Taxonomy.

"Latrodectus mactans" was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775, placing it in the genus "Aranea". It was transferred to the genus "Latrodectus" in 1837 by Charles Walckenaer and is currently placed in the family Theridiidae of the order Araneae. The species is closely related to "Latrodectus hesperus" (western black widow) and "Latrodectus variolus" (northern black widow). Members of the three species are often confused with the genus "Steatoda", the false widows. Prior to 1970, when the current taxonomic divisions for North American black widows were set forth by Kaston, all three varieties were classified as a single species, "L. mactans". As a result, there exist numerous references which claim that "black widow" (without any geographic modifier) applies to "L. mactans" alone. Common usage of the term "black widow" makes no distinction between the three species.

Description.

The body length (excluding legs) of the mature female is, for males. Legs are long in proportion to body. Females are shiny and black in color, with a red marking in the shape of an hourglass on the ventral (under) side of her very rounded abdomen. There is much variation in female size, particularly in egg-carrying (gravid) females. The abdomen of a gravid female can be more than in diameter. Many female widows also have an orange or red patch just above the spinnerets on the top of the abdomen. Juveniles have a distinctly different appearance from the adults; the abdomen is grayish to black with white stripes running across it and is spotted with yellow and orange. Males are either purple, or closer to the appearance of the juveniles in color.  The web of the black widow spider is a three-dimensional tangled cobweb of exceptionally strong silk.

Range.

The southern widow is primarily found in (and is indigenous to) the southeastern United States, ranging as far north as Ohio and as far west as Texas. The northern black widow "(L. variolus)" is found primarily in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, though its range overlaps with that of "L. mactans". In Canada, black widows range in the southern parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario. In the Dominican Republic it is found throughout the whole country. "Latrodectus mactans", along with "Latrodectus hesperus" and "Latrodectus geometricus" (the "brown widow spider"), is established in the Hawaiian Islands (USA). One pathway of entry into Hawaii for at least one of these black widow species is imported produce (which is also considered an important potential pathway for widow spiders elsewhere).

Reproduction.

When a male is mature, he spins a sperm web, deposits semen on it, and charges his palpal bulbs with the sperm. Black widow spiders reproduce sexually when the male inserts his palpal bulbs into the female's spermathecal openings. The female deposits her eggs in a globular silken container in which they remain camouflaged and guarded. A female black widow spider can produce four to nine egg sacs in one summer, each containing about 100–400 eggs. Usually, eggs incubate for twenty to thirty days. It is rare for more than a hundred to survive this process. On average, thirty will survive through the first molting, because of cannibalism, lack of food, or lack of proper shelter. It takes two to four months for black widow spiders to mature enough to breed, however full maturation typically takes six to nine months. The females can live for up to three years, while a male's lifespan is about three to four months. The female may eat the male after mating.

Prey.

Black widow spiders typically prey on a variety of insects, but they do feed on woodlice, diplopods, and chilopods when they are young, and occasionally other arachnids. The spider's web is even strong enough to catch animals as large as mice. When the prey is entangled by the web, "Latrodectus mactans" quickly comes out of its retreat, wraps the prey securely in its strong web, then bites and envenoms its prey. The venom takes about ten minutes to take effect; in the meantime, the prey is held tightly by the spider. When movements of the prey cease, digestive enzymes are released into the wound. The black widow spider then carries its prey back to its retreat before feeding.

Natural enemies.

There are various parasites and predators of widow spiders in North America, though apparently none of these have ever been evaluated in terms of augmentation programs for improved biocontrol. Parasites of the egg sacs include the flightless scelionid wasp "Baeus latrodecti", and members of the chloropid fly genus "Pseudogaurax". Predators of the adult spiders include a few wasps, most notably the blue mud dauber, "Chalybion californicum", and the spider wasp "Tastiotenia festiva". Other species including Mantis or Centipede also will occasionally and opportunistically take widows as prey, but the preceding all exhibit some significant specific preference for "Latrodectus".  Furthermore, in 2012, researchers published a paper suggesting that the black widow's close relative, the brown widow, may be competing for territory with, and ultimately displacing black widows in Southern California.

Toxicology.

Although the reputation of these spiders is notorious and their venom does affect humans, only mature females are capable of envenomation in humans; their chelicerae—the hollow, needle-like mouthparts that inject venom—are, at approximately 1 mm., or.04 in., long enough to inject venom into humans, unlike those of the much smaller males. The actual amount injected, even by a mature female, is variable. The venom injected by the female black widow is known as alpha-latrotoxin which binds to receptors at the neuromuscular motor end plate of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, resulting in increased synaptic concentration of catecholamines. The symptoms are caused by lymphatic absorption and vascular dissemination of the neurotoxin. The symptoms that result from a black widow spider bite are collectively known as "latrodectism." Deaths in healthy adults from "Latrodectus" bites are exceedingly rare, with no deaths despite two thousand bites yearly, and studies within the past several decades have been unable to confirm any fatalities from this or any of the other U.S. species of "Latrodectus" (e.g. zero fatalities among 23,409 documented "Latrodectus" bites from 2000 through 2008). On the other hand, the geographical range of the widow spiders is vast. Epidemics of mostly European Widow spider bites had been recorded from 1850 to 1950, and during that time period, deaths were reported from 2/1000 to 50/1000 bites. Deaths from the Western Black Widow had been reported as 50/1000 in the 1920s. At that same time, antivenom was introduced. The LD-50 of "L. mactans" venom has been measured in mice as 1.39 mg/kg, and separately as 1.30 mg/kg (with a confidence interval of 1.20–2.70). In 1933, Allan Blair famously allowed himself to be bitten by the spider in order to investigate the toxicity of its venom in humans and as a means of convincing skeptics at the time who thought that the spider's venom might not be dangerous to humans.  There are a number of active components in the venom:  The venom is neurotoxic.

Latrodectus mactans, known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, is a venomous species of spider in the genus "Latrodectus". The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and for the fact that they will occasionally eat their mate after reproduction. The species is native to North America. The venom is seldom fatal to healthy humans.


Early life and education.

Smith was born in Orange County, California. Her reported date of birth varies, with sources noting as early as 1958 or 1959 or as late as 1965. As a child, she grew up in Villa Park, California and attended Villa Park High School. It was here that her high school English teacher, Zoe Gibbs, gave Smith the confidence to write.  Smith studied experimental psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She later attended San Francisco State University to obtain teaching credentials.

Career.

Smith began her career as an elementary school teacher, but left in 1989 after three years to pursue writing.  Smith has said that she realized she wanted to be a writer sometime between kindergarten and first grade, "when a teacher praised a horrible poem I'd written", and she began writing in earnest in elementary school.  Her first book, "The Night of the Solstice", written during high school and college, was published by MacMillan in 1987, followed by "Heart of Valor" in 1990. They sold poorly, as they were labeled for 9 to 11-year-olds and not for young adults, as Smith wanted.  "The Vampire Diaries" series was commissioned by Elise Donner, editor of "Alloy Entertainment" in 1990: Smith immediately wrote the scene when Elena, Bonnie and Meredith are decorating the gym and the heroine meets Damon (scene later included in the first novel), while, as for the other characters, she adapted those of "The Garden of Earthly Delights", an adult book she was writing. She chose the setting of "The Vampire Diaries" in Virginia because she has family there and was inspired by the small towns and lifestyles.  Three trilogies followed: "The Secret Circle" (1992), "The Forbidden Game" (1994) and "Dark Visions" (1995). The first installment of "Night World" series was published in 1996, followed by eight more over the next two years. In 1998, Smith began a decade-long hiatus from writing, returning in 2008 with a new website and a series of new short stories. "The Vampire Diaries" series was reissued in 2007, followed by reprintings of "The Secret Circle" trilogy and "Night World" series in 2008–2009. "The Night of the Solstice" and "Heart of Valor" were also reissued in 2008. Three new "Vampire Diaries" installments were published in 2009 and 2010. The series was later adapted into a TV series ("The Vampire Diaries") in 2009, as well as "The Secret Circle", which became a TV series of the same name in 2011.  The final volume of "The Vampire Diaries" written entirely by Smith ("The Return: Midnight") was released in March 2011. Smith submitted a draft of the next installment ("The Hunters: Phantom"), but after a dispute regarding a pivotal plot twist, her involvement was terminated by the publisher and the episode was revised by a ghostwriter. Subsequent "Vampire Diaries" installments have also been ghostwritten. She was also replaced on "The Secret Circle" series, by ghostwriter Aubrey Clark.

