Taxonomy.

Classification.

For many decades, the precise taxonomic classification of the giant panda was under debate because it shares characteristics with both bears and raccoons. However, molecular studies indicate the giant panda is a true bear, part of the family Ursidae. These studies show it diverged about from the common ancestor of the Ursidae; It is the most basal member of this family and equidistant from all other extant bear species. The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil.

Etymology.

The word "panda" was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word "panda" has been found. The closest candidate is the Nepali word "ponya," possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone of the red panda, which is native to Nepal. The Western world originally applied this name to the red panda.  In many older sources, the name "panda" or "common panda" refers to the lesser-known red panda, thus necessitating the inclusion of "giant" and "lesser/red" prefixes in front of the names. Even in 2013, the "Encyclopædia Britannica" still used "giant panda" or "panda bear" for the bear, and simply "panda" for the red panda, despite the popular usage of the word "panda" to refer to giant pandas.  Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear 20 different names, such as "huāxióng" ( "spotted bear") and "zhúxióng" ( "bamboo bear"). The most popular names in China today is "dàxióngmāo" ( literally "giant bear cat"), or simply "xióngmāo" ( "bear cat"). The name "xióngmāo" ( "bear cat") was originally used to describe the red panda ("Ailurus fulgens"), but since the giant panda was thought to be closely related to the red panda, "dàxióngmāo" () was named relatively.  In Taiwan, another popular name for panda is the inverted "dàmāoxióng" ( "giant cat bear"), though many encyclopediae and dictionaries in Taiwan still use the "bear cat" form as the correct name. Some linguists argue, in this construction, "bear" instead of "cat" is the base noun, making this name more grammatically and logically correct, which may have led to the popular choice despite official writings. This name did not gain its popularity until 1988, when a private zoo in Tainan painted a sun bear black and white and created the Tainan fake panda incident.

Subspecies.

Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial measurements, colour patterns, and population genetics.  A detailed study of the giant panda's genetic history from 2012 confirms that the separation of the Qinlin population occurred about 300,000 years ago, and reveals that the non-Qinlin population further diverged into two groups, named the Minshan and the Qionglai-Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan group respectively, about 2,800 years ago.

Description.

The giant panda has luxuriant black-and-white fur. Adults measure around long, including a tail of about, and tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to. Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) can weigh as little as, but can also weigh up to. Average adult weight is.  The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, speculation suggests that the bold colouring provides effective camouflage in their shade-dappled snowy and rocky habitat. The giant panda's thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. The panda's skull shape is typical of durophagous carnivorans. It has evolved from previous ancestors to exhibit larger molars with increased complexity and expanded temporal fossa. A 110.45 kg (243.5 lb) giant panda has a 3D canine teeth bite force of 2603.47 newtons and bite force quotient of 292. Another study had a 117.5 kg (259 lb) giant panda bite of 1298.9 newtons (BFQ 151.4) at canine teeth and 1815.9 newtons (BFQ 141.8) at carnassial teeth. The giant panda's paw has a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" – actually a modified sesamoid bone – helps it to hold bamboo while eating. Stephen Jay Gould discusses this feature in his book of essays on evolution and biology, "The Panda's Thumb".  The giant panda's tail, measuring, is the second-longest in the bear family (the longest belongs to the sloth bear).  The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. A female named Jia Jia was the oldest giant panda ever in captivity, born in 1978 and died at an age of 38 on 16 October 2016.

Pathology.

A seven-year-old female named Jin Yi died in 2014 in a zoo in Zhengzhou, China, after showing symptoms of gastroenteritis and respiratory disease. It was found that the cause of death was toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by "Toxoplasma gondii" and infecting most warm-blooded animals, including humans.

Genomics.

The giant panda genome was sequenced in 2009 using Illumina dye sequencing. Its genome contains 20 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes.

Ecology.

Diet.

Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivoran, the giant panda's diet is primarily herbivorous, consisting almost exclusively of bamboo. However, the giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes, and thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo. Its ability to digest cellulose is ascribed to the microbes in its gut. Pandas are born with sterile intestines and require bacteria obtained from their mother's feces to digest vegetation. The giant panda is a highly specialised animal with unique adaptations, and has lived in bamboo forests for millions of years.  The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 30 lb) of bamboo shoots a day to compensate for the limited energy content of its diet. Ingestion of such a large quantity of material is possible and necessary because of the rapid passage of large amounts of indigestible plant material through the short, straight digestive tract. It is also noted, however, that such rapid passage of digesta limits the potential of microbial digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, limiting alternative forms of digestion. Given this voluminous diet, the giant panda defecates up to 40 times a day. The limited energy input imposed on it by its diet has affected the panda's behavior. The giant panda tends to limit its social interactions and avoids steeply sloping terrain to limit its energy expenditures.  Two of the panda's most distinctive features, its large size and round face, are adaptations to its bamboo diet. Anthropologist Russell Ciochon observed: "[much] like the vegetarian gorilla, the low body surface area to body volume [of the giant panda] is indicative of a lower metabolic rate. This lower metabolic rate and a more sedentary lifestyle allows the giant panda to subsist on nutrient poor resources such as bamboo." Similarly, the giant panda's round face is the result of powerful jaw muscles, which attach from the top of the head to the jaw. Large molars crush and grind fibrous plant material.  The morphological characteristics of extinct relatives of the giant panda suggest that while the ancient giant panda was omnivorous 7 million years ago (mya), it only became herbivorous some 2–2.4 mya with the emergence of "A. microta". Genome sequencing of the giant panda suggests that the dietary switch could have initiated from the loss of the sole T1R1/T1R3 umami taste receptor, resulting from two frameshift mutations within the T1R1 exons. Umami taste corresponds to high levels of glutamate as found in meat and may have thus altered the food choice of the giant panda. Although the pseudogenisation of the umami taste receptor in "Ailuropoda" coincides with the dietary switch to herbivory, it is likely a result of, and not the reason for, the dietary change. The mutation time for the T1R1 gene in the giant panda is estimated to 4.2 mya while fossil evidence indicates bamboo consumption in the giant panda species at least 7 mya, signifying that although complete herbivory occurred around 2 mya, the dietary switch was initiated prior to T1R1 loss-of-function.  Pandas eat any of 25 bamboo species in the wild, such as "Fargesia dracocephala" and "Fargesia rufa". Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes pandas now inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less.  Because of the synchronous flowering, death, and regeneration of all bamboo within a species, the giant panda must have at least two different species available in its range to avoid starvation. While primarily herbivorous, the giant panda still retains decidedly ursine teeth and will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available. In captivity, zoos typically maintain the giant panda's bamboo diet, though some will provide specially formulated biscuits or other dietary supplements.  Pandas will travel between different habitats if they need to, so they can get the nutrients that they need and to balance their diet for reproduction. For six years, scientists studied six pandas tagged with GPS collars at the Foping Reserve in the Qinling Mountains. They took note of their foraging and mating habits and analyzed samples of their food and feces. The pandas would move from the valleys into the Qinling Mountains and would only return to the valleys in autumn. During the summer months bamboo shoots rich in protein are only available at higher altitudes which causes low calcium rates in the pandas and during breeding season the pandas would trek back down to eat bamboo leaves rich in calcium.

Predators.

Although adult giant pandas have few natural predators other than humans, young cubs are vulnerable to attacks by snow leopards, yellow-throated martens, eagles, feral dogs, and the Asian black bear. Sub-adults weighing up to may be vulnerable to predation by leopards.

Behavior.

The giant panda is a terrestrial animal and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains and in the hilly province of Sichuan. Giant pandas are generally solitary. Each adult has a defined territory and a female is not tolerant of other females in her range. Social encounters occur primarily during the brief breeding season in which pandas in proximity to one another will gather. After mating, the male leaves the female alone to raise the cub.  Pandas were thought to fall into the crepuscular category, those who are active twice a day, at dawn and dusk; however, Jindong Zhang found that pandas may belong to a category all of their own, with activity peaks in the morning, afternoon and midnight. Due to their sheer size, they can be active at any time of the day. Activity is highest in June and decreases in late summer to fall with an increase from November through the following March. Activity is also directly related to the amount of sunlight during colder days.  Pandas communicate through vocalisation and scent marking such as clawing trees or spraying urine. They are able to climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices, but do not establish permanent dens. For this reason, pandas do not hibernate, which is similar to other subtropical mammals, and will instead move to elevations with warmer temperatures. Pandas rely primarily on spatial memory rather than visual memory.  Though the panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than aggression.

Reproduction.

