenic illness was precipitated by the demonstrated volatile and culturally tense situation in the province.

The Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962 was an outbreak of laughing attacks rumored to have occurred in or near the village of Kanshasa on the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of Tanzania, eventually affecting 14 different schools and over 1,000 people.

On the morning of Thursday 7 October 1965, at a girls' school in Blackburn in England, several girls complained of dizziness. Some fainted. Within a couple of hours, 85 girls from the school were rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital after fainting. Symptoms included swooning, moaning, chattering of teeth, hyperpnea, and tetany. Moss and McEvedy published their analysis of the event about one year later. Their conclusions follow. Their conclusion about the above-average extraversion and neuroticism of those affected is not necessarily typical of MPI:

Clinical and laboratory findings were essentially negative.
Investigations by the public health authorities did not uncover any evidence of pollution of food or air.
The epidemiology of the outbreak was investigated by means of questionnaires administered to the whole school population. It was established that the outbreaks began among the 14-year-olds, but that the heaviest incidence moved to the youngest age groups.
By using the Eysenck Personality Inventory, it was established that, in all age groups, the mean E [extraversion] and N [neuroticism] scores of the affected were higher than those of the unaffected.
The younger girls proved more susceptible, but disturbance was more severe and lasted longer in the older girls.
It was considered that the epidemic was hysterical, that a previous polio epidemic had rendered the population emotionally vulnerable, and that a three-hour parade, producing 20 faints on the day before the first outbreak, had been the specific trigger.
The data collected were thought to be incompatible with organic theories and with the compromise theory of an organic nucleus.

Another possible case occurred in Belgium in June 1999 when people, mainly schoolchildren, became ill after drinking Coca-Cola. In the end, scientists were divided over the scale of the outbreak, whether it fully explains the many different symptoms and the scale to which sociogenic illness affected those involved.

A possible outbreak of mass psychogenic illness occurred at Le Roy Junior-Senior High School in 2011, in upstate New York, US, in which multiple students began having symptoms similar to Tourette syndrome. Various health professionals ruled out such factors as Gardasil, drinking water contamination, illegal drugs, carbon monoxide poisoning and various other potential environmental or infectious causes, before diagnosing the students with a conversion disorder and mass psychogenic illness.

Starting around 2009, a spate of apparent poisonings at girls' schools across Afghanistan began to be reported; symptoms included dizziness, fainting and vomiting. The United Nations, World Health Organization and NATO's International Security Assistance Force carried out investigations of the incidents over multiple years, but never found any evidence of toxins or poisoning in the hundreds of blood, urine and water samples they tested. The conclusion of the investigators was that the girls were experiencing a mass psychogenic illness.

In August 2019 the BBC reported that schoolgirls at the Ketereh national secondary school (SMK Ketereh) in Kelantan, Malaysia, started screaming, with some claiming to have seen 'a face of pure evil'. Simon Wessely of King's College Hospital, London, suggested it was a form of 'collective behaviour'. Robert Bartholomew, an American medical sociologist and author, said, "It is no coincidence that Kelantan, the most religiously conservative of all Malaysian states, is also the one most prone to outbreaks." This view is supported by Afiq Noor, an academic, who argues that the stricter implementation of Islamic law in school in states such as Kelantan is linked to the outbreaks. He suggested that the screaming outbreak was caused by the constricted environment. In Malaysian culture burial sites and trees are common settings for supernatural tales about the spirits of dead infants (toyol), vampiric ghosts (pontianak) and vengeful female spirits (penanggalan). Authorities responded to the Kelantan outbreak by cutting down trees around the school.

Outbreaks of mass psychogenic illness "have been reported in Catholic convents and monasteries across Mexico, Italy and France, in schools in Kosovo and even among cheerleaders in a rural North Carolina town".

Episodes of mass hysteria have not been infrequent in Nepalese schools, at times even leading to the temporary closure of those schools involved. A unique phenomenon of "recurrent epidemic of mass hysteria" was reported from a school of Pyuthan district of western Nepal in 2018. After a 9-year-old school girl developed crying and shouting episodes, other children of the same school were seen to also become affected in rapid succession, resulting in 47 affected students (37 females, 10 males) in the same day. Since 2016, similar episodes of mass psychogenic illness have been occurring every year at the same school. This is seen as a rather atypical case of recurrent mass hysteria.

In July 2022 reports of up to 15 girls showing unusual symptoms such as screaming, trembling, and banging their heads came up from a government school in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand, India. Mass psychological illness has been suggested as a possible cause.

In late 2022 and early 2023, thousands of students, mostly girls, in numerous schools in Iran were initially believed to have been poisoned in various and undetermined manners by unidentified perpetrators and numerous arrests were made. On 29 April, 2023, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry released the findings of a comprehensive investigation which concluded that the reported illnesses were not caused by any toxic substances. Instead they were suggested to have been due to a variety of reasons including exposure to a variety of non-toxic substances, mass hysteria, and malingering.

Terrorism and biological warfare
Bartholomew and Wessely anticipate the "concern that after a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, public health facilities may be rapidly overwhelmed by the anxious and not just the medical and psychological casualties." Additionally, early symptoms of those affected by MPI are difficult to differentiate from those actually exposed to the dangerous agent.

The first Iraqi missile hitting Israel during the Persian Gulf War was believed to contain chemical or biological weapons. Though this was not the case, 40% of those in the vicinity of the blast reported breathing problems.

Right after the 2001 anthrax attacks in the first two weeks of October 2001, there were over 2300 false anthrax alarms in the United States. Some reported physical symptoms of what they believed to be anthrax.

Also in 2001, a man sprayed what was later found to be a window cleaner into a subway station in Maryland. Thirty-five people were treated for nausea, headaches and sore throats.

Havana syndrome

Beginning in 2016, some staff stationed at the US embassy in Cuba reported medical symptoms that initially were attributed to "sonic attacks", and later to other unknown weaponry. The symptoms were dubbed "Havana syndrome" by the media. The following year, some US government employees in China reported similar symptoms. Eventually, similar reports came from US government employees and their families around the globe, including in Washington DC. Due to lack of evidence of actual attack and other factors, some scientists suggested the alleged symptoms were psychogenic in nature.

