Life.

Early life.

Arsinoë was the first daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Hellenistic state of Egypt, and his second wife Berenice I of Egypt.  She was maybe born in Memphis, but was raised in the new city of Alexandria, where her father moved his capital. Nothing is known of her childhood or education, but judging from her later life as patron of scholars and noted for her learning, she is estimated to have been given a high education.Her brothers were tutored by intellectuals hired by their fathers, and it is regarded likely that she attended these lessons as well: she corresponded with the intellectual Strato of Lampsacus later in life, and he may have previously been her tutor.

Queen of Lysimachus.

At about age 15, Arsinoë married King Lysimachus (who was then around 60 years old),with whom she had three sons: Ptolemy Epigonos, Lysimachus, and Philip.  In order to position her sons for the throne, she had Lysimachus' first son, Agathocles, poisoned on account of treason.  Arsinoe reportedly paid for a rotunda in the Samothrace temple complex, where she was likely an initiate.

Queen of Ptolemy Keraunos.

After Lysimachus' death in battle in 281 BC, she fled to Cassandreia () and married her paternal half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos, one of the sons of Ptolemy I Soter from his previous wife, Eurydice of Egypt. The marriage was for political reasons as they both claimed the throne of Macedonia and Thrace (by the time of his death Lysimachus was ruler of both regions, and his power extended to southern Greece and Anatolia). Their relationship was never good.  As Ptolemy Keraunos was becoming more powerful, she decided it was time to stop him and conspired against him with her sons. This action caused Ptolemy Keraunus to kill two of her sons, Lysimachus and Philip, while the eldest, Ptolemy, was able to escape and to flee north, to the kingdom of the Dardanians.  She herself sought refuge in the Samothrace temple complex, which she had benefited during her tenure as queen. She eventually left from Samothrace for Alexandria, Egypt, to seek protection from her brother, Ptolemy II Philadelphus.  It is not known which year she left for Egypt. She may have left so early as 280, directly after the murder of the younger sons, or as late as 276, when the claim of her eldest son to the Macedonian throne had clearly failed after the succession of Antigonus II Gonatas.

Queen of Egypt.

In Egypt, she is believed to have instigated the accusation and exile of her brother Ptolemy II's first wife, Arsinoe I. Whether this was actually true is unknown: it is not known which year she arrived in Egypt, and her sister-in-law may already have been exiled at that point, or her divorce may have taken place without her involvement.  Whatever the case, after the divorce of Ptolemy, Arsinoe II then married her younger brother. As a result, both were given the epithet "Philadelphoi" ( "Sibling-lovers"). The closer circumstances and reasons behind the marriage is not known.  Her role as queen was unprecedented in the dynasty at the time and became a role model for later Ptolemaic queens: she acted alongside her brother in ritual and public display, became a religious and literal patron and was included in the Egyptian and Greek cults created by him for them. Sharing in all of her brother's titles, she apparently was quite influential, having towns dedicated to her, her own cult (as was Egyptian custom), appearing on coinage and contributing to foreign policy, including Ptolemy II's victory in the First Syrian War between Egypt and the Seleucid Empire.  According to Posidippus, she won three chariot races at the Olympic Games, probably in 272 BC.

Deification.

After her death, Ptolemy II established a cult of Arsinoe Philadelphus. She received burial and deification rites at Mendes, where she had been a priestess, which are commemorated in the Mendes stele. This stele also includes the decree of Ptolemy II announcing her cult. All temples in Egypt were required to include a cult statue of Arsinoe II alongside the main god of the sanctuary. In the relief at the top of the stele, Arsinoe is depicted among the deities receiving sacrifice from Ptolemy - an image which recurs throughout the country. Separate temples were also constructed for Arsinoe, at Memphis and elsewhere. The Fayyum region became the Arsinoite nome, with Arsinoe as its patron goddess. From 263 BC, a portion of tax on orchard and vineyard produce in each nome of Egypt was dedicated to funding the nome's cult of Arsinoe.  Arsinoe's cult was also propagated in Alexandria. An annual priesthood, known as the Canephorus of Arsinoe Philadelphus, was established by 269 BC. The holder of the office was included as part of the dating formula in all official documents until the late second century BC. An annual procession was held in Arsinoe's honour, led by the Canephorus. Every household along the procession's route was required to erect a small altar of sand and sacrifice birds and lentils for Arsinoe. A large temple was erected by the harbour in Alexandria. The admiral Callicrates of Samos erected another sanctuary at Cape Zephyrium, at the eastern end of the harbour, where Arsinoe was worshipped as Aphrodite Euploia (Aphrodite of the good-sailing). Similar sanctuaries were established at a number of port-cities under Ptolemaic control, including Citium in Cyprus, Delos in the Nesiotic League, and Thera. As a result of these sanctuaries, Arsinoe became closely associated with protection from shipwrecks. Coinage and statuettes depicting the divine Arsinoe survive. Her divine attributes are a small ram's horn behind her ear - symbolising her connection to the ram of Mendes - and a pair of cornucopiae which she carries. She appears in this guise on a set of mass-produced faience Oenochoae, which seem to have been associated with funerary ritual in Alexandria.  Arsinoe seems to have been a genuinely popular goddess throughout the Ptolemaic period, with both Greeks and Egyptians, in Egypt and beyond. 'Arsinoe' is one of the few Greek names to be naturalised as an Egyptian personal name in the period. Altars and dedicatory plaques in her honour are found throughout Egypt and the Aegean, while hundreds of her faience oenochoae have been found in the cemeteries of Alexandria.

Marriage and issue.

Arsinoe married Lysimachus of Thrace in 300 or 299 BC and had three children:  After Lysimachus' death in 281 BC, Arsinoe was briefly married to her half-brother Ptolemy Ceraunus from 280 to 279 BC and then to her full-blooded, younger brother Ptolemy II of Egypt from the late 270s BC until her death. Ptolemy II's children by his first wife Arsinoe I, including his eventual successor Ptolemy III were posthumously declared to be children of Arsinoe II in the late 260s BC.

Arsinoë II (, 316 BC – unknown date between July 270 and 260 BC) was a Ptolemaic queen and co-regent of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of ancient Egypt.


Huts.

The Alps.

The construction of refuges and shelters in the Alps date back to ancient times, when Roman roads led across the mountain passes. In the High Middle Ages, "hospitales" were erected along the trade routes; cottages and sheds on the high mountain pastures served for Alpine transhumance. The long history of mountaineering from the 19th century onwards has led to a large number of Alpine club huts as well as private huts along the mountaineering paths. These huts are categorised according to their location and facilities. They may have beds or a mattress room ("Matratzenlager") for overnight stays.

Britain.

In the United Kingdom the tradition is of unwardened "climbing huts" providing fairly rudimentary accommodation (but superior to that of a bothy) close to a climbing ground; the huts are usually conversions (e.g. of former quarrymen's cottages, or of disused mine buildings), and are not open to passers-by except in emergency. Many climbing clubs in the UK have such huts in Snowdonia or in the Lake District. A well-known example is the 'Charles Inglis Clark Memorial Hut' (the 'CIC Hut') - a purpose-built hut below the northern crags of Ben Nevis in Scotland. In the past, some shelters in Scotland were built in exposed locations at high elevation, often as part of military training exercises. However, and particularly following the 1971 Cairngorm Plateau Disaster, these were deliberately demolished because they were thought to pose dangers exceeding their benefits.

Norway.

The Norwegian Trekking Association operates about 460 cabins mostly in the mountains and in forested areas, of which about 400 have lodgings. Many cabins are unstaffed and open all year, while the staffed cabins often are just open during summer.

Poland.

In Poland most of mountains shelters and huts are run by PTTK - Polish Tourist Society. Only few of shelters belong to private investors. In the Polish mountains there are about 100 shelters. Most of mountains shelters offer many-persons rooms and refreshments. Polish mountain huts are obliged by their own regulations to overnight each person who is not able to find any other place before sunset, though the conditions may be tough (e.g. a mattress in hall or warm basement).

Slovakia.

In Slovakia there is a dense network of mountain huts ("chata") in most mountain and forest regions, serving a culture of hiking. In the past they were managed by the official tourist union, but now are mostly in private hands. Official mountain huts are similar to guest houses and are run by full-time managers. In winter, some refuges are closed.

United States.

There are many huts in the United States, for example in the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains and other ranges. The High Huts of the White Mountains in New Hampshire are generally "full service" (cooks serve food) through summer and early fall, while some are open the rest of the year as self-service huts, at which hikers bring and prepare their own food.

Canada.

The Alpine Club of Canada operates what it calls the "largest network of backcountry huts in North America."

New Zealand.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation "manages a network of over 950 huts of all shapes and sizes."

The Himalayas.

The mountains of Asia do not have a well-developed system of public mountain huts, although hiking, trekking and mountain climbing are common. In 2015, a competition was launched to design huts that could be located along trekking trails of Nepal.

South Africa.

Many places in Africa have hiking huts but they are usually privately owned and require payment and reservations. At least one hut is open for public use on Table Mountain in South Africa, part of Table Mountain National Park.

A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization dedicated to hiking or mountain recreation. They are known by many names, including alpine hut, mountain shelter, mountain refuge, mountain lodge, and mountain hostel.


Early life.

Émile Verhaeren was born into a middle-class family in Sint-Amands, a rural commune in Belgium's Province of Antwerp. In addition to the local Dutch dialect, he adopted French as his language of culture, as was common for Belgian elites at the time. At the age of eleven, he was sent to a strict boarding school in Ghent run by Jesuits, the Jesuit College of Sainte Barbe, where he formed a friendship with Georges Rodenbach. He then went to study law at the University of Leuven, where he produced his first literary efforts in a student paper, "La Semaine", which he edited in conjunction with the operatic singer Ernest van Dyck. "La Semaine" was suppressed by the authorities, as was its successor, "Le Type", in which Verhaeren had as fellow-workers Max Waller, Iwan Gilkin and Albert Giraud. His like-minded acquaintances later became his collaborators on the revolutionary artistic magazine "La Jeune Belgique".  Having gained his law degree, he became a trainee (1881–1884) with Edmond Picard, a renowned criminal lawyer and influential figure in the Brussels artistic scene. Verhaeren came into frequent contact with young, radical writers and artists at a time of artistic renewal. He spoke in only two cases in a courtroom before deciding to dedicate his life to poetry and literature.