Personal life.

Smith previously resided in Concord, California in 1991 and still resides in Northern California with her dog. In 1998, Smith took a decade-long hiatus from writing to take care of her sister's children when her brother-in-law was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. During this time, her mother died from lung cancer. In late 2015, Smith was diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Bibliography.

Night World Series.

Short Stories.

Published on Lisa Jane Smith official website.

"The Vampire Diaries" Universe.

Short Stories.

Published on Lisa Jane Smith's official website.

Cuts from "The Return: Shadow Souls".

"The Vampire Diaries": Evensong.

"Note: These books were published as fanfiction on Kindle Worlds after Smith's publisher hired other authors to continue the series after "The Return: Midnight". They pick up after the ending of said book. And while they do represent the original author's intended continuation, they are not considered official canon to the main "Vampire Diaries" series due to their status."

Lisa Jane Smith is an American author of young adult fiction best known for her best-selling series "The Vampire Diaries", which has been turned into a successful television show. Her books, particularly "The Vampire Diaries" and "Night World", have been in the "New York Times" Best Seller list and have been nominated for five awards.


History.

Streetwear style is generally accepted to have been born out of the Los Angeles surf culture and eventually later the New York City hip hop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Early streetwear in the 1970s and 1980s also took inspiration from the DIY aesthetic of punk, Japanese street fashion, new wave, heavy metal and hip hop, co-opting established legacy sportswear and workwear fashion brands such as Schott NYC, Dr. Martens, Kangol, Fila and Adidas.  In the late 1980s, surfboard designer Shawn Stussy began selling printed T-shirts featuring the same trademark signature he placed on his custom surfboards. Initially selling the items from his own car, Stussy expanded sales to boutiques once popularity increased. Then as sales peaked, Stüssy moved into exclusive sales to create product scarcity, which firmed up the ultimate baseline definition of streetwear: T-shirts and exclusivity."  In the early 1990s, burgeoning record labels associated with popular hip hop acts like Tommy Boy Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Delicious Vinyl began selling branded merchandise embroidered onto letterman jackets and workwear jackets made by companies like Carhartt.  In the mid to late 90s, influences included skateboarding and gangsta rap. Professional American sports franchises having a big impact on the scene, especially the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Raiders and Chicago Bulls caps and jackets, with their production of oversized team jerseys, as well as boots from The Timberland Company and the latest shoe design releases from Nike, Inc..  Brand launches by the chief executives of record companies followed, with Russell Simmons of Def Jam launching his Phat Farm label, Sean Combs of Bad Boy with Sean John, and Jay-Z and Damon Dash of Roc-a-Fella Records launching Rocawear. Rap superstar 50 Cent a few years later launched his G-Unit clothing label, with the sneaker rights given to Reebok.  In the 2000s, the advent of "bling" culture saw established luxury brands make inroads into the market, with Burberry, Gucci and Fendi making appearances in hip hop videos and films. The most popular shoe of the era was the Nike Air Force 1, immortalized in the song by Nelly, then the fashion clothing manufacturers began to follow the streetwear companies co-opting the idea of very limited edition capsule collections, now known as "drops", using social media and product scarcity as marketing tools.  In the 2010s, some streetwear brands were now coveted as much as the most historically elite fashion brands. "Complex Magazine" named Stüssy, Supreme, and A Bathing Ape as the top streetwear brands, and many went on to collaborate on prized high fashion capsule collections such as Supreme x Louis Vuitton, Fila x Fendi, A Bathing Ape x Commes des Garcons, and Stussy x Dior.  In 2018, Wikipedia released two sets of long sleeve streetwear T shirts, in collaboration with LA-based brand Advisory Board Crystals and rapper Lil Wayne, with all profits going to the Wikimedia Foundation.

Contemporary.

Common sportswear worn in contemporary street styles include hoodies, bomber jackets, tennis-style skirts, track pants, leggings, and sneakers. Some of these are a revival of 1990s hip-hop fashion, which also favoured bomber jackets and baseball caps.  Contemporary streetwear is usually influenced by the generic sporty twists and sleek athletic lines. In earlier stages of sportswear fashion, femininity was usually expressed with the lines becoming cleaner, and silhouettes becoming minimal. Later, bold volumes in sportswear started to develop, hi-tech fabrics and old-school approaches were used in styling. In general, relaxed silhouettes, clean shapes, little embellishments, and an overall sophisticated feel would be observed in the looks of the trend.  Contemporary streetwear has also become much more influential in the world of haute couture influencing and in turn being influenced by runway shows by prominent designers. Raf Simons has made a large impact on streetwear stylings as it has evolved over the years, this might be attributed by the designers influence in hip hop and popular culture. Other designers such as Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Vetements and Balenciaga, have also had an impact in recent years championing trends such as the chunky sneaker and the oversized hoodie, which have slowly become streetwear staples.

Luxury sportswear.

The decline of formal wear led to the rise of streetwear fashion. High-end and luxury brands began to develop "luxury sportswear", for example Alexander Wang, Gucci, and DKNY. Among this type of "luxury sportswear", luxe fabrics were used to produce their sportswear fashion for a high contrast on the sporty silhouette. Fabrics like silk organza, washed satin, leather, neoprene, and wool crepe were used to produce the "luxury sportswear". These types of fabrics may help experiment a garment with texture, and may assist in capturing a modern-sports spirit of the season.  Details of the designs in "luxury sportswear" looks are pulled directly from actual active wear. The two words, "luxury" and "minimalism" were first used together for sportswear in fashion, to interpret a fresh sports look which is sleek and clean, but bearing recognizable athletic influences.  Common mix-and-match combination of "luxury sportswear" on streetwear are track pants under basketball shorts, with bold patterns and sumptuous fabrics for men; and light colored pencil skirts, with bomber jackets and sleek tops, cut in satin or tweed, for women.

Seasonal sportswear.

Sportswear in streetwear designs changes according to season and temperature.  In winter, sports silhouette tends to turn slouchier and volumes are exaggerated. Solid fabrics such as fur, velvet, wool and leather become predominant, and quilted detailing on windbreakers, sporty skirts and vests can be seen. A typical winter look might be a voluminous sweatshirt with satin boxer shorts, or a brocade bomber jacket worn on top of a laid-back dress featuring mesh detailing.  In summer, the look is usually light-weight and simple, with a combination of crop tops, sleek dresses, gym-shorts, and tank-tops.

Hypebeast culture.

