Architectural gear ratio

Architectural gear ratio, also called anatomical gear ratio (AGR) is a feature of pennate muscle defined by the ratio between the longitudinal strain of the muscle and muscle fiber strain.
It is sometimes also defined as the ratio between muscle-shortening velocity and fiber-shortening velocity.
AGR = εx/εf
where εx = longitudinal strain (or muscle-shortening velocity) and εf is fiber strain (or fiber-shortening velocity)
In fusiform muscle, the fibers are longitudinal, so longitudinal strain is equal to fiber strain, and AGR is always 1.
As the pennate muscle is activated, the fibers rotate as they shorten and pull at an angle. In pennate muscles, fibers are oriented at an angle to the muscle's line of action and rotate as they shorten, becoming more oblique such that the fraction of force directed along the muscle's line of action decreases throughout a contraction. Force output is dependent upon the angle of fiber rotation, so changes in muscle thickness and the vector of change in thickness vary; based upon the force being produced. Due to the rotational motion; pennate muscles operate at low velocities (low shortening distance). The shortening velocity of the pennate muscle as a whole is greater than that of the individual fibers. This gives rise to the property of AGR. Fiber rotation decreases a muscle's output force but increases output velocity by allowing the muscle to function at a higher gear ratio (muscle velocity/fiber velocity). Azizi and Brainerd demonstrated that the gear ratio of pennate muscle can vary; dependent on external load.
Segmented musculature, like pennate muscle, has fibers aligned at an angle and due to this feature of design, when muscle fibers increase in angle with respect to the medial axis, along with the direction and amount of muscle bulging, the Architectural gear ratio increases. A variable gear ratio, based upon different anatomical position, loading and movement conditions, has since been dubbed spatially varying gear ratio. The occurrence of spatially varying gear ratio gives rise to a new insight of muscle biology; “inhomogenous muscle mechanics.”
One feature of the ratio is that there is an optimal gear ratio for each muscle; as the length-tension and force-velocity relationships describe. Length-tension refers to the max tension that can be created over the muscle fiber strain range and force-velocity refers to the power that is possible of the fiber compared to the shortening velocity. These two features of musculature help to define an optimal AGR for a muscle.
Muscle model.
The Architectural gear ratio is explained through the segmented muscle model 3 proposed by Emanuel Azizi, where a muscle segment is shown as a single muscle fiber attached to the myosepta of a "Siren lacertina" an aquatic salamander at a certain acute, pennation angle. The model allows segments to bulge out differently in the horizontal, and vertical direction and was used to calculate the Architectural gear ratio of each segment. Preliminary models results show that with muscle bulging, the Architectural gear ratio will increase. Different bulging conditions were studied, and shown in Fig. 2 The model results show the more a muscle bulges in dorsoventral height, the further the muscle fibers shorten, therefore providing a higher Architectural gear ratio.
In pennate muscles, segments with higher pennation angles put out less force per shortening muscle fiber. Therefore, the architectural gear ratio of a pennate muscle is higher than the architectural gear ratio of spindle like muscles (e.g. fusiform). A smaller fiber length neutralizes this higher architectural gear ratio if the muscle fibers must be squeezed into the same space.
Pennation angle and muscle injury.
The rotator cuff comprises four pennate muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor, and their accompanying tendons. These muscles form a cuff around the glenohumeral joint and function to stabilize and manipulate the shoulder.
The pennation angle of the rotator cuff myofibers, the angle at which fibers connect to the associated tendon, affects the contractile properties and function of the whole pennate muscle. For example, the pennation angle determines the architectural gear ratio at which a pennate muscle operates. A large initial pennation angle results in a large AGR and velocity amplification.
A 2011 study on human cadaveric shoulders suggests tendon tears may affect the pennation angle of the rotator cuff muscles. Researchers compared pennation angle between a control group and tear groups comprising either partial or complete-thickness tendon tears. Via dissection of ten injured and ten non-injured cadeveric shoulders, the study discovered a correlation between tendon tear size and an increase in pennation angle among two of the rotator cuff muscles. Pennation angle remained unaffected across all rotator cuff muscles in the partial tendon tear group, suggesting a threshold tear size must be exceeded to produce any changes in pennation angle. Full-thickness tendon tears did not affect the pennation angle of the subscapularis or teres minor muscles. However, a correlation between full-thickness rotator cuff tear size and the pennation angle of the supraspnatus and infraspinatus muscles was evident. The length of the full-thickness tendon tear strongly correlated with an increase in the pennation angle of the supraspinatus muscle. In addition, a moderately strong association between the area of the full-thickness tear and the resulting increase in pennation angle of the infraspinatus was visible.
The increase in pennation angle may lead to changes in muscle structure. In a study utilizing sheep subjects, a chronic rotator cuff tear resulted in an increase in both the pennation angle and separation between myofibers of the rotator cuff muscles. Fat cells then populated the rearranged muscle. This phenomenon was also evident in the aforementioned human experiment.
The increase in pennation angle following full-thickness tendon tears will result in a change to the PCSA of the supraspinatus and infraspinutus muscles. This would reduce the force producing capacity of these muscles. However, partial tendon tears, which did not result in a change to pennation in any of the rotator cuff muscles, may not impair the force producing properties of the muscles. Azizi’s observations on variable gearing in pennate muscles further suggests tendon tears will affect the AGR of the supraspinatus and infraspinutus. The greater pennation angle could result in an increased AGR.
Some scientists suggest patch grafts ought to be applied to irreparable rotator cuff tears. Though this practice lessens pain, muscle strength is not fully recovered. The abovementioned human rotator cuff study correlates pennation angle with tear length in the supraspinatus muscle. Therefore, a patch graft may not resolve the length change necessary to restore pennation angle; retraction of the torn tendon may lessen the post-tear pennation angle and restore muscle strength to a greater extent.
Intrafasciular strain showed that the muscle was nonuniform, and that the architectural gear ratio is the highest at the proximal region of the muscle but then decreases towards the distal region. “ It is currently not possible to determine the precise distribution of stress throughout a muscle, but it seems reasonable to assume that the total (integrated) force at any cross section of the muscle and tendon remains fairly constant along the proximodistal axis. The smaller cross-sectional areas as the muscle thins and becomes tendon will thus result in a higher stress concentration to accommodate the same stress over a smaller area and therefore potentially higher strains if material properties remained constant."
Muscle architecture and resistance training.
The muscle architecture of pennate muscles, such as the human quadriceps, is highly plastic and strongly influences contractile properties. Changes to pennate muscle architectural properties, such as pennation angle and thereby the PCSA, can alter the muscle’s force-producing capabilities as well as the AGR at which the muscle operates. Parallelogram models predict that total PCSA of bipennate muscles increases in proportion to sin(θpennation) while total force exerted on the associated aponeurosis decreases with cos(θpennation). This theorizes that pennate muscle force generation increases until a 45 degree pennation angle is achieved.
A 2001 study, conducted by Aagaard "et al.", utilized MRI, ultrasonography and muscle biopsy techniques to examine the relationship between muscle architecture, contractile strength and pennation angle in the human quadriceps muscle after 14 weeks of resistance training. Upon completion of the training program, Aagaard "et al." noticed a symmetrical increase in quadriceps CSA and volume, as each increased 10.2 and 10.3 percent respectively; however, these parameters increased disproportionately to quadriceps PCSA, which grew 16 percent. The rapid increase in PCSA was accompanied by a 35.5% increase in the fascicle pennation angle of the vastus lateris, one of the major quadriceps muscles, as well as a 16% increase in myofiber CSA. The increase in pennation angle in the vastus lateris resulted in an increase to the muscle’s PCSA, a measure proportional to the contractile force a pennate muscle is capable of producing. Work by Azizi "et al." suggests this increase in pennation angle of the vastus lateris following resistance training generates an increase in the muscle’s AGR, a property which allows the whole muscle to contract with a higher velocity.
A 2007 study, conducted by Blazevich "et al.", reiterated and added an extra dimension to Aagaard "et al."’s conclusions. Blazevich "et al." examined the effect of 10-week concentric or eccentric knee extension training on architectural properties of the human quadriceps with the purpose of uncovering the mechanical stimulus involved in architecture adaptation. Both modes of exercise resulted in increased peak concentric and eccentric strength. Concentric training, however, results in higher peak concentric strength. Ultrasonography suggests vastus medialus and vastus lateris muscle fiber length increase similarly following eccentric and concentric training, with the changes occurring abruptly over the first 5 weeks of the training program. Because fiber length was independent of training type, Blazevich "et al." believe distance of operation determines the optimal fiber length. This muscle property is important in determining the angle-torque relationship of a muscle. The study supported the pennation angle trends uncovered by Aagaard "et al."; in addition, Blazevich "et al." concluded that the vastus lateris fascicle angle changes are independent of training type and modulates strongly with volume. This suggests fiber length and pennation angle modifications occur via separate mechanical stimuli, i.e. distance of operation and muscle volume respectively. Furthermore, these angle changes occur over a relatively long time scale as the pennation angle increased until the cessation of the training program at week 10. Blazevich "et al." predict the increase in pennation angle seen after eccentric or concentric training allow the pennate muscle to attach more fibers to the associated aponeurosis as well as increase PCSA and AGR. Architectural modifications to pennate muscles shift the position at which the muscle operates on the force-velocity and force-length curves to regions best suited for the muscle’s function. An increase in pennation angle theoretically increases both the PCSA and AGR of a given pennate muscle, allowing the muscle to generate higher forces while operating at higher optimal speeds. An increase to fiber length would allow the muscle to function at longer lengths.
Strain and AGR heterogeneity within a muscle.
A 2009 study utilizing magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography discovered strain and pennation angle heterogeneity within the medial gastrocnemius pennate muscle during differing modes of contraction. Parameters of fascicle location and contraction type (eccentric or passive), determined the magnitude of strain experienced by differing regions of the MG.
Fascicle ends nearest the deep MG aponeurosis (Achilles tendon) showed an increase in strain from the proximal to distal portions of the MG muscle. The converse was seen in the fascicle ends adjacent to the superficial aponeurosis, which decreased in fiber strain from proximal to distal portions of the MG muscle. These trends may have been due to changes in CSA of the muscle at the proximal and distal ends of the MG, resulting in regions of high stress and strain concentration.
This regional variability in strain was accompanied by a statistically significant increase in AGR and resting pennation angle from distal to proximal portions of the muscle. Furthermore, greater changes in pennation angle were visible at the proximal end of the MG. The experimental AGR values modulated positively with the pennation angle as well as the distance between the deep and superficial apopneuroses and may have been affected by regional patterns in orthogonal bulging. These trends highlight the complexity of muscle physiology, as different regions of muscles may contract with diverse contractile properties, such as strain and AGR.


