George Earl "Storm" Davis (born December 26, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues from 1982 to 1994. He is a two-time World Series champion.

World Series experience
Davis was the winning pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles in Game Four of the 1983 World Series versus the Philadelphia Phillies. He was the losing pitcher for the Oakland Athletics in Games Two and Five of the 1988 World Series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 1989, he won a career-high 19 games for the A's during a season which the A's won 99 games, more than any other team in Major League Baseball. After Davis (and reliever Rick Honeycutt) pitched in the only AL Championship Series game that the A's lost that year, Davis was originally scheduled to be the A's starting pitcher for Game Four of the 1989 World Series. When the Loma Prieta earthquake caused Game 3 to be delayed by ten days, Tony La Russa decided to re-use the winners of Games 1 and 2, Dave Stewart and Mike Moore, as the starting pitchers of Games 3 and 4; La Russa also penciled in Davis as the starting pitcher for Game 6, if necessary. La Russa's strategy worked: both Stewart and Moore won their games, and Davis, publicly angry at La Russa for the change, became a free agent at the end of the season.

1989-1991
Years later, Dave Stewart described Davis as the "best fifth starter [Stewart] had ever [seen]....[Davis] pitched 165-170 innings (actually 169), won 19 games (19-7) and spent some time doing a pretty good job out of the bullpen, too. Storm was the perfect fifth starter." Stewart's high opinion of Davis' 1989 season is not shared by  sabermetrician Bill James, who cites Davis' 19-7 winning record as a canonical example of how a pitcher's win-loss record can be misleading.

After the 1989 season, the Kansas City Royals signed Davis to a three-year, $6 million contract; this turned out to be a major blunder. Davis had an ERA that was worse than the league average in 1989, but Royals pitching coach Frank Funk said, "We don't want pitchers with good ERA's. We want pitchers with wins." In his two seasons in Kansas City, Davis had a win–loss record of 10–19. He pitched mostly in relief in 1991 before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

Later career
Starting with the 1991 season, Davis made the majority of his appearances as a relief pitcher out of the bullpen.  Following the 1991 season, he was traded by the Royals to the Baltimore Orioles for backup catcher Bob Melvin.  During his second stint in Baltimore, Davis teamed with relievers Todd Frohwirth, Alan Mills, and closer Gregg Olson to form one of the better bullpens in the American League.

On December 8, 1992, Davis signed a 2-year, $2 million contract with the Oakland Athletics, reuniting with A's manager Tony LaRussa and pitching coach Dave Duncan.  The deal did not work out for either side, with the 1993 Athletics posting their worst record in 10 seasons, ultimately finishing last in the division.  Davis was released mid-season on July 9, after posting a 2–6 record with a 6.18 ERA in 19 appearances over 62 innings, including 8 games started.  On July 23, Davis signed with the Detroit Tigers, a team that was leading the AL in runs scored, but had the second-highest ERA.  Pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, Davis posted a 3.06 ERA over 35.1 innings, with 4 saves.  Davis returned to the Tigers in 1994.  Again pitching exclusively as a reliever, he posted a 3.56 ERA over 48 innings.

In 1995, Davis appeared in 4 games for the AAA Indianapolis Indians, at the time the top minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

Pitching style
Jim Palmer remembered that Davis was very coachable. "The thing about Storm was you could practically program him, tell him what to throw and he'd just throw it."

Coaching
Davis formerly served as pitching coach for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Class AA farm team for the Miami Marlins. He is currently coaching at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville.

Personal life
According to his 1987 Topps baseball card, Davis' nickname derived from a character in a book his mother read while pregnant. Another story traces his nickname to similarities with Palmer, the Orioles' Cy Young Award-winning pitcher; he was a "cyclone" or "storm."

Storm Davis' parents are the adoptive parents of Glenn Davis, also a former major league player.

Davis worked as head baseball coach at The Bolles School for the 2008 and 2009 seasons after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant on the Bolles baseball staff. He resigned to become pitching coach at Low-A Hickory team in the Texas Rangers organization.

Davis' son Zachary played football for the Liberty University Flames.  He is currently the head football coach for the class AAA Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers in Buckhannon, West Virginia.

References

External links

1961 births
Living people
Baltimore Orioles players
San Diego Padres players
Oakland Athletics players
Kansas City Royals players
Detroit Tigers players
Baseball players from Dallas
Major League Baseball pitchers
Bluefield Orioles players
Miami Orioles players
Charlotte O's players
Rochester Red Wings players
Hagerstown Suns players
Reno Padres players
Wichita Pilots players
Indianapolis Indians players
Minor league baseball coaches

Storm Davis


Percy Edwin Alan Johnson-Marshall CMG (20 January 1915 – 14 July 1993) was a British urban designer, regional planner and academic. Born in India, he was educated at Liverpool University, and worked initially with local authorities in the south of England. In 1959, he took a post as senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, and was appointed Professor of Urban Design and Regional Planning in 1964.

In 1962, he founded the planning consultancy Percy Johnson-Marshall & Associates, which was commissioned to masterplan the University of Edinburgh's Comprehensive Development Area in the 1960s. The practice was involved in urban planning and redevelopment in the UK and abroad. He is well known for being the main Architect of Celtic Park.

Early life and work
Johnson-Marshall was born in Ajmer, India, to English parents, and was raised in England from the 1920s. He attended the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool, where his older brother, Stirrat Johnson-Marshall, was already studying. Tutors at Liverpool included Sir Patrick Abercrombie and Sir Charles Herbert Reilly. After graduating in 1936 he worked for Middlesex County Council, then for Willesden Borough Council, before moving to Coventry City Council in 1938, where he worked as Senior Assistant Architect under Chief Architect Donald Gibson, until called up for war service in 1941. He was elected to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1938.

During the Second World War he served with the Royal Engineers in India and Burma, attaining the rank of Major. Post-war, he remained in Burma for a year, advising the Burmese Government on planning and reconstruction, and preparing a reconstruction plan for the country, in collaboration with William Tatton Brown. After his return to the UK, he was employed as an Assistant Regional Planning Officer at the new Ministry of Town and Country Planning, during which time the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, the first planning law in the UK, was drawn up. In 1947 he was elected member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), also serving as a member of council and of the Education Committee. In 1948 he gained a Diploma in Town Planning from the School of Planning and Research for Regional Development (SPRRD), London, where he later worked as a part-time teacher. Johnson-Marshall worked as a Senior Planner with London County Council from 1949 to 1959, overseeing several Comprehensive Development Areas, including Lansbury Estate.

Academic career
In 1959 Johnson-Marshall was appointed Senior Lecturer in the University of Edinburgh's Department of Architecture. A new department of Urban Design and Regional Planning was established in 1964, with Percy Johnson-Marshall as the first professor, within the School of the Built Environment headed by Sir Robert Matthew. He founded the planning Research Unit at the University, which was involved in the preparation of several regional plans for areas of southern Scotland, and undertook regional surveys for the Scottish Development Department. In 1966 his book Rebuilding Cities was published.

In recognition of his services to the planning profession, Johnson-Marshall was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1975. In 1985 he retired from the professorship, to become director of the Patrick Geddes Centre for Planning Studies. He suffered an illness in 1987–1988, and retired as director as a result.

Private practice
Percy Johnson-Marshall & Associates (PJMA) was established as a planning consultancy in 1962. The firm was founded following Johnson-Marshall's appointment as planning consultant to the University of Edinburgh, and specialised in urban design and regional planning. The practice undertook master plans for cities including Sao Paulo, Brazil, Porto, Portugal, and Islamabad in Pakistan. Within the UK, PJMA worked on redevelopment schemes across the UK, in towns including Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and Salford in Greater Manchester.

After 1980, Johnson-Marshall's input declined, and the practice became more architecture focussed. Following Johnson-Marshall's retirement in 1985, the firm was known as Percy Johnson-Marshall & Partners (PJMP) until it was rebranded in 2003 as jmarchitects. The firm acquired Glasgow practice McKeown Alexander in 2001, and Edinburgh architects Wheeler & Sproson in 2005, and now employs nearly 150 people in five offices across the UK.

Johnson-Marshall's brother Stirrat co-founded the architecture practice Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall, now known as RMJM, in 1956, with Sir Robert Matthew.

National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C467/2) with Percy Johnson-Marshall in 1990 for its Architects Lives' collection held by the British Library.

Notes

References

British urban planners
Alumni of the University of Liverpool
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
British Army personnel of World War II
Royal Engineers officers
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
1915 births
1993 deaths
British people in colonial India

Percy Johnson-Marshall


The Mesopotamian Campaign of 1732-1733 was a military conflict during the eventful Perso-Ottoman war of 1730-1735. As a direct result of Tahmasp II's blunders in his ill fated invasion of the Ottoman Caucasus all of Nader's previous gains in the theatre were lost and a humiliating treaty had been signed giving away hegemony over the Caucasus to Istanbul. This settlement gave Nader the authority to force Tahmasp's abdication and resume the war against the Turks by launching an invasion of Ottoman Iraq.

The Strike into Kurdistan
Ottoman held Iraq seemed a peculiar choice for Nader's invasion as all the western territories of Persia were restored under the ignominious treaty signed by Tahmasp with the Caucasus under Turkish control. Axworthy speculates that Nader intended to seize Baghdad as a bargaining chip in exchange for the Caucasus but with Baghdad being such a strategic prize in itself it is rather doubtful any civil exchange of territory was held in mind at the time at all. Despite the unexpected choice of theatre the Ottomans in the region were well prepared to receive the Persians.

