Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electrostatic coupling, or conduction. The disturbance may degrade the performance of the circuit or even stop it from functioning. In the case of a data path, these effects can range from an increase in error rate to a total loss of the data. Both human-made and natural sources generate changing electrical currents and voltages that can cause EMI: ignition systems, cellular network of mobile phones, lightning, solar flares, and auroras (northern/southern lights). EMI frequently affects AM radios. It can also affect mobile phones, FM radios, and televisions, as well as observations for radio astronomy and atmospheric science.

EMI can be used intentionally for radio jamming, as in electronic warfare.

History
Since the earliest days of radio communications, the negative effects of interference from both intentional and unintentional transmissions have been felt and the need to manage the radio frequency spectrum became apparent.

In 1933, a meeting of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in Paris recommended the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR) be set up to deal with the emerging problem of EMI. CISPR subsequently produced technical publications covering measurement and test techniques and recommended emission and immunity limits. These have evolved over the decades and form the basis of much of the world's EMC regulations today.

In 1979, legal limits were imposed on electromagnetic emissions from all digital equipment by the FCC in the US in response to the increased number of digital systems that were interfering with wired and radio communications. Test methods and limits were based on CISPR publications, although similar limits were already enforced in parts of Europe.

In the mid 1980s, the European Union member states adopted a number of "new approach" directives with the intention of standardizing technical requirements for products so that they do not become a barrier to trade within the EC. One of these was the EMC Directive (89/336/EC) and it applies to all equipment placed on the market or taken into service. Its scope covers all apparatus "liable to cause electromagnetic disturbance or the performance of which is liable to be affected by such disturbance".

This was the first time there was a legal requirement on immunity, as well as emissions on apparatus intended for the general population. Although there may be additional costs involved for some products to give them a known level of immunity, it increases their perceived quality as they are able to co-exist with apparatus in the active EM environment of modern times and with fewer problems.

Many countries now have similar requirements for products to meet some level of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) regulation.

Types

Electromagnetic interference divides into several categories according to the source and signal characteristics.

The origin of interference, often called "noise" in this context, can be human-made (artificial) or natural.

Continuous, or continuous wave (CW), interference arises where the source continuously emits at a given range of frequencies. This type is naturally divided into sub-categories according to frequency range, and as a whole is sometimes referred to as "DC to daylight". One common classification is into narrowband and broadband, according to the spread of the frequency range.

 Audio frequency, from very low frequencies up to around 20 kHz. Frequencies up to 100 kHz may sometimes be classified as audio. Sources include:
 Mains hum from: power supply units, nearby power supply wiring, transmission lines and substations.
 Audio processing equipment, such as audio power amplifiers and loudspeakers.
 Demodulation of a high-frequency carrier wave such as an FM radio transmission.
 Radio frequency interference (RFI), from typically 20 kHz to an upper limit which constantly increases as technology pushes it higher. Sources include:
 Wireless and radio frequency transmissions
 Television and radio receivers
 Industrial, scientific and medical equipment (ISM)
 Digital processing circuitry such as microcontrollers
Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS)
 Broadband noise may be spread across parts of either or both frequency ranges, with no particular frequency accentuated. Sources include:
 Solar activity
 Continuously operating spark gaps such as arc welders
 CDMA (spread-spectrum) mobile telephony

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), sometimes called a transient disturbance, arises where the source emits a short-duration pulse of energy. The energy is usually broadband by nature, although it often excites a relatively narrow-band damped sine wave response in the victim.

Sources divide broadly into isolated and repetitive events.

Sources of isolated EMP events include:

 Switching action of electrical circuitry, including inductive loads such as relays, solenoids, or electric motors.
 Power line surges/pulses
 Electrostatic discharge (ESD), as a result of two charged objects coming into close proximity or contact.
 Lightning electromagnetic pulse (LEMP), although typically a short series of pulses.
 Nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NEMP), as a result of a nuclear explosion. A variant of this is the high altitude EMP (HEMP) nuclear weapon, designed to create the pulse as its primary destructive effect.
 Non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NNEMP) weapons.

Sources of repetitive EMP events, sometimes as regular pulse trains, include:

 Electric motors
 Electrical ignition systems, such as in gasoline engines.
 Continual switching actions of digital electronic circuitry.

Conducted electromagnetic interference is caused by the physical contact of the conductors as opposed to radiated EMI, which is caused by induction (without physical contact of the conductors). Electromagnetic disturbances in the EM field of a conductor will no longer be confined to the surface of the conductor and will radiate away from it. This persists in all conductors and mutual inductance between two radiated electromagnetic fields will result in EMI.

Coupling mechanisms

Some of the technical terms which are employed can be used with differing meanings. Some phenomena may be referred to by various different terms. These terms are used here in a widely accepted way, which is consistent with other articles in the encyclopedia.

The basic arrangement of noise emitter or source, coupling path and victim, receptor or sink is shown in the figure below. Source and victim are usually electronic hardware devices, though the source may be a natural phenomenon such as a lightning strike, electrostatic discharge (ESD) or, in one famous case, the Big Bang at the origin of the Universe.

There are four basic coupling mechanisms: conductive, capacitive, magnetic or inductive, and radiative. Any coupling path can be broken down into one or more of these coupling mechanisms working together. For example the lower path in the diagram involves inductive, conductive and capacitive modes.

Conductive coupling occurs when the coupling path between the source and victim is formed by direct electrical contact with a conducting body, for example a transmission line, wire, cable, PCB trace or metal enclosure. Conducted noise is also characterised by the way it appears on different conductors:

 Common-mode coupling: noise appears in phase (in the same direction) on two conductors.
 Differential-mode coupling: noise appears out of phase (in opposite directions) on two conductors.

Inductive coupling occurs where the source and victim are separated by a short distance (typically less than a wavelength). Strictly, "Inductive coupling" can be of two kinds, electrical induction and magnetic induction. It is common to refer to electrical induction as capacitive coupling, and to magnetic induction as inductive coupling.

Capacitive coupling occurs when a varying electrical field exists between two adjacent conductors typically less than a wavelength apart, inducing a change in voltage on the receiving conductor.

Inductive coupling or magnetic coupling occurs when a varying magnetic field exists between two parallel conductors typically less than a wavelength apart, inducing a change in voltage along the receiving conductor.

Radiative coupling or electromagnetic coupling occurs when source and victim are separated by a large distance, typically more than a wavelength. Source and victim act as radio antennas: the source emits or radiates an electromagnetic wave which propagates across the space in between and is picked up or received by the victim.

ITU definition
Interference with the meaning of electromagnetic interference, also radio-frequency interference (EMI or RFI) is according to Article 1.166 of the International Telecommunication Unions (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) defined as "The effect of unwanted energy due to one or a combination of emissions, radiations, or inductions upon reception in a radiocommunication system, manifested by any performance degradation, misinterpretation, or loss of information which could be extracted in the absence of such unwanted energy".

This is also a definition used by the frequency administration to provide frequency assignments and assignment of frequency channels to radio stations or systems, as well as to analyze electromagnetic compatibility between radiocommunication services.

In accordance with ITU RR (article 1) variations of interference are classified as follows:
 permissible interference (RR 1.167)
 accepted interference (RR 1.168)
 harmful interference (RR 1.169)

Conducted interference

Conducted EMI is caused by the physical contact of the conductors as opposed to radiated EMI which is caused by induction (without physical contact of the conductors).

For lower frequencies, EMI is caused by conduction and, for higher frequencies, by radiation.

EMI through the ground wire is also very common in an electrical facility.

Susceptibilities of different radio technologies

Interference tends to be more troublesome with older radio technologies such as analogue amplitude modulation, which have no way of distinguishing unwanted in-band signals from the intended signal, and the omnidirectional antennas used with broadcast systems. Newer radio systems incorporate several improvements that enhance the selectivity. In digital radio systems, such as Wi-Fi, error-correction techniques can be used. Spread-spectrum and frequency-hopping techniques can be used with both analogue and digital signalling to improve resistance to interference. A highly directional receiver, such as a parabolic antenna or a diversity receiver, can be used to select one signal in space to the exclusion of others.

The most extreme example of digital spread-spectrum signalling to date is ultra-wideband (UWB), which proposes the use of large sections of the radio spectrum at low amplitudes to transmit high-bandwidth digital data. UWB, if used exclusively, would enable very efficient use of the spectrum, but users of non-UWB technology are not yet prepared to share the spectrum with the new system because of the interference it would cause to their receivers (the regulatory implications of UWB are discussed in the ultra-wideband article).

Interference to consumer devices
In the United States, the 1982 Public Law 97-259 allowed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the susceptibility of consumer electronic equipment.

Potential sources of RFI and EMI include: various types of transmitters, doorbell transformers, toaster ovens, electric blankets, ultrasonic pest control devices, electric bug zappers, heating pads, and touch controlled lamps. Multiple CRT computer monitors or televisions sitting too close to one another can sometimes cause a "shimmy" effect in each other, due to the electromagnetic nature of their picture tubes, especially when one of their de-gaussing coils is activated.

Electromagnetic interference at 2.4 GHz may be caused by 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n wireless devices, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and cordless telephones, video senders, and microwave ovens.

Switching loads (inductive, capacitive, and resistive), such as electric motors, transformers, heaters, lamps, ballast, power supplies, etc., all cause electromagnetic interference especially at currents above 2 A. The usual method used for suppressing EMI is by connecting a snubber network, a resistor in series with a capacitor, across a pair of contacts. While this may offer modest EMI reduction at very low currents, snubbers do not work at currents over 2 A with electromechanical contacts.

Another method for suppressing EMI is the use of ferrite core noise suppressors (or ferrite beads), which are inexpensive and which clip on to the power lead of the offending device or the compromised device.

Switched-mode power supplies can be a source of EMI, but have become less of a problem as design techniques have improved, such as integrated power factor correction.