Seven U.S. intelligence agencies headed by the CIA spent years reviewing thousands of possible cases of Havana syndrome and preparing a report. On March 1, 2023, the House Intelligence Committee released an unclassified version of the report, titled an "Intelligence Community Assessment".  Politico summarized the results by saying, "The finding undercuts a years-long narrative, propped up by more than a thousand reports from government employees, that a foreign adversary used pulsed electro-magnetic energy waves to sicken Americans."

Children in recent refugee families
Refugee children in Sweden have been reported to fall into coma-like states on learning their families will be deported. The condition, known as resignation syndrome (), is believed to only exist among the refugee population in the Scandinavian country, where it has been prevalent since the early part of the 21st century. Commentators state "a degree of psychological contagion" is inherent to the condition, by which young friends and relatives of the affected individual can also come to have the condition.

In a 130-page report on the condition, commissioned by the government and published in 2006, a team of psychologists, political scientists and sociologists hypothesized that it was a culture-bound syndrome, a psychological illness endemic to a specific society.

This phenomenon has later been called into question, with children witnessing that they were forced, by their parents, to act in a certain way in order to increase chances of being granted residence permits. As evidenced by medical records, healthcare professionals were aware of this scam, and witnessed parents who actively refused aid for their children, but remained silent. Later, Sveriges Television, Sweden's national public television broadcaster, were severely critiqued by investigative journalist Janne Josefsson for failing to uncover the truth.

Internet
After the rise of a popular breakthrough YouTube channel in 2019 where the presenter exhibits extensive Tourette's-like behavior, there was a sharp rise in young people referred to clinics specializing in tics, thought to be related to social contagion spread via the Internet, and also to stress from eco-anxiety and the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors of an August 2021 report found evidence that social media was the primary vector for transmission and that it predominantly affects adolescent girls, declaring the phenomenon the first recorded instance of "mass social media–induced illness" (MSMI).

See also

 , one example of satanic panic
  (from the French for "a madness shared by two")

References
Informational notes

Citations

Bibliography
Ali-Gombe, A. et al. "Mass hysteria: one syndrome or two?" British Journal of Psychiatry 1997; 170  387–78. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
Balaratnasingam, Sivasankaran and Aleksandar Janca. "Mass hysteria revisited." Current Opinion in Psychiatry 19(2) (2006): 171–74. Research Gate. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
Bartholomew, Robert. Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. 2001. Print.
Bartholomew, Robert and Simon Wessely. "Protean nature of mass sociogenic illness." The British Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 180: 300–06. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
Jones, Timothy. "Mass Psychogenic Illness: Role of the Individual Physician." American Family Physician. American Family of Family Physicians: 15 Dec. 2000. Web. 28 Nov. 2009.
Kerchoff, Alan C. "Analyzing a Case of Mass Psychogenic Illness." Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 5–19. Print.
Mass, Weir E. "Mass sociogenic illness." CMAJ 2005; 172: 36. Web. 14 Dec. 2009.
Moss, P. D. and C. P. McEvedy. "An epidemic of overbreathing among schoolgirls." British Medical Journal 2(5525) (1966):1295–1300. Web. 17 Dec. 2009.
Phoon, W. H. "Outbreaks of Mass Hysteria at Workplaces in Singapore: Some Patterns and Modes of Presentation." Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 21–31. Print.

Singer, Jerome. "Yes Virginia, There Really Is a Mass Psychogenic Illness." Mass Psychogenic Illness: A Social Psychological Analysis. Ed. Colligan et al. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1982. 21–31. Print.

Group processes
Somatic symptom disorders
Crowd psychology
Social phenomena
Behavioral addiction

Mass psychogenic illness


Lawrence Stuart Milk (born December 26, 1960) is an American LGBT human rights activist and political speaker. The nephew of civil rights leader Harvey Milk, he is the co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation. He has engaged in domestic and international activism, including work with LGBT movements in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Stuart Milk has promoted his uncle's story and addressed LGBT rights in formal major addresses on multiple continents, including before the United Kingdom House of Lords in 2012, the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 2011,  the Panamanian National Assembly in 2010, and Turkish Grand Assembly in 2009. Milk is frequently quoted in international news and seen on broadcast television discussing issues of LGBT inclusion and diversity. He is also a featured writer and columnist for The Huffington Post, focusing on global human rights. During the 2012 U.S. elections, Milk gave public endorsements as a surrogate for Barack Obama and backed LGBT supporter Bob Filner over openly gay conservative Carl DeMaio in the race for mayor of San Diego; Filner narrowly won the election, becoming the first Democrat to be elected mayor of San Diego in 30 years.

Biography
Milk has worked on public policy since the late 1980s in both the public and private sector, primarily on workforce issues pertaining to youth and disadvantaged populations in the U.S. and abroad.  In addition to his human service work, he has been a speaker on LGBT rights at colleges, universities and public events including for Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, University of San Francisco, SUNY, Central European University, University of Oxford, University of San Diego, as speaker or grand marshal for numerous LGBT Pride parades including San Francisco and Orlando in 2008, Istanbul and Madrid in 2009, Boston and San Diego in 2010, Pittsburgh and Budapest in 2011, as well as Tijuana and Atlanta in 2012.  He has provided addresses at political conventions, including both the California Democratic Convention and Florida statewide conventions in 2009 and 2010.

In addition to his role as Milk family spokesperson, he worked to share his uncle's story at international, national and state levels.  He has successfully advocated for recognition for his late uncle as an annual California state holiday, Harvey Milk Day, held since 2009 on the late Milk's birthday; the induction of his uncle into the California Hall of Fame; accepting the United States' highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, on behalf of his uncle from President Obama; co-founding the international Harvey Milk Foundation; and the development of several new LGBT centers named after Harvey in foreign nations.