Magdalena K. P. Smith Meyer

Magdalena Kathrina Petronella Smith Meyer (9 October 1931 – 21 October 2004) was a South African acarologist who was regarded as a world authority on plant-feeding mites of agricultural importance and was known as the "mother of red-spider mites of the world". She described more than 700 new species and 25 new genera, mostly of mites of agricultural importance. Meyer was involved in the promotion of biological control of mites using predatory mites, spiders and insects.
Education.
Magdalena Meyer (also known as Lenie) was born on a farm near Leeudoringstad, South Africa on 9 October 1931. She matriculated from Helpmekaar High School for Girls, Johannesburg in 1948. She enrolled at Potchefstroom University in 1949 where she completed her BSc ("cum laude") in Botany and Zoology in 1951; followed by an MSc ("cum laude") in Zoology in 1953 and a Higher Diploma in Librarianship ("cum laude") in 1958. Her dissertation on prostigmatic mites associated with plants in South Africa was completed in 1959, which earned her a DSc in Zoology.
Career.
Meyer started working at the Plant Protection Research Institute (PPRI) of the South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC), based in Pretoria. In 1964 she received a bursary from the Canadian Research Council and over the next year she visited several acarologists in Canada, the United States of America and Europe.
In 1964 she was appointed manager of the Economic Zoology (Arachnida and Nematology) subdivision at the ARC and in 1970 she became Assistant-Director of the PPRI. In 1989 she was one of the first researchers to be promoted to Specialist Scientist and in 1994, shortly before her retirement, she was appointed Senior Specialist Scientist.
Despite being retired, Meyer continued to work as an associate researcher at the PPRI. Meyer supervised 6 MSc students and 7 PhD students during her career and acted as examiner for a further 14 students.
Contributions.
Meyer was instrumental in the development of acarology in Southern Africa, leading to better international understanding of some of the most economically and agriculturally important agricultural pests that belong to the Spider mite family, Tetranychidae and the flat mites Tenuipalpidae. She described more than 700 new species and 25 new genera of mites, including the genera "Capedulia", "Coleacarus" and "Krugeria".
In 1959 Meyer established the National Collection of Acari, which is now one of the largest mite collections in the Southern Hemisphere with more than 120,000 specimens, representing more than 47 families, 200 genera, and 1200 species, more than half of which had been collected during her time at the PPRI.
Meyer developed several techniques for the collection of mites and made important contributions to their control on various plants, including citrus, cotton, deciduous fruit, grapes, berries, vegetables, tobacco and other field crops, flowers and ornamental plants. She was involved in the dissemination of information on the control of mites and was actively involved in the registration of new miticides and in advising chemical companies on their spraying trials as well as evaluating the results thereof.
Meyer made special efforts to promote the biological control of mites using spiders, insects and predatory mites. These predatory mites were collected from several "Acacia" species.
Meyer collaborated with researchers from Costa Rica, Israel and Portugal and helped countries across the world with identification. She also advised on economically important mites on different crops to countries in southern Africa including Angola, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Recognition.
Meyer was chief editor of the editorial board of the "International Journal of Acarology" (IJA) until 1997. In 1998 the "IJA" launched the M K P Meyer fellowship in recognition of her contributions to acarology. The IJA again awarded her for the second time, in appreciation of her contributions to acarology in 2002.
Selected publications.
Meyer published more than 100 scientific papers including seven memoirs and two handbooks on mites of crops. She developed a checklist that covers the 60 economically important mite pest species in Southern Africa.
Amongst other works, Meyer co-contributed to a chapter on Acari in the "Biogeography and Ecology of Southern Africa" series:
In 1983 she initiated the first biodiversity survey of mites. From the data collected in the survey she published four papers on the mite fauna of the South African National Parks. She was also senior author of the first checklist of Acari of the Ethiopian region and published articles on mite faunas of Cameroon, the Cape Verde Islands, Costa Rica, Israel, Zimbabwe and Yemen.


Microschedia

Microschedia is an enigmatic fossil bilaterian known from four specimens from Lower Cambrian Amouslek Formation deposits in Morocco.
Morphology.
The fossils are approximately discoid, and covered with a net-like pattern. Fine hair-like projections extend beyond the edge of this almost-flat, firm (but non-mineralized) "shell", which bears no trace of muscle scars.
Affinity.
Although there are problems with both brachiopod and cnidarian interpretations, no other animal group provides a good match for these fossils. An affinity with the stem-group brachiopod "Mickwitzia" is currently considered to be the most likely interpretation for this fossil.
The enigmatic Cambrian and Ordovician animals "Heliomedusa", "Marocella" and "Conchopeltis" warrant comparison, although again large differences exist between these taxa.


King Kong Lives

King Kong Lives (released as King Kong 2 in some countries) is a 1986 American monster adventure film directed by John Guillermin. Produced by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group and featuring special effects by Carlo Rambaldi, the film stars Linda Hamilton and Brian Kerwin. The film is a sequel to the 1976 remake of "King Kong".
Plot.
After being shot down from the World Trade Center, Kong is revealed to be still alive and is kept in a coma for about 10 years at the Atlantic Institute, under the care of surgeon Dr. Amy Franklin. In order to save Kong's life, Dr. Franklin must perform a heart transplant and give Kong a computer-monitored artificial heart. However, he has lost so much blood that a transfusion is badly needed, and to complicate matters, Franklin says there is no species of ape or other animal whose blood type matches Kong's.
Enter Hank "Mitch" Mitchell, adventurer and Franklin's eventual love interest, who travels to Borneo (as he theorizes that Borneo and the island from the first film were once part of the same landmass) and captures a giant female ape who is dubbed "Lady Kong". Mitchell brings her to the institute to use her blood for King Kong's operation. The transfusion and the heart transplant are a success, but Kong escapes along with Lady Kong.
Archie Nevitt, an insane army lieutenant colonel, is called in with his men to hunt down and kill the two apes. Lady Kong is captured alive by Nevitt's troops and imprisoned; Kong falls from a cliff and is presumed dead. However, as Franklin and Mitchell soon discover, Kong's artificial heart is beginning to give out, forcing them to attempt a jailbreak. They discover that Lady Kong is pregnant with Kong's offspring. The jailbreak is successful thanks to Kong, who has survived the fall and breaks his mate out. After being followed, attacked, and shot by the military, Kong kills Lt. Col Nevitt and dies slowly near a military base on a farm where Lady Kong gives birth to an infant son. Kong reaches out to touch his son just before dying. Having returned to Borneo, Lady Kong lives peacefully with her son in the jungle.
Production.
De Laurentiis had been interested in making a sequel to "King Kong" since he made the original. In 1977, he said there would "definitely" be a sequel. "Steve McQueen made a picture in which he died at the end, but they made another picture with Steve McQueen. Many stars die at the end of a picture and then go on to the next picture. Kong is a star. We are going to have a new story, a new Kong."
Progress of a sequel was complicated by the fact the 1976 film was considered a financial disappointment and there were ongoing legal uncertainties over who owned the rights to King Kong.
A number of scripts had been written. ""They had King Kong in Russia and King Kong In outer space," said writer Steve Pressfield. "Really, this is not an exaggeration. They even had one with little kids leading him around, saying things like 'Careful, Kong, don't step on that car.' It really was an embarrassment."
Pressfield and Ron Schusett pitched the idea that Kong has been on a giant respirator for years, and he was brought back to life with an artificial heart. According to Pressfield, "Dino loved the whole idea of the artificial heart and said, 'That's brilliant. I've been wondering for five years how to bring him back to life in a way that people would accept.' Sure, it's campy, but It's outrageous enough that it really works."
John Guillermin had been hoping to direct a version of "Tai Pan" with Sean Connery but when that project was unable to be financed he moved on to "King Kong Lives!" The writers met with Guillermin and together devised the story about Kong getting an infusion from a female ape.
"When we came up with the idea, Dino was very skeptical and didn't want to do it," said Pressfield. "It's hard enough to accept that there's a King Kong but since he has been around for 50 years he has become a pop cult hero. No one is going to believe a female ape.' I said, 'Dino, he had to have a mother,' And he said, 'By God, you're right, I never thought of that. There can be a female,'
and we went with it."
The film was announced in October 1985. It was part of a slate of films from De Laurentiis in association with Embassy that also included "Blue Velvet".
Pressfield said "The whole thing is a love story with the two apes, but there's also a lot of action and an uplifting ending, although there are some elements of tragedy, as there were in the original. We even give a nod to women's lib with Lady Kong falling for the male scientist. Of course, this is before she meets the King."
Guillermin said later that making a sequel to "King Kong" was a bad idea. "Dino was striking out on all sorts of things at the time. It's really too bad [that he suffered a run of flops]. He was involved with some interesting projects."
Brian Kerwin said, "I knew that my name would be up there as the lead, but there was never any question that the star of the movie was the ape. Also, the 1976 movie had such low prestige and Jessica Lange was ridiculed, but then so was Christopher Reeve for Superman, and look at the subsequent success of those two. So, I don't worry about it. We tried to have fun when we were making the movie, without poking fun at it. It's an adult fairy tale and it has humor. If people think it's a silly piece of fluff and we're all jerks, then that's the way it goes. I hope it doesn't happen."
Linda Hamilton said "I'm happy that I don't have to get picked up by the monkey and become the object of his desire. I save Kong. And it's nice to play someone who is not hysterical and dramatic and intense all the time."
Filming started in April 1986 in Tennessee. "The movie is about Kong, about special effects, about jeeps being blown up," says John Ashton.
Release.
Home media.
"King Kong Lives" was released on VHS in 1987 by Lorimar Home Video and on DVD in 2004 by 20th Century Fox.
Reception.
Box office.
Despite its marketing campaign, "King Kong Lives" was a box office flop in the United States and Canada, grossing $4,711,220 during its theatrical run.
According to one account, "Besides the fact that audiences have noses for a stinker, King Kong Lives lacked an effective advertising campaign that sold its premise (Kong finds a mate), and the movie was sold as if it was just another B-movie retread. Which it was, but on an A budget."
Overseas, the film was a success in the Soviet Union, where it sold tickets in 1988, becoming the top-grossing foreign film of the year and one of the top 15 highest-grossing foreign films of all time. At an average 1980s Soviet ticket price of , the film's ticket sales are equivalent to an estimated gross revenue of approximately руб ().
The film sold a total of 54,831,200 tickets worldwide, including 1,231,200 tickets in North America. The film grossed an estimated total revenue of approximately worldwide.
The financial failure of the movie - along with movies such as "Tai-Pan" - led to the bankruptcy of De Laurentiis' company.
Critical response.
"King Kong Lives" was panned by critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 0% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 2.20 out of 10. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100 based on 9 critic reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Roger Ebert gave the film only one out of four stars and stated, "The problem with everyone in "King Kong Lives" is that they're in a boring movie, and they know they're in a boring movie, and they just can't stir themselves to make an effort." DEG sent a notice to Ebert and Gene Siskel notifying the two critics that they were allowed to show snippets of the film on TV in their native Chicago, but were forbidden to show the same snippets on the national scale. Siskel remarked "Obviously, they were scared [...] If you don't believe me or Roger, believe the film company, that, think about it, couldn't find a single scene that it wanted you to see."
Patrick Goldstein of the "Los Angeles Times" opined that "this sequel, directed by John Guillermin (who was also at the helm of the 1976 version) is in good hands as long as Kong is on screen. (Designer Carlo Rambaldi has done a masterful job of sculpting his mighty ape’s features, giving him heft, surprising agility and, perhaps to age him a bit, a receding hairline.) But the film makers haven’t been able to improve on the original story. It’s still Kong vs. Civilization, with a lot of high-firepower action and wackily implausible plot twists thrown in to keep the Big Guy busy." Rambaldi's work was also lauded by Janet Maslin of "The New York Times", but she nonetheless remarked that ""King Kong Lives," which was directed by John Guillerman, has a dull cast and a plot that's even duller." Staff members of "Variety" remarked that "in portraying an Indiana Jones-type figure, [Brian] Kerwin strains for plausibility and [the] film swiftly begins to lose some early credibility."
The film was nominated for one Razzie Award, Worst Visual Effects. Actor Peter Goetz received a residual check of 12 cents from the film and decided to frame it as a tribute, never cashing it.
The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie Movie Guide" as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.
"Filmink" called the movie "awful. There’s no sense of adventure or danger: the bulk of the film takes place in the USA, and the rampage of Kong is played for laughs (being whacked on the head by a golf ball, etc). The leads, Linda Hamilton and Brian Kerwin, could have been cut out of the film entirely. Who wants to see a King Kong movie where the apes are in love with each other and not a human?"
Other media.
Video games.
Two official video games based on the film were developed and released only in Japan by Konami. They were titled ' for the Famicom, and ' for the MSX. The Famicom game totally discarded the human aspect of the story and players played as King Kong who has to travel around the globe fighting giant robots and certain military forces in order to save the female Kong. The game was designed as an action-adventure game with some science fiction concepts. The MSX version, on the other hand, plays from the perspective of Mitchell. This version is a role-playing game.


