169th Street station (IND Queens Boulevard Line), Station layout
The station has a full-length mezzanine above the platforms with a crossover between both platforms. When the station opened, IND engineers had concluded that only a small portion of the mezzanine was needed, which led to a 1959 proposal to convert the mezzanine into an underground parking garage. Despite this, the 169th Street station's mezzanines included turnstiles and change booths at both ends, in contrast to several other stations on the same line, which included turnstiles at only one end. Above the Manhattan-bound platform, the mezzanine gets narrower as it makes way for employee space. Due to low clearance, a "DO NOT JUMP" message in black letters is painted on the white tiles of the ceiling above one of the 179th Street-bound staircases.


169th Street station (IND Queens Boulevard Line), Station layout, Exits
There are two fare control areas at either end of the mezzanine. The full-time entrances are at 169th Street, and stairs go up to all four corners of that intersection. The 169th Street entrances have been the full-time entrances since 1988, when the Archer Avenue lines opened, dramatically reducing ridership at this station. The part-time entrances are at 168th Street, with stairs going up to all four corners; this was the full-time entrance until 1988. At each entrance, staircases go up to all four corners of the street's intersection with Hillside Avenue. When it was originally built, the station had staffed token booths at both fare control areas. The 169th Street station is the closest to the 165th Street Bus Terminal, though the entrances at 168th Street are closer than those at 169th Street.


169th Street station (IRT Third Avenue Line)
169th Street was a local station on the demolished IRT Third Avenue Line in the Bronx, New York City. It was originally opened on September 2, 1888 by the Suburban Rapid Transit Company, and had three tracks and two side platforms. It was the northern terminus of the Third Avenue elevated for over two weeks. In 1902, the station and the rest of the Third Avenue elevated were acquired by Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The next stop to the north was Claremont Parkway. The next stop to the south was 166th Street. The station closed on April 29, 1973. The site of the former station is next to the Frederick Douglass Academy III Secondary School.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine)
The 169th Training Centre is a division-sized training formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The Training Centre's main task is to prepare young professionals and personnel under contract to the Army Forces of Ukraine.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 5th Guards Airborne Division
The 169th Training Centre is the successor of the 5th Guards Zvenigorod Order of the Red Banner and Alexander Suvorov Second Degree Airborne Division (ru:5-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная дивизия) that fought during World War II.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 5th Guards Airborne Division
The division was formed in the Moscow area by order of the Supreme Command on the basis of the 42nd Army's, 9th Airborne Corps with three airborne brigades (20th, 21st, 22nd Airborne Brigade) in December 1942. Its fighting way began in December 1942. It comprised the 1st, 11th, 16th Rifle and the 6th Artillery Regiments. The division fought from Stalingrad across Ukraine to the Austrian town of Amstetten, Lower Austria.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 5th Guards Airborne Division
On 24 June 1945 the division was represented at the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 by sergeants V.Alyokhin, V.Sidelnikov, O.Aristakhov, I.Mamalygin as part of the consolidated 3rd Ukrainian Front.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 5th Guards Airborne Division
During the war the division was more than 1922 kilometers of roads in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Austria. During the entire period of the war guardsmen killed and 29,830 captured 12,806 enemy soldiers. It destroyed 1,263 tanks, 876 guns, 23 assault guns, 102 armored vehicles, 4,376 vehicles, 8 aircraft. For courage and heroism in battle with the enemy thousand soldiers were awarded orders and medals, and 26 of them were awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" .


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 112 Guards Rifle Division
From 1 July 1946 the division was reorganized as the 12th separate Rifle Brigade, part of the 27th Guards Rifle Corps. On 1 November 1953 the Brigade was reorganized as the 112th Guards Rifle Division (165th, 354th, 358th Rifle and 467th artillery regiments). Since 1957 the division was a motor rifle division, and on 1 November 1959 the formation was relocated to the village. From 1962 it was designated the 112th Guards Motor Rifle Training Division, and in 1968 it became the 48th Guards Tank Training Division.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 112 Guards Rifle Division
In 1973 a mobilisation division was formed. This division consisted of equipment only, and would have received some personnel from the men of the 48th GTTD, with the remainder to be made up from newly arriving conscripts. It was titled the 70th Reserve (literally 'Spare') Tank Division, and its equipment was co-located with 48 GTTD.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Soviet period, 169th District Training Center
On 1 December 1987, the 48th Guards division was renamed the 169th Guards Training Centre, known as the "Desna"/169th District Training Center for Junior Professional Tank Troops.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Post-Soviet period
In 1992 personnel of the training center was one of the first of those, who took the oath of allegiance to the people of Ukraine. On October 4, 1994, a battle flag was handed to the training center.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Post-Soviet period
The center may have been transferred to the 1st Army Corps after the independence of Ukraine. Colonel Raouf Nurillin (Ukrainian: НУРУЛЛІН Рауф Шайхуллович) - the director of 169th District junior technician training center of the Armoured Forces of the 1st Army Corps of the Odessa Military District - was promoted to Major-General by a decree dated 23 August 1995.


169th Training Centre (Ukraine), Historical background, Post-Soviet period
Colonel Fedir Mavchuk (Ukrainian: МАКАВЧУК Федір Федорович) -  the director of 169th District junior technician training center of the Armoured Forces of the Northern Territorial Operational Command - was promoted to Major-General by a decree dated 23 August 1998.


169th meridian east
The meridian 169° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.


169th meridian east
The 169th meridian east forms a great circle with the 11th meridian west.


169th meridian east, From Pole to Pole
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 169th meridian east passes through:


169th meridian west
The meridian 169° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole, crossing a smaller amount of land than any other line of longitude, and is thus generally used as the cut-off point on a lot of map projections.


169th meridian west
The 169th meridian west forms a great circle with the 11th meridian east.


169th meridian west, From Pole to Pole
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 169th meridian west passes through:


16:10 aspect ratio
16:10 is an aspect ratio mostly used for computer displays and tablet computers. The width of the display is 1.6 times its height. This ratio is close to the golden ratio "φ{\displaystyle \varphi }" which is approximately 1.618.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays
LCD computer displays using the 16:10 ratio started to appear in the mass market from 2003. By 2008, 16:10 had become the most common aspect ratio for LCD monitors and laptop displays. Since 2010, however, 16:9 has become the mainstream standard, driven by the 1080p standard for high definition television and lower manufacturing costs.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Rise in popularity from 2003
Until about 2003, most computer monitors had a 4:3 aspect ratio and some had 5:4. Between 2003 and 2006, monitors with 16:10 aspect ratios became commonly available, first in laptops and later also in standalone monitors. Such displays were considered to be better suited for productive uses such as word processing and computer-aided design.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Rise in popularity from 2003
In 2005–2008, 16:10 overtook 4:3 as the most sold aspect ratio for LCD monitors. At the time, 16:10 also had 90% of the notebook market and was the most commonly used aspect ratio for laptops. However, 16:10 had a short reign as the most common aspect ratio.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Decline from 2008
Around 2008–2010, there was a rapid shift by computer display manufacturers to the 16:9 aspect ratio and by 2011 16:10 had almost disappeared from new mass market products. According to Net Applications, by October 2012 the market share of 16:10 displays had dropped to less than 23 percent.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Decline from 2008
The primary reason for this move was considered to be production efficiency - since display panels for TVs use the 16:9 aspect ratio, it became more efficient for display manufacturers to produce computer display panels in the same aspect ratio as well. A 2008 report by DisplaySearch also cited a number of other reasons, including the ability for PC and monitor manufacturers to expand their product ranges by offering products with wider screens and higher resolutions, helping consumers to adopt such products more easily and "stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market".


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Decline from 2008
The shift from 16:10 to 16:9 was met with a mixed response. The lower cost of 16:9 computer displays, along with their suitability for gaming and movies and the convenience of having the same aspect ratio in different devices, was seen as a positive. On the other hand, there was criticism towards the lack of vertical screen real estate when compared to 16:10 displays of the same screen diagonal. For this reason, some considered 16:9 displays less suitable for productivity-oriented tasks, such as editing documents or spreadsheets and using design or engineering applications, which are mostly designed for taller, rather than wider screens.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Decline from 2008
Companies like BenQ, Dell and Eizo, among others, still offer 16:10 aspect ratio monitors as of March 2021. These monitors are intended for photographers and video editors, digital artists, desktop publishers, graphic designers and business customers.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Computer displays, Resurgence
In 2020, Apple and Dell have released high-end productivity laptops with the 16:10 aspect ratio, while Microsoft has launched a new version of its 3:2 Surface Book. This year's version of the Dell XPS is the first that moves away from the classic 16:9 aspect ratio. Other brands have also adopted taller aspect ratios: Acer Swift 3, LG Gram, Asus ProArt StudioBook, have 16:10 ratio. In 2021, the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming computer produced by Valve was announced, featuring a 16:10 display. There has also been a sudden resurgence of 16:10 Displays in the Gaming Laptop category. These high powered machines which usually had (16:9) 15.6 in and 17.6 in screen sizes, are now offering (16:10) 16 inch screen.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Tablets
Tablets started to enjoy mainstream popularity beginning late 2010/early 2011 and remain popular to present day. Aspect ratios for tablets typically include 16:10, 16:9 and 4:3. Tablets have caused a shift in production away from purely 16:9 aspect ratios, and a resurgence of "productivity" aspect ratios (including 16:10 and 4:3) in place of "media" aspect ratios (16:9 and ultra wide screen formats). 16:9 is less suited for laptops, PC monitors and tablets. The format remains widely popular in the TV and smartphone industries, where it is more suited.