Milk was active in the 2012 U.S. presidential election as surrogate for incumbent Barack Obama, speaking to primarily LGBT audiences on behalf of the president at public campaign events, to the media and for the Obama For America organization.  In October 2012, Stuart Milk, through his role as leader of the Harvey Milk Foundation, and Rosaria Iardino hosted a global summit on human rights inclusive of the LGBT community that brought NGO and governmental leaders from five continents to Milan, Italy. The summit was supported by the European Union, the Italian Senate, the City of Milan and Equality Italia.

Early life and impact of his uncle
As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, the 1978 assassination of his uncle destroyed the "closet door" for Stuart Milk. At the 20-year memorial of Harvey Milk's death, Stuart stated that he decided to be vocally out right after his uncle's murder, as a living and active memorial. "Earlier that year, Uncle Harvey and I had a three-hour talk at a family gathering, he talked to me about being your authentic self. I was just a teenager, but it stayed with me," Milk said.

"When I think about Uncle Harvey, I think about, even as a small child, the kind of the richness and color of life that he brought to me. Harvey was the person who introduced me to Broadway, and Broadway musicals", Stuart said in 2009.

Milk has been involved in public service since the late 1980s including directing employment assistance centers and youth enrichment programs. He told The New York Times that he sees his work in public service as part of his family's legacy. In 1999, Stuart Milk made available to the public several never before seen photos of his uncle's early campaign for elected office as well as personal family pictures.

In 1985, Milk gave his first large public address as an "out" LGBT activist alongside The Times of Harvey Milk producer Richard Schmiechen at Oberlin College. At the time, Milk was working as a campaign director for National Citizen Action, a progressive political advocacy organization.

Current work and activism

In addition to being the President of the Harvey Milk Foundation's Board of Directors, Milk also sits as a director on boards and advisory boards of numerous human rights, LGBT rights and youth advocacy organizations including the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), Equality California, International Conference on Disadvantaged Youth, the Coalition for Workforce Solutions, and the International Committee for Minority Justice and Equality.

Milk has travelled to foreign nations advocating for human rights inclusive of the LGBT community while working collaboratively with other diminished and marginalized populations. Milk's speaking events have included LGBT public speeches in Istanbul, Ankara, and Cairo to public events in Central and Eastern Europe, Central American and South American cities, as well as activities in Asia and the Pacific Rim. In addition to twice giving the keynote addresses for International Congresses in the Netherlands, Milk has been a delegate on official sister city visitations or state visits to Sydney, Australia; Panama City, Panama; and Cape Town, South Africa.

Milk was involved with getting legislation signed to create an annual California State Day of Recognition named after his late uncle in 2009. His involvement was cited as a reason he received Equality California's Champion Award that year. In 2010 he worked with then California First Lady Maria Shriver in designing the first public museum exhibit on Harvey Milk in Sacramento, and he accepted his uncle's medal and induction into the California Hall of Fame from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Harvey Milk Day activities are now held around the world every May 22—Milk's birthday—and are facilitated annually by the Harvey Milk Foundation. The foundation encourages organizers of Harvey Milk Day events to promote the unity of all marginalized minorities.

Stuart Milk participated in efforts to have a U.S. postage stamp named for Harvey Milk, the first for a self-identified LGBT person. The successful "Harvey Milk U.S. Postage Stamp Campaign" was also supported by LGBT organizations including the International Court System, Equality California, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Human Rights Campaign, Victory Fund, The Trevor Project, and GLAAD. The Harvey Milk stamp was released on May 22, 2014, on what would have been Milk's 84th birthday, with an official first-day-of-issue ceremony taking place at the White House. It featured a black-and-white photograph of a smiling Milk in front of his Castro Street Camera store, along with a rainbow stripe.

Following a meeting with Milk during his 2011 "Human Rights Tour" for Equality Italia, Italy's Minister of Equal Opportunities, Mara Carafagna, publicly reversed her opposition to a proposed anti-homophobia law saying "I now see it is important for my government to protect against homophobia and create gay friendly workplaces".

Milk helped develop a 2011 professional international conference for youth educators working along with the Center For Excellence in School Counseling at San Diego State University. Senior federal government officials, including the assistant secretary of the United States Department of Education, were brought together with San Diego Mayor Sanders, school superintendents, faculty, counselors, and parent/student advocates to define and examine best practices to support LGBT youth while in school. Milk is also involved with a Global LGBT Transitions and Interchange Congress being presented in early 2012 with the support of European Union officials and the European private sector.

Portrayals
Portrayals of Stuart Milk have included his characterization in the play Dear Harvey, by Patricia Loughrey that was partly based on Loughrey's interviews and discussions with Stuart. The play has been performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., at New York City's Fringe Festival and at colleges and universities across the United States. Dear Harvey has been translated into Spanish for production in Mexico and Spain while Stuart Milk's character was performed by actor Chad Allen in the spring 2010 production in Sacramento.

Honors and awards
Milk has been the recipient of international and national awards for his global civil rights work, including Spain's Annual Muestra T (cultural authenticity) in 2008, Keshet/Jewish Mosiac's Hacham and Hachamat Lev Award in 2010, the José Sarria International Human Rights Award from the International Court in 2007, the Equality Champion of the Year Award from Equality California in 2009, and was the 2011 recipient of the Medal of Turin.

References

External links
 Harvey Milk Foundation

1960 births
American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
Living people
LGBT people from New York (state)
American LGBT rights activists
Activists from New York City
Harvey Milk
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
University of San Francisco alumni
University of San Diego alumni

Stuart Milk


Daniel Appling (August 29, 1787 – March 5, 1817) was an officer in the United States Army during the first two decades of the nineteenth century. He was born and educated in Columbia County, Georgia. After joining the Army at age eighteen, he was commissioned into the Regiment of Riflemen, in which he served for his entire career. He led troops in Florida during the Patriot war and along the Niagara frontier during the War of 1812. Appling resigned his commission in 1816 and moved to Alabama. Appling died in 1817 (or possibly 1818). He died while the State of Georgia was procuring a sword to be presented to him in recognition of his service during the War of 1812. A county in Georgia is named after him and a U.S. Naval vessel after the county.