Initially, the primary method of breeding giant pandas in captivity was by artificial insemination, as they seemed to lose their interest in mating once they were captured. This led some scientists to try extreme methods, such as showing them videos of giant pandas mating and giving the males sildenafil (commonly known by name Viagra). Only recently have researchers started having success with captive breeding programs, and they have now determined giant pandas have comparable breeding to some populations of the American black bear, a thriving bear species. The normal reproductive rate is considered to be one young every two years.  Giant pandas reach sexual maturity between the ages of four and eight, and may be reproductive until age 20. The mating season is between March and May, when a female goes into estrus, which lasts for two or three days and only occurs once a year. When mating, the female is in a crouching, head-down position as the male mounts her from behind. Copulation time is short, ranging from 30 seconds to five minutes, but the male may mount her repeatedly to ensure successful fertilisation. The gestation period ranges from 95 to 160 days.  Giant pandas give birth to twins in about half of pregnancies. If twins are born, usually only one survives in the wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker cub will die due to starvation. The mother is thought to be unable to produce enough milk for two cubs since she does not store fat. The father has no part in helping raise the cub.  When the cub is first born, it is pink, blind, and toothless, weighing only 90 to 130 grams (3.2 to 4.6 ounces), or about th of the mother's weight, proportionally the smallest baby of any placental mammal. It nurses from its mother's breast six to 14 times a day for up to 30 minutes at a time. For three to four hours, the mother may leave the den to feed, which leaves the cub defenseless. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns grey where its hair will eventually become black. Slight pink colour may appear on cub's fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva. A month after birth, the colour pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. Its fur is very soft and coarsens with age. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days; mothers play with their cubs by rolling and wrestling with them. The cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo after six months, though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first year. Giant panda cubs weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) at one year and live with their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old. The interval between births in the wild is generally two years.  In July 2009, Chinese scientists confirmed the birth of the first cub to be successfully conceived through artificial insemination using frozen sperm. The cub was born at 07:41 on 23 July that year in Sichuan as the third cub of You You, an 11-year-old. The technique for freezing the sperm in liquid nitrogen was first developed in 1980 and the first birth was hailed as a solution to the dwindling availability of giant panda semen, which had led to inbreeding. Panda semen, which can be frozen for decades, could be shared between different zoos to save the species. It is expected that zoos in destinations such as San Diego in the United States and Mexico City will now be able to provide their own semen to inseminate more giant pandas. In August 2014, a rare birth of panda triplets was announced in China; it was the fourth of such births ever reported.  Attempts have also been made to reproduce giant pandas by interspecific pregnancy by implanting cloned panda embryos into the uterus of an animal of another species. This has resulted in panda fetuses, but no live births.

Uses and human interaction.

Early references.

In the past, pandas were thought to be rare and noble creatures – the Empress Dowager Bo was buried with a panda skull in her vault. The grandson of Emperor Taizong of Tang is said to have given Japan two pandas and a sheet of panda skin as a sign of goodwill. Unlike many other animals in Ancient China, pandas were rarely thought to have medical uses. The few known uses include the Sichuan tribal peoples' use of panda urine to melt accidentally swallowed needles, and the use of panda pelts to control menses as described in the Qin Dynasty encyclopedia "Erya".  The creature named "mo" (貘) mentioned in some ancient books has been interpreted as giant panda. The dictionary "Shuowen Jiezi" (Eastern Han Dynasty) says that the "mo", from Shu (Sichuan), is bear-like, but yellow-and-black, although the older "Erya" describes "mo" simply as a "white leopard". The interpretation of the legendary fierce creature "pixiu" (貔貅) as referring to the giant panda is also common.  During the reign of the Yongle Emperor (early 15th century), his relative from Kaifeng sent him a captured "zouyu" (), and another "zouyu" was sighted in Shandong. "Zouyu" is a legendary "righteous" animal, which, similarly to a "qilin", only appears during the rule of a benevolent and sincere monarch. It is said to be fierce as a tiger, but gentle and strictly vegetarian, and described in some books as a white tiger with black spots. Puzzled about the real zoological identity of the creature captured during the Yongle era, J.J.L. Duyvendak exclaims, "Can it possibly have been a Pandah?"  The comparative obscurity of the giant panda throughout most of China's history is illustrated by the fact that, despite there being a number of depictions of bears in Chinese art starting from its most ancient times, and the bamboo being one of the favorite subjects for Chinese painters, there are no known pre-20th-century artistic representations of giant pandas.

Western discovery.

The West first learned of the giant panda on 11 March 1869, when the French missionary Armand David received a skin from a hunter. The first Westerner known to have seen a living giant panda is the German zoologist Hugo Weigold, who purchased a cub in 1916. Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., became the first Westerners to shoot a panda, on an expedition funded by the Field Museum of Natural History in the 1920s. In 1936, Ruth Harkness became the first Westerner to bring back a live giant panda, a cub named Su Lin which went to live at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. In 1938, five giant pandas were sent to London.

Panda diplomacy.

Gifts of giant pandas to American and Japanese zoos formed an important part of the diplomacy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s, as it marked some of the first cultural exchanges between China and the West. This practice has been termed "panda diplomacy".  By 1984, however, pandas were no longer given as gifts. Instead, China began to offer pandas to other nations only on 10-year loans, under terms including a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year and a provision that any cubs born during the loan are the property of China. Since 1998, because of a WWF lawsuit, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service only allows a US zoo to import a panda if the zoo can ensure that China will channel more than half of its loan fee into conservation efforts for the giant panda and its habitat.  In May 2005, China offered a breeding pair to Taiwan. The issue became embroiled in cross-Strait relations – both over the underlying symbolism, and over technical issues such as whether the transfer would be considered "domestic" or "international", or whether any true conservation purpose would be served by the exchange. A contest in 2006 to name the pandas was held in the mainland, resulting in the politically charged names Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan (from "tuanyuan", meaning "reunion", i.e. "reunification"). China's offer was initially rejected by Chen Shui-bian, then President of Taiwan. However, when Ma Ying-jeou assumed the presidency in 2008, the offer was accepted, and the pandas arrived in December of that year.

Biofuel.

Microbes in panda waste are being investigated for their use in creating biofuels from bamboo and other plant materials.

Conservation.

The giant panda is a vulnerable species, threatened by continued habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity. Its range is currently confined to a small portion on the western edge of its historical range, which stretched through southern and eastern China, northern Myanmar, and northern Vietnam.  The giant panda has been a target of poaching by locals since ancient times and by foreigners since it was introduced to the West. Starting in the 1930s, foreigners were unable to poach giant pandas in China because of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, but pandas remained a source of soft furs for the locals. The population boom in China after 1949 created stress on the pandas' habitat and the subsequent famines led to the increased hunting of wildlife, including pandas. During the Cultural Revolution, all studies and conservation activities on the pandas were stopped. After the Chinese economic reform, demand for panda skins from Hong Kong and Japan led to illegal poaching for the black market, acts generally ignored by the local officials at the time.  In 1963, the PRC government set up Wolong National Nature Reserve to save the declining panda population.  In 2006, scientists reported that the number of pandas living in the wild may have been underestimated at about 1,000. Previous population surveys had used conventional methods to estimate the size of the wild panda population, but using a new method that analyzes DNA from panda droppings, scientists believe the wild population may be as large as 3,000. In 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, compared to just 13 reserves in 1998. As the species has been reclassified to "vulnerable" since 2016, the conservation efforts are thought to be working. Furthermore, in response to this reclassification, the State Forestry Administration of China announced that they would not accordingly lower the conservation level for panda, and would instead reinforce the conservation efforts.  The giant panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the southwest province of Sichuan and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006.  Not all conservationists agree that the money spent on conserving pandas is well spent. Chris Packham has argued that the breeding of pandas in captivity is "pointless" because "there is not enough habitat left to sustain them". Packham argues that the money spent on pandas would be better spent elsewhere, and has said he would "eat the last panda if I could have all the money we have spent on panda conservation put back on the table for me to do more sensible things with", though he has apologised for upsetting people who like pandas. He said, "The panda is possibly one of the grossest wastes of conservation money in the last half century." However, a 2015 paper found that the giant panda can serve as an umbrella species as the preservation of their habitat also helps other endemic species in China, including 70% of the country's forest birds, 70% of mammals and 31% of amphibians.  In 2012, Earthwatch Institute, a global nonprofit that teams volunteers with scientists to conduct important environmental research, launched a program called "On the Trail of Giant Panda". This program, based in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, allows volunteers to work up close with pandas cared for in captivity, and help them adapt to life in the wild, so that they may breed, and live longer and healthier lives.

