title: 1980s

text: Duran Duran, the biggest band of the 1980s, created a teen frenzy similar to that of The Beatles during the first British Invasion of the 1960s. They were Princess Diana's favorite band. In 1982, they released their world famous, omnipresent Rio which ignited a global craze. Their catchy flagship song from the album, Hungry Like the Wolf, reached number 1 in Canada, number 3 in the United States, number 4 in Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa and number 5 in the United Kingdom and Australia. It won a Grammy Award in 1984. The title track was another mega hit song that was issued worldwide in October 1982 and became a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart. "The Reflex" became the band's most successful single, topping the UK chart on 5 May 1984. It was their second UK No. 1, after 1983's "Is There Something I Should Know?" By 1985, the musical band stood on top of the world as absolute conquerors of music and music video. They were the darlings of MTV and the center of female teen fan's attention. In that same year, the A View to a Kill theme song to the same-titled James Bond movie reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and it remains the only Bond theme to achieve this chart placing. Notorious (Duran Duran song) was a massive commercial success internationally. It debuted at number 14 and peaked the following week at number 7 in the UK Singles Charts, and also performed extremely well in the US, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was also a success in other countries reaching the top 10 in Sweden, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, New Zealand, the Netherlands and did even better particularly in Italy, where it went to number 1 for 4 consecutive weeks, becoming one of the best-selling singles of 1986 in the country. Their massive appeal was widespread on a worldwide scale in music, video and fashion. Their influence was so intense that they helped shape how music was defined throughout the 80s decade. They extensively toured the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, Japan and other parts of Asia. Highly stylized videos showcasing their other mega hit songs like, Planet Earth, New Moon on Monday, The Wild Boys, Save a Prayer and Notorious made Duran Duran a popular household name.


title: 1980s

text: Michael Jackson was one of the icons of the 1980s and his leather jacket, white glove, and Moonwalk dance were often imitated. Jackson's 1982 album Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time, with sales estimated by various sources as somewhere between 65 and 110 million copies worldwide. His 1987 album Bad sold over 45 million copies and became the first album to have five number-one singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Jackson had the most number-one singles throughout the decade (9), and spent the most weeks at number one (27 weeks). His 1987 Bad World Tour grossed over $125 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing world tour by a solo artist during the decade. Jackson earned numerous awards and titles during the 1980s, the most notable of which were a record eight Grammy Awards and eight American Music Awards in 1984, and the honor of "Artist of the Decade" by U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Jackson was arguably the biggest star during this time, and would eventually sell more than one billion records around the world.


title: 1980s

text: Punk rock continued to make strides in the musical community. With bands leading the significance of this period such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Suicidal Tendencies, D.O.A., Bad Religion, Minutemen, Social Distortion, and Dead Kennedys, it gave birth to many subgenres like hardcore, which has continued to be moderately successful, giving birth in turn to a few counterculture movements, most notably the Straight Edge movement which began in the early era of this decade. College rock caught on in the underground scene of the 1980s in a nationwide movement with a distinct D.I.Y approach. Bands like the Pixies, R.E.M., The Replacements, Sonic Youth, XTC, The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, Hüsker Dü, The Stone Roses, The Jesus and Mary Chain etc. experienced success in this genre. The 1980s also saw the birth of the grunge genre, with the arrival of such bands as Soundgarden, Green River, Melvins, Screaming Trees, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, The U-Men, Blood Circus, Nirvana, Tad, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone and Alice in Chains .


title: 1980s

text: Several notable musical artists died of unnatural causes in the 1980s: Bon Scott, at the time lead singer of rock band AC/DC, died of acute alcohol poisoning on February 19, 1980; English drummer John Bonham of the rock band Led Zeppelin also died that year in a similar manner; The Beatles member John Lennon was fatally shot outside his home in New York City on the night of December 8, 1980; Tim Hardin died of a heroin overdose on December 29, 1980; Reggae musician Bob Marley died from a lentiginous skin melanoma on May 11, 1981; Harry Chapin died of a car accident on July 16, 1981; Motown singer Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father at his home in Los Angeles on April 1, 1984, one day before what would've been his 45th birthday; Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Randy Rhoads died in an airplane crash on March 19, 1982; Karen Carpenter died from heart failure caused by her anorexia condition on February 4, 1983; Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a bus accident in Sweden on September 27, 1986; and lastly, Andy Gibb died in 1988 as a result of myocarditis.


title: 1980s

text: Although animated feature films did not gain mainstream popularity until the mid to late-1990s due to public preference of television animation, some important films were produced during the decade. After leaving Disney in 1979, Don Bluth formed his own studio and went on direct The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven. At the same time, the Disney studio wasn't having good times and almost bankrupted after The Black Cauldron bombed at the box office. However, in later years, they slowly recovered with the modest success of Ron Clements and John Musker directed The Great Mouse Detective, the live-action animated hybrid Robert Zemeckis directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit co-produced with Steven Spielberg, and eventually regained public confidence following the release of The Little Mermaid. Other animated films from the decade also gained notable status: Films based on popular works include Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!), Heavy Metal, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Care Bears Movie, The Transformers: The Movie, The Chipmunk Adventure and Daffy Duck's Quackbusters; while original films include The Last Unicorn, The Plague Dogs, Rock & Rule, Fire and Ice, Abra Cadabra, The Brave Little Toaster and The BFG.


title: Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant

text: Because of the controversy over the plant, in February 2013 the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government proposed that a referendum should be issued, which would allow the people of the country to decide the fate of the plant. The proposed referendum was sponsored by 32 KMT lawmakers led by Lee Ching-hua and asked "Do you agree that the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should be halted and that it not become operational?" Referendums must have good voter turnout (greater than 50% of registered voters must participate in the referendum vote), and a majority of participating voters must vote yes in order for the referendum to become binding, meaning that poor voter turnout would ensure referendum defeat (and in the case of the Lee referendum, continued construction). The opposition DPP claimed that getting better than 50% voter turnout in a non-Presidential election year was too difficult, and barricaded the legislative chamber to prevent a vote to place the Lee referendum on the national ballot. This led to a scuffle when KMT legislators attempted to break through the barricade, and the Lee referendum was not voted on. In the following legislative session, protesters called on the government to withdraw the Lee referendum, and it was subsequently withdrawn.


title: 350th Air Refueling Squadron

text: The squadron established itself at its combat station, RAF Thorpe Abbotts, on 9 June 1943, flying its first combat mission against Bremen on 25 June. Until the end of the war, the squadron was primarily employed in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Until January 1944, it concentrated its operations on airfields in France, and industrial targets and naval facilities in France and Germany. On 17 August 1943, it participated in an attack on a factory manufacturing Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters in Regensburg, Germany, which seriously disrupted production of that plane. Although the mission called for fighter escort, the fighter group assigned to protect the squadron's formation missed the rendezvous and the wing formation proceeded to the target unescorted. Enemy fighter opposition focused on the low "box", formed in part by the squadron. Ten of the 21 Flying Fortresses flown by the 100th Group were lost on this mission. Unknown to AAF intelligence at the time, the attack also destroyed almost all of the fuselage construction equipment for Germany's secret Me 262 jet fighter. Rather than returning to England, the unit turned south and recovered at bases in North Africa. For this action, the squadron was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC).


