Sir Thomas Potter (5 April 1774 – 20 March 1845) was an English industrialist and Liberal politician, and the first Mayor of Manchester.

Early life
Thomas Potter born on 5 April 1774 in Tadcaster, Yorkshire, the seventh of nine children of Anne Hartley and John Potter, a draper. His brothers were Richard who became MP for Wigan, and William.

His father, John Potter, was born on 7 December 1728 in Tadcaster and died there on 28 November 1802. He is buried in grave 40655 at St Mary the Virgin's Church in Tadcaster. He worked as a journeyman in London and on the death of his father, also John Potter, on 16 June 1758, and his mother, Anne, on 2 May 1762, he succeeded to their draper's shop in Tadcaster. John took a farm at Wighill where he dealt in sheep and wool. On 23 December 1785 an indenture was made for the lease of Wingate Hill Farm between Sir Walter Vavasour and John Potter "The produce of it (Wingate Hill Farm) having been successively on the advance, his shop, too, having been conducted by his wife and children, all his concerns prospered, and enabled him to set two of his sons (William and Richard) up in Manchester at the beginning of this year (1802) with a capital possessed by few beginners (£14,000). He died worth twelve thousand pounds, which, on the death of his spouse, he left equally to his sons and daughters."

William and Richard Potter opened a warehouse in Manchester at 5 Cannon Street, and a few months later they were joined by Thomas. The firm of William, Thomas and Richard Potter was established on 1 January 1803. William stood down from the business in 1806 when it became Thomas and Richard Potter.

First Little Circle

The Potter family were wealthy Unitarians, members of Cross Street Chapel and the Portico Library, and were concerned with the welfare of the poor. Thomas and Richard Potter became concerned with unfair representation of the people in parliament in rapidly expanding industrialised towns such as Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Salford in the Victorian era and decided to form a group to promote change.

In 1815 the first Little Circle was formed, around a core of members from the Cross Street Chapel who were influenced by the ideas of Jeremy Bentham and Joseph Priestley. The founding members included John Edward Taylor (cotton merchant), Joseph Brotherton (a non-conformist minister and pioneering vegetarian), Thomas Preston, and Thomas and Richard Potter. Meetings were held in a room at the back of the Potters' Cannon Street counting-house, generally known as the "plotting-parlour", and its core membership was Unitarian. Group member Archibald Prentice (later editor of the Manchester Times) called them the "Little Circle"; other members were John Shuttleworth (industrialist and municipal reformer); Absalom Watkin (parliamentary reformer and anti corn law campaigner); and William Cowdroy Jnr (editor of the Manchester Gazette).

After group members witnessed the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, and the closure of the liberal Manchester Observer by successive police prosecutions, it decided the time was right to advance its liberalist agenda. In 1820, Brotherton, Shuttleworth and Thomas Potter founded the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. In the following year, the group supported John Edward Taylor found the liberal newspaper the Manchester Guardian to which they all contributed. Published by law only once a week, Taylor continued to edit the newspaper until his death.

Business career
Whilst his brother, Richard, applied himself almost exclusively to political movements and reform, becoming Member of Parliament for Wigan in 1830, Thomas was left in charge of the management of the warehouse which developed into the largest concern of its type in Manchester.

Second Little Circle
In 1821, 12 merchants met in Thomas and Richard Potter's "plotting parlour" in Cannon Street, and began a fund to support the Manchester Guardian Seven were Unitarians, including five from the Cross Street Chapel: Thomas and Richard Potter; Abasolm Watkin; Mark Philips, John Shuttleworth, John Benjamin Smith, and brothers Edward and William Baxter (all cotton merchants); Fenton Atkinson (prominent Manchester attorney); William Harvey; John Edward Taylor.

The group supported social reform issues discreetly: Taylor survived a trial for libel; Shuttleworth organised the defence of plebeian reformers accused of administering an illegal oath. The group initially proposed that the seats of rotten boroughs convicted of gross electoral corruption should be transferred to industrial towns, citing and later targeting example boroughs including Penryn and East Retford. But when Parliament refused to take action, in 1831 Absalom Watkin was tasked with drawing up a petition asking the government to grant Manchester two Members of Parliament. As a result, Parliament passed the Reform Act 1832, and the group gave Manchester its first two post-reform MPs: Mark Philips and Charles Poulett Thomson. Richard was elected MP for Wigan in 1832, holding the seat until 1839.

Later life
Thomas became more involved in the business life of Manchester. Between 1832 and 1835 he led a successful campaign against church rates. After the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act in 1835, Thomas was elected to the Manchester Borough Council and became first Mayor of Manchester between 1838 and 1840. On 1 July 1840 he was granted a knighthood.

Personal life
Potter married Elizabeth Palmer, daughter of John Westorby Palmer, of York in January 1808. Elizabeth had two children, Elizabeth and Anne, before she died in February 1810. After her death, John married Esther Bayley of Booth Hall, Blackley in Manchester in September 1812 in the Collegiate Church. They had four children; Esther (born July 1813 and died February 1814), John, Mary (born October 1816 and died March 1817) and Thomas. Esther senior died in June 1852 at Buile Hill in Salford and was buried in Ardwick Cemetery in June 1852. In 1818 she founded Lady Potter's Schools at Irlams o' th' Height enabling 80 girls to receive an education.

In 1825 Thomas Potter commissioned the architect, Sir Charles Barry, to design him a house at Buile Hill in Salford. This is the only house where Barry used Greek revival architecture. It was completed in 1827.

After the death of Sir Thomas's first son, Sir John Potter, Buile Hill was inherited by Sir Thomas's second son, Thomas Bayley Potter, whose youngest son, Richard Ellis Potter, was born there on 3 October 1855. Thomas Bayley Potter sold the property to John Bennett in 1877. Salford Corporation purchased the estate in 1902 and in 1906 the house opened as Salford Natural History Museum. The 80 acres of parkland were opened to the public. Buile Hill House is a grade II listed building and is one of the case studies of the Georgian Group who advocate that the principal reception rooms, staircase and hall should remain as they are (with restoration). There has been some talk of Salford City Council selling it off for hotel use but there is also a movement for its retention pending a further decision.)

Death
Potter died on 20 March 1845 at the age of 70 at home at Buile Hill. Thomas Potter is buried at Ardwick Cemetery, Manchester.

References

Mayors of Manchester
Knights Bachelor
English industrialists
English Unitarians
1774 births
1845 deaths
Thomas
Burials in Greater Manchester

Thomas Potter (mayor)


was a Japanese businessman, national politician and philanthropist.

Early life and career
Born into an established merchant family in Yamanashi, Yamanashi Prefecture, he moved to Tokyo in 1897, and became independently wealthy through stock investments.

Nezu was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet in 1904 and won three subsequent reelections. He was elevated to the House of Peers in 1926.

In 1905 Nezu became President of Tobu Railway and successfully helped to grow the company to one of the largest private rail operators in the Kanto region. Other business interests included managerial and shareholding roles in Tokyo Basha Tetsudo (Tokyo Horse-Drawn Carriage Railways), Tokyo Dento (Tokyo electric Light Company) and in Tokyo Gas.

Philanthropy
Accompanying Shibusawa Eiichi on a trade mission to the United States in 1909, Nezu was inspired by American industrialists' enthusiasm for civic and philanthropic activities. On his return to Japan Nezu founded and donated to a number of new educational and cultural initiatives including Musashi Junior and Senior High School.

Nezu was a keen practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony and his extensive private collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art, served as the basis for the Nezu Museum in Minato, Tokyo. The museum buildings were rebuilt in 2006 to modern design by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, but the gardens of the museum also retain multiple traditional Chashitsu structures for tea ceremony gatherings.

Constructed in 1933, Nezu's family home in Yamanashi has been preserved as the Nezu Memorial Museum. The main house, gate house and three story Kura (storehouse), were listed as registered tangible cultural properties in 2007.

References

Japanese businesspeople
Japanese philanthropists
Japanese politicians
Museum founders
Japanese art collectors
Japanese tea masters
People from Yamanashi Prefecture
1860 births
1940 deaths
University and college founders

Nezu Kaichirō


The Nike of Paionios is an ancient statue of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, made by sculptor Paionios 425-420 BC. Made of Parian marble, the medium gives the statue a translucent and pure white look to it. Found in pieces, the statue was restored from many fragments but is lacking face, neck, forearms, part of left leg, toes, and some fragments of drapery. It also had wings. The goddess is shown landing gently on her left foot, with the drapery blown against her body.

The statue was installed to commemorate the victory of a land battle between Athens and Sparta in efforts to recapture the small island of Sphacteria from the Spartans in 425 BC, and then erected in 420 BC a few years after the victory. It was common for statues of Nike to be commissioned and put up after significant victories and achievements. The sculpture's location, on top of a tall plinth directly outside the Temple of Zeus would have ensured that it was seen by all Greeks who visited the sanctuary. It has the inscription:

Vermeule et al. propose that in this competition, the winner would be the one to carve the sculpture of Nike, and it went to Paionios. His victory in the competition was likely the result of devising not only the most aesthetically pleasing option but also the most financially feasible. The second century AD travel writer Pausanias mentions the work in his description of Olympia, noting that it was 'by Paeonius, a native of Mende in Thrace."

Original location
The statue was excavated at Olympia in 1875–76, in the area of Elis, Greece. The statue originally stood near the temple of Zeus on a triangular 6-metre high pillar. It would have been placed at the southwest corner of the temple, above the Sacred Way. The pedestal that this figure would have originally sat on is still in situ in Olympia. Including the pillar, the statue stood at 12 metres,  without the pillar the statue stands at 198 cm tall. The placement of this dedicatory statue at Olympia, considered Spartan ground, is most often interpreted by scholars as a deliberate and assertive act of dominance.