In zoos.

Pandas have been kept in zoos as early as the Western Han Dynasty in China, where the writer Sima Xiangru noted that the panda was the most treasured animal in the emperor's garden of exotic animals in the capital Chang'an (present Xi'an). Not until the 1950s were pandas again recorded to have been exhibited in China's zoos.  Chi Chi at the London Zoo became very popular. This influenced the World Wildlife Fund to use a panda as its symbol.  A 2006 "New York Times" article outlined the economics of keeping pandas, which costs five times more than keeping the next most expensive animal, an elephant. American zoos generally pay the Chinese government $1 million a year in fees, as part of a typical ten-year contract. San Diego's contract with China was to expire in 2008, but got a five-year extension at about half of the previous yearly cost. The last contract, with the Memphis Zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, ended in 2013.

Reference in medicine.

The Face of the Giant Panda Sign is an MRI sign in patients with Wilson's disease, named for the midbrain's resemblance to a giant panda's face.

The giant panda ("Ailuropoda melanoleuca"; ), also known as the panda bear or simply the panda, is a bear native to south central China. It is characterised by large, black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore, with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than 99% of its diet. Giant pandas in the wild will occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.

Der Große Panda ("Ailuropoda melanoleuca"), auch Riesenpanda oder Pandabär, ist eine Säugetierart aus der Familie der Bären (Ursidae). Als Symbol des WWF und manchmal auch des Artenschutzes allgemein hat er trotz seines sehr beschränkten Verbreitungsgebiets weltweite Bekanntheit erlangt. In älterer deutscher Literatur wird der Große Panda auch Bambusbär oder Prankenbär genannt. Zurzeit gibt es schätzungsweise 1864 frei lebende Exemplare. Darunter ist mindestens ein Albino.


Toponym.

During the Middle Ages, it appeared with names such as "Leguarda, Giardia, Guard, Guoardia, Lagarde," and "Laguoardia" until the current name was finally fixed. Indeed, the full and complete name with which the town is known currently is "La Guardia de Navarra Sonsierra".  There has been some controversy about the Basque name of the town. In the late nineteenth century, the belief that before granting the "letter of villazgo" in 1164, the population of Laguardia was called "Biasteri" had spread. Many people saw "Biasteri" as a name of Basque origin and folk etymologies such as "bi haitz herri" became popular. As a consequence, the term Biasteri was used as the Basque name of the town until recently.  Nevertheless, in the late twentieth century, philologists and historians reached the conclusion after some research that Biasteri was the ancient name given to the nearby town of Viñaspre, not of Laguardia. Therefore, the association made until that date was not correct, and the Basque Language Academy, Euskaltzaindia, ruled that the Basque standard name of the town is "Guardia".

Neighborhoods.

Laguardia has three separate neighborhoods:

History.

Laguardia has a rich historical past. At a place called La Hoya, there is an important archaeological site. It is a pre-Roman settlement of Celtiberian of Berona ethnic and it covers an extensive period of more than a thousand years or so since the twelfth century BC to the second century BC.  Additionally, the town received certain privileges regarding jurisdiction during the reign of the king of Navarre Sancho VI "El Sabio" in 1164. The initial demarcation covered areas from "Las Conchas de Haro" to "Soto Inigo Galindez", in the current term of Viana. It was the beginning of the community of "Villa y Tierra". Eventually, new villas were created in the surroundings changing the focus of attention to other territories such as San Vicente, Labraza and Viana. In any case, it was the main square of the Sonsierra of Navarra during most part of the medieval period.

Economy.

As mentioned above, the core of the economy in Laguardia focuses on the world of viticulture (grape growing, winemaking and wine industry). Laguardia is the capital of one of the most famous wine regions of Spain, Rioja Alavesa. Additionally, both in Laguardia and its surroundings, a wine known as the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja which is useful to distinguish particular vines produces in some specific regions.

Music.

The town of Laguardia has always been known for having among its inhabitants talented musicians in all its aspects. Thus, several generations of bagpipers have led to the Day of the Piper, one of the most important festivals, held in honor of illustrious pipers of this town and its surroundings. They are also an important part of the musical history of the people and their municipal band, which has been active for 130 years. Also, several rock groups, such as: "Tubo Skape" or "Allá Cuidaos" are part of the musical history town.

Sports.

The town has a football team of Regional Division. An earlier formation competed in the Regional League of La Rioja. In 1967, the sixteenth stage of the Cycling Tour of Spain started in Laguardia, a time trial finishing in Vitoria. The winner was the French Raymond Poulidor.

Laguardia () is a town and municipality located in the southern province of Álava, in the north of Spain; it belongs to the region of Rioja Alavesa, in the Basque Autonomous Community. It has a population of 1500; but in the past it had 2500.

Laguardia (baskisch Guardia) ist eine Kleinstadt und eine Gemeinde "(municipio)" mit Einwohnern () in der baskischen Provinz Álava in Spanien.


Origin.

The origins of "jian dui" can be traced back to the Tang dynasty as a palace food in Chang'an, known as "lüdui" (). This food item was also recalled in a poem by the Tang poet Wang Fanzhi. With the southward migration of many peoples from central China, the "jian dui" was brought along and hence became part of southern Chinese cuisine.

Regional.

Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, it is one of the most standard pastries. It can also be found in most Chinatown bakery shops overseas.

Cambodia.

Cambodian num kroch (នំ ក្រូច) is said to have originated in China where it is called jian dui or sometimes maqiu. The Chinese probably exported it as they migrated to other parts of Asia. They have a different name based on their origin, in Khmer it is num kroch (or nom kroch), which means cake (num) orange (kroch) because its shape is reminiscent of the fruit. The stuffing of num kroch is made of mung beans. The envelope of the num kroch is composed of glutinous rice flour, which gives it this slightly elastic texture. Like most Asian desserts, num kroch are not very sweet. Mung bean paste should not be too dry either.

India and Sri Lanka.

In Tamil Nadu and northeast Sri Lanka, it is known as "ellu urundai" or "ellurundai" (எள்ளுருண்டை), the local word meaning sesame ball. It is made in different sizes and colors. It is usually filled with sesame seeds, jaggery, sugar, or glucose syrup.

Indonesia.

In Indonesian cuisine, it is called "onde-onde", filled with sweetened mung bean paste. People usually eat it as snack. This pastry is also popular and widely available in Indo (Eurasian), Indonesian and Vietnamese outlets in the Netherlands.

Japan.

In Japan, it is known as. It is often sold at street fairs, in Chinese districts, and at various restaurants.

Korea.

In Korea, it is called "chamkkaegyeongdan"(, "sesame rice ball cake"), or "jungguksik chamkkaegyeongdan"(, "Chinese-style sesame rice ball cake") to avoid confusion with Korean-style sesame rice ball cake ("gyeongdan") with sesame coating. As the Chinese "jian dui" is first coated with sesame seeds then deep-fried, while the Korean "gyeongdan" is first steamed then coated with toasted sesame seeds, "jian dui" is also called "twigin chamkkaegyeongdan"(, "deep-fried sesame rice ball cake").

Malaysia.

It is known as "kuih bom", which is usually filled with shredded sweetened coconut, or nuts. Occasionally, it may be filled with red bean paste.  Among the mainly Hakka-speaking ethnic Chinese in the state of Sabah, "jian dui" is more commonly known as "you chi".

Philippines.

In the Philippines, "jian dui" is called "butsi" (Spanish: "buchi"). Due to hundreds of years of Chinese settlement in the Philippines, the integration of Chinese cuisine (particularly Cantonese and Fujian) to local dishes has made "buchi" quite popular. To an extent, it has already been considered an icon of Chinese Filipino culinary tradition, sometimes associated with auspiciousness. As it is well-known among ethnic Chinese and other Filipinos alike, local restaurants which are sometimes not even Chinese and fastfood chains such as Chowking have added the delicacy to the menu. Aside from the usual lotus and red bean paste, non-Chinese and indigenous ingredients have also been used for variety such as "ube"-flavored "butsi". Unlike "jian dui", Filipino "buchi" and derivates (like "mache", "masi", "moche", and "palitaw") can also be boiled or steamed in addition to being deep fried.

United States.

In American Chinese restaurants and pastry shops, it is known as sesame seed ball.

Vietnam.

In Vietnam, two very similar dishes are called "bánh cam" (from southern Vietnam) and "bánh rán" (from northern Vietnam), both of which have a somewhat drier filling that is made from sweetened mung bean paste. "Bánh rán" is scented with jasmine flower essence (called "mali" in Thai).  "Bánh rán" can be sweet or savory. The sweet one is filled with mung bean. The savory one is filled with chopped meat, cassava vermicelli, mushroom, and a variety of other typically Vietnamese ingredients. It is usually served with vegetable and dipping sauce.