title: 350th Air Refueling Squadron

text: At the end of the Cold War, the Air Force underwent extensive changes as a result of several rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). On 1 January 1994, the 22nd Air Refueling Wing moved to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, as part of the Air Force's plan to return McConnell to an air refueling hub. The 384th Air Refueling Squadron, a geographically separated unit of the 19th Air Refueling Wing (at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia) and a McConnell tenant unit, joined the 22nd as the first of four Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker squadrons to comprise the wing's new tanker force. Within eight months, the 350th, 344th, and 349th Air Refueling Squadrons joined the 384th in the 22nd Operations Group to fly the wing's 48 KC-135s. In 1997, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) selected McConnell as its training base for its KC-135 crews and maintenance personnel. The RSAF stationed two of their Stratotankers with the 22 ARW, naming the organization the Peace Guardian Detachment. From 1998 to 2003, the RSAF maintained a 300-person detachment at McConnell and trained with the 350th on air refueling techniques, tactics, and general airmanship.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: In 1910, the Austria-Hungary Naval Technical Committee initiated the design and development of a 275-tonne (271-long-ton) coastal torpedo boat, specifying that it should be capable of sustaining 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) for 10 hours. At the same time, the committee issued design parameters for a high seas or fleet torpedo boat of 500–550 t (490–540 long tons), top speed of 30 kn and endurance of 480 nautical miles (890 km; 550 mi). This design would have been a larger and better-armed vessel than the existing Austro-Hungarian 400-tonne (390-long-ton) Huszár-class destroyers. The specification for the high seas torpedo boat was based on an expectation that the Strait of Otranto, where the Adriatic Sea meets the Ionian Sea, would be blockaded by hostile forces during a future conflict. In such circumstances, there would be a need for a torpedo boat that could sail from the Austro-Hungarian Navy (‹See Tfd›German: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, Hungarian: Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) base at the Bocche di Cattaro (the Bocche or Bay of Kotor) to the strait during the night, locate and attack blockading ships and return to port before morning. Steam turbine power was selected for propulsion, as diesels with the necessary power were not available, and the Austro-Hungarian Navy did not have the practical experience to run turbo-electric boats. Despite having developed these ideas, the Austro-Hungarian Navy then asked shipyards to submit proposals for a 250 t (250-long-ton) boat with a maximum speed of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph). Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino (STT) of Triest was selected for the contract to build eight vessels, the T group, ahead of one other tenderer. The T-group designation signified that they were built at Triest.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: The 250t-class, T-group boats had short raised forecastles and an open bridge, and were fast and agile, well designed for service in the Adriatic. They had a waterline length of 57.84 m (189 ft 9 in), a beam of 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in), and a normal draught of 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in). While their designed displacement was 262 tonnes (258 long tons), they displaced about 267.3 tonnes (263 long tons) fully loaded. The boats were powered by two Parsons steam turbines driving two propellers, using steam generated by two Yarrow water-tube boilers, one of which burned fuel oil and the other coal. There were two boiler rooms, one behind the other. The turbines were rated at 5,000–5,700 shaft horsepower (3,700–4,300 kW) and designed to propel the boats to a top speed of 28 kn (52 km/h; 32 mph), although a maximum speed of 29.2 kn (54.1 km/h; 33.6 mph) could be achieved. They carried 18.2 t (17.9 long tons) of coal and 24.3 t (23.9 long tons) of fuel oil, which gave them a range of 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph). The T group had one funnel rather than the two funnels of the later groups of the class. 79 T and the rest of the 250t class were classified as high seas torpedo boats by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, despite being smaller than the original concept for a coastal torpedo boat. The naval historian Zvonimir Freivogel states that this type of situation was common due to the parsimony of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. They were the first small Austro-Hungarian Navy boats to use turbines, and this contributed to ongoing problems with them, which had to be progressively solved once they were in service. The crew consisted of three officers and thirty-eight enlisted men. The vessel carried one 4 m (13 ft) yawl as a ship's boat.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: During the war, 77 T was used for convoy, patrol, escort and minesweeping tasks, anti-submarine operations, and shore bombardment missions. 77 T was transferred to Sebenico on 16 August. In early September, intelligence was received by the Austro-Hungarian command that an Italian volunteer corps were planning to land on the Dalmatian or Istrian coast, and the 1st Torpedo Flotilla was involved in fruitless patrolling off Sebenico and Zara between 19 and 24 September. According to the naval historian Zvonimir Freivogel, this was disinformation that allegedly originated with the French and was intended to keep the Austro-Hungarian fleet engaged while the French conducted operations in the southern Adriatic undisturbed. On the evening of 3 November, the 1st Torpedo Flotilla left Sebenico to make a night torpedo attack on the French fleet, which had begun its seventh raid on the Adriatic on 31 October. By the time they reached the threatened areas, the French had withdrawn as they were running low on coal. On 6 November, 77 T conducted a patrol off the Dalmatian island of Lastovo, and returned to the main fleet base at Pola in the upper Adriatic on 23 December.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: On 10 May 1915, during the lead-up to the Italian declaration of war on Austria-Hungary, 77 T swept the approaches to the Italian port of Ancona for mines. On the afternoon of 23 May, and almost the entire Austro-Hungarian fleet left Pola soon after to deliver an immediate response against Italian cities and towns along the Adriatic coast, aiming to interdict land and sea transport between southern Italy and the northern regions of that country which were expected to be a theatre of land operations. The fleet split into six groups with a range of targets up and down the coast. On 24 May 1915, 77 T and seven other 250t-class boats participated in the Bombardment of Ancona, which involved shelling Italian shore-based targets, 77 T being involved in the operation against Ancona itself. 77 T laid defensive mines off the Dalmatian port of Split on 6 June. On the night of 18/19 June, separate Austro-Hungarian naval task groups attacked both Venice and Rimini, with distant cover provided by a group led by Saida and the scout cruiser Helgoland and consisting of three destroyers and five 250t-class boats, one of which was 77 T. Near San Benedetto del Tronto, this group intercepted and sank the Italian steamer Grazia. Immediately after this operation, 77 T underwent a refit at Pola. On 23 July, 77 T and another 250t-class boat participated in another shore bombardment mission led by Helgoland against Ortona on the central Adriatic coast of Italy. 77 T was involved in an attack on the island chain of Pelagosa in the middle of the Adriatic on 28 July. On 17 August, the 1st Torpedo Flotilla again shelled Pelagosa, and 77 T was part of a force led by Saida tasked to protect the southern approaches to the islands from enemy submarines. The success of this bombardment, which destroyed the only source of drinking water, caused the Italians to abandon Pelagosa. 77 T again bombarded Pelagosa on 9 September. During September she conducted patrols between the islands of Lastovo, Pelagosa, and Biševo and the Italian port of Bari.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: On 17 January 1916, 77 T salvaged a damaged Austro-Hungarian seaplane near the Montenegrin coastal town of Petrovac and towed it to the Bocche. On 22 February, 77 T and two other 250t-class boats, accompanied by a Kaiman-class torpedo boat, laid a minefield outside the Montenegrin port of Antivari. With Austro-Hungarian forces closing on Durazzo from the land, the Allies began to evacuate by sea, and Austro-Hungarian naval forces were sent to attempt to interdict. On 24 February, Helgoland, four destroyers, 77 T and five other 250t-class boats were sent to intercept four Italian destroyers covering the evacuation, but were unable to locate them. Between 11 March and 2 May 77 T underwent a further refit at Pola, and on 4 May was transferred to the Bocche. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, the Tátra-class destroyers Orjen and Balaton, accompanied by 77 T and two other 250t-class boats, raided the Otranto Barrage, an Allied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto. Orjen sank the British drifter Beneficent, but once the alarm had been raised, the Austro-Hungarian force withdrew. 77 T laid mines off Cape Rodoni – north of Durazzo – on 29 June, and returned to Pola in July. On the night of 23/24 September, 77 T and three other 250t boats laid mines off the Po River estuary near Venice. On 12 October, 77 T was attacked by enemy aircraft about 19 km (12 mi) west of the Pinida lighthouse on the eastern coast of Istria.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: In 1917, one of 77 T's 66 mm guns may have been placed on an anti-aircraft mount. According to the naval historian Zvonimir Freivogel, sources vary on whether these mounts were added to all boats of the class, and on whether these mounts were added to the forward or aft gun. On 3 February 1917 she was transferred to the Bocche, and four days later she conveyed the German Vizeadmiral Hugo Kraft to Pola for an inspection. During a storm on 8 February, a crew member fell overboard in the Bay of Kvarner and drowned. On 21 May, the suffix of all Austro-Hungarian torpedo boats was removed, and thereafter they were referred to only by their numeral. 77 was again transferred to the Bocche on 17 August. On 23 September 1917, 77 and another 250t-class boat were laying a minefield off Grado in the northern Adriatic when they had a brief encounter with a Royal Italian Navy (Italian: Regia Marina) MAS motor torpedo boat. During 1917, 77 conducted two minesweeping operations and escorted thirty-six convoys.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: On 1 February 1918, a mutiny broke out among the sailors of some vessels of the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the Đenovići anchorage within the Bocche, largely over poor food, lack of replacement uniforms and supplies, and insufficient leave, although the poor state of the Austro-Hungarian economy and its impact on their families was also a factor. 77 was present in the anchorage, and one of her crew raised a red flag, but the executive officer ordered the flag be lowered. The commanding officer of the group of four 250t boats including 77 to light their boilers, intending to order the boats to leave the vicinity of Sankt George and Gäa – which were both controlled by mutineers – but the mutineers ordered the boiler fires put out. The following day, while her commanding officer was absent, a red flag was again raised on 77. Other torpedo boats followed the lead of 77, but by 3 February the revolt was over, and the mutinous sailors were removed from all affected vessels. Five days later, 77 was transferred to Pola for repairs, but by 14–15 February was operational again, chasing an enemy submarine.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: By 1918, the Allies had strengthened their ongoing blockade on the Strait of Otranto, as foreseen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. As a result, it was becoming more difficult for the German and Austro-Hungarian U-boats to get through the strait and into the Mediterranean Sea. In response to these blockades, the new commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Konteradmiral Miklós Horthy, decided to launch an attack on the Allied defenders with battleships, scout cruisers, and destroyers. During the night of 8/9 June 1918, Horthy left Pola with the dreadnought battleships Viribus Unitis and Prinz Eugen. At about 23:00 on 9 June, after some difficulties getting the harbour defence barrage opened, the dreadnoughts Szent István and Tegetthoff, escorted by one destroyer and six torpedo boats, including 77, also departed Pola and set course for Slano, north of Ragusa, to rendezvous with Horthy in preparation for a coordinated attack on the Otranto Barrage. About 03:15 on 10 June, while returning from an uneventful patrol off the Dalmatian coast, two Italian MAS boats, MAS 15 and MAS 21, spotted the smoke from the Austro-Hungarian ships. With their engines off, the two Italian boats waited for the lead ships of the starboard escort, the Huszár-class destroyer Velebit and 77, to pass, before launching their attack. Both boats successfully penetrated the escort screen and split to engage the dreadnoughts individually. MAS 21 attacked Tegetthoff, but her torpedoes missed. Under the command of Luigi Rizzo, MAS 15 fired two torpedoes at 03:25, both of which hit Szent István. Both boats evaded pursuit. The torpedo hits on Szent István were abreast of her boiler rooms, which flooded, knocking out power to the pumps. Szent István capsized less than three hours after being torpedoed. 77 helped rescue survivors from Szent István. This disaster essentially ended Austro-Hungarian fleet operations in the Adriatic for the remaining months of the war.


title: Yugoslav torpedo boat T2

text: When the navy was formed, she and the other seven 250t-class boats were the only modern sea-going vessels in the KM. New torpedo tubes of the same size were ordered from the Strojne Tovarne factory in Ljubljana. In KM service it was intended to replace one or both guns on each boat of the 250t class with a longer Škoda 66 mm L/45 gun, and according to Freivogel this included the forward gun on T2. She was also fitted with one or two Zbrojovka 15 mm (0.59 in) machine guns. In KM service, the crew increased to 52, and she was commissioned in 1923. In 1925, exercises were conducted off the Dalmatian coast, involving the majority of the KM. T2 underwent a refit in 1927. In 1932, the British naval attaché reported that Yugoslav ships engaged in few exercises, manoeuvres or gunnery training due to reduced budgets. By 1939, the maximum speed achieved by the 250t class in Yugoslav service had declined to 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph), and in that year T2 was stricken from the naval register due to her age and scrapped soon after.