"Hypebeast" (occasionally "hype beast") culture is a colloquial term that at first was considered a derogatory term until Kevin Ma, the founder of the original Hypebeast fashion blog, re-appropriated it to be used as the name of his fashion blog, "Hypebeast". Even after Ma's fashion blog expanded to a world-famous website, hypebeast still had some negative connotation. Even though many hypebeasts will refer to themselves as such, taking it as a term of endearment (much like the evolution of the term otaku in Japanese popular culture circles) others still believe in the negative connotation.  With a growing trend of prominent brand names and logos on clothing, there has been a development of "hypebeast culture" connected to streetwear as of the mid-2000s. Hypebeasts are defined as buying clothes and accessories simply to impress others. This trend is inspired by a 1990s fashion for clothing covered in brand names and logos. Hypebeasts usually wear a variety of name brands at once to boast their affluence and display popular trends.

Sneaker culture.

Sneakers in streetwear accompanies a wide range of footwear. Sneaker culture is an important part of streetwear.

Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from California surfskate culture, and eventually New York hip hop fashion to encompass elements of sportswear, punk and Japanese street fashion. Eventually haute couture became an influence. It commonly centers on "casual, comfortable pieces such as jeans, T-shirts, baseball caps, and sneakers", and exclusivity through intentional product scarcity. Enthusiasts follow particular brands and try to obtain limited edition releases.


Early life and training.

He was born at Urbino, Duchy of Urbino, and received his earliest apprenticeship with his father, Ambrogio Barocci, a sculptor of some local eminence. He was then apprenticed with the painter Battista Franco in Urbino. He accompanied his uncle, Bartolomeo Genga to Pesaro, then in 1548 to Rome, where he was worked in the pre-eminent studio of the day, that of the Mannerist painters, Taddeo and Federico Zuccari.

Mature work in Rome and Urbino.

After passing four years at Rome, he returned to his native city, where his first work of art was a "St. Margaret" executed for the Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament. He was invited back to Rome by Pope Pius IV to assist in the decoration of the Vatican Belvedere Palace at Rome, where he painted the "Virgin Mary and infant, with several Saints" and a ceiling in fresco, representing the "Annunciation".  During this second sojourn, while completing the decorations for the Vatican, Barocci fell ill with intestinal complaints. He suspected that a salad which he had eaten had been poisoned by jealous rivals. Fearing his illness was terminal, he left Rome in 1563; four years later he was said to experience a partial remission after prayers to the Virgin. Barocci henceforth often complained of frail health, though he remained productive for nearly four decades more. While he is described by contemporaries as personally somewhat morose and hypochondriacal, his paintings are lively and brilliant. Although he continued to have major altarpiece commissions from afar, he never returned to Rome, and was mainly patronized in his native city by Francesco Maria II della Rovere, duke of Urbino. The Ducal Palace can be seen in the background of his paintings, rendered in a forced perspective that seems a holdover from Mannerism. While Barocci was removed from Rome, the fulcrum of artistic fame and influence, he continued to innovate in his style. At some point he may have seen colored chalk/pastel drawings by Correggio, but Barocci's remarkable pastel studies are the earliest examples of the technique to survive. In pastels and in oil sketches (another technique he pioneered) Barocci's soft, opalescent renderings evoke the ethereal. Such studies were part of a complex process Barocci used to complete his altarpieces. An organized series of steps leading up to the final product ensured its speed and success in execution. Barocci did innumerable sketches: gestural, compositional, figural studies (using models), lighting studies (using clay models), perspective studies, color studies, nature studies, etc. Today, over 2,000 drawings by him are extant. Every detail of his subsequent cartoons for canvases was worked out in this way. A good example is his famed "Madonna del Popolo" (Uffizi). It is a vortex of color and vitality, made possible by the great variety of people, poses, perspectives, natural details, colors, lighting and atmospheric effects. There are many surviving drawings for the "Madonna del Popolo", from initial sketches to color studies of heads, to the final full size cartoon. Despite this painstaking process, Barocci's genius kept the brushstrokes passionate and liberated, and a spiritual light seems to flicker as a jewel across faces, hands, drapery, and sky. Barocci's embrace of the Counter Reformation would shape his long and fruitful career. By 1566, he joined a lay order of Capuchins, an offshoot of Franciscans. He may have been influenced by Saint Philip Neri, whose Oratorians sought to reconnect the spiritual realm with the lives of everyday people. Neri, who was somewhat ambivalent about the accumulating richness of his Santa Maria in Vallicella, commissioned two completed works from Barocci, the pre-eminent artist of these large pious altarpieces: "The Visitation" (1583-6) and "Presentation of the Virgin" (1593–94). Neri is said to have been moved to ecstasy by Barocci's accomplishment in the former painting, which shows the Virgin and Elizabeth greeting each other.  In Urbino, where he painted a "Descent from the Cross" for the cathedral of San Lorenzo at Perugia. He again visited Rome during the papacy of Gregory XIII when he painted two admirable pictures for the Chiesa Nuova, representing the "Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elisabeth" and the " Presentation in the Temple", and for the Chiesa della Minerva, a "Last Supper".

Critical assessment and legacy.

The artist biographer Giovanni Bellori, the Baroque equivalent of Giorgio Vasari, considered Barocci to be among the finest painters of his time. Barocci's emotive brushwork was not lost on Peter Paul Rubens when he was in Italy. Rubens is known to have made a sketch of his dramatic "Martyrdom of St Vitale", in which the martyr's undulating flesh is the eye of another whirlwind of figures, gestures, and drama. Also, Rubens' "The Martyrdom of St Livinus" seems to owe much to Barocci, from the putto with the pointing palm frond to the presence of dogs in the lower right corner. Among the painters and artists who worked under Barocci are Antonio Cimatori (Visacci), Ventura Mazza, Antonio Viviani (il Sordo di Urbino), Giovanni Andrea Urbani, Alessandro Vitali, and finally Felice and Vincenzo Pellegrini. Barocci also had many who followed or were strongly influenced by his style, including Nicolo Martinelli (il Trometta), Giovanni Battista Lombardelli, Domenico Malpiedi, Cesare & Basilio Maggeri, Filippo Bellini, Giovanni Laurentini (Arrigoni), Giorgio Picchi, Giovanni Giacomo Pandolfi, Pietro Paolo Tamburini, Terenzio d’Urbino ("il Rondolino"), Giulio Cesare Begni, Benedetto Marini, Girolamo Cialdieri, Giovanni Battista Urbinelli, Alfonso Patanazzi, Gian Ortensio Bertuzzi, Cesare Franchi (il Pollino), Silla Piccinini, Benedetto Bandiera, Matteuccio Salvucci, Simeone Ciburri, Pietro Rancanelli, Onofrio Marini, Alessandro Brunelli, and Francesco Baldelli.  Barocci's swirling composition and the focus on the emotional and spiritual are elements that foreshadow the Baroque of Rubens. But even in Federico's Proto-Baroque "Beata Michelina" can see the makings of Bernini's High Baroque masterpiece "Ecstasy of St Theresa".

Federico Barocci (c. 1535 in Urbino – 1612 in Urbino) was an Italian Renaissance painter and printmaker. His original name was Federico Fiori, and he was nicknamed Il Baroccio. His work was highly esteemed and influential, and foreshadows the Baroque of Rubens.


Design.