Description
Nike was by far the most common winged goddess portrayed in Classical art, and aside from her wings, her most consistently recognizable attribute- in both Athens and outside, seems to have been her flying drapery. This sculpture was designed to stand atop a column and be seen from below, as one would walk up along the path to the temple. Nike stands on a cloud of marble, furthering the idea that she is in the sky and among the clouds, coming down to Earth. Nike is of the Classical period/style, which we can see through her drapery, in what is called florid style, evident in how tightly the material is folded and clinging to her body. Nike carries her himation, while she wears a chiton. Her long peplos garment has had one of the pins at the shoulders come undone, letting the drapery slip revealing her left breast. In combination with the wind blowing around her, the drapery clings to her eluding to the shape of her torso and delicate maiden body. For this time, the amount of skin that Paionios chose to reveal on this figure was "shockingly erotic" for the society it was created in. The fabric billows around and in between the legs, covering them but also enhancing them to the viewer.  Her drapery gains substance only off the body, in which billowing folds are the heart of the composition and its meaning. Her draperies, blown by the wind, form a background for her figure. The goddess is represented in descending flight, positioned upon a triangular pedestal about thirty feet high, she seems all but independent of support. Below Nike's feet and flying to the viewer's left is an eagle, a bird closely associated with Zeus and directly referencing the god. The eagle at her feet suggests the element through which she moves. It inspires a sense of buoyancy, speed, and grace, shown through how the rapid flight throws back her drapery to reveal her form.

Paionios combined both Ionian and Doric traditions in this monument. The erection of an offering on a high pillar is of Ionian origin, as the Dorians tended to use lower bases. By placing a well-known, generic image of triumph upon a pillar to symbolize a specific Victory, Paionios added to this tradition. The Ionians also favored marble more often, yet the Nike wears a Dorian peplos. Her left arm is and would have been raised upholding her Himation, and her right would have been lowered. To those walking up to this statue along the sacred way, she may have been holding her hand out to the viewer in an uplifting and inspiring manner. Her wings, large and mostly missing in the original, would have extended up and back, which we can see from pieces still attached at her shoulders. This is a key feature that most, if not all depictions of Nike had. Like her iconic drapery, Nike's wings were just as tied to her image. There are other Nike sculptures still with wings, like Nike of Samothrace.

She is in the round, meaning that the viewer would be able to walk around on all sides of the statue. This is evident in that all sides of Nike show a different feature, and that viewing it from all sides gives you a complete picture. This Nike statue itself would have originally stood at about 1.96 m, or 6 ft 1 in tall, making her over life-size. This would have been important as she would have been high up on the pedestal, and away from the viewer's direct line of sight. By making her larger than life, this makes her more legible from the ground while also placing emphasis on her importance. The stance that this Nike takes marks a transition from older depictions of Nike that had her kneeling sideways to having her coming forwards towards the viewer, engaging directly.

Like many sculptures of this time period, there is evidence that this sculpture would have been painted. The painted colors of the drapery would have contrasted with her white flesh, which would have emphasized just how much of her skin was out in view (i.e. her leg and her left breast). The paint also adds a way of defining the features, as in some spots the drapery lies flat against the body, and the paint along the ridges would have defined the fabric and the skin. The pedestal that Nike sits atop of would have originally been painted blue, so that Nike would appear that she was flying down, amplified by the windswept appearance of her clothes, cloud, and Eagle. Her Chiton, or peplos, shows evidence that it would have been painted red.

Copies
There have been many copies made of this, and many recreations. For example, there has been a full-body recreation of this sculpture, which was a cast of an original. This example of a plaster cast can be seen at the Wilcox Classical Museum, with her face, wings, and legs intact.

There has been another recreation, in which a full 3D model of this has been created and open to explore online. This allows for viewing of all sides of this, as one could in person, and get the full roundabout picture.

Related
In the 2004 Athens Olympic medals the front side of the medal presents the statue of Nike Paionios with ancient Olympia in the backdrop, while the other side of the medal features the eternal flame framed by the first verse of the eighth Olympic Hymn (Olympic Anthem) by Pindar along with the logo of the Athens Games.

-1919, Paionios' Nike was used on Panionios shields.

Nike of Samothrace, another statue shows another depiction of Nike and how she may have been seen.

See also
 Athena Nike

References

Wikipedia Student Program

1870s archaeological discoveries
5th-century BC Greek sculptures
Marble sculptures in Greece
Sculptures of Nike
Sculptures of women in Greece
Olympia, Greece
Archaeological discoveries in Greece

Nike of Paionios


HSBC Bank Brasil S.A. - Banco Múltiplo is subsidiary of Banco Bradesco in Brazil.

HSBC established Banco HSBC Bamerindus SA to take over Banco Bamerindus do Brasil S.A. in March 1997 and the bank's name was changed to HSBC Bank Brasil S.A. - Banco Múltiplo in 1999. It was HSBC's lead regional subsidiary in South America and as such it was the regional reporting line for several other countries. It was sold to Bradesco in June 2016.

The bank is among the ten largest in Brazil, with more than 1,700 branches and sub-branches in 550 Brazilian cities. The headquarters are located in Curitiba.

History

The HSBC Group traces its presence in Brazil to 1976 when Samuel Montagu and Midland Bank opened offices there. What started as a 6.14 per cent shareholding in Banco Bamerindus do Brasil in 1995 led to the Group's acquisition of selected assets, liabilities, and subsidiaries of Banco Bamerindus do Brasil in 1997 and the establishment of Banco HSBC Bamerindus S.A. HSBC bought Banco Bamerindus from the  Central Bank of Brazil, which had had to take it over. Banco Bamerindus had been established in 1952. By the time of its acquisition, Banco Bamerindus had almost 1,300 branches, plus insurance, leasing and securities businesses, among others.

In 2003, HSBC bought the Brazilian operations of Lloyds TSB, which included its corporate and wholesale operations, a small retail network, and Losango, a consumer finance business, as well as some offshore assets. The purchase price was US$815m.

On 9 June 2015, HSBC announced its intention to sell off the majority of its operations in Brazil, including personal banking, as part of a plan to cut 50,000 jobs worldwide and on 3 August 2015 HSBC sold operations in Brazil to Banco Bradesco for $5.2 billion. The sale was approved on 8 June 2016 and transfer of customers was expected in October 2016.

See also

 HSBC

References

External links
 HSBC Bank Brasil website

Companies based in Curitiba
Brazil
Banks established in 1952
1952 establishments in Brazil
Brazilian subsidiaries of foreign companies

HSBC Bank (Brazil)


Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Monica on the television series Friends and for her role in the movie Scream and its sequels. Cox married David Arquette between seasons 5 and 6 of Friends, and changed her name to Courteney Cox Arquette. She later changed it back in honor of her parents.

Early life
Courteney Cox was raised in Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. She is the daughter of businessman Richard Lewis Cox (January 28, 1931 – September 3, 2001) and his wife Courteney (née Bass, later Copeland). She has two older sisters, Virginia and Dottie, and an older brother, Richard, Jr. Her parents divorced in 1974 and her mother then married businessman Hunter Copeland (uncle to music promoter and business manager Ian Copeland). After graduating from Mountain Brook High School, Cox left for Mount Vernon College in Washington, D.C., but did not complete her architecture course. She instead pursued a career in modeling and acting.

Cox is of English, French, Welsh, Irish and German ancestry.

Marriage and family
In 1996, Cox began dating actor David Arquette. The couple married on June 12, 1999. They have one child together, a daughter named Coco Riley Arquette (born June 13, 2004). Coco's godmother is family friend Jennifer Aniston. Cox had seven miscarriages between 2001 and November 2010. She and her husband separated on December 31, 2011. Arquette filed for divorce on June 8, 2012.

References

Other websites

 Courteney Cox at Tv.com

1964 births
Living people
Actors from Birmingham, Alabama
American movie actors
American television actors
Arquette family

Courteney Cox


F-sharp major is a major scale based on F-sharp. Its key signature has six sharps.

Its relative minor is D minor, and its enharmonic equivalent is G major.

Use of this key
This key is not used often in orchestral music except to modulate. It is used more often in piano music, like Scriabin's sonatas. When piano music in this key needs to be arranged for orchestra, sometimes it is better to change it to F or G major. If F-sharp major needs to be used, transposing instruments in B flat should have their music written in A-flat major, not G-sharp major.

The Presentation of the Rose scene in Act Two of Richard Strauss's opera Der Rosenkavalier is written in F-sharp major.
F-sharp major is the key of Beethoven's Piano Sonata, Op. 78, of Chopin's Barcarolle, of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, of Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony, Erich Korngold's Symphony Op. 40, and Scriabin's Fourth Sonata.

In a few scores, the F-sharp major key signature in the bass clef is written with the sharp for the A on the top line.

References

Musical keys
Major scales

F-sharp major


The Altrincham Line is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink running from Manchester to Altrincham in Greater Manchester. Originally a railway line, it was, along with the Bury Line, converted into a tramway during 1991–92, as part of the first phase of the Metrolink system.

Route

The line runs south-west from Manchester city centre, rising from a ramp which takes the tracks onto the streets of central Manchester, just east of  stop, and then runs along a former railway viaduct, parallel to the heavy rail Manchester to Warrington and Liverpool line as far as ; just west of which the Eccles Line diverges to the north-west, and the Altrincham line runs south-west under the railway through an underpass. Cornbook stop was opened in 1999 as an interchange stop between the Altrincham and Eccles lines. The line then runs south-west along the former MSJ&AR line, and connects the towns of Stretford and Sale before running to Altrincham. The line uses old railway lines converted to light-rail operation, and has no street-running sections.

The South Manchester and Airport Lines both share tracks with the Altrincham line as far as just south of  where they diverge at a junction.

On the stretch between , and the terminus at Altrincham, the alignment is shared with the Network Rail Mid-Cheshire Line: There are two tracks; the tram line uses one track, and the railway uses the other, both operating as bi-directional single track lines. Both Navigation Road station, and Altrincham Interchange are shared tram/train interchange stations.

History

Pre-Metrolink

The line was originally a railway: The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) which was opened in 1849, and ran between Altrincham and London Road Station (now Piccadilly) in Manchester. With some trains running into  via a connection at Cornbrook.

In response to competition from trams, which were taking away business from the railway, the line was electrified between London Road and Altrincham in 1931 using the 1,500 volt DC overhead system.

