Alexander Mathias Munter (born April 29, 1968) is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), and a former elected official and business owner in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Advocacy

Throughout his career, Munter has been at the forefront of numerous social change initiatives.

In 2001, as head of the city of Ottawa's Health and Social Services Committee, he led the adoption of Canada's first big-city workplace and public place smoking ban on city council. The Ottawa by-law became a model for many other jurisdictions, including New York City, which invited Munter to present to its city health commission in 2002. While second-hand smoke prohibitions are now commonplace, Ottawa's regulations broke new ground and came only a few years after Toronto had been forced to repeal a similar by-law due to public protest.

In 2003, Munter was approached by Canadians for Equal Marriage, a coalition of churches, professional groups and citizen organizations, and was asked to be the group's National Co-ordinator. In that role, he led a successful national campaign in support of Bill C-38: Civil Marriage Act, the federal legislation to entrench same-sex marriage rights in Canadian law.

In October 2011, Munter was named the next CEO of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario] (CHEO) replacing Michel Bilodeau who retired from CHEO after a 30-year career in health administration.

Since moving into health and social services administration in 2007, Munter has continued to be a national voice on important public policy issues like gene patenting, obesity, mental health and the future of health care.

In 2014, Munter spoke for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) when the organization launched a lawsuit against a private company, Transgenomic, challenging the legality of gene patents in Federal Court in Canada. CHEO argued that genes and other segments of the human genome should not be subject to patents for commercial purposes. CHEO declared victory in 2016, when it secured the right to use the disputed genes for all public hospitals and non-profit labs and created a public access framework that could be replicated for other genes. Munter called it "a historic day for Canada and Canada's health care system."

In 2012, Munter was appointed co-chair of a provincial expert panel on childhood obesity. Its 2013 report proposed a three-pronged strategy to reduce rates of childhood obesity: putting kids on the path to lifelong health, changing the food environment and building healthier communities. Recommendations included baby-friendly hospitals, better support for breastfeeding and restrictions on the marketing of junk food to children.

Munter has also been a vocal advocate of improved access to mental health care and to champion the adoption of innovative technologies within Canadian hospitals, as well as is a frequent speaker on the future of Canada's universal medicare system.

Career
Munter's father emigrated from Germany to Montreal in 1966, his mother had arrived the year before. They met in a French class for immigrants, which his mother was teaching.  His family then moved to the Ottawa region in 1977, and settled in the Katimavik-Hazeldean area west of the city. At age 14, Munter began publishing the Kanata Kourier from his basement as a monthly local paper for the suburban community of Kanata, Ontario. In four years, the paper had a staff of seven and a circulation of 10,000 in the town of 27,000. In recognition of his success in business, he received an award as "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" from then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1988.

Munter was a City and Regional Councillor in Ottawa from 1991 to 2003. From 1997 onward, he headed the council committees responsible for health and social services with oversight of the city's $550 million human services budget. In that role, he led Council to adopt unanimously pioneering smoke-free regulations in 2001; helped open new child care centres, expand the number of child care spaces, and expand public health programs for children and youth; worked with provincial government to oversee the transfer of ambulance services and social housing to the municipal level; initiated Canada's first comprehensive public access defibrillator program; expanded long-term care for seniors; funded hospital expansions and worked with the Community Care Access Centre and community support agencies to improve at-home support services for seniors and people with disabilities.

In 2012 and 2013, Munter served as co-chair of the Ontario Healthy Kids Panel along with Kelly Murumets, president and CEO of ParticipACTION. The final report recommended starting kids on the right path from conception to birth, changing the food environment, and creating healthier communities.

Munter was Executive Director of the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa (YSB), one of Ontario largest accredited children's mental health agencies. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), the provincial government agency responsible for planning, integrating and funding health services in the Ottawa Region with an annual budget of $2.2 billion.

Munter holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Science degree in Behavioural Science from the London School of Economics and a professional designation as a Certified Health Executive (CHE) from the Canadian College of Health Leaders. After leaving city government, he was a Visiting Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, teaching there and at Montreal's Concordia University.

Politics
Munter became much involved in local politics in his role as editor of the Kanata Kourier. He was frequently at odds with Kanata Mayor Des Adam. In August 1989, he sold his paper to Runge Newspapers Inc. for over $300,000 due to competition from the rival paper Kanata Standard, but stayed on as publisher. In November 1989, Munter left the Kourier to focus on his ongoing studies in Political Science at the University of Ottawa.

He became a political reporter for the Ottawa Citizen, but left to run as a candidate of the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 1990 provincial election, contesting the riding of Carleton. Munter placed third in this conservative riding, but received more votes than any previous NDP candidate in the area.

Munter briefly returned to the Citizen, then worked for the Spicer Commission on Canada's Future before re-entering politics to run for Kanata City Council against incumbent Bev Read. After winning the election, Munter quickly became a prominent member of the council. He pushed through an initiative to install condom dispensers in some municipal buildings. He also chaired the Kanata Police Services Board.

In 1993, he came out of the closet as the Ottawa area's first openly gay politician.

The following year, he ran for a seat on the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton representing all of Kanata. He easily won the seat against two other Kanata politicians.

During his time in office, Kanata was in the midst of an economic boom centred on the high-tech industry. Munter's main concern was managing the area's rapid growth. He supported creating the amalgamated city of Ottawa, and was acclaimed to the new Ottawa City Council when it was created.

He also chaired the new city of Ottawa's health committee and, along with Medical Officer of Health Robert Cushman, worked to bring in Ottawa's no-smoking by-law.

Munter was courted to run provincially or to challenge for the mayoralty against Bob Chiarelli in 2003, but instead took a hiatus from electoral politics. He became a visiting professor of Urban Studies and Communications at the University of Ottawa and resumed writing for the Citizen. The federal New Democratic Party (NDP) approached him to run in Ottawa Centre in the 2006 federal election to succeed Ed Broadbent but Munter declined. Munter was the co-ordinator for Canadians for Equal Marriage, a group that campaigned successfully in favour of legislation to enshrine same-sex marriage in Canada.

Munter is not a member of any political party now. Locally, the Ottawa Sun reported Munter campaigned for candidates from all the major parties including Conservative, Liberal, and NDP.

On February 13, 2006, Alex Munter announced his candidacy for mayor of Ottawa in the November 2006 municipal election. A 2005 poll by the Ottawa Sun had Munter as a front-runner, in a statistical tie with the incumbent Bob Chiarelli. Another public poll in April 2006 had Munter as the front runner with a significant lead over Chiarelli.  Most polls made public in the early stages of the campaign showed Munter in first place, often by a small margin. A poll conducted between October 13 and 18 by UniMarketing and sponsored by Radio-Canada and Le Droit, had Munter ahead by 12 percentage points at 44% of decided voters. Larry O'Brien was in second place with 32% and Chiarelli third (24%).

On election night, Munter finished second with 36.25%, behind O'Brien (47%) but ahead of Chiarelli (15.6%).

2006 mayoral campaign platform

Munter set out several key priorities in his mayor campaign: public safety, fiscal responsibility, local economy and public transit. He promised to limit tax hikes to the inflation rate. While he was a city councillor, he claimed he helped to bring in ten consecutive balanced budgets without any tax increases. His opponents claimed that the budget was balanced despite his votes to increase spending.

He said he planned to improve public transit in the city of Ottawa, to review the O-Train project and to fix possible irregularities regarding the contract with Siemens. Munter said that the project could have been significantly better than the existing proposal, and that the costs could have been reduced. He did his own proposal of the north–south line by proposing the removal of the Barrhaven and downtown sections. Funding released would have redirected for the development of a future east–west line.

He criticized outgoing mayor Bob Chiarelli on several occasions for proceeding too quickly on the project, without proper information and consultation. He also criticized the mayor for allegedly providing incorrect information about the project, including saying that there would be additional costs because of an announcement made by John Baird, President of the Treasury Board, that the federal government's $200 million contribution would be delayed until after the November election. After Larry O'Brien's election as the new mayor, the expansion project was completely cancelled by City Council on December 14, 2006.

He promised to improve safety on the city streets with an increase of the number of police officers. He supported, along with mayors from other cities, increased gun control and stricter measures for drug dealing. He also proposed to give an easier access to leisure activities for kids with lower recreational fees. He wanted the city of Ottawa to be environmentally friendly. In addition to improvements for the public transit system, he also promised to close two landfill sites situated on Carp and Navan Roads in which there were expansion requests by private firms despite opposition by citizens.

Awards

Munter has won numerous awards from a wide range of organizations for his contributions to the community, including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Canadian Institute for Child Health, United Way/Centraide Ottawa, the Federal Business Development Bank, l'Association Canadienne-Française de l'Ontario d'Ottawa, Leadership Ottawa and the Ontario Association of Social Workers.

Electoral record

References

1968 births
Living people
Activists from Montreal
Anglophone Quebec people
Gay politicians
LGBT municipal councillors in Canada
Ottawa city councillors
Canadian people of German descent
Canadian newspaper editors
Journalists from Montreal
Journalists from Ontario
LGBT Christians
University of Ottawa alumni
Politicians from Montreal
Canadian LGBT rights activists
Ottawa-Carleton regional councillors
Canadian newspaper journalists
Canadian male journalists
Academic staff of the University of Ottawa
Canadian chief executives
Ontario New Democratic Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections
21st-century Canadian LGBT people
Canadian gay men
20th-century Canadian LGBT people
20th-century Canadian politicians
21st-century Canadian politicians

Alex Munter


Louis Bonaparte (Lodewijk Napoleon in Dutch) (1779-1846), was the younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him the King of the Kingdom of Holland in 1806.  When Louis disagreed with Napoleon's policies, he dispatched troops against Holland. Louis abdicated in 1810 and lived most of the remainder of his life in Italy. He served with his brother in the Italian campaign of 1796–97 and in Egypt in 1798–99.