The "Furutaka"-class cruisers were the first heavy cruisers in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), also referred to as "A class" cruisers by the IJN. Like the cruiser, their design was the work of Constructor Captain Yuzuru Hiraga, assisted by Lt. Cmdr. Kikuo Fujimoto.  Designed to beat the U.S. and the British s, they were as fast as the "Omaha"s (and nearly 4 knots faster than the "Hawkins" class), while firing a heavier broadside, and carrying a larger torpedo battery than either one.  Their flush deck resulted in both weight savings and increased strength by allowing the hull's longitudinal members to be continuous. As with "Yūbari", the design featured side and deck armour integrated into the ship's structure, saving additional weight.  Despite the weight-saving efforts, as built "Kako" was more than 900 tons heavier than her design weight. As a result, draft was increased by more than 1 metre, subsequently reducing top speed, and the height of the belt armour above the waterline. The portholes of the lowest-level crew quarters were near enough to the waterline that they needed to be closed when the ships were at sea, reducing ventilation and making the living spaces less habitable.  They were the first of the IJN cruisers to feature a substantial bridge, with 6 distinct levels, providing support for navigation, fire control, communication and command.  Due to the high freeboard of these ships, mounting the torpedo tubes on the main deck would have caused the torpedoes to enter the water at too steep an angle. Instead, they were mounted on the middle deck in 3 pairs of fixed tubes on each side. Captain Hiraga argued against this kind of mounting, concerned that during battle either a direct hit or fires could detonate the torpedoes, causing severe damage, as indeed happened with of this class during World War II; additionally, the cruisers,,, and, all of which featured similar arrangements, would all be sunk or severely damaged by their own exploding torpedoes.

Modernization.

Japanese naval strategists since the early 20th century had planned for a defensive war in the Pacific, with the U.S. Navy as their main opponent. To take advantage of their superior long-range torpedoes, and offset the numerical superiority the U.S. Navy enjoyed, they extensively trained their crews in night torpedo tactics. In 1930, the Naval General Staff, further concerned by the limitations on the size of their navy by the London Naval Treaty won approval for an extensive modernization program of the "A class" cruisers. Planned upgrades to the ships included the latest weapons, protection, fire control systems, and communication equipment.  From 1931 to 1933 the two ships had their 4 original anti-aircraft guns replaced by improved 12 cm high-angle electro-hydraulically operated guns, with directors and range finders for them. The original airplane takeoff platform was replaced with a catapult for a reconnaissance seaplane.  They were substantially rebuilt in 1936-1937 ("Kako") and 1937-1939 ("Furutaka") as follows: The 6 single main battery was replaced by 3 twin turrets housing the /50-cal guns. Light anti-aircraft protection was augmented with 8 25 mm automatic cannons in 4 twin mounts. The 6 pairs (3 per side) of fixed torpedo tubes mounted on the middle deck were replaced with 2 quadruple mounts using the powerful Type 93 torpedo, located on the upper deck, one on each side of the catapult.  The bridge structure was completely rebuilt to accommodate the latest rangefinders and fire control equipment for the main battery, antiaircraft and torpedoes. Platforms were redesigned for aircraft spotters.  The twelve original mixed-fuel boilers were replaced by 10 large oil-fired units, along with a redesign of all the boiler rooms, and replacement of coal bunkers with fuel-oil tanks.  All of the new equipment resulted in increased electrical power requirements, so 3 more generators were added to increase power output from 315 kW to 885 kW.  These modifications added 560 tons to the ships. To prevent the draft from increasing even more, and to improve stability, bulges were added, simultaneously enhancing antitorpedo protection. As a result, the ships' beam was increased to.

The were a class of two heavy cruisers which saw service with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Both vessels of this class were sunk in 1942.


Species.

Prehistoric taxa.

Extinct species within this genus include:

Fossil record.

These plants lived from the Cretaceous to Quaternary (from 66 million to 12 thousand years ago). Fossils have been found in United States, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and France. Leaf fossils of Sabal lamanonis have been recovered from rhyodacite tuff of Lower Miocene age in Southern Slovakia near the town of Lučenec.

Phylogenetic work in "Sabal" (1990s – present).

The name "Sabal" was first applied to members of the group by Adanson in the 18th century. Previous names that this genus was associated with include "Corypha", "Chamaerops", "Rhapis". This section highlights important phylogenetic work done within the genus "Sabal."  In 1990, Scott Zona outlined key morphological and anatomical characters that he used to analyze species relationships of "Sabal." Through this analysis of characters, Zona produced a cladogram that portrays evolutionary relationships amongst 15 species of "Sabal". Based on the distribution of species within his cladogram, Zona recognized four distinct clades. The clades within his study include (Clade 1) "Sabal minor; ("Clade 2) "Sabal bermudana, Sabal palmetto, Sabal miamiensis," and "Sabal etonia;" (Clade 3) "Sabal maritima, Sabal domingensis, Sabal causiarum, Sabal maurittiformis, Sabal yapa, Sabal mexicana," and "Sabal guatemalensis;" (Clade 4) "Sabal uresana, Sabal rosei, and Sabal pumos". These clades associate closely with geographic distributions. All of the species within Clade 3 occur in the Greater Antilles and southern Mexico, where species that occur in the Greater Antilles are more closely related to each other than those that occur in southern Mexico. Although Clade 4 also occurs in Mexico, these species occur on the west coast where they are geographically separated from the Mexican species within the southern part of the country. The remaining two clades, Clade 1 and Clade 2 predominantly occur in the southeastern United States although "S. palmetto" and "S. minor" are also known from Cuba and the Bahamas "(S. palmetto)" and northern Mexico "(S. minor)." "Sabal bermudana" is only known from the Bermuda Islands.  In 2016 Heyduk, Trapnell, Barrett, and Leebens-Mack conducted a new study on "Sabal" that analyzed molecular (e.g. nuclear, plastid) data from 15 species of the group. This study incorporated plastid and nuclear sequence data that together were used to estimate the relatedness between the species of "Sabal." The results of the study show species relationships to be different from the distribution of Zona's cladogram. Within the framework of this study, a major difference between the results of Zona and this study is the placement of "Clade 4" ("Sabal uresana, Sabal rosei, and Sabal pumos") which split and integrate these species throughout the phylogeny of "Sabal." The largest of the clades identified by Zona, "Clade 3" is disrupted significantly as it is split into multiple clades. Although "Sabal causiarum" and "S. domingensis" retain their relationship as sister species, they are included in a clade that also includes "S. maritima" and "S. rosei." Despite the these disruptions in placement between these two studies, the overall integrity of "Clade 1" and "Clade 2" is in congruence with the clades established from the molecular data.

Pollinators and parasitoids.

"Sabal" species are used as food sources by several species of birds including "Mimus polyglottos, Turdus migratorius, Dendroica coronata, Corvus ossifragus," and "Drycopus pileatus", "Caryobruchus", and various species of hymenoptera. Bears ("Ursus americanus)" and racoons are also known to feed on fruit of various species of "Sabal. Sabal palmetto" is recorded to have its own lichen, "Arthonia rubrocincta," that only occurs on the leaf bases of the Cabbage Palm ("Sabal palmetto"). In Europe, the introduced Lepidopteran species "Paysandisia archon" has become a prominent pest whose larvae are known to feed on some of the cultivated species of "Sabal."

Uses.

Arborescent species are often transplanted from natural stands into urban landscapes and are rarely grown in nurseries due to slow growth. Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants and because several species are relatively cold-hardy, can be grown farther north than most other palms. The central bud of "Sabal" "palmetto" is edible and, when cooked, is known as'swamp cabbage'. Mature fronds are used as thatch and for weaving mats.

Symbolic use.

A silhouette of a palmetto ("S. palmetto") appears on the official flag of South Carolina.  Two images of "S. palmetto" appear on the Florida state seal.  "Sabal palmetto" is the state tree of both Florida and South Carolina.  "S. palmetto" has been used as a sign of freedom and independence in the Southern United States since the beginning of the Revolutionary War and especially during secession in the American Civil War.