Early life and education
Appling was born in Columbia County, Georgia to John and Rebecca (Carter) Appling. He was educated in private schools judged to be among the best in Georgia, studying under David Bushnell, among others; his education included Greek and Latin.

Career

Operations in Florida
In 1805, Appling enlisted in the United States Army. On May 3, 1808, Appling was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Regiment of Riflemen.  Appling served as a recruiting officer for some time and was later stationed at Fort Hawkins, near Macon, Georgia under the command of Captain (later Brigadier General) Thomas A. Smith. He marched with his regiment to Point Peter on St. Mary's River in Georgia. He commanded troops on Amelia Island in Florida during the Patriot War.  On July 1, 1809, Appling was promoted to first lieutenant, and on April 1, 1812 he was promoted to captain.

Battle of Big Sandy Creek
During the War of 1812, Appling was ordered to Sackets Harbor in New York. Navy Captain Melancthon Taylor Woolsey was assigned to transport cables and cannons needed to outfit a frigate, , and other vessels from Oswego, New York to Sackets Harbor. The equipment was loaded onto nineteen boats on the evening of May 28, 1814. Appling, who had been promoted to major the previous April 15 and 120 of his riflemen were assigned to support Woolsey. One of the boats was separated from the others and was captured by the British. Captain Sir James Yeo decided to pursue the remaining Americans, who had withdrawn up Big Sandy Creek to fortify their position.  On the morning of 30 May, a large British force engaged the Americans. Appling, his riflemen and 120 Oneida Warriors had established an Ambuscade and surprised the British. The Battle of Big Sandy Creek lasted less than ten minutes and resulted in an overwhelming American victory.  The Americans captured 143 prisoners (133 men and 10 officers), wounded 20 (18 men and 2 officers); and killed 14 (13 men and one officer). They also captured three gun-boats, one with a 24-pounder and a 63-pounder; two cutters; and one gig. Effective May 30, 1814, Appling was brevetted as a lieutenant colonel for gallant conduct in capturing a superior force of the enemy at the Battle of Big Sandy Creek.

Battle of Plattsburgh
During the Battle of Plattsburgh, Appling led 110 riflemen against General Sir George Prevost's attack, conducting a number of delaying actions on the Beckmantown Road. For his distinguished service there, he was brevetted as a colonel effective September 11, 1814.

Resignation and death
On June 1, 1816, Appling resigned from the army; he returned to Georgia and later moved to Montgomery County, Alabama.

Appling died on March 5, 1817, in Montgomery County. An alternate date of death is March 18, 1818.

On December 22, 1819, a petition from Rebecca C. Appling, Daniel Appling's sister, requesting that prize money for the capture of the Royal Navy vessels equipment at the Battle of Big Sandy Creek be distributed to her and the men who had served under Daniel at the battle as would have happened if Daniel and his men had been in the U.S. Navy. On January 5, 1820, a bill in support of the petition failed to pass.

Honors and namesakes
The Georgia Legislature awarded Appling a sword in recognition of the efforts during the War of 1812.  Appling died before the sword could be delivered.  The sword hung in the Governor's Office until 1883, when it was sent to the archives of the Georgia State Historical Society.  In 1906, the sword was sent to be displayed in the Jamestown Exposition, but it never returned to Georgia.  In 2010 the director of the Georgia Division of Archives and History saw an advertisement in an antiques magazine offering the sword for sale for $250,000. The Pennsylvania antiques collector and dealer gave Georgians until December 31 to raise $100,000 to purchase the sword or he would sell it to waiting buyers. An initiative by Friends of the Georgia Archives and the Daughters of the War of 1812 raised the money, and in 2012, the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, the sword was returned to the state of Georgia and hung in the State Capitol's Hall of Valor.  It is now at the Georgia Archives.

Appling County, Georgia was named for Daniel Appling on December 15, 1818.

, an attack transport named for Appling County, Georgia, was launched on April 9, 1944, and decommissioned on December 20, 1946.  Appling earned three battle stars for her World War II service.

See also

References

External links
 Appling County historical marker

1787 births
1817 deaths
United States Army colonels
Appling County, Georgia
United States Army personnel of the War of 1812
People from Columbia County, Georgia
People from Montgomery County, Alabama

Daniel Appling


Lihue (, ) is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue is the second-largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 6,455, up from 5,694 at the 2000 census.

History
In ancient times, Lihue was a minor village. Līhue means "cold chill" in the Hawaiian language. Lihue is in the ancient district of Puna, the southeastern coast of the island, and the land division (ahupuaa) of Kalapaki. Royal Governor Kaikioewa officially made it his governing seat in 1837, moving it from Waimea; he named the town after land he owned on Oahu by the same name.

With the emergence of the sugar industry in the 1800s, Lihue became the central city of the island with the construction of a large sugar mill. Early investors were Henry A. Peirce, Charles Reed Bishop and William Little Lee. The plantation struggled until William Harrison Rice built the first irrigation system in 1856.

Subsequent plantation owner Paul Isenberg helped German people emigrate to Lihue starting in 1881, with the first Lutheran church in Hawaii founded in 1883. Services were held in German well into the 1960s. By the 1930s, George Norton Wilcox became one of the largest sugarcane plantation owners, buying Grove Farm from Hermann A. Widemann. The Wilcox family home, Kilohana, has been converted into a restaurant and gift shop. The surrounding plantation now grows crops and livestock. A narrow-gauge tourist railroad with vintage diesel locomotives from Whitworth and General Electric offers tours of the plantation; horse-drawn carriage tours are offered as well. The grounds are also the site of luaus, many of which are offshore excursions booked through NCL America. Lihue also houses the Kauai Museum, which details the history of Kauai.

Geography and climate

Lihue is on the eastern side of the island of Kauai, bordered by Hanamaulu to the north and Puhi to the west. Its shorefront on the Kauai Channel of the Pacific Ocean extends from Hanamaulu Bay in the north to the larger Nawiliwili Bay to the south. Hawaii Route 50 leads west from Lihue  to Kalaheo and beyond to the western side of the island, while Hawaii Route 56 leads north  to Kapaa and onwards to the northern side of the island.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Lihue CDP has an area of , of which  is land and , or 10.42%, is water.