Early Life
Louis was born Luigi Buonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica to Carlo Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. He was the younger brother of Joseph, Napoleon, Lucien and Elisa, and the older brother of Pauline, Caroline and Jérôme.

His early career was spent in the army and he served with Napoleon in Egypt. Thanks to Napoleon, he was a general by the age of 25, although he himself felt that he had risen too far in too short a time. Upon his return to France, he was involved in Napoleon's plot to overthrow the Directory. After becoming first consul, Napoleon arranged a marriage for Louis to Hortense de Beauharnais, the daughter of Empress Josephine and Napoleon's stepdaughter. Hortense, who was opposed to the marriage, was convinced by her mother to marry Louis for the sake of the family.

King of Holland

Napoleon made him king of Holland on June 5, 1806. He took his duties as king seriously, calling himself Koning Lodewijk I (adopting the Dutch form of his name). He practiced speaking the Dutch language and tried to be a responsible, independent ruler of Holland. His attempt at speaking the language earned him some respect from his subjects. He declared that he was Dutch and renounced his French citizenship. He also forced his court and ministers (mostly supplied by Napoleon) to speak only the Dutch language. This was too much for his wife Hortense who refused his request and left Holland. Two major tragedies occurred during his reign: the explosion of a ship filled with gunpowder in the heart of the city of Leiden in 1807, and a major flood in 1809. In both, Louis personally and effectively oversaw local relief efforts, which helped earn him the nickname Louis the Good.

His reign of the Netherlands was short lived, due to a quarrel with his brother. Napoleon wanted Dutch troops for his French invasion of Russia. Louis refused; Napoleon didn't help defend the kingdom, and the British invaded. Napoleon then suggested that Louis should abdicate but he refused. Napoleon removed Louis from the Dutch throne and annexed the Kingdom of Holland on July 1, 1810.

After his kingdom was taken from him, Louis remained in Holland for nearly three years and turned to writing and poetry. Louis wrote to Napoleon, after the disastrous Russian campaign, to restore him to the Dutch throne. Predictably, Napoleon refused and Louis returned to France in 1813.

Head of the House of Bonaparte
After the death of his elder brother Joseph in 1844, Louis was seen by Bonapartists as the rightful Emperor of the French, although he took little action himself to advance the claim. His son and heir, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, on the other hand, was at that time imprisoned in France for having tried to engineer a coup d'état. Louis died on July 25 1846, making his youngest son the future Napoleon III.

References

 Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life, by Alan Schom

1779 births
1884 deaths
House of Bonaparte
Kings and Queens of the Netherlands

Louis Bonaparte


Kickin' the Crown Around is a 1933 American Pre-Code film featuring the comedy team Clark and McCullough and directed by Sam White.

Plot summary
The two reeler short comedy is set in the mythical country of Jugo-Jaggon, where the manufacture, sale, or possession of salami is prohibited by law. Despite this, the country is in the grip of a salami addiction crisis. International Agents Blackstone and Blodgett (Clark and McCullough) are hired by Nikki (Charles Irwin), the Prime Minister, to find out who is smuggling 4% garlic salami into the kingdom.

Blackstone and Blodgett accidentally intercept a secret message that reveals that the illegal salami is being delivered to the Wiggle Inn. Posing as waiters, they capture the smuggler Disputin (Francis McDonald) at the inn and attempt to interrogate him, but he refuses to talk even after being squirted with seltzer water. Leaving Disputin tied to a chair, Blackstone and Blodgett report their progress to King Pfui (Ferdinand Munier), who is impressed but suggests that a fire hose might be more effective.

Little do any of them suspect that Queen Olga (Leni Stengel), with her Ladies in Waiting, is the mastermind behind the smuggling ring. When nobody is watching, she unties Disputin and takes his place in the chair.

When King Pfui is led to the captive, he is outraged to find the queen tied up, and threatens to have Blackstone's and Blodgett's heads—but they are saved when the ceiling collapses under the weight of the six tons of salami hidden there. As masses of contraband sausage rain down on the group, Blackstone declares the whole affair "just a lot of baloney".

Cast
Bobby Clark as Blackstone - The "Diplomat"
Paul McCullough as Blodgett
Ferdinand Munier as King Pfui
Leni Stengel as The Queen
Francis McDonald as Disputin
Eddie Baker as Manager - Wiggle Inn
Neal Burns as Messenger
Charles Irwin as Nikki, the Prime Minister

References

External links

1933 films
1933 comedy films
RKO Pictures short films
American black-and-white films
American comedy short films
Films directed by Sam White (film producer)
1930s English-language films
1930s American films

Kickin' the Crown Around


Bill Connors (born September 24, 1949) is an American jazz guitarist who was a member of Chick Corea's band Return to Forever. After leaving Return to Forever, he recorded three acoustic albums and then three electric albums as a leader/soloist.

Early years
Connors was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1949 and began to play the guitar at the age of 14. After three years of extensive self-study of the rock and blues influences that were his first inspiration, he began to play gigs around the Los Angeles area with a heavy blues/rock group called Middle Earth. He found his way to jazz, the music that would lead to a lifelong commitment.

"I'd been playing for about four years", he explained at the time of his RTF tenure, "and suddenly had an overnight change. I didn't want to be a blues guitarist anymore. I began listening to people like Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, [bassist] Scott LaFaro, Miles Davis, [John] Coltrane—anyone who had a 'jazz' label. Django Reinhardt really got to me. The first time I heard one of his records, I thought that was just what I wanted to be. He had all the fire, creativity, and energy that rock players have today. And the amazing purity of his melodies—you just knew they came from a totally instinctive place."

He and Django differed however over the matter of electronics with Bill preferring the sound of the electric instrument. "I always wanted to use the electric guitar in a sophisticated context, like with Chick [Corea]. I like to play jazz with that electric-rock sound. For me it's a lot closer to a horn than the traditional guitar, and that's what I love about it; I can sustain notes, get into different kinds of phrasing—do things other instruments do naturally, only the guitar does it with the aid of technology."

Connors moved to San Francisco in 1972 to join the Mike Nock Group (formerly known as The Fourth Way) with drummer Eddie Marshall and bassist Dennis Parker. He met up with drummer and vibraphonist Glenn Cronkhite, who introduced him to greater knowledge of jazz. Connors also played with bassist Steve Swallow and pianist Art Lande.

Return to Forever
In 1973, after sitting in on a gig, Connors joined Return to Forever, a fusion band led by keyboardist Chick Corea's that included bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Steve Gadd.

"A miracle!" Bill claims. "Chick was my hero. I wanted to be Chick Corea on guitar. I didn't know him, but whenever I really wanted to get off on music I'd play some of his piano solos and Return to Forever songs. I heard that Chick was looking for a guitarist. Steve encouraged me to call Chick, and though I was very nervous, I did, and he invited me to come over to the club where he was working and sit in. I was so scared that I almost turned him down. But after running around and saying to everyone, 'Guess who I'm going to play with tonight,' and everyone telling everyone else, all this energy was formulating – and I took to my room and practiced my ass off."

That night the fear disappeared. "The minute I got up on stage I had this feeling like I'd been preparing for this all my life. I was so relaxed that I felt as though I was in my own living room. Chick and I played musical games – he'd play these real simple lines and I'd be giving my interpretations of them, then go off into the Chick Corea 'outness.' I ended up in New York two weeks later."

With Corea's band of Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White, Connors established himself on the national and international music scenes, touring in Japan and Europe, and recording the album Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973).

In April 1974, after the band's tour of Europe and Japan, Bill quit the group. The musical direction seemed to him to be changing from what it was when he'd joined. He explains, "Everything started getting less aesthetic, more rock. Just too much like Mahavishnu. I was having trouble expressing myself the way I wanted to in that context."

Connor's disenchantment with the group also stemmed from certain objections to Corea's Scientology-inspired leadership style. "Chick had a lot of ideas that were part of his involvement with Scientology. He got more demanding, and I wasn't allowed to control my own solos. I had no power in the music at all. Then, we'd receive written forms about what clothes we could wear, and graphic charts where we had to rate ourselves every night – not by our standards, but his. Finally, we had to connect dots on a chart every night. I took all of it seriously because I had a lot of respect for Chick, but eventually I just felt screwed around. In the end, my only power was to quit."

After Return to Forever
In 1974, Connors left Return to Forever, and began to explore the New York jazz and session scene, performing with guitarist John Abercrombie and keyboardist Jan Hammer, and recording with former Return to Forever bandmate Stanley Clarke. "It was great," he stated in a 1985 interview, "because it wasn't this contrived thing in order to communicate to the audience. We were *playing* again and *learning* again, and it felt real good."

During this period, recording with vocalist Gene McDaniels and Stanley Clarke kept the guitarist's creative impulses occupied with a variety of challenges—but not for long. "Around 1975, I'd decided to become a classical guitar player", he muses. "I did my first solo album in 1974, and just decided on the spur of the moment to do it all on acoustic. That was just such a contrast from blowing people's ears off with my 200-watt Marshall that it really started to capture me." A further impetus came with Connors' discovery of classical artist Julian Bream. "I was sitting with his album 20th Century Guitar—a real classic—and it has this piece by [German composer] Henze that I really loved. It was just getting to me, so I sat down for a couple of days and transcribed it—on my steel-string guitar, with my funny pick-and-finger technique [laughs]. When I got it, it gave me so much pleasure that I said, 'Okay, I'm going to be a classical guitar player.' And that's what happened."