Art criticism.

He soon became the spokesperson for the artistic revival at the turn of the century. Fascinated by the works of the painters of the artistic circle "Les XX", he wrote many articles in "La Jeune Belgique" and "L'Art Moderne" with flamboyant criticism on the artistic-literary works of the Brussels art world. He made himself especially the champion of the impressionist painters, and his articles brought many promising young talents, such as James Ensor and Fernand Khnopff, to the attention of the public.  Through these articles, he became a lifelong friend of the Neo-impressionist Belgian painter Théo van Rysselberghe, resulting in a vast body of letters. In one of these letters, he was described by Maria van Rysselberghe, as "a unique personality, a whirlwind with an indomitable character, who didn't bother himself about bourgeois rules and who provoked or overwhelmed everybody by his straightforward directness".

Literature.

He was one of the most prolific poets of his era. His first collection of poems, "Les Flamandes", was published in 1883. Inspired by the paintings of Jacob Jordaens, David Teniers and Jan Steen, Verhaeren described in a direct and often provocative, naturalistic way his country and the Flemish people. It was an immediate success in avant-garde milieus, but caused a great deal of controversy in Catholic circles. His next book, "Les Moines" (1886), was not the success he had hoped for. This, and his health problems, led to a deep crisis. In this period he published "Les Soirs" (1888), "Les Débâcles" (1888) and "Les Flambeaux noirs" (1891), all with Edmond Deman, who became his usual publisher.  On 24 August 1891 he married Marthe Massin, a talented artist from Liège. His new-found happiness found expression in three poetry books: "Les Heures Claires" (1896), "Les Heures d'Après-midi" (1905) and "Les Heures du Soir" (1911). His later poems include "Les Rythmes souverains" (1910), "Les Villes à pignons" (1910), "Les Plaines" (1911) and "Les Blés Mouvants" (1912).  He wrote his first play, "Les Aubes", in 1898. Here he waged a fight against social injustice and the decline of life in the countryside. In 1912, he produced a tragedy, "Hélène de Sparte", which was performed in German and Russian, besides French.  In 1898 he moved to Saint-Cloud, near Paris. By the turn of the century, he had become world-famous. His works were translated into more than twenty languages. His German translator was Stefan Zweig. He travelled, giving lectures, throughout Europe.  The outbreak of World War I had a devastating effect on the poet's deep pacifist feelings. He went to England, where he received honorary degrees from various universities. During his exile, he published "Les Ailes rouges de la Guerre".

Death.

Émile Verhaeren died on 27 November 1916 at Rouen station: he fell under a moving train while trying to board it. Marthe Verhaeren was informed of the death of her husband by Théo van Rysselberghe and his friend, the famous French writer (and later Nobel Prize winner) André Gide.  Verhaeren's vast body of work supports claims that he is one of the most prominent figures in Belgian literature. He narrowly missed the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911; it was instead awarded to his friend, Maurice Maeterlinck.  St. Amands, his native city, has dedicated a museum to this giant of Belgian literature, showing many original manuscripts of his works and letters along with works of his artistic friends Théo van Rysselberghe, Léon Spilliaert, Constantin Meunier, Paul Signac and Ossip Zadkine. Verhaeren was the cousin of the painter Alfred Verhaeren.

Émile Adolphe Gustave Verhaeren (; 21 May 1855 – 27 November 1916) was a Belgian poet and art critic who wrote in the French language. He was one of the founders of the school of Symbolism and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature on six occasions.


Transportation.

The General Belgrano Bridge crosses the Paraná River that serves as the natural border with the neighbouring Chaco Province. On the other side of the bridge is Resistencia, capital of Chaco. To the west and up the Paraná, between Paraguay and Argentina, lies the Yaciretá dam, one of the largest hydroelectric power generators in the world.  The Doctor Fernando Piragine Niveyro International Airport at coordinates, away from the city, serves the city.  The Ferrocarril Económico Correntino narrow gauge railway line to Mburucuyá operated from 1912 until 1927.

History.

In 1516 Juan Díaz de Solís commanded the first expedition to reach the area populated mainly by Guaraní aboriginals, but his expedition was attacked and Solís perished in the adventure.  Sebastian Cabot established in 1527 the "Sancti Spiritu" fort upstream of the Paraná River, and in 1536 Pedro de Mendoza reached further north into the basin of the river, searching for the "Sierras of Silver".  Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón founded on April 3, 1588 "San Juan de Vera de las Siete Corrientes" ("Saint John of Vera of the Seven Currents"), which was later shortened to "Corrientes". The "seven currents" refer to the seven peninsulas on the shore of the river at this place, that produced wild currents that made difficult the navigation of the river through this part.  Nevertheless, its position between Asunción - in present Paraguay - and Buenos Aires made it an important middle point, especially because of its 55-metre-high lands that prevent flooding when the water level rises.  In 1615 Jesuits settled near the Uruguay River. In 1807 the city resisted the British invasions. During the Argentine War of Independence it was in permanent conflict with the centralist government of Buenos Aires, but the Paraguayan War united them after the city was attacked by Paraguayan forces in 1865.

Climate.

The annual average temperature is, with maximum and minimum averages of respectively. The annual rainfall is around. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate). Frosts are rare; with the dates of the first and last frost being July 5 and July 12 respectively, indicating that most of the year is frost free. The highest temperature recorded was on November 15, 1985 while the lowest temperature recorded was on June 15, 1979.

In fiction.

The Graham Greene spy novel "The Honorary Consul" (1973) takes place in Corrientes.

Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has a population of 346,334 according to the 2010 Census. It lies opposite its twin city, Resistencia, Chaco.


Works.

He wrote a book on insects at the age of 22 and also the nine-volume book "Die Balearen" (The Balearic Islands).

Background.

He was the second cousin of Emperor Franz Joseph, of the ruling House of Habsburg-Lorraine, the fourth son of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Ludwig went to Majorca under his title of Count of Neuendorf, arriving in 1867. Falling in love with the clear air, water and dazzling blue skies of Majorca it was to become his base and home for the remainder of his life. He explored on his steam-yacht the "Nixe". He was known for his extreme love of animals and nature.  Archduke Ludwig Salvator never married. When he was young he fell in love with a cousin, Archduchess Mathilde, the daughter of the Duke of Teschen. Ludwig wanted to marry her, but she was promised to Prince Umberto of Savoy. On June 6, 1867, Mathilde, then only 18, was getting dressed to attend the theatre. She enjoyed smoking cigarettes, but when her father, who abhorred smoking appeared, she tried to hide the cigarette behind her. Her dress caught fire, and she died in front of her family, sustaining second and third-degree burns. Relationships with women included Catalina Homar. She convinced Ludwig to let her visit Jerusalem and it is believed that it was there that she contracted the leprosy that took her life in 1905. He fathered numerous illegitimate children.  When the First World War broke out, in 1914, the Emperor of Austria ordered Ludwig Salvator to leave Majorca, and in 1915 he died at the family castle of Brandeis-Altbunzlau, in Bohemia. He was buried in Vienna.

Researcher and chronicler of the Mediterranean sea.

It was of great importance to Ludwig Salvator to stimulate public interest for landscapes, which he thought were unjustifiably little known rarely traveled. His attention focused less on classical cultural centers, but on small, undiscovered regions, like Collection of costumes and type images of Serbs in the region on the Adriatic Sea between Rijeka and northern Albania by 45 plates with color lithographs based on watercolors Die Serben an der Adria (1870–1878), including the islands of Paxos and Antipaxos, Ithaca, Lefkada and Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea and the Aeolian Islands in the north of Sicily, the islands of Giglio, Ustica and Alboran, and especially the then largely unknown Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa (Ibiza) and Formentera. In 1869, there appeared the first volume, dedicated to emperor Franz Joseph, of his massive "Die Balearen. In Wort und Bild geschildert" (The Balearic Islands, portrayed in words and images); the total work encompasses seven separate volumes extending to approximately 6000 pages. For their first two volumes he was awarded the gold medal of the Paris World Exhibition of 1878. This monograph contains descriptions of animals, plants, meteorology, history, folklore, architecture, landscape descriptions and also detailed descriptions of the population, their customs, songs and poems. In 1897 there was published a two-volume popular edition with the same title that contained the main illustrations and texts. It is located on loan from the Österreichische Geographische Gesellschaft (Austrian Geographical Society) in the Austrian State Archives.

Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria, in Italian Luigi Salvatore Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Dominico Raineri Ferdinando Carlo Zenobio Antonino, in German Ludwig Salvator Maria Joseph Johann Baptist Dominicus Rainerius Ferdinand Carl Zenobius Antonin (Florence, 4 August 1847 – Schloss Brandeis, Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, Bohemia, 12 October 1915), is known as a champion for Majorca's wildlife, in an era when the term "conservation" meant nothing. The Balearic Islands are commemorating the centenary of the death of Archduke Ludwig Salvator during 2015.


History.

Since the 15th century, a fort existed in the place now occupied by Sychrov. During the years between 1690 and 1693, a small baroque castle was constructed here.  In 1820, the castle was bought by the Rohan family, French aristocrats exiled by the French Revolution who decided to stay in the Austrian Empire. The 125-year-long ownership by the Rohans proved to be the most important in the castle's history.  In 1945 the castle was nationalized because of the Beneš decrees. Since 1950, it has been open to the public to a small extent. Since the 1970s, however, large parts of the castle were open to the public. Since the beginning of the 1990s, an extensive reconstruction and restoration of the castle exteriors, interiors, and the park have been underway, the object of which is to make Sychrov look as close to its original form at the time of its biggest boom, i.e., its condition in the second half of the 19th century, as possible. In 1995 it came under the protection of the state as a national cultural heritage site.

Architecture.