Lihue has a tropical wet and dry climate zone (Köppen classification As) with a relatively dry summer season. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from  in February to  in August. On average, there are 7.7 nights annually with a low below , and readings of  or higher are quite rare, occurring on average once every eight years. Temperature records range from  on January 14, 1930 up to only  as recently as September 4–8, 2019. The record cool daily maximum is  as recently as December 19, 1981, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is  as recently as September 7–9, 2019.

Normal annual rainfall is  spread over an average 195 days, but observed annual rainfall has ranged from  in 1983 and 1982, respectively. The wettest month on record is March 2006 with , while the most rain to occur in a single calendar day is  on May 13, 1940. The record driest month is February 1983 with trace amounts.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,694 people, 2,178 households, and 1,420 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 2,399 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 22.8% White, 49.2% Asian, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 6.4% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 20.5% from two or more races. 6.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,178 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the CDP the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,906, and the median income for a family was $56,875 in 2000. Males had a median income of $38,713 versus $28,032 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,619. 4.6% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.4% of those under the age of 18 and 7.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Transportation
Lihue is served by Lihue Airport, in the eastern part of the community. Kauai's main seaport is at Nāwiliwili Bay, directly southeast of town. Lihue is also served by The Kauai Bus, a public bus system serving the entire island.

Facilities
The town is home to the county administration building; Kauai's largest shopping center, Kukui Grove Center, which houses the island's only big department store and several big-box stores. There are also several car dealerships and restaurants.

Education
Lihue is home to Kauai Community College, part of the University of Hawaii system.

Lihue is also served by the Hawaii Department of Education. Two K-5 elementary schools, Wilcox Elementary School in Lihue and Kaumualii Elementary School in downtown Hanamaulu serve the area. All of the area is zoned to Kamakahelei Middle School and Kauai High School.

Island School, a private pre-kindergarten to 12 school, is also located in Lihue.

Notable people
 Bethany Hamilton (b. 1990) surfer
 Eric Shinseki, (b. 1942) retired United States Army general who served as 34th chief of staff of the Army and the seventh U.S. secretary of veterans affairs.
 Robert Yasuda (b. 1940) American abstract painter
 Kirby Yates (b. 1987) Major League Baseball pitcher
 Tyler Yates (b. 1977) former Major League Baseball pitcher

Notes

References

Census-designated places in Kauai County, Hawaii
Populated places on Kauai
County seats in Hawaii
Populated coastal places in Hawaii

Lihue, Hawaii


Psyllium , or ispaghula , is the common name used for several members of the plant genus Plantago whose seeds are used commercially for the production of mucilage. Psyllium is mainly used as a dietary fiber to relieve symptoms of both constipation and mild diarrhea, and occasionally as a food thickener. Allergy to psyllium is common in workers frequently exposed to the substance.

Use of psyllium in the diet for three weeks or longer may lower blood cholesterol levels in people with elevated cholesterol, and may lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Use of psyllium for a month or longer may produce a small reduction in systolic blood pressure.

The plants from which the seeds are extracted tolerate dry and cool climates, and are mainly cultivated in northern India.

Uses

Food
Psyllium has been used as a thickener in ice cream and other frozen desserts. A 1.5% weight/volume ratio of psyllium mucilage exhibits binding properties that are superior to a 10% weight/volume ratio of starch mucilage. The viscosity of psyllium mucilage dispersions are relatively unaffected between temperatures of , by pH from 2 to 10, and by salt (sodium chloride) concentrations up to 0.15 M.
Psyllium seed husks can also be used to improve texture in gluten-free baked goods, to bind meatballs, and to thicken sauces. Some people use them to manage symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, or to maintain a clean colon for receiving anal sex.

Human health

Weight loss
Dietary supplements containing psyllium are sold mainly to aid weight loss, although there is little scientific evidence for such effects.

Constipation
Psyllium is mainly used as a viscous, soluble dietary fiber that is not absorbed by the small intestine. The purely mechanical action of psyllium mucilage is to absorb excess water while stimulating normal bowel elimination. Although its main use has been as a laxative, it is more accurately regarded as a dietary fiber and as such can help reduce the symptoms of both constipation and mild diarrhea. The laxative properties of psyllium are attributed to the fiber: it absorbs water and subsequently softens the stool. It increases flatulence (gas) to some degree.

High blood cholesterol
In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a health claim on food labels for dietary psyllium as a soluble fiber – if consumed regularly – that would reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol. Clinical research demonstrated that seven grams or more per day of soluble fiber from psyllium seed husk would sufficiently lower total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol in people with hypercholesterolemia, two accepted biomarkers for risk of coronary heart disease. The findings were later confirmed in a meta-analysis that incorporated more evidence. To be eligible for the FDA-allowed health claim, one serving of a manufactured food or dietary supplement must contain at least 1.7 g of psyllium as soluble fiber. Whole oats, barley and foods containing beta-glucan soluble fiber were included as eligible sources for the label claim.

Type 2 diabetes
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a qualified health claim for psyllium as a possible benefit for people with diabetes, requiring FDA-approved wording on a product label: "Psyllium husk may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, although the FDA has concluded that there is very little scientific evidence for this claim." A meta-analysis published after the FDA decision reported that psyllium provided before meals improved fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin, but that the larger effect was seen in people diagnosed with and being treated for type 2 diabetes, and only a modest improvement for people classified as pre-diabetic.

Hypertension
Psyllium has been found by meta-analysis of clinical trials to significantly reduce blood pressure in people suffering from hypertension. Psyllium has not been shown to have the same effect on individuals with normal or elevated blood pressure.

Veterinary medicine
Psyllium fiber dietary supplements are used in veterinary medicine to treat sand impaction in horses to aid in elimination of sand from the horse's colon.