To achieve a modicum of surprise Nader decided upon a march through the mountains as opposed to a direct advance against the fortified border town of Zohab near Qasr-e Shirin. The mountain path was a difficult and snowy route to negotiate and some amongst the soldiers perished but Nader managed to get his 600 men to descend down into the valley behind the Ottoman battlements and without hesitation struck in the dead of night. Completely out-witted by Nader the garrison of Zohab woke up and fled their posts in terror. Nader ordered a new fort to be built and moved south to join the main Persian army that had left Hamadan and was heading to Baghdad.

Crossing the Tigris

Besieging Kirkuk with a residue force of 7,000 the main Persian army marched on until they defeated an Ottoman army near Baghdad and then proceeded to encircle the city itself in preparation for a siege after a hard fought campaign of maneuver were Nader managed to cross the Tigris. Ahmad Pasha would prove a stubborn defender of the city and held out until the approach of a relief effort in the form of an army of 80,000 under Topal Pasha.

The Battle of Samara

In a cunning ruse Topal drew Nader into a disadvantageous battle where despite losing a quarter of his own men Topal inflicted a crushing defeat on the Persian army, half of which was destroyed and all its guns lost. This monumental victory allowed the lifting of the siege further to the south where Ahmad Pasha- having heard of Topal Osman's victory -came out with an enthusiastic garrison to chase away the 12,000 Persians left to maintain the blockade of Baghdad.  This was Nader Shah's only defeat in the battlefield in his entire career.

The Battle of Kirkuk

Making an almost fantastical recovery from his seemingly irreplaceable losses Nader rebuilt his army in an incredibly short amount of time and invaded Ottoman Iraq once more. After some minor frontier skirmishing he sent Haji Beg Khan to lure out Topal Pasha which he succeeded in doing. The Ottoman advance guard was set upon drowned under the waves of a ferocious ambush after which Nader gathered his men and marched directly against the main Ottoman army nearby.

An intense musketry duel was kept up along the entire breadth of the line until Nader ordered his infantry to unsheathe their sabers and charge the Ottomans, supporting them with a pincer movement by his cavalry reserve which put Topal Osman's army in a cauldron of Persian troops. The Turks crumbling in the face of this manoeuvre found that not even the presence of the old fox in the person of Topal Pasha could rally them and fled leaving all their guns.

Aftermath
Nader however could not pursue his impressive conquest due to a growing uprising in southern Persia which required his immediate attention. Therefore, Baghdad was yet again saved from falling into Persian hands. The campaign itself did not decide the fate of the war but set the stage for Nader's Caucasus campaign in 1735 where through a shattering defeat of the Ottomans at Baghavard, Istanbul was brought to its knees.

See also
Topal Osman Pasha
Ottoman–Persian War (1730–35)

References

Sources
Moghtader, Gholam-Hussein(2008). The Great Batlles of Nader Shah, Donyaye Ketab
Axworthy, Michael(2009). The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from tribal warrior to conquering tyrant, I. B. Tauris
Ghafouri, Ali(2008). History of Iran's wars: from the Medes to now, Etela'at Publishing

Ottoman–Persian War (1730–1735)
Conflicts in 1732
1732 in the Ottoman Empire
1732 in Iran
Conflicts in 1733
1733 in the Ottoman Empire
1733 in Iran
1730s in Iran
Battles involving the Ottoman Empire
Battles involving Safavid Iran
Early Modern history of Iraq
Campaigns of Nader Shah

Nader Shah's Mesopotamian campaign


The Institute for Experimental Mathematics (IEM) was founded, with the support of the Volkswagen
Foundation, as a central scientific facility of the former University of Essen, now University of Duisburg-Essen in 1989.  With the addition of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation Chair on 1 January 1999, the Institute was expanded in the area of Computer Networking Technology. A.J. Han Vinck is currently the Institute's managing director.

The primary objective of the Institute is to foster interactions between the fields of mathematics, computer science and the engineering sciences. Mathematicians, computer experts and telecommunications engineers are engaged in trans-disciplinary collaboration under one roof. The main areas of research are discrete mathematics, number theory, digital communication, and computer networking technology.

Staff members
Prof. Dr. Massimo Bertolini
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Gerhard Frey
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lempken
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Erwin P. Rathgeb
Prof. Dr. Trung van Tran
Prof. Dr. ir. Han Vinck
Prof. Dr. Helmut Völklein

External staff members
Prof. Dr. Gebhard Böckle, Universität Duisburg-Essen
Prof. Dr. Hélène Esnault, Universität Duisburg-Essen
Prof. Dr. Eckart Viehweg, Universität Duisburg-Essen
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Kees Schouhamer Immink, Turing Machines, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Gabor Wiese

External links
 IEM Home page

University of Duisburg-Essen
Mathematical institutes

Institute for Experimental Mathematics


À gauche toute! Genève is a political coalition in the canton of Geneva (Switzerland) founded in 2006. It is a regrouping of the Genevan Communist Party, the Swiss Labour Party, solidaritéS and the Left Independents.

In 2005, the Left Alliance, which united the Labour Party, solidaritéS and the Independents, broke up because of political differences. In the Genevan cantonal elections in the autumn of 2005, these parties failed to obtain the quorum of 7% of votes because of the divisions caused by the presence of a Communist Party List. The far left are excluded from parliament.

The following year, the far left were able to enter a communal project. The new coalition took the name of A Gauche toute! and joined the national coalition of the same name led by Vaudois Josef Zisyadis, who organised the far left at the national level.

In the communal elections of 25 March 2007, À gauche toute! Genève stood on the lists of 10 communes. In the town of Geneva, À gauche toute! presented 43 candidates including Catherine Gaillard, Marie-France Spielmann, Salika Wenger and Jérôme Béguin.

External links
Site of A gauche toute!

Political parties in the canton of Geneva
Political party alliances in Switzerland

À gauche toute! Genève


Rogue Warrior is a 2009 first-person shooter video game developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Bethesda Softworks for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released on 26 November 2009 in Australia, 27 November in Europe, and 1 December in North America.

In Rogue Warrior, the United States has sent in Richard Marcinko, a veteran U.S. Navy SEAL, on a mission into North Korea to disrupt ballistic missile launchers. Despite the game being named after Marcinko's 1992 autobiography, the game's storyline bears no relation to it or to his subsequent series of fiction novels. Marcinko is voiced by actor Mickey Rourke.

First announced in 2006, Rogue Warrior was originally being developed by Zombie Studios, and was set for a 2007 release. However, the game's release was delayed after Bethesda stated they were unsatisfied with the direction Zombie Studios was taking the game. Bethesda quickly scrapped the project and brought in Rebellion Development to develop an entire new game from scratch. Rebellion, while retaining some major elements from Zombie's rendition, has taken a whole new approach to the game and its focus.

Rogue Warrior received negative reviews from critics, who cited it as one of the worst games ever made. Criticism of the game included its poor controls, multiple glitches, outdated graphics, poor gunplay, frequent profanity, rushed production, uninteresting gameplay, short length, very limited multiplayer, and broken and exploited combat techniques.

Gameplay

Rogue Warrior is primarily a first-person shooter with tactical elements. The player assumes control of U.S. Navy SEAL Richard "Demo Dick" Marcinko, also known as "Rogue Warrior". The primary goal for Marcinko begins as an infiltration mission to disrupt hostile missiles and evolves to prevent other potentially dangerous situations. To achieve this goal, Marcinko may use a wide array of weapons and explosives. Such weapons include AK-74s, grenades, and combat knives. In addition to weapons, Marcinko may also utilize explosives barrels and gas tanks to eliminate enemies.

The focus of the gameplay is Marcinko's over-the-top methods and signature execution moves used in war situations. When the player is in close proximity to an enemy, they may press one of several buttons to trigger an instant kill via finishing moves, referred to as kill moves in the game. There are more than twenty-five finishing moves available to players. Such moves include throwing an enemy over a rail, slashing their throat, or stabbing them in the head. Upon initiating a finishing move, the in-game camera shifts to a third-person cinematic angle to show the finishing animation. A cover system akin to Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is incorporated. This allows the player to blind-fire and pop in and out of cover, but some positions of cover may be destroyed. There is also a "robust" checkpoint system that tracks player progress.

Plot
In 1986, Richard Marcinko (voiced by Mickey Rourke), a U.S. Navy SEAL, is sent on a classified mission into Unggi, North Korea, with two other SEALs, to retrieve intelligence from a North Korean mole on ballistic missiles of an unfamiliar design that North Korea is supposedly in possession of, as well as to recon a factory that is allegedly developing the missiles. Shortly after touching ground, Marcinko's unit successfully takes out a Korean People's Army patrol, but one of the North Koreans suffers only wounds and manages to pull the pin of one of his grenades, killing Marcinko's team. Admiral Travis Payton (voiced by Neal McDonough), the commander of the operation, demands that Marcinko abort, but he refuses, saying he intends to finish the mission. After fighting through Unggi, Marcinko discovers the mole was killed. However, he finds the intel in the mole's apartment room on missile launchers that have been developed in Unggi.

Marcinko is then ordered by Payton to disable the missile launchers by any means necessary. Marcinko enters the facility that is producing the missile launchers but finds that only one is present. According to intelligence received from Payton, the rest of the launchers are being moved out by sea. After destroying the missile, Marcinko heads to the Unggi harbor and sees that they are actually being sent out of Unggi by train to the Soviet Union, not far from Unggi. Marcinko boards the train and destroys it as it crosses the border. Marcinko enters Soviet territory and gathers intelligence that the ballistic missiles were of Soviet origin, not North Korean. Marcinko also notices that the remaining ballistic missiles were moved out of North Korea to a palace in the Soviet Union. Marcinko insists on going after the missiles, but Payton warns that an attempt to go after the missiles will not only result in Marcinko's court-martial but even war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Marcinko dismisses these warnings and goes after the missiles.