Connors recorded his solo album Theme to the Gaurdian (ECM) in 1974, making the switch from electric to acoustic guitar. Simultaneously he began to study classical guitarists. Two more albums on acoustic guitar followed: Of Mist and Melting (1978, ECM) with saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Jack DeJohnette and Swimming with a Hole in My Body (1980, ECM). During 1976 and 1977, Connors recorded with Lee Konitz, Paul Bley, and Jimmy Giuffre in New York City. He toured Europe, performing with Luciano Berio and Cathy Berberian. He returned to electric guitar, performing and recording with Garbarek on Places (1978) and Photo with Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows and a Red Roof (1979) and with Tom van der Geld and Richard Jannotta on Path (ECM) in 1979. In 1984, Connors recorded Step It with Tom Kennedy on bass, Dave Weckl on drums and Steve Khan on guitar (on "Twinkle" track only). His next album, Double Up (1986), included bassist Kennedy and drummer Kim Plainfield. The same trio (Connors, Kennedy, Plainfield) recorded Assembler in 1987.

Connors has been giving private lessons while continuing his studies. He plays plectrum style on a classical jazz guitar and a Gibson L-5 CES archtop electric. Other guitars are a Gibson Les Paul Custom and an Ovation guitar (electro-acoustic model).

Discography

As leader
 Theme to the Gaurdian (ECM, 1975)
 Of Mist and Melting (ECM, 1978)
 Swimming with a Hole in My Body (ECM, 1980)
 Step It (Pathfinder, 1984)
 Double Up (Pathfinder, 1986)
 Assembler (Pathfinder, 1987)
 Return (Tone Center, 2004)

As sideman
 Return to Forever, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (Polydor, 1973)
 Julian Priester, Love, Love (ECM, 1974)
 Stanley Clarke, Stanley Clarke (Nemperor, 1974)
 Paul Bley, Quiet Song (Improvising Artists, 1974)
 Jan Garbarek, Places (ECM, 1977)
 Jan Garbarek, Photo with Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows and a Red Roof (ECM, 1978)
 Tom van der Geld, Path (ECM, 1979)
 Kim Plainfield & Lincoln Goines, Night and Day (Metalimbo, 2002)
 Corea, Clarke & White, Forever (Concord, 2011)

References

External links
 Bill Connors ECM Records discography
 Bill Connors discography, album releases & credits at Discogs
 Bill Connors biography by Scott Yanow, discography and album reviews, credits & releases at AllMusic
 Bill Connors - Return (2004) album review by John Kelman at All About Jazz
 Bill Connors - Return (2004) album review at Guitar Nine
 Bill Connors - Return (2004) album review by Jim Newsom at Portfolio Weekly
 Bill Connors - Return (2004) album review at Smooth Jazz

1949 births
Living people
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American male musicians
American jazz guitarists
American male guitarists
Jazz fusion guitarists
Jazz-rock guitarists
American male jazz musicians
Return to Forever members
ECM Records artists
Improvising Artists Records artists

Bill Connors


Morelia amethistina (also known as the amethystine python, scrub python or sanca permata) is a form of non-venomous python. It can be found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia.

Some specimens of Morelia amethistina have been measured at up to 8.5 metres (27.9 feet) long, but normally they are only up to 5 metres long.

The diet of the Amethystine python is mostly birds, bats, rats, possums, and other small mammals. Some big Australian and Papuan varieties eat wallabies and cuscus.

Pythons
Snakes of Australia

Morelia amethistina


uCoz () is a free web hosting with a built-in content management system. The modules of the uCoz CMS can be used together to build a fully featured website, or separately, e.g. as an online shopping platform, blog, webforum etc. As of July 10, 2015, there are more than one and a half million websites created in the uCoz system. uCoz is among the top sites for Russian-speaking users according to Alexa Internet.

History

Initially, the basis of the service development was formed by the combined experience of several developers, which consisted in previous work over different services such as polls, free guestbooks and, more importantly, a professional CMS script (WoCatalog Pro). On 29 October 2005, after almost a year of development, uCoz announced the Russian version of the system. In June 2007, the English version of the system was officially announced, and in August the German version. Currently, uCoz is also available in Azeri, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hungarian, Romanian, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese, partially in Hebrew, Latvian, Ukrainian, and Georgian languages.

In January 2013, Yandex, the 4th largest Search Engine in the world announced the transfer to uCoz for its project Narod. This was the 2nd largest free website hosting platform on the Russian Internet, and the merger increased uCoz's market share substantially, as the company was already the market leader before the merger.

uCoz is backed by the Mail.ru group, has its headquarters in Moscow, Russia and other offices in Saint Petersburg, Rostov on Don, Kazan and Cherkassy, Ukraine.

Peculiarities

Being a SaaS system, uCoz has the features of this type of platform like closed source code, but with the availability of running server-side scripts like JavaScript. Also, it has the unavailability of running databases (all this is possible within Web 3.0 PaaS concept), which is balanced out by a great number of built-in system capabilities. Also, the system is fully HTML5 and CSS3 compatible.

Awards

 Open Web Awards 2009 winner in the nomination Best Site for Publishers
 Runet Prize 2008 People's Ten
 Runet Prize 2009 Technologies and Innovations
 Content Management Award Winners 2009
 Web Host Directory September 2008 Best for Ecommerce

References

External links

Companies based in Moscow
Content management systems
Free web hosting services
Internet technology companies of Russia
Website management
Blog hosting services

UCoz


The Charlotte Central Historic District is a mixed commercial, residential, and historic district located in the downtown section of Charlotte, Michigan. The district stretches along Cochran Avenue from West McClure Street to south of Henry Street, containing portions of the streets adjacent to Cochran. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

Description
The Charlotte Central Historic District contains 328 buildings, of which 288 contribute to the historic character of the district. The district contains the commercial center of Charlotte, as well as adjacent residential neighborhoods containing both large, architect-designed homes and more modest middle-class houses. It also contains early industrial buildings, and other structures surrounding the railroad junction on the north portion of the district. Most of these buildings are two stories in height, and primarily date from the late nineteenth century. The district contains a range of Italianate and Late Victorian commercial blocks. Residential architectural styles include Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Italianate, and later International style and Mid-Century Modern structures.

The most significant buildings in the district include:
Eaton County Courthouse, constructed in 1885 and individually listed in the National Register.
First Congregational Church, constructed in 1881 and individually listed in the National Register.
Michigan Central Railroad depot, constructed in 1902 and individually listed in the National Register.
Grand Trunk Western Railroad depot, constructed in 1885.
Lawrence Avenue Methodist Church, constructed in 1902–03.
Carnegie Library, constructed in 1903.
Masonic Temple, constructed in 1904.
High school, constructed in 1914 with 1936 and 1955 additions.
U. S. Post Office, constructed in 1917
Michigan Bell Telephone Building, constructed in 1929.
Eaton Theatre, constructed in 1931.

History
Charlotte was first platted in 1838. The population steadily grew, and it was incorporated as a village in 1863. A few of the earliest structures in the district date to this time, notably the county building at 115 W. Lawrence, constructed . A handful of Greek Revival houses also date from the middle of the 19th century.

The arrival of railroad lines - the Grand River Valley Railroad in 1868 and the Peninsular Railroad in 1870 - spurred the growth and development of Charlotte. By 1871, it was incorporated as a city. This timeframe marks the construction of some of the oldest commercial buildings in the district, clustered around the courthouse. During the 1880s, Charlotte experienced tremendous growth. Nearly 1/3 of the buildings in the district were constructed during the last two decades of the 19th century, including the largest public buildings and residences.

Another 1/3 of the buildings in the district were constructed during the first decades of the 20th century. However, as the city filled and the Great Depression hit, construction slowed, tapering off noticeably after 1950.

Gallery

References

National Register of Historic Places in Eaton County, Michigan
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Charlotte Central Historic District


The Conch Bearer is a fantasy novel written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

Plot
Anand is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in modern India. A believer in fairy tales and magic, he used to go to school until his family could no longer afford to pay for his lessons. His father had left two years before the start of the story. His sister, Meera, on the other hand, had been hurt mentally when she witnessed a murder. Thus, Anand and his mother had been forced to work.

Anand has been employed by a tea shop owner, Haru, who is frequently displeased with Anand's work and pays very little. One day, the shop is visited by an old man, whom Haru assumes to be a beggar. Ordered to take the beggar out of Haru's shop, Anand gently guides the old man out and, feeling sympathetic, gives the old man his lunch of stale pooris and weak tea.

Later that night, Anand finds the old man at his door. The man, who introduces himself as Abhaydatta, tells his story of a group of Healers, known as the brotherhood, who wield magic in a place called the Silver Valley, hidden deep within the Himalayas. He also reveals that a powerful magical item, the Conch, has been stolen from the brotherhood by one of its members, Surabhanu. This resulted in the weakening of the Brotherhood; therefore, they have sent four pairs of Healers to search for the conch. Abhaydatta and his partner have, in fact, retrieved the conch; however, his partner died buying Abhaydatta time to escape from Surabhanu.

Abhaydatta asks Anand for help in his journey back to the Silver Valley. He reveals that it is Anand's belief in magic that drew Abhaydatta and the Conch to Kolkata. Sensing Anand's hesitation, Abhaydatta heals Meera. However, Anand's mother arrives and, finding no visible effect on Meera, orders Abhaydatta out of the house, despite Anand's protests. Abhaydatta leaves, informing them where he will be and what time he will leave, with or without Anand.