Most countries have legal requirements that mandate electromagnetic compatibility: electronic and electrical hardware must still work correctly when subjected to certain amounts of EMI, and should not emit EMI, which could interfere with other equipment (such as radios).

Radio frequency signal quality has declined throughout the 21st century by roughly one decibel per year as the spectrum becomes increasingly crowded. This has inflicted a Red Queen's race on the mobile phone industry as companies have been forced to put up more cellular towers (at new frequencies) that then cause more interference thereby requiring more investment by the providers and frequent upgrades of mobile phones to match.

Standards

The International Special Committee for Radio Interference or CISPR (French acronym for "Comité International Spécial des Perturbations Radioélectriques"), which is a committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) sets international standards for radiated and conducted electromagnetic interference. These are civilian standards for domestic, commercial, industrial and automotive sectors. These standards form the basis of other national or regional standards, most notably the European Norms (EN) written by CENELEC (European committee for electrotechnical standardisation). US organizations include the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the US Military (MILSTD).

EMI in integrated circuits

Integrated circuits are often a source of EMI, but they must usually couple their energy to larger objects such as heatsinks, circuit board planes and cables to radiate significantly.

On integrated circuits, important means of reducing EMI are: the use of bypass or decoupling capacitors on each active device (connected across the power supply, as close to the device as possible), rise time control of high-speed signals using series resistors, and IC power supply pin filtering. Shielding is usually a last resort after other techniques have failed, because of the added expense of shielding components such as conductive gaskets.

The efficiency of the radiation depends on the height above the ground plane or power plane (at RF, one is as good as the other) and the length of the conductor in relation to the wavelength of the signal component (fundamental frequency, harmonic or transient such as overshoot, undershoot or ringing). At lower frequencies, such as 133 MHz, radiation is almost exclusively via I/O cables; RF noise gets onto the power planes and is coupled to the line drivers via the VCC and GND pins. The RF is then coupled to the cable through the line driver as common-mode noise. Since the noise is common-mode, shielding has very little effect, even with differential pairs. The RF energy is capacitively coupled from the signal pair to the shield and the shield itself does the radiating. One cure for this is to use a braid-breaker or choke to reduce the common-mode signal.

At higher frequencies, usually above 500 MHz, traces get electrically longer and higher above the plane. Two techniques are used at these frequencies: wave shaping with series resistors and embedding the traces between the two planes. If all these measures still leave too much EMI, shielding such as RF gaskets and copper or conductive tape can be used. Most digital equipment is designed with metal or conductive-coated plastic cases.

RF immunity and testing
Any unshielded semiconductor (e.g. an integrated circuit) will tend to act as a detector for those radio signals commonly found in the domestic environment (e.g. mobile phones). Such a detector can demodulate the high frequency mobile phone carrier (e.g., GSM850 and GSM1900, GSM900 and GSM1800) and produce low-frequency (e.g., 217 Hz) demodulated signals. This demodulation manifests itself as unwanted audible buzz in audio appliances such as microphone amplifier, speaker amplifier, car radio, telephones etc. Adding onboard EMI filters or special layout techniques can help in bypassing EMI or improving RF immunity.
Some ICs are designed (e.g., LMV831-LMV834, MAX9724) to have integrated RF filters or a special design that helps reduce any demodulation of high-frequency carrier.

Designers often need to carry out special tests for RF immunity of parts to be used in a system. These tests are often done in an anechoic chamber with a controlled RF environment where the test vectors produce a RF field similar to that produced in an actual environment.

RFI in radio astronomy
Interference in radio astronomy, where it is commonly referred to as radio-frequency interference (RFI), is any source of transmission that is within the observed frequency band other than the celestial sources themselves. Because transmitters on and around the Earth can be many times stronger than the astronomical signal of interest, RFI is a major concern for performing radio astronomy. Natural sources of interference, such as lightning and the Sun, are also often referred to as RFI.

Some of the frequency bands that are very important for radio astronomy, such as the 21-cm HI line at 1420 MHz, are protected by regulation. However, modern radio-astronomical observatories such as VLA, LOFAR, and ALMA have a very large bandwidth over which they can observe. Because of the limited spectral space at radio frequencies, these frequency bands cannot be completely allocated to radio astronomy; for example, redshifted images of the 21-cm line from the reionization epoch can overlap with the FM broadcast band (88–108 MHz), and therefore radio telescopes need to deal with RFI in this bandwidth.

Techniques to deal with RFI range from filters in hardware to advanced algorithms in software. One way to deal with strong transmitters is to filter out the frequency of the source completely. This is for example the case for the LOFAR observatory, which filters out the FM radio stations between 90 and 110 MHz. It is important to remove such strong sources of interference as soon as possible, because they might "saturate" the highly sensitive receivers (amplifiers and analogue-to-digital converters), which means that the received signal is stronger than the receiver can handle. However, filtering out a frequency band implies that these frequencies can never be observed with the instrument.

A common technique to deal with RFI within the observed frequency bandwidth, is to employ RFI detection in software. Such software can find samples in time, frequency or time-frequency space that are contaminated by an interfering source. These samples are subsequently ignored in further analysis of the observed data. This process is often referred to as data flagging. Because most transmitters have a small bandwidth and are not continuously present such as lightning or citizens' band (CB) radio devices, most of the data remains available for the astronomical analysis. However, data flagging can not solve issues with continuous broad-band transmitters, such as windmills, digital video or digital audio transmitters.

Another way to manage RFI is to establish a radio quiet zone (RQZ). RQZ is a well-defined area surrounding receivers that has special regulations to reduce RFI in favor of radio astronomy observations within the zone. The regulations may include special management of spectrum and power flux or power flux-density limitations. The controls within the zone may cover elements other than radio transmitters or radio devices. These include aircraft controls and control of unintentional radiators such as industrial, scientific and medical devices, vehicles, and power lines. The first RQZ for radio astronomy is United States National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ), established in 1958.

RFI on environmental monitoring
Prior to the introduction of Wi-Fi, one of the biggest applications of 5 GHz band was the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar. The decision to use 5 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi was finalized at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2003; however, meteorological authorities were not involved in the process. The subsequent lax implementation and misconfiguration of DFS had caused significant disruption in weather radar operations in a number of countries around the world. In Hungary, the weather radar system was declared non-operational for more than a month. Due to the severity of interference, South African weather services ended up abandoning C band operation, switching their radar network to S band.

Transmissions on adjacent bands to those used by passive remote sensing, such as weather satellites, have caused interference, sometimes significant. There is concern that adoption of insufficiently regulated 5G could produce major interference issues. Significant interference can  impair numerical weather prediction performance and incur  negative economic and public safety impacts. These concerns led US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in February 2019 to urge the FCC to cancel a proposed spectrum auction, which was rejected.

See also

 Electromagnetic radiation
 Electromagnetic shielding
 Faraday cage
 Interference (communication)
 Power integrity
 Radio receiver
 Signal integrity
 Signal noise
 Twisted pair

References

External links

 ARRL, RFI
 Interference Handbook
 EMC Design Fundamentals
 Clemson's EMC Page (EMI Tools and Information)
 EMC Tutorials

Electromagnetic compatibility
Television terminology

Electromagnetic interference


The Giant (, Velikan) is an opera in three acts by Sergei Prokofiev.   The 12 page work was written for performance by the nine-year-old composer's family.

Composition history
In 1899, at the age of eight, Prokofiev, who had already evinced remarkable musical abilities and had composed some piano pieces, was taken by his parents to Moscow, where he heard opera for the first time, (including Alexander Borodin's Prince Igor and Charles Gounod's Faust). Keen to write an opera of his own, he wrote out a libretto in three acts and six scenes.  With the help of his mother, the music he devised for this was transcribed. The plot was elaborated from the children's games he played with his friends Egorka and Stenya, whose names are preserved in those of the characters.  In the following year, the first act of the opera was given a premiere by the family at the estate of one of Prokofiev's uncles near Kaluga, with his aunt Tatiyana taking the title part, and the composer and his cousins taking the other leading roles. There is no record of further performances.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera is apparently nearly entirely lost, although Nestyev quotes some musical extracts.

A terrible Giant tries to kidnap the little girl Ustinya, who is rescued by her friends Sergeyev and Yegorov with the assistance of a good King.  However, according to Prokofiev's mother, the opera ended with the defeat of the King by the Giant. She wrote, "Now at the time of extremely strict monarchy, this idea was not approved of by the paternal authority, and the young composer, very much put out by this censorship, would not consent to write an ending involving a reconciliation.". Perhaps this refers to an earlier version, but scholarship has not advanced on this tricky point.

Reception
The composer recalled that 'although I had directed the rehearsal [...] I was so nervous that when I came out on stage I began to sing the wrong part'. Nevertheless, the audience of six applauded and the composer's uncle said 'When your operas are performed on the Imperial stage, remember that your first opera was staged in my house'.

A TV documentary film about Prokofiev by Andrey Nekrasov The Prodigal Son (1991) contains a 'recreation' of the premiere of The Giant,  but this is inaccurate since it shows Prokofiev at the piano, whereas it was his cousin Andrei who accompanied.

References
Notes

Sources
Nestyev, Israel V. Prokofiev, (Trans. Florence Jonas). Stanford University Press, 1961
Prokofiev,Sergei. Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences, Honolulu, 2000
Samuel, Claude. Prokofiev, New York: Penguin, 1971

Operas by Sergei Prokofiev
Russian-language operas
Operas
1900 operas
Lost operas
Fiction about giants

The Giant (opera)


Charles Soret (born 23 September 1854, Geneva, Switzerland; died 4 April 1904) was a Swiss physicist and chemist. He is known for his work on thermodiffusion (the so-called Soret effect).