Sabal is a genus of palms (or fan-palms) endemic to the New World. Currently, there are 17 recognized species of "Sabal", including one hybrid species. The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from the Gulf Coast/South Atlantic states in the Southeastern United States, south through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America to Colombia and Venezuela. Members of this genus are typically identified by the leaves which originate from a bare, unarmed petiole in a fan-like structure. All members of this genus have a costa (or midrib) that extends into the leaf blade. This midrib can vary in length; and it is due to this variation that leaf blades of certain species of "Sabal" are strongly curved or strongly costapalmate (as in "Sabal palmetto" and "Sabal etonia") or weakly curved (almost flattened), weakly costapalmate, (as in "Sabal minor"). Like many other palms, the fruit of "Sabal" are drupe, that typically change from green to black when mature.


Biography.

Goldfinger was born in Budapest to a Jewish family. The family business was forestry and saw-mills, which led Goldfinger to consider a career in engineering until he became interested in architecture after reading Hermann Muthesius's "Das englische Haus", a description of English domestic architecture around the turn of the twentieth century. He continued to recommend the book for most of his life.  Goldfinger moved to Paris in 1921, after the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1923 he went to study at the École nationale supérieure des beaux arts in the atelier of Léon Jaussely, and in the following years got to know many other Paris-based architects, including Auguste Perret, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. In 1929, before finishing his studies, Goldfinger established a partnership and worked on a number of interior designs and an extension to a holiday home at Le Touquet.  He was strongly influenced by the publication of Le Corbusier's "Vers une architecture", and became a fervent admirer of Le Corbusier's former mentor, Auguste Perret, an expert in designing reinforced concrete structures and an inspiration for Goldfinger when designing his own home. In the early 1930s Goldfinger met and married Ursula Blackwell, heiress to the Crosse & Blackwell fortune. The remainder of his career would be based in the UK.

Modernist in London.

In 1934, Ernő and Ursula Goldfinger moved to a flat in Highpoint I, London. Before World War II, Goldfinger built three houses (including his own) at 1–3 Willow Road in Hampstead, North London, and another at Broxted, Essex. His own house, 2 Willow Road, is now in the care of the National Trust.

Post World War II.

After the war, Goldfinger was commissioned to build new offices for the "Daily Worker" newspaper and the headquarters of the British Communist Party. In the 1950s, he designed two London primary schools from prefabricated pre-cast concrete with brick infill for the London County Council in Putney. A cottage forming part of Brandlehow School, was demolished by a rogue developer who was prosecuted in 2008, and is being rebuilt.

Rise of the high rise.

In an attempt to solve the huge shortage of housing in the country following World War II, in which nearly 4 million houses had been destroyed or damaged, the British Government began to see high-rise buildings as a solution, and Goldfinger rose to prominence in England as a designer of tower blocks.  Among his most notable buildings of the period were the 27-floor Balfron Tower and the adjacent eleven-storey Carradale House in Poplar which served as models for the similar 31-floor Trellick Tower in Kensal Town (started 1968, completed 1972). These three buildings are notable examples of Brutalist architecture.

Personal life.

Goldfinger was known as a humourless man given to notorious rages. He sometimes fired his assistants if they were inappropriately jocular, and once forcibly ejected two prospective clients for imposing restrictions on his design.  A discussion on a golf course about Ernő with Goldfinger's cousin prompted Ian Fleming to name the James Bond adversary and villain Auric Goldfinger after Ernő (Fleming had previously been among the objectors to the pre-war demolition of the cottages in Hampstead that were removed to make way for Goldfinger's house at 2 Willow Road). Goldfinger consulted his lawyers when "Goldfinger" was published in 1959, which prompted Fleming to threaten to rename the character 'Goldprick', but eventually decided not to sue; Fleming's publishers agreed to pay his costs and gave him six free copies of the book.  Goldfinger died on 15 November 1987, at the age of 85, and was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium where his ashes remain.

Legacy.

Although Goldfinger enjoyed living in his own buildings, they were unpopular among both the public and many post-modernist architects. Towards the end of the 20th century Goldfinger's work became more appreciated. Trellick Tower is now a Grade II* listed building and has become something of a design icon, appearing on T-shirts, paintings and in the lyrics of the song Best Days by Blur. The few privately owned flats within fetch high prices at sale. Balfron Tower and Carradale House are also listed Grade II, while an adjacent building by Goldfinger's studio, the 14-storey Glenkerry House, is run as a housing co-operative and is regarded as a model for management of buildings of the type.  In 2000, Ernő Goldfinger's estate endowed a sum of money to foster links between Hungary and the United Kingdom by sponsoring young Hungarian architectural students to study, travel or work in the UK. Their intention was to honour Ernő's achievements, his commitment to his profession, and his lifelong support for his compatriots. The RIBA Goldfinger Travel Scholarships have been awarded since 2002.

Ernő Goldfinger (11 September 1902 – 15 November 1987) was a Hungarian-born architect and designer of furniture. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and became a key member of the Modernist architectural movement. He is most prominently remembered for designing residential tower blocks, some of which are now listed buildings.


Early life and education.

Duflo was born in 1972 in Paris, the daughter of pediatrician Violaine Duflo and mathematics professor Michel Duflo. During Duflo's childhood, her mother often participated in medical humanitarian projects.  After studying in the B/L program of Lycée Henri-IV's Classes préparatoires, Duflo began her undergraduate studies at École normale supérieure in Paris, planning to study history, her interest since childhood. In her second year, she began considering a career in the civil service or politics. She spent ten months in Moscow starting in 1993. She taught French and worked on a history thesis that described how the Soviet Union "had used the big construction sites, like the Stalingrad tractor factory, for propaganda, and how propaganda requirements changed the actual shape of the projects." In Moscow, she also worked as a research assistant for a French economist connected to the Central Bank of Russia and, separately, for Jeffrey Sachs, an American economist, who was advising the Russian Minister of Finance. The experiences at these research posts led her to conclude that "economics had potential as a lever of action in the world" and she could satisfy academic ambitions while doing "things that mattered".  She finished her degree in history and economics at École Normale Supérieure in 1994 and received a master's degree from DELTA, now the Paris School of Economics, jointly with the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) of the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) and the École Normale Supérieure, in 1995. Subsequently, she completed a PhD in economics at MIT in 1999, under the joint supervision of Abhijit Banerjee and Joshua Angrist. Her PhD dissertation focused on effects of a natural experiment involving an Indonesian school-expansion program in the 1970s, and it provided conclusive evidence that in a developing country, more education resulted in higher wages. Upon completing her PhD, she was appointed assistant professor of economics at MIT and has been at MIT ever since, aside from a leave at Princeton University in 2001–2002, and at the Paris School of Economics in 2007 and 2017.

Career.