A small, dilapidated, Baroque castle was rebuilt by the Rohans and finished in 1834. A second reconstruction (1847–62) put romantic neogothic style into the castle, and this style remains today. The reconstruction was carried out according to the plans of Bernard Grueber, and all works were facilitated by domestic artists and craftsmen.  The owner paid specific attention to the Castle Park, designed in the English style. The park became a model for the establishment of many now-important arboreta such as in Průhonice and Konopiště. During this period, a rare harmonising of the castle exterior, interior, and the park was accomplished. During the late 1920s/early 1930s, the castle interior was renovated. Especially valuable are the interior carvings by Petr Bušek, who worked in the castle for 38 years.

Collections.

The castle boasts a collection of around 250 portraits of the Rohans, related families, and French kings. It is the largest collection of French portrait paintings in Central Europe. Sychrov hosts unique glass paintings by Jan Zachariáš Quast.

Park.

The English park has an area of. The older, classical park was remodeled into the romantic style. Since botany was a hobby of the castle owner, the park received a lot of attention: There are rich dendrological and botanical collections. Unique beech (Fagus silvatica Rohani) was cultivated in the park. See www.zamek-sychrov.cz/en/apark.asp for more information.  Since 2001, Scottish Highland Games (Skotské hry) take place in the park every summer.

Legacy.

Today Sychrov is a popular tourist attraction.  The composer Antonín Dvořák visited the castle several times (he was a friend of its administrator), and several of his works were inspired by its beauty. In honor of Dvořák, a classical music festival takes place there every year in June.  The castle is often used as a film location for Czech films and foreign films.  The 1997 comedy film The Beautician and the Beast, starring Fran Drescher and Timothy Dalton, was shot at the castle.  The castle is also a popular place for wedding ceremonies.

Sychrov Castle can be found near the village Sychrov in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It is a unique example of Neo-Gothic castle architecture from the second half of the 19th century. A large park surrounds the castle.


History.

The castle was apparently established in the 1280s by Prague Bishop Tobiaš as a Gothic fortification in the style of a French castle with a rectangular plan and round towers protruding from the corners, making the most effective defence possible. Accounts show that the Benešévic family from nearby Benešov were the owners in 1318, and that in 1327 the castle passed into the hands of the Šternberks. In 1468, it was conquered by the troops of George of Poděbrady after a siege that lasted almost two years.  In 1603, the estate was purchased by Dorota Hodějovská of Hodějov, who made Renaissance alterations to the old gothic fortification. The Hodějovský family fortified their property because of their active participation in the anti-Habsburg rebellion in 1620. Albrecht von Waldstein acquired the castle, and after him it was passed to Adam Michna of Vacínov. Michna gained notoriety through his repression of the serfs, who revolted against him and conquered Konopiště in 1657.  The Swedes occupied and plundered Konopiště in 1648, and the Vrtba family then purchased the dilapidated structure. After 1725, they had it transformed into a Baroque style château. The drawbridge was replaced by a stone bridge, and near the east tower a new entrance was inserted in the wall. The gate which embellished it was designed by František Maxmilián Kaňka and featured statues from the workshop of Matthias Bernard Braun. In 1746, the upper levels of four of the towers were destroyed and one tower was completely demolished. During repair of the interiors, mythological and allegorical frescoes were painted on the ceilings of the great hall, and marble fireplaces with carved decorations by Lazar Wildmann were created.  Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria bought Konopiště in 1887 with his inheritance from the last reigning Duke of Modena. He had it repaired between 1889 and 1894 by the architect Josef Mocker into a luxurious residence, suitable for a future Emperor, which he preferred to his official residence in Vienna. The extensive 225 ha (550-acre) English-style park, with terraces, a rose garden and statues, was established at the same time.  He invited Wilhelm II, German Kaiser to see his roses early in June 1914. Insofar as they discussed politics, they discussed Romania, but undocumented conspiracy theories about their planning an attack on Serbia or a division of the Austro-Hungarian Empire arose at the time.  Since 1921, the castle has been the property of the Czechoslovak and later Czech state, one of 90 such properties in state ownership. The Ministry of Culture was said to spend more than US$800,000 per year to maintain the castle, and it recovers about as much from entrance ticket sales and rental fees for occasional functions.  In 2000, 'Princess' Sophie von Hohenberg, great-granddaughter of Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife Sophie von Hohenberg, filed a lawsuit seeking restitution of the castle to the Hohenberg family, which however was never recognized as part of the House of Habsburg. The lawsuit, filed in Benešov (former German name: Beneschau), sought restitution of the castle, of woodland and a brewery.

Tourist attractions.

Konopiště has been open to the public since 1971. Visitors can observe the residential rooms of Franz Ferdinand, who was also an enthusiastic hunter, a large collection of antlers, the "Obizzi-Este collection" (the third largest European collection of armoury and medieval weapons from Castello del Catajo, Padua, Italy), a shooting hall with moving targets, and a garden with Italian Renaissance statues and greenhouses.  The castle can be toured from April to October. It is accessible by train from Prague to Benešov (about a one-hour ride) and then by a walk of about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) from the station, or by one of the infrequent buses.  Part of the film "The Illusionist" was filmed in Konopiště, the prince's castle in the movie.

Konopiště Castle (; ) is a four-winged, three-storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in central Bohemia, Czechia. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I. The bullet that killed him, fired by Gavrilo Princip, is now an exhibit at the castle's remote museum.


Statement.

Given a language "L", and a pair of strings "x" and "y", define a distinguishing extension to be a string "z" such that exactly one of the two strings "xz" and "yz" belongs to "L". Define a relation "R" on strings by the rule that "x R y" if there is no distinguishing extension for "x" and "y". It is easy to show that "R" is an equivalence relation on strings, and thus it divides the set of all strings into equivalence classes.  The Myhill–Nerode theorem states that "L" is regular if and only if "R" has a finite number of equivalence classes, and moreover that the number of states in the smallest deterministic finite automaton (DFA) recognizing "L" is equal to the number of equivalence classes in "R". In particular, this implies that there is a unique minimal DFA with minimum number of states.

Proof.

If "L" is a regular language, then by definition there is a DFA "A" that recognizes it, with only finitely many states. If there are "n" states, then partition the set of all finite strings into "n" subsets, where subset "S" is the set of strings that, when given as input to automaton "A", cause it to end in state "i". For every two strings "x" and "y" that belong to the same subset, and for every choice of a third string "z", automaton "A" reaches the same state on input "xz" as it reaches on input "yz", and therefore must either accept both of the inputs "xz" and "yz" or reject both of them. Therefore, no string "z" can be a distinguishing extension for "x" and "y", so they must be related by "R". Thus, "S" is a subset of an equivalence class of "R". Combining this fact with the fact that every member of one of these equivalence classes belongs to one of the sets "S", this gives a many-to-one relation from states of "A" to equivalence classes, implying that the number of equivalence classes is finite and at most "n".  In the other direction, suppose that "R" has finitely many equivalence classes. In this case, it is possible to design a deterministic finite automaton that has one state for each equivalence class. The start state of the automaton corresponds to the equivalence class containing the empty string, and the transition function from a state "X" on input symbol "y" takes the automaton to a new state, the state corresponding to the equivalence class containing string "xy", where "x" is an arbitrarily chosen string in the equivalence class for "X". The definition of the Myhill–Nerode relation implies that the transition function is well-defined: no matter which representative string "x" is chosen for state "X", the same transition function value will result. A state of this automaton is accepting if the corresponding equivalence class contains a string in "L"; in this case, again, the definition of the relation implies that all strings in the same equivalence class must also belong to "L", for otherwise the empty string would be a distinguishing string for some pairs of strings in the class.  Thus, the existence of a finite automaton recognizing "L" implies that the Myhill–Nerode relation has a finite number of equivalence classes, at most equal to the number of states of the automaton, and the existence of a finite number of equivalence classes implies the existence of an automaton with that many states.

Use and consequences.

The Myhill–Nerode theorem may be used to show that a language "L" is regular by proving that the number of equivalence classes of "R" is finite. This may be done by an exhaustive case analysis in which, beginning from the empty string, distinguishing extensions are used to find additional equivalence classes until no more can be found. For example, the language consisting of binary representations of numbers that can be divided by 3 is regular. Given the empty string, "00" (or "11"), "01" and "10" are distinguishing extensions resulting in the three classes (corresponding to numbers that give remainders 0, 1 and 2 when divided by 3), but after this step there is no distinguishing extension anymore. The minimal automaton accepting our language would have three states corresponding to these three equivalence classes.  Another immediate corollary of the theorem is that if a language defines an infinite set of equivalence classes, it is "not" regular. It is this corollary that is frequently used to prove that a language is not regular.

Generalization.

The Myhill–Nerode theorem can be generalized to trees. See tree automaton.

In the theory of formal languages, the Myhill–Nerode theorem provides a necessary and sufficient condition for a language to be regular. The theorem is named for John Myhill and Anil Nerode, who proved it at the University of Chicago in 1958.


Biography.