Life
Charles Soret was the son of Jacques-Louis Soret, professor of physical medicine at University of Geneva, and Clémentine Odier.  In 1872, Charles  graduated from an art college in Geneva and, two years later, he added a degree in mathematics. In addition, he also attended lectures in physics and other sciences.  He continued studies in mathematics at the Sorbonne, where he received his MA in 1876.  He believed that a good physicist is first of all a good mathematician; therefore, only afterwards he focused on physics in which he obtained a master's degree two years later.

Soon, he was offered a place in the Department of crystallography and mineralogy at the University of Geneva. There, in 1879, he became a lecturer and a full professor in 1881.

In 1879, he published his first discussion on thermodiffusion on the basis of experiments with solutions of NaCl and KNO3 in pipes with heated or cooled ends. He noticed higher concentrations at the cooler end of the pipe. His experiments confirmed the results of C. Ludwig (published 20 years earlier) of which Soret probably did not know.

In addition to thermal migration, he also conducted research on refractometry.

In 1898, he became the rector of the University of Geneva. He died in April 1904 due to gastrointestinal illness, a few days after a successful operation.

Sources

Swiss chemists
Swiss mineralogists
Swiss physicists
University of Paris alumni
Academic staff of the University of Geneva
Rectors of the University of Geneva
1854 births
1904 deaths

Charles Soret


The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate. The Legislature meets in the New Jersey State House, in the state capital of Trenton.

History

Colonial period
The New Jersey Legislature was established in 1702 upon the surrender by the Proprietors of East Jersey and those of West Jersey of the right of government to Queen Anne. Anne's government united the two colonies as the Province of New Jersey, a royal colony, establishing a new system of government.

On December 6, 1775, Governor William Franklin prorogued the New Jersey Legislature until January 3, 1776, but it never met again.  On May 30, 1776, Franklin attempted to convene the legislature, but was met instead with an order by the New Jersey Provincial Congress for his arrest. On July 2, 1776, the Provincial Congress approved a new constitution which ordered new elections; on August 13 an entire new legislature was elected.

Provincial Congress and the Constitution of 1776
In 1775, representatives from New Jersey's 13 counties established a Provincial Congress to supersede the Royal Governor.

The Constitution of 1844
The New Jersey Constitution of 1844 provided for a direct popular election of the governor, and gave him the power to veto bills passed by the Legislature. The General Assembly was expanded to 60 members, elected annually and apportioned to the counties based on population.

Regardless of any changes, the Legislature met infrequently, had high turnover among its members, and was far from being the most influential or powerful organ of state government.

The Constitution of 1947 and modern developments
New Jersey adopted its current constitution in 1947. Under this constitution, the governor was given additional veto powers and the ability to serve two terms. Hundreds of independent agencies were consolidated into 20 principal executive departments under the control of the governor. Senators' terms were extended to four years; assemblymen's terms to two years.

In 1966, the Senate was expanded from 21 to 40 members and the General Assembly from 60 to 80. Following a United States Supreme Court decision in 1964 and a New Jersey Supreme Court decision in 1972, the state's legislative districts were reapportioned into the current arrangement. Two more modern developments have also helped shape the Legislature: the increase in importance of legislative committees and the development of longer tenures for the legislative leadership.

Organization

Powers
The Legislature has the power to enact laws by a majority vote of both houses, subject to the Governor of New Jersey's ability to veto a bill. A veto may be overridden by the Legislature if there is a two-thirds majority in favor of overriding in each House.

By a three-fifths vote of each house, the Legislature may propose an amendment to the State Constitution. Alternatively, it may propose an amendment by a majority vote two consecutive years. The Senate has the sole authority to confirm or reject gubernatorial nominees for judicial and some executive positions.

Houses, members, and qualifications
The current organization of the Legislature is outlined by Article IV ("Legislative") of the New Jersey State Constitution of 1947.To become a member of the Assembly, an individual must be at least 21 years old, must have resided in their district for one year and the state for two years, and must live in the represented district. To become a Senator, an individual must be 30 years old, must have lived in their district for two years and the state for four years, and again must live in the represented district.

Current legislature
The sitting Legislature is the 215th Legislature of the State of New Jersey.

Currently, the Democrats are the majority party in both Houses. In the Senate there are 24 Democrats and 16 Republicans. There are 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans serving in the General Assembly.

Senate

The senate is the upper house in the New Jersey legislature. Currently, 40 people serve in the Senate for two years after redistricting, followed by four-year terms.

General Assembly

The general assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey legislature. Currently, 80 people are in the New Jersey legislature for two-year terms.

References

Other websites
 New Jersey Legislature
 New Jersey Senate Republicans
 New Jersey Senate Democrats
 New Jersey Assembly Republicans
 New Jersey Assembly Democrats

State legislatures of the United States
Government of New Jersey
Bicameral legislatures

New Jersey Legislature


Paromomisini is a aminoglycoside antibiotic, first isolated from Streptomyces krestomuceticus in the 1950s. It was discovered by Parke Davis (now Pfizer).

It is on the World Health Organization's (Mokgatlo wa Maphelo wa Lefase) List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system.

Paromomisini


Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is the lead U.S. Defense Department program promoting cooperation and understanding between civilian employers and their National Guard and Reserve employees. Established in 1972, ESGR operates within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. ESGR develops and promotes supportive work environments for service members in the Reserve Components through outreach, recognition, and educational opportunities that increase awareness of applicable laws and resolves employer conflicts between the service members and their employers.

Statement of Support
The Statement of Support program is the cornerstone of ESGR's efforts to gain and maintain employer support. The program aims to develop employers into advocates for employee participation in the military. Supportive employers are critical to maintaining the strength and readiness of the nation's Guard and Reserve units. Employers signing a statement of support pledge that:

1. To recognize, honor and enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA);
2. To provide managers and supervisors with the tools they need to effectively manage those employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve;
3.  Appreciate the values, leadership and unique skills service members bring to the workforce and will encourage opportunities to employ Guardsmen, Reservists, and Veterans;
4. To continually recognize and support service members and their families in peace, crisis and war.

The Chairman of the Board of General Motors signed the first Statement of Support on December 13, 1972. Since then, thousands of employers—ranging from Chrysler to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma—have followed suit, as did every cabinet secretary and federal agency in 2005.

Awards
To recognize employers for policies and practices that facilitate employee participation in the Guard and Reserve, ESGR initiated the following awards:

 The Patriot Award honors supervisors for their superior support of Guard and Reserve employees. Nominations must come from a Guard or Reserve member or a family member. Nominated employers receive a certificate of recognition and a lapel pin.
 The Spouse Patriot Award is for a spouse of a Reservist or Guardsman to thank their boss. Though not required by law, many employers voluntarily assist Guard and Reserve spouses who often share the challenges of military service.  Childcare, managing the household, and work schedules often have to be adjusted when one spouse leaves to serve our country.
  The Seven Seals Award is the broadest and most inclusive award given by ESGR and is presented at the discretion of the State Chair or by ESGR senior leadership. The Seven Seals Award is in recognition of significant individual or organizational achievement, initiative, or support that promotes and supports the ESGR mission, to include the efforts of the more than 4,700 volunteers who carry out ESGR's mission across the Nation on a daily basis.
 The Above and Beyond Award, ESGR's second-level award, is selected and presented by ESGR field committees to recognize employers at the state level who have gone above and beyond the requirements of the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
 The Pro Patria award recognizes leadership practices and personnel policies that provide the greatest support to Guard and Reserve employees. Each ESGR field committee presents the award to one small, one large, and one public-sector employer in each committee's state or territory.
 The Extraordinary Employer Support Award was created to recognize sustained employer support of the National Guard and Reserve Service. Only prior recipients of the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award or the Pro-Patria Award, who have demonstrated sustained support for three years after receiving one of those awards, are eligible for consideration at the committee level. Subsequent awards can be given in three-year increments from the initial award.
 The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their outstanding support of Guard and Reserve employees. Fifteen awards are presented annually to small, large, and public sector employers, who are further recognized in meetings with a senior governmental official, including the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, or member of Congress.

Ombudsman Services Program
ESGR's primary means for mediating workplace conflict is its Ombudsman Services Program. This national network consists of more than 900 volunteers within 54 field committees throughout the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

While each ombudsman receives extensive training on USERRA and dispute-resolution techniques, ombudsmen do not offer legal counsel or advice. Instead, they serve as an informal, neutral and free resource. In FY2013, ESGR ombudsmen successfully mediated 78 percent of their 2,554 cases.

If an ESGR ombudsman is unable to facilitate a resolution, parties have the option to seek private counsel and/or a formal investigation through the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service, the Office of Special Counsel, or the Department of Justice.

Employers or service members who have a question can reach an ESGR ombudsmen in the ESGR National Call Center M-F, 8am-6pm ET at 1-800-336-4590.

See also
Veterans' Employment and Training Service

References

External links

ESGR YouTube channel
ESGR Statement of Support Program
ESGR Ombudsman Services Program
ESGR Patriot Award
Proclamation by President Obama of National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, 2014
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program

United States Department of Defense
Employers


The Opel Movano is a mid-size van produced bi the German automaker Opel. It wis released in 1998 as a jynt development bi Opel, Renault an Nissan an is sauld as a Renault Master or Nissan Interstar, an in the Breetish Isles as the Vauxhall Movano. The vehicle is available in a wide range o variants, includin a choice o three wheelbases, three ruif heights an three gross vehicle weights. As well as cargo carrying panel vans, thare are sax an nine seat Combi variants, a seiven seat crew cab an chassis cabs models. A sixteen seat bus model is an aa available.

Movano A (1998–2003)

The Vauxhall Movano is a cooperation atween the French-Japanese Alliance Renault-Nissan an Opel. The production wis recorded afore the formation o the alliance. The Movano wis identical tae the Renault Master. Bi 2002, Nissan released thair version o the Movano, the Nissan Interstar.