16:10 aspect ratio, History, Tablets
Many Android tablets have 16:10 aspect ratio, because 16:10 aspect ratio is suitable for reading books, and many papers have an aspect ratio close to 16:10 (e.g. ISO 216 papers use the 1:1.414 aspect ratio). The iPad uses a 4:3 aspect ratio for similar reasons. Both formats come significantly closer to emulating the aspect ratio of A4 paper (210 × 297 millimeters or 8.27 × 11.69 inches) and has been attributed to the success of 16:10 and 4:3 tablets.


16:10 aspect ratio, Common resolutions
This is a list of common resolutions with the 16:10 aspect ratio.


16:9 aspect ratio
16:9 (1.77:1) is a widescreen aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9.


16:9 aspect ratio
Once seen as exotic, since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of  digital television HDTV Full HD and SD TV. It has replaced the fullscreen 4:3 aspect ratio.


16:9 aspect ratio
16:9 (1.77:1) (said as sixteen by nine or sixteen to nine) is the international standard format of HDTV, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television PALplus. Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a 5:3 ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced a wider ratio of 16 to 9. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9, and 16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD standard. DVD producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.4:1 within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself.


16:9 aspect ratio, History
Dr. Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio in 1984, when nobody was creating 16:9 videos. The popular choices in 1980 were 4:3 (based on TV standard's ratio at the time), 15:9 (the European "flat" 1.66:1 ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio) and 2.35:1 (the CinemaScope/Panavision) ratio for anamorphic widescreen.


16:9 aspect ratio, History
Powers cut out rectangles with equal areas, shaped to match each of the popular aspect ratios. When overlapped with their center points aligned, he found that all of those aspect ratio rectangles fit within an outer rectangle with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.78:1. The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 and 2.35:1, √47/15≈1.77:1 which is coincidentally close to 16:9. Applying the same geometric mean technique to 16:9 and 4:3 yields an aspect ratio of around 1.5396:1, sometimes approximated as 14:9 (1.55:1), which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.


16:9 aspect ratio, History
While 16:9 (1.77:1) was initially selected as a compromise format, the subsequent popularity of HDTV broadcast has solidified 16:9 as perhaps the most common video aspect ratio in use. Most 4:3 (1.33:1) and 2.40:1 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.77:1) inner rectangle to facilitate HD broadcast. Conversely it is quite common to use a technique known as center-cutting, to approach the challenge of presenting material shot (typically 16:9) to both an HD and legacy 4:3 audience simultaneously without having to compromise image size for either audience. Content creators frame critical content or graphics to fit within the 1.33:1 raster space. This has similarities to a filming technique called Open matte.


16:9 aspect ratio, History
After the original 16:9 Action Plan of the early 1990s, the European Union instituted the 16:9 Action Plan, just to accelerate the development of the advanced television services in 16:9 aspect ratio, both in PALplus (compatible with regular PAL broacasts) and also in HD-MAC (an early HD format). The Community fund for the 16:9 Action Plan amounted to €228,000,000.


16:9 aspect ratio, History
Over a long period in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the computer industry switched from 4:3 to 16:9 as the most common aspect ratio for monitors and laptops. A 2008 report by DisplaySearch cited a number of reasons for this shift, including the ability for PC and monitor manufacturers to expand their product ranges by offering products with wider screens and higher resolutions, helping consumers to more easily adopt such products and "stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market". By using the same aspect ratio for both TVs and monitors, manufacturing can be streamlined and research costs reduced by not requiring two separate sets of equipment, and since a 16:9 is narrower than a 16:10 panel of the same length, more panels can be created per sheet of glass.


16:9 aspect ratio, History
In 2011, Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors capable of 1920×1200 resolutions are not being manufactured anymore. "It is all about reducing manufacturing costs. The new 16:9 aspect ratio panels are more cost-effective to manufacture locally than the previous 16:10 panels".


16:9 aspect ratio, History
In March 2011, the 16:9 resolution 1920×1080 became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The previous most common resolution was 1680×1050 (16:10).


16:9 aspect ratio, Properties
16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD format. Anamorphic DVD transfers store the information as 5:4 (PAL) or 3:2 (NTSC) square pixels, which is set to expand to either 16:9 or 4:3, which the television or video player handles. A PAL DVD with a full frame image may contain a video resolution of 768×576 (4:3 ratio), but a video player software will stretch this to 1024×576 square pixels with a 16:9 flag in order to recreate the correct aspect ratio.


16:9 aspect ratio, Properties
DVD producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.4:1 within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself. Some films which were made in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, such as the U.S.-Italian co-production Man of La Mancha and Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, fit quite comfortably onto a 1.77:1 HDTV screen and have been issued as an enhanced version on DVD without the black bars. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9.


16:9 aspect ratio, Common resolutions
Common resolutions for 16:9 are listed in the table below:


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Europe
In Europe, 16:9 is the standard broadcast format for most TV channels and all HD broadcasts. Some countries adopted the format for analogue television, first by using the PALplus standard (now obsolete) and then by simply using WSS on normal PAL broadcasts.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
16:9 with inner 4:3**: RCTI, SCTV, Indosiar, MNCTV, GTV, iNews


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
*Channels that are primarily broadcast in 16:9 sometimes are filled by 4:3 content which are either stretched or pillarboxed.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
* *Broadcast in 16:9 HDTV along with inner 4:3 SDTV. Due to their visibility, some contents are either pillarboxed and windowboxed (especially in commercial ads and live sport games). Contents wider than 16:9 are usually letterboxed. They're usually stretched in SDTV mode. HD versions are limited to pay TV services and digital terrestrial TV in select regions.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
* **These channels are still using 4:3 configuration. Stretched when broadcasting in 16:9 format. Some channels have limited original 16:9 video contents.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
Note: Nationwide TV channels listed above are classified according to their original configuration, sorted chronologically according to TV configuration update. Configuration for exclusively digital and local channels are may vary. Local versions of nationwide channels may be different from their national version.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
4:3 upscaled/stretched to 16:9**: ETC, 2nd Avenue, all BEAM's subchannels, Light Network, UNTV* ***, Ang Dating Daan TV, SMNI, TV5, One Sports, GMA 7, A2Z, GTV, IBC 13


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
*channels that are squeezed/letterboxed to 4:3 on analog terrestrial transmissions nor no letterbox on widescreen-produced programs.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Asia
* *channels that are originally broadcasting in 4:3 on analog terrestrial, but upscaled or stretched to 16:9 for digital terrestrial television, cable and satellite.


16:9 aspect ratio, Countries, Americas
Pay television: U, Golden, Golden Edge, TL Novelas, Bandamax, De Película, De Película Clásico, Ritmoson Latino, TDN, TeleHit, Distrito Comedia, Tiin, Az Noticias, Az Clic!, Az Mundo, Az Corazón, Az Cinema, 52MX, TVC, TVC Deportes, Pánico, Cinema Platino, Cine Mexicano.


16B
"16B" is a song by Filipino-Australian singer-actor James Reid. The song was released on May 5, 2018 as the lead single off the collaborative mixtape from his own label Careless Music Manila.


16B, Background
According to "Push", Reid explained in his Instagram post that the lyrics were inspired by a close friend. He also stated that "16B is a place, a place where even the most fiery of souls can get lost in the pretty lights."


16B, Music video
An accompany music video for the song was released on Reid's birthday on May 11, 2018 via Careless Music Manila's YouTube channel.


16B, Critical reception
"16B" received positive reviews from music critics, but was also criticized for its provocative lyrics.


16K resolution
16K resolution is a display resolution with approximately 16,000 pixels horizontally. The most commonly discussed 16K resolution is 15360 × 8640, which doubles the pixel count of 8K UHD in each dimension, for a total of four times as many pixels. This resolution has 132.7 megapixels, 16 times as many pixels as 4K resolution and 64 times as many pixels as 1080p resolution.


16K resolution
Currently, 16K resolutions can be run using multi-monitor setups with AMD Eyefinity or Nvidia Surround.


16K resolution, History
In 2016, AMD announced a target for their future graphics cards to support 16K resolution with a refresh rate of 240 Hz for "true immersion" in VR.


16K resolution, History
Linus Tech Tips released a series of videos in 2017 attempting to play video games at 16K using 16 4K monitors.


16K resolution, History
In 2018, US filmmaker Martin Lisius released a short time-lapse film titled, "Prairie Wind" that he produced using a 2-camera Canon EOS 5DS system he developed. Two still images were stitched together to create one 15985 × 5792 pixel image and then rendered as 16K resolution video with an extremely wide aspect ratio of 2.76∶1. This is among the first known 16K videos to exist.


16K resolution, History
Innolux displayed the world's first 100-inch 16K8K (15360 × 8640) display module at Touch Taiwan in August 2018.


16K resolution, History
Sony introduced a 64 by 18 foot (19.5 m × 5.5 m) commercial 16K display at NAB 2019 that is set to be released in Japan. It is made up of 576 modules (each 360 × 360) in a formation of 48 by 12 modules, forming a 17280 × 4320 screen, with 4∶1 aspect ratio.


16K resolution, History
On June 26, 2019, VESA formally released the DisplayPort 2.0 standard with support for one 16K (15360 × 8640-pixel) display supporting 30-bit-per-pixel 4:4:4 RGB/Y′CBCR-color HDR video at a refresh rate of 60 Hz using DSC video compression.