title: Necator americanus

text: N. americanus is primarily found in tropical and temperate areas. This parasite thrives in warmer climates because to hatch, the eggs require a moist, warm, and shaded environment. The thin, smooth shells of this species cause the eggs and juveniles to die in freezing temperatures or with soil desiccation. Therefore, the type of soil where the parasite resides is also very important for their ideal living conditions. Ideal soil conditions tend to be in areas where water is able to drain at a standard pace, and the size of the soil particles is neither too large nor too small. That way, the degree of dampness, as well as the openings in the soil, allow the parasites to burrow to the surface and attach to the skin of their next host. High transmission rates seem to be congruent with the heavy rains and warm temperatures that are characteristic of tropical climates. One anomaly of this species is that it appears to prefer male hosts to female hosts, likely because of the division of labor in regions of its prevalence.


title: Necator americanus

text: This worm starts out as an unembryonated egg in the soil. After 24–48 hours under favorable conditions, the eggs become embryonated and hatch. This first juvenile stage 1 is known as 'rhabditiform'. The rhabditiform larvae grow and molt in the soil, transforming into a juvenile stage 2. The juvenile stage 2 molts once more until reaching the juvenile 3 stage, which is also called 'filariform'; this is also the infective form. The transformation from rhabditiform to the filariform usually takes 5–10 days. This larval form is able to penetrate human skin, travel through the blood vessels and heart, and reach the lungs. Once there, it burrows through the pulmonary alveoli and travels up the trachea, where it is swallowed and carried to the small intestine. There, it attaches to the intestinal wall, and matures into an adult and begins reproduction. Adults live in the lumen of the intestinal wall, where they cause blood loss to the host. The eggs produced by the adults end up on the soil after leaving the body through the feces; female hookworms produce up to 30,000 eggs per day. On average, most adult worms are eliminated in 1–2 years. The N. americanus lifecycle only differs slightly from that of A. duodenale. N. americanus has no development arrest in immune hosts and it must migrate through the lungs.


title: Necator americanus

text: The pathology of N. americanus is divided into two stages – larvae and adults. The larvae penetrate the uninfected skin and travel through various organs, including the respiratory tract and lymph nodes. Once in the lymph nodes, the larvae start entering the blood, lungs, and intestines. Some larvae cannot readily enter the dermis and remain trapped in the skin, causing skin irritation and cutaneous larva migrans. Other symptoms include excessive coughing and dyspnea (short of breath) during larval migration. Once attached to the intestinal wall, N. americanus resides and matures into adults, penetrates blood vessels, and sucks blood. The incubation process of the larvae begins once entered into the small intestine; therefore, symptoms may not arise for up to 40 days, but this is variable from person to person. Blood loss from sites of intestinal attachment may cause iron-deficiency anemia and protein loss. One individual N. americanus can cause 30 μl of blood loss per day. Iron-deficiency anemia can cause intellectual disability and growth insufficiency in children. Further, infected patients experience abdominal pain (exacerbated by meals) with diarrhea, bloating, and nausea.


title: Alaska Native corporation

text: The Afognak Native Corporation was organized in 1977 through the merger of two ANCSA village corporations: Port Lions Native Corporation and Natives of Afognak, Inc. It is governed by a nine-member board of directors. Afognak Native Corporation has many business interests. For 18 years it participated in and profited from timber development ventures on Afogank Island. It also operates a number of successful subsidiaries including Leasing, Bioenergy Operations and Oil Field Services. In the late 1990s, the Afognak Native Corporation launched a government contracting business. The Afognak Native Corporation is a wealthy corporation and was listed in the Top 100 Contractors of the Federal Government in 2010. Coming in at No. 79, The Afognak Native Corporation's contracts were $749,557,576.49. Afognak Native Corporation entities also received NASA Small Business Contractor of the Year Award in 2013. The Corporation's profile is listed as "Construction and Engineering" services. The Afognak Native Corporation has approximately 900 shareholders and pays over $12 million in dividends annually. The Afognak Native Corporation controls over 160,000 acres of land in the Kodiak Archipelago and the lands form the core of financial success of the corporation.


title: Ripple Labs

text: In March 2018, a Japanese bank consortium led by SBI Ripple Asia, comprising 61 banks launched "MoneyTap", a Ripple-powered mobile app to provide on-demand domestic payments in Japan. In May 2018, Spanish Banking group Santander released One Pay FX — the first mobile application for international payments powered by blockchain technology, that uses Ripple's xCurrent technology. XCurrent is not a blockchain or any form of distributed ledger. Ripple CTO David Schwartz described it as "bi-directional messaging" that can eventually plug into distributed ledgers. Following the creation of a Mumbai office, Ripple added multiple Indian customers in 2018, including leading banks such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and IndusInd, that announced that they started using Ripple's products. Ripple's CEO predicted that by end of 2018 "major banks" would be using Ripple tools that made use of the XRP cryptocurrency and that by end of 2019 "dozens" of banks would be using XRP. However, neither of those predictions came to pass in the specified time frame.


title: Ripple Labs

text: On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ripple and two of its executives with violating investor protection laws, filing suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The SEC alleged that Ripple, co-founder Christian Larsen and CEO Bradley Garlinghouse, raised more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered securities offering. The government agency brought charges against Ripple for depriving the "potential purchasers of adequate disclosures about XRP and Ripple's business and other important long-standing protections that are fundamental to our robust public market system," according to the complaint that the SEC filed in federal district court in Manhattan, New York. In April 2021, Judge Sarah Netburn granted a motion from Garlinghouse and Larsen to dismiss the SEC's subpoenas for access to eight years' of banking records, referring to the request as a "wholly inappropriate overreach." The defendants agreed to turn over all data involving XRP transactions.


title: Po Bait Lan

text: Emperor Ming Mang, who succeeded to the throne of Vietnam in 1820, was bent on centralizing imperial power and curb the autonomy of Lower Cochinchina where the viceroy Lê Văn Duyệt had a strong position. This entailed stricter control over the Cham principality Thuận Thành. When the old Cham ruler Po Saong Nyung Ceng lay on his deathbed in 1822, Minh Mang summoned the deputy ruler Po Klan Thu to Huế to have him under surveillance. Two months later, the Cham ruler passed away. As Po Klan Thu was barred from the succession, the Emperor appointed a certain Po Bait Lan as the new ruler on the proposition of the Governor of Bình Thuận province. The dignitaries of the Cham court were not consulted. However, the absence of Po Klan Thu, who was regarded by the Chams as the right successor, inspired a rebellion headed by Ja Lidong. Po Klan Thu, worried about the development, asked Minh Mang to reconsider his decision. Since the Emperor already had problems with revolts in other parts of Vietnam, he complied by dismissing Po Bait Lan and appoint Po Klan Thu in his stead. The Ja Lidong revolt was terminated in the following year. With these events, Po Bait Lan disappears from the historical records.


title: Grade II* listed buildings in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough

text: At the beginning of the 19th century Merthyr Tydfil was the largest town in Glamorgan. The previous fifty years had seen the establishment of four major ironworks in the area, Dowlais, Plymouth, Cyfarthfa and Penydarren, and the Grade II* listed architecture of the region reflects the growth of this industry and transport network associated with it. The oldest structure, a bridge built in 1793, had a dual purpose as it carried a tramway and aqueducts powering the Cyfarthfa Ironworks. The growth of iron foundries in Merthyr Tydfil led to the building of the Glamorganshire Canal connecting the industry to the docks at Cardiff. Within a decade the Merthyr Tramroad, a 15.3 km (9.5 mi) route linking the Dowlais and Penydarren works to Abercynon, was built to bypass the upper section of the canal. Near Quakers Yard there are two Grade II* listed bridges that were part of the tramway and a viaduct, which passes over it, was built in 1841 as part of the Taff Vale Railway. The two viaducts of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway, built 1866, were designed by Henry Conybeare and Alexander Sutherland. Robert Crawshay of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks was a friend of Sutherland and the Crawshay Estate laid down conditions for the design of the Cefn viaduct, with the Taff Valley being overlooked by Cyfarthfa Castle. There are two Grade II* listed engine houses in the county, one built in 1836 at the Ynysfach Ironworks (operated as part of the Cyfarthfa complex), and the other in the early 20th century at the Dowlais Ironworks. In the first half of the 19th century Cyfarthfa was surpassed by Dowlais as the largest ironworks in the world. The only Grade II* listed building that was originally for recreational use, the former Guest Memorial Library, was built to commemorate the owner of the Dowlais Ironworks during this period, John Josiah Guest, who died in 1852. At this time the population of the town of Merthyr Tydfil was 46,000, twice that of Cardiff or Swansea, however it was not until 1894 that an urban district council was established. The Town Hall built as an expression of the civic pride of attaining urban status rapidly became the centre of civic and political focus in the town.


title: Enzo of Sardinia

text: In July 1239, he was assigned as Imperial vicar general in Lombardy, as well as General-Legate in Romagna, and left Sardinia never to return. Sharing in his father's excommunication in the same year, he took a prominent part in the war which broke out between the emperor and the pope. In 1241, he took part in the capture of a papal fleet at the Battle of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea. His first successful move as military leader was the reconquest of Jesi, in the Marche, which was Frederick's birthplace. In May 1241 he was in command of the forces which defeated the Genoese fleet at Meloria, where he seized a large amount of booty and captured a number of ecclesiastics who were proceeding to a council summoned by Gregory to Rome. Later he was captured in a skirmish against the Milanese at Gorgonzola, but soon released. In 1245 or 1246 his marriage was annulled. In 1247, he took part in the unsuccessful Siege of Parma and continued to fight the Guelph Lombards, assaulting Reggio and conducting an assault in the surroundings of Parma.


title: Hybrid (biology)

text: From the point of view of animal and plant breeders, there are several kinds of hybrid formed from crosses within a species, such as between different breeds. Single cross hybrids result from the cross between two true-breeding organisms which produces an F1 hybrid (first filial generation). The cross between two different homozygous lines produces an F1 hybrid that is heterozygous; having two alleles, one contributed by each parent and typically one is dominant and the other recessive. Typically, the F1 generation is also phenotypically homogeneous, producing offspring that are all similar to each other. Double cross hybrids result from the cross between two different F1 hybrids (i.e., there are four unrelated grandparents). Three-way cross hybrids result from the cross between an F1 hybrid and an inbred line. Triple cross hybrids result from the crossing of two different three-way cross hybrids. Top cross (or "topcross") hybrids result from the crossing of a top quality or pure-bred male and a lower quality female, intended to improve the quality of the offspring, on average.