In 1958, services were cut back to terminate at , as the line between Oxford Road and the recently renamed Piccadilly station had been re-electrified at 25 kV AC. By the late 1960s the original 1,500 V DC system had become non-standard, and both the overhead line equipment and the electric rolling stock had reached the end of their working lives, it was clear they would need replacement: In 1971 British Rail converted the line to operate at the now-standard 25 kV AC system, and replaced the 40-year old rolling stock with newer  EMUs, which operated the line for the next 20 years until the line was converted to Metrolink operation in 1991.

Conversion to Metrolink
The Altrincham line was identified by transport planners in the 1980s, as one of the local railway lines in the Greater Manchester area, which could be split off from the main line network and converted to light-rail operation. It was chosen for conversion as part of the first phase of the Metrolink, along with the Manchester Victoria to Bury Line to the north of Manchester: The two previously unconnected lines were to be linked together by a new street-running line across Manchester city-centre, which included a branch to  railway station.

Heavy rail services ended on the Altrincham line on 24 December 1991, in order for the conversion to light rail to begin. The conversion process involved converting the overhead electrification to work at the tramway standard of 750 volts DC, and refurbishing the stations to improve access for the disabled etc. Several stations were renamed: the former Old Trafford became Trafford Bar, while Warwick Road became Old Trafford.

Also, a number of works were carried out in order to separate the line from the heavy rail network:

The former Cheshire Lines Committee viaduct which had run from Cornbrook into the former  station, and had been disused since 1969; was repaired and brought back into use; however instead of running into the former Central station as the railway had done, the tracks were carried down into the streets by a new ramp just east of the former station. A new stop, originally known as G-Mex, but now known as , was constructed alongside the former Central station.
British Rail built a new underpass at Cornbrook, in order for the tram line to pass under the Manchester to Warrington and Liverpool line, which the railway had previously connected to at the level. Thus taking the tramway from the former CLC viaduct and onto the former MSJ&AR route.
On the southernmost section, between  and Altrincham, British Rail remodelled the layout during 1991, in order to separate the Metrolink line from the heavy rail Mid-Cheshire Line, which also ran into Altrincham. The two track alignment was separated, so one track was used for trams, and the other by trains, both operating bi-directionally. Mid-Cheshire Line trains which had previously used the Altrincham line into Manchester were then diverted via .

Phase one of the Metrolink opened in stages during 1992; from Bury to Victoria on 6 April 1992; the street running section from Victoria to G-Mex (now Deansgate–Castlefield) on 27 April; Deansgate–Castlefield to Altrincham on 15 June; then the branch to Piccadilly Railway station on 20 July.

Services
Service patterns have varied over the years, however as of February 2017, during Monday to Saturday daytimes a tram operates every six minutes between Altrincham and Manchester, alternating between terminating at  (via ) or . During the evenings, and on Sundays and bank holidays the frequency drops to 12 minutes and only run to Etihad Campus.

Rolling stock
All services are operated by M5000 trams. Between 1992 and 2009, the line was operated by the original fleet of 26 T-68 trams. From 2009 the new fleet of M5000 trams was introduced, and these replaced the original T-68 trams. which were withdrawn from service during 2012–14.

References

External links

 LRTA entry on this line
 Entry on this line from thetrams.co.uk

Manchester Metrolink lines
Rail transport in Greater Manchester
Railway lines opened in 1849
Former railway lines converted to Manchester Metrolink lines

Altrincham Line


Chhaang or chhyang (, , ) is a Nepalese and Tibetan alcoholic beverage also popular in parts of the eastern Himalayas, Yakkha, Limbu, Dura, Newar, Sunuwar, Rai,  Gurung, Magar, Sherpa, Tamang and Lepcha communities. Among the Lepcha, it is called Chi. It is also known as jaarh in Nepal.

Geographical prevalence
Chhaang is consumed by the ethnically Tibetan, Ladakhi and Nepalese, and to a lesser degree, by the people of the neighboring nations of Pakistan and Bhutan. It is usually drunk at room temperature in summer, but is often served piping-hot in brass bowls or wooden mugs when the weather is colder. The Limbu people of eastern Nepal call the drink Tongba.

Ingredients and drinking

Chhaang is a relative of beer. Barley, millet (finger-millet) or rice grains are used to brew the drink. Semi-fermented seeds of millet are served, stuffed in a barrel of bamboo called a dhungro.  Boiling water is then poured in and sipped through a narrow-bore bamboo tube called a pipsing.

When the boiled barley has cooled, some yeast or dried barm is added and it is left to stand for two or three days after fermentation begins. This concoction is called glum. The barm consists of flour and, in Balti, often has ginger and aconite added to it. After fermentation is complete, water is added to the brew and it is then ready for consumption.

In Lahaul the glum is pressed out by hand instead of by filtering, yielding a rather cloudy drink. The residue of malt can be pressed through a strainer and then mixed with water or milk and used in baking bread or cakes.

Near Mount Everest of Nepal, chhaang is made by passing hot water through fermenting barley, and is then served in a large pot and drunk through a wooden straw.

This beverage is similar to the traditional drink of the Limbus, mandokpenaa thee.

Nepalese jand refers to the turbid liquor which is obtained by leaching out the extract with water from the fermented mash. Unlike chhang or tongba, jand is served in large mugs. These alcoholic beverages are generated using a traditional starter called murcha. Murcha itself is prepared by using yeast and mold flora of wild herbs in cereal flours.

Aconite and potential toxicity

The plant name Aconite may refer to two plant genera in the family Ranunculaceae, namely Aconitum and Eranthis, although Eranthis is known more usually as Winter Aconite. The plants used in the brewing of Chhaang in Baltistan and Ladakh are, however, almost certainly referable to Aconitum species - notably the local Aconitum ferox - which have a long history of use in the folk medicinal systems of Asia.  Aconitum species are amongst the most virulently poisonous plants known, containing a variety of extremely toxic alkaloids, including aconitine and pseudaconitine.

The use of Aconitum as an additive in beer-brewing  is therefore a practice fraught with the danger of fatal poisoning and should on no account be undertaken by any individual attempting to replicate a traditional Chhaang recipe. Although individual Aconitum species vary somewhat in the degree of their toxicity, all are poisonous and, when used in traditional herbal medicine, are invariably pre-treated in various ways intended to minimise their toxicity, while retaining their assumed therapeutic properties. Nevertheless, numerous fatalities have occurred resulting from such medicinal use e.g. in certain Chinese medicinal soups consumed for their supposed tonic effects, which include augmenting physical strength, boosting the immune system, and dispelling 'wind' and 'dampness'.

Culture
Chhaang is said to be the best remedy to ward off the severe cold of the mountains. It reputedly has many healing properties for conditions like the common cold, fevers, allergic rhinitis, and alcoholism among others.

According to legend, chhaang is also popular with the Yeti, or Himalayan Snowmen, who often raid isolated mountain villages to drink it.

Social correlates
Drinking and making offerings of chhaang are part of many pan-Tibetan social and religious occasions, including settling disputes, welcoming guests, and wooing.

See also

 Alcohol in Nepal
 Raksi – Nepalese and Tibetan distilled alcoholic beverage.
 Tibetan beer
 Tongba
 List of Indian beverages
 List of Tibetan dishes

References

Rice wine
Alcohol in Nepal
Bhutanese cuisine
Indian drinks
Nepalese drinks
Pakistani drinks
Tibetan cuisine
Fermented drinks
Types of beer

Chhaang


In probability theory and statistics, the discrete uniform distribution is a symmetric probability distribution wherein a finite number of values are equally likely to be observed; every one of n values has equal probability 1/n. Another way of saying "discrete uniform distribution" would be "a known, finite number of outcomes equally likely to happen".

A simple example of the discrete uniform distribution is throwing a fair die. The possible values are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and each time the die is thrown the probability of a given score is 1/6. If two dice are thrown and their values added, the resulting distribution is no longer uniform because not all sums have equal probability.
Although it is convenient to describe discrete uniform distributions over integers, such as this, one can also consider discrete uniform distributions over any finite set. For instance, a random permutation is a permutation generated uniformly from the permutations of a given length, and a uniform spanning tree is a spanning tree generated uniformly from the spanning trees of a given graph.

The discrete uniform distribution itself is inherently non-parametric. It is convenient, however, to represent its values generally by all integers in an interval [a,b], so that a and b become the main parameters of the distribution (often one simply considers the interval [1,n] with the single parameter n). With these conventions, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the discrete uniform distribution can be expressed, for any k ∈ [a,b], as

Estimation of maximum

This example is described by saying that a sample of k observations is obtained from a uniform distribution on the integers , with the problem being to estimate the unknown maximum N.  This problem is commonly known as the German tank problem, following the application of maximum estimation to estimates of German tank production during World War II.

The uniformly minimum variance unbiased (UMVU) estimator for the maximum is given by

where m is the sample maximum and k is the sample size, sampling without replacement. This can be seen as a very simple case of maximum spacing estimation.

This has a variance of

so a standard deviation of approximately , the (population) average size of a gap between samples; compare  above.

The sample maximum is the maximum likelihood estimator for the population maximum, but, as discussed above, it is biased.

If samples are not numbered but are recognizable or markable, one can instead estimate population size via the capture-recapture method.

Random permutation

See rencontres numbers for an account of the probability distribution of the number of fixed points of a uniformly distributed random permutation.

Properties
The family of uniform distributions over ranges of integers (with one or both bounds unknown) has a finite-dimensional sufficient statistic, namely the triple of the sample maximum, sample minimum, and sample size, but is not an exponential family of distributions, because the support varies with the parameters. For families whose support does not depend on the parameters, the Pitman–Koopman–Darmois theorem states that only exponential families have a sufficient statistic whose dimension is bounded as sample size increases. The uniform distribution is thus a simple example showing the limit of this theorem.

See also
 Dirac delta distribution
 Continuous uniform distribution

References

Discrete distributions
Location-scale family probability distributions

su:Sebaran seragam#Kasus diskrit

Discrete uniform distribution


Scott Merrick (born 1985) is a Democratic Party former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing the 2nd Coos District starting  in 2004. He resides in Lancaster. While serving in the legislature, he also received his degree from Tufts University.

Merrick was named a rising star, as one of New Hampshire's "Forty under Forty" by the New Hampshire Union Leader in 2009.