Jian dui () is a type of fried Chinese pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds on the outside and is crisp and chewy. Inside the pastry is a large hollow, caused by the expansion of the dough. The hollow of the pastry is filled with a filling usually consisting of lotus paste, or alternatively sweet black bean paste, or red bean paste. They are also sometimes referred to as sesame balls ().

Onde onde (die Betonung liegt jeweils auf ""e"") ist eine Dessertspezialität der indonesischen und malaysischen Küche. Zur Zubereitung werden mit Pandanusessenz gewürzte Reismehlkugeln mit Palmzucker gefüllt und anschließend in Wasser gekocht oder frittiert. Die zubereiteten Kugeln werden in Kokosraspeln oder Sesamkörnern gewälzt.


Demographics.

Rongshui County has a total population of 485,120 (2007).  More than 70 percent of the population represents various ethnic minorities, such as the Miao, Yao, Dong, Zhuang and others. 40,81% of the total population belong to the Miao minority (2007).

Geography.

Apart from the county town, Rongshui comprises many small villages and large rural areas. The county is mountainous, featuring both karst landscapes and larger mountain massifs such as the Yuan Bao Shan mountains. The river Rong (Rongjiang) flows through the county and passes by Rongshui town. The longest river within the county is the Bei River (Beijiang, not to be confused with the Beijiang tributary to the Zhujiang).

Administrative divisions.

Rongshui County has 4 towns, 16 townships and 204 villages under its administration.  The towns include Rongshui, Hemu, Huaibao, and Sanfang.  The townships are Anchui, Antai, Baiyun, Dalang, Danian, Dongtou, Gandong, Gongdong, Gunbei, Hongshui, Liangzhai, Sirong, Tonglian, Wangdong, Xiangfen, and Yongle.

Transport.

Highway G209 provides access to Rongshui from Liuzhou in the south and Guyizheng in the north (with highway G321 connecting from Guyizheng to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, in the west).  Rongshui is serviced by trains connecting with Liuzhou in the south and Huaihua (Hunan) in the north, branching off to larger cities such as Guiyang (Guizhou), Changsha (Hunan), Wuhan (Hubei) and Zhengzhou (Henan).

Culture.

Rongshui is known for the frequent festivals of its Miao population.  Their celebrations include the drum festival, sowing festival, seedling festival and horse-fighting festivals. The festivities are often accompanied by music played on the Lusheng, a reed-pipe wind instrument, and dancing and singing performances.

Rongshui Miao Autonomous County (; Standard Zhuang: ) is under the administration of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The seat of Rongshui County is Rongshui Town. It borders the prefecture-level divisions of Qiandongnan (Guizhou) to the north and Hechi to the west.

Der Autonome Kreis Rongshui der Miao (; ) ist ein autonomer Kreis der Miao-Nationalität in der bezirksfreien Stadt Liuzhou im Autonomen Gebiet Guangxi der Zhuang-Nationalität in der Volksrepublik China. Er hat eine Fläche von 4.665 km2 und zählt 470.000 Einwohner. Sein Hauptort ist die Großgemeinde Rongshui (融水镇).


Plot.

In 2009, five years after the events of "Resident Evil 4", Chris Redfield, a member of the fictional Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), is dispatched to Kijuju in Africa. He and his new partner Sheva Alomar are tasked with apprehending Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. When they arrive, they discover that the locals have been infected by the parasites Las Plagas (those infected are called "Majini") and the BSAA Alpha Team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA's Delta Team, which includes Sheva's mentor Josh Stone. In Stone's data Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine, his old partner, who has been presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker. Chris, Sheva and Delta Team close in on Irving, but he escapes with the aid of a hooded figure. Irving leaves documents that lead Chris and Sheva to marshy oilfields. This is where Irving's deal is to occur, but they discover that the documents are a diversion. When Chris and Sheva try to regroup with Delta Team, they find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Stone among the dead. Determined to learn if Valentine is still alive, Chris does not report to headquarters.  Continuing through the marsh, they find Stone injured but safe and track down Irving's boat with his help. Irving injects himself with a variant of the Las Plagas parasite and mutates into a huge octopus-like beast. Chris and Sheva defeat him, and his dying words lead them to a nearby cave to learn more. The cave is the source of a flower used to create viruses previously used by the Umbrella Corporation, as well as a new strain named Uroboros. Chris and Sheva find evidence that Tricell, the company funding the BSAA, took over a former Umbrella underground laboratory and continued Umbrella's research. In the facility, they discover thousands of capsules holding human test subjects. Although Chris finds that one of the capsules is Valentine's, it is empty. When they leave, they discover that Tricell CEO Excella Gionne has been plotting with Wesker to launch missiles with the Uroboros virus across the globe; it is eventually revealed that Wesker hopes to take a chosen few from the chaos of infection and rule them, creating a new breed of humanity. Chris and Sheva pursue Gionne but are stopped by Wesker and the hooded figure, who is revealed to be a mind-controlled Valentine. Gionne and Wesker escape to a Tricell oil tanker; Chris and Sheva fight Valentine, subduing her and removing the mind-control device before she orders Chris to follow Wesker.  Chris and Sheva board the tanker and encounter Gionne, who escapes after dropping a case of syringes; Sheva keeps several. When Chris and Sheva reach the main deck, Wesker announces over the ship's intercom that he has betrayed Gionne and infected her with Uroboros. She mutates into a giant monster, which Chris and Sheva defeat. Valentine radios in, telling Chris and Sheva that Wesker must take precise, regular doses of a virus to maintain his strength and speed; a larger or smaller dose would poison him. Sheva realizes that Gionne's syringes are doses of the drug. Chris and Sheva follow Wesker to a bomber loaded with missiles containing the Uroboros virus, injecting him with the syringes Gionne dropped. Wesker tries to escape on the bomber; Chris and Sheva disable it, making him crash-land in a volcano. Furious‚ Wesker exposes himself to Uroboros and chases Chris and Sheva through the volcano. They fight him, and the weakened Wesker falls into the lava before Chris and Sheva are rescued by a helicopter, which is piloted by Valentine and Stone. As a dying Wesker attempts to drag the helicopter into the volcano, Chris and Sheva fire rocket-propelled grenades at Wesker, killing him. In the game's final cutscene, Chris wonders if the world is worth fighting for. Looking at Sheva and Valentine, he decides to live in a world without fear.

Gameplay.

"Resident Evil 5" is a third-person shooter with an over-the-shoulder perspective. Players can use several weapons including handguns, shotguns, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers, as well as melee attacks. Players can make quick 180-degree turns to evade enemies. The game involves boss battles, many of which contain quick time events.  As in its predecessor "Resident Evil 4", players can upgrade weapons with money and treasure collected in-game and heal themselves with herbs, but cannot run and shoot at the same time. New features include infected enemies with guns and grenades, the ability to upgrade weapons at any time from the inventory screen without having to find a merchant, and the equipping of weapons and items in real-time during gameplay. Each player can store nine items. Unlike the previous games, the item size is irrelevant; a herb or a grenade launcher each occupy one space, and four items may be assigned to the D-pad. The game features puzzles, though fewer than previous titles.  "Resident Evil 5" is the first game in the "Resident Evil" series designed for two-player cooperative gameplay. The player controls Chris, a former member of the fictional Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) and member of the BSAA, and a second player can control Sheva, who is introduced in this game. If a person plays alone, Sheva is controlled by the game's artificial intelligence (AI). When the game has been completed once, there is an option to make Sheva the primary character. Two-player mode is available online or split screen with a second player using the same console. A second player joining a split screen game in progress will make the game reload the last checkpoint (the point at which the game was last saved); the second player joining an online game will have to wait until the first player reaches the next checkpoint, or restarts the previous one, to play. In split-screen mode, one player's viewpoint is presented in the top half of the screen, and the other in the bottom half, but each viewpoint is presented in widescreen format, rather than using the full width of the screen, resulting in unused space to the left and right of the two windows. If one player has critical health, only their partner can resuscitate them, and they will die if their partner cannot reach them. At certain points, players are deliberately separated. Players can trade items during gameplay, although weapons cannot be traded with online players. The game's storyline is linear, and interaction with other characters is mostly limited to cutscenes.  A version of the "Mercenaries" minigame, which debuted in "", is included in "Resident Evil 5". This minigame places the player in an enclosed environment with a time limit. Customized weapons cannot be used and players must search for weapons, ammunition, and time bonuses while fighting a barrage of enemies, to score as many points as possible within the time limit. The minigame multiplayer mode was initially offline only; a release-day patch needed to be downloaded to access the online multiplayer modes. "Mercenaries" is unlocked when the game's story mode has been completed.