title: Joint manipulation

text: Early models describing the kinematics of an individual target joint during the various phases of manipulation were based on studies that investigated joint cracking in MCP joints. The cracking was elicited by pulling the proximal phalanx away from the metacarpal bone (to separate, or 'gap' the articular surfaces of the MCP joint) with gradually increasing force until a sharp resistance, caused by the cohesive properties of synovial fluid, was met and then broken. These studies were therefore never designed to form models of therapeutic manipulation, and the models formed were erroneous in that they described the target joint as being configured at the end range of a rotation movement, during the orientation phase. The model then predicted that this end range position was maintained during the prethrust phase until the thrust phase where it was moved beyond the 'physiologic barrier' created by synovial fluid resistance; conveniently within the limits of anatomical integrity provided by restraining tissues such as the joint capsule and ligaments. This model still dominates the literature. However, after re-examining the original studies on which the kinematic models of joint manipulation were based, Evans and Breen argued that the optimal prethrust position is actually the equivalent of the neutral zone of the individual joint, which is the motion region of the joint where the passive osteoligamentous stability mechanisms exert little or no influence. This new model predicted that the physiologic barrier is only confronted when the articular surfaces of the joint are separated (gapped, rather than the rolling or sliding that usually occurs during physiological motion), and that it is more mechanically efficient to do this when the joint is near to its neutral configuration.


title: Joint manipulation

text: Joint manipulation is characteristically associated with the production of an audible 'clicking' or 'popping' sound. This sound is believed to be the result of a phenomenon known as cavitation occurring within the synovial fluid of the joint. When a manipulation is performed, the applied force separates the articular surfaces of a fully encapsulated synovial joint. This deforms the joint capsule and intra-articular tissues, which in turn creates a reduction in pressure within the joint cavity. In this low pressure environment, some of the gases that are dissolved in the synovial fluid (which are naturally found in all bodily fluids) leave solution creating a bubble or cavity, which rapidly collapses upon itself, resulting in a 'clicking' sound. The contents of this gas bubble are thought to be mainly carbon dioxide. The effects of this process will remain for a period of time termed the 'refractory period', which can range from a few minutes to more than an hour, while it is slowly reabsorbed back into the synovial fluid. There is some evidence that ligament laxity around the target joint is associated with an increased probability of cavitation.


title: Joint manipulation

text: Serious complications after manipulation of the cervical spine are estimated to be 1 in 4 million manipulations or fewer. A RAND Corporation extensive review estimated "one in a million." Dvorak, in a survey of 203 practitioners of manual medicine in Switzerland, found a rate of one serious complication per 400,000 cervical manipulations, without any reported deaths, among an estimated 1.5 million cervical manipulations. Jaskoviak reported approximately 5 million cervical manipulations from 1965 to 1980 at The National College of Chiropractic Clinic in Chicago, without a single case of vertebral artery stroke or serious injury. Henderson and Cassidy performed a survey at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College outpatient clinic where more than a half-million treatments were given over a nine-year period, again without serious incident. Eder offered a report of 168,000 cervical manipulations over a 28-year period, again without a single significant complication. After an extensive literature review performed to formulate practice guidelines, the authors concurred that "the risk of serious neurological complications (from cervical manipulation) is extremely low, and is approximately one or two per million cervical manipulations."


title: Joint manipulation

text: Statistics on the reliability of incident reporting for injuries related to manipulation of the cervical spine vary. The RAND study assumed that only 1 in 10 cases would have been reported. However, Prof Ernst surveyed neurologists in Britain for cases of serious neurological complications occurring within 24 hours of cervical spinal manipulation by various types of practitioners; 35 cases had been seen by the 24 neurologists who responded, but none of the cases had been reported. He concluded that underreporting was close to 100%, rendering estimates "nonsensical." He therefore suggested that "clinicians might tell their patients to adopt a cautious approach and avoid the type of spinal manipulation for which the risk seems greatest: forceful manipulation of the upper spine with a rotational element." The NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination stated that the survey had methodological problems with data collection. Both NHS and Ernst noted that bias is a problem with the survey method of data collection.


title: SS El Faro

text: that the probable cause of the sinking of El Faro and the subsequent loss of life was the captain's insufficient action to avoid Hurricane Joaquin, his failure to use the most current weather information, and his late decision to muster the crew. Contributing to the sinking was ineffective bridge resource management on board El Faro, which included the captain's failure to adequately consider officers' suggestions. Also contributing to the sinking was the inadequacy of both TOTE's oversight and its safety management system. Further contributing factors ... were flooding in a cargo hold from an undetected open watertight scuttle and damaged seawater piping; loss of propulsion due to low lube oil pressure to the main engine resulting from a sustained list; and subsequent downflooding through unsecured ventilation closures to the cargo holds. Also contributing ... was the lack of an approved damage control plan ... Contributing to the loss of life was the lack of appropriate survival craft for the conditions.


title: Lisa Bowleg

text: From 2007 to 2012, Bowleg was awarded a total of $1.7 million in funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) for a project on "Gender Role Norms, Sexual Scrips and Black Men's Heterosexual Risk Behaviors". For this project, Bowleg and colleagues developed and validated the Black Men's Experiences Scale (BMES), which is used to assess Black men's negative experiences with microaggressions and overt discrimination and positive evaluations of being Black men. This project also investigated the link between sociocultural factors (e.g., racial discrimination, poverty, incarceration) with gender role norms, sexual scripts, and sexual risk for African American men who have sex with women (MSW's). To aid this specific line of research, Bowleg and colleagues developed the Sexual Scripts Scale (SSS) which measures sexual scripts pertaining to romantic intimacy, condom, alcohol and marijuana use, sexual initiation, media sexual socialization, and sexual experimentation. Funding for this project was renewed in 2008 and 2009, amounting to a total of $1.7 million in funding.


title: Lisa Bowleg

text: From 2012 to 2018, Bowleg was also the lead PI on a project titled "Social-Structural Stressors, Resilience, and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Men." Over a 5 year period, this cross-sectional and mixed methods study implemented geospatial analyses, qualitative methods, and multilevel modeling to evaluate a novel conceptual model. This model includes a number of factors such as neighborhood-level sociodemographic stressors and resilience, individual-level sociodemographic stressors and resilience, Black men's sexual HIV risk, protective factors, and other psychological risk-factors. In total, this project had three phases. Phase I involved collecting data on social-structural stressors from focus groups in Philadelphia, PA. In Phase II, a probability sample of 700 Black men (ages 18 – 44) were collected from Census block-groups to inform a multilevel-model of sociodemographic and social-structural stressors. Finally in Phase III the study's results were integrated with spatial data visualization and confirmed through additional focus groups. To support this research, Bowleg was awarded $575,996 in funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health in 2016.


title: Lisa Bowleg

text: In 2018, Bowleg was awarded a series of research grants for a research project titled "Reducing Black Men's Drug Use and Co-Occurring Negative Mental and Physical Health Outcomes: Intersectionality, Social-Structural Stressors, and Protective Factors." Specifically, this five-year project will use mixed methods longitudinal data collected from 960 Black men (ages 18 – 54) in Washington, D. C. to further test conceptual models of social-structural stressors and protective factors with drug use and negative mental and physical health. This project has three phases. In Phase I, self-report longitudinal data on social-structural stressors, protective factors, mental health, and drug use will be collected. In Phase II, four focus groups will be used to confirm the interpretation of results from Phase I. Finally in Phase III the results will be synthesized and validity will be assessed. This project received a total of four research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) between 2018 and 2020 amounting to a total of $2.1 million. A further $1.6 million in grant funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Health resulting in a total of $3.7 million in funding for this project.


title: Füsun Köksal

text: Köksal was born and grew up in Bursa, Turkey and attended Bilkent University's Faculty of Music and Performing Arts in Ankara from 1989 to 1996, where she earned her bachelor's degree in music theory and composition, studying under the supervision of Bujor Hoinic. From 1996 to 2002 she lived in Cologne, Germany, where she studied composition with Krzysztof Meyer and theory with Johannes Schild, earning a Diplom Musikerin from the Hochschule für Musik Köln. In 2002 she returned to Bilkent University, where she taught composition for three years. In 2004, she matriculated into the doctoral program at the University of Chicago, where she has studied with Marta Ptaszynska and Shulamit Ran. For the 2010–11 academic year she was Visiting Professor of Theory and Composition at the University of Pittsburgh. Her compositions have been performed worldwide by notable ensembles including the Ensemble Modern Academy, Ensemble Calliopée, Penderecki String Quartet, Arditti String Quartet, Pacifica Quartet, Eighthblackbird and Hezarfen Ensemble of Istanbul. Her oeuvre ranges from solo to orchestral works and is informed by the gestural and timbral concerns of e.g. Pierre Boulez, Luciano Berio. Köksal was assistant professor for music composition at Middlebury College and finally Associate Professor of Composition at Yaşar University İzmir.