Movano A (2003–2010)

The facelift version o the Opel Movano wis offered atween 2003 tae 2010. The Movano received a completely redesigned front an the rear wis slichtly modified. The model range wis expanded, an thare are twa new Common Rail-Turbo Diesel engines wi 74 an 100 kW (101 hp an 136). In addition tae a five-speed manual gearbox is an automatic transmission cried Tec-Shift is available.

Movano B
Again in cooperation wi Renault an Nissan, the aw-new Movano B haes been available syne Mairch 2010.
Thare are fower different lenth options available wi a choice atween front-an rear-wheel drive.

Movano
Vans

en:Renault Master

Opel Movano


"Selfish" is the second episode of the seventh season of the American medical drama House. It aired on September 27, 2010. House (Hugh Laurie) treats a patient with sickle cell trait, while dealing with the effects of his burgeoning relationship with Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) on his work.

Plot

The patient
The patient of the week is Della Carr, an active and seemingly healthy teenager, who suddenly collapses with heart arrhythmia at a charity function for congenital muscular dystrophy, from which her brother Hugo suffers. At the hospital, she develops further symptoms of kidney failure and bleeding lung, which requires her to have a lung transplant. The donor lung also fails. After a chance conversation with Hugo, and subsequent questioning of Della, House arrives at the diagnosis of sickle cell trait.

House and Cuddy
This episode marks the first time Cuddy and House go to work after getting together. When House announces to his team and Wilson that he is dating Cuddy, Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) is disbelieving, Chase (Jesse Spencer) is indifferent, Foreman (Omar Epps) is in favor, whereas Taub (Peter Jacobson) is apprehensive about how the relationship will affect the team's working.

Cuddy and House begin to give in to each other's decisions to avoid unpleasant confrontations. When House realizes this, he avoids Cuddy in the workplace, rather than speak to her about it. Cuddy tries unsuccessfully to appoint someone else as his supervisor, but no one is willing to take on the job.

Things reach a head when House—unable to further back down and risk his patient's life—goes against Cuddy and informs Della's father that she can be saved by her brother's lung and marrow. When the parents decide against the transplant, unwilling to risk Hugo's life, House and Cuddy get into a heated argument about the correct way to proceed. Ultimately, Hugo takes away the decision from them by convincing Della to agree to the transplant. House and Cuddy realize that the argument was the first honest conversation they have had at work, and resolve to be brutally honest with each other henceforth.

Clinic patient
House begins to voluntarily turn up for clinic duty, and gets involved with a 102-year-old man and his 80-year-old son. Unbeknownst to each other, the father wants his son to let him go and move out to a health care facility, whereas the son feels that the father is too dependent on him, and not ready to let go. Both bribe House to fake test results, and to advise that the father be moved to a facility. House initially does so, but after diagnosing the father with zinc poisoning from too much denture cream use, he returns the money to both of them, and asks them to get couples therapy.

On the side, House shows an uncharacteristic lack of curiosity about Thirteen's (Olivia Wilde) whereabouts, while Chase starts dating four women simultaneously.

Reception

Critical response
The AV Club gave this episode a B score.

Ratings
This episode was watched by 10.54 million viewers in America.

References

External links
 "Selfish" at Fox.com

House (season 7) episodes
2010 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by Dan Attias

Selfish (House)


A distributional–relational database, or word-vector database, is a database management system (DBMS) that uses distributional word-vector representations to enrich the semantics of structured data.

As distributional word-vectors can be built automatically from large-scale corpora, this enrichment supports the construction of databases which can embed large-scale commonsense background knowledge into their operations. Distributional-Relational models can be applied to the construction of schema-agnostic databases (databases in which users can query the data without being aware of its schema), semantic search, schema-integration and inductive and abductive reasoning as well as different applications in which a semantically flexible knowledge representation model is needed. The main advantage of distributional–relational models over purely logical / semantic web models is the fact that the core semantic associations can be automatically captured from corpora in contrast to the definition of manually curated ontologies and rule knowledge bases.

Distributional–relational models

Distributional–relational models were first formalized  as a mechanism to cope with the vocabulary/semantic gap between users and the schema behind the data. In this scenario, distributional semantic relatedness measures, combined with semantic pivoting heuristics can support the approximation between user queries (expressed in their own vocabulary) and data (expressed in the vocabulary of the designer).

In this model, the database symbols (entities and relations) are embedded into a distributional semantic space and have a geometric interpretation under a latent or explicit semantic space. The geometric aspect supports the semantic approximation between entities from different databases or between a query term and a database entity. The distributional relational model then becomes a double layered model where the semantics of the structured data provides the fine-grained semantics intended by the database designer, which is extended by the distributional semantic model which contains the semantic associations expressed at a broader use.
These models support the generalization from a closed communication scenario (in which database designers and users live in the same context, e.g. the same organization) to an open communication scenario (e.g. different organizations, the Web), creating an abstraction layer between users and the specific representation of the conceptual model.

References

Computer data
Database management systems
 Natural language processing software
 Heuristics
 Language modeling
 Computational linguistics

Distributional–relational database


A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotion device. Birds and humans have two legs, but many animals have four or six or even more. A biped is an animal with two legs and quadruped is an animal with four legs.
Centipedes and millipedes have many more legs.

By extension, the word is also used for some objects. For example tables and chairs, also have legs to hold them up.

People also use the word "leg" in idioms, for example:
you do not have a leg to stand on (that means "you have no support; you have no chance in this discussion")
to leg it (to run)
to pull someone's leg (to play a little joke on someone for fun by trying to make them believe something that is not true)

Components
A leg is a structure of gross anatomy, meaning that it is large enough to be seen unaided. The components depend on the animal. In humans and other mammals, a leg includes the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, nerves, and skin. In insects, the leg includes most of these things, except that insects have an exoskeleton that replaces the function of both the bones and the skin.

Sometimes the end of the leg, or foot, is considered part of the leg; other times it is considered separate. Similarly, the hip joint or other place where the leg attaches to the main body may be considered separate or part of the leg.

Robotic leg
A robotic leg is moved by an actuator, which is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current and converts that energy into some kind of motion.

Prosthetic leg
A prosthetic leg is an artificial leg that is used to replace one that has been lost

Basic English 850 words
Limbs and extremities

Leg


The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries. From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 68 members.

The ADB was modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members' capital subscriptions. ADB releases an annual report that summarizes its operations, budget and other materials for review by the public. The ADB-Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) enrolls about 300 students annually in academic institutions located in 10 countries within the Region. Upon completion of their study programs, scholars are expected to contribute to the economic and social development of their home countries.

ADB is an official United Nations Observer.

As of 31 December 2018, Japan and the United States each holds the largest proportion of shares at 15.571%. China holds 6.429%, India holds 6.317%, and Australia holds 5.773%.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia.  The President of the Asian Development Bank is Abhist Vejjajiva

References

Banks of Japan
1966 establishments in Asia

Asian Development Bank


The Cavehill and Whitewell Tramway operated steam powered, then horse drawn and finally electric tramway services between Cavehill and Whitewell in Belfast, Ireland between 1882 and 1911. It was subsumed into Belfast Corporation Tramways.

History
The tramway was authorised by the Cavehill and Whitewell Tramway Order of 1881. Track-laying started on 23 January 1882, an inspection was undertaken by Major General Charles Scrope Hutchinson on 16 June 1882, and he declared it fit for traffic. The line was opened on 1 July 1882 with just one steam engine, ordered from Kitson and Company. The route ran from Chichester Park Gate at the terminus of the Belfast Street Tramways line and terminated at the Glengormley Arms. By 1892 the steam tram engines were giving trouble and horses were employed to maintain the service. By 1896, all steam engines had been sold. By 1905, the company had concluded a contract with British Electric Traction for the electrification of the line and this was completed and opened to the public on 12 February 1906. This modernisation project had cost £43,555. In 1910 Belfast Corporation made an offer to purchase the company, and this agreement received Royal Assent on 26 July 1910, however, legal difficulties delayed the formal takeover until 1911.

Fleet
The steam tram engines were obtained from Kitson and Company:

No. 1 – Kitson Works No T/49 1882
No. 2 – Kitson Works No T/54 1882 (sold in 1891 to the Vale of Clyde Tramway Company)
No. 3 – Kitson Works No T/51 1886 (bought from D. and W. Grant, Belfast)

There were ten electric trams bought from Brush Electrical Engineering Company of Loughborough in 1906. Two were sold to Mansfield and District Light Railways in 1912.

Closure
Subsequent to the closure of the Cavehill and Whitewell Tramway in 1911, the route was operated by Belfast Corporation Tramways until 1949, when the trams were replaced by trolley buses.

References

1882 establishments in Ireland
1911 disestablishments in Ireland
Tram transport in Ireland
Transport in Belfast
History of Belfast

Cavehill and Whitewell Tramway


Christopher Ofili,  (born 10 October 1968) is a British painter who is best known for his paintings incorporating elephant dung. He was Turner Prize-winner and one of the Young British Artists. Since 2005, Ofili has been living and working in Trinidad and Tobago, where he currently resides in the city of Port of Spain. He also has lived and worked in London and Brooklyn.

Ofili has utilized resin, beads, oil paint, glitter, lumps of elephant dung and cut-outs from pornographic magazines as painting elements. His work has been classified as "punk art."

Early life and education
Ofili was born in Manchester, England, to parents May and Michael Ofili of Nigerian descent. When he was eleven, his father left the family and moved back to Nigeria. Ofili was for some years educated at St. Pius X High School for Boys, and then at Xaverian College in Victoria Park, Manchester. Ofili completed a foundation course in art at Tameside College in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester and then studied in London, at the Chelsea School of Art from 1988 to 1991 and at the Royal College of Art from 1991 to 1993. In the autumn of 1992, he got a one-year exchange scholarship to Universität der Künste Berlin.