Merrick was elected Treasurer of the New Hampshire Young Democrats on March 14, 2013.

References

Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
1985 births
Living people

Scott Merrick


Roland Walter Schmitt (July 24, 1923 – March 31, 2017 ) was an American physicist, business executive and the sixteenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

He was born on July 24, 1923, in Seguin, Texas to Walter L. Schmitt and Myrtle F. (Caldwell) Schmitt. On June 2, 1951, he married Alice V. Calhoun (b. February 12, 1930) and they had two sons: Lorenz (b. 1952) and Brian (b. 1954). Alice died on July 17, 1956. He later married Claire F. Kunz (b. July 11, 1928 d. July 11, 2017) on September 19, 1957; they had two children: Alice (b. 1958) and Henry (b. 1961).

He graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in mathematics, both in 1947 and a master's degree in physics in 1948. He received a P.h.D. in physics from Rice University in 1951. He then joined General Electric as a research associate and remained with the company until his retirement in 1988. From 1978 to 1986, he directed the General Electric Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York. In 1982, he was appointed senior vice president.

From 1988 to 1993, he was president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. During his tenure, he oversaw a $200 million fundraising campaign and saw the addition of new degree programs and research centers. He served as a member of the National Science Board from 1982 to 1994, and as chairman from 1984 to 1988. In January 2000, he was appointed by New York State Governor George Pataki as chairman of the board of the New York State Office Of Science, Technology and Academic Research. In 1978, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and received the Arthur M. Bueche Award from the NAE in 1995. He was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the 1989 recipient of the IEEE Engineering Leadership Recognition Award, the 1988 recipient of the Maurice Holland Award and 1989 recipient of the IRI Medal, both from the Industrial Research Institute, and the 1992 recipient of the IEEE Founders Medal. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. From 1993 to 1998 Schmitt was the Chair of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics.

Schmitt died in March 2017, aged 93.

References

External links

1923 births
2017 deaths
University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences alumni
Rice University alumni
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute faculty
Presidents of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
People from Seguin, Texas
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Roland W. Schmitt


Shaʽban (, ) is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called the month of "separation", as the word means "to disperse" or "to separate" because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water.

The fifteenth night of this month is Mid-Sha'ban, which coincides with the celebration of Shab-e-Barat in Muslim communities all over Asia.

Sha'ban is the last lunar month before Ramadan, and so Muslims determine in it when the first day of Ramadan fasting will be. In the second Hijri year (624), fasting during Ramadan was made obligatory during this month.

In the post-Tanzimat Ottoman Empire context, the word was, in French, the main language of diplomacy and a common language among educated and among non-Muslim subjects, spelled Chaban. The current Turkish spelling today is Şâban.

Virtues

The virtues of Sha'ban is mentioned in various traditions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Aisha, the wife of Muhammad, narrated that "(she) did not see him fasting in any month more than in the month of Sha'ban," except Ramadan.

In another narration the Prophet Muhammad said, "Do those deeds which you can do easily, as Allah will not get tired (of giving rewards) till you get bored and tired (of performing religious deeds)."

Timing

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Since the Islamic lunar calendar year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Sha'ban migrates throughout the seasons. The estimated start and end dates for Sha'ban, based on the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia, are:

Islamic events
 01 Sha'ban, birth of Zaynab bint Ali.
 02 Sha'ban, death of (Imam Azam) Abu Hanifa.
 03 Sha'ban, birth of Husayn ibn Ali.
 04 Sha'ban, birth of Abbas ibn Ali.
 05 Sha'ban, birth of Ali ibn Husayn.
 05 Sha'ban, death of Fizza, the hand-maiden (Qaneez) of Fatimah.
 07 Sha'ban, birth of Qasim ibn Hasan.
 11 Sha'ban, birth of Ali al-Akbar ibn Husayn.
 15 Sha'ban, holiday known as Laylat al-Bara'at or Nisfu Sha'ban; birth of Muhammad al-Mahdi.
 21 Sha'ban, passing away of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.
 22 Sha'ban, death of Muhammad Usman Damani.
 27 Sha'ban, Death of Sayyad Laal Shah Hamdani
27 Sha'ban, birth of Eissa Hussain Allaqband ibn

See also
 Islamic calendar
 Mid-Sha'ban

References

External links
Islamic-Western Calendar Converter (Based on the Arithmetical or Tabular Calendar)

8
Islamic terminology

Sha'ban


Choreoathetosis is the occurrence of involuntary movements in a combination of chorea (irregular migrating contractions) and athetosis (twisting and writhing).

It is caused by many different diseases and agents. It is a symptom of several diseases, including Lesch–Nyhan syndrome, phenylketonuria, and Huntington disease and can be a feature of kernicterus (rapidly increasing unconjugated bilirubin that cross the blood-brain-barrier in infants).

Choreoathetosis is also a common presentation of dyskinesia as a side effect of levodopa-carbidopa in the treatment of Parkinson disease.

The use of crack cocaine or amphetamines can result in conditions nicknamed crack dancing, or tweaking respectively, described as choreoathetoid.

See also
 Ulegyria

References

External links

Neurological disorders

Choreoathetosis


In quantum mechanics, a sum rule is a formula for transitions between energy levels, in which the sum of the transition strengths is expressed in a simple form. Sum rules are used to describe the properties of many physical systems, including solids, atoms, atomic nuclei, and nuclear constituents such as protons and neutrons.

The sum rules are derived from general principles, and are useful in situations where the behavior of individual energy levels is too complex to be described by a precise quantum-mechanical theory. In general, sum rules are derived by using Heisenberg's quantum-mechanical algebra to construct operator equalities, which are then applied to the particles or energy levels of a system.

Derivation of sum rules
Assume that the Hamiltonian  has a complete
set of eigenfunctions  with eigenvalues
:

For the Hermitian operator  we define the
repeated commutator  iteratively by:

The operator  is Hermitian since
is defined to be Hermitian. The operator  is
anti-Hermitian:

By induction one finds:

and also

For a Hermitian operator we have

Using this relation we derive:

The result can be written as

For  this gives:

See also

 Oscillator strength
 Sum rules (quantum field theory)
 QCD sum rules

References

Quantum mechanics

Sum rule in quantum mechanics


Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French microbiologist and chemist.
He and his wife, Marie, are best known for their experiments supporting the germ theory of disease, and he is also known for his vaccinations, most notably the first vaccine against rabies and anthrax.

Career
He made many discoveries in the field of chemistry, including the asymmetry (different shapes) of crystals. He is also well known for his way of keeping milk and wine from going sour for longer periods of time. That process is called pasteurization. It is when the milk and or wine is put under about 161 Fahrenheit (72 Celsius) for fifteen seconds.

Pasteur's later work on diseases included work on chicken cholera. During this work, Pasteur noticed how a culture of the responsible bacteria had spoiled, and it failed to induce the disease in some chickens, which he was infecting, with the disease.

Personal life

Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822 in Dole in the Jura region of France, into the family of a poor tanner. Louis grew up in the town of Arbois. He gained degrees in Letters and in Mathematical Sciences before entering the École Normale Supérieure, an elite college.

After serving briefly as professor of physics at Dijon Lycée in 1848, he became professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg, where he met and courted Marie Laurent, daughter of the university's rector, in 1849.

Louis Pasteur and Marie were married on May 29, 1849, and together had five children. Only two survived to adulthood; his other three children had died of typhoid fever. These personal tragedies inspired Pasteur to try to find cures for diseases, such as typhoid.

Death
In 1895 at Marnes-la-Coquette, a commune in Paris, Pasteur died after several strokes.

References

1822 births
1895 deaths
Deaths from stroke
French chemists
French microbiologists
Vaccinologists

Louis Pasteur


The 2016 Southern Aleppo campaign was a series of military operations that started on 1 April when the Islamist rebel coalition Army of Conquest, led by the al-Nusra Front, launched a surprise offensive south of Aleppo. The main objective of the operation was to recapture territory they had lost during the large-scale government offensive in late 2015.

Campaign

First offensive (April 2016)
In the afternoon of 1 April, rebel forces launched the offensive, targeting the strategic village of Tel el-Ais, that overlooks the Damascus–Aleppo highway. The operation started with preparatory shelling hitting the village's southwestern flank. This was followed up by a ground assault that included an attack conducted by three suicide car bombers against government positions. According to one report, the bombers did not reach their targets, while according to another, they managed to clear the way for the rebel infantry. Still, the attack on Tel el-Ais was eventually repelled. However, soon after, the rebels launched a second assault, and early on 2 April, they captured Tel el-Ais. The Al-Nusra Front claimed they ambushed government troops as they were withdrawing from the village.

After securing the village, the rebels proceeded to attack and seize the Jabal Al-'Eiss (Mount Eiss) area, with the Army withdrawing towards Hader. Meanwhile, elsewhere along the frontline, the rebels captured the villages of Abu Ruwayl, Hawbar and Birnah as the offensive started, however they were recaptured by the military by the following morning. Among the dead on the government side from the previous two days of fighting were 12 Hezbollah fighters and three IRGC officers.

As of early 3 April, a counter-attack had not yet started as government forces were awaiting the arrival of the final batch of ammunition and vehicles. Later in the day, a rebel source stated 100 government vehicles were seen heading towards the southern countryside of Aleppo. At 10 p.m. that evening, the Army counter-attack started and government forces reportedly captured several points on the eastern and northern perimeter of Tel el-Ais, coming to within a few hundred meters of the village. Still, by the morning, two attacks to breach the village itself had been repelled, although the main assault had not yet taken place as airstrikes continued.

On 5 April, a Syrian Air Force plane was shot down in the area of Tel el-Ais by the Al-Nusra Front, with the pilot captured. During the day, members of the Iranian 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade reportedly arrived in Hader. For the first time since February, Russian air-strikes were conducted in the southern Aleppo countryside, in preparation for the Army counter-attack.

Late on 5 April, the Iranian special forces, supported by Syrian Army troops, attacked the village. In the early hours of the next day, it was incorrectly claimed they recaptured Tel el-Ais. Still, pro-opposition SOHR confirmed government troops made progress in the area of Tel el-Ais. During the day, the rebels temporarily withdrew from the village due to heavy shelling before returning. The same day, another large Army convoy arrived in the area.