title: R. Madhavan

text: In 1988, Madhavan gained a scholarship to represent India as a cultural ambassador from Rajaram College, Kolhapur and spent a year in Stettler, Alberta, Canada, as part of an exchange program with Rotary International. He returned to Kolhapur and completed his education, graduating with a BSc in Electronics. During his college years, Madhavan became actively involved in extra-curricular military training, and at 22, he was recognised as among the leading NCC cadets in Maharashtra, which allowed him to make a trip with seven others as NCC cadets to England. As a result of this opportunity, he received training with the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, which he had, at a point, considered joining. However he missed the age cut-off by six months and was subsequently unable to join the program. After he lost out on the place, he began teaching courses on public speaking and personality development skills in Kolhapur, and the satisfaction he gained through teaching, prompted him to pursue a post-graduation in public speaking at Kishinchand Chellaram College in Mumbai. During the period, he also won the Indian Championship for Public Speaking and subsequently represented India at the Young Businessmen Conference in Tokyo, Japan in 1992. During his stint in Mumbai, he opted to create a portfolio and submit it to a modelling agency in order to gain more income to set up an office.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Prior to his film career, Madhavan was spotted by a television executive while out walking in Lokhandwala in Mumbai, and was recruited to feature in Hindi television serials, appearing as a crook in his first venture Yule Love Story . He appeared in leading roles in Zee TV's Banegi Apni Baat and Ghar Jamai, while he gained further popularity portraying the character of Shekhar in Saaya. He also went on to act as Lt. Shammi in Aarohan (The Ascent), as a ship's captain in Sea Hawks, as a convict in Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum and worked as a television anchor in Tol Mol Ke Bol among other television appearances. Madhavan appeared in a television series called A Mouthful of Sky in 1995, featuring in the role of an actor. He also appeared in an episode titled Virasat of the Hindi horror television show Aahat. His first appearance in a feature film role came through a small role in Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin , where he portrayed a singer in a bar. In early 1996, Madhavan worked on a sandalwood talc advertisement directed by Santosh Sivan, who later recommended him to Mani Ratnam to take part in a screen test for a role in Iruvar . Madhavan was auditioned for the leading role of Tamizhselvan among several other more established actors, but Mani Ratnam eventually left him out of the project citing that he thought his "eyes looked too young" for a senior role.


title: R. Madhavan

text: In 1999, leading Indian director Mani Ratnam selected Madhavan to feature in the leading role of his Tamil romantic drama, Alai Payuthey and the film's subsequent critical and commercial success proved to be a breakthrough for him. Portraying the character of Karthik Varadharajan, a young husband experiencing difficulties with his marriage. Madhavan revealed that he studied the technical aspects of film-making from the director and learned the entire script of the film, irrespective of whether he was in the scene or not. He became the first debutant actor to be cast by Mani Ratnam in the lead role of a film, and revealed that when he found out that he was set to work with the director he was overcome with a "mixture of excitement, awe, fear and ambition". Featuring alongside actress Shalini, Madhavan's performance was well received by critics and the film's success led to it becoming a cult film. A critic from The Hindu described that Madhavan "sails through the litmus test with ease", while another review cited that Madhavan was a "promising debutant" into the film industry. His performance in the film earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. After the success of his first Tamil film, the producers of his previous Kannada film, Shanti Shanti Shanti, dubbed the film into Tamil and released it as Relax, to capitalise on Madhavan's new-found success. Madhavan's next film, Ennavale , garnered mixed reviews although Madhavan's portrayal was praised as the "mainstay" of the film, with claims that the film for him was a "merely a prosaic exercise".


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan's first release of 2001, Gautham Vasudev Menon's directorial debut Minnale, opened to critical acclaim and commercial success. Featuring a popular soundtrack by Harris Jayaraj and marketed as a Valentine's Day release, Minnale further built on the actor's image as a romantic hero and was later listed as a classic romantic film from the Tamil film industry. He then collaborated with Mani Ratnam for the second time by appearing in the director's production venture, the romantic comedy Dumm Dumm Dumm , alongside Jyothika. Appearing as an unhappy groom trying to halt his wedding, the film received positive reviews and emerged as a commercial success, with Madhavan establishing himself as a bankable actor in South India. Madhavan then again appeared as a husband in a tumultuous marriage in Parthale Paravasam , the hundredth venture of veteran director K. Balachander. Despite featuring among an ensemble cast and being highly anticipated prior to release, the film failed at the box-office, with critics citing that Madhavan looked "rather bored" with the proceedings. Similarly his first lead role in a Hindi film, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein , a remake of his Minnale in which he reprised the same role for the remake, was also unsuccessful at the box office, with the film and Madhavan's performance receiving mixed reviews. However, the film later gained popularity through screenings on television and subsequently developed a cult following among young audiences.


title: R. Madhavan

text: In 2002, Madhavan played the role of a novelist in Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal alongside actresses Keerthana, Simran and Nandita Das. In the film, he was shown as the role of the father of an adopted child, who wishes to return to her native homeland amidst the Sri Lankan civil war. The film received widespread critical acclaim and went on to win six National Awards as well as over ten awards at various International Film Festivals. Madhavan received critical acclaim for his portrayal with a critic citing "he lived the role of the character he portrays", with the film seeing him move away from the romantic hero image for the first time into a more serious, performance-oriented role. The good performance of the film internationally also helped him develop an overseas market for his films. He earned his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. Madhavan's next success came with Run, a film recognised for its screenplay, with Madhavan appearing in an action film for the first time in his career. In regard to his performance, The Hindu's critic noted "he manages to portray action with élan in Run and actually looks fit and comfortable in the role", with the film helping him make a breakthrough as an action hero. Despite another unsuccessful Hindi venture with the musical, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar , the success of his previous films helped him secure the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for 2002, being jointly recognised for both films.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan was cast alongside Kamal Haasan in Anbe Sivam , which told the story of an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai of two men who are polar opposites of each other. Madhavan revealed his elation at working with an experienced actor like Kamal Haasan, while noting that a human drama film like Anbe Sivam was important for his career as an actor as it came after a successful masala film in Run. Portraying a young frustrated filmmaker with capitalistic beliefs who travels with a handicapped communist played by Kamal Haasan, Madhavan's performance was described as a "milestone in his career" and that "his portrayal will remain with the viewer for long" by a critic from The Hindu. The film opened in January 2003 to positive reviews, and emerged as a surprise box-office failure. Post-release, the film has garnered critical acclaim from critics and television audiences and is considered one of the "cult classics" of Tamil cinema. Film critic Baradwaj Rangan wrote that the film "was leagues ahead of the average Tamil and Indian film", though felt that "the masses were unwilling to accept the experimental nature of the film", while talking about the film's box office failure. Post-filming, Kamal Haasan revealed that he was impressed with Madhavan's enthusiasm and concentration during the making of the film and thus subsequently signed him on to appear in his production venture, Nala Damayanthi , where he played a Brahmin cook lost in Australia. In 2003, the actor also appeared in Vikraman's family drama Priyamana Thozhi as a budding cricketer, Saran's romantic comedy Jay Jay and made a guest appearance in Priyadarshan's Lesa Lesa as a jailed teacher. The three films made average returns at the box office, though Madhavan's performances were appreciated by critics.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan played an imposter gangster in K. S. Ravikumar's comedy Aethiree before being selected to feature in his fourth Mani Ratnam production, Aaytha Ezhuthu , which featured him in an ensemble cast including Suriya, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, Esha Deol and Trisha. Madhavan portrayed the character of Inba Sekhar, a hitman living in the slums of Chennai, whose path crosses with the characters portrayed by Suriya and Siddharth. His role also featured him in a struggling marriage, where his wife desperately tries to claw him away from his profession. Madhavan bulked up and sported a shaven look for the first time in his career to resemble the character of a ruffian and shot for the film through the sync sound technique. He received widespread praise for his depiction, with Baradwaj Rangan of The Hindu claiming that Madhavan outplayed Abhishek Bachchan's interpretation of the character in the Hindi version of the bilingual, Yuva. Madhavan went on to win the Filmfare Award for the Best Tamil Supporting Actor, while another critic from The Hindu cited that he "sparkles as an anti-hero" and that the "character ought to find a very special place in his repertoire". Similarly, a critic from Indiaglitz.com stated "Madhavan's daring decision to play a negative character, who gets beaten up black and blue at the end, putting his 'hero' image in peril, has paid off, as he walks away with top honours", while a reviewer from Sify.com labelled him as "terrific". In late 2004, Madhavan worked on Rajiv Anchal's English-Malayalam crossover film Nothing But Life and completed his work in a single schedule across Las Vegas and Albuquerque. Portraying an orphaned youth with suicidal tendencies being treated by a Malayali psychiatrist in the US, the film and his portrayal opened to mixed reviews.


title: R. Madhavan

text: From 2005 onwards, Madhavan increased his work in Hindi films and starred and wrote the Hindi dialogues for the comedy Ramji Londonwaley , a remake of his earlier film Nala Damayanthi. Critics described his performance as "a master-stroke", though the film fared averagely at the box office due to the release of other big budget films during the period. He experienced box office success in Hindi films for the first time through his role in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti . Featuring in an ensemble cast led by Aamir Khan, Madhavan essayed the guest role of Ajay Singh Rathod, a flight lieutenant, whose death triggers a revolutionary movement against corruption. The film was subsequently nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2006 BAFTA Awards, while it was also chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film category. Madhavan then collaborated with Mani Ratnam for the fifth time in the biopic Guru , co-starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Vidya Balan. His role of Shyam Saxena was inspired from the life of real-life journalist S. Gurumurthy, who was a challenger to the business tycoon, Dhirubhai Ambani, whose life drew allusions with Bachchan's role. The film became a blockbuster and also received critical acclaim, with a reviewer citing that Madhavan acts with "extreme, believable sincerity" dubbing him as "truly a poster boy for India", while another claimed he performed "a weak role with élan".