Nikolai Korotkov was born to a merchant family at 40 Milenskaia Street in Kursk on February 26, 1874. He attended the Kursk Gymnasium (secondary school). He entered the medical faculty of Kharkov University in 1893 and transferred to Moscow University in 1895, where he graduated with distinction in 1898. He was appointed resident intern to professor Alexander Bobrov at the surgical clinic of Moscow university.  Korotkov was given leave of absence to serve with the Russian military forces in the Far East during the Boxer Rebellion in China 1900. He was attached to the Red Cross in the Iversh Community under Dr Aleksinskii (a pupil of prof. Bobrov). The journey to the Far East entailed extensive travel by way of the Trans-Siberian railroad, through Irkutsk to Vladivostok and he returned to Moscow via Japan, Singapore, Ceylon and the Suez Canal to reach the Black Sea and Feodosiya. Korotkov was honoured with the Order of St. Anna for "outstandingly zealous labours in helping the sick and wounded soldiers".  On his return Nikolai Korotkov turned his mind from military to academic pursuits and translated Eduard Albert's monograph "Die Chirurgische Diagnostik" from German to Russian. In 1903, Dr Sergey Fedorov was appointed professor of surgery at the Military Medical Academy at St Petersburg, and he invited Korotkov to join him as assistant surgeon. During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905, Korotkov went to Harbin in Manchuria as senior surgeon in charge of the Second St George's Unit of the Red Cross. He became interested in vascular surgery and began to collect cases for his doctoral thesis, which included 41 of 44 case reports of patients who were part of his war experience in the hospital at Harbin.  Returning to St Petersburg in April 1905 he began to prepare his thesis, but it was a presentation to the Imperial Military Medical Academy in 1905 that earned him lasting fame. The technique of blood pressure measurement was reported in less than a page (only 281 words) of the "Izvestie Imp. Voiennomedicinskoi Akademii" (Reports of the Imperial Military Medical Academy):  The critical comments of Korotkov's peers were dealt with in an adroit manner, and he appeared a month later at the Imperial Military Academy with animal experiments to support his theory that the sounds he had described were produced locally, rather than in the heart. He earned the approbation of professor M. V. Yanovsky, who declared: "Korotkov has noticed and intelligently utilised a phenomenon which many observers have overlooked." Yanovsky and his pupils verified the accuracy of the technique and described the phases of the auscultatory sounds and for a time technique was known as the Korotkov-Yanovsky method.  Nikolai Korotkov, then serving as research physician to the mining district of Vitimsko-Olekminsky in Siberia, received his doctorate in 1910. After that he served as surgeon to the workers of the gold mines of Lensk. Here he witnessed Tsarist atrocities and was affected deeply by the murder of unarmed striking miners. After this Korotkov returned to St. Petersburg and during the First World War he was surgeon to "The Charitable House for disabled soldiers" in Tsarskoe Selo. He welcomed the October Revolution after which he was physician-in-chief of the Mechnikov Hospital in Petrograd until his death from lung tuberculosis on March 14, 1920.

Nikolai Sergeyevich Korotkov (also romanized Korotkoff; ) ( – 14 March 1920) was a Russian surgeon, a pioneer of 20th century vascular surgery, and the inventor of auscultatory technique for blood pressure measurement.


History and ceremonial.

Historically, the jobs of farrier and blacksmith were practically synonymous, shown by the etymology of the word: "farrier" comes from Middle French: "ferrier" (blacksmith), from the Latin word "ferrum" (iron). A farrier's work in colonial America or pre-Industrial Revolution Europe would have included shoeing horses, as well as the fabrication and repair of tools, the forging of architectural pieces, and so on. Modern-day farriers usually specialize in horseshoeing, focusing their time and effort on the care of the horse's hoof. For this reason, farriers and blacksmiths are considered to be in separate, albeit related, trades.  In the British Army, the Household Cavalry have farriers who march in parade in ceremonial dress, carrying their historical axes with spikes. They are a familiar sight at the annual Trooping the Colour. There is also a farrier on call "round the clock, twenty-four hours a day, at Hyde Park Barracks".  In the United Kingdom, the Worshipful Company of Farriers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Farriers, or horseshoe makers, organised in 1356. It received a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1571. Over the years, the Company has evolved from a trade association for horseshoe makers into an organisation for those devoted to equine welfare, including veterinary surgeons.

Work.

A farrier's routine work is primarily hoof trimming and shoeing. In ordinary cases, trimming each hoof so it retains proper foot function is important. If the animal has a heavy work load, works on abrasive footing, needs additional traction, or has pathological changes in the hoof or conformational challenges, then shoes may be required. Additional tasks for the farrier include dealing with injured or diseased hooves and application of special shoes for racing, training, or "cosmetic" purposes. Horses with certain diseases or injuries may need remedial procedures for their hooves, or need special shoes.

Qualifications.

In countries such as the United Kingdom, people other than registered farriers cannot legally call themselves a farrier or carry out any farriery work (in the UK, this is under the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975). The primary aim of the act is to "prevent and avoid suffering by and cruelty to horses arising from the shoeing of horses by unskilled persons".  However, in other countries, such as the United States, farriery is not regulated, no legal certification exists, and qualifications can vary. In the US, four organizations - the American Farrier's Association (AFA), the Guild of Professional Farriers (GPF), the Brotherhood of Working Farriers, and the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization (ELPO) - maintain voluntary certification programs for farriers. Of these, the AFA's program is the largest, with about 2800 certified farriers. Additionally, the AFA program has a reciprocity agreement with the Farrier Registration Council and the Worshipful Company of Farriers in the UK.  Within the certification programs offered by the AFA, the GPF, and the ELPO,all farrier examinations are conducted by peer panels. The farrier examinations for these organizations are designed so that qualified farriers may obtain a formal credential indicating they meet a meaningful standard of professional competence as determined by technical knowledge and practical skills examinations, length of field experience, and other factors. Farriers who have received a certificate of completion for attending a farrier school or course may represent themselves as having completed a particular course of study. Sometimes, usually for purposes of brevity, they use the term "certified" in advertising.  Where professional registration exists, on either a compulsory or voluntary basis, a requirement for continuing professional development activity often exists to maintain a particular license or certification. For instance, farriers voluntarily registered with the American Association of Professional Farriers require at least 16 hours of continuing education every year to maintain their accreditation.

A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adjusting metal shoes) with some veterinarian's skills (knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the lower limb) to care for horses' feet.


Production.

Hydroquinone is produced industrially by two main routes. Other, less common methods include:

Reactions.

The reactivity of hydroquinone's O-H groups resembles that of other phenols, being weakly acidic. The resulting conjugate base undergoes easy O-alkylation to give mono- and diethers. Similarly, hydroquinone is highly susceptible to ring substitution by Friedel-Crafts reactions such as alkylation. This reaction is exploited en route to popular antioxidants such as 2-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol ("BHA"). The useful dye quinizarin is produced by diacylation of hydroquinone with phthalic anhydride.

Redox.

Hydroquinone undergoes oxidation under mild conditions to give benzoquinone. This process can be reversed. Some naturally occurring hydroquinone derivatives exhibit this sort of reactivity, one example being coenzyme Q. Industrially this reaction is exploited both with hydroquinone itself but more often with its derivatives where one OH has been replaced by an amine.  When colorless hydroquinone and benzoquinone, a bright yellow solid, are co-crystallized in a 1:1 ratio, a dark-green crystalline charge-transfer complex (m.p. 171 °C) called quinhydrone (CHO•CHO) is formed. This complex dissolves in hot water, where the two molecules dissociate in solution.

Amination.

An important reaction is the conversion of hydroquinone to the mono- and diamino derivatives. Methylaminophenol, used in photography, is produced in this way: Similarly diamines, useful in the rubber industry as antiozone agents, are produced similarly from aniline:

Uses.

Hydroquinone has a variety of uses principally associated with its action as a reducing agent that is soluble in water. It is a major component in most black and white photographic developers for film and paper where, with the compound metol, it reduces silver halides to elemental silver.  There are various other uses associated with its reducing power. As a polymerisation inhibitor, exploiting its antioxidant properties, hydroquinone prevents polymerization of acrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, cyanoacrylate, and other monomers that are susceptible to radical-initiated polymerization. By acting as a free radical scavenger, hydroquinone serves to prolong the shelf life of light sensitive resins such as preceramic polymers  Hydroquinone can lose a proton from both hydroxyl groups to form a diphenolate ion. The disodium diphenolate salt of hydroquinone is used as an alternating comonomer unit in the production of the polymer PEEK.

Skin depigmentation.

Hydroquinone is used as a topical application in skin whitening to reduce the color of skin. It does not have the same predisposition to cause dermatitis as metol does. This is a prescription-only ingredient in some countries, including the member states of the European Union under Directives 76/768/EEC:1976.  In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration revoked its previous approval of hydroquinone and proposed a ban on all over-the-counter preparations. The FDA stated that hydroquinone cannot be ruled out as a potential carcinogen. This conclusion was reached based on the extent of absorption in humans and the incidence of neoplasms in rats in several studies where adult rats were found to have increased rates of tumours, including thyroid follicular cell hyperplasias, anisokaryosis (variation in nuclei sizes), mononuclear cell leukemia, hepatocellular adenomas and renal tubule cell adenomas. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has also highlighted concerns.  Numerous studies have revealed that hydroquinone, if taken orally, can cause exogenous ochronosis, a disfiguring disease in which blue-black pigments are deposited onto the skin; however, skin preparations containing the ingredient are administered topically. The FDA had classified hydroquinone in 1982 as a safe product - generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE), however additional studies under the National Toxicology Program (NTP) were suggested in order to determine whether there is a risk to humans from the use of hydroquinone. NTP evaluation showed some evidence of long-term carcinogenic and genotoxic effects  While using hydroquinone as a lightening agent can be effective with proper use, it can also cause skin sensitivity. Using a daily sunscreen with a high PPD (persistent pigment darkening) rating reduces the risk of further damage. Hydroquinone is sometimes combined with alpha hydroxy acids that exfoliate the skin to quicken the lightening process. In the United States, topical treatments usually contain up to 2% in hydroquinone. Otherwise, higher concentrations (up to 4%) should be prescribed and used with caution.  While hydroquinone remains widely prescribed for treatment of hyperpigmentation, questions raised about its safety profile by regulatory agencies in the EU, Japan, and USA encourage the search for other agents with comparable efficacy. Several such agents are already available or under research, including azelaic acid, kojic acid, retinoids, cysteamine, topical steroids, glycolic acid, and other substances.

Natural occurrences.

Hydroquinones are one of the two primary reagents in the defensive glands of bombardier beetles, along with hydrogen peroxide (and perhaps other compounds, depending on the species), which collect in a reservoir. The reservoir opens through a muscle-controlled valve onto a thick-walled reaction chamber. This chamber is lined with cells that secrete catalases and peroxidases. When the contents of the reservoir are forced into the reaction chamber, the catalases and peroxidases rapidly break down the hydrogen peroxide and catalyze the oxidation of the hydroquinones into p-quinones. These reactions release free oxygen and generate enough heat to bring the mixture to the boiling point and vaporize about a fifth of it, producing a hot spray from the beetle's abdomen.  Farnesyl hydroquinone derivatives are the principal irritants exuded by the poodle-dog bush, which can cause severe contact dermatitis in humans.  Hydroquinone is thought to be the active toxin in "Agaricus hondensis" mushrooms.  Hydroquinone has been shown to be one of the chemical constituents of the natural product propolis.  It is also one of the chemical compounds found in castoreum. This compound is gathered from the beaver's castor sacs.  In bearberry ("Arctostaphylos uva-ursi"), arbutin is converted to hydroquinone.