On 9 April, the rebels took control of the village of Khalidiyah, near Khan Tuman, as well as two hilltops and large parts of Zaytan, Birnah and al-Qal'ajiyyeh. Meanwhile, government forces intensified their shelling of Tel el-Ais and nearby Zorba, with over 100 mortars and rockets being fired at rebel positions, while Russian air-strikes continued.

The next day, the military recaptured Khalidiyah and the rebels withdrew from Zaytan, Birnah and other positions they had taken during the previous 24 hours. During the rebel assault on Khalidiyah and Khan Tuman, four Iranian commandos were killed, including two members of the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade.

On 12 April, a new government assault on Tel el-Ais started. Before the attack, 300 rockets were launched at rebel positions in the area. Fighting also took place near Khan Tuman. The Army managed to advance and capture several hills in the area, as well as most of the village itself. However, this latest attack on Tel el-Ais was also eventually repelled, when government forces withdrew from the village after not being able to take Jabal Al-'Eiss hill. The hills that they had also seized earlier in the day were once again under rebel control.

Interlude

One week after the end of the offensive, the rebels once again launched a two-pronged attack against Khan Tuman, Zaytan and Birnah. The attack was quickly repelled, with more than 30 rebels reportedly being killed at Khan Tuman and two of their tanks being destroyed.

Second offensive (May 2016)
On 5 May, the United States and Russia agreed on a cessation of hostilities in Aleppo for 48 hours. However, fighting continued in the city and surrounding areas. The same day, the Army of Conquest militants, supported by Jund al-Aqsa and the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (TIP), advanced and captured the village of Khalidiyah, west of Khan Tuman and southwest of Aleppo. The rebels then launched artillery attack on Khan Tuman. During the fighting, the Army destroyed a car bomb with a rocket. Around 7 a.m. on 6 May, the rebels captured Khan Tuman, as well as five other nearby villages. In all, 62 pro-government fighters and 57 rebels were killed in the rebel assault. During the clashes, an air strike hit a heavy concentration of rebels, killing 18 fighters.

Following the capture of Khan Tuman, hundreds of government reinforcements, including Palestinian militiamen, were sent to help recapture the town. Preparations were being made for a counter-attack, with Russian air-strikes reportedly hitting rebel positions in the area. On 7 May, government troops recaptured three villages.

The counter-attack against Khan Tuman started on 8 May, and was reportedly repelled. By 11 May, the fighting in the area of Khan Tuman left 173 fighters dead on both sides and more than 300 wounded. Among those killed on the rebel side were 35 Turkistan Islamic Party members as well as a number of Uzbeks. Among pro-government dead were 55 Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis and Lebanese.

Overnight between 11 and 12 May, heavy Russian air-strikes hit rebel positions in the area of Khan Tuman.

Third offensive (June 2016)
On 3 June, a new surprise rebel offensive was started. al-Nusra suicide bombers detonated car bombs near Khan Tuman, followed by an assault with heavy armour toward pro-government positions. Ahrar al-Sham then seized the village of Maratah, capturing a large amount munitions crates, a T-62, and a fuel depot. The rebels also took over three more villages, an air defence battalion, and a weapons warehouse. By the next day, the rebels had taken control of five villages. The same day, the Sham Legion launched an anti-tank guided missile at a suspected Syrian Army position near the area, killing a Dagestani al-Qaeda commander in a friendly fire incident.

On 14 June, al-Nusra led a fresh jihadist assault in the southern Aleppo countryside, targeting the villages of Khalsah and Zeitain, controlled by a number of pro-government forces. The jihadists initially captured Zeitain, whilst heavy fighting continued in Khalsah.

On 15 June, the National Defence Forces, Hezbollah and allied forces launched a counter-attack and succeeded in recapturing the village of Zeitan, whilst also repelling the jihadist assault on Khalsah. It was reported that over 20 jihadist fighters had been killed, whilst a rebel T-72 tank and 2 BMP's were destroyed.

On 16 June, a pro-government counter-attack against Maratah was repelled.

During the night of 17 and 18 June, the jihadist rebels led by al-Nusra imposed full control over the villages of Khalsah, Zeitan and Birnah, despite suffering heavy losses, including the death of a top commander. Overall, 186 fighters on both sides were killed in the fighting over the previous four days, 100 rebels and 86 pro-government fighters.

Muhaysini visited Turkistan Islamic Party fighters before the battle and performed dua. Khan Tuman in Aleppo then came under attack by the Uyghur Turkistan Islamic Party. A picture of Muhaysini with a Turkistan Islamic Party fighter in Khan Touman was released by the Turkistan Islamic Party after the battle. They displayed weapons and munitions seized during the battle. Corpses of what the TIP labelled as "Rawafid" (Shia) fighters and pictures of "Iranian" prisoners were released by the TIP.

See also

 East Aleppo offensive (2015–16)
 Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016)
 Northern Aleppo offensive (March–June 2016)
 2016 Khanasir offensive
 2016 Aleppo summer campaign

References

Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2016
Aleppo in the Syrian civil war
Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Hezbollah
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Quds Force
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Russia
Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the al-Nusra Front
April 2016 events in Syria
May 2016 events in Syria
June 2016 events in Syria

2016 Southern Aleppo campaign


Fudge is a kind of candy which is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk. It is heated up to 240 degrees Fahrenheit (116 degrees Celsius) and beaten until it becomes smooth.

Many things can be added to fudge, like fruits, nuts, chocolate, and caramel.

It can be bought in many gift shops in places where there are a lot of tourists.

Related pages
 Toffee

Candy

Fudge


Anna Nikolayevna Levanova (; born 19 December 1988) is a Russian television and film actress, known for  McMafia and Two Women. In 2014, she won the Yul Brynner Award of the Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asia Pacific Countries for her role in Two Women.

Biography
Anna Levanova (née Bulatova) was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia). There were no professional actors or musicians in her family, yet home concerts and performances have always been a family tradition. According to Anna, she made her debut on the stage in a kindergarten - in the role of a fox in a matinee performance.
From an early age she participated in school "skits" and went to the Children's Variety Theater.
Her parents were supportive of her decision to become an actress.

But right after school she did not pass the competition for the theater high school. She submitted documents to the State Musical and Pedagogical Institute named after M. Ippolitov-Ivanov and successfully graduated from the class of folk vocals in 2010.

In the fourth year she made the fourth attempt to enter the theater, and got into the Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School in the studio of Vasily Bochkarev. She graduated from one institution and simultaneously studied in the first year of the other.
She graduated from the Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School in 2013, workshop of V. Bochkarev.

In 2013-2016 she joined the troupe of the Moscow Theater "Sovremennik". Performed the role of Cinderella in the play "Cinderella" after the play by Evgeniy Schwartz, the daughter of the doctor in the "Decameron" Giovanni Boccaccio. In 2013, played in the Center V. Vysotsky, the role of Lizanka in the play "Zoyka apartment" by Mikhail Bulgakov.

Career
Anna Levanova starred in the series Farewell of Slavianka (2011), Secrets of the Institute of Noble Maidens (2013), My long distance car (2013), Lermontov (2014) and others.
She performed the main roles in the film-performance "Cinderella" in 2016, melodramas Wicked destiny (2016), For a better life (2016), Loneliness (2016), Choice (2017).

Personal life
Levanova was married once.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

1988 births
Living people
Russian television actresses
Russian film actresses
Russian stage actresses
Actresses from Moscow
21st-century Russian actresses

Anna Levanova


Berdel or sibling swapping is a type of marriage where parallel families swap siblings. It does not always have to be a sibling, and sometimes another family members is swapped in exchange for another family member. For example a niece can be exchanged for a parallel family's cousin etc. Sometimes, if the family member swapping is arranged by a family matriarch or patriarch, it is viewed as narcissistic. However if berdel is arranged by a similar aged relative, those marriages are often seen as very safe, and even as a marriage where the well-being is guaranteed through the insurance of the counterpart swapped relative. The reason why berdel marriages or sibling swapping marriages are safer is because the two families already trusted each other before.

References

Family

Berdel


DOCK8 deficiency, also called DOCK8 immunodeficiency syndrome, is the autosomal recessive form of hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by elevated immunoglobulin E levels, eosinophilia, and recurrent infections with staphylococcus and viruses. It is caused by a mutation in the DOCK8 gene.

Signs and symptoms
The signs and symptoms of DOCK8 deficiency are similar to the autosomal dominant form, STAT3 deficiency. However, in DOCK8 deficiency, there is no skeletal or connective tissue involvement, and affected individuals do not have the characteristic facial features of those with autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome. DOCK8 deficient children often have eczema, respiratory and skin staphylococcus infections.

Beyond these, many other recurrent infections have been observed, including recurrent fungal infections and recurrent viral infections (including molluscum contagiosum, herpes simplex, and herpes zoster), recurrent upper respiratory infection (including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus), recurrent sinusitis, recurrent otitis media, mastoiditis, pneumonia, bronchitis with bronchiectasis, osteomyelitis, candidiasis, meningitis (caused by cryptococcus or H. influenzae), pericarditis, salmonella enteritis, and giardiasis. Other dermatologic problems include squamous-cell carcinoma/dysplasia (vulvar, anal, and facial). Immune problems are also common, including autoimmune hemolytic anemia, severe allergies (both food and environmental), asthma, and reactive airway disease. The nervous system may also be affected; observed conditions in DOCK8 deficient people include hemiplegia, ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and facial paralysis. Vascular complications are common, including aortic aneurysm, cerebral aneurysm, vessel occlusion and underperfusion, and leukocytoclastic vasculitis.

Pathophysiology
DOCK8, or "dedicator of cytokinesis 8", is a protein involved in regulating the actin skeleton of the cell. It may also be a tumor suppressor, since DOCK8 is lost in many cancers and people with DOCK8 deficiency are prone to developing malignancies. When it is mutated, an incorrect protein is produced, so there is, at most, a trace level of functional DOCK8 protein in the cell. There are a variety of loss-of-function mutations in DOCK8 that can cause deficiency and hyperimmunoglobulin E, including frameshift mutations, nonsense mutations, microdeletions, and, most commonly, large deletions. The low number of T cells (T cell lymphopenia) and other lymphocytes appears to be responsible for the susceptibility to infections, and the poor humoral immunity is responsible for low response to vaccines. However, how DOCK8 is involved in the loss of T cells is not known.