title: R. Madhavan

text: His Tamil film, Thambi directed by Seeman, had a delayed release but became a profitable venture in town and village centres. Madhavan's portrayal of a rustic do-gooder, received positive reviews from critics though a reviewer from The Hindu claimed the actor was "unable to shed off his classy looks". He then appeared in Sundar C's comedy film Rendu , where he played dual roles for the first time and in the long-delayed romantic comedy Aarya , appearing as a medical student. Madhavan wrote the dialogues, produced and featured in the lead role in Nishikanth Kamat's Evano Oruvan , playing a middle class bank employee who becomes so disgusted with the corruption he faces in his day-to-day life that he becomes a vigilante. After setting up a production studio, Leukos Films, he helped promote the film in international film festivals before the theatrical release in December 2007. Critics called the film a "must watch" and a reviewer from The Hindu stated that the film was "Madhavan's best performance to date", while he also went on to win the ITFA Best Actor Award for his depiction. However Evano Oruvan and his subsequent release, Seeman's Vaazhthukal did not perform well at the box office, while another completed film titled Naan Aval Adhu failed to have a theatrical release. Madhavan's final release of the year was the docudrama Mumbai Meri Jaan, based upon the 2006 Mumbai Bombings. The film, which featured him alongside Soha Ali Khan, Irrfan Khan and Kay Kay Menon became critically acclaimed with Madhavan's portrayal of a man with a post-traumatic stress disorder being appreciated by reviewers.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan won positive acclaim for playing the lead role in Vikram Kumar's horror film, Yavarum Nalam . The film, which became a commercial and critical success, prompted a reviewer from the Times of India to suggest "he carried the film on his shoulders" while he was also nominated in the Best Actor category at the Vijay Awards. His following two films, the romantic comedy Guru En Aalu and the action film Sikandar in which he played a supporting role of an army officer, both fetched mixed reviews. Madhavan then starred in Rajkumar Hirani's comedy film, 3 Idiots , alongside Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi. Upon release, the film received widespread critical acclaim and went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film of all time at the time of its release. Madhavan's portrayal as a young engineer with a passion for photography earned him nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor. Film critic Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama described the actor's performance as "incredible", while Madhavan claimed that the film changed how he was viewed as an actor in Hindi films for the better. He later turned down an offer of reprising the same role in the Tamil remake of the film helmed by Shankar. In 2010, Madhavan appeared alongside actors Amitabh Bachchan and Ben Kingsley in Teen Patti as a young professor, with Adarsh again rating his performance as "excellent", but the film failed at the box office. His two guest appearances in the year also received mixed feedback with his performance in the Telugu anthology film Om Shanti being praised, while a role in the John Abraham-starrer Jhootha Hi Sahi drew him criticism. Madhavan then collaborated again with Kamal Haasan and K. S. Ravikumar in the romantic comedy, Manmadan Ambu , playing a wealthy businessman who hires a spy to follow his actress girlfriend on a European cruise tour. The film opened to positive reviews with Madhavan's performance being described by Rediff.com as "excellent", while Sify.com labelled him the "scene-stealer".


title: R. Madhavan

text: His only release in 2011 was the romantic comedy-drama Tanu Weds Manu alongside Kangana Ranaut, which saw him play the role of a sensible doctor hoping to get an arranged marriage with a girl, who has a dramatically diverse personality to him. Prior to release, the film's promotional campaign created anticipation and upon release, the film proved to be a major success at the box office. Madhavan's portrayal of Manoj Kumar Sharma a.k.a. Manu won positive acclaim, with a reviewer citing that his performance was "real, restrained, yet forceful" and another claiming he was "perfectly cast". Madhavan next appeared as a police officer in Linguswamy's Tamil film Vettai , an action entertainer featuring an ensemble cast of Arya, Amala Paul and Sameera Reddy. The film opened to positive reviews in January 2012 and went on to become a commercial success, with critics praising Madhavan's decision to accept the role of a timid cop, while a critic noted that he had "an uncanny talent for comedy". He then featured in Jodi Breakers , a Hindi romantic comedy film shot in Greece alongside Bipasha Basu, though the film did not perform well commercially.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan's first theatrical release after his sabbatical was Anand L. Rai's Tanu Weds Manu Returns, a sequel to the 2011 film, which released in May 2015. Prior to the film's release, Madhavan stated that the "content of the film was more important than the stars" and acknowledged that the popularity of Kangana Ranaut would help the film gain a good opening at the box office. Reprising his role as Manu, Madhavan won acclaim for his restrained performance and the film went on to become a critical and commercial success. The critic from Bollywood Hungama wrote "Madhavan excels in his role despite it being a restrained one, which was anyways the call of his character" and added "he is very endearing who never tries to overshadow anyone and emerges a winner", while Sify.com stated he gives a "subtle and restrained performance". Tanu Weds Manu Returns earned ₹2.43 billion (US$29 million) worldwide at the end of its theatrical run, to become one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films in 2015.


title: R. Madhavan

text: During his sabbatical, Madhavan also worked extensively on the pre-production of the bilingual sports film, Irudhi Suttru directed by Sudha Kongara. After being impressed with Sudha's script, he helped find the project producers in Tamil and chose to produce the film in Hindi alongside S. Sashikanth and Rajkumar Hirani. Madhavan also met and convinced mixed martial artist Ritika Singh to act in the film after contacting her through Raj Kundra, while he was also credited for contributing as an additional screenplay writer. He also went through a body conditioning regime in Los Angeles prior to joining the film's set and learnt boxing to essay the role of a former boxer. For dubbing purposes, Madhavan wore metal braces inside his teeth, to create the effect of having a lisp that most boxers have from sporting injuries. Madhavan won praise for his work during the marketing campaign, having travelled throughout Tamil Nadu to promote the film, with The Hindu stating it was "unlike other film promotions in the South". For Irudhi Suttru, Madhavan received widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal with Sify.com stating "he is outstanding and carries the proverbial burden of the project on his shoulder". A critic from The Hindu stated that he was "quietly effective", while a reviewer from Behindwoods.com wrote that Madhavan gives his "career-best performance" and is "excellent" at depicting his "characterization from being subtle to being outright effervescent". His performance in the film earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. His portrayal in the Hindi version, Saala Khadoos, received similar praise with critic Subhash K. Jha stating "this is Madhavan's career-defining performance, he sinks so deep into his role both physically and emotionally, that the actor becomes one with the act".


title: R. Madhavan

text: He next featured in Vikram Vedha , an action thriller film directed by duo Pushkar-Gayathri and produced by Sashikanth. Telling the tale of an encounter cop and his pursuit of a gangster played by Vijay Sethupathi, Pushkar-Gayathri scripted the film with inspiration from the Vikramathithan Vedhalam folk tale, with the characterisation of both lead roles derived from that plot. For his role, Madhavan underwent arms training and met people involved with the police and defence forces. Vikram Vedha opened in July 2017 to widespread critical acclaim from the media and industry personnel. Madhavan's performance was widely appreciated by film critics, who described him as "stylish and serious" and "whole-hearted", while Sify.com's reviewer wrote it is a "treat to watch two intense performers Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi majestically own the screen together". The film also became Madhavan's biggest commercial success in Tamil films, with trade pundits classifying the film as a blockbuster. The film earned Madhavan the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Tamil, in addition to his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil, which he lost to his co-star Vijay Sethupathi.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan next worked on a web series for Amazon titled Breathe, which was released in January 2018. Madhavan later revealed that he was initially sceptical of the web series format, but was "totally blown away" by the script of the series and decided to accept to work on the project, despite his commitments for the shoot of Vikram Vedha. For Breathe, Madhavan studied his own experience as a father besides researching the complexities surrounding organ donation. In the series, he played Danny Mascarenhas, a soccer coach and the father of a young boy with cystic fibrosis, who will die in six months unless he has a lung transplant. Madhavan received positive reviews for his portrayal, with film critic Subhash K. Jha writing "As Danny, Madhavan expresses grief, rage, frustration, guilt, repentance and self-destruction with measured excellence" and that "this is a showcase for an actor at the peak of his power" and "boy, does Madhavan embrace the opportunity". Similarly, a critic from the New Indian Express wrote "Madhavan is in form in a potentially compelling thriller", and a reviewer from the International Business Times wrote he "shows a range of emotions" in "a smooth, beautiful way".