The next morning, Anand is awakened by Meera's voice; she was cured during the night and is able to speak normally again. His mother gives her consent and lets Anand go. Unfortunately, for Anand, Abhaydatta has already left. Anand meets Nisha, a girl sweeping in front of a soft drinks stall, who tells him she knows where Abhaydatta will be waiting. After Anand reluctantly agrees to let her come, she leads him to the train station. There, they run into Surabhanu, disguised as a wealthy passenger. He manages to hold the struggling children until a mysterious candy vendor helps them escape.

Outside the station, they meet a blind beggar woman who, after receiving alms from Anand, points the two children in the direction of the meeting point where Anand and Nisha finally find Abhaydatta. The Healer is initially disapproving of Nisha but eventually relents.

The three start their journey towards the Silver Valley. Along the way, Abhaydatta tells the children of the journey ahead and what to do if they get separated from him. He tells of the dangers they will face and the three trials they will have to pass before reaching the Silver Valley. Abhaydatta also secretly entrusts the Conch to Anand; Surabhanu would not expect the Healer to trust the Conch to a boy.

Surabhanu, however, catches up to the three. In the duel that ensues, Anand and Nisha escaped but Abhaydatta mysteriously vanishes. As they journey, Anand begins hearing the conch talk to him and respond to his thoughts. It reveals to Anand that it will allow itself to be used only after all human solutions have been exhausted. A mongoose also joins the two children, saving them from trouble a few times along the way and earning Nisha's appreciation. They finally reach the first trial of the Brotherhood: a raging river none of them can cross. The mongoose, however, steps into the river, which stills as the animal and the two children make their way across.

Upon reaching the second trial, an enchanted rocky pass, Anand is forced to decide between going on alone or staying with Nisha. A bit of ingenious thinking allows both of them to cross the pass; however, Nisha is injured badly. Unfortunately, Surabhanu catches up to the two children in the form of a red snake. He reveals that Nisha has been under his control since their encounter at the train station. Surabhanu orders her to smash Anand's head with a rock, but the mongoose, which had been Abhaydatta all along, fights Surabhanu. The mongoose is defeated, which pains Nisha and causes her to betray Surabhanu. The conch finally allows Anand to use it, defeating Surabhanu in a wave of fire.

Anand arrives at the gate to the Silver Valley. There, in the final trial, he is made to choose between glory in the Silver Valley or his friends. Giving up the conch, he chooses to remain with an injured Nisha and the mongoose Abhaydatta. The Brotherhood declares that he has passed the final test, the trial within his mind, and welcomes Anand, Nisha, and Abhaydatta into the Silver Valley.

With the Conch restored in the Valley, Abhaydatta is restored to his human form and, with some help from Anand and Nisha, his mind is also turned back from that of a mongoose into his old self. Nisha is inducted as a novice, the first female member of the Brotherhood, which makes Anand wonder why the Brotherhood did not invite him to join. Abhaydatta talks to Anand and reveals that, unlike Anand, Nisha has no family. Thus, it was Anand who had to choose between the Brotherhood and his family, which had just found Anand's father, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

Anand chooses to stay with the Brotherhood, so the Healers make his family forget he had ever been a part of their lives. Anand, however, is not allowed to forget them for, as a Healer, he should remember the pain and what he had given up for the Brotherhood. Anand is then inducted not just as a novice but also as the titular Conch Bearer.

Characters
 Anand - the main hero a boy living in contemporary India, and later, the Conch Bearer.
 Nisha - a clever and resourceful girl who unexpectedly accompanies Anand and Abhaydatta on their quest. She lost her parents and doesn't remember her name, birthday, parents faces, etc. Luckily, Abhaydatta gives her the name "Nisha". She undergoes a minor personality change, from being tough to clingy to Abhaydatta whom she calls Dadaji (meaning grandfather).
 Abhaydatta - a Master Healer of the Brotherhood, recovered the Conch and passed it to Anand. He specializes in memory spells; he can make a person forget what they know or remember what they have lost. He also changed his form into a mongoose when Surabhanu changed into a snake. Unlike Surabhanu, however, his magic was depleted and Abhaydatta was unable to change back into a human by himself.
 Surabhanu - once a member of the Brotherhood, he stole the Conch for himself. He is capable of changing shape; Anand and Nisha met him in the form of a wealthy train passenger, a red snake and, finally, his own shape. He can also command animals like ravens or monkeys to spy or do work for him and is the main villain of the book.
 The Conch - a mysterious object that can communicate with humans and has great power. Anand's task is to carry the conch back to the Brotherhood. The conch looks like a conch and usually gives off a glow but most people see it as something else. (ex. a bone, a shell)

Writing
After 9/11, the author began thinking about heroes and how different cultures try to find heroes, and she "wanted to write a book where there could be heroic characters". She stated that she wanted to share India and her culture with young readers, and that she feels it is important to spread cultural diversity because she is concerned about "a really dangerous tendency to close down the borders."
It also deals with the theory of Monomyth or The Hero's Journey.

Awards
The Conch Bearer was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year and a Booklist Editor's Choice. It also got the gold medal Blue Bonnet award. It is on many school district summer reading book lists including FBISD in Texas.

Adaptation
On August 2019, it was reported that Imtiaz Ali will be the showrunner of a series based on the novel. It will be jointly produced by Ali, Ashok Amritraj and Reliance Entertainment.

References

External links
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Official Site

2003 American novels
American fantasy novels
Novels by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Novels set in India
Roaring Brook Press books

The Conch Bearer


Shithead (also called China Hand, Ten-Two Slide, Karma, Palace or Shed) is a card game, the object of which is to lose all of one's playing cards. Although the basic structure of the game generally remains constant, there are regional variations to the game's original rules.

History and name
The game became popular among backpackers in the late 20th century. It appears to be of Swedish or Nordic origin and is probably the international equivalent of the now classic Swedish game of Vändtia ("turn ten"), which itself emerged in the 1970s. It is also quite closely related to the Finnish game of Paskahousu.

The popular name of the game appears to be a mistranslation of its south Swedish name which, confusingly, is also the name of the more challenging Swedish game of Skitgubbe ("grubby old man").

Cards
A standard 52-card pack with French suit symbols is used. The 2s and 10s have special privileges. All other cards rank in their natural order, Aces high, and suits are irrelevant.

Deal
From a shuffled deck of cards, the dealer gives each player 9 cards: 3 downcards in a row, 3 upcards on top of the downcards, and 3 hand cards. The downcards will be played last and players are not allowed to see or change them until the endgame phase. The upcards will only be played once the hand cards are exhausted.

Rearranging
After the deal and before play begins, players may switch their hand cards with those face up on the table in order to produce a strong set of upcards (ideally high cards, 2s or 10s) for later in the game.

Play
Eldest hand is the first player dealt a 3 as an upcard. If no player has 3 face up, then the first player to declare a 3 in hand starts. If no-one has a 3, then the game is started by the person dealt a 4, etc. Eldest leads off by playing a card or set of cards face up in the middle of the table to start a common wastepile. In turn and in clockwise order, players play a card or set that is equal to or higher in rank than the top card of the wastepile. If unable or unwilling to do so, they must pick up the wastepile and add it to their hand cards.

Each player must initially have at least 3 cards in hand at all times; a player who has fewer than 3 after playing to the wastepile, draws cards from the stock, if possible, to make the hand up to 3 again.

Special cards and quartets
Deuces (2s) and tens have special roles:

 Deuces. A deuce may be played on any card and any card may follow a deuce.
 Tens. A ten may be played on any turn, regardless of the top card on the wastepile or even if there is no wastepile. card When a ten is played, the wastepile is removed from play and set aside for the remainder of the game. The same player then plays any card or set to begin a new wastepile.
 Quartets. A quartet is a set of four cards of equal rank e.g.  or . If a player is able to play a quartet, the wastepile is set aside as if a ten had been played. In addition, the last player to complete a quartet on the top of the wastepile by playing its fourth card also removes the wastepile. Either way, the same player may then play another card or set.

Endgame

A player who has no more cards in hand when the stock is empty must play from their upcards. If unable or unwilling to play an upcard, the player must pick up the wastepile. Once all of the upcards have been played, a player must then play downcards. These are played unseen and if the chosen card is lower than the previous card played, the wastepile must be picked up and, on subsequent turns, the player must play their hand cards before playing any more downcards.

A player who has no cards left, drops out. The last player left with cards is the loser and deals in the next game, but players may agree other forfeits, such as getting the next round of drinks.

Variations
The following variations are recorded:
 Jokers. Two Jokers are added as special cards that reverse the direction of play. They also allow six people to play.
 Additional special cards. Other card values can be given special attributes, such as reversing the order of play, skipping a player's turn, or requiring the next card to be lower than the played card. A common one is to have one rank e.g. 8s considered "transparent", "invisible" or "glass", the next card played having to beat the one below the transparent card.
 Stacking. When rearranging cards before play begins, players may stack cards of the same rank on top of each other on the upcard piles and replenish the hand from stock; this may be done more than once if more cards can be stacked.
 Tens restricted. Tens may not be played on face cards; a player who plays a 10 may take another turn immediately.

Footnotes

References

American card games
Beating games
Two-player card games
20th-century card games

Shithead (card game)


In physics and classical mechanics, the three-body problem is the problem of taking the initial positions and velocities (or momenta) of three point masses and solving for their subsequent motion according to Newton's laws of motion and Newton's law of universal gravitation. The three-body problem is a special case of the -body problem. Unlike two-body problems, no general closed-form solution exists, as the resulting dynamical system is chaotic for most initial conditions, and numerical methods are generally required.