Marcinko enters the palace where the missiles are located. He contacts Payton, who threatens to have Marcinko court-martialed for disobeying orders. Marcinko suggests that he found proof that the Soviet Union created a missile defense program aimed to deter any U.S. nuclear launch against Soviet territory. This program was similar to the real-life U.S. Star Wars program aimed at deterring any Soviet missile attack on U.S. territory. Marcinko launches a missile at the palace, destroys the missiles located in a bunker under the palace, and escapes the palace. Marcinko then goes to a dam to disrupt electricity to a Soviet submarine base. Marcinko then heads to the submarine base with the purpose of destroying a submarine carrying the remaining missiles. Marcinko escapes onto a patrol boat with Navy SEALs aboard that were sent by Payton to help Marcinko. Marcinko hands over a computer chip to the commanding SEAL of the boat and tells him that it is evidence that justifies Marcinko's actions that is to be presented at his court-martial.

Development
Announced in the fall of 2006 as a partnership between Bethesda Softworks and Zombie Studios, Rogue Warrior: Black Razor was billed as a tactical first-person shooter for release in 2007. Set in present-day North Korea, the plot focused on Marcinko and his team's effort to neutralize the country's nuclear launch capabilities. The game was supposed to include drop-in four-player cooperative and 24-player competitive multiplayer, with the latter featuring a unique map system where each team would select the layout of their territory, and the center area of the map would be randomized.

In 2009, the game resurfaced after much silence. Bethesda publicly stated that they were not satisfied with the direction Zombie was taking the game. Bethesda scrapped the project and commissioned Rebellion Developments to develop the game. Starting fresh, Rebellion made numerous changes to the gameplay, plot, and features. The setting shifted to 1986 Soviet Union and North Korea; the game engine became proprietary; the cooperative play was struck along with the multiplayer tiling system; the overall focus turned to Marcinko's personality and kill moves, and the name was shortened to simply Rogue Warrior. Mickey Rourke was also announced as the celebrity voice actor for Marcinko. On 6 September, the video game website GameSpot posted the game's first preview after the game had been reconstructed.

Reception

Rogue Warrior received "unfavorable" reviews on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

GameSpot said of the PC and Xbox 360 versions, "This dreadfully boring, expletive-filled, extremely short shooter is an absolute rip-off." IGN said that the gameplay is poorly done. GameZone's Natalie Romano said of the Xbox 360 version, "A very disappointing game from start to finish, Rogue Warrior is a game that brings nothing new to the genre nor does it make for a fun first-person shooter worth the money. Simply put, this isn't just an awful shooter but it's also a terrible game. Sorry, but this is one hero we would like to leave behind." Andrew Reiner of Game Informer concluded that "with the gunplay being as bad as it is, and the story coming across as a six-year-old's interpretation of Cold War events, the only fun comes from the possibility of stepping into the shoes of a blatantly homoerotic Rambo".

See also
 List of video games notable for negative reception

References

External links

 Gamasutra Interview Rebellion's Guy

2009 video games
Bethesda Softworks games
First-person shooters
Games for Windows
Multiplayer and single-player video games
PlayStation 3 games
Rebellion Developments games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games set in 1986
Alternate history video games
Video games about the United States Navy SEALs
Video games set in North Korea
Video games set in the Soviet Union
Cold War video games
Windows games
Xbox 360 games
Stealth video games

Rogue Warrior (video game)


Ersilio Tonini (20 July 1914 – 28 July 2013) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia from 1975 to 1990, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1994. When Cardinal Paul Augustin Mayer died on 30 April 2010, Cardinal Tonini became the oldest living cardinal. He died on 28 July 2013, a week after his 99th birthday.

Biography
Ersilio Tonini was born in San Giorgio Piacentino, and studied at the seminary in Piacenza. He was ordained to the priesthood on 18 April 1937, and then served as vice-rector of the Piacenza seminary until 1939. Tonini furthered his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, obtaining his degrees in civil and canon law, from 1939 to 1943.

From 1943 to 1969, he did pastoral work in the Diocese of Piacenza and for many years he was the pastor of parish of Salsomaggiore, as well as serving as ecclesiastical assistant of the Federation of Catholic Italian University Students, director of the weekly Il nuovo giornale, and professor and rector at its seminary. He was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain supernumerary on 6 November 1959.

On 28 April 1969, Tonini was appointed Bishop of Macerata-Tolentino by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 2 June from Archbishop Umberto Malchiodi, with Archbishop Agostino Casaroli and Bishop Carlo Colombo serving as co-consecrators. Tonini was later named both Archbishop of Ravenna and Bishop of Cervia on 22 November 1975. The two dioceses were united as the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia on 20 September 1986.

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, he resigned the governance of his see on 27 October 1990, following fourteen years of service. Tonini preached the Lenten spiritual exercises to the Pope and members of the Roman Curia in February 1991 on the theme of "the Church of hope for today".

Pope John Paul II created him Cardinal-Priest of Santissimo Redentore a Valmelaina in the consistory of 26 November 1994. As he was then already over 80, Tonini was never eligible to participate in a papal conclave.

References

External links

1916 births
2013 deaths
21st-century Italian cardinals
Bishops in le Marche
Archbishops of Ravenna
20th-century Italian Roman Catholic archbishops
Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
Pontifical Lateran University alumni
People from the Province of Piacenza
20th-century Italian cardinals

Ersilio Tonini


is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.  , the city had an estimated population of 348,020 in 164,494 households and a population density of 3.300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .

Geography
Takatsuki is located in the northeastern part of Osaka Prefecture. The city is approximately 10.4 kilometers east-to-west and 22.7 kilometers north-to-south. The north is bounded by the Hokusetsu mountain range and the south by the Yodo River, and the topography is high in the north and low in the south. The highest elevation in the city is 678.7 meters at Mt. Ponpon, and the lowest elevation is 3.3 meters at the Yodogawa riverbed in Hashiramoto. Takatsuki is 21.2 kilometers from central Osaka and 21.6 kilometers from central Kyoto. Two-thirds of the city area is zoned as urbanization control areas where development is restricted, and much of the forest and farmland remains.

Neighboring municipalities
Osaka Prefecture
Shimamoto
Hirakata
Neyagawa
Settsu
Ibaraki
Kyoto Prefecture
Nishikyō-ku, Kyoto
Kameoka

Climate
Takatsuki has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with very warm summers and cool winters.  The average annual temperature in Takatsuki is 14.2 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1690 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 26.2 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.8 °C.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Takatsuki is as follows.

History
The area of Takatsuki was part of northern Settsu Province and has been continuously settled since the Japanese Paleolithic period. Remains from the Yayoi period and Kofun period are plentiful, including the Imashirozuka Kofun and the Mishima Kofun cluster. The place name 'Takatsuki' first appeared in historical materials around the 14th century, during the Kamakura period, in a list of manors belonging to Kasuga Shrine in Nara. During the Muromachi period, the area was a stronghold of the Ikkō-ikki movement, and in the Sengoku period was under the control of the warlords Miyoshi Nagayoshi and Takayama Ukon. During the Edo Period, Takatsuki Domain changed hands between several fudai daimyō clans and a jōkamachi developed around Takatsuki Castle. Takatsuki Village was established within Shimakami District, Osaka with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889, and elevated to town status on October 14,  1898.  Takatsuki grew by annexing neighboring villages in the 1930s, and was elevated to city status on January 1, 1943. Takatsuki annexed the village of Abuno in 1448, Goryo in 1950, Sankamaki in 1955, Tomita in 1956 and the village of Kashida from Minamikuwata District, Kyoto in 1958. On April 1, 2003, Takatsuki was designated a  Core city with increased local autonomy.

Government
Takatsuki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 34 members. Takatsuki  contributes four members to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of the Osaka 10th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Economy
Takatsuki is a regional commercial center. As it is situated almost directly between Kyoto and Osaka. Owing to the convenience of being 13 and 15 minutes by train from these two cities respectively, the city prospered and has developed with increasing rapidity to become one of the biggest commuter towns in the area, serving both Kyoto and Osaka.

Education
Takatsuki has 40 public elementary schools and 18 public junior high schools and four public high schools operated by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education. There are also three private combined middle/high schools. The prefecture also operates one special education school for the handicapped.  The Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University and the Heian Jogakuin University are based in Takatsuki.

Transportation

Railway
 JR West (JR West) - Kyoto Line
  -
 Hankyu Railway - Hankyu Kyoto Main Line
  -  -

Highways

Sister and Friendship cities
  Masuda, Shimane, Japan – Sister city agreement concluded in 1971 (with former Hikimi town)
  Wakasa, Mikatakaminaka District, Fukui, Japan – Sister city agreement concluded in 1993 (with former Mikata town)
  Manila, Philippines – Sister city agreement concluded in 1979
  Changzhou, Jiangsu, China – Sister city agreement concluded in 1987
  Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia – Sister city agreement concluded in 1991

Local attractions
Culturally, Takatsuki is  renowned for its Imashirozuka Kofun (burial mound). Earthenware funerary objects (haniwa) discovered around this mound include figurines of warriors almost certainly placed with a protective purpose (The form of such a warrior was used as the design basis for the city's official mascot character, Hanitan).

Takatsuki is also known for its Takatsuki Jazz Festival, held every year in Golden Week . This is a two-day extravaganza of live jazz featuring over 300 acts, involving over 3,000 artists, who perform in 72 different locations in and around the central business district.