title: R. Madhavan

text: Between 2017 and 2022, Madhavan worked on his first film as a director, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect , a biopic on Indian rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan. Alongside his directorial, screenwriting and acting credits, Madhavan also served as one of the producers of the project. During the pre-production phase, Madhavan referred to the project as his "biggest film ever" and stated that he had worked silently on the script of the film for a period of two years after becoming intrigued by hearing the tale of Narayanan's false espionage charge. In order to develop the script, Madhavan regularly met with Narayanan to discuss the scientist's life experiences. As a result of their conversations, Madhavan altered his original script to include portions from Narayanan's entire career and his services to the Indian space programme, rather than just matters related to the espionage case and his 1994 arrest. The film was shot as a biilingual venture, with scenes simultaneously filmed in the Hindi and Tamil while scenes set outside India were shot in English. The film premiered at the Marché du Film section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in France in May 2022, and had a theatrical release two months later. The film received positive reviews from critics. Devesh Sharma of Filmfare wrote "Madhavan carries the film on his shoulders" and that "he lives and breathes the character, getting the nuances right", adding "it"s not easy being both the lead actor and the director but Madhavan achieves the desired trajectory on both fronts". Meanwhile, Ronak Kotecha noted "Rocketry takes off well, hits some turbulence on the way, but eventually soars high with real characters and moving moments that make it worth your while". The film subsequently won Madhavan several awards during the following year, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film as director, the IIFA Award for Best Director and SIIMA Critics Award for Best Actor.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan was first credited as a part of the technical crew for his work in Ramji Londonwaley, an adaptation of his Tamil film Nala Damayanthi. Apart from portraying the lead role, Madhavan worked on the film as a dialogue writer and played an active role in determining the crew of the movie. In October 2007, Madhavan founded the production company, Leukos Films, and consequently bought the rights of his film, Evano Oruvan, from producers Abbas–Mustan and K. Sera Sera. Securing sponsorship deals with HSBC and Santoor, Madhavan premièred the film across North America and the Middle East before its Indian theatrical release, with the promotion method being used for the first time in Tamil cinema. However, since the relative box office failure of the project, Madhavan downplayed future involvement in production ventures. The film, which Madhavan referred to as a "part of his life" during 2007, also saw him write the dialogues for the film along with Seeman by translating lines from the project's original version in the Marathi language. Madhavan then chose to become actively involved in the production of his 2016 bilingual films, Irudhi Suttru in Tamil and Saala Khadoos in Hindi, to ensure the film completed filming and had a theatrical release. Impressed by the strength of Sudha Kongara's script for the Tamil film, Madhavan felt that the story had pan-Indian appeal and took the film's script to Rajkumar Hirani, who agreed to produce and supervise work on the film's Hindi version. Madhavan co-produced the Hindi version of the film through his new production house, Tricolor Films, while leading the film's pan-Indian marketing campaign. The actor also helped finalise the film's lead actress, Ritika Singh, and was also credited as an additional screenplay writer in the films.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan has appeared as host for television programs on Hindi channels, while he has also been a host at film award functions. During his television career in the 1990s, Madhavan first worked as a host on Tol Mol Ke Bol. He was announced as the host of Sony Entertainment Television's Deal Ya No Deal, the Indian version of the American game show Deal or No Deal, in October 2005. However, Madhavan quit as the lead anchor of the show in January 2006 claiming he was unhappy with the way the shoot schedules were handled by the production house. According to the actor, when he took on the show, he had made it clear that he would continue with his South Indian film assignments, and as the show was being filmed in Mumbai, he had found it hard to keep travelling throughout India from Chennai to film the ten days a month he had signed up for. Madhavan added that he was restricted by the producers to spend one day rehearsing technically, which left him with fatigue. Mandira Bedi subsequently replaced Madhavan as the anchor in February for Series 2 of the game show. In June 2010, Madhavan made a comeback to the game show format by accepting a contract with Imagine TV's Big Money show, signing on to host a single season, and then hosted an episode of the crime show Savdhaan India in January 2016. Furthermore, he has been a guest judge in the Indian television show, Fame Gurukul. In 2016, Madhavan stated that he would only take part in television commitments for money, while he does not consider his payment when signing on to appear in films. Madhavan has also hosted live events, notably the National Film Awards in 2013 with Huma Qureshi. He was also the host of the 55th Filmfare Awards South in Chennai in 2008 and then also the Vijay Awards in 2013.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan is among the leading brand ambassadors for products in India. His early work involved advertisements for brands including Bajaj, Ponds, Fair & Lovely and TVS, before signing a major endorsing deal with Pepsi and marketing company, IMG. In 2007, Madhavan endorsed UniverCell, a multi-brand mobile phone retail chain owned by UniverCell Telecommunications India Pvt Ltd. Madhavan signed a contract with the mobile phone network, Airtel for promotions in South India before being promoted as the pan-Indian ambassador for the brand a year later. His advertisements with Vidya Balan for Airtel won critical acclaim, and brought in film offers for the pair to feature together. In June 2010, marketers from Arun Excello promoted a housing project in Oragadam, Chennai in a similar fashion to the release of a new film featuring Madhavan. With film-inspired posters and billboards put up around Chennai, the advertisement campaign attracted huge curiosity and the project became a success. His long-term work with jewellery brand, Joy Alukkas, led to the company creating life size wax models of him to place in their showrooms from January 2011. Maruti Suzuki, for whom Madhavan is the brand ambassador, launched a special edition of the Suzuki Wagon R car calling it the Madhavan Signature Edition in September 2013. In 2015, online market place Snapdeal signed on Aamir Khan and Madhavan to be the company's ambassadors, with Snapdeal attempting to use Madhavan's popularity in South India to marker their services.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan has lent his support for the Chennai-based charity, The Banyan, and appeared in the charity musical Netru, Indru, Naalai directed by Mani Ratnam for the cause. He appeared as a guest cook and newly launched restaurant in Chennai and cooked dosas for auction for the charity, helping raise forty five thousand rupees. He has been a part of an AIDS awareness programme initiated by Richard Gere in India and helped advertise the A Time for Heroes campaign appearing in a short film. Similarly Madhavan featured in a four-minute film produced by Agaram Foundation, Herova? Zerova?, campaigning for educational awareness alongside Suriya, Vijay and Jyothika. In 2010, along with his cast and crew from 3 Idiots, he helped raise Rs. 2.5 million for the renovation of the school in Leh, which was damaged by flash floods. Madhavan laid bricks and tiles at the London Business School in July 2011, building a symbolic house to represent the 100,000 houses that will be built in India by 2015 as a part of Habitat for Humanity's campaign to improve substandard houses in India. During the 2015 South Indian floods, Madhavan worked alongside other Indian actors in coordinating the relief efforts. In 2016, Lepra India signed him to work as a goodwill ambassador in helping promote action against leprosy.


title: R. Madhavan

text: A gaming company, Paradox Studios Limited, launched a new game compatible with mobile phones in July 2006, with Madhavan as the lead character. The company released two mobile game titles featuring Madhavan as their lead character. The first of the two games, Madhavan's MIG, featured the actor reprising his role of a pilot from Rang De Basanti. In the other game titled Madhavan, the player had to help the actor get to the première of his latest movie evading the paparazzi. In 2007, prominent entrepreneur N. R. Narayana Murthy requested Madhavan to be his interviewer at the India-Singapore Exposition and Madhavan went on to claim that the experience was "unforgettable" as Murthy was an idol to him. Madhavan has attended conferences as a motivational speaker, talking about issues including situational awareness and confidence, with a speech delivered at Damodaran Academy of Management, Coimbatore going viral online. Madhavan also took part and delivered speeches as a part of the annual India Conference at Harvard University during 2017.


title: R. Madhavan

text: After completing the degree, he went on to teach communication and public speaking at workshops around India. At the Maharashtra workshop, he encountered his wife Sarita Birje for the first time in 1991, when she attended his class on the recommendation of her cousins. Sarita was able to use the skills she had learned from Madhavan's classes to pass an interview to become an air hostess and after completing the course, the pair began dating. They married in 1999, before Madhavan entered mainstream films. The pair's marriage has been covered by the media, with Madhavan citing that advice from his mentor Mani Ratnam was useful. Sarita has worked as a costume designer in a few of Madhavan's films, most notably for Guru En Aalu , when she worked along with Erum Ali, the wife of Madhavan's co-star, Abbas, for their respective husbands. Their son, Vedaant, was born on 21 August 2005, which eventually led to relocating to the boat-club area in Chennai from Kilpauk, where Madhavan's parents lived with him as well as his parents-in-law. In 2009, Madhavan relocated to Kandivali, Mumbai, with his wife and son, as he pursued a career in Hindi films ahead of films in the South Indian industries.


title: R. Madhavan

text: Madhavan announced a sabbatical from films in late 2010 citing he would take the time off to visit London, lose weight, play golf, take treatment for his knee injury and spend time with family. Though he kept away from starting new projects, during the period he was involved in the promotional activity of two of his releases, Manmadan Ambu and Tanu Weds Manu. He later made a comeback, earlier than anticipated, after director Linguswamy convinced him to work on Vettai. The actor later took an extended sabbatical from 2012 onwards to work on his fitness and get into shape for his role as a retired boxer in Irudhi Suttru. Madhavan is a keen golf player, having played for pleasure alongside actor Amitabh Bachchan and director Mani Ratnam, while also appearing in a celebrity charity event in 2007. In 2017, he won the qualification round of the Mumbai leg of the Mercedes Trophy golf meet and subsequently qualified for the National Finals. He also made an appearance for Chennai Rhinos in the 2011 Celebrity Cricket League, playing against Karnataka Bulldozers. His experiences flying Cessna planes when he was with National Cadet Corps, also led to a passion for aero-modelling, with the actor stating it "justified his decision" to pursue a degree in electronics.


title: HMS Ruby (1776)

text: On 25 June 1807, Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon entered an accord at Tilsit, one of the secret clauses of which entailed the joint seizure of the Portuguese fleet. This led Napoleon to send a large army into Portugal in October 1807, with a demand that Portugal should detain all British ships and sequester British property. This led to the departure of a Naval Squadron under Sir Sidney Smith to blockade the Tagus estuary. The squadron consisted of the Hibernia (120 guns), the London (98), the Foudroyant (80) and Elizabeth, Conqueror, Marlborough, Monarch, Plantagenet and Bedford (all78s). On arrival Smith arranged for the Portuguese Royal Family, all the serviceable Portuguese fleet and 20 armed merchantmen to leave for Brazil, which they did on 29 October. Smith and his squadron accompanied them part of the way, leaving Marlborough, London, Monarch and Bedford to escort the fleet to Brazil. On 30 October a Russian squadron under Admiral Seniavin entered Lisbon, where they became blockaded by the return of Smith's squadron. A few days after the Tsar's hostile declaration became known in London, five ships left Portsmouth to reinforce the blockade. These were the Ganges Defence and Alfred (74s) and Ruby and Agamemnon (64s). On arrival at the Tagus they enabled the Foudroyant, Conqueror and Plantagenet to leave for Cadiz. The blockade continued for some time, as evidenced by this extract from a letter written by a seaman, John Williams, on board HMS Ruby off Lisbon in June 1808 : "We are at present at anchor at the mouth of the harbour in sight of our Enemies. We are in sight of all of their Shipping with a naked eye there is of them 13 Saile of the Line of Battle Ships & 25 Sloops and Brigs of War all the Gun Boats we do not know the number of them. We are only 10 Saile of the Line and 2 Frigates 2 Sloops and Brigs. There is very heavy Batteries which the French has got the possession of them one of them has mounted as many heavy guns as there is Days in a year. We expect orders to go in Every Day So Dear Brother Remember me in your prayer." All seems to have gone well, since on 15 October 1808 John Williams again wrote home from HMS Ruby at Spithead.


title: Wadleigh High School for Girls

text: When the Wadleigh High School for Girls opened in 1902, the Harlem neighborhood in upper Manhattan where Wadleigh was located was a fashionable middle and upper class, mostly white and Jewish, area. Over the subsequent decades, Harlem became a center of black life in New York City, but it also became a more economically disadvantaged area as well. In 1937, Dr. John L. Tildsey, retired Associate Superintendent of Schools, was quoted in the New York Times as saying that the students at Wadleigh "have to pass through a neighborhood where gentlewomen do not like to pass." He further urged parents to "bring pressure on the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate for a new site on the upper West Side where they can send their girls in confidence and security." At the end of the 1953-54 school year, Wadleigh was closed. It reopened in 1956 after some renovation as a co-educational junior high school. In 1993, after a complete renovation, Wadleigh became a co-educational secondary school. In the early decades of the 21st century, the building was shared among several distinct schools. These include the Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts, the Frederick Douglass Academy II, and Success Academy Harlem West.