Adverse effects
Fiber generally has few side effects.
 Psyllium can cause bowel obstructions or bezoars, if taken without adequate amounts of water.
 Gas or stomach bloating may also occur.
 Choking is a hazard if psyllium is taken without adequate water as it thickens in the throat.

Allergy
Psyllium can cause allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Psyllium may act as a potent inhalant allergen capable of eliciting asthma symptoms. Health care professionals at geriatric care hospitals, who are frequently exposed to psyllium in the laxatives administered to patients, are commonly IgE sensitized to psyllium (13.8%), and 8.6% have clinical allergy to psyllium. Pharmaceutical manufacturing employees who have been exposed to psyllium during the processing have developed occupational asthma and IgE sensitization. In order to protect sensitized workers, psyllium has an extremely low occupational exposure limit of 150 ng/m3.

Mechanism of action
The soluble fiber in psyllium is the polysaccharide heteroxylan, a hemicellulose.

Psyllium is produced mainly for its mucilage content. The term mucilage describes a group of clear, colorless, gelling agents derived from plants. The mucilage obtained from psyllium comes from the seed coat. Mucilage is obtained by mechanical milling (i.e. grinding) of the outer layer of the seed. Mucilage yield amounts to about 25% (by weight) of the total seed yield. Plantago-seed mucilage is often referred to as husk, or psyllium husk. The milled seed mucilage is a white fibrous material that is hydrophilic, meaning that its molecular structure causes it to attract and bind to water. Upon absorbing water, the clear, colorless, mucilaginous gel that forms increases in volume by tenfold or more.

Cultivation
The genus Plantago contains over 200 species. P. ovata and P. psyllium are produced commercially in several European countries, Russia and surrounding countries, and India. Plantago seed, known commercially as black, French, or Spanish psyllium, is obtained from P. psyllium, also known as P. arenaria. Seed produced from P. ovata is known in trading circles as white or blonde psyllium, Indian plantago, or isabgol. Isabgol is the common name in India for P. ovata. India dominates the world market in the production and export of psyllium.

Plantago ovata is an annual herb that grows to a height of . Leaves are opposite, linear or linear lanceolate . The root system has a well-developed tap root with few fibrous secondary roots. A large number of flowering shoots arise from the base of the plant. Flowers are numerous, small, and white. Plants flower about 60 days after planting. The seeds are enclosed in capsules that open at maturity.

The fields are generally irrigated prior to seeding to achieve ideal soil moisture, to enhance seed soil contact, and to avoid burying the seed too deeply as a result of later irrigations or rainfall. Maximum germination occurs at a seeding depth of 6 mm (1/4 in). Emerging seedlings are frost sensitive; therefore, planting should be delayed until conditions are expected to remain frost free. Seed is broadcast at 5.5 to 8.25 kg/hectare (5 to 7.5 lb/acre) in India. In Arizonan trials, seeding rates of 22 to 27.5 kg/ha (20 to 25 lb/acre) resulted in stands of 1 plant/25mm (1 inch) in 15 cm (6 inch) rows produced excellent yields. Weed control is normally achieved by one or two hand weedings early in the growing season. Control of weeds by pre-plant irrigation that germinates weed seeds followed by shallow tillage may be effective on fields with minimal weed pressure. Psyllium is a poor competitor with most weed species.

Plantago wilt (Fusarium oxysporum) and downy mildew (Peronospora alta) are the major diseases of Isabgol. White grubs and aphids are the major insect pests.

The flower spikes turn reddish brown at ripening, the lower leaves dry and the upper leaves yellow. The crop is harvested in the morning after the dew is gone to minimize shattering and field losses. In India, mature plants are cut 15 cm above the ground and then bound, left for a few days to dry, thrashed, and winnowed.

Harvested seed must be dried to below 12% moisture to allow for cleaning, milling, and storage. Seed stored for future crops has shown a significant loss in viability after 2 years in storage.

Commercial history

Metamucil

Introduced in 1934 by G.D. Searle & Company, Metamucil was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1985. The name is a combination of the Greek word for change (meta) and the class of fiber that it utilizes (mucilage). In its early years, Metamucil achieved sporadic drug-store distribution as a "behind the counter" product - sold in pharmacies but not on the shelf, so that the pharmacist may counsel the purchaser on correct usage. Since 1974, the brand was also marketed to consumers by print and TV advertising and became available in food outlets. Flavored versions were added in 1979.

The brand is sold as powdered drink mixes, capsules and wafers in a variety of flavors. Metamucil contains psyllium seed husks as the active ingredient. It is manufactured in Phoenix, Arizona, by Procter & Gamble. When first marketed to consumers in 1974, Metamucil was marketed as a laxative. The advertising slogan at that time was "If not nature, then Metamucil". Procter & Gamble sought to make Metamucil a household name by advertising in magazines and on television, using the claim "All fiber is not created equal".

References

External links
 USDA Plants Profile: Plantago ovata Forsk.
 USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network: Plantago ovata Forsk.
 ITIS Standard Report: Plantago ovata Forsk.
 USDA Plants Profile: Plantago psyllium L.
 USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network: Plantago psyllium L. (Plantago arenaria)

Crops
Medicinal plants
Plantago
Edible thickening agents
Natural gums

Psyllium


John Beardman (born December 5, 1937 in Youngstown, Ohio) is a contemporary American artist. He is an abstract expressionist and a major contributor to "art as process" and "action painting" influenced by Willem de Kooning. His work has been the subject of several exhibitions in New York City, Louisville, Kentucky, Birmingham, Michigan and Nova Scotia, Canada. Beardman has received numerous creative artist's grants and fellowships. He currently lives and works in Pennsylvania and has a Studio in Manhattan, New York City.

Life and work

John Beardman was born in Youngstown, Ohio December 5, 1937.

At the age of twelve he moved with his family to a farm outside of Warren, Ohio and started painting at the age of nineteen. He was first intrigued with gesture painting and was later influenced by Dutch-American abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning.

Beardman studied at Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College and Southern Illinois University. In the 60s he also studied with Stanley William Hayter at his Atelier 17 in Paris and at the College of Sorbonne in Paris and received a certificate.