Cambridge Point

Cambridge Point is an uninhabited headland on Coburg Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located off Marina Peninsula.
Geography.
Characterized by prominent coastline cliffs, open sea, rocky shores, and tundra habitats, the point's elevation ranges from above sea level. It is in size.
Conservation.
The point is a Canadian Important Bird Area (#NU010). A portion of Cambridge Point is also contained within the Nirjutiqavvik (Coburg Island) National Wildlife Area.
Fauna.
The area is frequented by bowhead whale, narwhal, polar bear, seal, walrus, and white whale.
Notable bird species include:


Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm Martini

Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm Martini (31 August 1729,Ohrdruf – 27 June 1778, Berlin) was a German physician, translator and conchologist.
Martini who practised medicine in Hamburg began, in 1769, the richly colour illustrated shell book: "Neues systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet" published by Gabriel Nikolaus Raspe at Nürnberg. But he died after the publication of the third volume. His work was continued by Johann Hieronymus Chemnitz (1730–1800) who added eight volumes between 1779 and 1795. Even though the work does not use the binomial system both are considered the authors of the new species figured. He was a Member of Berlinische Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde.


Kenneth Gandar-Dower

Kenneth Cecil Gandar-Dower (31 August 1908 – 12 February 1944) was a leading English sportsman, aviator, explorer and author.
Born at his parents' home in Regent's Park, London, Gandar-Dower was the fourth and youngest son of independently wealthy Joseph Wilson Gandar-Dower and his wife Amelia Frances Germaine. Two of his elder brothers, Eric and Alan Gandar Dower, served as Conservative Members of Parliament. Other brothers include Ronald, Leonard and Howard. All used different versions of their surname: Gandar-Dower, Gandar Dower and Dower respectively.
Education.
Gandar-Dower was educated at Windlesham House School and Harrow School, where he played cricket, association football, Eton Fives and rackets and, with Terence Rattigan, wrote for "The Harrovian". He then received a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1927 to read History, gaining an upper second. There, he won athletic blues in billiards, tennis and real tennis, Rugby Fives, Eton Fives and rackets. In addition, Gandar-Dower edited "Granta" magazine and chaired the Trinity debating society.
Sporting career.
Gandar-Dower became a leading tennis player, competing in a number of tournaments throughout the 1930s, including Wimbledon and the French Championships. He was nicknamed "The Undying Retriever" for his ability to run large distances during matches.
At the 1932 Queen's Club Championship in London Gandar-Dower had his greatest tennis success when he defeated Harry Hopman in three sets. Newspaper reports stated that he "had Hopman perplexed with his unorthodox game and the number of astonishingly low volleys from apparently impossible positions."
Gandar-Dower also won the British Amateur Squash championships in 1938 and continued to play cricket competitively throughout the 1930s.
Gandar-Dower twice won the principal trophy in Eton Fives – the Kinnaird Cup – in 1929 and 1932, and was in the defeated pair in the 1931 final.
Gandar-Dower caused a reputation for himself in real tennis through his tactic of getting to the net as quickly as possible and volleying everything in sight. This was frowned upon by traditionalists and it was considered that Gandar-Dower "disrupted the game for a while".
Aviator.
In June 1932, with minimal flying experience, Gandar-Dower entered the King's Cup Air Race and "soon became one of the most colourful aviators of his era", making one of the first flights from England to India.
Explorer.
In 1934 Gandar-Dower led an expedition to Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range in an attempt to capture a marozi, a spotted lion rumoured to exist. While he failed to capture or photograph a marozi (which remains undiscovered), Gandar-Dower did find three sets of tracks which he believed to be marozi and discovered that locals differentiated marozi from lions or leopards. In 1937, Gandar-Dower authored a book on the subject, "The Spotted Lion".
He spent 1935 and 1936 in the Belgian Congo and Kenya, where he climbed active volcanoes and produced a definitive map of Mount Sattima.
Cheetah racing.
Gandar-Dower returned to England in 1937 with twelve cheetahs with the intention of introducing cheetah racing to Great Britain. After six months' quarantine and six months' adapting themselves to the changed climatic conditions at Harringay and Staines stadia, the cheetahs first raced at Romford Greyhound Stadium on Saturday 11 December 1937. Specially timed trials had taken place where the cheetahs clipped seconds off almost every greyhound record. On 13 December a cheetah by the name of Helen covered the distance of 265 yards in a record time of 15.86sec but in the second race won by Gussie the second cheetah James stopped and refused to chase the hare. Helen had previously covered 355 yards in 19.8secs.
However the cheetah racing failed after just one more attempt because they were not competitive and had no interest in pursuing the hare and could not negotiate tight bends. Gandar-Dower also caused uproar at the Queen's Club when he brought a male cheetah into the bar on a leash.
Writing career.
Gandar-Dower was also a successful author, writing about his adventures. His titles include:
World War II.
At the outbreak of World War II Gandar-Dower was in the Belgian Congo photographing gorillas. Returning to England, he then worked on the Mass-Observation project with Tom Harrisson before being hired by the Government of Kenya to improve its public relations with the native inhabitants, producing a number of works that the government considered "excellent". Later he acted as a war correspondent, covering campaigns in Abyssinia and Madagascar, travelling vast distances by bicycle and canoe. During the unresisted assault on Tamatave in eastern Madagascar he leapt from an amphibious vessel wearing a bowler hat, carrying a camera in one hand and typewriter in the other.
On 6 February 1944 Gandar-Dower boarded the SS "Khedive Ismail" at Kilindini Harbour at Mombasa, bound for Colombo. While approaching Addu Atoll in the Maldives, on 12 February 1944, the vessel was attacked by Japanese submarine I-27. Struck by two torpedoes, the "Khedive Ismail" sank in two minutes, with a death toll of 1297, Gandar-Dower among them.
Gandar-Dower's obituary in "Wisden" stated that "he was one of the most versatile player of games of any period." A wealthy man, Gandar-Dower left over £75,000 in his will.


Clathrinida

The Clathrinida are an order of calcareous sponges found in marine environments. These sponges have an asconoid structure and lack a true dermal membrane or cortex. The spongocoel is lined with choanocytes.


Randecker Maar

The Randecker Maar is a maar – a volcanic crater about wide. It is in the alps of the Swabian Jura near Stuttgart and was formed around 17 million years ago. A lake formed in the crater and its bed is now a layer of the early Miocene in which many fossils have been found. Nowadays, the crater is drained by the Zipfelbach brook and so there is no longer a lake.
The northeastern wall of the crater has eroded and opens to lower ground. This forms a natural pass for the seasonal migration of birds and insects as they fly up and over the alps. This makes it a good point for observing these creatures and so an observatory was established there in 1969 by ornithologist – "Forschungsstation Randecker Maar e.V.".
The maar and gorge of the Zipfelbach were designated as a nature reserve by local ordinances in 1971 and 1990 to preserve the landscape and its fauna and flora for science and popular enjoyment. The area conserved is now .


Aaptos duchassaingi

Aaptos duchassaingi is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Suberitidae. The species was described in 1889.