16P/Brooks
16P/Brooks, also known as Brooks 2, is a periodic comet discovered by William Robert Brooks on July 7, 1889, but failed to note any motion. He was able to confirm the discovery the next morning, having seen that the comet had moved north. On August 1, 1889, the famous comet hunter Edward Emerson Barnard discovered two fragments of the comet labeled "B" and "C" located 1 and 4.5 arc minutes away. On August 2, he found another four or five, but these were no longer visible the next day.


16P/Brooks
On August 4, he observed two more objects, labeled "D" and "E". "E" disappeared by the next night and "D" was gone by the next week. Around mid-month, "B" grew large and faint, finally disappearing at the beginning of September. "C" managed to survive until mid-November 1889. No new nuclei were discovered before the apparition ended on January 13, 1891.


16P/Brooks
The breakup is believed to have been caused by the passage of the comet within Jupiter's Roche limit in 1886, when it spent two days within the orbit of Io. After the discovery apparition, the comet has always been over two magnitudes fainter and no fragments have been seen since 1889.


16P/Brooks
On 31 December 2016 the comet will pass 0.333 AU from Jupiter then on 3 July 2053 pass 0.247 AU (37,000,000 km; 23,000,000 mi) from Jupiter.


16P/Brooks, Discovery
William R. Brooks (Geneva, New York) was sweeping for comets on the morning of 1889 July 7, when he found this comet in the southeastern sky within the constellation Aquarius. He described it as faint, with a coma 1 arc minute across and a tail 10 arc minutes long. Although he was unable to detect any motion before sunrise, Brooks quickly found the comet the next morning and noted it had moved slightly northward.


16PF Questionnaire
The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) is a self-report personality test developed over several decades of empirical research by Raymond B. Cattell, Maurice Tatsuoka and Herbert Eber. The 16PF provides a measure of normal personality and can also be used by psychologists, and other mental health professionals, as a clinical instrument to help diagnose psychiatric disorders, and help with prognosis and therapy planning.


16PF Questionnaire
The 16PF can also provide information relevant to the clinical and counseling process, such as an individual’s capacity for insight, self-esteem, cognitive style, internalization of standards, openness to change, capacity for empathy, level of interpersonal trust, quality of attachments, interpersonal needs, attitude toward authority, reaction toward dynamics of power, frustration tolerance, and coping style. Thus, the 16PF instrument provides clinicians with a normal-range measurement of anxiety, adjustment, emotional stability and behavioral problems. Clinicians can use 16PF results to identify effective strategies for establishing a working alliance, to develop a therapeutic plan, and to select effective therapeutic interventions or modes of treatment. It can also be used within other areas of psychology, such as career and occupational selection.


16PF Questionnaire
Beginning in the 1940s, Cattell used several techniques including the new statistical technique of common factor analysis applied to the English-language trait lexicon to elucidate the major underlying dimensions within the normal personality sphere. This method takes as its starting point the matrix of inter-correlations between these variables in an attempt to uncover the underlying source traits of human personality. Cattell found that personality structure was hierarchical, with both primary and secondary stratum level traits. At the primary level, the 16PF measures 16 primary trait constructs, with a version of the Big Five secondary traits at the secondary level.


16PF Questionnaire
These higher-level factors emerged from factor-analyzing the 16 x 16 intercorrelation matrix for the sixteen primary factors themselves. The 16PF yields scores on primary and second-order "global" traits, thereby allowing a multilevel description of each individual's unique personality profile. A listing of these trait dimensions and their description can be found below. Cattell also found a third-stratum of personality organization that comprised just two overarching factors.


16PF Questionnaire
The measurement of normal personality trait constructs is an integral part of Cattell's comprehensive theory of intrapersonal psychological variables covering individual differences in cognitive abilities, normal personality traits, abnormal (psychopathological) personality traits, dynamic motivational traits, mood states, and transitory emotional states which are all taken into account in his behavioral specification/prediction equation. The 16PF has also been translated into over 30 languages and dialects and is widely used internationally.


16PF Questionnaire
Cattell and his co-workers also constructed downward extensions of the 16PF – parallel personality questionnaires designed to measure corresponding trait constructs in younger age ranges, such as the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ) – now the Adolescent Personality Questionnaire (APQ) for ages 12 to 18 years, the Children's Personality Questionnaire (CPQ), the Early School Personality Questionnaire (ESPQ), as well as the Preschool Personality Questionnaire (PSPQ).


16PF Questionnaire
Cattell also constructed (T-data) tests of cognitive abilities such as the Comprehensive Ability Battery (CAB) – a multidimensional measure of 20 primary cognitive abilities, as well as measures of non-verbal visuo-spatial abilities, such as the three scales of the Culture-Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT), In addition, Cattell and his colleagues constructed objective (T-data) measures of dynamic motivational traits including the Motivation Analysis Test (MAT), the School Motivation Analysis Test (SMAT), as well as the Children's Motivation Analysis Test (CMAT). As for the mood state domain, Cattell and his colleagues constructed the Eight State Questionnaire (8SQ), a self-report (Q-data) measure of eight clinically important emotional/mood states, labeled Anxiety, Stress, Depression, Regression, Fatigue, Guilt, Extraversion, and Arousal.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline
The most recent edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), released in 1993, is the fifth edition (16PF5e) of the original instrument. The self-report instrument was first published in 1949; the second and third editions were published in 1956 and 1962, respectively; and the five alternative forms of the fourth edition were released between 1967 and 1969.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline
The goal of the fifth edition revision in 1993 was to:


16PF Questionnaire, Outline
The 16PF Fifth Edition contains 185 multiple-choice items which are written at a fifth-grade reading level. Of these items, 76% were from the four previous 16PF editions, although many of them were re-written to simplify or update the language. The item content typically sounds non-threatening and asks simple questions about daily behavior, interests, and opinions.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Item format
A characteristic of the 16PF items is that, rather than asking respondents to self-assess their personality as some instruments do (e.g., "I am a warm and friendly person; I am not a worrier; I am an even tempered person. "), they tend instead to ask about daily, concrete situations, e.g. :


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Item format
Cattell argued that self-ratings relate to self-image, and are affected by self-awareness, and defensiveness about one's actual traits. The 16PF provides scores on 16 primary personality scales and five global personality scales, all of which are bi-polar (both ends of each scale have a distinct, meaningful definition). The instrument also includes three validity scales:


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Item format
The Impression Management (IM) scale is a bipolar scale with high scores reflecting a preponderance of socially desirable responses and low scores reflecting a preponderance of socially undesirable responses. Possible reasons for an extremely high Impression Management score include: the examinee may actually behave in highly socially desirable ways, and responses are accurate self-descriptions; responses reflect an unconscious distortion consistent with the examinee’s self-image but not with their behavior; or deliberate self-presentation as behaving in a highly socially desirable manner. A low impression management score suggests an unusual willingness to admit undesirable attributes or behaviors and can occur when an examinee is unusually self-critical, discouraged, or under stress.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Item format
The Acquiescence (ACQ) scale’s purpose is to index the degree to which the examinee agreed with items regardless of what was being asked. A high score might indicate that the examinee misunderstood the item content, responded randomly, has an unclear self-image, or had a “yea-saying” response style.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Item format
The Infrequency (INF) scale comprises the most statistically infrequent responses on the test, which are all middle (b) responses and appear in the test booklet with a question mark. A score above the 95th percentile may indicate that the examinee had trouble reading or comprehending the questions, responded randomly, experienced consistent indecisiveness about the a or c response choice, or tried to avoid making the wrong impression by choosing the middle answer rather than one of the more definitive answers.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Administration
Administration of the test takes about 35–50 minutes for the paper-and-pencil version and about 30 minutes by computer. The test instructions are simple and straightforward and the test is un-timed; thus, the test is generally self-administrable and can be used in either an individual or a group setting. The 16PF test was designed for adults at least age 16 and older, but there are also parallel tests for various younger age ranges (e.g., the 16PF Adolescent Personality Questionnaire).


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Administration
The 16PF Questionnaire has been translated into more than 30 languages and dialects. Thus the test can be administered in different languages, scored based on either local, national, or international normative samples, and computerized interpretive reports provided in about 23 different languages. The test has generally been culturally adapted (rather than just translated) in these countries, with local standardization samples plus reliability and validity information collected locally and presented in individual manuals.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Scoring
The test can be hand-scored using a set of scoring keys, or computer-scored by mailing-in or faxing-in the answer sheet to the publisher IPAT. There is also a software system that can be used to administer, score, and provide reports on the test results directly in the professional's office; and an Internet-based system that can also provide administration, scoring, and reports in a range of different languages.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Scoring
After the test has been administered there is a total score computed from each of the 16 personality factors. These totals have been created in a way to correlate to the sten scale. Scores on the 16PF are presented on a 10-point scale, or standard-ten scale. The sten scale has a mean of 5.5 and a standard deviation of 2, with scores below 4 considered low and scores above 7 considered high. The sten scales are bipolar, meaning that each end of the scale has a distinct definition and meaning. Because bipolar scales are designated with “high” or “low” for each factor, a high score should not be considered to reflect a positive personality characteristic and a low score should not be considered to reflect a negative personality characteristic.


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Interpretation
Cattell and Schuerger provided six steps that outline how they recommend interpreting the results of the 16PF:


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Interpretation
There are about a dozen computer-generated interpretive reports that can be used to help interpret the test for different purposes, for example:


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Interpretation
There are also many books that help with test interpretation, for example,


16PF Questionnaire, Outline, Interpretation
The 16PF traits are also included in the Psychological Evaluation Questionnaire (PEQ), which combines measures of both normal and abnormal personality traits into one test (Cattell, Cattell, Cattell, Russell, & Bedwell, 2003)


16PF Questionnaire, Raymond Cattell's 16 Personality Factors
Below is a table outlining the personality traits measured by the 16PF Questionnaire.