After earning her PhD in 1999, Duflo became an assistant professor at MIT. She was promoted to associate professor (with tenure) in 2002, at 29, making her among the youngest faculty members to be awarded tenure, and to full professor in 2003.  Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee have taken a special interest in India since 1997. In 2003, she conducted a trial experiment on teacher absenteeism in 120 schools run by a non-profit group. By encouraging the teachers to photograph themselves with their students each day, she was able to reduce their absenteeism.  In 2003, she co-founded Poverty Action Lab at MIT, which has since conducted over 200 empirical development experiments and trained development practitioners to run randomized controlled trials. The lab has branches in Chennai, India and at the Paris School of Economics. In 2006, together with several colleagues, Duflo conducted another experiment in India. It showed that taped speeches by women were more readily accepted in villages that had experienced women leaders. Duflo became increasingly convinced that communities supporting women candidates could expect economic benefits, but she experienced difficulty in convincing her peers. Focused on assessing developments addressing social welfare, in 2008, she received the Frontier of Knowledge award for development cooperation. Duflo entered the public sphere in 2013, when she sat on the new Global Development Committee, which advised former US President Barack Obama on issues regarding development aid in poor countries.  Duflo is an NBER research associate, a board member of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research's development economics program, where she serves as both a board member and a director.  She was the founding editor of the "American Economic Journal: Applied Economics", editor of "The American Economic Review", and a co-editor of "The Review of Economics and Statistics" and the "Journal of Development Economics". Also, she is a member of the editorial committee of the "Annual Review of Economics" and a member of the Human Capital Research Programme within the International Growth Centre.  She writes a monthly column for "Libération", a French daily newspaper.  She was the main speaker at the first "Bocconi Lecture" of Bocconi University in 2010, followed in 2011 by Caroline Hoxby.

Personal life.

Duflo is married to MIT professor Abhijit Banerjee; the couple have two children. Banerjee was a joint supervisor of Duflo's PhD in economics at MIT in 1999.

Selected works.

Books.

In April 2011, Duflo released her book "Poor Economics", co-authored with Banerjee. It documents their 15 years of experience in conducting randomized control trials to alleviate poverty. The book has received critical acclaim. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen called it "a marvelously insightful book by the two outstanding researchers on the real nature of poverty."

Papers.

Duflo has published numerous papers, receiving 6,200 citations in 2017. Most of them have appeared in the top five economic journals.

Awards.

Nobel prize in economic sciences.

Esther Duflo was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019 along with her two co-researchers Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty". Duflo is the youngest person (at age 46) and the second woman to win this award (after Elinor Ostrom in 2009).  The press release from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted: "Their experimental research methods now entirely dominate development economics." The Nobel committee commented:  Responding by telephone to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Duflo explained that she received the prize "at an extremely opportune and important time" and hoped that it would "inspire many, many other women to continue working and many other men to give them the respect that they deserve, like every single human being." She also revealed that she wanted to use the award as a "megaphone" in her fighting efforts to tackle poverty and to improve children's education.  French President Emmanuel Macron offered his congratulations: "Esther Duflo's magnificent Nobel Prize is a reminder that French economists are currently among the best in the world and shows that research in that field can have concrete impact on human welfare."  Much of the discussion related to the prize shared by Duflo and her co-laureates focused on their influential use of randomized controlled trials in designing their experiments. Summarizing the research approach which she had utilized along with Banerjee and Kremer, Duflo said simply, "Our goal is to make sure that the fight against poverty is based on scientific evidence."

Esther Duflo, FBA (; born 25 October 1972) is a French–American economist who is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is the co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which was established in 2003. She shared the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer, "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".


Establishment and history.

The House of Hohenberg was established by imperial decree of Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria when, upon the couple's marriage in 1900, he created Francis Ferdinand's wife "Fürstin von Hohenberg" (Princess of Hohenberg) in her own right with the style of "Durchlaucht" (Serene Highness) and the specification that this name and title should also be borne by her descendants.  In 1909, the Emperor raised Sophie to the more senior title of "Herzogin von Hohenberg" (Duchess of Hohenberg) with the superior style of "Hoheit" (Highness). Since that title had been granted "ad personam", it expired upon Sophie's assassination in 1914.  In 1917, Emperor Charles of Austria granted the eldest son of Francis Ferdinand and Sophie the title of duke with the style of "Highness". The other members of the family retained the titles of prince and princesses with the lesser style of "Serene Highness". Thus, Maximilian became the first Duke of Hohenberg, with the dukedom being hereditary according to primogeniture in the male line. Following the collapse of the monarchy, the Austrian nobility, along with hereditary titles and such nobiliary particles as "von", were abolished by law in 1919.  In 1938, several members of the family who were opposed to Adolf Hitler were arrested by the Nazis and sent to Dachau concentration camp, most notably Maximilian and his brother Ernst. The former head of the family, Georg, was ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the Holy See during part of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. He was also a Knight of the Golden Fleece.  Members of the Hohenberg family are not only descended from, and married into, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, but are also related through marriage to several other European dynasties, including the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg and the Princely Family of Liechtenstein. They also descend from King George II of Great Britain through his daughter Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange and are therefore distantly related to the British Royal Family.

Residences.

The Hohenberg family still owns Artstetten Castle in Lower Austria, and parts of this castle are open to the public for visits. Former residences of the family include Konopiště château in Bohemia.  Artstetten Castle was selected to provide the main theme for an Austrian 10 euro commemorative coin, minted on 13 October 2004. The reverse shows the entrance to the crypt of the Hohenberg family. There are two portraits on the left, showing Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg.

Line of succession to the ducal title.

The line of succession to the title of Duke of Hohenberg is as follows:

Hohenberg is an Austrian noble family that descends from Countess Sophie Chotek (1868–1914), who in 1900 married Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1863–1914), the heir presumptive to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As their marriage was a morganatic one, none of their children were in the line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Still, they represent the senior agnatic line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.


Plot.

Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) returns to Camp Rock for another summer year along with her friends and the members of the band Connect 3: Mitchie's love interest, Shane Gray (Joe Jonas), Nate Gray (Nick Jonas), and Jason Gray (Kevin Jonas). Along the way, she and her mother, Connie Torres (Maria Canals-Barrera), notice that a new camp, Camp Star, has opened across the lake. Mitchie and her friends also notice that there are fewer campers than last year and attempt to lift everyone's spirits at the Opening Jam. Camp Star sends parachutes to Camp Rock with chocolates, graham crackers, and marshmallows, inviting them to a bonfire at their camp, but Brown Cesario is less than enthusiastic, as Camp Star's founder is Axel Turner (Daniel Kash), whom he kicked out of his band. Mitchie and the rest of the campers arrive at Camp Star, as the bonfire starts, Camp Star begins to perform. As their performance ends, Dana Turner (Chloe Bridges)'s bracelet flies from her hand and hits Nate in the eye. Axel then offers the Camp Rock counselors jobs at Camp Star, doubling their salary, and encourages the Camp Rock campers to move to Camp Star. Only a few campers switch, including Tess, but many counselors move to Camp Star. Nate returns Dana's bracelet after the bonfire and the two bond. Dana also reveals she is Axel's daughter. Left with no staff, Brown is forced to close Camp Rock, but Mitchie persuades everyone to not give up, and she and her friends take on the newly vacant counseling roles.  Although things are tough at first, Mitchie and the rest of the counselors eventually settle into their roles. Upset that they were outperformed during their visit, they revisit Camp Star, and the two camps face off. Axel sees the showdown and suggests broadcasting their competition on television and letting the public decide who's the best; Mitchie is reluctant at first, but she eventually agrees after some persuasion from her friends. However, Brown is angry about joining the competition, now called "Camp Wars", and tells Connie that Camp Rock cannot win and everyone will start sending their kids to Camp Star after they lose. Overhearing their conversation, Mitchie makes everyone focus only on winning the competition, which frustrates the other campers and Shane, who only returned to Camp Rock to spend more time with her. To improve everyone's spirits, Shane, Jason, and the junior campers start a water balloon fight, much to Mitchie's dismay. That night, Mitchie and Shane get in a fight about their priorities.  The next day, Mitchie wakes up to find everyone rehearsing for "Camp Wars", thanks to Shane. Shane and his brothers motivate everyone to work harder. Mitchie and Shane reconcile and spend the day together, but Nate has trouble trying to tell Dana how he feels. Shane and Jason suggest to sing, and Nate goes to Camp Star to serenade her, gaining her affection before being caught by Axel. As the night of "Camp Wars" begins, Camp Star performs. After, Brown finds out that Axel has been encouraging the public to vote for Camp Star through text messaging and tweeting and that it would be a miracle if Camp Rock won. All the members of Camp Rock then perform together, accompanied by a video montage of their summer, but Camp Star wins "Camp Wars". Back at Camp Rock, everyone gathers at the bonfire for one last time before leaving, but many members of Camp Star, including Tess and Dana, come to join Camp Rock, ensuring they have enough campers to continue for another summer.