title: Alloxylon flammeum

text: In nature, this is a rainforest tree that can reach 33 m (108 ft) in height with a diameter at breast height (dbh) of 0.6 m (24 in), although in cultivation 10 m (33 ft) is more likely. The trunk has light grey bark with brown lenticels. New branchlets and leaves are hairy. The green foliage consists of several distinct juvenile and adult leaf forms, which are arranged alternately along the stems. Very young plants begin with their first two to four leaves having two or three lobes, but then have narrow elliptic leaves with entire margins, measuring 6.5 to 18 cm (2.6 to 7.1 in) long and 1.3–2.2 cm (0.5–0.9 in) wide. These are then succeeded by pinnate juvenile leaves that have two to nine lobes arising at 30 to 40 degrees forwards, and reach 50 cm (20 in) long. They have prominent midveins along the midline of the main leaf and the lobes. The elliptic or obovate (egg-shaped) adult leaves are 8–25 cm (3–10 in) long and up to 4.5 cm (2 in) wide, and sit on 1.5 to 2.5 cm (0.6 to 1 in) long petioles.


title: Alloxylon flammeum

text: Occurring in spring (August to October), the bright red or orange-red inflorescences are terminal and well displayed, and consist of anywhere from 10 to 52 individual flowers split into smaller groups of 2 to 20 flowers, arranged in a corymb. The flowers sit atop stalks (known as pedicels) up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in length, which arise in pairs off main horizontal stalks within the inflorescence. Each flower consists of a tubular perianth up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long, which partly splits along one side at anthesis to release the thick style. The stigma is contained within a slanting disc-like structure at the tip of the style. The tubular perianth splits into four segments at its tip, and the anther lies in the concave parts within each of these segments. The pedicel and the outer surface of the perianth are pubescent (covered in short fine fur). Flowers are followed by woody rectangular seed pods that sit on long stalks, and are 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in) long. Each pod contains 8 to 10 seeds, and is ripe in February and March. Each seed is separated from the others by a membranous separator, and has a long rectangular wing, which is much longer than the seed itself. The seedlings have obovate cotyledons that are 0.8–1 cm (0.3–0.4 in) wide by 1 cm (0.4 in) long.


title: Alloxylon flammeum

text: For many years Alloxylon flammeum was mistakenly known as Embothrium (and later Oreocallis) wickhamii—Queensland botanist Frederick Manson Bailey had illustrated it using Embothrium wickhamii in the Queensland Agricultural Journal in 1899. Ferdinand von Mueller had described what is now known as Alloxylon wickhamii but also collected material of A. flammeum at Trinity Bay in 1881, not realising it was a separate species. It was only in the 1980s that botanists realised there were two species in the region—Oreocallis wickhamii and what became known as Oreocallis sp. nova. Peter Weston and Mike Crisp of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney reviewed and recognised the Australian members of the genus Oreocallis as distinct from their South American counterparts, and hence reallocated them to the new genus Alloxylon in 1991. They coined the binomial name of Alloxylon flammeum, the type material having been collected by Garry Sankowsky and Peter Radke from Tolga Scrub in August 1987. Weston and Crisp designated it the type species of the genus Alloxylon. Aside from tree waratah, it has also been called the satin oak, pink silky oak, satin silky oak, red silky oak, red oak, lowland bull oak, and Queensland waratah. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek allo- 'other' or 'strange' and xylon 'wood' and refers to their unusual cell architecture compared with the related genera Telopea and Oreocallis. The species name flammeum is Latin for 'flame-coloured'.


title: Alloxylon flammeum

text: A plant of the Wet Tropics bioregion, Alloxylon flammeum is found on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland at altitudes of 700 to 820 m (2,300 to 2,700 ft) above sea level. Its range is from Danbulla to the upper Barron River, though most of its rainforest habitat has been cleared for agriculture, and it is found in protected remnants such as Mount Hypipamee National Park, Danbulla National Park, Crater Lakes National Park, Curtain Fig Tree National Park, and Hallorans Hill Conservation Park. Found on basalt- or granite-based soil, it is a component of complex notophyll vine forest or rainforest, where it is a canopy or emergent tree. This forest, also known as Mabi forest, has an uneven canopy layer to around 45 m (148 ft) and significant scrub understory. Here Alloxylon flammeum is found with such species as candlenut (Aleurites rockinghamensis), Argyrodendron spp., fishtail lawyer cane (Calamus caryotoides), rose maple (Cryptocarya onoprienkoana), shining-leaved stinging tree (Dendrocnide photiniphylla), fig trees (Ficus spp.), Queensland maple (Flindersia brayleyana), cabbage crowsfoot (Franciscodendron laurifolium), northern brush mahogany (Geissois biagiana), Atherton turkey bush (Hodgkinsonia frutescens), and red cedar (Toona ciliata).


title: Otto Toeplitz

text: Toeplitz was born to a Jewish family of mathematicians. Both his father and grandfather were Gymnasium mathematics teachers and published papers in mathematics. Toeplitz grew up in Breslau and graduated from the Gymnasium there. He then studied mathematics at the University of Breslau and was awarded a doctorate in algebraic geometry in 1905. In 1906 Toeplitz arrived at Göttingen University, which was then the world's leading mathematical center, and he remained there for seven years. The mathematics faculty included David Hilbert, Felix Klein, and Hermann Minkowski. Toeplitz joined a group of young people working with Hilbert: Max Born, Richard Courant and Ernst Hellinger, with whom he collaborated for many years afterward. At that time Toeplitz began to rework the theory of linear functionals and quadratic forms on n-dimensional spaces for infinite dimensional spaces. He wrote five papers directly related to spectral theory of operators which Hilbert was developing. During this period he also published a paper on summation processes and discovered the basic ideas of what are now called the Toeplitz operators. In 1913 Toeplitz became an extraordinary professor at the University of Kiel. He was promoted to a professor in 1920.


title: Paul Wenneker

text: While he was the German naval attaché, Wenneker urged that the submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy be used to attack American supply ships traveling between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii, as Germany's U-boats were doing in the Atlantic. The Japanese rejected his advice, believing that submarines should only be used to attack U.S. Navy warships. Wenneker believed that Japanese submarines were inferior to German designs, being too large to be maneuverable and having worse radar capabilities, and on his initiative, Hitler eventually agreed to send two Kriegsmarine U-boats to Japan for the Japanese to be able to study their technology. The first, U-511, arrived in Japan in the summer of 1943 and was examined before being used as a training ship. The Japanese believed the German U-boat was too complicated for them to build more in their shipyards. The second German submarine, U-1224, was used by a Japanese crew that had traveled to Germany and spent several months being trained by the Kriegsmarine there on German submarine operations and tactics, but they were lost when the submarine was destroyed on its way to Japan in the spring of 1944 by a U.S. anti-submarine hunter-killer group. Wenneker also managed the Yanagi missions, the exchange of technology and key personnel between Japan and Germany during the war using submarines. They had to pass through the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and many of the submarines were lost during the journey with their entire cargo and passengers.


title: Paul Wenneker

text: During the war, there was a disconnect in strategic collaboration and communication between the German and Japanese military staffs. But among the branches of the German Wehrmacht, the Kriegsmarine developed a closer relationship with the Imperial Japanese Navy than either the Heer or the Luftwaffe did with their Japanese counterparts, and a large part of the reason for this was Wenneker's efforts to establish a partnership with Japanese naval officials in Tokyo. It was also possible because the Japanese sent a large naval delegation to Berlin as part of the commitments to the Tripartite Pact in 1940, led by Vice Admiral Naokuni Nomura. An effort was made by the Oberkommando der Marine (Naval Staff) to maintain contact with Vice Admiral Nomura, and with the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff through Wenneker in Tokyo. The communication between the Oberkommando des Heeres (Army Staff) and the Wehrmacht Operations Staff with the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff was infrequent by comparison. Wenneker, who spoke fluent Japanese, built up contacts over his many years in Japan, and also because Japanese and German naval personnel were serving alongside each other in the "Southern Region," referring to southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. At the naval bases in Japanese-occupied Malaysia and Indonesia where German and Japanese naval crews used the same facilities, there were sometimes tensions and strained relations, but these were resolved because of Wenneker and his influence with the Japanese Navy. In addition to being naval attaché, Wenneker was also in command of German naval forces in East Asia as the German Admiral East Asia (Deutscher Admiral Ostasien), and worked closely with the U-boat crews and other personnel in the Southern Region bases. He was also responsible for the network of German spies that existed in major cities across East Asia, who were part of the Abwehr.


title: Paul Wenneker

text: Germany complied with the Japanese naval delegation's requests for access to technology and information, with Hitler ordering all branches of the Wehrmacht to assist the Japanese, but this was not reciprocated on the Japanese side, which tried to keep information from Wenneker. It was only after considerable German pressure that in 1943, Wenneker was allowed to tour the Japanese "super battleship" Yamato, the largest battleship ever built, interested in temporarily trading the ship with the German battleship Tirpitz. He was allowed to board the ship for an hour long tour, exploring parts of the main deck and traversing through the Pagoda mast. He was told that Yamato was a 45,000 ton battleship armed with nine 40 cm (15.7 inch) naval guns. He very much enjoyed his tour, amazed by the floating goliath. However, what was not told was that Yamato actually displaced 72,808 tons, and was armed with nine 46 cm (18.11 inch) naval guns, the largest naval guns ever made, making Yamato the most powerful battleship ever made, far outclassing the Tirpitz in surface action capabilities, who herself was only armed with eight 38 cm (14.96 inch) naval guns.


title: Bart Dickon

text: The character (not to mention the physiognomy) of Bart Dickon is mercurial by dint of the creative approach applied to the stories. Imagery informs the twists and turns of each chapter as much as narrative. Inasmuch as Dickon spends the majority of the novella as a head separated from the rest of his body, much of the action is guided by his sidekick, Snowy. This nods in the direction of the original daily Dick Barton radio series on the BBC Light Programme from 1946 to 1951 (later in novels and a trio of low budget feature films), although the spelling of the original character, Snowey, has been changed - as has his gender from time to time. The original theme tune: 'The Devil's Galop' by Charles Williams is also alluded to in 'The Bart Dickon Omnibus' and is hummed by the protagonist. Drawing on mythology, Dickon is seduced by a succubus, dismembered and the constituent parts scattered to the winds. Snowy and her doppelgänger carry Bart's head through multiple realities to save the day.