Hydroquinone, also known as benzene-1,4-diol or quinol, is an aromatic organic compound that is a type of phenol, a derivative of benzene, having the chemical formula CH(OH). It has two hydroxyl groups bonded to a benzene ring in a "para" position. It is a white granular solid. Substituted derivatives of this parent compound are also referred to as hydroquinones. The name "hydroquinone" was coined by Friedrich Wöhler in 1843.


Biography.

Education.

He began his academic career at the Vienna Academy by studying music but graduated with a degree in biology.

Biological research.

Kammerer's work in biology largely involved altering the breeding and development of amphibians. He made ovoviviparous fire salamanders become viviparous, and viviparous alpine salamanders become ovoviviparous.  In lesser-known experiments, he manipulated and bred olms. He made olms produce live young and bred dark-colored olms with full vision. He supported the Lamarckian theory of heritability of acquired characteristics, and he experimented extensively in an effort to prove the theory.  Kammerer succeeded in making midwife toads breed in the water by increasing the temperature of their tanks, forcing them to retreat to the water to cool off. The male midwife toads were not genetically programmed for underwater mating so over the span of two generations, Kammerer reported that his midwife toads were exhibiting black nuptial pads on their feet to give them more traction in this underwater mating process.  While the prehistoric ancestors of midwife toads had the pads, Kammerer considered the pads to be an acquired characteristic brought about by adaptation to environment.

Accusations of fraud.

Claims arose that the result of the toad experiment had been falsified. The most notable of these was made by Dr Gladwyn Kingsley Noble, Curator of Reptiles at the American Museum of Natural History, in the scientific journal "Nature". After a microscopic examination, Noble claimed that the black pads actually had a far more mundane explanation: they had simply been injected with India ink.  In a letter, Kammerer stated that after reading Noble's paper, he re-examined his specimen and confirmed that India ink had been injected into the pads. Kammerer suggested that his specimens had been altered by a laboratory assistant. Criminologist Edward Sagarin wrote, "Kammerer maintained his total innocence and declared his ignorance of the forger's identity. There is still doubt about whether an obliging (or hostile) assistant was responsible for the forgery, but Kammerer's scientific credibility was nevertheless irremediably damaged".  Science historian Peter J. Bowler wrote that most biologists believe that Kammerer was a fraud and that even the others claim that he misinterpreted the results of his experiments.

Seriality theory.

Kammerer's other passion was collecting coincidences. He published a book with the title "Das Gesetz der Serie" ("The Law of the Series", never translated into English) in which he recounted some 100 anecdotes of coincidences that had led him to formulate his theory of seriality.  He postulated that all events are connected by waves of seriality. The unknown forces would cause what is perceived as just the peaks, or groupings and coincidences. Kammerer was known, for example, to make notes in public parks of what numbers of people were passing by, how many carried umbrellas etc. Albert Einstein called the idea of seriality "interesting, and by no means absurd", and Carl Jung drew upon Kammerer's work in his essay "Synchronicity". Arthur Koestler reported that when he was doing research for his biography on Kammerer, he was subjected to "a meteor shower" of coincidences, as if Kammerer's ghost were grinning down at him and saying, "I told you so!"

Death.

Six weeks after the accusation by Noble, Kammerer committed suicide in the forest of Schneeberg, an event which is discussed by Arthur Koestler in his book on Kammerer and his theories.

Legacy.

The Lamarckian biologist Ernest MacBride supported the experiments of Kammerer but commented that they would have to be repeated to be accepted by other scientists. The British zoologist Harold Munro Fox had attempted to replicate some of Kammerer's experiments but produced negative results. Biology professor Harry Gershenowitz also attempted to duplicate Kammerer's experiment with a related species, "Bombina orientalis"; but he had to terminate the experiment for lack of funds.  Interest in Kammerer revived in 1971 with the publication of Arthur Koestler's book "The Case of the Midwife Toad". Koestler thought that Kammerer's experiments on the midwife toad may have been tampered with by a Nazi sympathizer at the University of Vienna. Certainly, as Koestler writes, "the "Hakenkreuzler", the swastika-wearers, as the Austrian Nazis of the early days were called, were growing in power. One center of ferment was the University of Vienna where, on the traditional Saturday morning student parades, bloody battles were fought. Kammerer was known by his public lectures and newspaper articles as an ardent pacifist and Socialist; it was also known that he was going to build an institute in Soviet Russia. An act of sabotage in the laboratory would have been... in keeping with the climate of those days."  Koestler's claims have been criticized by the scientific community. Gordon Stein noted:  As a consequence of Noble's refutation, interest in Lamarckian inheritance diminished except in the Soviet Union where it was championed by Trofim Lysenko.  Sander Gliboff, a historian of biology and professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University, has commented that although Kammerer's conclusions proved false, his evidence was probably genuine and he did not simply argue for Lamarckism and against Darwinism as the theories are now understood. Rather, beyond the scandal, the story shows us much about the competing theories of biological and cultural evolution and the range of new ideas about heredity and variation in early 20th-century biology and the changes in experimental approach that have occurred since then.  In 2009, developmental biologist Alexander Vargas, Professor in the Department of Biology, University of Chile, suggested that the inheritance of acquired traits (Lamarckian inheritance) that Kammerer reported to observe in his toad experiments could be authentic and be explained by results from the emerging field of epigenetics. Kammerer could thus actually be considered the discoverer of non-Mendelian, epigenetic inheritance, with chemical modifications to parental DNA (such as through DNA methylation) being passed on to subsequent generations. Furthermore, In Vargas' view, the parent-of-origin effect, which was poorly understood at the time of Kammerer's, might be explained retrospectively, in relation to similar effects seen in other organisms. Professor Gliboff of Indiana University has subsequently argued that Vargas "constructed his model without first reading Kammerer's original articles" and is "seriously misinformed about what Kammerer did and what the results even were" so Vargas's "model... cannot explain the results... originally reported...". Gliboff goes on to challenge strong that Kammerer was given credit for discovery of parent-of-origin effect and states that "Vargas' historical inferences about the Kammerer affair... [and] negative reactions of geneticists... are unsupported and do not stand up to scrutiny".  The reinterpretation of Kammerer's work, in light of epigenetics, remains thus controversial.

Paul Kammerer (17 August 1880, in Vienna – 23 September 1926, in Puchberg am Schneeberg) was an Austrian biologist who studied and advocated Lamarckism, the theory that organisms may pass to their offspring characteristics acquired in their lifetime.


Biography.

Early years.

According to biographer Frederic Trautmann, Johann Joseph Most was born out of wedlock to a governess and a clerk. Most's mother died of cholera when he was very young. Most was subjected to physical abuse by his stepmother and a schoolteacher; his aversion to religion earned him more beatings at school. To the end of his life Most was "a militant atheist with the zeal of a religious fanatic" who "knew more Scripture than many clergymen knew".  Most developed frostbite on the left side of his face as a young child. For several years thereafter, flesh rotted and infection spread, with the primitive medicine of the day unable to treat the condition. His condition worsened and Most was diagnosed with terminal cancer. As a last-gasp measure a surgeon was called in. A two-inch section of his jawbone was removed, resulting in permanent disfigurement.  At the age of 12, Most organized a strike of students against a particularly hated teacher, resulting in his expulsion from school. This ended Most's brief period of formal education, forcing him into the workforce as a youth.  Most was apprenticed to a bookbinder, for whom he had to bind books from dawn until sunset, a condition which Most later likened to slavery. At the age of 17 he became a journeyman bookbinder and plied his trade from town to town and job to job, working in 50 cities in 6 countries from 1863 to 1868. In Vienna he was fired and placed on a blacklist for having staged a strike. Unemployable in his trade, he learned to make wooden boxes for hats, cigars, and matches, which he sold on the street until police brought an end to his trade for lacking a license.

Political career.

As the 1860s drew to a close, Most was won over to the ideas of international socialism, an emerging political movement in Germany and Austria. Most saw in the doctrines of Karl Marx and Ferdinand Lassalle a blueprint for a new egalitarian society and became a fervid supporter of the Social Democracy, as the Marxist movement was known in the day.  Most engaged himself as editor of socialist newspapers in Chemnitz and Vienna, both suppressed by the authorities, and of the "Berliner Freie Presse" (Berlin Free Press). Most was a dedicated advocate of revolutionary socialism, sharing the views expressed by Wilhelm Liebknecht in an 1869 speech that "Socialism cannot be realized within the present state. Socialism must overturn the present state."  In 1873, Most wrote a summary of Karl Marx's "Das Kapital". At Liebknecht's request, Marx and Friedrich Engels made some corrections to Most's text for a second edition published in 1876, despite the fact that the pair did not believe the pamphlet represented a satisfactory summary of Marx's work.  In 1874, Most was elected as a Social Democratic deputy in the German Reichstag, in which he served until 1878.  Most was repeatedly arrested for his attacks on patriotism and conventional religion and ethics, and for his gospel of terrorism, preached in prose and in many songs such as those in his "Proletarier-Liederbuch" (Proletarian Songbook). Some of his experiences in prison were recounted in the 1876 work, "Die Bastille am Plötzensee: Blätter aus meinem Gefängniss-Tagebuch" (The Bastille on Plötzensee: Pages from my Prison Diary).  After advocating violent action, including the use of explosive bombs, as a mechanism to bring about revolutionary change, Most was forced into exile by the government. He went to France but was forced to leave at the end of 1878, settling in London. There he founded his own newspaper, "Freiheit" (Freedom), with the first issue coming off the press dated January 4, 1879. Convinced by his own experience of the futility of parliamentary action, Most began to espouse the doctrine of anarchism, which led to his expulsion from the German Social Democratic Party in 1880.  In June 1881, Most expressed his delight in the pages of the "Freiheit" over the assassination of Alexander II of Russia and advocated its emulation; for this Most was imprisoned by British authorities for a year and a half.