CEP290

Centrosomal protein of 290 kDa is a protein that in humans is encoded by the "CEP290" gene. CEP290 is located on the Q arm of chromosome 12.
Function.
The gene CEP290 is a centrosomal protein that plays an important role in centrosome and cilia development. This gene is vital in the formation of the primary cilium, a small antenna-like projections of the cell membrane that plays an important role in the photoreceptors at the back of the retina (which detect light and color) and in the kidney, brain, and many other organs of the body. Knocking down levels of the CEP290 gene transcript resulted in dramatic suppression of ciliogenesis in retinal pigment epithelial cells in culture, proving just how important CEP290 is to cilia formation.
On a molecular level, CEP290 has been shown to play a critical regulatory and structural role in primary cilium formation. Recent studies have implicated CEP290 as a microtubule and membrane binding protein that might serve as a structural link between the microtubule core of the cilium and the overlying ciliary membrane. Disruption of CEP290's microtubule binding domain in the rd16 mouse model of CEP290 disease has been shown to result in rapid and dramatic retinal degeneration, demonstrating the importance of CEP290 microtubule binding in disease. The role of CEP290 in promoting ciliogensis is inhibited both by auto-regulatory domains found at either end of the CEP290 protein and through CEP290's interaction with the inhibitory protein CP110.
The discovery of the CEP290 gene has led researchers to find another gene critical in retinal function, LCA5. Clinical trials involving gene replacement of these two genes have started in Philadelphia, where researchers are hopeful that Leber Congenital Amaurosis will one day be cured.
Structure.
This gene encodes a protein with 13 putative coiled-coil domains, a region with homology to SMC chromosome segregation ATPases, six KID motifs, three tropomyosin homology domains and an ATP/GTP binding site motif A. The protein is localized to the centrosome and cilia and has sites for "N"-glycosylation, tyrosine sulfation, phosphorylation, N-myristoylation, and amidation.
Clinical significance.
Mutations in this gene have been associated with Joubert syndrome and nephronophthisis, and recently with a frequent form of Leber's congenital amaurosis, called LCA10. The presence of antibodies against this protein is associated with several forms of cancer.
A mutation in this gene leads to infant and child blindness, a disease known as Leber Congenital Amaurosis. As of today, 35 different mutations in CEP290 are responsible for causing LCA. Other mutations in CEP290 have also been identified in causing Meckel Syndrome and Joubert Syndrome, a few among many syndromes. A defective CEP290 gene is usually the cause of these disorders due to abnormal cilia. It is unknown how one mutation in a gene can cause so many different types of syndromes, particularly many of which affect the Central Nervous System.


Cartilage

Cartilage (cartilaginous tissue) is a resilient and smooth elastic tissue, rubber-like padding that covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints and nerves, and is a structural component of the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the bronchial tubes, the intervertebral discs, and many other body components. It is not as hard and rigid as bone, but it is much stiffer and much less flexible than muscle. The matrix of cartilage is made up of glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, collagen fibers and, sometimes, elastin.
Because of its rigidity, cartilage often serves the purpose of holding tubes open in the body. Examples include the rings of the trachea, such as the cricoid cartilage and carina.
Cartilage is composed of specialized cells called chondrocytes that produce a large amount of collagenous extracellular matrix, abundant ground substance that is rich in proteoglycan and elastin fibers. Cartilage is classified in three types, "elastic cartilage", "hyaline cartilage" and "fibrocartilage", which differ in relative amounts of collagen and proteoglycan.
Cartilage does not contain blood vessels (it is avascular) or nerves (it is aneural). Some fibrocartilage such as the meniscus of the knee does however have blood supply in part. Nutrition is supplied to the chondrocytes by diffusion. The compression of the articular cartilage or flexion of the elastic cartilage generates fluid flow, which assists the diffusion of nutrients to the chondrocytes. Compared to other connective tissues, cartilage has a very slow turnover of its extracellular matrix and is documented to repair at only a very slow rate relative to other tissues.
Structure.
Development.
In embryogenesis, the skeletal system is derived from the mesoderm germ layer. Chondrification (also known as chondrogenesis) is the process by which cartilage is formed from condensed mesenchyme tissue, which differentiates into chondroblasts and begins secreting the molecules (aggrecan and collagen type II) that form the extracellular matrix.
Following the initial chondrification that occurs during embryogenesis, cartilage growth consists mostly of the maturing of immature cartilage to a more mature state. The division of cells within cartilage occurs very slowly, and thus growth in cartilage is usually not based on an increase in size or mass of the cartilage itself. It has been identified that non-coding RNAs (e.g. miRNAs and long non-coding RNAs) as the most important epigenetic modulators can affect the chondrogenesis. This also justifies the non-coding RNAs' contribution in various cartilage-dependent pathological conditions such as arthritis, and so on.
Articular cartilage.
The articular cartilage function is dependent on the molecular composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM consists mainly of proteoglycan and collagens. The main proteoglycan in cartilage is aggrecan, which, as its name suggests, forms large aggregates with hyaluronan. These aggregates are negatively charged and hold water in the tissue. The collagen, mostly collagen type II, constrains the proteoglycans. The ECM responds to tensile and compressive forces that are experienced by the cartilage. Cartilage growth thus refers to the matrix deposition, but can also refer to both the growth and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Due to the great stress on the patellofemoral joint during resisted knee extension, the articular cartilage of the patella is among the thickest in the human body.
Function.
Mechanical properties.
The mechanical properties of articular cartilage in load-bearing joints such as the knee and hip have been studied extensively at macro, micro, and nano-scales. These mechanical properties include the response of cartilage in frictional, compressive, shear and tensile loading. Cartilage is resilient and displays viscoelastic properties.
Frictional properties.
Lubricin, a glycoprotein abundant in cartilage and synovial fluid, plays a major role in bio-lubrication and wear protection of cartilage.
Repair.
Cartilage has limited repair capabilities: Because chondrocytes are bound in lacunae, they cannot migrate to damaged areas. Therefore, cartilage damage is difficult to heal. Also, because hyaline cartilage does not have a blood supply, the deposition of new matrix is slow. Over the last years, surgeons and scientists have elaborated a series of cartilage repair procedures that help to postpone the need for joint replacement. A tear of the meniscus of the knee cartilage can often be surgically trimmed to reduce problems.
Biological engineering techniques are being developed to generate new cartilage, using a cellular "scaffolding" material and cultured cells to grow artificial cartilage.
Clinical significance.
Disease.
Several diseases can affect cartilage. Chondrodystrophies are a group of diseases, characterized by the disturbance of growth and subsequent ossification of cartilage. Some common diseases that affect the cartilage are listed below.
Tumors made up of cartilage tissue, either benign or malignant, can occur. They usually appear in bone, rarely in pre-existing cartilage. The benign tumors are called chondroma, the malignant ones chondrosarcoma. Tumors arising from other tissues may also produce a cartilage-like matrix, the best-known being pleomorphic adenoma of the salivary glands.
The matrix of cartilage acts as a barrier, preventing the entry of lymphocytes or diffusion of immunoglobulins. This property allows for the transplantation of cartilage from one individual to another without fear of tissue rejection.
Imaging.
Cartilage does not absorb X-rays under normal "in vivo" conditions, but a dye can be injected into the synovial membrane that will cause the x-rays to be absorbed by the dye. The resulting void on the radiographic film between the bone and meniscus represents the cartilage. For In vitro x-ray scans, the outer soft tissue is most likely removed, so the cartilage and air boundary are enough to contrast the presence of cartilage due to the refraction of the x-ray.
Other animals.
Cartilaginous fish.
Cartilaginous fish (chondrichthyes) like sharks, rays and skates have a skeleton composed entirely of cartilage.
Invertebrate cartilage.
Cartilage tissue can also be found among some arthropods such as horseshoe crabs, some mollusks such as marine snails and cephalopods, and some annelids like sabellid polychaetes.
Arthropods.
The most studied cartilage in arthropods is the "Limulus polyphemus" branchial cartilage. It is a vesicular cell-rich cartilage due to the large, spherical and vacuolated chondrocytes with no homologies in other arthropods. Other type of cartilage found in "Limulus polyphemus" is the endosternite cartilage, a fibrous-hyaline cartilage with chondrocytes of typical morphology in a fibrous component, much more fibrous than vertebrate hyaline cartilage, with mucopolysaccharides immunoreactive against chondroitin sulfate antibodies. There are homologous tissues to the endosternite cartilage in other arthropods. The embryos of "Limulus polyphemus" express ColA and hyaluronan in the gill cartilage and the endosternite, which indicates that these tissues are fibrillar-collagen-based cartilage. The endosternite cartilage forms close to Hh-expressing ventral nerve cords and expresses ColA and SoxE, a Sox9 analog. This is also seen in gill cartilage tissue.
Mollusks.
In cephalopods, the models used for the studies of cartilage are "Octopus vulgaris" and "Sepia officinalis". The cephalopod cranial cartilage is the invertebrate cartilage that shows more resemblance to the vertebrate hyaline cartilage. The growth is thought to take place throughout the movement of cells from the periphery to the center. The chondrocytes present different morphologies related to their position in the tissue.
The embryos of "Sepia officinalis" express ColAa, ColAb, and hyaluronan in the cranial cartilages and other regions of chondrogenesis. This implies that the cartilage is fibrillar-collagen-based. The "Sepia officinalis" embryo expresses hh, whose presence causes ColAa and ColAb expression and is also able to maintain proliferating cells undiferentiated. It has been observed that this species presents the expression SoxD and SoxE, analogs of the vertebrate Sox5/6 and Sox9, in the developing cartilage. The cartilage growth pattern is the same as in vertebrate cartilage.
In gastropods, the interest lies in the odontophore, a cartilaginous structure that supports the radula. The most studied species regarding this particular tissue is "Busycotypus canaliculatus". The odontophore is a vesicular cell rich cartilage, consisting of vacuolated cells containing myoglobin, surrounded by a low amount of extra cellular matrix containing collagen. The odontophore contains muscle cells along with the chondrocytes in the case of "Lymnaea" and other mollusks that graze vegetation.
Sabellid polychaetes.
The Sabellid polychaetes, or feather duster worms, have cartilage tissue with cellular and matrix specialization supporting their tentacles. They present two distinct extracellular matrix regions. These regions are an acellular fibrous region with a high collagen content, called cartilage-like matrix, and collagen lacking a highly cellularized core, called osteoid-like matrix. The cartilage-like matrix surrounds the osteoid-like matrix. The amount of the acellular fibrous region is variable. The model organisms used in the study of cartilage in sabellid polychaetes are "Potamilla sp" and "Myxicola infundibulum".
Plants and fungi.
Vascular plants, particularly seeds, and the stems of some mushrooms, are sometimes called "cartilaginous", although they contain no cartilage.