Ofili visited Trinidad for the first time in 2000, when he was invited by an international art trust to attend a painting workshop in Port of Spain. He permanently moved to Trinidad in 2005. In 2002, he married Roba El-Essawy, former singer with trip-hop band Attica Blues. They divorced in 2019. He maintains a studio in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Career
Ofili's early work was heavily influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Georg Baselitz, Philip Guston, and George Condo. Peter Doig was doing graduate work at the Chelsea College of Arts when Ofili was an undergraduate, and they soon became friends. In 2014, art critic Roberta Smith held that Ofili has much in common with painters like Mickalene Thomas, Kerry James Marshall, Robert Colescott and Ellen Gallagher, and with more distant precedents such as Bob Thompson, Beauford Delaney and William H. Johnson.

Ofili was established through exhibitions by Charles Saatchi at his gallery in north London and the travelling exhibition Sensation (1997), becoming recognised as one of the few British artists of African / Caribbean descent to break through as a member of the Young British Artists group. Ofili has also had numerous solo shows since the early 1990s, including at Southampton City Art Gallery]. In 1998, Ofili won the Turner Prize, and in 2003 he was selected to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale of that year, where his work for the British Pavilion was done in collaboration with the architect David Adjaye.

In 1992 he won a scholarship that allowed him to travel to Zimbabwe. Ofili studied cave paintings there, which had some effect on his style.

Between 1995 and 2005, Ofili focused on a series of watercolors, each about 9½ by 6½ inches and produced in a single sitting. They predominantly feature heads of men and women, as well as some studies of flowers and birds. Ofili's paintings also make reference to blaxploitation films and gangsta rap, seeking to question racial and sexual stereotypes in a humorous way. In a series of faces that Ofili called Harems, each arrangement consists of one man with as many as four women on each side of him.

Ofili's work is often built up in layers of paint, resin, glitter, dung (mainly elephant) and other materials to create a collage. Though Ofili's detractors often state that he "splatters" elephant dung on his pictures, this is inaccurate: he sometimes applies it directly to the canvas in the form of dried spherical lumps, and sometimes, in the same form, uses it as varnished foot-like supports on which the paintings stand.

Ofili has been founder and prime mover behind the short-lived Freeness Project. This project involved the coming together of artists, producers and musicians of minority ethnic groups (Asian and African) in an attempt to expose the music that may be unheard in other spaces. Freeness allowed the creativity of unsigned contemporary British ethnic minority artists to be heard. The result of months of tours to 10 cities in the UK resulted in Freeness Volume 1 – a compilation of works that were shown during the tour.

After relocating to Trinidad in 2005, Ofili began a series of blue paintings inspired by the Jab Jab or "blue devils" who participate in the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, and the Expressionist group of German and Russian artists, Der Blaue Reiter. These paintings often employed the use of a silver, acrylic background with layers of dark oil pigment on top. Later iterations of these works were shown at Ofili's solo show Chris Ofili: Day and Night at The New Museum of New York which were installed in a very dimly lit room, causing viewers to adjust their eyes to the darkness in order to see the paintings.

Ofili was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to art. Ofili was included in the 2019 edition of the Powerlist, ranking the 100 most influential Black Britons.

Exhibitions
Ofili's work was featured in a museum in the 1995 exhibition Brilliant! New Art from London at the Walker Art Center. Significant solo exhibitions include the Arts Club of Chicago (2010), Kestnergesellschaft, Hanover (2006), the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2005), and Southampton City Art Gallery (1998). In 2010, Tate Britain presented the most extensive exhibition of his work to date. In 2014, The New Museum in New York presented the first, major solo show of Ofili's work in the U.S. titled Chris Ofili: Night and Day.

Controversy

The Holy Virgin Mary
One of his paintings, The Holy Virgin Mary, a depiction of the Virgin Mary, was at issue in a lawsuit between the mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art when it was exhibited there in 1999 as a part of the "Sensation" exhibit. The painting depicted a Black Madonna surrounded by images from blaxploitation movies and close-ups of female genitalia cut from pornographic magazines, and elephant dung. These were formed into shapes reminiscent of the cherubim and seraphim commonly depicted in images of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary. Following the scandal surrounding this painting, Bernard Goldberg ranked Ofili No. 86 in 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. Red Grooms showed his support of the artist by purchasing one of Ofili's paintings in 1999, even after Giuliani famously exclaimed, "There's nothing in the First Amendment that supports horrible and disgusting projects!" The painting was owned by David Walsh and was on display at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania. Steven A. Cohen then owned it for three years and donated the painting to the Museum of Modern Art.

The Upper Room and the Tate Gallery

The Upper Room is an installation of 13 paintings of rhesus macaque monkeys by Ofili in a specially designed room. It was bought by the Tate Gallery in 2005 and caused controversy as Ofili was on the board of the Tate Trustees at the time of the purchase. In 2006 the Charity Commission censured the Tate for this purchase.

Art market
His Orgena, a glittery portrait of a black woman created by the artist for his Turner Prize-winning exhibit at the Tate in 1998 was sold to an American collector for a record GBP 1.8 million, over its GBP 1 million high estimate, at Christie's London in 2010. In 2015, art collector David Walsh sold Ofili's 8-foot-tall The Holy Virgin Mary for 2.9 million pounds at Christie's.

References

External links
Caroline Deeds and Kate Vogel "Artist Chris Ofili: beyond the tears", The Guardian, 3 February 2010. Tate Media film about Chris Ofili's 2010 exhibition at Tate Modern and how his move to Trinidad has freed up his work.

Chris Ofili page, David Zwirner.
Victoria Miro Gallery: Chris Ofili
"Turner Prize 1998 artists: Chris Ofili", Tate.
"Chris Ofili profile", BBC, 1 December 1998
Defence of the Tate The Upper Room purchase.
Criticism of the Tate The Upper Room purchase. Stuckism.
Mark Hudson, "Chris Ofili: 'I wander deep into the forest - where it's scary'", The Telegraph, 25 January 2010.
Chris Ofili, Rizzoli International, Fall 2009. Contributors include David Adjaye, Thelma Golden, Okwui Enwezor, Peter Doig and Kara Walker.
"Shock and awe: The art of Chris Ofili"; feature by Michael Glover, and extract from "Ekow Eshun interviews Chris Ofili", edited by Helen Little in Chris Ofili (Tate Publishing, 2010), The Independent, 22 January 2010.
Chris Ofili. Edited by Massimiliano Gioni, Gary Carrion-Murayari and Margot Norton. Skira Rizzoli, 2014.

1968 births
Living people
Artists from Manchester
English people of Nigerian descent
20th-century British painters
British male painters
21st-century British painters
Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts
Alumni of the Royal College of Art
Black British artists
Trinidad and Tobago painters
British contemporary artists
Turner Prize winners
Young British Artists
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
21st-century male artists
Nigerian painters

Chris Ofili


P. S. Sreenivasan (September 1923 – 8 July 1997) was a leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a former minister of Kerala state, He is known as the father of tourism in modern Kerala.

He was born at Ullala in September 1923, the son of Shri Koppuzha K. Krishnan. He entered politics through student movements and the State Congress, joining the CPI in 1943. During the period of C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer's government he was imprisoned for 16 months, later followed by a further three years of imprisonment. Despite this he played an important role in the growth of CPI in Kerala.

He was elected to Kerala Assembly in 1960, 1967 and 1970 from Vaikom constituency as a CPI candidate. In 1977 he was elected from Aroor, and in 1980 from Cherthalai. Again, he was elected in 1987 and 1991 from Karunagappally constituency.

He was married to Smt. Bharathy and they had one son.

He served as the Minister for Transport and Electricity, from October 1970 to September 1971, in the Ministry headed by C. Achutha Menon, and as the Minister for Industries and Forests, from November 1978 to October 1979, in the Ministry headed by P. K. Vasudevan Nair. From January 1980 to October 1981 he was the Minister for Revenue and Fisheries; and from March 1987 to June 1991, he was the Minister for Revenue and Tourism, in the Ministries headed by E.K. Nayanar.

Besides being a member of the Kerala State Council Executive for the CPI, for which he served as treasurer, he was also Leader of the CPI Parliamentary Party and National council member.

He served as president of several community bodies, including the Kerala Karshaka Thozhilali Federation, Kerala Coir Thozhilali Federation, Kerala Hospital Employees Association and Kerala Transport Employees Union. He also served as for two terms as a Senate member of Kerala University.

P.S. Sreenivasan died on 8 July 1997. The Kerala Assembly paid its homage to him on 14 July 1997.

References

Further reading
 P.S. SREENIVASAN
 Kerala legislative assembly and the constitutional developments
 KERALA LEGISLATURE - MEMBERS

1923 births
1997 deaths
Communist Party of India politicians from Kerala
People from Kottayam district
Kerala MLAs 1960–1964
Kerala MLAs 1967–1970
Kerala MLAs 1991–1996

P. S. Sreenivasan


Rayleigh scattering is the way that light scatters when it hits a very small object.  This theory is valid if the wavelength of the light is much bigger than the object. It is named after Lord Rayleigh but was also the work of Raman and Krishnan as it is part of the Raman scattering theory.

Physics

Rayleigh scattering


Descurainia pinnata is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name western tansymustard. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and found in varied habitats. It is especially successful in deserts. It is a hardy plant which easily becomes weedy, and can spring up in disturbed, barren sites with bad soil. This is a hairy, heavily branched, mustardlike annual which is quite variable in appearance. There are several subspecies which vary from each other and individuals within a subspecies may look different depending on the climate they endure. This may be a clumping thicket or a tall, erect mustard. It generally does not exceed 70 centimeters in height. It has highly lobed or divided leaves with pointed, toothed lobes or leaflets. At the tips of the stem branches are tiny yellow flowers. The fruit is a silique one half to two centimeters long upon a threadlike pedicel. This plant reproduces only from seed. This tansymustard is toxic to grazing animals in large quantities due to nitrates and thiocyanates; however, it is nutritious in smaller amounts. The flowers are attractive to butterflies. The seeds are said to taste somewhat like black mustard and were utilized as food by Native American peoples such as the Navajo.