Points of interest
Settsu-kyo Valley Natural Park
Kosobe Conservatory (Kyoto University)
Imashirozuka Kofun
Akutagawayama Castle ruins
Takatsuki Catholic Church
Kosobebosai Park
Ama ruins

Notable people from Takatsuki
Haru Kuroki, Japanese actress
Hidemasa Morita, Japanese footballer
Masaaki Higashiguchi, Japanese footballer
Nobunari Oda, Japanese competitive figure skater
Shingo Murakami, Japanese singer, presenter, variety tarento and actor (Kanjani Eight)
Shinji Nakano, Japanese professional racing driver
Shu Kurata, Japanese footballer
Tatsunosuke Takasaki, Japanese businessman-politician
Toshio Irie, Japanese swimmer
Yūko Sano, Japanese volleyball player
Motoaki Tanigo, Japanese businessperson and entrepreneur. Founder, President and CEO of Cover Corporation

References

External links

 Takatsuki City official website
 Takatsuki official website

Cities in Osaka Prefecture

Takatsuki


Kronan (Swedish: The Crown) bicycles are marketed by Kronan Trademark AB, also known as Kronan AB. Kronan AB  was established in June 1997 by three former-students, John Wahlbäck and the Avander brothers, Henry and Martin. In autumn 2003 the company was bought by the Brunstedt family with Mary Brunstedt as the company's current CEO.

History
Kronan began when John Wahlbäck sold surplus Swedish military m/42 bikes, to supplement his income as a student. They decided to manufacture a copy of this after selling all their original stock.  Kronan bought the original drawings from the Swedish Ministry of Defense and commissioned a Taiwanese manufacturer to build bicycles to these specifications.

The current Kronan Bicycle has been modernized slightly, but has the same basic design as the original. It is assembled in Poland using parts from Asia. The original Kronan factory was in Malmö.

Until about 2000 Kronan bikes were only available in a limited number of colors, with a single gear and coaster brakes.  New models have been added with 3-speed SRAM hub gears and drum brakes.

Other variants include a child's bike (Kiddo), a traditionally-styled bike (Kranny) and a tricycle (Kargo). All these bikes have a bottle dynamo front light (the rear is operated by a battery) and panniers as standard.

Models

 Diamond Frame, single gear, coaster brake
 Diamond Frame, 3-speed, front roller brake, rear coaster brake
 Step-through, single gear, coaster brake
 Step-through, 3-speed, front roller brake, rear coaster brake
 Step-through Unitube, 5-speed, front roller brake, rear coaster brake (USA only - no longer available)

Specs

Frame: Cromoly diamond and step through with 1 or 3 three speeds
Forks: Cromoly
Wheels: Miche, aluminum
Rear hub: Shimano 1-spd or SRAM T 3-spd S3 Spectro with coaster brake.
Chain: KMC 108 links
Crankset: Shimano steel 46T
Pedals: Aluminum spindle
Tires: Continental
 Men's bikes: 26 × 1½ × 2  (54-584) 650B
 Ladies' bikes: 28 × 1⅝ × 1¾ (47-622) 700C
Saddle: Cushioned w/ vinyl upholstery
Rear light: Darkness & motion activated. .06 watts. Stainless steel cover & cage
Front light: Front wheel Bottle dynamo generator - 6 volt, 3 watts
Brakes: Drum brake SRAM T3
Luggage carrier: Painted steel w/ 2 chrome spring clips and airpump holder. Pump included!
Bell: Stainless steel w/ Kronan logo
Fenders and chainguard
Colours:
 Men's - blue, black, brown, and occasionally green, and red.
 Ladies - red, pink and black.

All Kronan bicycles have following basic equipment: large tires for more comfort in the city, a rear license plate, extra large saddle, coaster brake and front hub brake (As of March 2007, all Kronan models are equipped with a hand brake), dynamo powered front and automatic rear light, rear rack (7 inches (18 cm) wide and 18 inches (46 cm) front to back), stainless steel chain and spokes, steel frame with extra coating for protection, and rims and fenders/mudguards in steel in same color as frame,  internal gear hubs, kick stand, bell, and air pump.

Accessories

 Frame mounted wheel lock
 Front rack - frame-mounted and measures 12.5 inches (32 cm) deep by 16.5 inches (42 cm) wide with 35 pound capacity.
 Front basket - wire or wicker
 Brooks brand  Saddles and bags
 GMG Dutch child seat
 RackPack Carradice Bags

Corporate advertising
Several companies have incorporated Kronan bicycles into their employees and customer reward programs, or purchased a fleet of Kronan bikes for use by employees and customers.  These bicycles usually have a signboard underneath their crosstube advertising the company.
 British Airways
 IKEA
 Volvo
 Body Shop
 Hennes & Mauritz
 ABB Group
 Wallpaper magazine
 Dagens Nyheter

See also
 Monark - manufacturers similar utility bikes
 Helkama Jääkäri - Finnish version

References

External links

 Kronan Cykel (Swedish)
 KronanUSA
 Kronan Belgium
 Kronan video on YouTube
 Kronan video in Spanish
 Kronan Classic 3-speed
 A small history of Bicycles in SWEDEN
 Kronan nos enseñan sus fotos (Spanish)
 Bike Fixation

Cycle manufacturers of Sweden
Manufacturing companies established in 1997
Swedish brands

Kronan (company)


Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is listed in the DSM-5 under Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders and defined as "a pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness".  This behavior is usually targeted toward peers, parents, teachers, and other authority figures. Unlike conduct disorder (CD), those with ODD do not show patterns of aggression towards people or animals, destruction of property, theft, or deceit. One half of children with ODD also fulfill the diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

History
Oppositional defiant disorder was first defined in the DSM-III (1980). Since the introduction of ODD as an independent disorder, the field trials to inform its definition have included predominantly male subjects. Some clinicians have debated whether the diagnostic criteria would be clinically relevant for use with women, and furthermore, some have questioned whether gender-specific criteria and thresholds should be included. Additionally, some clinicians have questioned the preclusion of ODD when conduct disorder is present. According to Dickstein, the DSM-5 attempts to:
"redefine ODD by emphasizing a 'persistent pattern of angry and irritable mood along with vindictive behavior,' rather than DSM-IV's focus exclusively on negativistic, hostile, and defiant behavior.' Although DSM-IV implied, but did not mention, irritability, DSM-5 now includes three symptom clusters, one of which is 'angry/irritable mood'—defined as 'loses temper, is touchy/easily annoyed by others, and is angry/resentful.' This suggests that the process of clinically relevant research driving nosology, and vice versa, has ensured that the future will bring greater understanding of ODD."

Epidemiology

ODD is a pattern of negative, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior, and it is one of the most prevalent disorders from preschool age to adulthood. This can include frequent temper tantrums, excessive arguing with adults, refusing to follow rules, purposefully upsetting others, getting easily irked, having an angry attitude, and vindictive acts. Children with ODD usually begin showing symptoms around age 6 to 8, although the disorder can emerge in younger children too. Symptoms can last throughout teenage years. The pooled prevalence is 3.6% up to age 18.

Oppositional defiant disorder has a prevalence of 1%–11%. The average prevalence is approximately 3%. Gender and age play an important role in the rate of the disorder. ODD gradually develops and becomes apparent in preschool years, often before the age of eight years old. However, it is very unlikely to emerge following early adolescence.

There is a difference in prevalence between boys and girls, with a ratio of 1.4 to 1 before adolescence. Other research suggests a 2:1 ratio. Prevalence in girls tends to increase after puberty. Researchers have found that the general prevalence of ODD throughout cultures remains constant. However, the gendered disparities in diagnoses is only seen in Western cultures. It is unknown whether this reflects underlying differences in incidence or under-diagnosis of girls. Physical abuse at home is a significant predictor of diagnosis for girls only, and emotional responsiveness of parents is a significant predictor of diagnosis for boys only, which may have implications for how gendered socialization and received gender roles affect ODD symptoms and outcomes.

Children from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed with ODD. The correlative link between low income and ODD diagnosis is direct in boys, but in girls, the link is more complex; the diagnosis is associated with specific parental techniques such as corporal punishment which are in turn linked to lower income households. This disparity may be linked to a more general tendency of boys and men to display more externalized psychiatric symptoms, and girls to display more internalized ones (such as self-harm or anorexia nervosa).

African Americans and Latinos are more likely to receive diagnoses of ODD or other conduct disorders compared to non-Hispanic White youth with the same symptoms, who are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. This has wide-ranging implications about the role of racial bias in how certain behaviors are perceived and categorized as either defiant or inattentive/hyperactive.

Prevalence of ODD and conduct disorder are significantly higher among children in foster care. One survey in Norway found that 14 percent met the criteria, and other studies have found a prevalence of up to 17 or even 29 percent. Low parental attachment and parenting style are strong predictors of ODD symptoms.

Earlier conceptions of ODD had higher rates of diagnosis. When the disorder was first included in the DSM-III, the prevalence was 25% higher than when the DSM-IV revised the criteria of diagnosis. The DSM-V made more changes to the criteria, grouping certain characteristics together in order to demonstrate that people with ODD display both emotional and behavioral symptoms. In addition, criteria were added to help guide clinicians in diagnosis because of the difficulty found in identifying whether the behaviors or other symptoms are directly related to the disorder or simply a phase in a child's life. Consequently, future studies may find that there was also a decline in prevalence between the DSM-IV and the DSM-V.

Signs and symptoms
The fourth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR) (now replaced by DSM-5) states that a person must exhibit four out of the eight signs and symptoms to meet the diagnostic threshold for ODD. These symptoms include:
 Often loses temper
 Is often touchy or easily annoyed
 Is often angry and resentful
 Often argues with authority figures or, for children and adolescents, with adults
 Often actively defies or refuses to comply with requests from authority figures or with rules
 Often deliberately annoys others
 Often blames others for their mistakes or misbehavior
 Has been spiteful or vindictive at least twice within the past six months

These behaviors are mostly directed towards an authority figure such as a teacher or a parent. Although these behaviors can be typical among siblings, they must be observed with individuals other than siblings for an ODD diagnosis. Children with ODD can be verbally aggressive. However, they do not display physical aggressiveness, a behavior observed in conduct disorder. Furthermore, they must be perpetuated for longer than six months and must be considered beyond a normal child's age, gender and culture to fit the diagnosis. For children under five years of age, they must occur on most days over a period of six months. For children over five years of age, they must occur at least once a week for at least six months. If symptoms are confined to only one setting, most commonly home, it is considered mild in severity. If it is observed in two settings, it is characterized as moderate, and if the symptoms are observed in three or more settings, it is considered severe.