Superior nasal concha

The back part of the medial surface of the labyrinth of ethmoid is subdivided by a narrow oblique fissure, the superior meatus of the nose, bounded above by a thin, curved plate, the superior nasal concha.
The bone found in superior nasal concha is part of the ethmoid bone.


Sexual segregation (biology)

In biology, sexual segregation is the differential use of space, habitats, and resources by males and females, or the separation of males and females into different social groups outside the breeding season. Sexual segregation is widespread among animals, especially among vertebrates that live in groups, and has also been observed in plants. It was first formally proposed by Charles Darwin in his book The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.
Definition.
Sexual segregation has traditionally been defined as the differential use of space (spatial segregation) or habitat (habitat segregation) by males and females. Recently, it has also been defined as the separation of males and females into different social groups (social segregation) outside the breeding season. Some authors consider social segregation to be a by-product of habitat segregation but it is now known that social segregation can occur independently of habitat segregation. Conradt (2005) argued that spatial segregation should be treated as a auxiliary concept as both habitat segregation and social segregation can lead to spatial segregation.


Dinosaur classification

Dinosaur classification began in 1842 when Sir Richard Owen placed "Iguanodon", "Megalosaurus", and "Hylaeosaurus" in "a distinct tribe or suborder of Saurian Reptiles, for which I would propose the name of Dinosauria." In 1887 and 1888 Harry Seeley divided dinosaurs into the two orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, based on their hip structure. These divisions have proved remarkably enduring, even through several seismic changes in the taxonomy of dinosaurs.
The largest change was prompted by entomologist Willi Hennig's work in the 1950s, which evolved into modern cladistics. For specimens known only from fossils, the rigorous analysis of characters to determine evolutionary relationships between different groups of animals ("clades") proved incredibly useful. When computer-based analysis using cladistics came into its own in the 1990s, paleontologists became among the first zoologists to almost wholeheartedly adopt the system. Progressive scrutiny and work upon dinosaurian interrelationships, with the aid of new discoveries that have shed light on previously uncertain relationships between taxa, have begun to yield a stabilizing classification since the mid-2000s. While cladistics is the predominant classificatory system among paleontology professionals, the Linnean system is still in use, especially in works intended for popular distribution.
Benton classification.
As most dinosaur paleontologists have advocated a shift away from traditional, ranked Linnaean taxonomy in favor of rankless phylogenetic systems, few ranked taxonomies of dinosaurs have been published since the 1980s. The following schema is among the most recent, from the third edition of "Vertebrate Palaeontology", a respected undergraduate textbook. While it is structured so as to reflect evolutionary relationships (similar to a cladogram), it also retains the traditional ranks used in Linnaean taxonomy. The classification has been updated from the second edition in 2000 to reflect new research, but remains fundamentally conservative.
Michael Benton classifies all dinosaurs within the Series Amniota, Class Sauropsida, Subclass Diapsida, Infraclass Archosauromorpha, Division Archosauria, Subdivision Avemetatarsalia, Infradivision Ornithodira, and Superorder Dinosauria. Dinosauria is then divided into the two traditional orders, Saurischia and Ornithischia. The dagger (†) is used to indicate taxa with no living members.
Weishampel/Dodson/Osmólska classification.
The following is based on the second edition of "The Dinosauria", a compilation of articles by experts in the field that provided the most comprehensive coverage of Dinosauria available when it was first published in 1990. The second edition updates and revises that work.
The cladogram and phylogenetic definitions below reflect the current understanding of evolutionary relationships. The taxa and symbols in parentheses after a given taxa define these relationships. The plus symbol ("+") between taxa indicates the given taxa is a node-based clade, defined as comprising all descendants of the last common ancestor of the "added" taxa. The greater-than symbol (">") indicates the given taxon is a stem-based taxon, comprising all organisms sharing a common ancestor that is not also an ancestor of the "lesser" taxon.
Baron/Norman/Barrett classification.
In 2017 Matthew G. Baron and his colleagues published a new analysis proposing to put Theropoda (except Herrerasauridae) and Ornithischia within a group called Ornithoscelida (a name originally coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1870), redefining Saurischia to cover Sauropodomorpha and Herrerasauridae. Amongst other things this would require hypercarnivory to have evolved independently for Theropoda and Herrerasauridae. This scheme is currently debated among palaeontologists, with recent studies finding little difference between the traditional and newly proposed models.
Cau 2018.
In his paper about the stepwise evolution of the avian bauplan, Cau (2018) found in the parsimony analysis a polytomy between herrerasaur-grade taxa, Sauropodomorpha and the controversial Ornithoscelida. The Bayesian analysis, however, found weak support for the sister grouping of Dinosauria and Herrerasauria, but strong support for the dichotomy between Sauropodomorpha and Ornithoscelida, as shown below:


Zygaspis kafuensis

Zygaspis kafuensis is a worm lizard species in the family Amphisbaenidae. It is endemic to Zambia.


Copella eigenmanni

Copella eigenmanni is a species of fish in the splashing tetra family found along the Atlantic coast between Pará to Delta Amacuro, the mouth of the Orinoco. They grow no more than a few centimeters.


Sigmoid sinus

The sigmoid sinuses (sigma- or s-shaped hollow curve), also known as the , are venous sinuses within the skull that receive blood from posterior dural venous sinus veins.
Structure.
The sigmoid sinus is a dural venous sinus situated within the dura mater. The sigmoid sinus receives blood from the transverse sinuses, which track the posterior wall of the cranial cavity, travels inferiorly along the parietal bone, temporal bone and occipital bone, and converges with the inferior petrosal sinuses to form the internal jugular vein.
Each sigmoid sinus begins beneath the temporal bone and follows a tortuous course to the jugular foramen, at which point the sinus becomes continuous with the internal jugular vein.
Function.
The sigmoid sinus receives blood from the transverse sinuses, which receive blood from the posterior aspect of the skull. Along its course, the sigmoid sinus also receives blood from the cerebral veins, cerebellar veins, diploic veins, and emissary veins.


Vesico-uterine pouch

In human female anatomy, the vesico-uterine pouch, also known by various names, is a fold of peritoneum over the uterus and the urinary bladder. Like the recto-uterine pouch, it is a female pelvic recess. However, it is a shallower pouch close to the anterior fornix of the vagina.
Structure.
The vesico-uterine pouch is a fold of peritoneum over the uterus and the urinary bladder, forming a pelvic recess. It is continued over the intestinal surface and fundus of the uterus onto its vesical surface, which it covers as far as the junction of the body and cervix uteri, and then to the urinary bladder. It is narrowest when the uterus is anteverted rather than retroverted. The deepest point of the vesico-uterine pouch is typically higher than the deepest point of the recto-uterine pouch.
Variation.
When the uterus is very anteverted, the vesico-uterine pouch is deeper than usual.
Clinical significance.
The vesico-uterine pouch may become attached to the uterus, preventing sliding of the urinary bladder past the uterus. This may occur in a third of women who have had a caesarian section, and some people with endometriosis.
Th vesico-uterine pouch is an important anatomical landmark for chronic endometriosis. Endometrial seeding in this region causes cyclical pain in women of child-bearing age. This pouch is also an important factor in a retroverted uterus, which can frequently complicate pregnancies.
History.
Etymology.
The vesico-uterine (or vesicouterine) pouch is also called the vesico-uterine (or vesicouterine) excavation, utero-vesical (or uterovesical) pouch, or excavatio vesicouterina. The combining forms reflect the bladder ("vesico-", "-vesical") and uterus ("utero-", "-uterine").


Michael Patrick Stuart Irwin

Michael Patrick Stuart Irwin (1925 – 13 September 2017) was a British-Rhodesian ornithologist.
Biography.
Irwin was born in Northern Ireland and moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1949 where he met Reay Smithers, then director of the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia in Bulawayo, and soon became collector with the museum. In 1959 he was assistant curator of vertebrates, subsequently curator of ornithology, in 1975 regional director in Bulawayo, and finally associate ornithologist, and as of 2012 a natural history librarian in Norfolk.
Irwin worked closely with Constantine Walter Benson, an authority on central African birds. Together, they expanded the bird collection of the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe until it became the largest both in Africa and in the southern hemisphere. It currently housed over 90,000 specimens from Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries and is one of the museum's greatest resources.
In 1981, Irwin published his best known work "The Birds of Zimbabwe", but he had previously published the "Bibliography of the Birds of Rhodesia" in 1978, and co-authored "A Checklist of Birds of Southern Rhodesia" (with Reay Smithers) in 1957 and "The Birds of Zambia" (with Constantine Walter Benson) in 1971. He contributed also to "The Birds of Africa" series (with Emil K. Urban, Stuart Keith and C. Hilary Fry) and has published more than 300 scientific papers, many of them in the museum's journal "Arnoldia".
Irwin described the subspecies "Spizocorys conirostris crypta" of the pink-billed lark in 1957, the subspecies "Eremopterix verticalis khama" of the grey-backed sparrow-lark in 1957, the subspecies "Calamonastes stierlingi pinto" of the Stierling's wren-warbler in 1960, and together with Benson the subspecies "Eremopterix verticalis harti" in 1965 and the subspecies "Mirafra fasciolata reynoldsi" of the eastern clapper lark in 1965. In collaboration with Phillip Clancey he described the monotypic genus "Arcanator" for the dapple-throat in 1986.
Irwin was editor of "Honeyguide", an ornithological journal of Bird Life Zimbabwe, for 24 years.
In May 2017, he had a severe fall and in September 2017 he died from the consequences of a hip fracture.