He earned his living as art professor at the University of Connecticut, Cranbrook Educational Community, Academy of Art and Oakland University from 1961 to 1990.

From 1992 to 2016 Beardman did most of his art work in his "Studio in the Woods" in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. He also made an open-air exhibition in 2008 "A Song of the Woods" at his Canadian studio.

Beardman has exhibited at various galleries, including one person exhibitions in New York City at Carter Burden Gallery, Noho M55 Gallery, Denise Bibro Fine Art, Inc., Allan Stone Gallery, OK Harris Works of Art, Jayne H. Baum and 55 Mercer Galleries. In Louisville, Kentucky he has exhibited at the Brownstown Gallery and in Birmingham, Michigan at Art Space.

He has works in both public and private collections including NBC, HDH Corp, Best Products, Harry Bober, Allan Stone, Leonard Goldenson, Cornel West, Cranbrook Educational Community, Academy of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Hudson River Museum and Carter Burden Center.

Testimonials have come from critics Donald Kuspit, April Kingsley and Karen Chambers and from art historians Meyer Schapiro, and Albert Elsen.

References

Further reading

 Ann LANDI in March 1999 Art News
 Grace Glueck, The New York Times, Feb 26, 1999, Art in Review
 Karen S. Chambers in Review Magazine, June 15, 1998
 Ken Johnson, The New York, Times, Dec 12, 1997
 Jean Herskowitz, Cover magazine, October 1998
 Michael Brenson, The New York Times,1974
 Rachel Youens, The New York Times, May 10, 1985

External links
 Official Website

1937 births
Living people
Abstract painters
American male painters
American abstract artists
American Expressionist painters
American contemporary painters
Artists from New York City
Modern painters
Case Western Reserve University alumni
Oberlin College alumni
Southern Illinois University alumni
College of Sorbonne alumni
University of Connecticut alumni
Cranbrook Educational Community alumni
Oakland University alumni

John Beardman


Corrado Mastantuono (born 20 December 1962) is an Italian comic book artist.

Born in Rome, Mastantuono worked in the animation field until 1989, and then started to work for the Italian magazine L'Eternauta. He subsequently worked on Disney comics with the Italian branch of Walt Disney Productions.

In recent times he collaborated extensively with Sergio Bonelli Editore, Italian comics main publisher, for series including Nick Raider and Magico Vento. In 2004 he released the fantasy Elias le maudit for Les Humanoïdes Associés.

External links

Official website
Corrado Mastantuono biography on Lambiek

1962 births
Living people
Artists from Rome
Italian comics artists
Disney comics artists

Corrado Mastantuono


In hydrology, discharge is the outflow of water from a river or lake or other body of water. The discharge describes how much water flows through, in a certain amount of time. The amount is usually expressed in  (cubic metres per second).

The discharge is the opposite of the inflow.

Discharge
Waterways

Discharge (hydrology)


Bernard Lown (June 7, 1921 – February 16, 2021) was a Lithuanian-born American cardiologist and anti-nuclear war activist. He was the original developer of the DC defibrillator and the cardioverter, as well as a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Career
Lown developed the direct current defibrillator for cardiac resuscitation and the cardioverter for correcting rapid disordered heart rhythms, and introduced a new use for the drug lidocaine to control heartbeat disturbances. Throughout his medical career, Lown focused on two major medical challenges: the problem of sudden cardiac death and the role of psychological stress on the cardiovascular system. His investigations led to many medical break-throughs.

His work made possible and safe much of modern cardiac surgery, as well as a host of other innovations.

In 1985, Lown accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, an organization he co-founded with Soviet cardiologist Dr. Yevgeny Chazov, who later was Minister Of Health of the USSR.

Personal life
Lown was born to a Jewish family in Utena, Lithuania, the grandson of rabbis. He was raised in Lewiston, Maine. Lown studied at the University of Maine and at Johns Hopkins University. He was married to Louise Lown. They had three children.

Lown died at his home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts from pneumonia caused by congestive heart failure on February 16, 2021 at the age of 99.

References

Other websites

 Dr. Bernard Lown's Official Website
 The Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation
 A Heart Doctor With an Extra Big Heart
 Prescription for Survival -- interview from the public radio program "Living On Earth"
 The Lost Art of Healing -- interview from the public radio program "Humankind"
 Bernard Lown papers, 1933-2033 (inclusive, 1960-1995 (bulk), HMS c300. Harvard Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Center for the History of Medicine , Harvard Medical School

1921 births
2021 deaths
Deaths from pneumonia
Deaths from congestive heart failure
American activists
American inventors
American physicians
Jewish activists
Jewish American scientists
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Lithuanian Jews
Scientists from Maine
Naturalized citizens of the United States
People from Lewiston, Maine

Bernard Lown


Margaret Wynne Nevinson (née Jones; 11 January 1858 – 8 June 1932) was a British suffrage campaigner.

Nevinson was one of the suffragettes who split from the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1907 to form the Women's Freedom League (WFL).  She wrote many articles for the WFL journal, The Vote, and also wrote many suffrage pamphlets including A History of the Suffrage Movement: 1908-1912, Ancient Suffragettes and The Spoilt Child and the Law. Nevinson was also the first woman Justice of the Peace in London as well as serving as a Poor Law Guardian.

Early life

Nevinson was born Margaret Wynne Jones at Vicarage House, Lower Church Gate, Leicester, on 11 January 1858, the daughter of the Revd Timothy Jones (c.1813–1873/4) and his wife, Mary Louisa (c.1830–1888). Her father, vicar of St Margaret's Church, Leicester, was a classical scholar who taught her Latin and Greek alongside her five brothers. Her mother had more traditional notions of appropriate pursuits for her only daughter. A brief, unhappy spell in an Oxford Anglican convent school was followed by finishing school in Paris.

The unexpected death of her father increased Margaret's wish to live independently. She tried governessing, then went to Cologne as a pupil teacher in a professor's family. In the early 1880s she became a classics mistress at South Hampstead High School, London. She also studied for examinations in Education, German, and Latin, becoming one of 63 women who gained the title and diploma of Lady Literate in Arts in 1882 from St Andrews University. Between 1882-3 she took a further course of lectures in English given by Henry Morley at University College London.