Life in the United States.

Encouraged by news of labor struggles and industrial disputes in the United States, Most emigrated to the US upon his release from prison in 1882. He promptly began agitating in his adopted land among other German émigrés. Among his associates was August Spies, one of the anarchists hanged for conspiracy in the Haymarket Square bombing, in whose desk police found an 1884 letter from Most promising a shipment of "medicine," his code word for dynamite.  Most resumed the publication of the "Freiheit" in New York. He was imprisoned in 1886, again in 1887, and in 1902, the last time for two months for publishing after the assassination of President McKinley an editorial in which he argued that it was no crime to kill a ruler.  "Whoever looks at America will see: the ship is powered by stupidity, corruption, or prejudice," Most said.  Most initially advocated traditional collectivist anarchism, but later embraced anarchist communism. According to right-wing libertarian Jeff Riggenbach:  Most's approach to anarchism stressed two main ideas: first, that it was necessary to abolish not only the state, but also the social institutions known as private property and the free market; second, that the intelligent anarchist must avail himself of what Most and many other anarchists of the time called "propaganda of the deed"—acts of violence that would inspire the masses and sweep them up in revolutionary fervor.  Most was famous for stating the concept of the Propaganda of the Deed ("Attentat"): "The existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents. Therefore, massacres of the enemies of the people must be set in motion." Most is best known for a pamphlet published in 1885: "The Science of Revolutionary Warfare," a how-to manual on the subject of bomb-making which earned the author the moniker "Dynamost."  A gifted orator, Most propagated these ideas throughout Marxist and anarchist circles in the United States and attracted many adherents, most notably Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman.  Inspired by Most's theories of Attentat, Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, enraged by the deaths of workers during the Homestead strike, put words into action with Berkman's attempted assassination of Homestead factory manager Henry Clay Frick in 1892. Berkman and Goldman were soon disillusioned as Most became one of Berkman's most outspoken critics. In "Freiheit", Most attacked both Goldman and Berkman, implying Berkman's act was designed to arouse sympathy for Frick. Goldman's biographer Alice Wexler suggests that Most's criticisms may have been inspired by jealousy of Berkman. Goldman was enraged, and demanded that Most prove his insinuations. When he refused to respond, she confronted him at next lecture. After he refused to speak to her, she lashed him across the face with a horsewhip, broke the whip over her knee, then threw the pieces at him. She later regretted her assault, confiding to a friend, "At the age of twenty-three, one does not reason."  Most was in Cincinnati, Ohio to give a speech when he fell ill. He was diagnosed with erysipelas. The doctors could do little for him, and he died a few days later.

Johann Joseph "Hans" Most (February 5, 1846 in Augsburg, Bavaria – March 17, 1906 in Cincinnati, Ohio) was a German-American anarchist politician, newspaper editor, and orator. He is credited with popularizing the concept of "propaganda of the deed". His grandson was Boston Celtics radio play-by-play man Johnny Most.


Biography.

Ružička was born in Vukovar, Croatia, then part of Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His family of craftsmen and farmers was mostly of Croat origin, with a Czech great grandparent, Ružička, and a great grandmother and a great grandfather from Austria.  Ružička attended the classics-program secondary school in Osijek. He changed his original idea of becoming a priest and switched to studying technical disciplines. Chemistry was his choice, probably because he hoped to get a position at the newly opened sugar refinery built in Osijek.  Due to the excessive hardship of everyday and political life, he left and chose the High Technical School in Karlsruhe in Germany. He was a good student in areas he liked and that he thought would be necessary and beneficial in future, which was organic chemistry. That is why his physical chemistry professor, Fritz Haber (Nobel laureate in 1918), opposed his "summa cum laude" degree. However, in the course of his studies, Ružička set up excellent cooperation with Hermann Staudinger (a Nobel laureate in 1953). Studying within Staudinger's department, he obtained his doctoral degree in 1910, then moving to Zurich as Staudinger's assistant.

Work and research.

Ružička's first works originated during that period in the field of chemistry of natural compounds. He remained in this field of research all his life. He investigated the ingredients of the Dalmatian insect powder Pyrethrum (from the herb "Tanacetum cinerariifolium"), a highly esteemed insecticide found in pyrethrins. In this way, he came into contact with the chemistry of Terpineol, a fragrant oil of vegetable origin, interesting to the perfume industry. He intended to start individual research and even started successful and productive cooperation with the Chuit & Naef Company (later known as Firmenich) in Geneva.  In 1916–1917, he received the support of the oldest perfume manufacturer in the world "Haarman & Reimer", of Holzminden in Germany. With expertise in the terpene field, he became senior lecturer in 1918, and in 1923, honorary professor at the ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) as well the University in Zurich. Here, with a group of his doctoral students, he proved the structure of the compounds muscone and civetone, macrocyclic ketone scents derived from the musk deer ("Moschus moschiferus") and the civet cat ("Viverra civetta"). These were the first natural products shown to have rings with more than six atoms, and at the time that Ružička inferred that civetone as having a 17-member ring, synthetic techniques were only known for rings of up to eight members. Muscone had been isolated in 1904 but was not identified as 3-methylcyclopentadecanone until Ružička suspected a macrocycle, having characterised civetone. He also developed a method for synthesising macrocycles, now known as the Ruzicka large ring synthesis, which he demonstrated by preparing civetone in 1927.  In 1921, the Geneva perfume manufacturers Chuit & Naef asked him to collaborate. Working here, Ružička achieved financial independence, but not as big as he had planned, so he left Zurich to start working for the Ciba, a Basel-based company. In 1927, he took over the organic chemistry chair at Utrecht University in Netherlands. In Netherlands he remained for three years, and then returned to Switzerland, which was superior in its chemical industry.  Back to Zurich, at "ETH" he became professor of organic chemistry and started the most brilliant period of his professional career. He widened the area of his research, adding to it the chemistry of higher terpenes and steroids. After the successful synthesis of sex hormones (androsterone and testosterone), his laboratory became the world center of organic chemistry.  In 1939 he won the Nobel prize for chemistry with Adolf Butenandt. In 1940, following the award, he was invited by the Croatian Chemical Association, where he delivered a lecture to an over packed hall of dignitaries. The topic of the lecture was "From the Dalmatian Insect Powder to Sex Hormones". In 1940 he became a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. During the World War II, some of his excellent collaborators were lost, but Ružička restructured his laboratory with new, younger and promising people; among them was young scientist and future Nobel Laureate Vladimir Prelog. With new people and ideas new research areas were opened.  Following 1950, Ružička returned to chemistry, which had entered a new era of research. Now he turned to the field of biochemistry, the problems of evolution and genesis of life, particularly to the biogenesis of terpenes. He published his hypothesis, the "Biogenetic Isoprene Rule" (that the carbon skeleton of terpenes is composed variously of regularly or irregularly linked isoprene units), which was the peak of his scientific career. Ružička retired in 1957, turning over the running of the laboratory to Prelog. In 1965, he became an honorary member of the Polish Chemical Society.  Ružička dedicated significant efforts to the problems of education. He insisted on a better organization of academic education and scientific work in the new Yugoslavia, and established the Swiss-Yugoslav Society. Ružička became an honorary academician at the then Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb. In Switzerland, the Ružička Award was established, for young chemists working in Switzerland. In his native Vukovar, a museum was opened in his honour in 1977.

Personal life.

Ružička married twice: to Anna Hausmann in 1912, and 1951 to Gertrud Acklin. He died in Mammern, Switzerland, a village on Lake Constance.

Leopold Ružička (; 13 September 1887 – 26 September 1976) was a Croatian-Swiss scientist and joint winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry who worked most of his life in Switzerland. He received eight "honoris causa" doctorates in science, medicine, and law; seven prizes and medals; and twenty-four honorary memberships in chemical, biochemical, and other scientific societies.


Description.

This species forms a small tree up to 12 m (39 ft) in height and 10 m (32 ft) in width.  The deep pink flowers are produced on year-old or older growth, including the trunk, in spring. Also, the flowers display a blossom with five free petals and fused sepals. This flower shape is typical of the pea family (Fabaceae). The leaves appear shortly after the first flowers emerge. These are cordate with a blunt apex, which occasionally has a shallow notch at the tip. The tree produces long flat pods that hang vertically. The flowers are edible and purportedly have a sweet-acid taste.

Taxonomy.

The species was first described by Linnaeus in 1753 and he gave it the specific epithet of "siliquastrum" which is derived from the Latin word "siliqua", meaning "pod". The generic name comes from the Greek "kerkis", a "shuttle", which refers to the resemblance shown to this weaver's tool by the flat, woody seedpods.  There are several varieties and subspecies including:-

Distribution and ecological aspects.

The flowers are pollinated by bees, attracted by nectar. Pollen from the protruding stamens is deposited on the bee's body and carried to another flower's stigma.  In Israel the tree has a status of a protected plant.  British journalist Francis McCullagh reported seeing "innumerable" flowering specimens of this tree in Yildiz Park in Istanbul in April 1909. This kind of tree is still in the park today.

Cultivation.

The species prefers deep, well-drained soils and a position in full sun or partial shade.  Cultivars include:  The cultivar ‘Bodnant’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. (confirmed 2017).  The tree is susceptible to leafhoppers, scale insects and psyllids (specifically "Cacopsylla pulchella") as well as diseases including canker, coral spot and verticillium wilt.  Propagation is by seed, cuttings or budding.  The species produces hard wood with an attractive grain. It is used in veneers and polishes well.

Culture.