References

External links
Jepson Manual Treatment
USDA Plants Profile
Ecology
Photo gallery

pinnata
Plants used in Native American cuisine
Plants used in traditional Native American medicine

Descurainia pinnata


The Boone County Arboretum is a  arboretum located at 9190 Camp Ernst Road, Union, Kentucky, United States. It is open to the public without charge during daylight hours.

The Arboretum first started as an idea in 1996, was formally dedicated in 1999, and now contains more than 3,300 plants, including over 1,400 trees and 1,900 shrubs, that represent over 873 taxa. All are labeled and recorded with a GPS location. The Arboretum also features approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) of walking trails.

Boone County Arboretum is the nation's first arboretum within an active recreation park setting. The Arboretum is located just outside Union, KY. A short, 25 minute drive southwest from downtown Cincinnati, OH will put you in Northern Kentucky's only arboretum.

The Arboretum is open daily from dawn to dusk for year-round enjoyment. Boone County Arboretum's collections will captivate everyone from the avid plantsman to the average homeowner. You will see specialized arrangements of plant families to obscure selections rarely observed by the public eye. To insure the facilities plants thrive in even the worst of droughts, a  computerized irrigation system is designed around the plantings.

The Arboretum's paved walking trails wind through the various plant collections, woodland settings, and athletic fields. Three informational kiosks are located at the main trail entrances, and contain horticultural information, Extension class offerings, visitors guides and the Arboretum collections map, all free to the public. Special attractions at the Arboretum include the Children's Garden, a Wildlife Viewing area in the Native Kentucky Prairie, and a new Woodland Walking Trail.

Throughout the year various classes and programs are offered for all age groups. In addition, many of the Extension horticulture classes are taught on site at the Arboretum.

In 2012, Boone County Arboretum became the first arboretum within the Greater Cincinnati Metro area and in the state of Kentucky, to be a Level IV Accredited Arboretum by the Morton Register.

See also
 List of botanical gardens in the United States

References

External links
Boone County Arboretum Website

Arboreta in Kentucky
Botanical gardens in Kentucky
Protected areas of Boone County, Kentucky
1999 establishments in Kentucky
Union, Kentucky
Museums in Boone County, Kentucky

Boone County Arboretum


In every Pokémon video game, anime and manga series, there has been an organization that opposes the main characters.  They try to steal Pokémon and rob people of their money, and some even attempt to take over the world. This is a list of all those organizations.

Team Rocket
Team Rocket are the crime syndicate of the Kanto region and in the games Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green as well as their remakes FireRed and LeafGreen. They are also the crime syndicate in the Johto region and in the games Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal as well as their remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver.

In the anime
Team Rocket does not show up much in the anime except for the duo that works for Team Rocket, Jessie and James. They are in almost every episode in the Pokémon anime. They usually come up with a plan to capture Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, using a big machine or setting a trap. Team Rocket has worn a lot of costumes as part of their plans. When they show themselves, they usually repeat their motto. Along with this duo, there are other members of Team Rocket such as the other duo Butch and Cassidy, the rivals of Jessie and James. All of their attempts have failed, though the only exception is in the Pokémon Sun and Moon anime, they defeated both Ash's Pikachu and Rowlet using their own Mimikyu and Mareanie.
Other Members of Team Rocket are also seen in the Anime such as Doctor Zager, Matori, other less notable members of Team Rocket and Giovanni himself.

In the games
Team Rocket can be found in the games that take place in Kanto or Johto. This includes Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, and Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. In Pokémon Yellow, Jessie and James can be found in 4 locations during the game. The leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni can be found in Rocket Hideout, where players must beat him to get the Silph Scope for Pokémon Tower, where players beat him to save Mr. Fuji and get the Poké Flute, on the top floor of the Silph Co; Where players beat him and get the Master Ball as a prize.

In the manga
In the Pokémon manga series, Pokémon Adventures, Red finds and battles Team Rocket in many places, including Mt. Moon, the Vermilion port (where they were taking Pokémon for sea travel), Lavender Tower, and during their take over of Saffron City. In the manga, Blaine was a Team Rocket Scientist who had combined the DNA of Mew with his own DNA, creating Mewtwo. However, he gained the DNA of Mewtwo as well, which gives them a close relationship. The manga also shows Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina as high-ranked members of Team Rocket. A major difference between the manga and other versions of Team Rocket is that several Gym Leaders are villains in the manga.

In the manga, Team Rocket is apparently an acronym for
"Raid
On the
City,
Knock-out,
Evil
Tasks."

Team Aqua and Team Magma
Team Aqua and Team Magma are the two feuding crime syndicates in the Hoenn region and in the games Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald as well as their remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

In the anime
The teams Aqua and Magma did not play a part in the anime very much. They are not Pokémon thieves, but they did fight against each other. Team Magma's goal was to evaporate oceans and create more usable land for people and Pokémon, using Groudon to carry out their plans. Team Aqua's goal was to flood the earth and create more water habitats for Pokémon, using Kyogre to do so. When the two teams clashed and tried to use their legendary Pokémon to defeat each other, the resulting natural disaster almost caused an incident of mass destruction. The teams disbanded soon afterward.

In the games
Aqua and Magma agents and the leaders, Archie, leader of Aqua, and Maxie, leader of Magma, play a part in Pokémon R/S/E. The agents are must be battled to get to their leaders. Archie and Maxie may help in a double battle against other trainers, but players also have to battle them as the leader of their teams.

Team Galactic
Team Galactic are the crime syndicate in the Sinnoh region, which is the setting of the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The team is led by a man named Cyrus, who grew up in Sunyshore City and hated the company of both people and Pokémon, preferring the company of machines. The team has three commanders: Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Their goal is to create a new universe that they can control. Many of the grunts have no idea of the real goal of Team Galactic.

In the anime
Team Galactic has made several appearances in the anime. All commanders and Cyrus have appeared. Their goal is similar to the games. Team Galactic's hunter, J, plays a part in the Diamond and Pearl series. She tries to freeze Pokémon in a stone-like state, then steal them while they are powerless. She stole Ash's Pikachu, Team Rocket's Meowth, and a trainer's Gardevoir; they were rescued later in the episode. Gary and Ash teamed up to save four Shieldon that J was taking.

In the games
In Diamond and Pearl, they kidnap the legendary Lake Trio (Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf) and take crystals from them to create an item known as the Red Chain, which chains and controls a Pokémon, yet keeps their full power. The player goes in Galactic's headquarters and defeats Cyrus, so he lets the player release the three after beating Saturn. At the Spear Pillar, Cyrus uses the Red Chain to bring the legendary Pokémon Dialga (in Diamond) or Palkia (in Pearl) out, planning to use their power to create the new universe, over which he will be the new leader. However, the Lake Trio come back to suppress the legendary's power and break the Red Chain, stopping Cyrus. After this, and Cyrus's failure to defeat the player, most of Team Galactic leaves including Cyrus himself. Only a handful remain in Veilstone City, led by Saturn, who has decided to found a new, better Team Galactic.
In Platinum, however, Team Galactic plans to get both legendaries of time and space, causing an enraged Giratina, the third Sinnoh deity who represents dimensions, chaos, and death. The player will have to chase down Cyrus, now wanting the power of the before-unknown Giratina, to an eerie dimension known as the Distortion World, in which Giratina has lived for many ages. Later in the game, it is revealed that Mars and Jupiter quit Team Galactic. It also features a new Team Galactic member named Charon, who is arrested shortly after Mars and Jupiter quit.

Team Plasma
Team Plasma is the villainous team in the Unova region. They first appear in Black and White, but also make an apperance in the subseqent sequel, Black 2 and White 2. Team Plasma's original goal was to "liberate" all Pokémon from their Trainers, by either convincing the Trainer to release their Pokémon, or by taking the pokemon by force. Ghetsis, one of Team Plasma's leaders, exploited the group in an attempt to rule Unova as the only one with Pokémon and formed Neo Team Plasma, Two years after Neo Team Plasma's defeat, the good Team Plasma returned with a new goal to rule Unova. A small group from the original Team Plasma was still loyal to N, and took it upon themselves to take care of weakened Pokémon in the wild.

Team Flare

Team Flare are the main villians of X/Y. They want to remake the world in their own image using the power of a legendary Pokemon. They were defeated by the main protagonists.

Team Skull

A gang of thugs in the Alola region. They were lead by Guzma. They steal Pokemon, and Bug-type Z-Crystals.

Aether Foundation

In the Game
The true antagonists of Sun/Moon. Lead by Lusamine, they wanted to steal and freeze Pokemon.

In the Anime
They turn out to be good

Team Yell

Another gang of thugs. Follows Marnie around.

Team Macro Cosmos
a Galar energy company run by Chairmen Rose who's goal is to use  the unstable pink galar particles in Dynamaxing as the only energy source for galar and has a secret plan to imprison a Pokemon forever known as The Darkest Day who is made up of Galar Particles to use for energy, also the unstable galar particles cause Pokemon to rampage.

References

Pokémon characters

Pokémon crime organizations


People Power was a populist political movement in Australia that was federally registered as a political party in March 2006. The party contested its first election at the 2006 Victorian state election and was de-registered federally in December 2006.