16PF Questionnaire, Relationship to five factor models
In the Fourth and Fifth Editions of the 16PF, there were five global factors that seem to correspond fairly closely to the "Big Five personality traits". The Big Five (BF) trait of Openness seems to be related to 16PF Openness/Tough-mindedness, The BF trait of Conscientiousness to the 16PF Self-Control, the BF Extraversion to the 16PF Extraversion, the BF Agreeableness/Dis-Agreeableness to the 16PF Independence/Accommodation, and the BF Neuroticism to the 16PF Anxiety. In fact, the development of the Big-Five factors began in 1963 with W.T. Norman factor-analyzing responses to the same items as the 16PF, replicating Cattell's work and suggested that five factors would be sufficient.


16PF Questionnaire, Relationship to five factor models
However, one big technical difference between Cattell's five Global Factors and popular five-factor models was Cattell's insistence on using oblique rotation in the factor analysis whereas Goldberg and Costa & McCrae used orthogonal rotation in their factor analysis. Oblique rotation allows the factors to correlate with each other, whereas orthogonal rotation restricts the factors from correlating with each other. Although personality traits are thought to be correlated, using orthogonal factor analysis makes the factors easier to understand and to work on statistically in research.


16PF Questionnaire, Relationship to five factor models
This is one of the reasons the Big-Five traits have definitions that are different from the 16PF global factors. For example, as seen in the table below, in Cattell's model the primary personality trait of Dominance (Factor E) is strongly located in the Independence/Accommodation global factor which represents a quality of fearless, original thinking and forceful, independent actions. However, other popular big five models consider Dominance as a facet of several Big-Five traits, including Extraversion, Dis-Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Thus Dominance is spread across a range of Big-Five factors with little influence on any one (Cattell & Mead, 2008).


16PF Questionnaire, Relationship to five factor models
Below is a table that shows how the 16 primary factors are related to the five global factors of the 16 Personality Factor theory. Compare with the Hierarchical Structure of the Big Five. Also, note that factor B is considered separate from the other factors because it is not a part of the hierarchical structure of personality in the same way as the other factors.


16PF Questionnaire, Factor analytic strategy
Assumptions shared by standardized personality tests, simply stated, are that humans possess characteristics or traits that are stable, vary from individual to individual, and can be measured. Factor analysis is a statistical procedure for reducing the redundancy in a set of intercorrelated scores. One major technique of factor analysis, the principal-components method, finds the minimum number of common factors that can account for an interrelated set of scores. Cattell's goal was to empirically determine and measure the essence of personality. Cattell used factor analysis to reduce thousands of psychological traits into what he believed to be 16 of the basic dimensions, or source traits of human personality. As a result, he created the 16PF personality test.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Cattell physical sciences background
The 16PF Questionnaire was created from a fairly unusual perspective among personality tests. Most personality tests are developed to measure just the pre-conceived traits that are of interest to a particular theorist or researcher. The main author of the 16PF, Raymond B. Cattell, had a strong background in the physical sciences, especially chemistry and physics, at a time when the basic elements of the physical world were being discovered, placed in the periodic table, and used as the basis for understanding the fundamental nature of the physical world and for further inquiry. From this background in the physical sciences, Cattell developed the belief that all fields are best understood by first seeking to find the fundamental underlying elements in that domain, and then developing a valid way to measure and research these elements (Cattell, 1965).


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Cattell physical sciences background
Cattell's goal in creating the 16PF Questionnaire was to provide a thorough, research-based map of normal personality.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Cattell physical sciences background
When Cattell moved from the physical sciences into the field of psychology in the 1920s, he described his disappointment about finding that it consisted largely of a wide array of abstract, unrelated theories and concepts that had little or no scientific bases. He found that most personality theories were based on philosophy and on personal conjecture, or were developed by medical professionals, such as Jean Charcot and Sigmund Freud, who relied on their personal intuition to reconstruct what they felt was going on inside people, based on observing individuals with serious psycho-pathological problems. Cattell (1957) described the concerns he felt as a scientist:


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Cattell physical sciences background
Thus, Cattell's goal in creating the 16PF Questionnaire was to discover the number and nature of the fundamental traits of human personality and to develop a way to measure these dimensions. At the University of London, Cattell worked with Charles Spearman who was developing  factor analysis to aid in his quest to discover the basic factors of human ability. Cattell thought that could also be applied to the area of personality. He reasoned that human personality must have basic, underlying, universal dimensions just as the physical world had basic building blocks (like oxygen and hydrogen). He felt that if the basic building blocks of personality were discovered and measured, then human behavior (e.g., creativity, leadership, altruism, or aggression) could become increasingly understandable and predictable.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Lexical Hypothesis (1936)
Those individual differences that are most salient and socially relevant in people's lives will eventually become encoded into their language; the more important such a difference, the more likely is it to become expressed as a single word.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Lexical Hypothesis (1936)
This statement has become known as the Lexical Hypothesis, which posits that if there is a word for a trait, it must be a real trait. Allport and Odbert used this hypothesis to identify personality traits by working through two of the most comprehensive dictionaries of the English language available at the time, and extracting 18,000 personality-describing words. From this gigantic list they extracted 4500 personality-describing adjectives which they considered to describe observable and relatively permanent traits.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Lexical Hypothesis (1936)
Cattell and his colleagues began a comprehensive program of international research aimed at identifying and mapping out the basic underlying dimensions of personality. Their goal was to systematically measure the widest possible range of personality concepts, in a belief that "all aspects of human personality which are or have been of importance, interest, or utility have already become recorded in the substance of language" (Cattell, R. B., 1943, p. 483). They wanted to include every known personality dimension in their investigation, and thus began with the largest existing compilation of personality traits (Allport and Odbert, 1936).


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Lexical Hypothesis (1936)
Over time, they used factor analysis to reduce the massive list of traits by analyzing the underlying patterns among them. They studied personality data from different sources (e.g. objective measures of daily behavior, interpersonal ratings, and questionnaire results), and measured these traits in diverse populations, including working adults, university students, and military personnel. (Cattell, 1957, 1973).


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, 16 Personality Factors identified (1949)
The 16 Personality Factors were identified in 1949 by Raymond Cattell. He believed that in order to adequately map out personality, one had to utilize L-Data (life records or observation), Q data (information from questionnaires), and T-data (information from objective tests). The development of the 16PF Questionnaire, although confusingly named, was an attempt to develop an adequate measure of T-data.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, 16 Personality Factors identified (1949)
Cattell analyzed the list of 4500 adjectives and organized the list of adjectives into fewer than 171 items and asked subjects to rate people whom they knew on each of the adjectives on the list (an example of L-data because the information was gathered from observers). This allowed Cattell to narrow down to 35 terms and factor analysis in 1945, 1947 and 1948 revealed a 11 or 12 factor solution.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, 16 Personality Factors identified (1949)
In 1949 Cattell found that there were 4 additional factors, which he believed consisted of information that could only be provided through self-rating. This process allowed the use of ratings by observers, questionnaires, and objective measurements of actual behavior. In 1952 the ILLIAC I became available at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be used for factor analysis.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, 16 Personality Factors identified (1949)
Together the original 12 factors and the 4 covert factors made up the original 16 primary personality factors. As the five factor theory gained traction and research on the 16 factors continued, subsequent analysis identified five factors underlying the 16 factors. Cattell called these global factors.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, 16 Personality Factors identified (1949)
The 16PF factorial structure resembles that of Szondi test and the Berufsbilder test (BTT), despite being based on different theories.


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Analytic study and revisions of the factors (1949–2011)
Because the 16PF dimensions were developed through factor analysis, construct validity is provided by studies that confirm its factor structure. Over several decades of factor-analytic study, Cattell and his colleagues gradually refined and validated their list of underlying source traits. The search resulted in the sixteen unitary traits of the 16PF Questionnaire. These traits have remained the same over the last 50 years of research. In addition, the 16PF Questionnaire traits are part of a multi-variate personality model that provides a broader framework including developmental, environmental, and hereditary patterns of the traits and how they change across the life span (Cattell, 1973, 1979, 1980).


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Analytic study and revisions of the factors (1949–2011)
The validity of the factor structure of the 16PF Questionnaire (the 16 primary factors and 5 global factors) has been supported by more than 60 published studies (Cattell & Krug, 1986; Conn & Rieke, 1994; Hofer and Eber, 2002). Research has also supported the comprehensiveness of the 16PF traits: all dimensions on other major personality tests (e.g., the NEO Personality Inventory, the California Psychological Inventory, the Personality Research Form, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) have been found to be contained within the 16PF scales in regression and factor-analytic studies (Conn & Rieke, 1994; Cattell, 1996).


16PF Questionnaire, History and development, Analytic study and revisions of the factors (1949–2011)
Since its release in 1949, the 16PF Questionnaire has been revised four times: once in 1956, once in 1962, once in 1968, and the current version was developed in 1993. The US version of the test was also re-standardized in 2002, along with the development of forms for children and teenagers; versions for the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands were re-standardised in 2011. Additionally, there is a shortened form available primarily for employee selection and the questionnaire has been adapted into more than 35 languages. The questionnaire has also been validated in a range of international cultures over time.