There is a myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species, causing its white flowers to turn red. This belief is related to the common name "Judas tree", which is possibly a corrupted derivation from the French common name, "Arbre de Judée", meaning "tree of Judea", referring to the hilly regions of that country where the tree used to be common. Another possible source for the vernacular name is the fact that the flowers and seedpods can dangle direct from the trunk in a way reminiscent of Judas's possible method of suicide.  A sermon illustration on the deadly effects of succumbing to temptation refers to a false idea that the Judas tree killed bees drawn to it: "Dr. Cuyler forcibly illustrates this by reference to the Judas tree. The blossoms appear before the leaves, and they are of a brilliant crimson. The flaming beauty of the flowers attracts innumerable insects; and the wandering bee is drawn after it to gather honey. But every bee which alights upon the blossom, imbibes a fatal opiate, and drops dead from among the crimson flowers to the earth."

Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous tree from Southern Europe and Western Asia which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring.


Childhood and early career.

A distant relative of Aleksandr Pushkin, Georgy Chicherin was born into an old noble family. His father, Vasily N. Chicherin, was a diplomat in the service of the Russian Empire. As a young man, Chicherin became fascinated with history as well as classical music, especially Richard Wagner, and with Friedrich Nietzsche, passions that he would pursue throughout his life. He wrote a book about Mozart. He spoke all major European languages and a number of Asian ones. After graduating from St. Petersburg University with a degree in history and languages, Chicherin worked in the archival section of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1897 to 1903.  In 1904 Chicherin inherited the estate of his celebrated uncle, Boris Chicherin, in the Tambov region and became very wealthy. He immediately used his newfound fortune to support revolutionary activities in the runup to the Russian Revolution of 1905 and was forced to flee abroad to avoid arrest later in the year. He spent the next 13 years in London, Paris and Berlin, where he joined the Menshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party and was active in emigre politics. While in Germany, he underwent medical treatment in attempts to cure his homosexuality.  With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Chicherin adopted an antiwar position, which brought him closer to Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks. In 1917, he was arrested by the British government for his antiwar writings and spent a few months in Brixton Prison.

Bolshevik government.

The Bolsheviks had come to power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. The first head of the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs (which had replaced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Leon Trotsky, secured Chicherin's release and safe passage to Russia in exchange for British subjects held in Russia at the time, including George Buchanan, the British ambassador. By now, Chicherin was in poor health and overweight.  Upon his return to Russia in early 1918, Chicherin formally joined the Bolsheviks and was appointed Trotsky's deputy during the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. After the treaty was signed in late February 1918, Trotsky, who had advocated a different policy, resigned his position in early March. Chicherin became the acting head of the Commissariat and was appointed Commissar for Foreign Affairs on 30 May. On 2 March 1919 he was one of five men chairing the first congress of Comintern.  Chicherin followed a pro-German foreign policy in line with his anti-British attitudes. He had developed them during his time in the foreign ministry, when Britain was blocking Russian expansion in Asia. He even suggested to Lenin that English workers should be formed into volunteer units. That was in 1920, when Soviet armies were nearing Warsaw. Lenin agreed but nothing came of it.  In July 1918 his close friend, Count Brockdorff-Rantzau, became the new German ambassador after his predecessor, Count Wilhelm Mirbach, was shot in the Left SR uprising.  In 1922, Chicherin participated in the Genoa Conference and signed the Treaty of Rapallo with Germany. He begged Lenin not to wreck the Genoa Conference (he believed this would make it easier to get foreign loans). He pursued a policy of collaboration with Germany and developed a closer working relationship with Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau. During this period, he also held diplomatic negotiations with nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, on the status of the Roman Catholic Church in the newly formed Soviet Union.  Chicherin is thought to have had more phone conversations with Lenin than anyone else. When Joseph Stalin replaced Lenin in 1924 he continued to be Stalin's foreign minister. Stalin valued Chicherin's opinions. In 1928 Chicherin stated that he wanted an improved relationship with the capitalist countries to encourage foreign investment. This policy had Stalin's enthusiastic support and was approved by the Politburo in late 1927 and early 1928. Stalin said: "it can hardly be doubted that Comrade Chicherin is better informed about the mood in foreign investment circles that any of us." It was rare for Stalin to acknowledge that someone was more knowledgeable than himself. Although known for his workaholic habits he became sidelined because from November 1926 to June 1927, and from September 1928 until January 1930 Chicherin was receiving medical treatment in Germany or the French Riviera. Chicherin showed considerable courage in writing letters criticizing current politicians and the policies that were being pursued. In February 1927, Chicherin criticized Nikolai Bukharin for his speeches that had a negative attitude to the relationship between the USSR and Germany. ‘This was particularly dangerous because of the deterioration of the relationship between the USSR and Britain.’ Chicherin said: ‘At a time when the British are working against us, we must take care of our relationship with other states. We have to nurture such relationships.’  On 3 June 1927 Chicherin, while in a sanatorium in Germany, wrote about incidents that were detrimental to Soviet-German relations. Chicherin was exasperated "by some comrades who can do no better than ruin all our work by attacking Germany, spoiling everything once and for all." When Kliment Voroshilov, at the May Day Parade in 1929, made a speech attacking the Weimar Republic, Chicherin dispatched a letter to the Politburo stating that the speech would do irreparable damage to German-Soviet relations.  Chicherin played a major role in establishing formal relations with China, and in designing the Kremlin's China policy. He focused on the Chinese Eastern Railway, Manchuria, and the Mongolian issue.

Last years.

In 1930 Chicherin was formally replaced by his deputy, Maxim Litvinov. A continuing terminal illness burdened his last years, which forced him away from his circle of friends and active work and led to an early death. When Chicherin died in 1936 the official Communist newspaper "Izvestiya", summarising his character, described him as highly educated, an exceptional diplomat and a sophisticated art lover. After his death and until the Khrushchev Thaw, he was rarely mentioned in Soviet literature, although he was mentioned in the Soviet Diplomatic dictionary, in an article occupying 52 pages in the 1950 edition, compared with Litvinov's 92 pages and Vyacheslav Molotov's 292.

Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin (24 November 1872 – 7 July 1936), also spelled Tchitcherin, was a Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 to 1930.


Germany.

Richter's first contacts with modern art were in 1912 through the "Blaue Reiter" and in 1913 through the "" gallery "Der Sturm", in Berlin. In 1914 he was influenced by cubism. He contributed to the periodical "Die Aktion" in Berlin. His first exhibition was in Munich in 1916, and "Die Aktion" published as a special edition about him. In the same year he was wounded and discharged from the army and went to Zürich and joined the Dada movement.  Richter believed that the artist's duty was to be actively political, opposing war and supporting the revolution. His first abstract works were made in 1917. In 1918, he befriended Viking Eggeling, and the two experimented together with film. Richter was co-founder, in 1919, of the Association of Revolutionary Artists ("Artistes Radicaux") at Zürich. In the same year he created his first "Prélude" (an orchestration of a theme developed in eleven drawings). In 1920 he was a member of the November group in Berlin and contributed to the Dutch periodical "De Stijl".  Throughout his career, he claimed that his 1921 film, "Rhythmus 21", was the first abstract film ever created. This claim is not true: he was preceded by the Italian Futurists Bruno Corra and Arnaldo Ginna between 1911 and 1912 (as they report in the "Futurist Manifesto of Cinema"), as well as by fellow German artist Walter Ruttmann who produced "Lichtspiel Opus 1" in 1920. Nevertheless, Richter's film "Rhythmus 21" is considered an important early abstract film.  About Richter's woodcuts and drawings Michel Seuphor wrote: "Richter's black-and-whites together with those of Arp and Janco, are the most typical works of the Zürich period of Dada." From 1923 to 1926, Richter edited, together with Werner Gräff and Mies van der Rohe, the periodical "G. Material zur elementaren Gestaltung." Richter wrote of his own attitude toward film: I conceive of the film as a modern art form particularly interesting to the sense of sight. Painting has its own peculiar problems and specific sensations, and so has the film. But there are also problems in which the dividing line is obliterated, or where the two infringe upon each other. More especially, the cinema can fulfill certain promises made by the ancient arts, in the realization of which painting and film become close neighbors and work together.

USA.

Richter moved from Switzerland to the United States in 1940 and became an American citizen. He taught in the Institute of Film Techniques at the City College of New York.  While living in New York City, Richter directed two feature films, "Dreams That Money Can Buy" (1947) and "" (1957) in collaboration with Max Ernst, Jean Cocteau, Paul Bowles, Fernand Léger, Alexander Calder, Marcel Duchamp, and others, which was partially filmed on the lawn of his summer house in Southbury, Connecticut.  In 1957, he finished a film entitled "Dadascope" with original poems and prose spoken by their creators: Hans Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Raoul Hausmann, Richard Huelsenbeck, and Kurt Schwitters.  After 1958, Richter spent parts of the year in Ascona and Connecticut and returned to painting.  In 1963, he directed the short film "From the Circus to the Moon" on the American artist Alexander Calder.  Richter was also the author of a first-hand account of the Dada movement titled "Dada: Art and Anti-Art" which also included his reflections on the emerging Neo-Dada artworks.

Hans Richter (6 April 1888 – 1 February 1976) was a German painter, graphic artist, avant-gardist, film-experimenter and producer. He was born in Berlin into a well-to-do family and died in Minusio, near Locarno, Switzerland.


Geography.

Location.

The range is located between the Mur Valley in the north, separating it from the Niedere Tauern, and the Drava in the south, where it borders on the Gailtal Alps and Karavanke ranges of the Southern Limestone Alps. In the west, the Gurktal Alps reach up to the Katschberg Pass and the Ankogel Group of the Hohe Tauern range. In the east, the Neumarkt Pass in Upper Styria separates it from the adjacent Lavanttal Alps.

Subdivisions.

The Gurktal Alps may be divided into five subgroups:  At the southern end of the Gurktal Alps is the Klagenfurt Basin. Here there are seven more smaller mountain chains:  Occasionally the Gurktal Alps, along with the Lavanttal Alps to the east, are classified as part of the Noric Alps, but that is not geologically justified.

Peaks.