Policies for the Victorian election
A Pokies-Free Victoria PolicyPeople Power released their anti-gambling policy on 4 September 2006 which aims to attack the social problems associated with compulsive gambling. The policy aims for an end to the commercial use of Poker Machines in Victoria by 2012. Under the policy, the Commonwealth Government would provide incentives for State Governments to ban the installation of poker machines.Stopping the Drift to Private Schools Policy
People Power released their Public Schools policy on 13 September 2006 which aims to target what it calls "one-size-fits-all schooling" in Victoria. The plan includes the abolition of Public School fees and independent reporting and monitoring of school performance.

History
The party was first established in 2000 by Vern Hughes and Crikey founder Stephen Mayne, only to be suspended at the end of 2001. It was then re-established in 2004 and registered in 2006.

Werriwa by-election
A member of People Power, Deborah Locke, was one of the candidates for the 2005 Werriwa by-election that was caused by the sudden resignation of Mark Latham from parliament. However, People Power did not have official party status at the time and she was required to stand as an independent candidate. She received 3.1% of the vote, placing her 9th out of 16 candidates.

Victorian state election 2006
People Power contested the Victorian state election in November 2006. The party fielded candidates for seats in both houses of Parliament.

On 19 September, the party's election preparations were interrupted by the resignation of lead candidate Jack Reilly and reports in the media that there were irregularities in their party registration.

The party did not win a seat in either house of Parliament.

Notable candidates
 Former Australian Labor Party (ALP) member for Benalla Denise Allen contested the Northern Victoria Legislative Council seat.
 Crikey's Stephen Mayne, who founded the original version of the party with Vern Hughes, announced in July 2006 that he would contest the Victorian Legislative Council seat of Southern Metropolitan Region in the 2006 Victorian state election as a People Power candidate.. But later decided that his profile as an independent journalist was preventing the party from receiving the media attention that it desperately needs. A short time later, he decided to contest for People Power after all.

Notable former candidates:
 The party's lead candidate for the Victorian legislative election was former Australian Football (Soccer) representative Jack Reilly who was slated to contest the Legislative Council seat of Northern Metropolitan. He resigned from this position on 19 September 2006. There have been contrary reports regarding his decision to resign with Stephen Mayne blaming it on the political website The Other Cheek run by Andrew Landeryou. Landeryou ran a story claiming to reveal some of Reilly's alleged business activities prior to Reilly's decision to quit. While Mayne and the Party President Vern Hughes offered different explanations initially, in an interview on ABC Radio Mayne later blamed Landeryou's claims as being the "last straw" for the party leader.

References

Defunct political parties in Australia
2004 establishments in Australia
2006 disestablishments in Australia
Political parties established in 2004
Political parties disestablished in 2006

People Power (Australia)


Wax is an organic chemical substance.  It is a type of lipid.
Waxes have the following properties:
 They are soft, and easy to shape at room temperature
 Their melting point is above 45 °C
 They cannot be dissolved in water
 They are hydrophobic, repelling and repelled by water.

Some waxes, like beeswax, vegetable wax, and paraffin (a petroleum wax) occur naturally. Another such wax is earwax, which occurs in the ear. Other waxes may be manufactured. People use waxes for various purposes:

 Waxed paper
 Wax tablet
 Waxing

Lipids

Wax


Eva Isaksen (born 22 May 1956) is a Norwegian film director. She directed her first feature film Burning Flowers (Brennende blomster 1985) with Eva Dahr, and has worked as an assistant on a number of films, including Sweetwater (1988) by Lasse Glomm, Wayfarers (Landstrykere 1989) by Ola Solum, and The Dive (Dykket 1989) by Tristan de Vere Cole. In 1990 she directed Death at Oslo Central (Døden på Oslo S), about the two boys Pelle and Proffen, based on the novels for young people by Ingvar Ambjørnsen, a Norwegian author living in Hamburg. Two years later she presented her third feature film Homo Falsus (Det perfekte mord 1992).

References

External links

1956 births
Living people
Norwegian film directors
Norwegian women film directors

Eva Isaksen


Qatar International School (QIS) is a British patterned international school which follows the IGCSE/A-levels system. It is located in downtown Doha. The school provides education from reception (foundation stage) to Year 13.

About the School
QIS was founded by Sheikh Ali bin Ahmed bin Thani Al Thani and the first Principal, Mrs Joyce Griffin, in 1977, making us one of the first British International Schools in Qatar.

Since then, we have changed and grown significantly – including a move to our current location of Al Dafna in 2001. Indeed, from very small beginnings almost 50 years ago, QIS has now grown into one of the largest and most prestigious schools in the country, with around 2,000 students on role.

In 2015, the school received the highest possible grading from the Qatar National Schools Accreditation programme, when inspected by the country's Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Then, in 2020, QIS achieved two highly prestigious international accreditations:

Firstly, QIS was judged to be 'outstanding' in every category of the UK government's British School Overseas (BSO) inspection framework – only the third school in the world ever to have achieved this.

Secondly, in the same year, QIS became the first school in the world to be awarded Council for International Schools (CIS) accreditation by a new fast-track process for outstanding schools. The final CIS report included over 100 individual commendations and helps to make us one of the most highly regardededucational establishments in the region.

QIS recently became the only school in the Middle East accredited to deliver OLEVI training courses straight from the UK, such as The Outstanding Teacher's Programme. The school also partners with many other world-renowned training providers to ensure cutting-edge best practice. We are proud to say that quality training for staff is part of the QIS culture.

QIS Today
Qatar International School is led and managed entirely by British professionals, who strive to maintain the highest standards of the current English education system, whilst also supporting the school's Arabic culture and international context.

The current Executive Principal, Mr. Deane Baker, joined the school in 2013.  Deane has more than 22 years of senior, school leadership experience, both in the UK and Middle East. As a Principal in the UK his leadership was described as "outstanding," by Ofsted in multiple inspections. A former member of their Advisory Headteacher Panel, Deane has worked closely with both Ofsted, the UK Government and HMI to improve and support education policy and leadership.  Now, as well as advising the Qatari Government on British Education, he also sits on the Executive Committee of the British Schools in the Middle East (BSME,) responsible for all country representatives across the region's 150 schools.

The vast majority of QIS teaching staff have trained and taught in the UK, and QIS prides themselves on ensuring we keep up to date with the best international practice in education and learning.

Students are taught in Key Stages from Early Years and Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 5, and examinations are taken in GCSE, IGCSE and A Levels using UK examination boards. Almost all students leaving QIS move on to higher education in leading universities all over the world but most especially the UK, USA, Canada, UAE and Qatar itself.

The school's student body is truly international, with over 70 different nationalities represented within the current cohort. And, since 2015, those students have achieved some incredible, world-beating outcomes. These include at least seven 'Best in World' examination results at IGCSE and A Level.

While the teaching staff are predominantly British and the curriculum is taught in English, the school is adept at integrating students from a wide variety of cultural and academic backgrounds.

With this in mind, QIS is proud of their Vision – the 'ABC' of Qatar International School:

Aspiring to excellence, Building futures, Celebrating diversity.

References

British international schools in Qatar
Schools in Qatar
International schools in Qatar

Qatar International School


The Manchurian hare (Lepus mandshuricus) is a species of hare found in northeastern China and Russia, the Amur River basin, and the higher mountains of northern North Korea. It lives in forests and the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Description
The adult Manchurian hare weighs about 2 kilograms, and has a body length of , in addition to a tail of . The ears are typically 7.5–10.4 centimeters in length. Compared to the Korean hare, its hind legs are relatively short and its ears relatively small. A melanistic morph exists, and has been described as the separate species Lepus melainus.

Distribution and habitat
The Manchurian hare is native to eastern Russia and northeastern China. Its range extends eastwards from the Ussuri River region of Russia, through the Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia and possibly extends as far as North Korea, where its range may overlap with that of the Korean hare (Lepus coreanus). It is found in forests and has a preference for mixed woodlands over coniferous forest. It tends to avoid open areas and keeps away from human settlements. It occurs at altitudes of up to .

Status
The Manchurian hare has a wide range and is present in a number of reserves. Its chief threat is the degradation of its forest habitat and the consequent spread of the tolai hare (Lepus tolai) which breeds prolifically and with which it is unable to compete. Its present population size and population trend are unknown, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

References

External links

Lepus
Mammals of China
Mammals of Korea
Mammals of Russia
Mammals described in 1861
Taxa named by Gustav Radde

Manchurian hare


Jay Simeon (born July 27, 1976) is a Canadian artist of Haida heritage on his father's side. He was born into the Kaawaas branch of the Sdast'a.aas Eagle clan. His crests are Eagle, Supernatural Killer Whale, Frog, Beaver, and Raven. His mother is of Blackfoot ancestry and he was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

Jay has been practicing Haida art since the age of 14, finding his passion while studying the fundamentals of Haida design with his aunt, Sharon Hitchcock.

Jay completed an advanced design course at Vancouver Community College and studied advanced design with Robert Davidson at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Center. He has been included in every major gallery exhibit featuring Haida artworks held since 2003 at leading galleries in Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. His art spans a variety of media including wood, argillite, silver, gold and silkscreen prints.

Especially of note, Jay's work has been featured in the exhibition Raven Travelling at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2006, the largest Haida exhibition in recent years. His work is also in the permanent collection of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA. His most recent creation of note being a grand piano painted with one of his designs, especially for the Olympics; the paint used was infused with the dust of argillite from Haida Gwaii.

References

External links
  Jay Simeon Official Site
  Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre
 Vancouver Community College

1976 births
Living people
20th-century First Nations sculptors
Canadian male sculptors
20th-century Canadian male artists
21st-century Canadian sculptors
21st-century Canadian male artists
21st-century First Nations people
First Nations jewellers
First Nations printmakers
First Nations stone carvers
Haida woodcarvers

Jay Simeon


Conscious Alliance is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to supporting communities in crisis through hunger relief and youth empowerment.