Development.

"Resident Evil 5" was developed by Capcom and produced by Jun Takeuchi, who directed "" and produced "". Keiji Inafune, promotional producer for "Resident Evil 2" and executive producer of the PlayStation 2 version of "Resident Evil 4", supervised the project. Production began in 2005 and at its peak, over 100 people were working on the project. In February 2007, some members of Capcom's Clover Studio began working on "Resident Evil 5" while others were working on "", which debuted for the Wii. Yasuhiro Anpo, who worked as a programmer on the original "Resident Evil", directed "Resident Evil 5". He was one of several staff members who worked on the original game to be involved in "Resident Evil 5" development. The game's scenario was written by Haruo Murata and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, based on a story idea by concept director Kenichi Ueda. Takeuchi announced that the game would retain the gameplay model introduced in "Resident Evil 4", with "thematic tastes" from both "Resident Evil 4" and the original "Resident Evil".  While previous "Resident Evil" games are mainly set at night, the events of "Resident Evil 5" occur almost entirely during the day. The decision for this was a combination of the game being set in Africa and advances in hardware improvements which allowed increasingly detailed graphics. On the subject of changes to Valentine and Chris's appearance, production director Yasuhiro Anpo explained that designers tried "to preserve their image and imagined how they would have changed over the passage of time". Their new designs retained the character's signature colors; green for Chris and blue for Valentine. Sheva was redesigned several times during production, though all versions tried to emphasize a combination of "feminine attraction and the strength of a fighting woman". The Majini were designed to be more violent than the "Ganado" enemies in "Resident Evil 4".  The decision for cooperative gameplay was made part-way through development, for a new experience in a "Resident Evil" game. Despite initial concern that a second player would dampen the game's tension and horror, it was later realized that this could actually increase such factors where one player had to be rescued. The decision to retain wide-screen proportions in two-player mode was made to avoid having the first player's screen directly on top of the second, which might be distracting, and the restriction on simultaneously moving and shooting was retained to increase player tension by not allowing them to maneuver freely. Takeuchi cited the film "Black Hawk Down" as an influence on the setting of "Resident Evil 5" and his experience working on "Lost Planet: Extreme Condition" as an influence on its development. When questioned as to why the game was not being released on the Wii, which was the most popular gaming console at the time, Takeuchi responded that although that may have been a good decision "from a business perspective", the Wii was not the best choice in terms of power and visual quality, concluding that he was happy with the console choices they had made.  "Resident Evil 5" runs on version 1.4 of Capcom's MT Framework engine and scenes were recorded by motion capture. It was the first video game to use a virtual camera system, which allowed the developers to see character movements in real time as the motion-capture actors recorded. Actors Reuben Langdon, Karen Dyer and Ken Lally portrayed Chris Redfield, Sheva Alomar and Albert Wesker respectively. Dyer also voiced Sheva, while Chris's voice was performed by Roger Craig Smith. Dyer's background training in circus skills helped her win the role of Sheva, as Capcom were searching for someone who could handle the physical skills her motion capture required. She performed her own stunts, and worked in production on the game for over a year, sometimes working 14 hours a day. All of the human character motions were based on motion capture, while the non-human characters in the game were animated by hand.  Kota Suzuki was the game's principal composer and additional music was contributed by Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita and Seiko Kobuchi. The electronic score includes 15 minutes of orchestral music, recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage of 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles with the 103-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony. Other orchestral music and arrangements were by Wataru Hokoyama, who conducted the orchestra. Capcom recorded in Los Angeles because they wanted a Hollywood-style soundtrack to increase the game's cinematic value and global interest. "Resident Evil 5" soundtrack features an original theme song, titled "Pray", which was composed by Suzuki and sung by Oulimata Niang.

Marketing and release.

Capcom announced "Resident Evil 5" on July 20, 2005, and the company showed a brief trailer for the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July 2007. The full E3 trailer became available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store that same month. A new trailer debuted on Spike TV's "GameTrailers TV" in May 2008, and on the GameTrailers website. A playable game demo was released in Japan on December 5, 2008, for the Xbox 360, in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360 on January 26, 2009, and on February 2 for the PlayStation 3. Worldwide downloads of the demo exceeded four million for the two consoles; over 1.8 million were downloaded between January 26 and January 29.  In January 2009, "D+PAD Magazine" reported that "Resident Evil 5" would be released with limited-edition Xbox 360 box art; pictures of the limited-edition box claimed that it would allow two to sixteen players to play offline via System Link. Although Capcom said that their "box art isn't lying", the company did not provide details. Capcom soon issued another statement that the box-art information was incorrect, and System Link could support only two players. Microsoft released a limited-edition, red Xbox 360 Elite console which was sold with the game. The package included an exclusive "Resident Evil" theme for the Xbox 360 Dashboard and a voucher for "Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix" from Xbox Live.  "Resident Evil 5" was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2009, alongside a dedicated Game Space on PlayStation Home. The space, "Resident Evil 5 "Studio Lot"" ("Biohazard 5 "Film Studio"" in Japan), had as its theme the in-game location of Kijuju. Its lounge offered "Resident Evil 5"-related items for sale, events and full game-launching support. Some areas of the space were available only to owners of "Resident Evil 5". A Microsoft Windows version was released in September 2009. This version, using Nvidia's 3D Vision technology through DirectX 10, includes more costumes and a new mode in the Mercenaries minigame. "Resident Evil 5" was re-released on Shield Android TV in May 2016, and was re-released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One the following month, with a physical disc copy following in America that July. It was also released for Nintendo Switch on October 29, 2019.

Additional content.

Shortly before the release of "Resident Evil 5", Capcom announced that a competitive multiplayer mode called Versus would be available for download in several weeks. Versus became available for download in Europe and North America on April 7, 2009, through the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store. Versus has two online game types: "Slayers", a point-based game challenging players to kill Majini, and "Survivors", where players hunt each other while dodging and attacking Majini. Both modes can be played by two-player teams. The Microsoft Windows version of "Resident Evil 5" originally did not support downloadable content (DLC).  During Sony's press conference at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show Capcom announced that a special edition of the game, "Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition", would be released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 in the spring of 2010. This edition supports the PlayStation Move accessory and includes a new scenario, "Lost in Nightmares", where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine infiltrate one of Umbrella Corporation co-founder Oswell E. Spencer's estates in 2006. Another special edition of the game, "Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition", was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in North America and Europe. "Gold Edition" includes "Lost in Nightmares" and another campaign-expansion episode, "Desperate Escape", where players control Josh Stone and Jill Valentine as they assist Chris and Sheva. The edition also includes the previously released Versus mode, four new costumes and an alternate Mercenaries mode with eight new playable characters, new items and maps. Like "Alternative Edition", "Gold Edition" supports the PlayStation Move accessory with a patch released on September 14, 2010. The Xbox 360 version of "Gold Edition" came in a DVD with a token allowing free download of all DLC, while the PlayStation 3 version had all of the new content on a single Blu-ray disc. On November 5, 2012, "Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition" was placed on the PlayStation Network as a free download for PlayStation Plus users during that month.  As part of the game's conversion to Steamworks, "Gold Edition" was released for Microsoft Windows on March 26, 2015. Owners of the game from Steam or as a boxed retail Games for Windows – Live can acquire a free Steamworks copy of the base game and purchase the new "Gold Edition" content. The Steamworks version did not allow the use of Nvidia's 3D Vision technology or fan modifications, though Capcom later confirmed a way to work around these issues.

Reception.