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
From the beginning of his research, Cattell found personality traits to have a multi-level, hierarchical structure (Cattell, 1946). The first goal of these researchers was to find the most fundamental primary traits of personality. Next they factor-analyzed these numerous primary traits to see if these traits had a structure of their own—i.e. if some of them naturally went together in self-defining, meaningful groupings.


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
They consistently found that the primary traits themselves came together in particular, meaningful groupings to form broader secondary or global traits, each with its own particular focus and function within personality (Cattell & Schuerger, 2003). For example, the first global trait they found was Extraversion-Introversion. It resulted from the natural affinity of five primary traits that defined different reasons for an individual to move toward versus away from other people (see below). They found that there was a natural tendency for these traits to go together in the real world, and to define an important domain of human behavior—social behavior. This global factor Global Extraversion/Introversion (the tendency to move toward versus away from interaction with others) is composed from the following primary traits:


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
In a similar manner, these researchers found that four other primary traits consistently merged to define another global factor which they called Receptivity or Openness (versus Tough-Mindedness). This factor was made up of four primary traits that describe different kinds of openness to the world:


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
Another global factor, Self-Controlled (or conscientious) versus Unrestrained, resulted from the natural coming together of four primary factors that define the different ways that human beings manage to control their behavior:


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
Because the global factors were developed by factor-analyzing the primary traits, the meanings of the global traits were determined by the primary traits which made them up. In addition, then the global factors provide the overarching, conceptual framework for understanding the meaning and function of each of the primary traits. Thus, the two levels of personality are essentially inter-connected and inter-related.


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
However it is the primary traits that provide a clear definition of the individual's unique personality. Two people might have exactly the same level of Extraversion, but still be quite different from each other. For example, they may both be at the 80% on Extraversion, and both tend to move toward others to the same degree, but they may be doing it for quite different reasons.


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
One person might achieve an 80% on Extraversion by being high on Social Boldness (Factor H: confident, bold, talkative, adventurous, fearless attention-seeking) and on Liveliness (Factor F: high-energy, enthusiastic, fun-loving, impulsive), but Reserved (low on Factor A: detached, cool, unfeeling, objective). This individual would be talkative, bold, and impulsive but not very sensitive to others people's needs or feelings. The second Extravert might be high on Warmth (Factor A: kind, soft-hearted, caring and nurturing), and Group-Oriented (low Factor Q2: companionable, cooperative, and participating), but Shy (low on Factor H: timid, modest, and easily embarrassed). This second Extravert would tend to show quite different social behavior and be caring, considerate, and attentive to others but not forward, bold or loud—and thus have quite a different effect on his/her social environment.


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
Today, the global traits of personality are commonly known as the Big Five. The Big Five traits are most important for getting an abstract, theoretical understanding of the big, overarching domains of personality, and in understanding how different traits of personality relate to each other and how different research findings relate to each other. The big-five are important for understanding and interpreting an individual's personality profile mainly in getting a broad overview of their personality make-up at the highest level of personality organization.


16PF Questionnaire, The original Big Five traits
However, it is still the scores on the more specific primary traits that define the rich, unique personality make-up of any individual. These more-numerous primary traits have repeatedly been found to be the most powerful in predicting and understanding the complexity of actual daily behavior (Ashton, 1998; Goldberg, 1999; Mershon & Gorsuch, 1988; Paunonen & Ashton, 2001).


16S rRNA (adenine1408-N1)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (adenine1408-N1)-methyltransferase (EC , kanamycin-apramycin resistance methylase, 16S rRNA:m1A1408 methyltransferase, KamB, NpmA, 16S rRNA m1A1408 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (adenine1408-N1)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (adenine1408-N1)-methyltransferase
The enzyme provides a panaminoglycoside resistance through interference with the binding of aminoglycosides.


16S rRNA (adenine1518-N6/adenine1519-N6)-dimethyltransferase
16S rRNA (adenine1518-N6/adenine1519-N6)-dimethyltransferase (EC , S-adenosylmethionine-6-N',N'-adenosyl (rRNA) dimethyltransferase, KsgA, ksgA methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (adenine1518-N6/adenine1519-N6)-dimethyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (adenine1518-N6/adenine1519-N6)-dimethyltransferase
KsgA introduces the dimethylation of adenine1518 and adenine1519 in 16S rRNA. Strains lacking the methylase are resistant to kasugamycin [ 1].


16S rRNA (cytidine1402-2'-O)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (cytidine1402-2'-O)-methyltransferase (EC , RsmI, YraL) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (cytidine1402-2'-O)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (cytidine1409-2'-O)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (cytidine1409-2'-O)-methyltransferase (EC , TlyA) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (cytidine1409-2'-O)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (cytosine1402-N4)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (cytosine1402-N4)-methyltransferase (EC , RsmH, MraW) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (cytosine1402-N4)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (cytosine1407-C5)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (cytosine1407-C5)-methyltransferase (EC , RNA m5C methyltransferase YebU, RsmF, YebU) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (cytosine1407-C5)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (cytosine1407-C5)-methyltransferase
The enzyme specifically methylates cytosine1407 at C5 in 16S rRNA.


16S rRNA (cytosine967-C5)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (cytosine967-C5)-methyltransferase (EC , rsmB (gene), fmu (gene), 16S rRNA m5C967 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (cytosine967-C5)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (cytosine967-C5)-methyltransferase
The enzyme specifically methylates cytosine967 at C5 in 16S rRNA.


16S rRNA (guanine1207-N2)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (guanine1207-N2)-methyltransferase (EC , m2G1207 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (guanine1207-N2)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (guanine1207-N2)-methyltransferase
The enzyme reacts well with 30S subunits reconstituted from 16S RNA transcripts and 30S proteins but is almost inactive with the corresponding free RNA.


16S rRNA (guanine1405-N7)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (guanine1405-N7)-methyltransferase (EC , methyltransferase Sgm, m7G1405 Mtase, Sgm Mtase, Sgm, sisomicin-gentamicin methyltransferase, sisomicin-gentamicin methylase, GrmA, RmtB, RmtC, ArmA) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (guanine1405-N7)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (guanine1405-N7)-methyltransferase
The enzyme specifically methylates guanine1405 at N7 in 16S rRNA.


16S rRNA (guanine1516-N2)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (guanine1516-N2)-methyltransferase (EC , yhiQ (gene), rsmJ (gene), m2G1516 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (guanine1516-N2)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (guanine1516-N2)-methyltransferase
The enzyme specifically methylates guanine1516 at N2 in 16S rRNA.


16S rRNA (guanine527-N7)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (guanine527-N7)-methyltransferase (EC , ribosomal RNA small subunit methyltransferase G, 16S rRNA methyltransferase RsmG, GidB, rsmG (gene)) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (guanine527-N7)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (guanine527-N7)-methyltransferase
The enzyme specifically methylates guanine527 at N7 in 16S rRNA.


16S rRNA (guanine966-N2)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (guanine966-N2)-methyltransferase (EC , yhhF (gene), rsmD (gene), m2G966 methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (guanine966-N2)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (guanine966-N2)-methyltransferase
The enzyme efficiently methylates guanine966 of the assembled 30S subunits in vitro.


16S rRNA (uracil1498-N3)-methyltransferase
16S rRNA (uracil1498-N3)-methyltransferase (EC , DUF558 protein, YggJ, RsmE, m3U1498 specific methyltransferase) is an enzyme with systematic name S-adenosyl-L-methionine:16S rRNA (uracil1498-N3)-methyltransferase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S rRNA (uracil1498-N3)-methyltransferase
The enzyme specifically methylates uracil1498 at N3 in 16S rRNA.


16S rRNA pseudouridine516 synthase
16S rRNA pseudouridine516 synthase (EC , 16S RNA pseudouridine516 synthase, 16S PsiI516 synthase, 16S RNA Psi516 synthase, RNA pseudouridine synthase RsuA, RsuA, 16S RNA pseudouridine 516 synthase) is an enzyme with systematic name 16S rRNA-uridine516 uracil mutase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction


16S ribosomal RNA
16S ribosomal RNA (or 16S rRNA) is the RNA component of the 30S subunit of a prokaryotic ribosome (SSU rRNA). It binds to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and provides most of the SSU structure.