Marriage

On 18 April 1884 in London Margaret married childhood friend, the journalist Henry Woodd Nevinson (1856–1941). They spent a year in Germany, Henry studying at University of Jena while Margaret resumed teaching English. Their daughter (Mary) Philippa, who became a talented musician, was born in Germany. After returning to London (encouraged by Samuel and Henrietta Barnett) they moved to workmen's flats in Whitechapel. Margaret taught French evening classes at Toynbee Hall and helped with St Jude's Girls' Club. She then became a rent collector in artisans' dwellings.

In 1887 the Nevinsons moved to Hampstead. Their son, born in August 1889, was the artist Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson. His autobiography describes growing up as part of the Hampstead intelligentsia. His mother was "always a pioneer", from her shingled hair and hatred of lace curtains to her espousal of modern art, European outlook, and commitment to social justice (C. R. W. Nevinson, 6).

In 1901 the Nevinsons bought a house in Downside Crescent, Haverstock Hill, where Margaret lived for the rest of her life. By now Margaret and Henry's lives were running along separate grooves, not least because of the latter's night newspaper work. Henry also became a war correspondent so was frequently away for months. The marriage suffered though they never formally separated.

Employment and activism

Margaret was a school manager for 25 years, initially for the London School Board in the East End, then for London County Council (north St Pancras).

In 1904 she became a Hampstead poor-law guardian, determined to root out inefficiency and expose anomalies, particularly where they affected poor women. Her greatest contribution was probably not so much through the weekly meetings she attended so regularly as in publicizing the problems of the poor law. She did this through talks to women's suffrage groups, articles, and stories. In 1918 she published twenty-six tales known as Workhouse Characters. These included one story which had earlier been turned into a one-act play called In the Workhouse. Gender-specific legislation discriminating against married women was increasingly the focus of Margaret's writings whether through pamphlets such as The Legal Wrongs of Women (Women's Freedom League, 1923) or via her thinly disguised autobiographical stories, Fragments of Life (1922).

An early trainee in massage, Margaret treated wounded Belgian soldiers during World War I. Although she had refused to speak on behalf of parties or causes other than suffrage prior to gaining the vote, once enfranchised she supported the Liberal Party. She also lectured on the League of Nations and became a vice-president of the Women's Peace Crusade. In 1927 she was elected to the committee of the Society of Women Journalists.

Her most significant post-war public service was, however, as a pioneer female justice of the peace. Nominated by the WFL, in June 1920 she became the first woman in London to adjudicate at criminal petty sessions. With her experience and self-confessed 'passion for justice' and "devotion to logic" (M. W. Nevinson, 254), she again played a crucial role in Hampstead's affairs. She also visited the United States to study the American probationary system. In 1921 she was one of three women appointed to the Lord Chancellor's London county justices advisory committee.

In the Workhouse (1911)

Performed in 1911 in the Kingsway Theatre, In the Workhouse was one of the most controversial plays produced by Edy Craig's Pioneer Players as part of a triple bill with Chris St. John's The First Actress and Cicely Hamilton's Jack and Jill and A Friend (King's Hall, 1911). It is an exposé of the iniquities of the Coverture Act, which decreed that a married woman had no separate legal existence from her husband and therefore meant that if her husband entered - or left - the workhouse, she and her children were obliged to go with him.

Set in a workhouse ward, where a group of mothers, married and unmarried, look after their children, it exposes the contradictions of a system where Penelope, a respectable, secure, mother of five and unmarried is freer than respectable Mrs Cleaver who returns from her appeal to the Board of Guardians to announce that legally she has no right to leave the workhouse, even though she has work to go to and a home available for herself and her children.

The play, with its refusal to condemn vice and the unmarried mother, was either condemned for offensiveness or acclaimed for its importance. The Pall Mall Gazette  compared it to the work of Eugène Brieux "which plead for reform by painting a terrible, and perhaps overcharged, picture of things as they are... Such is the power of the dramatic pamphlet, sincerely written and sincerely acted. There is nothing to approach it in directness and force. It sweeps all mere prettiness into oblivion."

Two years after the play was produced, the law was changed in large measure due to Margaret's and other suffragists' campaigns.

The play was revived in 1979 by Mrs Worthington's Daughters, a feminist theatre company, directed by Julie Holledge in a double-bill with Susannah Cibber's The Oracle (1752).

Role in the suffrage movement

Margaret joined a number of women's suffrage groups including the WSPU. A committed Christian, she was a member of the Church League for Women's Suffrage, spoke for the Cymric Suffrage Union (her father, originally from Lampeter, was a Welsh speaker) and was treasurer of the Women Writers' Suffrage League. Her main commitment was, however, to the Women's Freedom League (WFL). She was a founder member in 1907, became treasurer of the Hampstead branch and was widely known as a witty speaker with a good stock of stories. She frequently invoked classical and biblical themes to illustrate points. She participated in passive resistance such as the suffrage picket outside parliament, and refusing to pay taxes. Margaret also published pamphlets through the Women's Freedom League including Ancient Suffragettes (1911) and Five Year's Struggle for Freedom: a History of the Suffrage Movement (1908-1912).

Margaret's husband was also active in the suffrage movement, becoming a founder of the Men's Political Union for Women's Enfranchisement for which he wrote at least one dramatic sketch.

Final years and death

Margaret's autobiography was published in 1926. Her final years were lonely ones, plagued by depression. She died of kidney failure at her Hampstead home, 4 Downside Crescent, on 8 June 1932. She was buried on 11 June at St Stephen's Church, Rosslyn Hill, London.

After Margaret's death her husband remarried, to her close friend and prominent suffragist, Evelyn Sharp.

See also
List of suffragists and suffragettes
Women's Freedom League

References

External links
Spartacus article on Margaret Nevinson

1858 births
1932 deaths
British suffragists
English tax resisters
Women of the Victorian era

Margaret Nevinson