" Resident Evil 5" received generally favourable reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Reviewers praised the game's visuals and content. Corey Cohen of "Official Xbox Magazine" complimented the game's fast pace, and called the graphics gorgeous. It was praised by Joe Juba and Mark Miller of "Game Informer", who said that it had the best graphics of any game to date and that the music and voice acting helped bring the characters to life, and Brian Crecente of "Kotaku" said it was one of the most visually stunning games he had ever played. Adam Sessler of "X-Play" said the game's graphics were exceptional, and "Edge" praised the gameplay as exhilarating and frantic. For IGN, Ryan Geddes wrote that the game had a surprisingly high replay value, and "GameZone" Louis Bedigian said the game was "worth playing through twice in one weekend".  While still giving favorable reviews of the game, several reviewers considered it to be a departure from the survival horror genre, a decision they lamented. Chris Hudak of Game Revolution considered the game to be a "full-on action blockbuster", and Brian Crecente said that about halfway through the game it "dropp[ed] all pretense of being a survival horror title and unmask[ed] itself as an action shooter title". Kristan Reed of Eurogamer said the game "morphs what was a survival horror adventure into a survival horror shooter", and believed that this attempt to appeal to action gamers would upset some of the series' fans.  Aspects of the game's control scheme were viewed negatively by critics. James Mielke of 1UP.com criticized several inconsistencies in the game, such as only being able to take cover from enemy fire in very specific areas. Mielke also criticized its controls, saying that aiming was too slow and noting the inability to strafe away from (or quickly jump back from) enemies. Despite the problems he found it was "still a very fun game". Kristan Reed also had criticism of some controls, such as the speed at which 180-degree turns were performed and difficulty accessing inventory. Joe Juba said that the inability to move and shoot at the same time seemed more "like a cheap and artificial way to increase difficulty than a technique to enhance tension." While praising some aspects of the AI control of Sheva, Ryan Geddes thought that it also had its annoyances, such as its tendency to recklessly expend ammunition and health supplies.  Reception of the downloadable content was favorable. Steven Hopper of "GameZone" rated the "Lost in Nightmares" DLC eight out of ten, saying that despite the episode's brevity it had high replay value and the addition of new multiplayer elements made it a "worthy investment for fans of the original game." Samuel Claiborn of IGN rated the "Desperate Escape" DLC seven out of ten: "Despite Desperate Escape's well-crafted action sequences, I actually found myself missing the unique vibe of Lost in Nightmares. The dynamic between Jill and Josh isn't particularly thrilling, and the one-liners, banter and endearing kitsch are kept to a minimum."

Allegations of racism.

"Resident Evil 5"s 2007 E3 trailer was criticized for depicting a white protagonist killing black enemies in a small African village. According to "Newsweek" editor N'Gai Croal, "There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist imagery", although he acknowledged that only the preview had been released. Takeuchi said the game's producers were completely surprised by the complaints. The second trailer for the game, released on May 31, 2008, revealed a more racially diverse group of enemies and the African BSAA agent Sheva, who assists the protagonist. Critics felt that Sheva's character was added to address the issue of racism, though Karen Dyer said the character had been in development before the first trailer was released. Takeuchi denied that complaints about racism had any effect in altering the design of "Resident Evil 5". He acknowledged that different cultures may have had differing opinions about the trailer, though said he did not expect there to be further complaints once the game was released and people were "able to play the game and see what it is for themselves". In a "Computer and Video Games" interview, producer Masachika Kawata also addressed the issue: "We can't please everyone. We're in the entertainment business—we're not here to state our political opinion or anything like that. It's unfortunate that some people felt that way."  In "Eurogamer" February 2009 preview of "Resident Evil 5", Dan Whitehead expressed concern about controversy the game might generate: "It plays so blatantly into the old clichés of the dangerous 'dark continent' and the primitive lust of its inhabitants that you'd swear the game was written in the 1920s". Whitehead said that these issues became more "outrageous and outdated" as the game progressed and that the addition of the "light-skinned" Sheva just made the overall issue worse. Hilary Goldstein from IGN believed that the game was not deliberately racist, and though he did not personally find it offensive, he felt that others would due to the subjective nature of offensiveness. Chris Hudak dismissed any allegations of racism as "stupid". Karen Dyer, who is of Jamaican descent, also dismissed the claims. She said that in over a year of working on the game's development she never encountered anything racially insensitive, and would not have continued working there if she had.  Wesley Yin-Poole of "VideoGamer.com" said that despite the controversy the game was attracting due to alleged racism, no expert opinion had been sought. He asked Glenn Bowman, senior lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Kent, whether he thought the game was racist. Bowman considered the racism accusations "silly", saying that the game had an anti-colonial theme and those complaining about the game's racism might be expressing an "inverted racism which says that you can't have scary people who are black". It was reported that one cutscene in the game scene showed "black men" dragging off a screaming white woman; according to Yin-Poole, the allegation was incorrect and the single man dragging the woman was "not obviously black". The scene was submitted to the British Board of Film Classification for evaluation. BBFC head of communications Sue Clark said, "There is only one man pulling the blonde woman in from the balcony [and he] is not black either. As the whole game is set in Africa it is hardly surprising that some of the characters are black... we do take racism very seriously, but in this case, there is no issue around racism."  Academic journals and conferences, however, have continued to comment on the theme of race within the game. In 2011, André Brock from "Games and Culture" said that the game drew from well-established racial and gender stereotypes, saying that the African people were only depicted as savage, even before transitioning into zombies. Writing for the Digital Games Research Association in 2011, Geyser and Tshabalala noted that racial stereotyping had never been intended by Capcom, though compared their depiction of Africa to that of the 1899 novel "Heart of Darkness". Post-colonial Africa, they opined, was portrayed as being unable to take care of itself, and at the mercy of Western influences.  Writing for "The Philosophy of Computer Games Conference" in 2015, Harrer and Pichlmair considered "Resident Evil 5" to be "yet another moment in the history of commodity racism, which from the late 19th century onwards allowed popular depictions of racial stereotypes to enter the most intimate spaces of European homes". The authors state that Africa is presented from a Western gaze; "what is presented as 'authentic' blackness conforms to the projected fantasy of predominantly white gaming audience". In 2016, Paul Martin from "Games and Culture" said that the theme of the game could be described as "dark continent", stating that it drew on imagery of European colonialism and depictions of "Blackness" reminiscent of 19th-century European theories on race.

Sales.

The PlayStation 3 version of "Resident Evil 5" was the top-selling game in Japan in the two weeks following its release, with 319,590 copies sold. In March 2009, it became the fastest-selling game of the franchise in the United Kingdom, and the biggest Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game release in the country. By December 2019, "Resident Evil 5" had sold 7.6 million copies worldwide between PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and download, and the "Gold Edition" had sold an additional 2.3 million copies across those systems. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions sold another 1.6 million copies combined, bringing the total sales to 11.5 million units.  The original release of "Resident Evil 5" was Capcom's best-selling individual edition of a game until March 2018, when ""s sales reached 7.5 million units, compared to 7.3 million for "Resident Evil 5" at the time. As of March 2019, when taking into consideration the sales of all versions and re-releases of titles, "Resident Evil 5" was the third-best-selling Capcom game overall, behind "Monster Hunter: World" (12.4 million) and "Street Fighter II" (14.05 million). The game remains the best-selling title in the "Resident Evil" franchise, outselling its closest rivals "Resident Evil 6" and "Resident Evil 4" by more than 2 million and 3.5 million units, respectively, as of April 2018.

Awards.

"Resident Evil 5" won the "Award of Excellence" at the 2009 Japan Game Awards. It was nominated for both Best Action/Adventure Game and Best Console Game at the 2008 Game Critics Awards, Best Action Game at the 2009 IGN Game of the Year Awards, and Best Sound Editing in Computer Entertainment at the 2010 Golden Reel Awards. It received five nominations at the 2010 Game Audio Network Guild Awards: Audio of the Year, Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio, Best Dialogue, Best Original Vocal Song – Pop (for the theme song "Pray") and Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game. Karen Dyer was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance at the 2010 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Awards, and the game received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.

Resident Evil 5 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the seventh major installment in the "Resident Evil" series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor "Resident Evil 4" was released. "Resident Evil 5" was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in March 2009 and for Microsoft Windows in September that year. The plot involves an investigation of a terrorist threat by Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar in Kijuju, a fictional region of Africa. Chris learns that he must confront his past in the form of an old enemy, Albert Wesker, and his former partner, Jill Valentine.

Resident Evil 5 (jap., trans. "Baiohazādo 5", Biohazard 5) ist der insgesamt siebte Teil der gleichnamigen Videospielreihe von Capcom. Der Titel erschien in Europa am 13. März 2009 für PlayStation 3 und Xbox 360, die PC-Version folgte am 18. September desselben Jahres. Im Juni 2016 erschien außerdem eine Remaster-Version für PlayStation 4 und Xbox One. Im Oktober 2019 kam eine Version des Spiel für die Nintendo Switch auf den Markt.


Bluetooth-based systems.