Production.

The film was shot in Toronto, Ontario, from September 3, 2009, to October 16, 2009, filming the scenes at the French River, Camp Kilcoo, The Kingbridge Centre, and Earl Bales Park.

Reception.

Critical response.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63% based on 5 reviews and an average of 6.1/10. Jennifer Armstrong from "Entertainment Weekly" enjoyed the film and called the performance of Demi Lovato "dependently appealing".

Ratings.

The film garnered 7.9 million viewers on its premiere night, the most for a movie on cable television in 2010 and the most any cable program that week (August 30 - September 5).

Home media.

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 7, 2010, in the United States and Canada and was later available worldwide. It includes the Extended Edition, the special feature Rock Along Edition, and the Combo Pack.

Video game.

A video game based on the film, "Disney's Camp Rock: The Final Jam", was developed and published by Disney Interactive Studios. It was released in North America on August 31, 2010, Europe on September 17, 2010, and Australia on September 30, 2010.

Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie and the sequel to the 2008 film "Camp Rock". The film stars Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers (Joe, Nick and Kevin), Meaghan Martin, Maria Canals-Barrera, Daniel Fathers, and Alyson Stoner, as well as newcomers Daniel Kash, Matthew "Mdot" Finley, and Chloe Bridges. In the film, a new rival summer music camp, Camp Star, appears and attracts everyone's attention, which could mean the end of Camp Rock.


Theme.

In the painting, Vermeer has depicted, what discreetly appears to be a young pregnant woman holding an empty balance before a table on which stands an open jewelry box, the pearls and gold within spilling over. A blue cloth rests in the left foreground, beneath a mirror, and a window to the left — unseen save its golden curtain — provides light. Behind the woman is a painting of the Last Judgment featuring Christ with raised, outstretched hands. The woman may have been modeled on Vermeer's wife, Catharina Vermeer.  According to Robert Huerta in "Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal" (2005), the image has been variously "interpreted as a vanitas painting, as a representation of divine truth or justice, as a religious meditative aid, and as an incitement to lead a balanced, thoughtful life." Some viewers have imagined the woman is weighing her valuables, while others compare her actions to Christ's, reading parable into the pearls. Some art critics, including John Michael Montias who describes her as "symbolically weighing unborn souls", have seen the woman as a figure of Mary. To some critics who perceive her as measuring her valuables, the juxtaposition with the final judgement suggests that the woman should be focusing on the treasures of Heaven rather than those of Earth. In this perspective, the mirror on the wall may reinforce and reflect the vanity of her pursuits.

History.

Completed in 1662 or 1663, the painting was previously called "Woman Weighing Gold" before microscopic evaluation confirms that the balance in her hands is empty. The painting was among the large collection of Vermeer works sold on May 16, 1696 in Amsterdam from the estate of Jacob Dissius (1653–1695). It received 155 guilders, considerably above the prices fetched at the time for his "Girl Asleep at a Table" (62) and "The Officer and the Laughing Girl" (approximately 44), but somewhat below "The Milkmaid" (177).

Painting materials.

The first pigment analysis of this painting by Hermann Kühn revealed the use of ultramarine for the blue tablecloth and lead white for the grey wall. The pigment in the bright yellow curtain was identified as indian yellow. The subsequent technical investigations of the painting by Robert L. Feller (1974) and M.E. Gifford (1994) have shown that the painting had been extended by approximately five centimetre on every side at a much later date. The sample investigated by H. Kühn in 1968 was unfortunately taken from this extension. The proper pigment of the yellow curtain is lead-tin-yellow. The full pigment analysis according to the latest data is illustrated at Colourlex.

Woman Holding a Balance (Dutch: "Vrouw met weegschaal"), also called Woman Testing a Balance, is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age artist Johannes Vermeer, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.


Club career.

Early career.

Hajrović started playing football at local clubs, FC Birr and FC Windisch, before joining Grasshopper's youth academy in 2000. He made his professional debut against Luzern on 3 October 2009 at the age of 18. On 19 September 2010, he scored his first professional goals, a brace, in a Swiss Cup game.  On 17 September 2011, also in a cup game, he scored his first professional hat-trick.

Galatasaray.

On 7 January 2014, Hajrović was transferred to Turkish club Galatasaray for a fee of €3.5 million. He made his competitive debut for the club against Bursaspor on 2 February. He scored his first goal for Galatasaray in a cup win over Tokatspor. Three weeks later, Hajrović debuted in UEFA Champions League against Chelsea. Hajrović won his first trophy with the club on 7 May, by beating Eskişehirspor in Turkish Cup final.  After filing a complaint to FIFA that he received no payments from Galatasaray, he was given the right to move on free transfer elsewhere.

Werder Bremen.

On 10 July 2014, Hajrović signed a four-year contract with German team Werder Bremen. On his competitive debut for the team, he opened the scoring against FV Illertissen in DFB-Pokal game. He made his league debut a week later against Hertha BSC. He scored his first league goal on 26 April 2015 against Paderborn 07.  On 31 August 2015, Hajrović was sent on a season-long loan to Spanish outfit Eibar.  Upon returning from loan spell, Hajrović managed to secure first-team spot at Werder Bremen once again. However, on 3 December 2016, he suffered a severe knee injury, which was diagnosed as anterior cruciate ligament tear and ruled him out for the remainder of season.  Hajrović returned to the pitch on 16 September 2017, over nine months after the injury.

Dinamo Zagreb.

On 31 January 2018, Hajrović joined Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb on a contract until June 2019. He made his official debut in a comfortable away victory over Osijek on 10 February. On 4 April, he scored his first goal for Dinamo Zagreb, in a cup tie against Rijeka. Hajrović won his first trophy with the club on 13 May, when they were crowned league champions.  On 2 February 2019, Hajrović scored a brace against Rudeš, which were his first league goals for the team.  In July 2019, he extended his deal until June 2021.

International career.

After representing Switzerland at youth levels, Hajrović made his senior international debut on 14 November 2012, in a friendly match against Tunisia. However, in June 2013, he decided that in the future he would play for Bosnia and Herzegovina.  In August 2013, Hajrović's request to change his sport citizenship from Swiss to Bosnian was approved by FIFA. Later that month, he received his first senior call-up, for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia, home and away. He debuted in the home game on 6 September, which ended in an unexpected loss. Just four days later, in the away game, Hajrović scored his first goal for Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming on from the bench in the 77th minute of the game. His very first contact with the ball after just a few seconds on the pitch resulted in a goal from long range, which brought Bosnia a crucial victory.  In June 2014, Hajrović was named in Bosnia and Herzegovina's squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup, country's first major competition. He made his competition debut in the opening group match on 15 June, which ended in narrow loss to Argentina at the Maracanã Stadium.

Personal life.