Organization
Conscious Alliance operates grassroots food collection and hunger awareness programs throughout the United States, primarily by organizing food drives at concerts and music events. Donations to Conscious Alliance benefit America's local food pantries and economically isolated Native American Reservations. Conscious Alliance has hosted hundreds of food drives at music festivals including Bonnaroo, Power to the Peaceful, and Wakarusa, and at concerts by artists such as The String Cheese Incident, STS9, Jack Johnson, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Dave Matthews, Phil Lesh, Bassnectar, and many others.

References

External links

 Official website

Charities based in Colorado
Social welfare charities based in the United States

Conscious Alliance


Jung Do Kwan was founded in 1956 by Young Woo Lee, and was the last of the original nine Kwans that formed the Kukkiwon. This is detailed in "A Modern History of Taekwondo" by Kyong Myong Lee and Kang Won Sik (1999).

An original student of the Chung Do Kwan, Young Woo Lee was advised by the current Chung Do Kwan president to choose a similar name to Chung Do Kwan, so he chose Jung Do Kwan.

Young Woo Lee died in August 2006 in Seoul, Korea.  Until his death, he remained active in the World Taekwondo Federation, and served on the Dan/Poom black Belt promotion committee of the Kukkiwon.

Taekwondo Jung Do Kwan still exists today, but only as a fraternal social friendship club. The official training curriculum endorsed by Taekwondo Jung Do Kwan is the Kukkiwon curriculum. The new President of the Jung Do Kwan is Grand Master Seo Myeong Ki.

Meaning
The word jung can be translated as righteous while do means way. So Jung Do Kwan can be translated as school of the righteous way.

References

Taekwondo kwans

Jung Do Kwan


Tihar also known as Deepawali is a Hindu festival. It is celebrated for 5 days. It is celebrated mainly in Nepal and the Indian states of Assam and Sikkim. It is also celebrated in Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It is the festival of lights. In this festival diyas are lit inside and outside the houses to make it bright at night. It is known as Swanti among the Newars and as Diwali among Madhesis. Set in the Vikram Samvat calendar, the festival begins with Kaag Tihar in Trayodashi of Kartik Krishna Paksha. It ends with Bhai Tika in Dwitiya of Kartik Sukla Paksha every year.

Tihar is the second biggest festival in Nepal after Dashain. In this festival animals like crows, dogs, cows, and oxen are also worshipped. People make Rangolis on the floor of living rooms or courtyards. They use materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower Petals to make these Rangolis. Rangolis are made for welcoming Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism mainly Goddess Lakshmi.

Kaag Tihar (Day 1)
Kaag Tihar (Crow Festival) is the first day of Tihar. In this day the crow is worshipped. Hindus regard crows as the messengers of Yamraja, the god of death. People worship it to bring good luck in their houses.They also give food to kaag or crows on that day..

Kukur Tihar (Day 2)

The second day is called Kukur Tihar (Dog Festival). In this day, people offer garlands, tika and delicious food to dogs. Dogs are important animals in Hindu mythology. It is believed that Bhairava, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, had a dog as a vahana (vehicle). It is also believed that Yama, the god of death, had two guard dogs – each with four eyes. The dogs are said to watch over the gates of Naraka, the Hindu concept of Hell. Due to this belief, this day is also known as Naraka Chaturdashi.

Gai Tihar and Laxmi Puja (Day 3)

The morning of the third day is Gai Tihar (worship of the cow). In Hinduism, cow is the symbol of prosperity and wealth. In ancient times cows were very useful. Their milk, dung, even urine was used for purpose like purification. So, on this day people worship cow by garlanding and feeding them with the best grass. They clean and decorate the houses. Doorways and windows are decorated by garlands made of Saya Patri (marigolds) and makhamali (Gomphrena globosa) flowers.

In the evening Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped. She is worshipped by lighting oil lamps (Diyo) or candles on doorways and windows. It is believed that in this day she visits her followers and gives them blessings. At night the girls enjoy playing Bhailo by singing and dancing. They visit many houses with musical instruments. They collect money as a tip from houses and share the money amongst themselves.

From the third day onward Tihar is celebrated with Deusi and Bhailo with light and fireworks. Boys sing Deusi and the girls sing Bhailo. In return, the home owners give them money, fruit and selroti (a Nepali roundel made of rice flour and sugar). Social workers, politician, and young people also visit local homes. They sing these songs and collect money for social activities.

Laxmi Prasad Devkota, who is regarded as the greatest poet of Nepali language, was born on this day. He was named after the Laxmi Puja.

Govardhan Puja (Day 4)

There are 3 different kinds of pujas on the fourth day. Mainly ox is worshipped in this day by giving different foods. It is observed as Goru Tihar or Goru Puja (worship of the oxen). People who follow Vaishnavism perform Govardhan Puja. Govardhan Puja is worship towards Govardhan mountain. Cow dung is taken as representative of the mountain and is worshiped. Another type of puja is Mha Puja (worship of self). It is done by the people of Newar community during the night. This day is seen as the beginning of the new Nepal Sambat calendar year.

Bhai Tika (Day 5)
The fifth and last day of Tihar is called Bhai Tika. On this day sisters apply "tilaka" or "tika" on the foreheads of their brothers. This is done to ensure the long life of their bothers and thank them for the protection they provide. It is believed that, Yamaraj, the God of Death, visited his sister Goddess Yamuna's house. He stayed there for five days so Tihar is also called Yamapanchak. He was pleased with the Hospitality so he asked her to make a wish. Yamuna wished that the love and faith of the brothers and sisters who meet every year on the same day remain strong and the brothers have a long life and fame. Yamaraj granted the wish.

In Bhai Tika, brothers sit on the floor while their sisters perform their puja. During the puja sisters circle brothers by dropping oil on the floor from a copper pitcher. They also apply oil to their brother's hair. After that, they apply seven-color tika on the brother's forehead. Similarly, brothers also give tikas to their sisters. They also exchange gifts. This ritual is practiced for both younger and elder brothers. Those without a sister or brother join relatives or friends for tika. This festival makes the relationship between brothers and sisters stronger.

Along with the seven-coloured tika, sisters provide brothers with Sagun, sweets, Makhamali (Gomphrena globosa) garland. They also provide a sacred cotton thread of Tantric importance. The thread is similar to Janai and is meant to protect their bodies.

References

Festivals in India
Nepali culture
Hindu festivals

Tihar (festival)


Tomasz Józef Zamoyski (1678–1725) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic).

Tomasz became the 5th Ordynat of Zamość estate. He was also starost of Płoskirów and Gródek and became a Royal Colonel.

1678 births
1725 deaths
People from Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Tomasz Jozef

Tomasz Józef Zamoyski


Stephen L. "Steve" Reeves (21 January 1926 - 1 May 2000) was an American bodybuilder and actor. He was born in Glasgow, Montana. He moved to California with his mother at age 10. He trained as a bodybuilder. He joined the US Army and served in the Pacific during World War II.

After the war, he pursued bodybuilding. In 1946, he won the title of Mr. Pacific Coast. Within the next four years he won the world's most famous titles, including Mr. America, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe.

Reeves started acting. In 1954, he had some small parts in movies and was on television. In 1957, he made Hercules, a low budget movie based on the ancient Greek stories of the Golden Fleece. The movie was a great success. It made $5 million in the United States.

From 1959 through 1964, Reeves starred in many low budget peplum movies. In 1963, he married Aline Czarzawicz. The couple retired to Southern California in 1969. He wrote an exercise guide, Building the Classic Physique the Natural Way. He bought a ranch and bred horses. Reeves died from lymphoma in Escondido, California in 2000.

Movie list

 Athena (1954) Hollywood movie directed by Richard Thorpe
 Jail Bait (1954) Hollywood movie directed by Ed Wood
 Hercules (1957) (Le fatiche di Ercole / The Labors of Hercules) released in Italy in 1958, released in US in 1959
 Hercules Unchained (1959) (Ercole e la regina di Lidia / Hercules and the Queen of Lydia) released in US in 1960
 Goliath and the Barbarians (1959) (Il terrore dei barbari / Terror of the Barbarians)
 The Giant of Marathon (1959) (La battaglia di Maratona / The Battle of Marathon)
 The Last Days of Pompeii (1959) (Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei / The Last Days of Pompeii)
 The White Warrior (1959) (Hadji Murad il Diavolo Bianco / Hadji Murad, The White Devil) directed by Riccardo Freda
 Morgan, the Pirate (1960) (Morgan, il pirato)
 The Thief of Baghdad  (1961) (Il Ladro di Bagdad / The Thief of Baghdad)
 The Trojan Horse (1961) (The Trojan War)
 Duel of the Titans (1961) (Romolo e Remo / Romulus And Remus)
 The Slave (1962) (Il Figlio di Spartaco / Son of Spartacus)
 The Avenger (1962) (La leggenda di Enea / The Legend Of Aeneas) this was a sequel to "The Trojan Horse" (aka The Last Glory of Troy or War of the Trojans)
 Sandokan the Great (1964) (Sandokan, the Tiger of Mompracem) directed by Umberto Lenzi
 Sandokan, the Pirate of Malaysia (1964) aka The Pirates of Malaysia, aka Pirates of the Seven Seas; this was a sequel to Sandokan the Great, directed by Umberto Lenzi
 A Long Ride from Hell (1967) (I Live for Your Death!) spaghetti western directed by Camillo Brazzoni, produced and co-written by Steve Reeves

Other websites
An Interview with Steve Reeves by Roy Frumkes, from The Perfect Vision Magazine, Volume 6, Issue #22, July 1994
How Steve Reeves Trained by John Grimek, Muscular Development November 1964 , account of how Reeves trained to prepare for the 1950 Mr. Universe competition at the York Barbell Club gym

Feature Films: Hercules
Feature Films: Hercules Unchained
Steve Reeves Gallery

Actors from Montana
American movie actors
American television actors
American bodybuilders
1926 births
2000 deaths

Steve Reeves