Diagnosis
A diagnosis can only be definitively made after genetic testing to look for a mutation in the DOCK8 gene. However, it can be suspected with a high IgE level and eosinophilia. Other suggestive laboratory findings include decreased numbers of B cells, T cells, and NK cells; and hypergammaglobulinemia. It can be distinguished from autosomal dominant hyper-IgE (STAT3 deficiency) because people with DOCK8 deficiency have low levels of IgM and an impaired secondary immune response. IgG and IgA levels are usually normal to high. It can be distinguished from the similar X-linked Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome by the presence of thrombocytopenia and the consequent bloody diarrhea, as well as its pattern of inheritance. WHIM syndrome, caused by a mutation in CXCR4, is associated with similar chronic cutaneous viral infections.

Treatment
Treatment in DOCK8 deficiency focuses on preventing and treating infections. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are a common mode of treatment when infection is present, though some infections (like lung abscesses) require surgical treatment. Pneumatocele may be treated with surgery, but the benefit is unclear.

Surgical treatment is also recommended for skin abscesses, along with topical and systemic antibiotics and antifungals.

Long-term treatment with systemic antibiotics, including trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, penicillins, and cephalosporins, is effective in preventing skin and lung infections.  Other treatments used in DOCK8 deficiency include sodium cromoglycate, which improves white blood cell function, and isotretinoin, which improves skin condition.

Sometimes, Intravenous immunoglobulin is used as a treatment, but its benefits have not been proven. Levamisole is also ineffective. Mixed clinical outcomes have been found with interferon gamma and omalizumab. Though early research on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was equivocal, later research has shown it to improve immune function. Two patients have been cured by bone marrow transplantation. Cyclosporine A is a current topic of research; preliminary results have shown it to be effective.

Prognosis
Children with DOCK8 deficiency do not tend to live long; sepsis is a common cause of death at a young age. CNS and vascular complications are other common causes of death.

Epidemiology
DOCK8 deficiency is very rare, estimated to be found in less than one person per million; there have been 32 patients diagnosed as of 2012.

History
DOCK8 deficiency was first described in 2004. The mutation was discovered in 2009.

References

External links

Genetic diseases and disorders
Immune system disorders

DOCK8 deficiency


Planet Cancer was an online community for young adults with cancer.  The organization approached the disease with a sense of humor and included a "cancertainment" section with amusing essays including "Top 10 Signs You've Joined a Cheap HMO."1

Planet Cancer was founded by Heidi Schultz Adams, a young adult cancer survivor who was diagnosed at 26 with Ewing's sarcoma, to help young adult cancer patients overcome isolation and connect with other cancer survivors in their age group.²  It was acquired by the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 2009.

References
1 Szabo, Liz. "Laughing in the Face of Cancer." USA Today. 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2007-09-13.

² Schultz Adams, Heidi. "Young Adults Overcome Isolation by Creating Cancer Communities." Curextra. 2007-March. Retrieved 2007-09-13.

External links
 http://www.planetcancer.org
 http://myplanet.planetcancer.org/
 http://www.planetcancer.org/blog/heidiblog.html

American medical websites
American social networking websites
Defunct social networking services

Planet Cancer


Labanotation (grammatically correct form "Labannotation" or "Laban notation" is uncommon) is a system for analyzing and recording human movement (notation system), invented by Austro-Hungarian choreographer and dancer Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958, a central figure in European modern dance), who developed his notation on movements in the 1920s.

History
Laban's first book on the subject was published in German in 1928 called Schrifttanz (Written Dance); a similar version in French and English appeared in 1930. A few years later Laban's interest turned to other matters and he gave his notation system to the world. The German dancer, choreographer and pedagogue Albrecht Knust, who by 1930 had together with Laban's daughter Azra (Azraela) established the Tanz-Schreib-Stube (the first Dance Notation Bureau), was the first-ever full-time kinetographer-movement notator. Between 1946-1950 Knust wrote his major work Das Handbuch der Kinetographie Laban (The Manual of Kinetography Laban) in eight-volumes in German, typed carbon copies appeared in 1951 in English. Ann Hutchinson Guest and former student of Sigurd Leeder, studied the system differences among and between the various practitioners taught by former Laban student Irma Betz, and had the opportunity to confer with Laban, Knust and Leeder personally on movement details and ideas, developed it further naming it Labanotation. The two systems differ somewhat.

Laban's notation system is used as a type of dance notation in other applications including Laban Movement Analysis, robotics and human movement simulation. With Labanotation, any form of human movement can be recorded: The basis is natural human movement, every change must be noted.

This notation system could be used to describe movement in terms of spatial models and concepts, which contrasts with other movement notation systems based on anatomical analysis, letter codes, stick figures, music notes, track systems, or word notes. The system precisely and accurately portrays temporal patterns, actions, floor plans, body parts and a three-dimensional use of space. Laban's notation system eventually evolved into modern-day Labanotation and Kinetography Laban.

Labanotation and Kinetography Laban evolved separately in the 1930s through 1950s, Labanotation in the United States and England, and Kinetography Laban in Germany and other European countries. As a result of their different evolutionary paths, Kinetography Laban hasn't changed significantly since inception, whereas Labanotation evolved over time to meet new needs. For example, at the behest of members of the Dance Notation Bureau, the Labanotation system was expanded to allow it to convey the motivation or meaning behind movements. Kinetography Laban practitioners, on the other hand, tend to work within the constraints of the existing notation system, using spatial description alone to describe movement.

The International Council of Kinetography Laban was created in 1959 to clarify, standardize and eliminate differences between Labanotation and Kinetography Laban.  Thanks to this, one or both are currently used throughout the world almost interchangeably, and are readable to practitioners of either system.

Main concepts
Labanotation uses abstract symbols to define the:
 Direction and level of the movement
 Part of the body doing the movement
 Duration of the movement
 Dynamic quality of the movement

Direction and level of the movement
The shapes of the direction symbols indicate nine different directions in space and the shading of the symbol specifies the level of the movement.

Each "direction symbol" indicates the orientation of a line between the proximal and distal points of a body part or a limb.  That is, "the direction signs indicate the direction towards which the limbs must incline".

The direction symbols are organized as three levels: high, middle, and low (or deep):

Part of the body doing the movement

Labanotation is a record of the facts, the framework of the movement, so that it can be reproduced.

The symbols are placed on a vertical staff, the horizontal dimension of the staff represents the symmetry of the body, and the vertical dimension represents time passing by.

The location of a symbol on the staff defines the body part it represents. The centre line of the staff represents the centre line of the body, symbols on the right represent the right side of the body, symbols on the left, the left side.

Duration of the movement

The staff is read from bottom to top and the length of a symbol defines the duration of the movement. Drawing on western music notation, Labanotation uses bar lines to mark the measures and double bar lines at the start and end of the movement score. The starting position of the dancer can be given before the double bar lines at the start of the score.

Movement is indicated as "the transition from one point to the next", that is as one "directional destination" to the next.

Spatial distance, spatial relationships, transference of weight, centre of weight, turns, body parts, paths, and floor plans can all be notated by specific symbols.  Jumps are indicated by an absence of any symbol in the support column, indicating that no part of the body is touching the floor.

Dynamic quality of the movement

The dynamic quality is often indicated through the use of effort signs (see Laban Movement Analysis).

The four effort categories are
 Space: Direct / Indirect
 Weight: Strong / Light
 Time: Sudden / Sustained
 Flow: Bound / Free

Dynamics in Labanotation are also indicated through a set of symbols indicating a rise or lowering of energy resulting from physical or emotional motive, e.g. physically forceful versus an intense emotional state.

Motif notation
Motif description, or the preferred term 'Motif notation', is closely related to Labanotation in its use of the same family of symbols and terminology. Labanotation is used for a literal, detailed description of movement so it can be reproduced as it was created or performed.  In contrast, Motif Notation highlights core elements and leitmotifs depicting the overall structure or essential elements of a movement sequence.  It can be used to set a structure for dance improvisation or for an educational exploration of movement concepts.  Not limited to dance, Motif Notation can be used to direct one's focus when learning to swing a golf club, the primary features of a character in a play, or the intent of a person's movement in a therapy session.

References

Further reading

 Hutchinson-Guest, Ann. (1983). Your Move: A New Approach to the Study of Movement and Dance. New York: Gordon and Breach.
 Hutchinson-Guest, Ann. (1989). Choreo-Graphics; A Comparison of Dance Notation Systems from the Fifteenth Century to the Present. New York: Gordon and Breach.
 Knust, Albrecht. (1948a). The development of the Laban kinetography (part I). Movement. 1 (1): 28–29.
 Knust, Albrecht. (1948b). The development of the Laban kinetography (part II). Movement. 1 (2): 27–28.
 Knust, Albrecht. (1979a). Dictionary of Kinetography Laban (Labanotation); Volume I: Text. Translated by A. Knust, D. Baddeley-Lang, S. Archbutt, and I. Wachtel. Plymouth: MacDonald and Evans.
 Knust, Albrecht. (1979b). Dictionary of Kinetography Laban (Labanotation); Volume II: Examples. Translated by A. Knust, D. Baddeley-Lang, S. Archbutt, and I. Wachtel. Plymouth: MacDonald and Evans.
 Laban, Rudolf (1975). Laban's Principles of Dance and Movement Notation. 2nd ed. edited and annotated by Roderyk Lange. London: MacDonald and Evans. (First published 1956.)
 Laban, Rudoph. (1928). Schrifttanz. Wein: Universal.
 Preston-Dunlop, V. (1969). Practical Kinetography Laban. London: MacDonald and Evans.