Flat bone

Flat bones are bones whose principal function is either extensive protection or the provision of broad surfaces for muscular attachment. These bones are expanded into broad, flat plates, as in the cranium (skull), the ilium (pelvis), sternum and the rib cage.
The flat bones are: the occipital, parietal, frontal, nasal, lacrimal, vomer, hip bone (coxal bone), sternum, ribs, and scapulae.
These bones are composed of two thin layers of compact bone enclosing between them a variable quantity of cancellous bone, which is the location of red bone marrow. In an adult, most red blood cells are formed in flat bones. In the cranial bones, the layers of compact tissue are familiarly known as the tables of the skull; the outer one is thick and tough; the inner is thin, dense, and brittle, and hence is termed the vitreous (glass-like) table. The intervening cancellous tissue is called the diploë, and this, in the nasal region of the skull, becomes absorbed so as to leave spaces filled with air–the paranasal sinuses between the two tables.
Ossification in flat bones.
Ossification is started by the formation of layers of undifferentiated connective tissue that hold the area where the flat bone is to come. On a baby, those spots are known as fontanelles. The fontanelles contain connective tissue stem cells, which form into osteoblasts, which secrete calcium phosphate into a matrix of canals. They form a ring in between the membranes, and begin to expand outwards. As they expand they make a bony matrix.
This hardened matrix forms the body of the bone. Since flat bones are usually thinner than the long bones, they only have red bone marrow, rather than both red and yellow bone marrow (yellow bone marrow being made up of mostly fat). The bone marrow fills the space in the ring of osteoblasts, and eventually fills the bony matrix.
After the bone is completely ossified, the osteoblasts retract their calcium phosphate secreting tendrils, leaving tiny canals in the bony matrix, known as canaliculi. These canaliculi provide the nutrients needed for the newly transformed osteoblasts, which are now called osteocytes. These cells are responsible for the general maintenance of the bone.
A third type of bone cell found in flat bones is called an osteoclast, which destroys the bone using enzymes. There are three reasons that osteoclasts are normally used: the first is for the reparation of bones after a break. They destroy sections of bone that protrude or make reformation difficult. They are also used to obtain necessary calcium that osteoclasts are used is for growing. As the bone grows, its shape changes. The osteoclasts dissolve the part of the bone that must change.


Deepstaria enigmatica

Deepstaria enigmatica is a very rarely seen giant jellyfish of the family Ulmaridae first described in 1967 by F. S. Russell. The bell of this jellyfish is very thin and wide (up to ), and resembles a translucent, undulating sheet or lava lamp as the animal moves. They are usually found in Antarctic and near-Antarctic seas but have been spotted in waters near the United Kingdom, at depths of 600 to 1,750 meters.


Orchesella irregularilineata

Orchesella irregularilineata is a species of slender springtail in the family Entomobryidae.


Lesser palatine arteries

The lesser palatine arteries go through the lesser palatine foramina, and supply the soft palate.
It gives off tonsillary branches to the palatine tonsils.


Acanthascus

Acanthascus is a genus sponges in the family Rossellidae. Species include:


Juvenile hormone acid O-methyltransferase

Juvenile hormone acid O-methyltransferase (JHAMT) is a ~33 kDa enzyme (the molecular mass is species-dependent) that catalyzes the conversion of inactive precursors of Juvenile hormones (JHs) to active JHs in the final stages of JH biosynthesis in the corpora allata of insects. More specifically, the enzyme catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) to the carboxylate group of JH precursors.
Structure.
While the crystal structure of JHAMT enzymes have not been solved, homology modeling and docking simulations with "Aedes aegypti" JHAMT (AaJHAMT) have revealed that enzyme interactions with SAM are very similar to other known SAM-dependentmethyltransferase (SAM-MT) complexes. Further analysis of the predicted secondary structure of AaJHAMT shows a typical SAM-MT fold, with 6-stranded β-sheet with 9 ⍺-helices. These docking studies show that the Asp-69 residue forms hydrogen bonds with two ribose hydroxyl groups of SAM; Asp-49 also forms a hydrogen bond through water with the NH3+ moiety of SAM. Val-70 and Ile-95 form a hydrophobic pocket, which houses the adenine ring of SAM. Two additional residues, Gln-14 and Trp-120, hydrogen bond with the carboxyl group of either farnesoic acid (FA) or juvenile hormone acid III (JHA III) to structurally orient the molecule for catalysis. Ile-151, Ile-154, Tyr 155, Leu-158, Val-221 and Val-224 create the hydrophobic pocket for the carbon tail of JHA III and FA.
Generated structures of JHMAT derived from "D. melanogaster", "B. mori", "T. castaneum", and "A. gambiae" identified Asp-41, Asp-69, Gln-14, Trp-120 and Ser-176 as the critical conserved residues for SAM and substrate recognition.
Catalytic role.
The enzyme catalyzes a putative SN2 reaction, coordinating either FA or JHA III for facile backside nucleophilic attack on the methyl group of SAM. This reaction results in the formation of S-Adenosyl homocysteine (SAH) and the corresponding methyl ester. Depending on the insect's taxonomy, JHMAT is either the last or second to last step in JH III synthesis. Insects in Orthoptera, Dictyoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera first methylate farnesoic acid to methyl farneosate with JHAMT, followed by epoxidation mediated by P450 epoxidase to yield JH III. Insects of order Lepidoptera first perform an epoxidation by P450 epoxidase to convert farnesoic acid to JHA III, followed by JHAMT-dependent methylation to produce juvenile hormone III. The enzyme displays a higher affinity to JHA III compared to FA, although other enzymes do exhibit the opposite substrate affinity pattern.
Interestingly, JHAMT In "Drosophila melanogaster" (DmJHMAT) has been shown to have broad specificity for medium chain free fatty acids when the enzyme is recombinantly expressed in E. coli, converting them into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). More specifically, DmJHAMT is active on fatty acids ranging in size from C12 to C16, exhibiting highest activity for lauric acid, a C12 fatty acid. As FAMEs are considered a component of biodiesel, this raises the possibility of manipulating DmJHAMT for biofuel synthesis. It is important to note that DmJHAMT shows no catalytic activity with respect to shorter chain C8 and C10 fatty acids.
Biological Function.
Insect metamorphosis is a tightly regulated process that involves JHs and JHAMT. The function of JH in immature insects is to maintain the insect's nymph or larval state by preventing the expression of certain genes that activate insect maturation pathways. Once insects have reached their species-specific size, the corpora allata atrophies and JH production halts due to decreased JHAMT activity, lowering JH concentrations to allow metamorphosis to proceed. In the pupal stage of "D. melanogaster" and "B. mori", a decrease in JH concentration correlates with decreased levels of JHAMT mRNA. Furthermore, JHAMT gene suppression is thought to be critical in larval-pupal metamorphosis in "Tribolium castaneum".
In "D. melanogaster", DmJHMAT is encoded by the CG17330/DmJHAMT gene, and is very specifically expressed in the corpus allatum. Experiments have shown that an overexpression of CG17330/DmJHAMT leads to pupal lethality and a misorientation of male genitalia in "D. melanogaster", suggesting that proper temporal regulation of this gene is critical for Drosophila development.
"Apis mellifera" are also known to encode a similar JHAMT protein (AmJHAMT). The cDNA was found to be 1253bp long, and encodes a 278-aa protein that shares 32-36% identity with other known JHAMTs. During periods of caste development, queen larvae contained significantly higher levels of AmJHAMT mRNA and protein than worker larvae, suggesting that the protein has a significant role in honey bee caste differentiation.


Geodia gallica

Geodia gallica is a species of sponge in the family Geodiidae. The species was first described by Lendenfeld in 1907. It is found in the coastal waters of Agulhas Bank, next to South Africa.


Kemkemia

Kemkemia is a genus of crocodyliforms living in the Cretaceous, described from a single fossil in 1999 recovered from Morocco by an Italian team searching for fossil invertebrates.
The type species, "Kemkemia auditorei", was named and described in 2009 by Italian paleontologists Andrea Cau and Simone Maganuco and is based on a single distal caudal vertebra, MSNM V6408. This vertebra measures 60.48 mm in length and 33.81 mm in height. The genus name refers to the Kem Kem Beds and the specific name honours Italian paleontological illustrator Marco Auditore. The fossil dates from the Cenomanian.
The describers, because of the general morphology of the vertebra, especially the strongly developed neural spine, originally considered it likely that "K. auditorei" was a theropod dinosaur belonging to the group Neoceratosauria, but in view of the limited remains cautiously assigned it to a more general Neotheropoda "incertae sedis". However, the authors later discovered it to be a typical crocodyliform, rather than an unusual theropod.
"Kemkemia" was a predator with a body length of about four to five metres and, given that the vertebra is not very robust, possibly lightly built. The species length could be extrapolated because the specimen is that of an adult. The fossil is one of the few known crocodyliform caudal vertebrae and comes from the Kem Kem Beds that have produced the fossils of very large predatory dinosaur species: "Spinosaurus", "Carcharodontosaurus" and "Deltadromeus".


Anthopleura

Anthopleura is a genus of sea anemones, of the family Actiniidae.
Species.
According to the World Register of Marine Species, this genus includes:


Halichondria almae

Halichondria almae is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Halichondriidae.


Endochondral ossification

Endochondral ossification is one of the two essential processes during fetal development of the mammalian skeletal system by which bone tissue is created. Unlike intramembranous ossification, which is the other process by which bone tissue is created, cartilage is present during endochondral ossification. Endochondral ossification is also an essential process during the rudimentary formation of long bones, the growth of the length of long bones, and the natural healing of bone fractures.
Growth of the cartilage model.
The cartilage model will grow in length by continuous cell division of chondrocytes, which is accompanied by further secretion of extracellular matrix. This is called interstitial growth.
The process of appositional growth occurs when the cartilage model also grows in thickness due to the addition of more extracellular matrix on the peripheral cartilage surface, which is accompanied by new chondroblasts that develop from the perichondrium.
Primary center of ossification.
The first site of ossification occurs in the primary center of ossification, which is in the middle of diaphysis (shaft). Then:
Secondary center of ossification.
About the time of birth in mammals, a secondary ossification center appears in each end (epiphysis) of long bones. Periosteal buds carry mesenchyme and blood vessels in and the process is similar to that occurring in a primary ossification center. The cartilage between the primary and secondary ossification centers is called the epiphyseal plate, and it continues to form new cartilage, which is replaced by bone, a process that results in an increase in length of the bone. Growth continues until the individual is about 20 years old or until the cartilage in the plate is replaced by bone. The point of union of the primary and secondary ossification centers is called the epiphyseal line.
Appositional bone growth.
The growth in diameter of bones around the diaphysis occurs by deposition of bone beneath the periosteum. Osteoclasts in the interior cavity continue to resorb bone until its ultimate thickness is achieved, at which point the rate of formation on the outside and degradation from the inside is constant.
Histology.
During endochondral ossification, five distinct zones can be seen at the light-microscope level.
Fracture healing.
During fracture healing, cartilage is often formed and is called callus. This cartilage ultimately develops into new bone tissue through the process of endochondral ossification. Recently it has been shown that biomimetic bone like apatite inhibits formation of bone through endochondral ossification pathway via hyperstimulation of extracellular calcium sensing receptor (CaSR).