These patterns of behavior result in impairment at school or other social venues.

Etiology
There is no specific element that has yet been identified as directly causing ODD. Research looking precisely at the etiological factors linked with ODD is limited. The literature often examines common risk factors linked with all disruptive behaviors, rather than ODD specifically. Symptoms of ODD are also often believed to be the same as CD, even though the disorders have their own respective set of symptoms. When looking at disruptive behaviors such as ODD, research has shown that the causes of behaviors are multi-factorial. However, disruptive behaviors have been identified as being mostly due either to biological or environmental factors.

Genetic influences
Research indicates that parents pass on a tendency for externalizing disorders to their children that may be displayed in multiple ways, such as inattention, hyperactivity, or oppositional and conduct problems. Research has also shown that there is a genetic overlap between ODD and other externalizing disorders. Heritability can vary by age, age of onset, and other factors. Adoption and twin studies indicate that 50% or more of the variance causing antisocial behavior is attributable to heredity for both males and females. ODD also tends to occur in families with a history of ADHD, substance use disorders, or mood disorders, suggesting that a vulnerability to develop ODD may be inherited. A difficult temperament, impulsivity, and a tendency to seek rewards can also increase the risk of developing ODD. New studies into gene variants have also identified possible gene-environment (G x E) interactions, specifically in the development of conduct problems. A variant of the gene that encodes the neurotransmitter metabolizing enzyme monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA), which relates to neural systems involved in aggression, plays a key role in regulating behavior following threatening events. Brain imaging studies show patterns of arousal in areas of the brain that are associated with aggression in response to emotion-provoking stimuli.

Prenatal factors and birth complications
Many pregnancy and birth problems are related to the development of conduct problems. Malnutrition, specifically protein deficiency, lead poisoning or exposure to lead, and mother's use of alcohol or other substances during pregnancy may increase the risk of developing ODD. In numerous research, substance use prior to birth has also been associated with developing disruptive behaviors such as ODD. Although pregnancy and birth factors are correlated with ODD, strong evidence of direct biological causation is lacking.

Neurobiological factors
Deficits and injuries to certain areas of the brain can lead to serious behavioral problems in children. Brain imaging studies have suggested that children with ODD may have hypofunction in the part of the brain responsible for reasoning, judgment, and impulse control. Children with ODD are thought to have an overactive behavioral activation system (BAS), and an underactive behavioral inhibition system (BIS). The BAS stimulates behavior in response to signals of reward or non-punishment. The BIS produces anxiety and inhibits ongoing behavior in the presence of novel events, innate fear stimuli, and signals of non-reward or punishment. Neuroimaging studies have also identified structural and functional brain abnormalities in several brain regions in youths with conduct disorders. These brain regions are the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, and insula, as well as interconnected regions.

Social-cognitive factors
As many as 40 percent of boys and 25 percent of girls with persistent conduct problems display significant social-cognitive impairments. Some of these deficits include immature forms of thinking (such as egocentrism), failure to use verbal mediators to regulate his or her behavior, and cognitive distortions, such as interpreting a neutral event as an intentional hostile act.
Children with ODD have difficulty controlling their emotions or behaviors. In fact, students with ODD have limited social knowledge that is based only on individual experiences, which shapes how they process information and solve problems cognitively.
This information can be linked with the social information processing model (SIP) that describes how children process information to respond appropriately or inappropriately in social settings. This model explains that children will go through five stages before displaying behaviors: encoding, mental representations, response accessing, evaluation, and enactment.
However, children with ODD have cognitive distortions and impaired cognitive processes.
This will therefore directly impact their interactions and relationship negatively. It has been shown that social and cognitive impairments result in negative peer relationships, loss of friendship, and an interruption in socially engaging in activities.
Children learn through observational learning and social learning. Therefore, observations of models have a direct impact and greatly influence children's behaviors and decision-making processes. Children often learn through modeling behavior. Modeling can act as a powerful tool to modify children's cognition and behaviors.

Environmental factors

Negative parenting practices and parent–child conflict may lead to antisocial behavior, but they may also be a reaction to the oppositional and aggressive behaviors of children. Factors such as a family history of mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders as well as a dysfunctional family and inconsistent discipline by a parent or guardian can lead to the development of behavior disorders. Parenting practices not providing adequate or appropriate adjustment to situations as well as a high ratio of conflicting events within a family are causal factors of risk for developing ODD.

Insecure parent–child attachments can also contribute to ODD. Often little internalization of parent and societal standards exists in children with conduct problems. These weak bonds with their parents may lead children to associate with delinquency and substance use. Family instability and stress can also contribute to the development of ODD. Although the association between family factors and conduct problems is well established, the nature of this association and the possible causal role of family factors continues to be debated.

School is also a significant environmental context besides family that strongly influences a child's maladaptive behaviors. Studies indicate that child and adolescent externalizing disorders like ODD are strongly linked to peer network and teacher response. Children with ODD present hostile and defiant behavior toward authority including teachers which makes teachers less tolerant toward deviant children. The way in which a teacher handles disruptive behavior has a significant influence on the behavior of children with ODD. Negative relationships from the socializing influences and support network of teachers and peers increases the risk of deviant behavior. This is because the child consequently gets affiliated with deviant peers that reinforce antisocial behavior and delinquency. Due to the significant influence of teachers in managing disruptive behaviors, teacher training is a recommended intervention to change the disruptive behavior of ODD children.

In a number of studies, low socioeconomic status has also been associated with disruptive behaviors such as ODD.

Other social factors such as neglect, abuse, parents that are not involved, and lack of supervision can also contribute to ODD.

Externalizing problems are reported to be more frequent among minority-status youth, a finding that is likely related to economic hardship, limited employment opportunities, and living in high-risk urban neighborhoods. Studies have also found that the state of being exposed to violence was a contribution factor for externalizing behaviors to occur.

Diagnosis
For a child or adolescent to qualify for a diagnosis of ODD, behaviors must cause considerable distress for the family or interfere significantly with academic or social functioning. Interference might take the form of preventing the child or adolescent from learning at school or making friends or placing him or her in harmful situations. These behaviors must also persist for at least six months.  Effects of ODD can be greatly amplified by other disorders in comorbidity such as ADHD. Other common comorbid disorders include depression and substance use disorders. Adults who were diagnosed with ODD as children tend to have a higher chance of being diagnosed with other mental illness in their lifetime, as well as being at higher risk of developing social and emotional problems.

Management
Approaches to the treatment of ODD include parent management training, individual psychotherapy, family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and social skills training. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, treatments for ODD are tailored specifically to the individual child, and different treatment techniques are applied for pre-schoolers and adolescents.

Children with oppositional defiant disorder tend to exhibit problematic behavior that can be very difficult to control. An occupational therapist can recommend family based education referred to as Parent Management Training (PMT) in order to encourage positive parents and child relationships and reduce the child's tantrums and other disruptive behaviors. Since ODD is a neurological disorder that has biological correlates, an occupational therapist can also provide problem solving training to encourage positive coping skills when difficult situations arise, as well as offer cognitive behavioral therapy.

Psychopharmacological treatment

Psychopharmacological treatment is the use of prescribed medication in managing oppositional defiant disorder. Prescribed medications to control ODD include mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, and stimulants. In two controlled randomized trials, it was found that between administered lithium and the placebo group, administering lithium decreased aggression in children with conduct disorder in a safe manner. However, a third study found the treatment of lithium over a period of two weeks invalid. Other drugs seen in studies include haloperidol, thioridazine, and methylphenidate which also is effective in treating ADHD, as it is a common comorbidity.

The effectiveness of drug and medication treatment is not well established. Effects that can result from taking these medications include hypotension, extrapyramidal symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, obesity, and increase in weight. Psychopharmacological treatment is found to be most effective when paired with another treatment plan, such as individual intervention or multimodal intervention.

Individual interventions

Individual interventions are focused on child-specific individualized plans. These interventions include anger control/stress inoculation, assertiveness training, a child-focused problem-solving skills training program, and self-monitoring skills.

Anger control and stress inoculation help prepare the child for possible upsetting situations or events that may cause anger and stress. They include a process of steps the child may go through.

Assertiveness training educates individuals in keeping a balance between passivity and aggression. It aims to help the child respond  in a controlled and fair manner.

A child-focused problem-solving skills training program aims to teach the child new skills and cognitive processes that teach how to deal with negative thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Parent and family treatment
According to randomized trials, evidence shows that parent management training is most effective. It has strong influences over a long period of time and in various environments.

Parent-child interaction training is intended to coach the parents while involving the child. This training has two phases; the first phase is child-directed interaction, where the focus is to teach the child non-directive play skills. The second phase is parent-directed interaction, where the parents are coached on aspects including clear instruction, praise for compliance, and time-out for noncompliance. The parent-child interaction training is best suited for elementary-aged children.

Parent and family treatment has a low financial cost, which can yield an increase in beneficial results.

Multimodal intervention
Multimodal intervention is an effective treatment that looks at different levels including family, peers, school, and neighborhood. It is an intervention that concentrates on multiple risk factors. The focus is on parent training, classroom social skills, and playground behavior programs. The intervention is intensive and addresses barriers to individuals' improvement such as parental substance use or parental marital conflict.