16S ribosomal RNA
The genes coding for it are referred to as 16S rRNA gene and are used in reconstructing phylogenies, due to the slow rates of evolution of this region of the gene. Carl Woese and George E. Fox were two of the people who pioneered the use of 16S rRNA in phylogenetics in 1977. Multiple sequences of the 16S rRNA gene can exist within a single bacterium.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers
The 16S rRNA gene is used for phylogenetic studies as it is highly conserved between different species of bacteria and archaea. Carl Woese (1977) pioneered this use of 16S rRNA. It is suggested that 16S rRNA gene can be used as a reliable molecular clock because 16S rRNA sequences from distantly related bacterial lineages are shown to have similar functionalities. Some thermophilic archaea (e.g. order Thermoproteales) contain 16S rRNA gene introns that are located in highly conserved regions and can impact the annealing of "universal" primers. Mitochondrial and chloroplastic rRNA are also amplified.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers
The most common primer pair was devised by Weisburg et al. (1991) and is currently referred to as 27F and 1492R; however, for some applications shorter amplicons may be necessary, for example for 454 sequencing with titanium chemistry the primer pair 27F-534R covering V1 to V3. Often 8F is used rather than 27F. The two primers are almost identical, but 27F has an M instead of a C. AGAGTTTGATCMTGGCTCAG compared with 8F.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, PCR and NGS applications
In addition to highly conserved primer binding sites, 16S rRNA gene sequences contain hypervariable regions that can provide species-specific signature sequences useful for identification of bacteria. As a result, 16S rRNA gene sequencing has become prevalent in medical microbiology as a rapid and cheap alternative to phenotypic methods of bacterial identification. Although it was originally used to identify bacteria, 16S sequencing was subsequently found to be capable of reclassifying bacteria into completely new species, or even genera. It has also been used to describe new species that have never been successfully cultured. With third-generation sequencing coming to many labs, simultaneous identification of thousands of 16S rRNA sequences is possible within hours, allowing metagenomic studies, for example of gut flora.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, Hypervariable regions
The bacterial 16S gene contains nine hypervariable regions (V1–V9), ranging from about 30 to 100 base pairs long, that are involved in the secondary structure of the small ribosomal subunit. The degree of conservation varies widely between hypervariable regions, with more conserved regions correlating to higher-level taxonomy and less conserved regions to lower levels, such as genus and species. While the entire 16S sequence allows for comparison of all hypervariable regions, at approximately 1,500 base pairs long it can be prohibitively expensive for studies seeking to identify or characterize diverse bacterial communities.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, Hypervariable regions
These studies commonly utilize the Illumina platform, which produces reads at rates 50-fold and 12,000-fold less expensive than 454 pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing, respectively. While cheaper and allowing for deeper community coverage, Illumina sequencing only produces reads 75–250 base pairs long (up to 300 base pairs with Illumina MiSeq), and has no established protocol for reliably assembling the full gene in community samples. Full hypervariable regions can be assembled from a single Illumina run, however, making them ideal targets for the platform.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, Hypervariable regions
While 16S hypervariable regions can vary dramatically between bacteria, the 16S gene as a whole maintains greater length homogeneity than its eukaryotic counterpart (18S ribosomal RNA), which can make alignments easier. Additionally, the 16S gene contains highly conserved sequences between hypervariable regions, enabling the design of universal primers that can reliably produce the same sections of the 16S sequence across different taxa. Although no hypervariable region can accurately classify all bacteria from domain to species, some can reliably predict specific taxonomic levels.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, Hypervariable regions
Many community studies select semi-conserved hypervariable regions like the V4 for this reason, as it can provide resolution at the phylum level as accurately as the full 16S gene. While lesser-conserved regions struggle to classify new species when higher order taxonomy is unknown, they are often used to detect the presence of specific pathogens. In one study by Chakravorty et al. in 2007, the authors characterized the V1–V8 regions of a variety of pathogens in order to determine which hypervariable regions would be most useful to include for disease-specific and broad assays. Amongst other findings, they noted that the V3 region was best at identifying the genus for all pathogens tested, and that V6 was the most accurate at differentiating species between all CDC-watched pathogens tested, including anthrax.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, Hypervariable regions
While 16S hypervariable region analysis is a powerful tool for bacterial taxonomic studies, it struggles to differentiate between closely related species. In the families Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Peptostreptococcaceae, species can share up to 99% sequence similarity across the full 16S gene. As a result, the V4 sequences can differ by only a few nucleotides, leaving reference databases unable to reliably classify these bacteria at lower taxonomic levels.


16S ribosomal RNA, Universal primers, Hypervariable regions
By limiting 16S analysis to select hypervariable regions, these studies can fail to observe differences in closely related taxa and group them into single taxonomic units, therefore underestimating the total diversity of the sample. Furthermore, bacterial genomes can house multiple 16S genes, with the V1, V2, and V6 regions containing the greatest intraspecies diversity. While not the most precise method of classifying bacterial species, analysis of the hypervariable regions remains one of the most useful tools available to bacterial community studies.


16S ribosomal RNA, Promiscuity of 16S rRNA genes
Under the assumption that evolution is driven by vertical transmission, 16S rRNA genes have long been believed to be species-specific, and infallible as genetic markers inferring phylogenetic relationships among prokaryotes. However, a growing number of observations suggest the occurrence of horizontal transfer of these genes. In addition to observations of natural occurrence, transferability of these genes is supported experimentally using a specialized Escherichia coli genetic system.


16S ribosomal RNA, Promiscuity of 16S rRNA genes
Using a null mutant of E. coli as host, growth of the mutant strain was shown to be complemented by foreign 16S rRNA genes that were phylogenetically distinct from E. coli at the phylum level. Such functional compatibility was also seen in Thermus thermophilus. Furthermore, in T. thermophilus, both complete and partial gene transfer was observed. Partial transfer resulted in spontaneous generation of apparently random chimera between host and foreign bacterial genes. Thus, 16S rRNA genes may have evolved through multiple mechanisms, including vertical inheritance and horizontal gene transfer; the frequency of the latter may be much higher than previously thought.


16S ribosomal RNA, 16S ribosomal databases
The 16S rRNA gene is used as the standard for classification and identification of microbes, because it is present in most microbes and shows proper changes. Type strains of 16S rRNA gene sequences for most bacteria and archaea are available on public databases, such as NCBI. However, the quality of the sequences found on these databases is often not validated. Therefore, secondary databases that collect only 16S rRNA sequences are widely used. The most frequently used databases are listed below:


16S ribosomal RNA, 16S ribosomal databases, EzBioCloud
EzBioCloud database, formerly known as EzTaxon, consists of a complete hierarchical taxonomic system containing 62,988 bacteria and archaea species/phylotypes which includes 15,290 valid published names as of September 2018. Based on the phylogenetic relationship such as maximum-likelihood and OrthoANI, all species/subspecies are represented by at least one 16S rRNA gene sequence. The EzBioCloud database is systematically curated and updated regularly which also includes novel candidate species. Moreover, the website provides bioinformatics tools such as ANI calculator, ContEst16S and 16S rRNA DB for QIIME and Mothur pipeline.


16S ribosomal RNA, 16S ribosomal databases, Ribosomal Database Project
The Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) is a curated database that offers ribosome data along with related programs and services. The offerings include phylogenetically ordered alignments of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences, derived phylogenetic trees, rRNA secondary structure diagrams and various software packages for handling, analyzing and displaying alignments and trees. The data are available via ftp and electronic mail. Certain analytic services are also provided by the electronic mail server.


16S ribosomal RNA, 16S ribosomal databases, SILVA
SILVA provides comprehensive, quality checked and regularly updated datasets of aligned small (16S/18S, SSU) and large subunit (23S/28S, LSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences for all three domains of life as well as a suite of search, primer-design and alignment tools (Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya).


16S ribosomal RNA, 16S ribosomal databases, GreenGenes
GreenGenes is a quality controlled, comprehensive 16S reference database and taxonomy based on a de novo phylogeny that provides standard operational taxonomic unit sets. It is no longer maintained actively and it was last updated in 2013.


16VSB
16VSB is an abbreviation for 16-level vestigial sideband modulation, capable of transmitting four bits (24=16) at a time.


16VSB, How it works
Other slower but more rugged forms of VSB include 2VSB, 4VSB, and 8VSB. 16VSB is capable of twice the data capacity of 8VSB; while 8VSB delivers 19.39 Mbit/s (Megabits per second) in a 6-MHz television channel, 16VSB could deliver 38.78 Mbit/s, while making the sacrifice of being more prone to transmission error.


16VSB, History
While 8VSB is the ATSC digital broadcast modulation format, 16VSB was planned for cable distribution. 16VSB is about twice as susceptible to noise, therefore less suitable than 8VSB for broadcast, but well suited to the signal-to-noise ratio of hybrid fiber-coax distribution, allowing twice as much programming in a 6-MHz channel.


16VSB, Technological obsolescence
As of 2007, a majority of cable companies have chosen to extend their existing quadrature amplitude modulation-based systems to carry digital television rather than adopting any form of VSB. It is probable that 16VSB has been replaced by Digital Transmission Standard For Cable Television  a cable standard that defines 64QAM and 256QAM transmission for digital cable.


16bit (band)
16bit were an English electronic music duo, consisting of Eddie Jefferys and Jason Morrison. They were signed to Chase & Status' MTA Records, and best known for their work with Björk.


16bit (band), Biography
16bit were composed of Eddie Jefferys from South London and Jason Morrison from Bath, Somerset. Both became interested in electronic music at an early age, citing jungle, and garage as their main influences. They were best known for producing dubstep and made their debut release in January 2008 with In The Death Car EP featuring the track "Chainsaw Calligraphy" which was recognised for its innovative qualities at the time.


16bit (band), Biography
Fourteen of 16bit's songs were used as the soundtrack for the iOS and WiiWare video game Lilt Line.


16bit (band), Biography
The duo co-produced "Crystalline" and "Mutual Core" off Björk's 2011 album Biophilia. They subsequently remixed both "Mutual Core" and "Hollow". The album was nominated for two Grammy awards. Jefferys and Morrison went to Brooklyn where they worked with the artist for a week. Björk explained that "I was really torn about whether to use their version of 'Hollow' on the album. Their beats for 'Crystalline' and 'Mutual Core' made it on there, but in the end 'Hollow' wound up on the remix album".


16bit (band), Biography
While Jefferys said of the collaboration that "working with such abstract time signatures was definitely a strange mix of confusing and enjoyable. She has been so successful without compromising her music or herself". They produced the single "At Your Inconvenience" from the eponymous album of Professor Green. In 2012, the duo had also produced the track "I Am the Narrator" from Plan B's third studio album iLL Manors.


16bit (band), Biography
Their 2010 remix of Noisia's "Machine Gun" was used in a trailer and various TV spots for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The remix was also used in the trailer for Far Cry 3.


16bit (band), Biography
In 2010, their track 'Jump' was featured in the Nike commercial 'Hit The Target'.