Historically, the first specific three-body problem to receive extended study was the one involving the Moon, Earth, and the Sun. In an extended modern sense, a three-body problem is any problem in classical mechanics or quantum mechanics that models the motion of three particles.

Mathematical description

The mathematical statement of the three-body problem can be given in terms of the Newtonian equations of motion for vector positions  of three gravitationally interacting bodies with masses :

where  is the gravitational constant. This is a set of nine second-order differential equations. The problem can also be stated equivalently in the Hamiltonian formalism, in which case it is described by a set of 18 first-order differential equations, one for each component of the positions  and momenta :

where  is the Hamiltonian:

In this case  is simply the total energy of the system, gravitational plus kinetic.

Restricted three-body problem

In the restricted three-body problem, a body of negligible mass (the "planetoid") moves under the influence of two massive bodies. Having negligible mass, the force that the planetoid exerts on the two massive bodies may be neglected, and the system can be analysed and can therefore be described in terms of a two-body motion. With respect to a rotating reference frame, the two co-orbiting bodies are stationary, and the third can be stationary as well at the Lagrangian points, or move around them, for instance on a horseshoe orbit. It can be useful to consider the effective potential. Usually this two-body motion is taken to consist of circular orbits around the center of mass, and the planetoid is assumed to  move in the plane defined by the circular orbits.

The restricted three-body problem is easier to analyze theoretically than the full problem. It is of practical interest as well since it accurately describes many real-world problems, the most important example being the Earth–Moon–Sun system. For these reasons, it has occupied an important role in the historical development of the three-body problem.

Mathematically, the problem is stated as follows. Let  be the masses of the two massive bodies, with (planar) coordinates  and , and let  be the coordinates of the planetoid. For simplicity, choose units such that the distance between the two massive bodies, as well as the gravitational constant, are both equal to . Then, the motion of the planetoid is given by

where . In this form the equations of motion carry an explicit time dependence through the coordinates . However, this time dependence can be removed through a transformation to a rotating reference frame, which simplifies any subsequent analysis.

Solutions

General solution

There is no general closed-form solution to the three-body problem, meaning there is no general solution that can be expressed in terms of a finite number of standard mathematical operations. Moreover, the motion of three bodies is generally non-repeating, except in special cases.

However, in 1912 the Finnish mathematician Karl Fritiof Sundman proved that there exists an analytic solution to the three-body problem in the form of a power series in terms of powers of . This series converges for all real , except for initial conditions corresponding to zero angular momentum. In practice, the latter restriction is insignificant since initial conditions with zero angular momentum are rare, having Lebesgue measure zero.

An important issue in proving this result is the fact that the radius of convergence for this series is determined by the distance to the nearest singularity. Therefore, it is necessary to study the possible singularities of the three-body problems. As is briefly discussed below, the only singularities in the three-body problem are binary collisions (collisions between two particles at an instant) and triple collisions (collisions between three particles at an instant).

Collisions, whether binary or triple (in fact, any number), are somewhat improbable, since it has been shown that they correspond to a set of initial conditions of measure zero. However, there is no criterion known to be put on the initial state in order to avoid collisions for the corresponding solution. So Sundman's strategy consisted of the following steps:
 Using an appropriate change of variables to continue analyzing the solution beyond the binary collision, in a process known as regularization.
 Proving that triple collisions only occur when the angular momentum  vanishes. By restricting the initial data to , he removed all real singularities from the transformed equations for the three-body problem.
 Showing that if , then not only can there be no triple collision, but the system is strictly bounded away from a triple collision. This implies, by using Cauchy's existence theorem for differential equations, that there are no complex singularities in a strip (depending on the value of ) in the complex plane centered around the real axis (shades of Kovalevskaya).
 Find a conformal transformation that maps this strip into the unit disc. For example, if  (the new variable after the regularization) and if , then this map is given by

This finishes the proof of Sundman's theorem.

The corresponding series, however, converges very slowly. That is, obtaining a value of meaningful precision requires so many terms that this solution is of little practical use. Indeed, in 1930, David Beloriszky calculated that if Sundman's series were to be used for astronomical observations, then the computations would involve at least 10 terms.

Special-case solutions

In 1767, Leonhard Euler found three families of periodic solutions in which the three masses are collinear at each instant. See Euler's three-body problem.

In 1772, Lagrange found a family of solutions in which the three masses form an equilateral triangle at each instant. Together with Euler's collinear solutions, these solutions form the central configurations for the three-body problem. These solutions are valid for any mass ratios, and the masses move on Keplerian ellipses. These four families are the only known solutions for which there are explicit analytic formulae. In the special case of the circular restricted three-body problem, these solutions, viewed in a frame rotating with the primaries, become points referred to as L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5, and called Lagrangian points, with L4 and L5 being symmetric instances of Lagrange's solution.

In work summarized in 1892–1899, Henri Poincaré established the existence of an infinite number of periodic solutions to the restricted three-body problem, together with techniques for continuing these solutions into the general three-body problem.

In 1893, Meissel stated what is now called the Pythagorean three-body problem: three masses in the ratio 3:4:5 are placed at rest at the vertices of a 3:4:5 right triangle. Burrau further investigated this problem in 1913. In 1967 Victor Szebehely and C. Frederick Peters established eventual escape for this problem using numerical integration, while at the same time finding a nearby periodic solution.

In the 1970s, Michel Hénon and Roger A. Broucke each found a set of solutions that form part of the same family of solutions: the Broucke–Henon–Hadjidemetriou family. In this family the three objects all have the same mass and can exhibit both retrograde and direct forms. In some of Broucke's solutions two of the bodies follow the same path.

In 1993, a zero angular momentum solution with three equal masses moving around a figure-eight shape was discovered numerically by physicist Cris Moore at the Santa Fe Institute. Its formal existence was later proved in 2000 by mathematicians Alain Chenciner and Richard Montgomery. The solution has been shown numerically to be stable for small perturbations of the mass and orbital parameters, which makes it possible that such orbits could be observed in the physical universe. However, it has been argued that this occurrence is unlikely since the domain of stability is small. For instance, the probability of a binary–binary scattering event resulting in a figure-8 orbit has been estimated to be a small fraction of a percent.

In 2013, physicists Milovan Šuvakov and Veljko Dmitrašinović at the Institute of Physics in Belgrade discovered 13 new families of solutions for the equal-mass zero-angular-momentum three-body problem.

In 2015, physicist Ana Hudomal discovered 14 new families of solutions for the equal-mass zero-angular-momentum three-body problem.

In 2017, researchers Xiaoming Li and Shijun Liao found 669 new periodic orbits of the equal-mass zero-angular-momentum three-body problem. This was followed in 2018 by an additional 1223 new solutions for a zero-angular-momentum system of unequal masses.

In 2018, Li and Liao reported 234 solutions to the unequal-mass "free-fall" three-body problem. The free fall formulation of the three body problem starts with all three bodies at rest. Because of this, the masses in a free-fall configuration do not orbit in a closed "loop", but travel forward and backward along an open "track".

In 2023, Ivan Hristov, Radoslava Hristova, Dmitrašinović and Kiyotaka Tanikawa published a search for "periodic free-fall orbits" three-body problem, limited to the equal-mass case, in which they found 12,409 distinct solutions.

Numerical approaches
Using a computer, the problem may be solved to arbitrarily high precision using numerical integration although high precision requires a large amount of CPU time. There have been attempts of creating computer programs that numerically solve the three-body problem (and by extension, the n-body problem) involving both electromagnetic and gravitational interactions, and incorporating modern theories of physics such as special relativity. In addition, using the theory of random walks, an approximate probability of different outcomes may be computed.

History
The gravitational problem of three bodies in its traditional sense dates in substance from 1687, when Isaac Newton published his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, when Newton was trying to figure out  if any long term stability is possible, especially the system of our Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. He was guided under the major Renaissance astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler to the beginning of the gravitational three-body problem. In Proposition 66 of Book 1 of the Principia, and its 22 Corollaries, Newton took the first steps in the definition and study of the problem of the movements of three massive bodies subject to their mutually perturbing gravitational attractions. In Propositions 25 to 35 of Book 3, Newton also took the first steps in applying his results of Proposition 66 to the lunar theory, the motion of the Moon under the gravitational influence of Earth and the Sun. Later, this problem was also applied to other planets' interactions with the Earth and the Sun.

The physical problem was first addressed by Amerigo Vespucci and subsequently by Galileo Galilei, as well as Simon Stevin, but they did not realize what they contributed. Though Galileo determined that the speed of fall of all bodies changes uniformly and in the same way, he did not apply it to planetary motions. Whereas in 1499, Vespucci used knowledge of the position of the Moon to determine his position in Brazil. It became of technical importance in the 1720s, as an accurate solution would be applicable to navigation, specifically for the determination of longitude at sea, solved in practice by John Harrison's invention of the marine chronometer. However the accuracy of the lunar theory was low, due to the perturbing effect of the Sun and planets on the motion of the Moon around Earth.

Jean le Rond d'Alembert and Alexis Clairaut, who developed a longstanding rivalry, both attempted to analyze the problem in some degree of generality; they submitted their competing first analyses to the Académie Royale des Sciences in 1747. It was in connection with their research, in Paris during the 1740s, that the name "three-body problem" () began to be commonly used. An account published in 1761 by Jean le Rond d'Alembert indicates that the name was first used in 1747.