External links

 Dance Notation Bureau website
 International Council of Kinetography Laban website
 Laban Lab (learn the basics of Labanotation)
 Albrecht Knust's Dictionary (dictionary of Kinetography Laban)

Dance research
Laban movement analysis

Labanotation


Academy of Natural Sciences founded in Philadelphia. It  is the first natural science research institution and museum in the New World.
Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring describes Ornithocephalus antiquus now known as Pterodactylus.The animal was described as being both a mammal, a bat, and a form in between mammals and birds. George Cuvier and provided a lengthy description in which he restated his previous view that the fossil animal was a reptile.

Ongoing events
George Shaw General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History (1809-1826) Species described in this work in 1812 include blue-tufted starthroat, red-tailed comet, greater vasa parrot, copper sunbird,  glittering-bellied emerald and purple-banded sunbird.
Alexander Wilson Ornithology of America (1808–1814) Species described in this work in 1812  include fish crow, whip-poor-will and Connecticut warbler

Birding and ornithology by year
1812 in science

1812 in birding and ornithology


HMS Reindeer was a Royal Navy Mariner-class composite screw gunvessel of 8 guns.

Construction

Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, her hull was of composite construction; that is, iron keel, frames, stem and stern posts with wooden planking. She was fitted with a 2-cylinder horizontal compound expansion steam engine driving a single screw, produced by Hawthorn Leslie. She was rigged with three masts, with square rig on the fore- and main-masts, making her a barque-rigged vessel.  Her keel was laid at Devonport Royal Dockyard on 15 January 1883 and she was launched on 14 November 1883.  Her entire class were re-classified in November 1884 as sloops before they entered service.

Career

She was converted to a boom defence vessel in 1904. During World War I, she collided with the Royal Navy stores carrier  in the Mediterranean Sea on 6 June 1915, sinking Immingham. She was lent to the Liverpool Salvage Association as a salvage vessel in 1917.  Re-engined in 1918 by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company with a  engine, she was renamed Reindeer I and sold to the Halifax Shipyard Ltd as a salvage ship on 12 July 1924. She was abandoned at sea on 12 March 1932. Her 30 crew were rescued by the ocean liner .

References

Mariner-class gunvessels
Ships built in Plymouth, Devon
1883 ships
Victorian-era gunboats of the United Kingdom
World War I sloops of the United Kingdom
Auxiliary gateship classes
Maritime incidents in 1915
Maritime incidents in 1932

HMS Reindeer (1883)


Abercynon Colliery was a coal mine located in Abercynon, South Wales. Opened in 1889, it closed in 1988.

Development
The colliery was developed at a cost of £270,000 from 1889, by the Dowlais Iron Company, to feed a new steel works in Cardiff. Initially known as the Dowlais Cardiff Colliery, the two shafts were sunk to the Nine Feet coal seam at depths of  (South - upcast) and  (North - downcast).

Accidents
Eighteen men lost their lives during development, including eight on 23 January 1893 and six on 9 September 1895. An underground haulage accident on 28 April 1906 cost the lives of five men.

Production
In 1903 the pit passed into the hands of Guest Keen and Nettlefolds Ltd, at which point it employed 2,502 men. By 1923 the colliery was producing from the Six Feet, Nine Feet and Upper Four Feet seams, employing 2,794 men. In 1931 it was taken over by Welsh Associated Collieries, who were absorbed into Powell Duffryn Company Ltd. in 1936.

Nationalisation took place on 1 January 1947, but the returning miners wanted better conditions, and many choose to commute to work at the newly developed Treforest Trading Estate. Now only employing 1,100 men, the vacancies were in part filled by displaced and stateless Europeans, but even special allowances did not fulfil the labour needs of the mines.

Following development of the A470 in the late 1960s, its distinct winding head gear in blue with very long backstays supported by transitional struts, became a distinct welcoming sign for travellers towards Merthyr Tydfil.

The winding engines were some of the most powerful in the South Wales coalfield. The South had a single electric motor producing 1600 hp and the North had a twin drive system which had a rating of 3200 hp.

In March 1975, it was linked underground via two parallel tunnels with Lady Windsor Colliery, which was situated on the other side of the mountain in Ynysybwl, to form a single production unit at a cost of £450,000. Coal was raised at the Lady Windsor end of the unit from a depth of 687 yards, with 1,150 men were producing 318,000 tons yearly from Six feet, Lower Nine feet and Seven feet seams. By 1981 manpower deployment broke down to 216 on development, 292 on the coalface, 342 underground and 305 on the surface.

Closure
The Lady Windsor Lodge assumed a leading role in the 1985/86 UK Miner's Strike, but on return to work the unit managed an impressive recovery obtaining 98% of expected output within a month.

The Lady Windsor/Abercynon unit was closed by British Coal in February 1988, with an estimated 25 years of workable coal left.

References

Buildings and structures in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Former mines in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Coal mines in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Underground mines in Wales

Abercynon Colliery


The Old Brick Church was the predecessor church building for the congregation of Brick Presbyterian Church, which is now located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The Old Brick Church was located on the northwest corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets, in what is now the Financial District, Manhattan. It was built 1767 by John McComb Sr., father of both the architect John McComb Jr. and the civil engineer Isaac McComb. The five-bay double-height church was rectangular in plan with a projecting square-in-plan four-stage tower (final stage setback) with a three-stage round colonnaded spire extension.

The building was demolished around 1857.  The land the church stood on is now occupied by a building used by Pace College.

The structure was illustrated in 1856 for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, which reported that the land was "probably the most valuable in the city." The city planned to put a post office on the site that year, but the deal fell through, and "the congregation managed to sell the property to the New York Times which put up a building on the site in 1857-1858."

References
Notes

External links

Churches in Manhattan
Churches completed in 1767
Federal architecture in New York City
Closed churches in New York City
Demolished churches in New York City
Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan
Former Presbyterian churches in New York City
Presbyterian churches in New York City
1767 establishments in the Province of New York
1850s disestablishments in New York (state)
Buildings and structures demolished in 1857

Old Brick Church (Manhattan)


Desmosterol (Cholesta-5,24-dien-3β-ol) is a lipid present in the membrane of phytoplankton. Structurally, desmosterol has a similar backbone to cholesterol, with the exception of an additional double bond in the structure of desmosterol.

The similarity can be seen biologically through the synthesis of cholesterol in the human body, as desmosterol is the immediate precursor to cholesterol in the Bloch pathway. Desmosterol is accumulated in desmosterolosis and undergoes reduction with the catalyst 24-dehydrocholesterol reductase to form cholesterol.

In 2014, desmosterol was named the Molecule of the Year 2012 by the International Society for Molecular and Cell Biology and Biotechnology Protocols and Researches (ISMCBBPR).

Background
Desmosterol is classified as a cholestadienol, a subgroup of a wider known group of sterols, which naturally occur in eukaryotes. The presence of desmosterol in oceans and lakes has the potential to diagnose anoxic conditions and to study trends in steroid chemistry during the early stages of diagenesis. Desmosterol has been found in high yields in samples of Rhizosolenia setigera (Brightwell) in Western Svalbard, and from surface sediment off of the Peruvian Shelf sediment-water interface.

In 1955, desmosterol was first described and isolated from chick embryo sterol with a 2% yield and was postulated as being a biological precursor to cholesterol by Stokes et al. The first known isolation of desmosterol in invertebrates was published in 1957 by Fagerlund and Idler. This new sterol was isolated in large amounts from balanus glandula, a barnacle species found on the North American Pacific coast. Additionally, small amounts of desmosterol have been found in other crustaceans such as lobster and shrimp in the homarus americanus and pandalus borealis species. This strengthens the conclusion that desmosterol must be created exogenously, as crustaceans have not been seen to biosynthesise sterols.

Biological occurrence
Desmosterol has been largely found within a large population of marine invertebrates. Major sources include barnacles, red algae, annelida, and molluscs. This has led to the idea of an exogenous origin of desmosterol in phytoplankton. In 1967, desmosterol was also identified in large percentages in the red algae Laurencia pinnatifida, Polusiphonia nigrescens, Porphyra purpurea, and Dulse (Rhodymenia palmata) after previously having been undetected.

In the 1968 paper by Idler, Saito and Wiseman, dulse samples were analysed and the sterols present were determined by gas liquid chromatography. Samples were collected near Grand Manan Island, New York in 1964 and 1965, and showed a significant difference in the presence of desmosterol. Samples 1 and 2 were from the same source, as were samples 3 and 4, and all samples were harvested at different times. Samples 2, 3, and 4 had the major sterol as desmosterol, compared to sample 1, with the major sterol being cholesterol. This indicates a 70% difference in desmosterol composition in the sterol samples (1 and 2) over a period of one year. There has been no conclusive evidence to show whether seasonal variation of sterols in barnacles occur.

Biosynthesis
There are two major pathways for cholesterol biosynthesis, being the Kandutsch-Russell and Bloch pathways. The Bloch pathway, named after Konrad Bloch, occurs naturally alongside the mevalonate pathway in humans within the cell. The discovery of this pathway led Bloch, joint with Feodor Lynen, to receive a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1964. The award was awarded "for their discoveries concerning the mechanism and regulation of the cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism".

Preservation
Desmosterol has been seen to be present in marine sponges as a biomarker. However, bacterial symbiont sterol 24-C-methyltransferases is capable of the alkylation of desmosterol to other sponge biomarkers, 24-isopropenylcholesterol, and 24-isopropylidenecholesterol. There is insignificant data which shows that desmosterol has good preservation potential.

Use as a Biomarker
As a biomarker, desmosterol is important for the Chaetoceros calcitrans and R. setigera and N. closterium diatoms as well as Rhodophyceae. However, desmosterol has the potential to be used as a taxonomic marker for diatoms where it exists as the dominant sterol, such as in Rhizosolenia.

Balsfjorden, Northern Norway
Desmosterol has been used as a biomarker for the presence of copepods. The phytoplankton bloom of P. pouchetii and Thalassiosira decipiens resulted in low amounts of desmosterol at maximum chlorophyll levels, indicating the low abundance and efficient removal of copepods in these phytoplankton.

Peruvian Shelf
Diatoms and Silicoflagellates are classes of phytoplankton present in sedimentary material from the sediment water interface in the Peruvian Shelf region. Mineralogical analysis of this sedimentary material suggested large volumes of phytoplankton. Researchers at the University of Bristol examined the sterol composition of these sedimentary rocks which have gone through oxygen depletion, leading to anoxic conditions. These conditions have enhanced the preservation of lipids present during the time of formation, around 1 year prior, and have limited the degradation of these compounds.