16bit (band), Biography
16bit won 'Best Mix' at the 2010 Dubstep Forum Awards for their 'Milky Pie Mix' and came second top in the Best Producer category. Although they stated that the intention was to release an album, it never materialised. In mid-2012, the duo split to pursue solo production careers for unknown reasons. Jefferys relocated to Chicago.


16bit (band), Biography
Eddie Jefferys has since released music under the alias "Moody Good". He released his debut album with MTA Records and OWSLA on 2 June 2014. Jefferys also produced a single for the rap group Foreign Beggars entitled "Anywhere", provided additional production for the Chase & Status track "Gangsta Boogie" and remixed Yogi's single featuring Pusha T 'Burial'.


16bit (band), Biography
Jason Morrison was also working on his own solo project known as The 13, but he eventually decided to retire the project. He is currently working under the alternative alias "jaswan", which he has released solo music on Bandcamp as, and has all of his tracks listed on SoundCloud and Spotify.


16ft Skiff
A 16 ft Skiff is a class of three-person sailing dinghy with twin trapezes and a large asymmetrical spinnaker. The class is unique to Australia, where it is one of the most popular boats sailing with 95 boats registered in 12 clubs. The class has the largest fleet of high performance skiffs on the east coast of Australia. Due to the nature of only allowing two trapezes, the age of the sailors can vary between 15 and 60 years old, making it a versatile class of boat.


16ft Skiff, Construction
The hull, spars and foils are all constructed out of a carbon composite reinforced polymer. Manufacturers of these hulls are generally local boat builders, however are now being sourced overseas. The total weight of the boat is no more than 85 kg fully rigged, resulting in an extremely high sail area to weight ratio.


16ft Skiff, History
The class has been around for over a century and has changed significantly since its beginnings:


16th & California and 16th & Stout stations
16th & California station and 16th & Stout station are a pair of RTD light rail stations in Downtown Denver, Colorado, United States. Operating as part of the D, F, H, and L lines, the stations were opened on October 8, 1994, and are operated by the Regional Transportation District. These stations have one track each, and are one city block apart. 16th & California is served only by northbound trains and 16th & Stout is served only by southbound trains. These stations serve the 16th Street Mall and provide connections to the MallRide shuttle bus and Union Station via the shuttles.


16th (Irish) Division
The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', initially in September 1914, after the outbreak of the Great War. In December 1915, the division moved to France, joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under the command of Irish Major General William Hickie, and spent the duration of the war in action on the Western Front. Following enormous losses at the Somme, Passchendaele and Ypres, the 16th (Irish) Division required a substantial refit in England between June and August 1918, which involved the introduction of many non-Irish battalions.


16th (Irish) Division, History
Moved by the fate of Belgium, a small and Catholic country, John Redmond had called on Irishmen to enlist "in defence of the highest principles of religion and morality and right". More Catholic Irish enlisted than Protestants.


16th (Irish) Division, History
The 16th Division began forming as part of the K2 Army Group towards the end of 1914 after Irish recruits in the early days of the war from England and Belfast first filled the ranks of the 10th (Irish) Division before being assigned to the 16th Division, formed around a core of National Volunteers. Initial training began in Ireland at Fermoy, Munster; recruits also trained at Buttevant. The division moved to Aldershot in Hampshire, England for more intensive training in September 1915.


16th (Irish) Division, History
After thirteen weeks, the division was deployed to Étaples in France, joining the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), then commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French, but later replaced by General Sir Douglas Haig. From there the division left on 18 December for that part of the front in the Loos salient, under the command of Irish Major General William Hickie and spent the rest of the war on the Western Front.


16th (Irish) Division, History
Until March 1916 the 16th Division was part of IV Corps, commanded by the staunch unionist, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wilson. Wilson, who had called the division "Johnnie Redmond's pets", inspected them over the course of a few days over Christmas 1915, noting that they "appear to be inferior" and that "at least 50p.c. are quite useless, old whiskey-sodden militiamen". Hickie agreed that he had "a political Divn of riff raff Redmondites". Wilson thought the 47th Brigade had "old officers, old & useless men, very bad musketry, rotten boots, and altogether a very poor show".


16th (Irish) Division, History
Wilson reported to the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Sir Charles Monro (6 January) that the division, despite having been training since September–October 1914, would not be fit to serve in an active part of the line for six weeks. Although–in the opinion of Wilson's biographer Keith Jeffery–political prejudice probably played a part in these views, Wilson also attributed much of the difference in quality between his divisions to training, especially of officers, in which he took a keen personal interest, opposing Haig's wish to delegate training from corps to division level. Hickie was–in public–much more diplomatic and tactful and spoke of the pride which his new command gave him.


16th (Irish) Division, History
At Loos, in January and February 1916, the division was introduced to trench warfare and suffered greatly in the Battle of Hulluch. Personnel raided German trenches all through May and June. In late July they were moved to the Somme Valley where they were intensively engaged in the Battle of the Somme. Lieutenant General Hubert Gough, the British Fifth Army commander, had asked, at the end of 1915, for the division to be placed under his command, and had established the first corps school for the training of young officers.


16th (Irish) Division, History
The 16th Division played an important part in capturing the towns of Guillemont and Ginchy, although they suffered massive casualties. During these successful actions between 1 and 10 September casualties amounted to 224 officers and 4,090 men; despite these very heavy losses the division gained a reputation as first-class shock troops. Out of a total of 10,845 men, it had lost 3,491 on the Loos sector between January and the end of May 1916, including heavy casualties from bombardment and a gas attack at Hullach in April. Bloodletting of this order was fatal to the division's character, for it had to be made good by drafts from England.


16th (Irish) Division, History
In early 1917, the division took a major part in the Battle of Messines alongside the 36th (Ulster) Division, adding to both their recognition and reputation. Their major actions ended in the summer of 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele after, again, coming under the command of Gough and the Fifth Army. In July 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, although both divisions were completely exhausted after 13 days of moving weighty equipment under heavy shelling, Gough ordered the battalions to advance through deep mud towards well fortified German positions left untouched by totally inadequate artillery preparation. By mid August, the 16th had suffered over 4,200 casualties, the 36th almost 3,600, or more than 50% of their numbers. Haig, now a field marshal, was very critical of Gough for "playing the Irish card".


16th (Irish) Division, History
The 16th Division held an exposed position from early 1918 at Ronssoy where they suffered more heavy losses during the German Army's Spring Offensive in March and being practically wiped out in the retreat which followed Operation Michael. Haig wrote in his diary (22 March 1918) that the division was "said not to be so full of fight as the others. In fact, certain Irish units did very badly and gave way immediately the enemy showed".


16th (Irish) Division, History
In fact the division's casualties were the highest of any BEF division at this time, and records of the German 18th and 50th Reserve Divisions show that the Irish fought hard. The corps commander, Lieutenant General Walter Congreve, wrote "the real truth is that their reserve brigade did not fight at all and their right brigade very indifferently". One battalion was greeted at the rear with cries of "There go the Sinn Feiners!"


16th (Irish) Division, History
A report by Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, now the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), concluded that there was no evidence that the men had not fought well, but pointed out that only two-thirds of the men were of Irish birth. The matter affected the debate over the introduction of conscription of Ireland.


16th (Irish) Division, History
The remnants of the division were later transferred to XIX Corps of the Third Army. The 16th helped to finally halt the German attack prior to the Battle of Hamel. The decision was then made to break up the division, the three surviving Service battalions were posted to other formations.


16th (Irish) Division, History
On 14 June the division returned to England for reconstitution. The Conscription Crisis of 1918 in Ireland meant that fewer Irish recruits could be raised so that the 16th Division which returned to France on 27 July contained five English battalions, two Scottish battalions and one Welsh battalion. The only original battalion left was the 5th Royal Irish Fusiliers.


16th (Irish) Division, History
The dispersion of the Irish battalions throughout the BEF in 1918, despite its practical considerations, appears to suggest that the Irish units were increasingly distrusted by the military authorities.


16th (Irish) Division, Order of battle
The 16th Division was composed of the following during World War I:


16th (Irish) Division, Order of battle, 47th Brigade
The 47th Brigade was known as the "Nationalist Brigade" as the majority were men from Redmond's Irish Volunteers.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance was a Royal Army Medical Corps unit of the British airborne forces during the Second World War. The unit was the first parachute field ambulance unit of the British Army. Their first deployment was in Operation Torch the Allied landings in North Africa. This was followed by Operation Fustian during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Their third mission was Operation Slapstick, a seaborne landing at Taranto in Italy.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
The 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance then returned to England to prepare for operations in North West Europe. Their next and final parachute landing was in September 1944, during the Battle of Arnhem. In the battle the 1st Parachute Brigade landed on the first day and the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance established at dressing station in a local hospital. Within days the location was overrun by the Germans and the majority of the field ambulance went into captivity as prisoners of war.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance
In 1945 it was reformed and took part in Operation Doomsday the occupation of Norway following the surrender of German forces there, but with the war over the unit was disbanded by the end of the year.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
Impressed by the success of German airborne operations, during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming, comprising three parachute infantry battalions. In keeping with British Army practice at the same time, as the infantry battalions were being raised, airborne supporting arms were formed, including Royal Army Medical Corps volunteers.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
The war establishment of a Parachute Field Ambulance, was 177 all ranks. Consisting of thirteen doctors in two surgical teams and four sections. The doctors could deal with 330 cases in a twenty-four-hour period. Each surgical team could handle 1.8 operations an hour. But that was not sustainable, and if they were required to operate the following day, the team had to be relieved after twelve hours. It was envisaged that during airborne operations, it would not be possible to evacuate casualties until the ground forces had linked up with them. Therefore, the field ambulance had the ability to treat all types of wounds, and provide post-operative care for up to fourteen days. They also had the transport required to evacuate casualties from the Regimental Aid Post (RAP), to the Main Dressing Station (MDS).