From the end of the 19th century to early 20th century, the approach to solve the three-body problem with the usage of short-range attractive two-body forces was developed by scientists, which offered P.F. Bedaque, H.-W. Hammer and U. van Kolck an idea to renormalize the short-range three-body problem, providing scientists a rare example of a renormalization group limit cycle at the beginning of the 21st century. George William Hill worked on the restricted problem in the late 19th century with an application of motion of Venus and Mercury.

At the beginning of the 20th century,  Karl Sundman approached the problem mathematically and systematically by providing a function theoretical proof to the problem valid for all values of time. It was the first time scientists theoretically solved three-body problem. However, because there was not enough qualitative solution of this system, and it was too slow for scientists to practically apply it, this solution still left some issues unresolved. In the 1970s, implication to three-body from two-body forces had been discovered by V. Efimov, which was named as Efimov Effect.

In 2017,  Shijun Liao and Xiaoming Li applied a new strategy of numerical simulation for chaotic systems called the clean numerical simulation (CNS), with the use of a national supercomputer, to successfully gain 695 families of periodic solutions of the three-body system with equal mass.

In 2019, Breen et al. announced a fast neural network solver for the three-body problem, trained using a numerical integrator.

In September 2023, several possible solutions have been found to the problem according to reports.

Other problems involving three bodies

The term "three-body problem" is sometimes used in the more general sense to refer to any physical problem involving the interaction of three bodies.

A quantum-mechanical analogue of the gravitational three-body problem in classical mechanics is the helium atom,
in which a helium nucleus and two electrons interact according to the inverse-square Coulomb interaction. Like the
gravitational three-body problem, the helium atom cannot be solved exactly.

In both classical and quantum mechanics, however, there exist nontrivial interaction laws besides the inverse-square force that do lead to exact analytic three-body solutions. One such model consists of a combination of harmonic attraction and a repulsive inverse-cube force. This model is considered nontrivial since it is associated with a set of nonlinear differential equations containing singularities (compared with, e.g., harmonic interactions alone, which lead to an easily solved system of linear differential equations). In these two respects it is analogous to (insoluble) models having Coulomb interactions, and as a result has been suggested as a tool for intuitively understanding physical systems like the helium atom.

Within the point vortex model, the motion of vortices in a two-dimensional ideal fluid is described by equations of motion that contain only first-order time derivatives. I.e. in contrast to Newtonian mechanics, it is the velocity and not the acceleration that is determined by their relative positions. As a consequence, the three-vortex problem is still integrable, while at least four vortices are required to obtain chaotic behavior. One can draw parallels between the motion of a passive tracer particle in the velocity field of three vortices and the restricted three-body problem of Newtonian mechanics.

The gravitational three-body problem has also been studied using general relativity. Physically, a relativistic treatment becomes necessary in systems with very strong gravitational fields, such as near the event horizon of a black hole. However, the relativistic problem is considerably more difficult than in Newtonian mechanics, and sophisticated numerical techniques are required.
Even the full two-body problem (i.e. for arbitrary ratio of masses) does not have a rigorous analytic solution in general relativity.

-body problem
The three-body problem is a special case of the -body problem, which describes how  objects move under one of the physical forces, such as gravity. These problems have a global analytical solution in the form of a convergent power series, as was proven by Karl F. Sundman for  and by Qiudong Wang for  (see -body problem for details). However, the Sundman and Wang series converge so slowly that they are useless for practical purposes; therefore, it is currently necessary to approximate solutions by numerical analysis in the form of numerical integration or, for some cases, classical trigonometric series approximations (see -body simulation). Atomic systems, e.g. atoms, ions, and molecules, can be treated in terms of the quantum -body problem. Among classical physical systems, the -body problem usually refers to a galaxy or to a cluster of galaxies; planetary systems, such as stars, planets, and their satellites, can also be treated as -body systems. Some applications are conveniently treated by perturbation theory, in which the system is considered as a two-body problem plus additional forces causing deviations from a hypothetical unperturbed two-body trajectory.

In popular culture
In the classic 1951 science-fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, the alien Klaatu, using the pseudonym Mr. Carpenter, makes some annotations to equations on Prof. Barnhardt's blackboard. Those equations are an accurate description of a particular form of the three-body problem.

The first volume of Chinese author Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy is titled The Three-Body Problem and features the three-body problem as a central plot device.

See also

 Few-body systems
 Galaxy formation and evolution
 Gravity assist
 Lagrange point
 Low-energy transfer
 Michael Minovitch
 -body simulation
 Symplectic integrator
 Sitnikov problem
 Two-body problem
 Synodic reference frame
 Triple star system

References

Further reading

External links

 Physicists Discover a Whopping 13 New Solutions to Three-Body Problem (Science)
 3body simulator - an example of a computer program that solves the three-body problem numerically

Chaotic maps
Classical mechanics
Dynamical systems
Mathematical physics
Orbits
Equations of astronomy

Three-body problem


Angoche Island is a small island in the district of same name in Mozambique. The island lies at the mouth of the Mluli River; the river enters the sea at the southernmost point of a large bay which contains a number of low, marshy islands. One of these islands was home to the ancient Islamic settlement of Angoche, and the island is thus known as Angoche Island.Being a coastal island its main source of income was the illegal shipment of slaves, which allowed for the enrichment of the aristocratic classes of the Nyapakho clan. It was not taken by the Portuguese until 1913, thanks to the brave resistance of the sultan, particularly Ibrahim Iussuf. His nephew, who was the commander-in-chief of a 30,000 men army took over power and opposed with tenacity the Portuguese until 1890. By then, Farlah, the last sultan resumed the war against the Portuguese until he was captured in a battle in 1910 and deported to East Timor where he died in prison. The small island is subject to cyclones; Cyclone Huda in particular is remembered, and so permanent habitation has not been possible. Angoche is the largest producer of cashew and shrimps in Mozambique.

History
Angoche was first mentioned by a Portuguese document in 1506. The former British consul, Lyons McLeod, published a brief history of the Angoche sultanate in 1860, followed by a more comprehensive account by Eduardo do Couto Lupi in his 1907 study, Angoche. According to Lupi, the islands of Angoche, Mocambique, and Quelimane were founded by a group of refugees from Kilwa shortly before the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498. The two leaders of the refugees, Mussa and Hassani, who settled at Mocambique and Quelimane respectively, found established Muslim communities in each place. Hassani died while on a visit to Mocambique and was buried on Mafamale Island (also off the mouth of the Angoche River). After Mussa visited the grave, he decided that Angoche was a more favourable locality than Queliman and installed Xosa, Hassani's son, as sultan of Angoche. The tomb of Sultan Hassani remained a centre of pilgrimage until at least the 19th century.

Other sources, such as the account of Duarte Barbosa in 1518, confirm that the language and customs of Angoche were the same as those of Mocambique. Duarte de Lemos noted the close trade relationships that still survived in 1508 between Angoche and Mocambique.

References

Islands of Mozambique
Angoche District
Geography of Nampula Province

Angoche Island


A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity.

It is usually a circular basin. When active, there is a vent or vents inside it. From these magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be huge, and sometimes deep.

During certain types of gigantic eruptions, the volcano's magma chamber may empty enough for an area above it to subside. This dropped surface crater is called a caldera.

Related pages
 Caldera
 Volcano

References

Other websites

Volcanic crater


Australia's Greatest Athlete is an Australian television program that debuted in 2009. The first season was broadcast on the Nine Network and was hosted by Andrew Voss and Michael Slater, with Ricky Ponting as a sideline commentator. The second season moved to Channel Seven and was hosted by Mark Beretta and Tom Williams, with Ponting returning as a sideline commentator. Season three was hosted by Mark Beretta and Wendell Sailor, while Billy Slater and Mark Webber replaced Ricky Ponting as the sideline commentators.

These three series were sponsored by Rexona, which gave it naming rights and the series was referred to on-air as Rexona Australia's Greatest Athlete.

The show pits eight of Australia's most talented athletes against each other in various sporting challenges and events, earning points for their rankings. The overall winner receives money which will then be donated to a charity of their choice. Melbourne Storm and Australian Kangaroos fullback Billy Slater was the overall champion of the first season, and returned to defend the title for the second season with a 5-point win over runner-up Shannon Eckstein. The third series was won by Queensland Reds and Australian Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper with a 95-point win over runner-up Shannon Eckstein. Slater was unable to compete for a threepeat on account of an injury.

Season one was in syndication on Fox Sports 1 on Tuesdays at 6:30 pm, while season two received replays on 7mate.

A fourth season was confirmed through the show's official website and Facebook page, which also announced a new naming sponsor to replace Rexona as well as female and amateur athletes. It was not listed which channel would broadcast the series. Despite the announcement, no fourth season ever eventuated and the show's Facebook page was deleted, effectively cancelling the series.

Season 1 (2009)

Season 2 (2010)

Season 3 (2011)

References

External links
Official Website
Greatest Athlete Facebook

2009 Australian television series debuts
2011 Australian television series endings
Nine Network original programming
Seven Network original programming
Australian sports television series
2000s Australian reality television series
2010s Australian reality television series

Australia's Greatest Athlete


Philipp Stolle (1614 – 4 October 1675) was a German composer, tenor and theorbo player of the Baroque era.

Stolle was born in 1614 at Radeburg. He was a pupil of Caspar Kittel. He worked for many years at the Dresden court of Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony, while Heinrich Schütz was Kapellmeister there. On 16 January 1649 Stolle married Anna Maria Krätzschmar.