Bluetooth, a short-range wireless system supported by many mobile devices, is one transmission medium used for proximity marketing. The process of Bluetooth-based proximity marketing involves setting up Bluetooth "broadcasting" equipment at a particular location and then sending information which can be text, images, audio or video to Bluetooth enabled devices within range of the broadcast server. These devices are often referred to as beacons. Other standard data exchange formats such as vCard can also be used. This form of proximity marketing is also referred to as close range marketing.  It used to be the case that due to security fears, or a desire to save battery life, many users keep their Bluetooth devices in OFF mode, or ON but not set to be 'discoverable'. Because of this, often regions where Bluetooth proximity marketing is in operation it is accompanied by advising via traditional media - such as posters, television screens or field marketing teams - suggesting people make their Bluetooth handsets 'discoverable' in order to receive free content - this is often referred to as a "Call-to-Action." A 'discoverable' Bluetooth device within range of the server is automatically sent a message asking if the user would like to receive the free content.  Current mobile phones usually have bluetooth switched ON by default, and some users leave bluetooth switched on for easy connection with car kits and headsets.  In the past some implementations of Bluetooth proximity marketing require users to run Java applications on their phones to enable them to receive content. This has the advantage that only those who choose to will receive content. Others require no handset-side software.  The diversity of mobile phones is huge. Screen sizes and supported file formats varies greatly. To obtain the optimal user experience with Bluetooth Marketing, the Bluetooth system must be able to automatically recognize phone models and deliver the proper content automatically. Some businesses choose to utilize multiple proximity marketing platforms to cater to different popular models of smart phones.  For Android devices, a notification can be sent without having an app installed using the Eddystone-URL. The Google Nearby is an in-built service that scans for beacon signals and displays the message tied to that signal. Apps that are compatible with Physical Web can also do the same. Chrome has since withdrawn support for the Physical Web. In regions where Google is banned, Samsung's browser Close by does the same as Nearby. On iOS devices, the relevant app needs to be installed that can then receive messages from nearby beacons.  Android users will no longer be able to receive notifications without an app after Nearby shuts down on December 6, 2018. Proximity marketing campaigns can still be run on smartphones running on Android but they need a compatible app.

Wi-Fi-based systems.

There are systems capable of detecting certain signals periodically emitted by any electronic devices equipped with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology, and the subsequent use of gathered information to detect the position or presence of, and/or flows of information to and from, said devices, in a statistical or aggregate form.  This technology is used in a manner equivalent to other systems, such as Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), which serve for locating devices within a controlled environment; it works in conjunction with signals from Wi-Fi issuers (also called wireless tags) and receiving antennas, in different locations, so that the movements and presence of Wi-Fi-equipped devices can be analyzed in terms of arrival time, length of visit per zone, paths of movement, general flows, etc.  The continuously increasing use of smartphones and tablets has fueled a boom in Wi-Fi tracking technology, specially in the retail environment. Such technology can be used by managers of a physical business to ascertain how many devices are present in a given area, and to observe or optimize business marketing and management.  Technically, such technology is based on two main models:  1. Re-use of standard Access Point (AP) technologies with a Captive Portal, already deployed in numerous locations (airports, malls, shops, etc.).  2. Use of antennas for the detection of signals in the 2.4 or 5 GHz frequency bands, positioning the detected devices within strategic areas, in order to obtain a unique identifier about every mobile device is detected in such locations, and with the corresponding HTML5, iOS and Android SDKs integrated in any APP or Web, allowing interaction by proximity with the users through the mobile devices. An example of this model is the Seeketing [http://www.seeketing.com <nowiki>[2]</nowiki>] technology.  The first option manifests weaker ability to detect and send messages to the public, because AP devices were created for purposes other than wireless tracking and operate by extracting information only from select devices (smartphones or tablets which have previously connected to the AP in question). In practice, and depending on the environment, as many as 10-20% of visitors access to the captive portal when they visit a point of sale  The second option is to analyze all signals detected within the bands used by the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology, offering a higher detection ratio of total visitors (about 60%-70%) and extracting behavior patterns that allow the assignment of a unique identifier, each time a device is detected. Such identifiers are not linked to any data present on the device, nor to any information from the device manufacturer, so that relation to any particular user of the device cannot be made. Unlike in the above case, visitor security (in the sense of anonymity) is total.  Thanks to Seeketing SDKs for iOS, Android, and HTML5 APIs for Web pages, this model of technology allows retailers, or managers of any physical location, to send push notification to the smartphones with an APP installed, or to send SMS/WhatsAPP/Email messages to those users who previously was registered in a captive portal, even if they not are using the APs or Wi-Fi connection to access internet.  Assignment of the same unique identifier to tracking information obtained by the antennas, APP and Webs APIs remains a challenge, and allows to have both online and offline beviour information to optimize proximity communication campaigns in a non-intrusive way.

NFC-based systems.

Near Field Communication (NFC) tags are embedded in the NFC Smart Poster, Smart Product or Smart Book. The tag has a RFID chip with an embedded command. The command can be to open the mobile browser on a given page or offer. Any NFC-enabled phone can activate this tag by placing the device in close proximity. The information can be anything from product details, special accommodation deals, and information on local restaurants.  The German drugstore chain, Budnikowsky, launched the first NFC-enabled Smart Poster in October 2011 which allowed train commuters to tap their phones on the poster to shop and find more information. in November 2011, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster launched the Impulse Economy, the first NFC-enabled Smart Book.  In the UK NFC is being adopted by most of the outdoor poster contractors. Clear Channel have installed over 25,000 Adshel posters with NFC tags (and QR codes for Apple phones).  Retailers are also looking at NFC as it offers a cost-effective method by which consumers can engage with brands but doesn't require integrating the technology into their IT systems - which is a barrier to many new technologies like BLE. A number of retailers have already started using NFC to enhance the shopping experience, Casino in France and Vic in Holland.  Proximity Marketing Strategy using NFC Technology has been widely adopted in Japan and uses 'pull' rather than 'push' marketing allowing the consumer the choice of where and when they receive marketing messages.  There are a number NFC-enabled phones entering the market spurred by NFC mobile wallet trials globally. NFC wallets include the Google Wallet and ISIS (mobile payment system). While mobile payment is the driver for NFC, proximity marketing is an immediate beneficiary in-market.  Apple did not include this technology in their initial smartphone models. Apple added NFC to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

GSM-based systems.

Proximity Marketing via SMS relies on GSM 03.41 which defines the Short Message Service - Cell Broadcast. SMS-CB allows messages (such as advertising or public information) to be broadcast to all mobile users in a specified geographical area. In the Philippines, GSM-based proximity broadcast systems are used by select Government Agencies for information dissemination on Government-run community-based programs to take advantage of its reach and popularity (Philippines has the world's highest traffic of SMS). It is also used for commercial service known as Proxima SMS. Bluewater, a super-regional shopping centre in the UK, has a GSM based system supplied by NTL to help its GSM coverage for calls, it also allows each customer with a mobile phone to be tracked though the centre which shops they go into and for how long. The system enables special offer texts to be sent to the phone.

Proximity marketing is the localized wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. Transmissions can be received by individuals in that location who wish to receive them and have the necessary equipment to do so.

Bluetooth-Marketing, international auch "Proximity-Marketing" und von Kritikern "Bluespamming" genannt, ist die Bereitstellung von Informationen für Handys, handyangepassten Inhalten (Mobile-Content) oder Werbung (Mobile-Advertising) an besonders gekennzeichneten Stellen an meist öffentlichen Plätzen via Bluetooth.


Overview.

The design is based upon earlier ADtranz Incentro models and like them, the Flexity Berlin is built from modules. The Berlin public transport operator Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) ordered four different prototypes for testing. The variants are one each of 30-metre and 40-metre lengths in double-ended, or single-ended design. The shorter versions use five modules and the longer versions are built with seven modules. Cab and door arrangement can be either bidirectional (two cab) or unidirectional (single cab) format depending upon the intended route. The first were rolled out during the InnoTrans 2008 railway trade fair. The appearance of the trams was especially designed for use in Berlin.  If the new Flexity tram tests are successful, then Bombardier's Hennigsdorf factory is scheduled to produce a further 206 units. The order would allow BVG to replace 452 high-floor ČKD Tatra KT4 trams. The Tatra trams being replaced are shorter and normally operated in pairs.  In 2009 BVG placed an order for an initial 99 trams for delivery from May 2011. The actual roll-in started on 5 September 2011. At the time of the initial order the BVG intended to order 33 more trams after 2017.  In June 2012 the BVG placed a second order for 39 trams – the last tram of the first contract arrived on 10 September 2012 and the first tram of the second contract arrived on 7 September 2012. The second contract included only long versions so that the amount of trams is enough to replace all of the old Tatra trams by 2017. The purchase is fully funded by the Bundesland Berlin at an amount of 439.1 million euros.  The nearby Strausberg Railway joined the delivery framework of the BVG Berlin Transport Company ordering 2 trams on 5 September 2011. The two short double-ended two-cab trams were delivered in February and March 2013 replacing its older trams (mostly Tatra KT8D5). The purchase is part of a 20-year contract with the county ensuring the financial basis. The contract for the two trams is at an amount of about 5.5 million euros.  The pilot batch was assembled in Bautzen which was later building the chassis for further assembly in Hennigsdorf near Berlin using some parts like motors from Bombardier facilities in Mannheim and Siegen. The factory in Hennigsdorf will deliver about 20 to 24 trains per year (with the last train from the second Berlin batch to be delivered during 2017).