Subspecific name

In zoological nomenclature, a subspecific name is the third part of a trinomen. In zoology there is only one rank below that of species, namely "subspecies".
In botanical nomenclature, there are several levels of subspecific names, such as "variety" and "form", and even cultivar.
The name of a subspecies is a trinomen, a trinomial name, i.e., a name that consists of three names: generic name, specific epithet, and subspecific epithet. The subspecific epithet is written like the specific epithet: without capitalisation but typeset in italics.


Glareola

Glareola is a genus of birds in the family Glareolidae. The pratincoles are a group of birds consisting of the seven species of this genus and the Australian pratincole, the only species of the genus "Stiltia".
The genus "Glareola" was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the collared pratincole ("Glareola pratincola") as the type species. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin "glarea", "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat.
Species list.
The genus contains seven species:


Lepidoleucon

Lepidoleucon is genus of calcareous sponges in the order Baerida. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Lepidoleuconidae, and consists of a single species, Lepidoleucon inflatum.


Pratincole

The pratincoles or greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails.
Description.
Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground. Their short bills are an adaptation to aerial feeding.
Their flight is fast and graceful like a swallow or a tern, with many twists and turns to pursue their prey. They are most active at dawn and dusk, resting in the warmest part of the day.
Like the coursers, the pratincoles are found in warmer parts of the Old World, from southern Europe and Africa east through Asia to Australia. Species breeding in temperate regions are long-distance migrants.
Their two to four eggs are laid on the ground in a bare scrape.
The downy pratincole chicks are able to run as soon as they are hatched.
The Australian pratincole, the only species not in the genus "Glareola", is more terrestrial than the other pratincoles, and may be intermediate between this group and the coursers.
The name "pratincole" comes from the term "pratincola" coined by German naturalist Wilhelm Heinrich Kramer from the Latin words "prātum" meadow and "incola" resident.


Trichogypsiidae

Trichogypsiidae is a family of sponges in the class Calcarea.


Stellostomites

Stellostomites is a discoidal animal known from the Cambrian Chengjiang biota and classified with the eldoniids.


Homophyton

Homophyton is a genus of corals in the family Spongiodermidae. This genus is found only off the coast of southern Africa.
Species.
There are two species in the genus:


R. B. Seymour Sewell

Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Beresford Seymour Sewell CIE FRS FLS FZS (5 March 1880 – 11 February 1964) was a British military doctor who served with the Indian Medical Service and an amateur naturalist, editor of "The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma" 1933-1963.
Sewell was born in 1880 in Leamington, Warwickshire. His father was the reverend Arthur Sewell, and his mother was Mary Lee (née Waring). His grandfather was Robert Burleigh Sewell (1810–1872), who had a number of notable siblings, including Richard Clarke Sewell (1803–1864), William Sewell (1804–1874), Henry Sewell (1807–1879), James Edwards Sewell (1810–1903), and Elizabeth Missing Sewell (1815–1906). He studied at Cambridge (Christ's College) and St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. He received a B.A. (Hons) from Cambridge in 1902 and qualified M.C.R.S. & L.R.C.P. in 1907.
He was commissioned into the Indian Medical Service as a Lieutenant 1 February 1908 and was promoted Captain 1 February 1911.
He served during the First World War and was Mentioned in Dispatches in the "London Gazette" 6 July 1917.
He was promoted Major 1 August 1919 and Lieutenant-Colonel 1 August 1927.
His last appointment was as Director of the Zoological Survey of India from 17 July 1925 to his retirement.
He retired 5 March 1935.
He was a freemason, having been initiated in 1912.


Joseph Marchand

Joseph Marchand (August 17, 1803 – November 30, 1835) was a French missionary in Vietnam and a member of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. He is now a Roman Catholic saint, celebrated on the 30th of November.
Personal life.
Marchand was born in Passavant, in the Doubs department of France. At the age of 25 he joined the Paris Foreign Mission, whose primary goal was (and still is) to evangelize countries in Asia.
Vietnam.
In 1833, he was offered to join the Lê Văn Khôi revolt led by Lê Văn Khôi, son of the late governor of southern Vietnam Lê Văn Duyệt. He vowed to overthrow Emperor Minh Mạng and replace him with My Duong, the son of Minh Mạng's late elder brother Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh, who were both Catholics. Khoi appealed to other Catholics to join in overthrowing Minh Mạng and installing a Catholic emperor. They quickly seized the Citadel of Saigon in an uprising lasting two years. Marchand had declined the offer to joined.
In 1835, he was arrested for supposedly having been associated with the rebellion and later executed in Huế, subsequently becoming a Catholic martyr after having his flesh pulled from his bones by tongs (the torture of a thousand cuts).
Marchand was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988. His feast day is November 30 and his joint feast day with the Vietnamese Martyrs is November 24.


Paw

A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws.
Common characteristics.
The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, which make up the pads. These pads act as a cushion for the load-bearing limbs of the animal. The paw consists of the large, heart-shaped metacarpal or palmar pad (forelimb) or metatarsal or plantar pad (rear limb), and generally four load-bearing digital pads, although there can be five or six toes in the case of domestic cats and bears (including giant panda). A carpal pad is also found on the forelimb which is used for additional traction when stopping or descending a slope in digitigrade species. Additional dewclaws can also be present.
The paw also includes a horn-like, beak shaped claw on each digit. Though usually hairless, certain animals do have fur on the soles of their paws. An example is the red panda, whose furry soles help insulate them in their snowy habitat.


Inferior labial artery

The inferior labial artery (inferior labial branch of facial artery) arises near the angle of the mouth as a branch of the facial artery; it passes upward and forward beneath the triangularis and, penetrating the orbicularis oris, runs in a tortuous course along the edge of the lower lip between this muscle and the mucous membrane.
It supplies the labial glands, the mucous membrane, and the muscles of the lower lip; and anastomoses with the artery of the opposite side, and with the mental branch of the inferior alveolar artery.


Veleropilina segonzaci

Veleropilina segonzaci is a species of monoplacophoran, a superficially limpet-like marine mollusk. It is found on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Anatomy.
It has only three pairs of gills, instead of five pairs as in all other "Veleropilina" species with known anatomies.


Martinique curly-tailed lizard

The Martinique curly-tailed lizard ("Leiocephalus herminieri" ) is an extinct species of lizard in the family of curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalidae).
Etymology.
The specific name, "herminieri", commemorates French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier.
Extant specimens.
There are five specimens of "L. herminieri", of which three are deposited in the natural history museum of Paris, one in London, and the other in Leiden.
Geographic range.
Though Martinique is assumed as the geographic range of "L. herminieri", there was some confusion about the type locality in the past. While André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron stated Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago as type locality, George Albert Boulenger has given only Trinidad and Tobago as "terra typica".
Biology and extinction.
The biology of "L. herminieri", the reasons for its extinction, and the date of extinction are unknown. This species was last collected in the 1830s.
Description.
Of the three specimens of "L. herminieri" in Paris, the largest female is measured at snout-to-vent length (SVL), and the largest male at SVL. The large head scales are more or less distinctly striate. The large dorsal scales are keeled and forming continuous oblique series. The smaller lateral and ventral scales are keeled too. The back is greenish brown with or without irregular yellowish crossbands. The head is yellowish with four or five black bars on the sides. The venter is yellowish. The throat has oblique black transverse bands.


Peripatopsis

Peripatopsis is a genus of South African velvet worms in the Peripatopsidae family.
Species.
The genus contains the following species:


Amphinomidae

Amphinomidae, also known as the bristle worms or sea mice, are a family of marine polychaetes, many species of which bear chaetae mineralized with carbonate. The best-known amphinomids are the fireworms, which can cause great pain if their toxin-coated chaetae are touched or trodden on. Their relationship to other polychaete groups is somewhat poorly resolved.
Complanine.
Complanine is a quaternary ammonium salt that has been isolated from the marine fireworm "Eurythoe complanata". It causes an inflammatory effect upon contact with the skin or mucous membranes.
It was previously known that handling the fireworm caused it to release a chemical that induces inflammation of the skin of marine predators and mammals (including humans). Complanine was the first compound isolated from the fireworm which causes these effects. It is presumed that this compound's function is to deter predators of the fireworm.
Species.
Most genera in "Amphinomidae " are divided into two subfamilies: Amphinominae , and Archinominae.


Cinctiporidae

Cinctiporidae is a bryozoan family in the order Cyclostomatida.