An impediment to treatment includes the nature of the disorder itself, whereby treatment is often not complied with and is not continued or adhered to for adequate periods of time.

Comorbidity
Oppositional defiant disorder can be described as a term or disorder with a variety of pathways in regard to comorbidity. High importance must be given to the representation of ODD as a distinct psychiatric disorder independent of conduct disorder.

In the context of oppositional defiant disorder and comorbidity with other disorders, researchers often conclude that ODD co-occurs with an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorders, emotional disorders as well as mood disorders. Those mood disorders can be linked to major depression or bipolar disorder. Indirect consequences of ODD can also be related or associated with a later mental disorder. For instance, conduct disorder is often studied in connection with ODD. Strong comorbidity can be observed within those two disorders, but an even higher connection with ADHD in relation to ODD can be seen. For instance, children or adolescents who have ODD with coexisting ADHD will usually be more aggressive and have more of the negative behavioral symptoms of ODD, which can inhibit them from having a successful academic life. This will be reflected in their academic path as students.

Other conditions that can be predicted in children or people with ODD are learning disorders in which the person has significant impairments with academics and language disorders, in which problems can be observed related to language production and/or comprehension.

Criticism

Oppositional defiant disorder's validity as a diagnosis has been criticized since its inclusion in the DSM III in 1980.  ODD was considered to produce minor impairment insufficient to qualify as a medical diagnosis, and was difficult to separate from conduct disorder, with some estimates that over 50% of those diagnosed with conduct disorder would also meet criteria for ODD. The diagnosis of ODD was also criticized for medicalizing normal developmental behavior.  To address these problems, the DSM-III-R dropped the criterion of swearing and changed the cutoff from five of nine criteria, to four of eight. Most evidence indicated a dose–response relationship between the severity of symptoms and level of functional impairment, suggesting that the diagnostic threshold was arbitrary. Early field trials of ODD used subjects who were over 75% male.

Recent criticisms of ODD suggest that the use of ODD as a diagnosis exacerbates the stigma surrounding reactive behavior and frames normal reactions to trauma as personal issues of self-control. Anti-psychiatry scholars have extensively criticized this diagnosis through a Foucauldian framework, characterizing it as a tool of the psy apparatus which pathologizes resistance to injustice. Oppositional defiant disorder has been compared to drapetomania, a now-obsolete disorder proposed by Samuel A. Cartwright which characterized slaves in the Antebellum South who repeatedly tried to escape as being mentally ill.

Race and gender bias

Research has shown that African Americans and Latinos are disproportionately likely to be diagnosed with ODD compared to White counterparts displaying the same symptoms, who are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of ODD may not account for contextual problems experienced by the patient, and can be influenced by cultural and personal racial bias on the part of counselors and therapists. Many children diagnosed with ODD were, upon reassessment, found to better fit diagnoses of obsessive–compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or anxiety disorder. Diagnoses of ODD or conduct disorder are not eligible for disability accommodation at school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. When parents request accommodation for a diagnosed disorder which is eligible, such as ADHD, the request can be denied on the basis that such conditions are co-morbid with ODD. This bias in perception and diagnosis leads to defiant behaviors being medicalized and rehabilitated in White children, but criminalized for Latino and African American ones. Counselors working with children diagnosed with ODD reported that it was common for them to face stigma around the diagnosis in educational and justice systems, and that the diagnosis affected patients' self image. In one study over a quarter of children placed in the foster care system in the United States were found to have been diagnosed with ODD. Over half of children in the juvenile justice system have been diagnosed with ODD.

Latina women may be disproportionately impacted by the diagnosis of ODD because of the difference between Latino and White conceptions of femininity and appropriate feminine behavior.

African American males are known to be more likely to be suspended or expelled from school, receive harsher sentences for the same offenses as defendants of different races, or be searched, assaulted or killed by police officers. The disproportionately high diagnosis of ODD in AA males may be used to rationalize these outcomes. In this manner, ODD diagnoses can serve as a mechanism of the school-to-prison pipeline. From this viewpoint, the ODD diagnosis frames expected reactions to injustice or trauma as defiant or criminal.

See also

 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
 Antisocial personality disorder
 Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)
 Borderline personality disorder
 Pathological demand avoidance
 Conduct disorder
 Attachment disorder

References

Further reading

External links
ODD Resource Center – American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Mental disorders diagnosed in childhood
Aggression

Oppositional defiant disorder


Dato' Dr. Amir bin Abbas is a Malaysian medical doctor and the current Chancellor of the International Medical University. He was Pro-Chancellor from 2011 to 2013 and later became Chancellor from 2013 to 2018.

He obtained his medical degree (MBBS) from the University of Malaya, Singapore in 1961. He received the MRCP in 1969 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1983. He was head of the Health Research Department at the Institute of Medical Research (1969-1972) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the National University of Malaysia (1972–1975), a member of the University Council 1987–1998 and a member of the council of the University of Malaya 1981–1987. He was also a board member at the UM University Hospital. He is managing director of Meditek Equipment Sdn. Bhd.

He has also served as Chairman of the Malaysian Medical Association of Selangor (1982–1985) and President of the College of Physicians of Malaysia (1986–1988). He was a member of the National Council for Scientific Research and Development (1981–1987).

See also
Malaysian university leaders

References

Living people
Malaysian medical doctors
Academic staff of the International Medical University
Year of birth missing (living people)
Academic staff of the National University of Malaysia

Amir Abbas


Kumis (also spelled kumiss or koumiss or kumys, see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology –  , qymyz , äärаg) is a fermented dairy product traditionally made from mare milk or donkey milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the Central Asian steppes, of Turkic and Mongol origin: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and Yakuts. Kumis was historically consumed by the Khitans, Jurchens, Hungarians, and Han Chinese of North China as well.

Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir, but is produced from a liquid starter culture, in contrast to the solid kefir "grains". Because mare's milk contains more sugars than cow's or goat's milk, when fermented, kumis has a higher, though still mild, alcohol content compared to kefir.

Even in the areas of the world where kumis is popular today, mare's milk remains a very limited commodity. Industrial-scale production, therefore, generally uses cow's milk, which is richer in fat and protein, but lower in lactose than the milk from a horse. Before fermentation, the cow's milk is fortified in one of several ways. Sucrose may be added to allow a comparable fermentation. Another technique adds modified whey to better approximate the composition of mare's milk.

Terminology and etymology

Kumis comes from the Turkic word kımız. The Encyclopedia of Fermented Fresh Milk Products states that the word derives from the name of the Kumyks, one of many Turkic peoples, although this appears to be a purely speculative claim. Clauson notes that kımız is found throughout the Turkic language family, and cites the 11th-century appearance of the word in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk written by Mahmud al-Kashgari in the Karakhanid language.

In Mongolia, the drink is called airag ( ) or, in some areas, tsegee. William of Rubruck, in his 13th-century travels, calls the drink cosmos and describes its preparation among the Mongols.

Production of mare milk

A 1982 source reported 230,000 mares were kept in the Soviet Union specifically for producing milk to make into kumis. Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying, says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process.

In Mongolia, the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 litres of milk, of which about half is left to her foal.

Production of kumis

Kumis is made by fermenting raw milk (that is, unpasteurized) over the course of hours or days, often while stirring or churning. (The physical agitation has similarities to making butter.) During the fermentation, lactobacilli bacteria acidify the milk, and yeasts turn it into a carbonated and mildly alcoholic drink.

Traditionally, this fermentation took place in horse-hide containers, which might be left on the top of a yurt and turned over on occasion, or strapped to a saddle and joggled around over the course of a day's riding. Today, a wooden vat or plastic barrel may be used in place of the leather container. In modern, controlled production, the initial fermentation takes two to five hours, at a temperature of around ; this may be followed by a cooler aging period.

Kumis itself has a very low level of alcohol, between 0.7 and 2.5%, comparable to small beer, the common drink of medieval Europe that also helps to avoid the consumption of potentially contaminated water. Kumis can, however, be strengthened through freeze distillation, a technique Central Asian nomads are reported to have employed. It can also be made into the distilled beverage known as araka or arkhi.

History

Archaeological investigations of the Botai culture of ancient Kazakhstan have revealed traces of milk in bowls from the site of Botai, suggesting the domestication of dairy animals. No specific evidence for its fermentation has yet been found, but considering the location of the Botai culture and the nutritional properties of mare's milk, the possibility is high.

Kumis is an ancient beverage. Herodotus, in his 5th-century BC Histories, describes the Scythians processing of mare's milk:

Now the Scythians blind all their slaves, to use them in preparing their milk. The plan they follow is to thrust tubes made of bone, not unlike our musical pipes, up the vulva of the mare, and then to blow into the tubes with their mouths, some milking while the others blow. They say that they do this because when the veins of the animal are full of air, the udder is forced down. The milk thus obtained is poured into deep wooden casks, about which the blind slaves are placed, and then the milk is stirred round. That which rises to the top is drawn off, and considered the best part; the under portion is of less account.

This is widely believed to be the first description of ancient kumis-making. Apart from the idiosyncratic method of mare-milking, it matches up well enough with later accounts, such as this one given by 13th-century traveller William of Rubruck:

This cosmos, which is mare's milk, is made in this wise. […] When they have got together a great quantity of milk, which is as sweet as cow's as long as it is fresh, they pour it into a big skin or bottle, and they set to churning it with a stick […] and when they have beaten it sharply it begins to boil up like new wine and to sour or ferment, and they continue to churn it until they have extracted the butter. Then they taste it, and when it is mildly pungent, they drink it. It is pungent on the tongue like rapé wine when drunk, and when a man has finished drinking, it leaves a taste of milk of almonds on the tongue, and it makes the inner man most joyful and also intoxicates weak heads, and greatly provokes urine.  Rubruk also mentions that the Mongols prized a particular variety of black kumiss called caracosmos, which was made specifically from the milk of black mares.