The highest peaks are located within the Nock Mountains ("Nockberge", from "Nock" meaning "rounded hilltop", cf. Nockerl) subgroup west of Flattnitz Pass, including Mt. Eisenhut,, in Styria. The "Nationalpark Nockberge" along the scenic Nockalm Road in Carinthia since 1987 is a protected landscape area (IUCN V). The Nock Mountains also stretch down to major Carinthian lakes like Millstätter See and Ossiacher See.  Other peaks include:

Economy and tourism.

The gentle landscape with its numerous mountain pastures had been the site of transhumance agriculture since ancient times. The Gurktal Alps were also a mining area for iron and silver, still magnesite deposits are exploited near Radenthein.  Today tourism is the most important economic sector. The valleys of the Gurktal Alps cater for tourists in summer and for the busy winter season. The leading tourist area is Bad Kleinkirchheim, then Turracher Höhe (Predlitz-Turrach and Reichenau), Falkert (Reichenau) and Innerkrems (Krems in Kärnten), Flattnitz, Afritz and Katschberg (Rennweg am Katschberg). The largest ski areas are "Katschberg-Aineck", "Innerkrems-Schönfeld-Karneralm", "Turracher Höhe" and "Gerlitzen" in the Nock Mountains and "Kreischberg" in the Metnitz Mountains.  The region of the Nock Mountains is also well known for its healing spas. The Karlbad along the "Nockalmstraße" is the oldest farmers healing spring in Austria. The way in which the baths are made (with spring water and hot rocks), has remained unchanged since the 17th century. Their remote location means there is also no electricity. The name of the spa is derived from the little cirque ("Karl" from "Kar", cirque).

The Gurktal Alps (, ) are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps in Austria, named after the valley of the Gurk River.


Outcome.

The primary results of the pathway are:  Aromatic amino acids, in turn, are precursors for many biosynthetic pathways, including the lignin in wood.  Dietary pentose sugars derived from the digestion of nucleic acids may be metabolized through the pentose phosphate pathway, and the carbon skeletons of dietary carbohydrates may be converted into glycolytic/gluconeogenic intermediates.  In mammals, the PPP occurs exclusively in the cytoplasm. In humans, it is found to be most active in the liver, mammary glands, and adrenal cortex. The PPP is one of the three main ways the body creates molecules with reducing power, accounting for approximately 60% of NADPH production in humans.  One of the uses of NADPH in the cell is to prevent oxidative stress. It reduces glutathione via glutathione reductase, which converts reactive HO into HO by glutathione peroxidase. If absent, the HO would be converted to hydroxyl free radicals by Fenton chemistry, which can attack the cell. Erythrocytes, for example, generate a large amount of NADPH through the pentose phosphate pathway to use in the reduction of glutathione.  Hydrogen peroxide is also generated for phagocytes in a process often referred to as a respiratory burst.

Phases.

Oxidative phase.

In this phase, two molecules of NADP are reduced to NADPH, utilizing the energy from the conversion of glucose-6-phosphate into ribulose 5-phosphate.  The entire set of reactions can be summarized as follows:  The overall reaction for this process is:

Non-oxidative phase.

Net reaction: 3 ribulose-5-phosphate → 1 ribose-5-phosphate + 2 xylulose-5-phosphate → 2 fructose-6-phosphate + glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

Regulation.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is the rate-controlling enzyme of this pathway. It is allosterically stimulated by NADP and strongly inhibited by NADPH. The ratio of NADPH:NADP is normally about 100:1 in liver cytosol. This makes the cytosol a highly-reducing environment. An NADPH-utilizing pathway forms NADP, which stimulates Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase to produce more NADPH. This step is also inhibited by acetyl CoA.  G6PD activity is also post-translationally regulated by cytoplasmic deacetylase SIRT2. SIRT2-mediated deacetylation and activation of G6PD stimulates oxidative branch of PPP to supply cytosolic NADPH to counteract oxidative damage or support "de novo" lipogenesis.

Erythrocytes.

Several deficiencies in the level of activity (not function) of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase have been observed to be associated with resistance to the malarial parasite "Plasmodium falciparum" among individuals of Mediterranean and African descent. The basis for this resistance may be a weakening of the red cell membrane (the erythrocyte is the host cell for the parasite) such that it cannot sustain the parasitic life cycle long enough for productive growth.

The pentose phosphate pathway (also called the phosphogluconate pathway and the hexose monophosphate shunt) is a metabolic pathway parallel to glycolysis. It generates NADPH and pentoses (5-carbon sugars) as well as ribose 5-phosphate, a precursor for the synthesis of Nucleotides. While the pentose phosphate pathway does involve oxidation of glucose, its primary role is anabolic rather than catabolic. The pathway is especially important in red blood cells (erythrocytes).


Geography.

The Egerland forms the northwestern edge of the Czech Republic. Originally, it was a small region of less than around the historic city of Eger, now named Cheb, roughly corresponding with the present-day Cheb District of the Karlovy Vary Region, originally with the exception of Aš, but including the headwaters of the Ohře river and the area of Marktredwitz in today's Upper Franconia.  In contrast, after the beginning of the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938, Cheb and the historic Egerland were incorporated as part of the ""Sudetenland"" into an extended area of. Though the seat of the administration was established at Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) the entity was officially named "Regierungsbezirk Eger" in order to reduce territorial claims. It included large Bohemian territories up to the outskirts of Plzeň, comprising cities like Falknov (today Sokolov), Kraslice, Chodov, Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) and Tachov, which never belonged to historical region.

History.

The settlement of "Eger" in the Bavaria Slavica was first mentioned in 1061 records of trade routes laid out in the course of the German "Ostsiedlung" migration. In 1135 the "regio Egere" is recorded as a part of the Bavarian March of the Nordgau under the rule of Count Diepold III of Vohburg. After his death in 1146, the Egerland was inherited by the later German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa of Hohenstaufen by marriage with Diepold's daughter Adelheid. The Staufer finally severed the "Provincia Egrensis" from Bavaria and built it up as an exemplary model of a "Reichsgut" territory under immediate rule of the Holy Roman Emperor. Along this development Cheb became the site of a "Kaiserpfalz" residence "(Chebský hrad)", the only one in the present-day Czech Republic.

Kingdom of Bohemia.

Cheb, a free imperial city since 1277, and the Imperially immediate Egerland were given as a lien to King John of Bohemia in 1322 by Emperor Louis IV of Wittelsbach. In return for John's support against Louis' rival Frederick of Habsburg at the Battle of Mühldorf, he received Eger as a "" (Imperial lien) with the "guarantee of complete independence from the Kingdom of Bohemia". This reservation however became meaningless as Louis never redeemed the pawn, and with the accession of Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg in 1346, the crowns of the Holy Roman Empire and Bohemia were united in one hand. Charles' successors from the House of Luxembourg and (from 1526) Habsburg continuously eliminated the autonomy of the Egerland against the resistance of the Cheb citizens and the local nobility. While the present-day Franconian parts up to the Fichtelgebirge were acquired by the Principality of Bayreuth under Hohenzollern rule, the remaining territory was administrated within the Bohemian "kraj" of Loket from 1751.  The incorporation of the Bohemian kingdom into the Habsburg Monarchy had created ongoing conflicts at first along the fault-lines between the Catholic dynasty and the Protestant nobility culminating in the Thirty Years' War. Cheb and the Egerland insisting on their independence tried to maintain a neutral position, they nevertheless were seized as a stronghold by Albrecht von Wallenstein, who was murdered at Cheb on 25 February 1634. In the following decades the absolute Habsburg rulers aimed at a centralized government. Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg on the one hand issued an Edict of Religious Tolerance in 1781, but also denied the Bohemian autonomy by renouncing the ceremony of the coronation as Bohemian king. With the determination of German as official language in all Habsburg lands (instead of Latin), he laid the foundations for future ethnic conflicts. In the course of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806 and the onset of the Austrian Empire, the eastern part of Egerland finally became an ordinary district of the Austrian province of Bohemia.  The suppression during the Age of Metternich led to a second-class status of the Czech people in the Austrian crown land of Bohemia, despite them being much more numerous than the German-speaking population. From about 1830 on Czech scholars like František Palacký encouraged the Austroslavism movement demanding autonomy for the Bohemian crown lands and admission of the Czech language. In the aftermath of the 1848 Spring of Nations, the Czechs, as well as some other Slavic nations, began Pan-Slavic movements aiming at complete independence, fiercely opposed by Pan-German organisations like the German Worker's Party based in Cheb. The rise of ethnic nationalism turned out to be fatal, as, while the central parts of Bohemia were only inhabited by a smaller German-speaking elite, in border regions like the Egerland people who spoke the German language were more numerous.

Czechoslovakia.

At the end of World War I, the German-speaking population of former Austria–Hungary proclaimed the Republic of German Austria including the Egerland and further peripheral regions of German Bohemia, that were to become part of Czechoslovakia. They demanded the unification with Germany, referring to the self-determination doctrine proclaimed by U.S. president Woodrow Wilson that had been the basis for the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nevertheless, the Czech majority in the total of Bohemia insisted to "restore their countries in their historical borders", as a revision of the former Germanization. Both parties acted unilaterally, the Czechs prevailed establishing the Czechoslovakian Republic comprising all parts of Bohemia including the Egerland, while the German minority drew a completely new border between predominantly Czech- and predominantly German-speaking parts of the country.  With the 1933 Nazi seizure of power in Germany, the separatists of the Sudeten German Party under Konrad Henlein became more and more dominant, calling themselves Sudeten Germans. After Hitler had pushed the situation towards an armed conflict, the prime ministers of Britain and France in the 1938 Munich Agreement backed the annexation of the Sudetenland with the Egerland by Nazi Germany, resulting in flight and expulsion of Czech people. At that time, the term "Egerland" came in use for the western district of the Sudetenland, itself a Reichsgau from 1939 on.  Following the German defeat in World War II, the region was rejoined to Czechoslovakia in 1945 and most of the ethnic Germans were expelled to Germany on the basis of the Beneš decrees, nearly 90,000 from Egerland proper and almost 800,000 from the short-lived "Regierungsbezirk Eger".

The Egerland (; ; Egerland German dialect: "Eghalånd") is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in the Czech Republic at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name "Eger" for the city of Cheb and the main river Ohře.