At the request of the Dresden court poet David Schirmer, Stolle produced musical settings for 68 of Schirmer's poems, published in 1654 as the songbook Singende Rosen Oder Liebes-und Tugend-Lieder. The settings were for soprano, theorbo or viola da gamba, and basso continuo. Schirmer also included 51 of the songs from Singende Rosen in his famous 1657 collection Poetische Rosen-Gepüsche.

Eventually Stolle was transferred into a new ensemble at court, under the musical direction of Giovanni Andrea Bontempi. This was set up by the Elector's son, the future Johann Georg II, in response to the chronic decline of his father's Kapelle. However, in 1653, Stolle wrote to Johann Georg II asking to be released, pointing out that after 21 years of service at Dresden, his annual salary of 300 thaler was still not enough for him to provide for his family. By then he and his wife had three children.

In 1654, Stolle finally left Dresden, for the court of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels at Halle, where he succeeded Samuel Scheidt as Kapellmeister. There he seems to have composed a number of Singspiel operas, although only one survives, Charimunda (1658,  Halle). In 1660 he yielded the position of Kapellmeister at Halle to David Pohle, but apparently continued composing operas there, and subsequently went on to work at the secundogeniture court at Saxe-Weissenfels. He died at Halle on 4 October 1675.

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1614 births
1675 deaths
People from Meissen (district)
People from the Electorate of Saxony
17th-century classical composers
German Baroque composers
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Male opera composers
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17th-century male musicians

Philipp Stolle


Roger & Gallet (also Roger et Gallet) is a French perfume company founded by merchant Charles Armand Roger and banker Charles Martial Gallet in 1862. It was owned by the L'Oréal group until its sale to Impala SAS in 2020.

Roger & Gallet purchased the Parisian perfumery business founded in 1806 by Jean Marie Joseph Farina, grand-grand-nephew of Giovanni Maria Farina, the creator of Eau de Cologne. Roger & Gallet then won a legal dispute over the right to use the Farina family name, and the company now owns the rights to Eau de Cologne extra vieille, in contrast to the Original Eau de Cologne from Cologne.

Roger & Gallet specialized in toilet soap which was produced in a large factory near Paris. The company made a name for itself with its luxurious bath soaps, which in 1879 first appeared in their signature round shape, with the crinkled silk paper and seal, still in use today. Later, they proved successful with the newly synthesized fragrance of violet, for which they held the French rights, producing perfumes such as Vera Violetta.

In 1975, Roger & Gallet was acquired by the Sanofi Group, who in turn sold the brand to Gucci in 1999. L'Oreal acquired Roger & Gallet from Gucci, a subsidiary at that time of PPR, in 2008.

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Fragrance companies
1862 establishments in France
Companies established in 1862
Cosmetics companies of France

Roger & Gallet


William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State. In the latter office, he negotiated the Gadsden Purchase, the last major acquisition of land in the contiguous United States.

Born in Southbridge Massachusetts, Marcy established a legal practice in Troy, New York after graduating from Brown University. He fought in the War of 1812, as an ensign, first lieutenant and captain in the 155th New York Infantry Regiment. Politically, he aligned with the Bucktail faction of the Democratic-Republican Party and became a leading member of the Albany Regency. As the Democratic-Republicans fractured in the 1820s, he became a member of the Democratic Party. Between 1821 and 1831, he successively served as Adjutant General of New York, New York State Comptroller, and as an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court. In 1831, the New York legislature elected Marcy to the U.S. Senate, and he held that position until 1833, when he became the Governor of New York. He served three terms as governor until his defeat in 1838 by the Whig nominee, William Seward.

He served as Secretary of War under James K. Polk from 1845 to 1849, overseeing the Mexican–American War. After leaving the Polk administration, he resumed the practice of law and became a leader of the "Soft" Hunker faction of the New York Democratic Party. He returned to the Cabinet in 1853, serving as Secretary of State under Franklin Pierce. In this role, he resolved a dispute about the status of U.S. immigrants abroad and directed U.S. diplomats to dress in the plain style of an ordinary American rather than the court-dress many had adopted from Europe. He also negotiated a reciprocity treaty with British North America and the Gadsden purchase with Mexico, acquiring territory in present-day Arizona and New Mexico. He left office in 1857 and died shortly thereafter.

Early life
William Learned Marcy was born in what is now Southbridge, Massachusetts, the son of farmer Jedediah Marcy and Ruth (Learned) Marcy. He attended schools in Leicester and graduated from The Woodstock Academy in Woodstock, Connecticut, before enrolling at Brown University, from which he graduated in 1808. After receiving his degree, Marcy, taught school in Dedham, Massachusetts and Newport, Rhode Island. He studied law with Troy, New York attorney William L. Bliss, was admitted to the bar in 1811, and began a practice in Troy. Marcy served in the militia during the War of 1812, first as an ensign in the 155th New York Infantry Regiment, and later advancing through the ranks to first lieutenant and captain. On October 22, 1812, he took part in the storming of the British post at St. Regis, Canada. He remained with the regiment after the war and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel as its second in command.

Afterward he served as Troy City Recorder from 1816 to 1818 and 1821 to 1823. As he sided with the Anti-Dewitt Clinton faction of the Democratic-Republican Party, known as the Bucktails, he was removed from office in 1818 after Clinton was elected governor. He was the editor of the Troy Budget newspaper.

In 1812, Marcy married Dolly Newell of Southbridge, who died in 1821. On April 28, 1824, he married Cornelia Knower (1801–1889, daughter of Benjamin Knower) at the Knower House in Guilderland, New York. They had three children—Samuel (1820–1862), Edmund (1832–1853), and Cornelia (1834–1888). Samuel Marcy was a United States Navy officer who was killed on board the USS Vincennes during the American Civil War. Edmund was ill when he died on board the USS Preble while going to the Azores in the hopes of regaining his health. Cornelia Marcy was the wife of Edmund Henry Pendleton (1845–1910), a Union Army veteran who later became a successful author.

State politics

Marcy became the leading member of the Albany Regency, a group of Democratic politicians who controlled State politics between 1821 and 1838. He was Adjutant General of New York with the rank of brigadier general from 1821 to 1823, New York State Comptroller from 1823 to 1829, and an associate justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1829 to 1831.

In 1831, he was elected U.S. Senator from New York by the state legislature as a Jacksonian Democrat, and served from March 4, 1831, to January 1, 1833. He resigned upon taking office as governor, to which position he was elected in 1832. He sat on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in the 22nd Congress. Defending Jackson's nomination of Martin Van Buren as minister to the United Kingdom in 1832, Marcy used the phrase "'to the victor belong the spoils," from which the term spoils system is derived to refer to patronage political appointments.

Marcy was elected as Governor of New York for three terms, from 1833 until 1838. As governor he checked the issue of bank charters by the legislature and secured the enactment, in 1838, of a general banking law, which abolished the monopoly features that resulted from the old banking system. In 1838, he was defeated by Whig William H. Seward, which led to a radical change in state politics and then ended the Regency. To the abolitionists who questioned the candidates for governor, Marcy was considered a "doughface," a man with Southern sympathies. He was well aware of the importance of Southern cotton and trade for New York state, both as a major part of exports from New York City and to the textile mills of upstate that processed cotton from the Deep South.

Marcy was appointed as a member of the Mexican Claims Commission, serving from 1839 to 1842. Later he was recognized as one of the leaders of the Hunkers, the conservative, office-seeking, and pro-compromise-on-slavery faction of the Democratic Party in New York.

Federal politics
Marcy served as United States Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President James K. Polk from 1845 until 1849, when he resumed the practice of law in New York. After 1849, Marcy led the "Soft" faction of the Hunkers that supported reconciliation with the Barnburners. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1852 but was unsuccessful, in part by "Hard" opposition led by Daniel S. Dickinson.

Secretary of State
Marcy returned to public life in 1853 to serve as United States Secretary of State under President Franklin Pierce. On June 1 of that year, he issued a circular to American diplomatic agents abroad, recommending that whenever practicable, they should appear in the simple dress of an American citizen. This directive created much discussion in Europe, where diplomats typically wore court dress. In 1867, Marcy's recommendation was enacted into law by the US Congress.

Marcy resolved the Koszta Affair (1853), related to detention of an unnaturalized American resident by Austria, gaining his freedom. He negotiated the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico in the Southwest, the last major land acquisition in the contiguous United States. It added land to what are now the states of New Mexico and Arizona. With a southern route of territory all under United States control, southerners worked to promote a railroad from Texas to San Diego but were not successful.

In 1854 Marcy had to deal with the complications growing out of the bombardment of Greytown (now San Juan de Nicaragua), by the United States warship Cyane in retaliation for insults offered the American minister by its inhabitants and for their refusal to make restitution for damages to American property. The expedition of William Walker to Nicaragua, and his assumption of its Presidency, in 1855, further complicated the Central American question.

Upon the 1854 seizure by Spain of the American vessel Black Warrior, on the ground that this vessel had violated the customs regulations of the port of Havana, some propagandists in the United States Congress as well as Pierre Soulé, the American minister in Spain, seemed to prefer war and make possible the seizure of Cuba. It was largely due to Marcy's influence that war was averted, Spain restored the confiscated cargo, paid restitution, and remitted the captain's fine. Three American diplomats met to discuss the future of Cuba, but the resulting Ostend Manifesto was quite unexpected, and Marcy promptly disavowed the document.