In the 19th century, "kumyss" was used to treat gastrointestinal disorders.

Consumption

Strictly speaking, kumis is in its own category of alcoholic drinks, because it is made neither from fruit nor from grain. Technically, it is closer to wine than to beer, because the fermentation occurs directly from sugars (wine is usually fermented directly from fruit, whereas beer relies on starches, usually from grain, which convert to sugars by mashing). In terms of experience and traditional manner of consumption, however, it is much more comparable to beer and is even milder in alcoholic content than beer. It is arguably the region's beer equivalent.

Kumis is very light in body compared to most dairy drinks. It has a unique, slightly sour flavor with a bite from the mild alcoholic content. The exact flavor is greatly variable between different producers.

Kumis is usually served cold or chilled. Traditionally it is sipped out of small, handle-less, bowl-shaped cups or saucers, called piyala.  The serving of it is an essential part of Kyrgyz hospitality on the jayloo or high pasture, where they keep their herds of animals (horse, cattle, and sheep) during the summer phase of transhumance.

Cultural role
During the Yuan dynasty of China, kumis was essentially made to be the replacement of tea. Furthermore, Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, had a drinking fountain made in his capital of Karakorum, including kumis alongside Chinese rice wine, Scandinavian mead, and Persian grape wine as a symbol of the empire's diversity and size.

Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is supposedly named after the paddle used to churn the fermenting milk.

The famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy in A Confession spoke of running away from his troubled life by drinking kumis.

The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin was recommended a kumis diet and "water cure" by his doctor in his twenties, for his nervous condition and right-hand injury.

The Japanese soft drink Calpis models its flavor after the taste of kumis.

See also

 Ayran
 Blaand
 Cacık
 Chal
 Doogh
 Mattha
 Chaas
 Lassi
 Suutei tsai
 Tarasun
 List of ancient dishes and foods
 List of dairy products

Notes

References

External links

Fermented dairy products
Fermented drinks
Horse products
Kazakh cuisine
Mongolian cuisine
Russian cuisine
Buryat cuisine
Tuvan cuisine
Kalmyk cuisine
Altai cuisine
Yakut cuisine
Bashkir cuisine
Tatar cuisine
Soviet cuisine
Kyrgyz cuisine
Ancient dishes

Kumis


The blastocyst is a stage of development that occurs in most mammals. The blastocyst has two basic types of cells. One of them is called inner cell mass. This will form the embryo. The outer layer of cells will form the two membranes which surround the embryo.

In humans, the blastocyst starts to form about five days after fertilization. About seven days after fertilization, the blastocyst attaches itself to the wall of the uterus.

With in vitro fertilization,  the fertilized egg gets transferred to the uterus. When this is done it is two to three days after fertilization. It is difficult to predict which eggs will develop best. For this reason, several are usually transferred to the uterus. Often this leads to multiple pregnancies (multiple eggs developing into embryos). When a blastocyst is transferred, five to six days after fertilization, this problem does not occur. It is also easier to transfer a blastocyst and attach it to the wall of the uterus.

Developmental biology

Blastocyst


Patrick Scott may refer to:
Patrick Scott (artist) (1921–2014), Irish artist
Patrick Scott (American football) (born 1964), former professional American football player
Patrick J. Scott (1848–1899), Canadian lawyer and politician
Patrick Scot or Scott (fl. 1620), Scottish author

See also
Scott (name)
Scott (disambiguation)

Patrick Scott


Land of Widows a 21-minute Indian documentary film directed by Aarti Shrivastava. The film focuses on the unsustainable  working conditions of mine workers in the state of Rajasthan, India. Set in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan this film captures the exploitation the workers have to go through on a daily basis to work in illegal mines for a 'dollar a day'. Blending investigative journalism with helplessness and dark humour, the film tells the stories of average sandstone miners victimized by corporate greed and political corruption. It examines how sandstone mining has affected the local communities and also people occupied with this occupation. Despite stone mining's links to several occupational diseases such as psychoneurosis, silicosis, tuberculosis, asbestosis and asthma, abject poverty keeps driving villagers in many parts of the state to illegal mining. More than 70 men from 60 families have died in the last few years of silicosis caused by inhalation of dust containing free crystalline silica. Their men were all mine workers employed in illegal stone quarries that have mushroomed over the past 10 years across the state thanks to record demand for sandstone, marble and other stones as people across the country built homes, offices and malls.

The film is a hitchhiker's journey through the labyrinthine universe of Democracy, as it exists in its lowest unit level – the Indian village. It showcases that death has lost its sting in parts of Rajasthan. Out there, they call it, not without a tinge of sarcasm, the land of widows. Penury is more horrible than death. They don't want to see their children cry loud for a piece of bread. They are aware that mining will take their life one day, but poverty will take no time to take their children away from them.

This village, Sriji Ka Kheda is representative of all neighboring villages and perhaps all mining villages in most parts of India.  Welcome to rural India. Where all they can do is hope for a better tomorrow, where the only shine is the glistening of the tears in their eyes, where life is cheap and death – even cheaper! The stories of struggle and visions of hope open a door to the complex issue that is threatening the future of mine workers and their families.

Reviews
"Treating a major social issue sensitively is an art. A very good attempt by Aarti. I recommend it strongly and definitely give it a thumbs-up." - Abbas Arnaout, Director – Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival.

"A side effect of a know problem remained unknown until the completion of this documentary. A piece of knowledge and respect." -  Alberto Meroni, Film Director & Author

"This is an eye-opener. It is a must-see documentary if you really want to know what's going on in the world around you. It has opened my eyes,  and it will open yours." -  Hussein Hemayed, Television Director – Lebnon

"Something you shouldn't miss" -  Elisa Melzer,  Director – Bollywood & Beyond, Indian Film Festival of Germany

"Interesting and touching documentary that describes a sad reality" - Selvaggia Velo,  Director – River to River Film Festival

Awards and recognitions
Best Documentary Film 10th IDPA Awards for Excellence 2012
Official Nomination 7th Al-Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival Doha 2011
Best Documentary Film 6th CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival Delhi 2011
Official Nomination 8th Indian Film Festival Bollywood and Beyond Stuttgart 2011

References

External links
 Engagemedia
 CMS Vatavaran
 Humanity Watchdog Foundation
 RIFF MOVIES ARCHIVE
 Qatar Tribune
 Sun Star

2010 films
Indian short documentary films
2010 short documentary films
Documentary films about mining
Documentary films about human rights
Mining in Rajasthan
Films shot in Rajasthan
Documentary films about poverty
Films directed by Aarti Shrivastava
Bhilwara district
Widowhood in India
2010s English-language films

Land of Widows


An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body that occurs at an irregular time. The term is usually used where the group would ordinarily hold an annual general meeting (AGM) but where an issue arises that requires the input of the entire membership and is too serious or urgent to wait until the next AGM. Members and/or shareholders must be informed of the purpose of the EGM so that they may attend in a position where they can discuss and exercise intelligent judgment, or else any resolutions passed are invalid.

Procedure

Before the EGM the board of the organisation will have agreed upon one or more resolutions that will be put to the shareholders or members for approval at the EGM. The wording of the resolution is sent to the shareholders with a note about its importance. The theory is that the board has a better knowledge of the situation, and the resolution is in effect their ideal solution, but it may not be in the interests of individual shareholders. Usually, the chairman of the EGM reads out and recommends the resolution to those present for approval, takes questions about the resolution from those present, supervises the vote and declares the result. The rules for conducting an EGM and the options for altering a resolution at an EGM or for taking proxy votes will vary from one organisation to another.

In some settings, this is known as a special general meeting or an emergency general meeting.

In the United Kingdom, the directors of a public company must convene an EGM if the net assets fall to half or less of the amount of its called-up share capital (section 656 of the Companies Act 2006). Shareholders who meet certain criteria can requisition a general meeting: within 21 days from the date of receipt of requisition the directors must send out a notice to convene a meeting within 28 days after the date of giving the notice.

Examples
Special general meeting:

See also
 Duomatic principle

References

Meetings
Corporate law
Shareholders

Extraordinary general meeting


The fluctuation theorem (FT), which originated from statistical mechanics, deals with the relative probability that the entropy of a system which is currently away from thermodynamic equilibrium (i.e., maximum entropy) will increase or decrease over a given amount of time. While the second law of thermodynamics predicts that the entropy of an isolated system should tend to increase until it reaches equilibrium, it became apparent after the discovery of statistical mechanics that the second law is only a statistical one, suggesting that there should always be some nonzero probability that the entropy of an isolated system might spontaneously decrease; the fluctuation theorem precisely quantifies this probability.

Statement
Roughly, the fluctuation theorem relates to the probability distribution of the time-averaged irreversible entropy production, denoted . The theorem states that, in systems away from equilibrium over a finite time t, the ratio between the probability that  takes on a value A and the probability that it takes the opposite value, −A, will be exponential in At.
In other words, for a finite non-equilibrium system in a finite time, the FT gives a precise mathematical expression for the probability that entropy will flow in a direction opposite to that dictated by the second law of thermodynamics.

Mathematically, the FT is expressed as:

This means that as the time or system size increases (since  is extensive), the probability of observing an entropy production opposite to that dictated by the second law of thermodynamics decreases exponentially. The FT is one of the few expressions in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics that is valid far from equilibrium.