Macroperipatus ohausi

Macroperipatus ohausi is a species of velvet worm in the Peripatidae family. The type locality is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


Giuseppe Saverio Poli

Giuseppe Saverio Poli (26 October 17467 April 1825) was an Italian physicist, biologist and natural historian.
His collections, together with those stored in the Royal Bourbon Museum, were the foundation of the Zoological Museum of Naples. The specimens were from locations all over the world, and included especially, Lepidoptera, Cnidaria and Mollusca.
Biography.
Giuseppe Saverio Poli was born in 1746 and was the son of Vito Angelo di Giuseppe and Eleonora Corlè. In 1766 he enrolled at the University of Padua, where he graduated in medicine. He briefly worked as a doctor in Molfetta, but in 1790 he moved to Naples to teach history and geography at the Nunziatella Military School, for which, once he became commander, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he took care of the department of physics. In 1775 he toured Europe on behalf of the academy, visiting many seats of learning in Germany, France, England and the Netherlands and meeting naturalists and scientists. This enabled him to equip the physics department with the most modern equipment. He became friends with the Scottish physician and collector William Hunter, who encouraged him to study the molluscs of the Mediterranean, which were then very poorly known. He also added to his personal collection of natural history objects and archaeological artefacts. Later he taught physics at the Medical College of the Hospital of the Incurables, a position which he had to give up when he was appointed tutor to the hereditary prince, Francesco, son of Ferdinand I of Bourbon. He later became professor of experimental physics at the University of Naples, of which he was first director of physics.
His best known work is represented by the six volumes of the "Elements of Experimental Physics", which had numerous editions and reprints and was modified and integrated on several occasions by Poli himself. The work was used by Alessandro Volta for his university lectures and was even read and studied by Giacomo Leopardi. It has also been criticized by Vincenzo Dandolo, as in the 1790s it still introduced phlogiston in the part relating to chemical reactions (volume III), which had already been widely recognized as non-existent by most scientists (the part relating to chemical reactions was preceded by an introduction by Dandolo himself, which explained the partial defects of the work). The changes made in the editions of the following years were to deny the existence of phlogiston even in his own work.
Thanks to his many travels, which put him in contact and correspondence with authoritative exponents of the international scientific world, he published numerous essays on various topics: not only relating to physics, but also to meteorology, in particular with the treatises on thunder (1772) and on lightning (1773), geology and zoology. Testimony of this last discipline remains the monumental "Testacea utriusque Siciliane eorumque istoria et antome tabulis aeneis", a description of the molluscs of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, begun with the help of his assistant Stefano Delle Chiaje, who collaborated in its publication. Poli was responsible for the discovery of the interradial vesicles of the water vascular system of echinoderms, which are known as "Polian vesicles".
He also tried his hand at poetry, with hymns and poems, of which the Celestial Journey, composed in two volumes, in 1805 provides a good example. He was a member of numerous scientific and cultural institutions, including the National Academy of Sciences. After a year in which his health deteriorated, Poli died in Naples on 7 April 1825. His personal collection of natural history objects and archaeological artefacts, amassed since the 1770s, was known by his friends as the "Museo Poliano". They included minerals, fossils, mollusc shells, corals, sponges, insects (including a fine collection from Surinam), weapons, clothing, indigenous tools, paintings and scientific instruments. The more valuable items in the collection were looted by French troops during the conquest of Naples in 1806, and he later turned to collecting coins, medals and antiquities. After his death, these were curated by Delle Chiaie and acquired by the Royal Bourbon Museum and, along with his natural history collection, formed the foundation of the Zoological Museum of Naples.


Carl Wedl

Carl Wedl (October 14, 1815 – September 21, 1891) was an Austrian pathologist who was a native of Vienna.
In 1841 he obtained his doctorate in Vienna, and subsequently practiced medicine in Ischl and Salzburg. In 1844 he took a scientific journey to France and England, afterwards returning to Vienna, where he performed histological research.
With assistance from Karl Rokitansky (1804–1878), he received his habilitation in 1849. In 1853 he became an associate professor, and in 1872 was appointed professor of histology at the University of Vienna. Some of his well-known students were Heinrich Auspitz (1834–1885), Moritz Kaposi (1837–1902) and Salomon Stricker (1834–1898).
Wedl is largely remembered for his work in microscopic pathology and histology. He made contributions in the fields of helminthology, neurology and ophthalmology, and was one of the first physicians to apply cell theory to pathology of the eye. The eponymous "Wedl cells" are named after him, defined as dysplastic bladder-like fibers in the crystalline lens of the eye. Drusen, the hallmark of AMD, were first described in 1854 by Wedl.. Wedl named them colloid bodies of the choroid and thought that they were incompletely developed cells, because they had no cell membrane or nucleus. The genus "Wedlia" (Cobbold 1860) is named after him, as are the species "Didymosulcus wedli" (Ariola, 1902), "Ascaris wedli" (Stossich, 1896) and "Paroneirodes wedli" (Pietschmann 1926).
Wedl was the author of numerous books and articles, a few of which have been translated into English. He died on September 21, 1891, bequeathing his estate to the Vienna Academy of Sciences.


Xue Wenjie

Xue Wenjie (薛文傑) (died 934) was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Min. He was a close associate of Min's emperor Wang Lin (Emperor Huizong), by flattering the emperor and finding creative, if cruel, methods to extract funds from the people for the emperor's use. In 934, the angry soldiers refused to fight troops of Min's invading rival Wu unless Xue were surrendered to them. After Xue was given to them, they killed him and ate his flesh.
Coming to power.
Historical records did not indicate when Xue Wenjie was born or what his geographical origins were. What it did indicate was that at one point, he became the commander of the middle army of Fujian (i.e., the state of Min). His personality was said to be dextrous and wicked. As then-Min emperor Wang Lin favored luxurious living, Xue ingratiated himself with the emperor by collecting much material goods for the emperor. Wang thus made him the director of budget (國計使, "Guojishi") and closely associated with him.
It was said that the tactics Xue engaged to collect wealth for the emperor was this: he would secretly collect evidence of crimes committed by rich people in the populace; he would then arrest them and confiscate their wealth. This included pounding the arrestees on both their chests and backs, and using heated copper to burn them. In 933, there was a time when a powerful local man of Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern Nanping, Fujian), Wu Guang (吳光), went to Min's capital Changle (長樂, in modern Fuzhou, Fujian) to pay homage to the emperor. As Xue wanted to confiscate Wu Guang's wealth, he began to secretly look for evidence of crimes to use against Wu Guang. Wu Guang found out, and he led his followers, over 10,000, in defecting to Min's northwestern neighbor Wu.
Xue was apparently later made Wang's chief of staff ("Shumishi"), for he was referred to by that office later in the year. He was at that time advising Wang to find some ways to reduce the power of the members of the imperial Wang clan. As a result, Wang's nephew Wang Jitu (王繼圖) became incensed and considered a rebellion. Wang Jitu's plot was discovered, and Wang Jitu and some 1,000 followers were executed.
As Wang Lin was superstitious, he favored a number of sorcerers, including one Sheng Tao (盛韜). Xue further encouraged Wang in this behavior, stating to Wang, "Your Imperial Majesty has many wicked subjects among your officials. Unless you inquire of this from the ghosts and the gods, you cannot know this. Sheng Tao is good at communicating with the ghosts, and you should let him look into this." Wang agreed. Xue then used this method to eliminate a more senior political rival, fellow chief of staff Wu Xu (吳勗). At that time, Wu was ill, so Xue went to see him, stating to him, "As the Master believed that you, Lord, have been long ill, he is considering removing you from this position. I, your servant, told him that you, Lord, is merely having minor headaches and would soon be healed. If the Master sends emissaries to see you, do not tell him that your illness is anything but headaches." Wu believed him. The next day, Xue had Sheng inform Wang, "I have seen Prince Chongxun [(apparently a local deity)] of the North Temple try Wu Xu for treason, and he punished Wu by using a golden hammer to pound copper nails into Wu's brain." When Wang told this to Xue, Xue responded, "It might not be believable. It would be good to send emissaries to ask about this." When Wang's emissaries arrived at Wu's mansion, Wu told them that he was suffering from headaches. Wang, now believing in Sheng's vision, arrested Wu and allowed Xue and the jailers to torture him. Wu, unable to stand the torture, confessed. Wu, his wife, and his children were executed. It was said that this incident made the people more incensed with Xue.
Death.
Meanwhile, though, Wu Guang, after defecting to Wu, advocated that Wu launch a campaign against Min. The Wu prefect of Xin Prefecture (信州, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi), Jiang Yanhui (蔣延徽), did not wait for his imperial government's approval, and went ahead and launched an attack on Jian Prefecture. By spring 934, he had defeated Min forces at Pucheng (浦城, in modern Nanping), and then advanced to Jian, putting it under siege. Wang Lin sent the generals Zhang Yanrou (張彥柔) and Wang Yanzong (王延宗, his brother) to command an army to try to relieve Jian. When Wang Yanzong's army was on the way, the soldiers refused to advance further, proclaiming, "If we do not have Xue Wenjie, we will not battle." When Wang Yanzong reported this to Wang Lin, the entire state was shocked. Wang Lin's mother Empress Dowager Huang and his son Wang Jipeng the Prince of Fu wept and stated to Wang Lin, "Xue Wenjie abused the powers of the state to falsely harm the innocent. The people in all strata of the population have long hated him. Now the Wu forces are deep in our territory, and the soldiers are refusing to advance. If the state is destroyed, what benefit is it to keep Xue's life?" Xue tried to persuade Wang Lin otherwise, but Wang Lin refused to decide. Shortly after, when Xue left the palace, he was ambushed and captured by soldiers under Wang Jipeng, who then put him in a caged wagon to deliver to the front. (It was said that Xue had himself thought that the caged wagons for prisoner transport had spaces that were too wide, so he ordered that the cages be shrunk, and that spikes were placed on the inside such that if the prisoner moved at all, he or she would be speared by the spikes. He ended up being the first prisoner to be placed in one of these modified wagons.) As he was being transported, the people threw stones and bricks at him.
However, it was also said that Xue, who was involved in sorcery himself, had previously predicted that if he suffered a disaster, if he could survive it for three days, then his fortune would change for the better. Those who transported him heard of the prediction and decided to transport him quickly. It took only two days for him to be transported to Wang Yanzong's army. When he arrived there, the soldiers leaped in joy, and they quickly cut off and ate his flesh. Wang Lin subsequently sent an emissary with a pardon for him, but by the time the emissary reached Wang Yanzong's camp, Xue had already been completely eaten. Sheng Tao was also executed. Subsequently, with Min forces, now placated, advancing on Jian, and aid forces from Min's northeastern neighbor Wuyue also arriving, Wu forces withdrew.


Damascene pigeon

The Damascene, also known as the Istanbullu pigeon, is a breed of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding. Damascenes, along with other varieties of domesticated pigeons, are all descendants of the rock dove (also called rock pigeon) ("Columba livia").
The breed is thought to have originated in Damascus, Syria and hence its name.
Appearance.
The Damascene is entirely white or silver-grey, with a black tail tip and wing bars. The under feathers of the neck are dark grey, and so is the skin. The primary flight feathers grow darker towards the tips. The head and breast should have no markings.
Damascenes may also be grouse-legged, with a short layer of feathers covering the legs, but clean legs are preferred by breeders.