The Bombardier Flexity Berlin is a tram type constructed for the Berlin tramway network. It was developed by Bombardier Transportation during the late 2000s and is based on the Bombardier Flexity family of 100% low-floor trams.

Die Flexity Berlin (Eigenbezeichnung "FLEXITY Berlin") ist ein Niederflur-Straßenbahnwagen der Flexity-Reihe von Bombardier Transportation. Er ist eine Weiterentwicklung basierend auf dem Adtranz Incentro.


Execution.

The play (in its elementary form) involves three players. The play begins with a defender guarding a ballhandler. The ballhandler moves toward a teammate, who sets a "screen" (or "pick") by standing in the way of the defender, who is separated from the moving ballhandler. The defender is forced to choose between guarding the ballhandler or the screener. If the defender tries to guard the ballhandler, then the screener can move toward the basket (as the man defending the screener may try to trap or guard the ballhandler, giving the screener space) sometimes by a foot pivot ("roll"), and is now open for a pass. If the defender chooses instead to guard the screening teammate, then the ballhandler has an open shot. Alternatively, the ballhandler may pass the ball to an open teammate. A well-executed pick and roll is the result of teamwork, but many players fail by executing the play too quickly; they must ignore the defense and control their own speed.  The pick and roll is often employed by a shorter guard handling the ball and a taller forward or center setting the screen; if the taller defender switches to guard the ballhandler, then the offensive team can have favorable mismatches. The shorter guard has a speed advantage over the taller defender, while the taller forward has a size advantage over the shorter defender.

Results.

A successful pick and roll play may result in the screener being in position to receive a pass with a clear path for an easy shot, with the chance of drawing a foul as other defenders move toward the play to try to prevent penetration. It may alternately lead to the ballhandler being momentarily without a defender, and thus free to pass to any open teammate, or take an uncontested shot, which greatly improves the chance of scoring, again with the chance of drawing a foul as the screened defender hurries to get back into the play.  The success of the strategy depends largely on the ballhandler, who must recognize the situation quickly and make a decision whether to take the shot, pass to the screener who is rolling (if the defender switches) or pass to another open teammate (if other defenders come to help). The screener also must recognize the open spaces of the court to roll to and be alert to receive the pass and finish the play.

Other variations.

Variations of the pick and roll are the "pick and pop" (or "pick and fade"), where the screener moves for an open jump shot instead of rolling to the basket, or the "pick and slip", where the screener fakes setting a screen before slipping behind the defender to accept the pass.

Pick and pop.

The pick and pop is an offensive play that is a derivative of the classic pick and roll. Instead of rolling toward the basket, however, the player setting the pick moves ("pops") to an open area of the court to receive a pass from the ballhandler for a jump shot.  The premise of the two plays is the same: a ballhandler uses a teammate's pick to attract the attention of two defensive players to free his teammate for a scoring opportunity. A successful pick and pop relies on a ballhandler who demands constant defensive attention and a teammate with an accurate jumpshot or a layup if by the rim.

Notable uses.

In the NBA, John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz used this play to great effect in the 1990s, leading their team to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. Stockton, a point guard, was a good shooter and exceptional decision maker and Malone, a power forward, was a great finisher. When they were teammates on the Phoenix Suns, Steve Nash and Amar'e Stoudemire also utilized the high-screen pick and roll to great success. The Golden State Warriors' combination of point guard Stephen Curry and power forward Draymond Green are noted for their use of a stutter step high pick-and-roll set: Curry's long-range shooting ability often makes him be double-teamed or become trapped, Curry will pass to Green as he rolls out of the screen, allowing Green to lead a 4-on-3 offense with the option to pass to wing shooters, lob an alley-oop or drive to the basket.  According to Synergy Sports Technology, use of the pick and roll in the NBA rose from 15.6% of total plays in the 2004–05 NBA season to 18.6% in the 2008–09 NBA season.

Other sports.

The pick and roll is also used extensively in box lacrosse, the sport played in the National Lacrosse League.

The pick and roll (also called a ball screen or screen and roll) in basketball is an offensive play in which a player sets a screen (pick) for a teammate handling the ball and then moves toward the basket (rolls) to receive a pass. In the NBA, the play came into vogue in the 1990s and has developed into the league's most common offensive action. There are however many ways in which the defense can also counter the offensive screen.

Pick and roll oder screen and roll („Blocken und abrollen“) ist ein oft verwendeter Standard-Spielzug im Basketball, in dem zwei Angreifer den Ball führen und zwei Verteidigern gegenüberstehen. Bei dieser Taktik blockt der nicht ballführende Angreifer den Laufweg des Verteidigers, der den Ballführer deckt, und bringt Letzteren somit in gute Wurfposition. Da es die Verteidiger grundsätzlich in Zugzwang bringt, gilt es als einfacher und effektiver Spielzug. Eine Analyse der "New York Times" aus dem Jahr 2009 ergab, dass in 18,6 % aller Spielzüge in der NBA ein Pick and roll durchgeführt wird.


Connection between A15 and A18.

In governmental plans, the A15 and A18 together were meant to be one long motorway from the Europoort harbor near Rotterdam towards the town of Varsseveld in the east of the country. However, the section between the interchange Ressen and Zevenaar was not completed. To avoid confusion for drivers, the eastern part of the road has been given a different number: A18. In 2018, the Dutch government announced plans to extend the A15 by from the A325 south of Arnhem to the A12 northwest of Zevenaar as a toll motorway, which will provide a connection onward to the A18; the A12 will also be widened from Westervoort to the Oud-Dijk interchange with the A18, and a new Zevenaar-East exit will be built to replace the existing Zevenaar exit. Construction of the extension began in 2019 and is planned for completion between 2021 and 2023. It is unclear whether the A18 route will be renumbered as the A15 once the connection to the A12 is made.

Section A15 (and N15).

The westernmost part of the road, between the Maasvlakte and exit 8 is officially not an "Autosnelweg" (motorway), and is therefore known as the N15. However, it has most characteristics of a motorway, such as a central barrier and a hard shoulder until it crosses the Coloradoweg on the Maasvlakte. As of exit 8, the road becomes an official motorway, called A15. Together with the Betuweroute, which runs parallel on several stretches, the A15 is a main transport corridor from the Port of Rotterdam to the east.

Reconstruction works.

In 2010, the A15 motorway near Rotterdam has been widened between the exit Brielle and the interchange Vaanplein. To the western part, between Brielle and Spijkenisse, one lane in each direction will be added, making it a 2x3 road. As for the eastern part of the section, between Spijkenisse and the Vaanplein, the current 2x3 road has been upgraded to a 2x5 road. The complex project in this highly industrialized part of Rotterdam caused an extensive loss of €103 million to one of the main contractors of the project, Ballast Nedam, in the year 2014.

Section A18 (and N18).

The A18 motorway is a short motorway, with only 5 exits and 20 kilometers. The western terminus, interchange Oud-Dijk, can only be used by traffic to and from the western part of the A12. Traffic to/from the A12 east of this interchange (most likely from the German BAB 3 road) will have to use local roads to get from the A18 to the A12 or vice versa.  After its eastern terminus near Varsseveld, road number 18 continues as a regional non-motorway road, therefore being called N18. This road passes the towns Harreveld, Lichtenvoorde, Groenlo, and Eibergen on its way to the city Enschede.

The Dutch A15 motorway (Rijksweg 15) is a set of two motorways in the Netherlands, the A15 and the A18.

Der Rijksweg 15 ist eine niederländische Fernstraße vom Hafen von Rotterdam (Maasvlakte) bis nach Nijmegen. Zwischen Maasvlakte und Rotterdam wird die Straße N15 genannt, danach wird sie zur Autobahn A15. Sie geht an Tiel und Gorinchem vorbei. Bei Nijmegen trifft sie am Autobahndreieck Ressen auf die A325.