The Crimean War led to a diplomatic controversy with Great Britain because of British recruiting in several American cities, and in May 1856, the papers of the British representative Sir John Crampton and several consuls were revoked. The following year the British government sent Sir Francis Napier to Washington to take Crampton's place. A diplomatic disagreement with Britain caused Marcy to reject the Declaration of Paris of 1856, which would have set the rules of international maritime law.

Other affairs that demanded Marcy's attention were a Canadian tariff reciprocity treaty, Commodore Matthew C. Perry's negotiations for naval and trade access with Japan, and a British fishery dispute.

Death

Marcy died at Ballston Spa, New York, on July 4, 1857. He was buried at the Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York.

Legacy and honors

The United States Revenue Cutter , launched in 1853, was named in his honor.
His portrait appeared on American paper currency, the U.S. $1000 Silver Certificate, issued between 1878 and 1891.
 Marcy Street in his hometown Southbridge, Massachusetts was named for him. He was also born on this street on the corner of Main Street and Marcy Street which is now the site of the St. John Paul II Parish.
Mount Marcy in Essex County, at 1629 meters, the highest peak in New York, was named for him.
The Town of Marcy in Oneida County was named for him.
The Marcy Projects, public housing in Brooklyn, New York, were named for him.
Marcy School in Minneapolis, was named for him. When Minneapolis neighborhoods were later named for their schools, the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood honored Marcy School and Holmes School.

References

Sources

Further reading
 Spencer, Ivor Debenham, The Victor and the Spoils: A Life of William L. Marcy, Brown University Press (1959).

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1786 births
1857 deaths
United States Secretaries of State
United States Secretaries of War
Candidates in the 1852 United States presidential election
Democratic Party governors of New York (state)
New York Supreme Court Justices
Brown University alumni
American militiamen in the War of 1812
People from Southbridge, Massachusetts
Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery
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William L. Marcy


Epicuticular wax is a waxy coating which covers the outer surface of the plant cuticle in land plants. It may form a whitish film or bloom on leaves, fruits and other plant organs. Chemically, it consists of hydrophobic organic compounds, mainly straight-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons with or without a variety of substituted functional groups. The main functions of the epicuticular wax are to decrease surface wetting and moisture loss. Other functions include reflection of ultraviolet light, assisting in the formation of an ultra-hydrophobic and self-cleaning surface and acting as an anti-climb surface.

Chemical composition
Common constituents of epicuticular wax are predominantly straight-chain aliphatic hydrocarbons that may be saturated or unsaturated and contain a variety of functional groups, such as -hydroxyl, carboxyl, and -ketoyl at the terminal position. This broadens the spectrum of wax composition to fatty acids, primary alcohols, and aldehydes; if the substitution occurs at the mid-chain, it will result in β-diketones and secondary alcohols. Other major components of epicuticular waxes are long-chain n-alkanoic acids such as C24, C26, and C28.

These waxes can be composed of a variety of compounds which differ between plant species. Wax tubules and wax platelets often have chemical as well as morphological differences. Tubules can be separated into two groups; the first primarily containing secondary alcohols, and the second containing β-diketones. Platelets are either dominated by triterpenoids, alkanes, aldehydes, esters, secondary alcohols, or flavonoids. However, chemical composition is not diagnostic of a tubule or platelet, as this does not determine the morphology.

Paraffins occur in leaves of peas and cabbages, for example. Leaves of carnauba palm and banana feature alkyl esters. The asymmetrical secondary alcohol 10-nonacosanol appears in most gymnosperms such as Ginkgo biloba and Sitka spruce as well as many of the Ranunculaceae, Papaveraceae and Rosaceae and some mosses. Symmetrical secondary alcohols are found in Brassicaceae including Arabidopsis thaliana. Primary alcohols (most commonly octacosan-1-ol) occur in Eucalyptus, legumes, and most Poaceae grasses. Grasses may also feature β-diketones, as do Eucalyptus, box Buxus and the Ericaceae. Young beech leaves, sugarcane culms and lemon fruit exhibit aldehydes. Triterpenes are the primary component in fruit waxes of apple, plum and grape. Cyclic constituents are often recorded in epicuticular waxes, as in Nicotiana but are generally minor constituents. They may include phytosterols such as β-sitosterol and pentacyclic triterpenoids such as ursolic acid and oleanolic acid and their respective precursors, α-amyrin and β-amyrin.

Farina
Many species of the genus Primula and ferns such as Cheilanthes, Pityrogramma and Notholaena produce a mealy, whitish to pale yellow glandular secretion known as farina that is not an epicuticular wax, but consists largely of crystals of a different class of polyphenolic compounds known as flavonoids. Unlike epicuticular wax, farina is secreted by specialised glandular hairs, rather than by the cuticle of the entire epidermis.

Physical properties

Epicuticular waxes are mostly solids at ambient temperature, with melting points above about . They are soluble in organic solvents such as chloroform and hexane, making them accessible for chemical analysis, but in some species esterification of acids and alcohols into estolides or the polymerization of aldehydes may give rise to insoluble compounds. Solvent extracts of cuticle waxes contain both epicuticular and cuticular waxes, often contaminated with cell membrane lipids of underlying cells. Epicuticular wax can now also be isolated by mechanical methods that distinguish the epicuticular wax outside the plant cuticle from the cuticular wax embedded in the cuticle polymer. As a consequence, these two are now known to be chemically distinct, although the mechanism that segregates the molecular species into the two layers is unknown. Recent scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and neutron reflectometry studies on reconstituted wax films have found wheat epicuticular waxes; made up of surface epicuticular crystals and an underlying, porous background film layer to undergo swelling when in contact with water, indicating the background film is permeable and susceptible to the transport of water.

Epicuticular wax can reflect UV light, such as the white, chalky, wax coating of Dudleya brittonii, which has the highest ultraviolet light (UV) reflectivity of any known naturally occurring biological substance.

The term 'glaucous' is used to refer to any foliage, such as that of the family Crassulaceae, which appears whitish because of the waxy covering. Coatings of epicuticular flavonoids may be referred to as 'farina', the plants themselves being described as 'farinose' or 'farinaceous'.

Epicuticular wax crystals
Epicuticular wax forms crystalline projections from the plant surface, which enhance their water repellency, create a self-cleaning property known as the lotus effect and reflect UV radiation. The shapes of the crystals are dependent on the wax compounds present in them. Asymmetrical secondary alcohols and β-diketones form hollow wax nanotubes, while primary alcohols and symmetrical secondary alcohols form flat plates Although these have been observed using the transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope the process of growth of the crystals had never been observed directly until Koch and coworkers studied growing wax crystals on leaves of snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) and other species using the atomic force microscope. These studies show that the crystals grow by extension from their tips, raising interesting questions about the mechanism of transport of the molecules.

Measurement techniques
Epicuticular waxes are recovered from terrestrial, marine, and lake environments, allowing for solvent extraction of biomarkers and then qualitative and quantitative profiling through Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID). GC-MS and GC-FID are preferential for identifying and quantifying n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids. Isotope ratio analysis (GC-IRMS) measures relative abundance of carbon, hydrogen, and other isotopes with high precision. The carbon isotopic ratio is expressed between carbon-13 and carbon-12 as δ13C relative to the international standard. The hydrogen isotopic ratio between deuterium and protium is expressed as δD relative to the international standard.

Use as a biomarker

Epicuticular wax has been used as a biomarker to observe human evolution patterns. These lipids of these plant waxes have been analyzed when extracted from ocean and lake cores, paleo-lake drilling projects, archeological and geological outcrops, cave deposits, and human-bearing sediments. This data provides insight into past plant ecology and environmental stresses, particularly by reconstructing landscapes at a high taxonomic resolution.

Epicuticular wax δ13C is a favorable biomarker due to its benefits: it is not biased towards feeding like tooth enamel biomarkers, and are more widespread than paleosol carbonates that are biased based on rainfall amount. This marker can also identify C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways. Biosynthesis of these lipids result in further fractionation that results in lighter the bulk δ13C. Isotope stability studies that characterize diagenetic process can identify carbon and hydrogen alteration through chemical and microbial activity, but these studies often have mixed results. The state of plant wax preservation in soils and sediments is still unknown due to complex interactions in the depositional environments, including pH, microbial communities, alkalinity, temperature, and oxygen/moisture content.

δ13C of higher order plants has been used at Holocene and Pleistocene archeological sites. Diverse environments in modern Africa have been analyzed through the interpretation of epicuticular wax proxies, from wooded grassland vegetation (where the C31 homolog is most abundant) to arid and semi-arid regions of southern Africa (characterized by an abundance of C29). Turkana paleo-lake sediments from the East (3.45-3.4 Ma Wargolo Formation) and the West (1.9-1.4 Ma Nachukui Formation) suggest precession-controlled summer insolation is the primary driver of Pliocene and Pleistocene hydrology in the Basin. Variance of δD and δ13C at certain dates coincide with changes in variables such as orbital eccentricity and hominid tools.

Epicuticular wax and its successor aliphatic compounds are also used as biomarkers for higher plants. Long-chain n-alkyl compounds from vascular plants leaves are major components of epicuticular waxes that are resistant to degradation and thus effective biomarkers for higher plants. These terrestrial biomarkers can also be present in marine sediments. Due to the lack of higher plant material in aqueous settings, the presence of higher plant biomarkers in these ecosystems infer that these biomarkers were transported from their original terrestrial environment. Carbon isotopic compositions, specifically, their δ13C value, reflect their metabolism and environment, as 13C is discriminated against during photosynthesis.

See also
Wax
Plant cuticle
Glaucous

References

Bibliography

Plant anatomy
Plant physiology

Epicuticular wax