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
An airborne field ambulance was commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, with a major as the second in command and a regimental sergeant major as the senior non-commissioned rank. Headquarters staff included two specialist surgeons and a specialist anaesthetist, a pharmacist and an Army Dental Corps dentist. To assist in the operating theatre and with post-operative care, there were six operating room assistants, a sergeant nursing orderly and six nursing orderlies. Other medical staff were a sergeant sanitary assistant, a masseur, a dental orderly and five stretcher bearers, one of whom was trained as a shoemaker. The rest of the headquarters consisted of a Quartermaster, clerks, cooks, storemen, an Army Physical Training Corps instructor, a barber and a joiner from the Royal Engineers.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
There were four sub-units of twenty men known as sections. Each section comprised an officer (doctor) and a staff sergeant (nursing orderly). Under their command were three nursing orderlies, a clerk, a dutyman and thirteen stretcher bearers. A section was normally attached to a parachute battalion to supplement their own medical officer and medics.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
The last component of the Field Ambulance was the Royal Army Service Corps detachment, commanded by a captain, with a company sergeant major as second in command. They had fifty men under them, an electrician, a clerk, thirty-eight drivers, four motorcyclists and five vehicle mechanics. It was normal to have at least two RASC drivers with two jeeps and a trailer attached to each section, the remaining men and vehicles stayed with the headquarters surgical teams.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
All members of the Field Ambulance had to undergo a twelve-day parachute training course carried out at No. 1 Parachute Training School, RAF Ringway. Initial parachute jumps were from a converted barrage balloon and finished with five parachute jumps from an aircraft. Anyone failing to complete a descent was returned to his old unit. Those men who successfully completed the parachute course, were presented with their maroon beret and parachute wings.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, Background
Airborne operations were in their infancy in the Second World War and the British Army medical services had to design and develop a range of special medical airborne equipment. These included the Don pack, the Sugar pack (containing dressing and surgical items respectively), the folding airborne stretcher, the folding trestle table, the folding suspension bar, the airborne operating table, the airborne inhaler and special containers for blood and plasma.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, Formation
Commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm MacEwan, the first British parachute field ambulance, the 16th Airborne Field Ambulance was raised on 3 April 1941, at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. The first arrivals being thirty-three men transferred from the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance. Reaching full strength and having completed their parachute training the unit was re-designated the 16th (P) Field Ambulance which was later changed to the 16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance (16 PFA). The 16 PFA was assigned to the 1st Parachute Brigade in the 1st Airborne Division.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
The invasion of North Africa Operation Torch was the first time an airborne field ambulance was employed. Before this operations Colossus and Freshman had no specialist medical support, while Biting included a section from the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance in the evacuation boats.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
For Torch No.3 Section, 16 PFA was attached to the 3rd Parachute Battalion and travelled by plane via Gibraltar to North Africa. On 11 November 1942, they parachuted onto the airfield at Bone. While the remainder of 16 PFA and the brigade were transported to North Africa by sea, arrived the next day. En route to Bone the aircraft carrying Captain Keesey the No.3 Section commander crashed into the sea. Leaving the section second in command to set up a dressing station to handle the fourteen casualties (including one killed) from the parachute landing. By 15 November, the 1st Parachute Brigade established a position 11 miles (18 km) outside of Algiers.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
On 17 November the 1st Parachute Battalion with No.1 Section and No.1 Surgical team 16 PFA, parachuted in to seize the airfield and an important crossroads at Béja. One man was killed in the drop and one other wounded who was treated on the drop zone (DZ), by the section. By 20:00 the battalion had occupied Béja, and the section took over a small twenty-bed hospital in the garrison school and a part of the larger 250-bed civil hospital.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
The town was attacked by a squadron of German Stukas on 20 November, and Lieutenant Charles Rob in command on the surgical team carried out over 150 operations during which he suffered a fractured tibia and kneecap caused by a bomb exploding nearby. Continuing to operate he carried out another twenty-two operation the next day, even giving a pint of blood to save a wounded soldier. Afterwards Lieutenant Rob was awarded a Military Cross. The section had only expected to be deployed for five days, but remained for twenty-four days, treating 238 casualties before being relieved.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
On 29 November No.2 Section 16 PFA, and the 2nd Parachute Battalion, were parachuted close to Depienne Airfield. Arriving at the field at 11:00 they found it deserted and withdrew back to Prise de l'Eau. On 1 December the battalion was informed that the planned advance by 6th Armoured Division had been postponed and the battalion was trapped 50 miles (80 km) behind German lines. The battalion was virtually surrounded and fought off two attacks that morning, one company was destroyed and there were 150 casualties. The battalion divided into company groups to try to break through the German lines. But the wounded had to be left behind, in the Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) established by No.2 Section. The section remained behind to protect the wounded from the local anti-British population, until the Germans arrived and took them prisoner.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
From now onwards the 1st Parachute Brigade fought as normal infantry and 16 PFA on Christmas Eve set up a Main Dressing Station (MDS) at Medjez el Bab. On 2 February the 1st Parachute battalion assaulted Djebel Mansour mountain with No. 1 Section attached. The ground was unsuitable for vehicles and the section could only take what they could carry by hand. The terrain also hindered casualty evacuation and it took ten hours, to bring the wounded from the front line to the medical post, by which time the stretcher bearers could go no further.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
In the situation Lieutenant-Colonel MacEwan, brought the remainder of 16 PFA forward to assist with the wounded, No.4 Section being sent to the top of Djebel Mansour. MacEwan established a relay of stretcher bearers that cut the evacuation from the top of the mountain down to three hours. The battle continued until 5 February and by that time everyone not involved in surgery, apart from three men were used as stretcher bearers. By the end of the battle the men of 16 PFA had treated 201 casualties.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
The Germans and Italians counterattacked on 20 February, their attack failed but again every man was used in carrying stretchers to the rear. On 26 February the 2nd Parachute battalion defeated an Italian attack and No.3 Section was kept busy with the Italian wounded. On 3 March the brigade were moved to Sedjenane to relieve the 139th Infantry Brigade. In the battle 16 PFA were used to evacuate the wounded from the front line to the ADS used by the 139th Brigades field ambulance.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
The commander of 1st Parachute Brigade Brigadier Gerald Lathbury, ordered that in the coming battle, the brigade would remain where they were and not withdraw. Lieutenant-Colonel MacEwan brought the two surgical teams forward together with enough medical supplies and stores to last out the battle. The attack started 8 March and over the following days the MDS was subjected to artillery and air attacks killing and wounding some 16 PFA men. On 17 March the ADS was shelled and dive-bombed eight times, but continued to operate. By the end of the twelve-day battle, 16 PFA had treated and evacuated 554 wounded.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, North Africa
On 12 May 16 PFA rejoined 1st Airborne Division that had arrived in theatre and Lieutenant-Colonel MacEwan leaving to join 6th Airborne Division, handed over command to Major Gerard (Ross) Wheatley who was promoted to lieutenant-colonel.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, Sicily and Italy
The next action for 16 PFA was during the Allied invasion of Sicily. The 1st Parachute Brigade was to capture Primosole Bridge crossing the River Simeto, south of Catania. The brigade now consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions. The 1st Airborne Anti-Tank Battery Royal Artillery, the 1st Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers and 16 PFA. During the mission the parachute battalions would have a section from 16 PFA attached. For the landing each section parachute stick included six containers of medical stores, which contained a wheeled stretcher and a hand trolley.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, Sicily and Italy
The two surgical teams had five containers of stores. The need to carry the containers reduced each section to seventeen men. Spare men were distributed among the brigade, one officer and nineteen men with the 1st Battalion. One officer and sixteen men with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, while Lieutenant-Colonel Wheatly and two men went with brigade headquarters.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, Sicily and Italy
On 12 July 1943 the brigade took off between 19:00 and 20:30, intended to parachute into Sicily between 22:20 and 23:15 the same night. The Dakota carrying No.4 Section was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into the sea killing four of the sections men. No.3 Section landed on both sides of the river 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the bridge. Half the section falling in with a small group from the 3rd Battalion, were forced by enemy activity to hide out until they could rejoin the brigade late on 15 July.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, Sicily and Italy
The Dakota carrying No.1 Surgical Team, was hit by anti-aircraft fire knocking out one of its engines. Five men including one of the surgeons Captain Lipmann-Kessel unable to jump were taken back to North Africa. The rest of 16 PFA although scattered landed without incident. The MDS was established in farm buildings south of the river. In the first thirteen hours the MDS carried out twenty-one operations and were looking after sixty-one British and twenty-nine Italian patients by 22:00 the following night.


16th (Parachute) Field Ambulance, History, Sicily and Italy
However, in that time the brigade had been forced off the bridge and the MDS was now in no-man's land. Those men that could be spared were sent back with the brigade. An Italian officer arrived and informed them that they had been captured, but later that day, 2nd Parachute Battalion advancing with the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division liberated the MDS. During their time in captivity the MDS had carried out a further fourteen operation. By the end of the mission 109 wounded had been treated and thirty-one operations, had been carried out, with only two post operative fatalities. On 17 July the brigade sailed for North Africa, arriving the next day.