Note that the FT does not state that the second law of thermodynamics is wrong or invalid. The second law of thermodynamics is a statement about macroscopic systems. The FT is more general. It can be applied to both microscopic and macroscopic systems. When applied to macroscopic systems, the FT is equivalent to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

History
The FT was first proposed and tested using computer simulations, by Denis Evans, E.G.D. Cohen and Gary Morriss in 1993. The first derivation was given by Evans and Debra Searles in 1994. Since then, much mathematical and computational work has been done to show that the FT applies to a variety of statistical ensembles. The first laboratory experiment that verified the validity of the FT was carried out in 2002. In this experiment, a plastic bead was pulled through a solution by a laser. Fluctuations in the velocity were recorded that were opposite to what the second law of thermodynamics would dictate for macroscopic systems. In 2020, observations at high spatial and spectral resolution of the solar photosphere have shown that solar turbulent convection satisfies the symmetries predicted by the fluctuation relation at a local level.

Second law inequality
A simple consequence of the fluctuation theorem given above is that if we carry out an arbitrarily large ensemble of experiments from some initial time t=0, and perform an ensemble average of time averages of the entropy production, then an exact consequence of the FT is that the ensemble average cannot be negative for any value of the averaging time t:

This inequality is called the second law inequality. This inequality can be proved for systems with time dependent fields of arbitrary magnitude and arbitrary time dependence.

It is important to understand what the second law inequality does not imply.  It does not imply that the ensemble averaged entropy production is non-negative at all times.  This is untrue, as consideration of the entropy production in a viscoelastic fluid subject to a sinusoidal time dependent shear rate shows (e.g., water waves).  In this example the ensemble average of the time integral of the entropy production over one cycle is however nonnegative - as expected from the second law inequality.

Nonequilibrium partition identity

Another remarkably simple and elegant consequence of the fluctuation theorem is the so-called "nonequilibrium partition identity" (NPI):

Thus in spite of the Second Law Inequality which might lead you to expect that the average would decay exponentially with time, the exponential probability ratio  given by the FT exactly cancels the negative exponential in the average above leading to an average which is unity for all time.

Implications

There are many important implications from the fluctuation theorem. One is that small machines (such as nanomachines or even mitochondria in a cell) will spend part of their time actually running in "reverse". What we mean by "reverse" is that it is possible to observe that these small molecular machines are able to generate work by taking heat from the environment. This is possible because there exists a symmetry relation in the work fluctuations associated with the forward and reverse changes a system undergoes as it is driven away from thermal equilibrium by the action of an external perturbation, which is a result predicted by the Crooks fluctuation theorem. The environment itself continuously drives these molecular machines away from equilibrium and the fluctuations it generates over the system are very relevant because the probability of observing an apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics becomes significant at this scale.

This is counterintuitive because, from a macroscopic point of view, it would describe complex processes running in reverse. For example, a jet engine running in reverse, taking in ambient heat and exhaust fumes to generate  kerosene and oxygen. Nevertheless the size of such a system makes this observation almost impossible to occur. Such a process is possible to be observed microscopically because, as it has been stated above, the probability of observing a "reverse" trajectory depends on system size and is significant for molecular machines if an appropriate measurement instrument is available. This is the case with the development of new biophysical instruments such as the optical tweezers or the atomic force microscope. Crooks fluctuation theorem has been verified through RNA folding experiments.

Dissipation function
Strictly speaking the fluctuation theorem refers to a quantity known as the dissipation function.  In thermostatted nonequilibrium states that are close to equilibrium, the long time average of the dissipation function is equal to the average entropy production.  However the FT refers to fluctuations rather than averages.  The dissipation function is defined as,

where k is Boltzmann's constant,  is the initial (t = 0) distribution of molecular states , and   is the molecular state arrived at after time t, under the exact time reversible equations of motion.  is the INITIAL distribution of those time evolved states.

Note: in order for the FT to be valid we require that  . This condition is known as the condition of ergodic consistency. It is widely satisfied in common statistical ensembles - e.g. the canonical ensemble.

The system may be in contact with a large heat reservoir in order to thermostat the system of interest.  If this is the case  is the heat lost to the reservoir over the time (0,t) and T is the absolute equilibrium temperature of the reservoir - see Williams et al., Phys Rev E70, 066113(2004).  With this definition of the dissipation function the precise statement of the FT simply replaces entropy production with the dissipation function in each of the FT equations above.

Example: If one considers electrical conduction across an electrical resistor in contact with a large heat reservoir at temperature T, then the dissipation function is

the total electric current density J multiplied by the voltage drop across the circuit,  , and the system volume V, divided by the absolute temperature T, of the heat reservoir times Boltzmann's constant.  Thus the dissipation function is easily recognised as the Ohmic work done on the system divided by the temperature of the reservoir.  Close to equilibrium the long time average of this quantity is (to leading order in the voltage drop), equal to the average spontaneous entropy production per unit time. However, the fluctuation theorem applies to systems arbitrarily far from equilibrium where the definition of the spontaneous entropy production is problematic.

Relation to Loschmidt's paradox

The second law of thermodynamics, which predicts that the entropy of an isolated system out of equilibrium should tend to increase rather than decrease or stay constant, stands in apparent contradiction with the time-reversible equations of motion for classical and quantum systems. The time reversal symmetry of the equations of motion show that if one films a given time dependent physical process, then playing the movie of that process backwards does not violate the laws of mechanics. It is often argued that for every forward trajectory in which entropy increases, there exists a time reversed anti trajectory where entropy decreases, thus if one picks an initial state randomly from the system's phase space and evolves it forward according to the laws governing the system, decreasing entropy should be just as likely as increasing entropy. It might seem that this is incompatible with the second law of thermodynamics which predicts that entropy tends to increase. The problem of deriving irreversible thermodynamics from time-symmetric fundamental laws is referred to as Loschmidt's paradox.

The mathematical derivation of the fluctuation theorem and in particular the second law inequality shows that, for a nonequilibrium process, the ensemble averaged value for the dissipation function will be greater than zero. This result requires causality, i.e. that cause (the initial conditions) precede effect (the value taken on by the dissipation function). This is clearly demonstrated in section 6 of that paper, where it is shown how one could use the same laws of mechanics to extrapolate backwards from a later state to an earlier state, and in this case the fluctuation theorem would lead us to predict the ensemble average dissipation function to be negative, an anti-second law. This second prediction, which is inconsistent with the real world, is obtained using an anti-causal assumption. That is to say that effect (the value taken on by the dissipation function) precedes the cause (here the later state has been incorrectly used for the initial conditions). The fluctuation theorem shows how the second law is a consequence of the assumption of causality. When we solve a problem we set the initial conditions and then let the laws of mechanics evolve the system forward in time, we don't solve problems by setting the final conditions and letting the laws of mechanics run backwards in time.

Summary

The fluctuation theorem is of fundamental importance to non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.
The FT (together with the universal causation proposition) gives a generalisation of the second law of thermodynamics which includes as a special case, the conventional second law. It is then easy to prove the Second Law Inequality and the NonEquilibrium Partition Identity. When combined with the central limit theorem, the FT also implies the Green-Kubo relations for linear transport coefficients, close to equilibrium. The FT is however, more general than the Green-Kubo Relations because unlike them, the FT applies to fluctuations far from equilibrium. In spite of this fact, scientists have not yet been able to derive the equations for nonlinear response theory from the FT.

The FT does not imply or require that the distribution of time averaged dissipation be Gaussian.  There are many examples known where the distribution of time averaged dissipation is non-Gaussian and yet the FT (of course) still correctly describes the probability ratios.

Lastly the theoretical constructs used to prove the FT can be applied to nonequilibrium transitions between two different equilibrium states. When this is done the so-called Jarzynski equality or nonequilibrium work relation, can be derived.  This equality shows how equilibrium free energy differences can be computed or measured (in the laboratory), from nonequilibrium path integrals.  Previously quasi-static (equilibrium) paths were required.

The reason why the fluctuation theorem is so fundamental is that its proof requires so little.  It requires:
knowledge of the mathematical form of the initial distribution of molecular states,
that all time evolved final states at time t, must be present with nonzero probability in the distribution of initial states (t = 0) - the so-called condition of ergodic consistency and,
an assumption of time reversal symmetry.

In regard to the latter "assumption", while the equations of motion of quantum dynamics may be time-reversible, quantum processes are nondeterministic by nature. What state a wave function collapses into cannot be predicted mathematically, and further the unpredictability of a quantum system comes not from the myopia of an observer's perception, but on the intrinsically nondeterministic nature of the system itself.

In physics, the laws of motion of classical mechanics exhibit time reversibility, as long as the operator π reverses the conjugate momenta of all the particles of the system, i.e.  (T-symmetry).

In quantum mechanical systems, however, the weak nuclear force is not invariant under T-symmetry alone; if weak interactions are present reversible dynamics are still possible, but only if the operator π also reverses the signs of all the charges and the parity of the spatial co-ordinates (C-symmetry and P-symmetry). This reversibility of several linked properties is known as CPT symmetry.

Thermodynamic processes can be reversible or irreversible, depending on the change in entropy during the process.

See also
Linear response function
Green's function (many-body theory)
Loschmidt's paradox
 Le Chatelier's principle - a nineteenth century principle that defied a mathematical proof until the advent of the Fluctuation Theorem.
Crooks fluctuation theorem - an example of transient fluctuation theorem relating the dissipated work in non equilibrium transformations to free energy differences.
Jarzynski equality - another nonequilibrium equality closely related to the fluctuation theorem and to the second law of thermodynamics
Green-Kubo relations - there is a deep connection between the fluctuation theorem and the Green-Kubo relations for linear transport coefficients - like shear viscosity or thermal conductivity
Ludwig Boltzmann
Thermodynamics
 Brownian motor

Notes

References

Statistical mechanics theorems
Physical paradoxes
Non-equilibrium thermodynamics

Fluctuation theorem