Measurement techniques
Desmosterol has seen to be identified most commonly through chemical constants, ozonolysis, infrared spectroscopy, NMR, and mass spectrometry techniques. The use of thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography to measure desmosterol is less common with the development of more advanced techniques.

GC-MS
Samples from water sources are first extracted and partially purified before analysis. Sterols are commonly first derivatised after purification. Lipid extracts can be separated into their fragments by ionisation using Gas Chromatography followed by Mass Spectroscopy analysis. Desmosterol has a characteristic m/z peak at 384, as seen in the mass spectra.

Ozonolysis
Desmosterol has been identified through ozonolysis of the sample, with the ozonolysis product of desmosterol having a melting point of 128°C, and an Rf value of 0.31 with paper-chromatography with n-hexane and N,N-dimethyl formamide. The ozonolysis product also has ratios C: 45.68; H: 4.45; N: 23.21.

See also
 Cholesterol
 Triparanol

References

Cholestanes

Desmosterol


John Leak, VC (20 October 1972) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded at that time to a member of the Australian armed forces. Leak enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in early 1915, and served with the 9th Battalion in the Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War. Evacuated suffering from dysentery, Leak rejoined his battalion after it had been withdrawn to Egypt. Along with his unit, he transferred to the Western Front in France and Belgium, where he participated in the Battle of Pozières in July 1916. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the battle. The following month he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Mouquet Farm.

Leak was evacuated to the United Kingdom, and did not return to his unit until October 1917. Suffering from the effects of his service, Leak was convicted of desertion by a court-martial in November, but his sentence was ultimately suspended, and he returned to the 9th Battalion. In early March 1918 he was gassed, and did not rejoin to his unit until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. He returned to Australia and was discharged in 1919.

After jobs in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia over the next twenty years, Leak settled in South Australia in 1937. He was severely affected by his war experiences, and was very reticent to discuss his VC exploits. He did not talk about his service, even to his family, until very late in life. He died in October 1972 and is buried in Stirling, South Australia.

Early life

According to his war record, John Leak was born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, around 1892, although there is no record of his birth in that city. He was the son of a miner, James Leak. His parents were originally from South Wales, and apparently migrated to New South Wales, Australia, well before World WarI, although there is no record of his arrival in Australia. By the outbreak of the war, his parents had died, and Leak was living at Clermont, Queensland, and working as a teamster.

World War I

On 28 January 1915, Leak enlisted in Rockhampton as a private in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and was assigned to the fifth reinforcement draft for the 9th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. On 16 April, he embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on board the transport Kyarra. He joined his battalion on 22 June while it was involved in trench warfare defending the Anzac Cove beachhead on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. This fighting was part of the Gallipoli Campaign. Six days after Leak's arrival, the 9th Battalion was involved in a two-pronged attack against the Ottoman positions on what were known as "Sniper's Ridge" and "Knife Edge", close to Lone Pine. The attack was abortive, and resulted in the battalion suffering casualties of 37 killed and 62 wounded. Leak was with his battalion during the fruitless August Offensive, which was intended as a breakout from the beachhead. On 31 August, Leak reported sick and was evacuated with gastroenteritis, first via hospital ship to Malta, where he was hospitalised and diagnosed with dysentery. In late September he was evacuated to the United Kingdom where he was again hospitalised. He did not return to his unit until 23 February 1916, by which time it, along with the rest of the AIF, had been withdrawn back to Egypt for re-organisation.

In March 1916, Leak and the rest of his battalion sailed for France and the Western Front. They spent several weeks in a quiet sector of the line near Armentières, before deploying south to the Somme river valley, where they experienced their first fighting in France. On 1July, the Battle of the Somme commenced. This mainly British offensive involved attacks against German trench systems on either side of the Somme. British troops pushed slowly forward towards Bapaume until they were just short of the village of Pozières, at which time the Australian 1st Division entered the fray in the Battle of Pozières. The German positions at Pozières were known as the "Old German" (OG) trenchesOG1 and OG2. The Australians launched a preliminary operation on 22 July, but were repulsed. The following day, the division attacked again, this time with the 1st Brigade on the left, and the 3rd Brigade on the right. Leak's battalion was allocated a  sector on the far right flank of the divisional attack. The troops captured the first objective, but were held up by a German position where OG1 met "Pozières Trench".

The 9th Battalion was being held up by a pair of German machine guns. An intense bomb (hand grenade) fight began, during which the heavier Mills bombs used by the Australians were outranged by the lighter German Model 17 grenades. Leak ran forward and threw three Mills bombs into the machine gun post, then leapt into the post, attacking the garrison with his bayonet. By the time the rest of his platoon got to the post, Leak was wiping blood off his bayonet with his slouch hat. The fighting around Pozières continued after this incident, and two days later
the Germans laid down a tremendous artillery barrage on the positions that had been captured from them, described by the official Australian war correspondent, Charles Bean, as "among the heaviest that occurred either on the Somme or at Verdun". During the fighting and the subsequent deluge of shells, the 9th Battalion had been reduced from a strength of 1,016 men to 623.

On 31 July, Leak was recommended for the award of the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions at Pozières. At that time, the VC was the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces.

After Pozières, the 9th Battalion was relieved, but it was back in action in mid-August during the Battle of Mouquet Farm. During this fighting, the 9th Battalion suffered another 163 casualties. One of those casualties was Leak, who had suffered a serious wound to the back on 21 August, during a German artillery bombardment near the "Gibraltar" blockhouse. While he was in a medical facility in France, his VC was gazetted. The citation read:

Leak was evacuated to hospital in the United Kingdom on 13 September. On 4November, he was invested with his VC by King George V at Buckingham Palace. While in the UK, he breached military discipline on two occasions. In the first instance, he was charged for entering the Sergeants' Mess and demanding a drink, and disobeying his regimental sergeant major in January 1917. For this he was convicted and underwent fourteen days' detention. On 23 February, he went absent without leave until 2March, and following this conviction was punished with four days' detention and fifteen days' loss of pay.

On 23 March, Leak was transferred from the 9th Battalion to the 69th Battalion. The 69th Battalion was being raised in the United Kingdom as part of the short-lived 16th Brigade, 6th Division, which was being formed using men who were recovering from wounds or illness in the United Kingdom. In June, Leak gave evidence at the trial of an Australian soldier accused of wearing a VC ribbon on his uniform when he was not a recipient of the award. In his evidence, Leak said he had never asked the man about his VC, because "he objected to [being] questioned himself about his own deed." He went absent without leave again in July, but this time only received a fine. The 69th Battalion was disbanded to provide reinforcements to existing units, and on 11 August Leak was transferred back to the 9th Battalion and marched out to the Overseas Training Depot.

Leak returned to the Western Front in October, after his battalion had fought in the Battles of Broodseinde and Passchendaele in Belgium. By this stage, Leak was clearly affected by combat-related trauma and was not coping with the effects of the relentless shell-fire, and went absent without leave from his unit as it deployed forward into the front line to relieve Canadian troops on 1November. He was arrested five days later, was court-martialled on 23 November, and found guilty of desertion from the line between 1and 6November. During his trial, Leak said he was unable to stand artillery fire. His sentence was life imprisonment, but this was commuted to two years hard labour. Ultimately, the sentence was suspended, and Leak returned to his unit on 23 December. Leak continued to serve on the Western Front with his battalion until 7March 1918, when he was gassed during a lengthy bombardment of his unit's positions near Hollebeke. Medically evacuated to the United Kingdom once again, he did not return to his unit before the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

On 30 December 1918, after his court-martial sentence was finally remitted, Leak married Beatrice May Chapman in Cardiff, Wales. On 9February 1919, Leak and Beatrice sailed for Australia aboard the , arriving in Queensland on 26 March. On 10 April, he attended a reception in his honour at Rockhampton, but declined to speak, then returned to Clermont by train. He was discharged from the AIF on 31 May. In addition to his VC, he received the 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Later life and legacy

For a short time, Leak was involved in a firewood business with a couple of other returned servicemen, then spent time working in regional New South Wales. Next, he moved to remote mid-north South Australia where he found work boring wells. At some point he and his wife separated; it is unknown what happened to her. On 12 January 1927, he married Ada Victoria Bood-Smith; the couple were devoted to one another. In 1932, they moved to Esperance, Western Australia, where Leak worked in a garage. In 1937, Leak was awarded the King George VI Coronation Medal. In the same year, the Leak family moved back to South Australia, and settled near Crafers. They had eight children in total, although their first died within a year of her birth; the last was born in 1946.

Leak struggled his whole life with his war experiences, and was reluctant to talk about them for many years. One of his sons observed that "World War One destroyed him." He did not attend reunions or Anzac Day marches, and faded into obscurity. Later in life he shared some of his experiences with his children, remembering dead comrades and also those he had killed. He stored his VC in a box in his bedroom and it largely stayed there. In later life, Leak suffered from bronchitis and emphysema caused by his gassing in 1918. In 1953, Leak was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In 1964, Ada died suddenly. Two years later, a fake VC with Leak's name engraved on it surfaced in Melbourne, Victoria; the dealer was fined for being in possession of a forged VC.

On 20 October 1972, Leak died at Redwood Park and was buried alongside Ada in the Stirling cemetery.

A street in Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera, Queensland, is named after him. The John Leak monument was unveiled in Rockhampton on 20 April 2012 to honour Leak, who enlisted in the city. In 2015, while delivering the Ode of Remembrance, Leak's grandson Peter Townsend said his family always travel to Rockhampton for the Remembrance Day service, which is held annually at his grandfather's memorial. As of 2018, Leak's medals were in private hands.

Footnotes

References

Books

News

Websites

1890s births
1972 deaths
Military personnel from Portsmouth
Australian Army soldiers
Australian Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross
Australian people of Welsh descent
Australian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
People who were court-martialed
Burials in South Australia
20th-century Australian people
British emigrants to Australia
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the Commonwealth of Australia

John Leak