Hajrović's younger brother Sead is also a professional footballer. They played together in Grasshopper, before Sead joined Arsenal in July 2009.  His parents are Bosniaks from Bijelo Polje, Montenegro, but they relocated to Sarajevo in 1980, after which they moved to Switzerland in 1987.  Hajrović married his long-time girlfriend Lejla in May 2014.  He is a practicing Muslim; along with international teammates Ibrahim Šehić, Muhamed Bešić, Armin Hodžić, Sead Kolašinac, Edin Višća and Ervin Zukanović he visited a mosque in Zenica during national team concentration.

Honours.

Grasshopper  Galatasaray  Dinamo Zagreb

Izet Hajrović (; born 4 August 1991) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a winger for 1. HNL club Dinamo Zagreb and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.


Life.

Charles of Burgau pursued a military career. He unsuccessfully led a Spanish regiment in the war against the Netherlands and was then deployed in the Long War against the Ottoman Empire. Here, he recorded some successes — at the expense of his soldiers, who were hungry and unpaid; some of them deserted — and was promoted to Field Marshal.  His father died in 1595. Since Charles was born from a morganatic marriage, he was not entitled to inherit the archduchy. He was, however, amply compensated financially and given some territories. His most important possession was the Margraviate of Burgau. He also held the Landgraviate of Nellenburg and the County of Hohenberg. Contemporary sources describe his magnificent court at his residence, Günzburg Castle.  Charles was not popular among his subjects, whom he forbade to drink wheat beer. Nor was he popular among the noble residents of his margraviate, who included the Bishop of Augsburg, the Counts of Fugger and the free imperial cities of Ulm and Augsburg, and with whom he had conflict about tax increases and about their sovereign rights.  In 1615 or 1616, he founded a Capuchin monastery in Günzburg. In 1617, he expelled the Jews from Günzburg; they were ordered to leave the city within a year.  Charles died on 30 October 1618. In 1619, his body was transferred to the church of the Capuchin monastery in Günzburg. His widow as also buried there, in 1627. When the monastery was demolished in 1806, both bodies were transferred to St. Martin's church in Günzburg.

Marriage and issue.

In 1601, Charles married Sibylle (26 August 1557 – 1627), the daughter of Duke William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. This marriage remained childless, and after Charles's death, his possessions fell back to the main line of the House of Habsburg.  However, Charles had several children from extramarital affairs:

Charles, Margrave of Burgau, also known as "Charles of Austria", (22 November 1560 at Křivoklát Castle in Bohemia – 30 October 1618 in Überlingen), was the son of Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria and his first morganatic marriage to Philippine Welser. He was the brother of Andrew of Austria.


History.

The House of Guerlain was owned and managed by members of the Guerlain family from its inception in 1828 to 1994. It was acquired in 1994 by the LVMH group, a French multinational investment corporation specializing in luxury brands.

Beginning.

The House of Guerlain was founded in 1828, when Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opened his perfume store at 42, rue de Rivoli in Paris. As both the founder and first perfumer of the house, Pierre-François composed and manufactured custom fragrances with the help of his two sons, Aimé and Gabriel. Through continued success and the patronage of members in high society, Guerlain opened its flagship store at 15, rue de la Paix in 1840, and put its mark on the Parisian fashion scene.  The success of the house under Pierre-François peaked in 1853 with the creation of "Eau de Cologne Impériale" for French Emperor Napoleon III and his Spanish-French wife Empress Eugénie. This perfume earned Pierre-François the prestigious title of being His Majesty's Official Perfumer. Guerlain went on to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Queen Isabella II of Spain, among other royalty.

Second generation.

With the death of Pierre-François in 1864, the house was left to his sons Aimé Guerlain and Gabriel Guerlain. The roles of perfumer and manager were divided between the two brothers, with Gabriel managing and further expanding the house, and Aimé becoming the master perfumer. The House of Guerlain thus began a long tradition whereby the position of master perfumer was handed down through the Guerlain family.  As Guerlain's second generation in-house perfumer, Aimé was the creator of many classic compositions, including "Fleur d'Italie" (1884), "Rococo" (1887) and "Eau de Cologne du Coq" (1894). However, many would argue that his greatest composition was 1889's "Jicky", the first fragrance described as a "parfum" rather than an eau de cologne, and among the first to use synthetic ingredients alongside natural extracts.

Third generation.

The business was handed down to the sons of Gabriel Guerlain: Jacques Guerlain and Pierre Guerlain. Jacques, Aimé's nephew, became Guerlain's third master perfumer; he was the author of many of Guerlain's most famous classics, which are still held in high esteem in the modern perfume industry. Many of his perfumes are still sold and marketed today. Among Jacques Guerlain's most important creations are "Mouchoir de Monsieur "(1904), "Après L'Ondée "(1906), "L'Heure Bleue" (1912), "Mitsouko" (1919), Guerlain's flagship fragrance "Shalimar" (1925), and "Vol de Nuit" (1933). Jacques composed his final perfume, "Ode" (1955), with the assistance of his grandson, the then-18-year-old Jean-Paul Guerlain.

Fourth generation.

Jean-Paul Guerlain was the last family master perfumer. He created Guerlain's classic men's fragrances "Vétiver" (1959) and "Habit Rouge" (1965). He also created "Chant d'Arômes" (1962), "Chamade" (1969), "Nahéma" (1979), "Jardins de Bagatelle" (1983), and "Samsara" (1989), as well as "Héritage" and "Coriolan" in the 1990s. Jean-Paul Guerlain retired in 2002, but continued to serve as advisor to his successor until 2010, when he was terminated after making a racist remark on French television regarding the inspiration for his scent Samsara. With no heir from within the Guerlain family to take over, the role of master perfumer is no longer tied to family succession.

Purchase by the LVMH Group.

In a decision widely seen as a break with tradition, the Guerlain family sold the company to the luxury goods conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in 1994. Though Jean-Paul Guerlain remained as an in-house perfumer until 2002, other perfumers were brought in after 1994 to compose perfumes for Guerlain, and Jean-Paul had to submit his compositions against those of others. Fans of the house viewed the LVMH purchase as a step towards the cheapening and commercialization of the legendary firm's legacy. Most were unhappy with the first post-LVMH release, the 1996 sweet mimosa floral "Champs-Elysées", composed by Olivier Cresp, whose entry was selected over that of Jean-Paul Guerlain.  Among the outside perfumers to compose perfumes for the firm after 1994 was Mathilde Laurent, who worked for Guerlain at the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s. She composed "Aqua Allegorica Pamplelune" (1999) and "Shalimar Light" (2003, reattributed to Jean-Paul Guerlain and relaunched in 2004 following reformulation). Maurice Roucel, a perfumer of Symrise, composed "L'Instant de Guerlain" (2004) and "Insolence" (2006). As the niece of Jean-Jacques Guerlain, some thought Patricia de Nicolaï would have been a candidate for the position of Guerlain's in-house perfumer, though the presence of a glass ceiling in the company prevented her selection for position.  In May 2008, Thierry Wasser was named the in-house perfumer for Guerlain. Wasser, a Swiss perfumer who used to work for Firmenich, created "Iris Ganache" (2007) and "Quand Vient la Pluie" (2007) for Guerlain before his appointment the following year. Jean-Paul Guerlain stayed on in an advisory consultant role, both for fragrance design and ingredients. Wasser will work closely with Sylvaine Delacourte, Guerlain's Artistic Director. In 2010, the LVMH Group cut ties with Jean-Paul Guerlain as their consultant due to his racist comments on French television.  Russian model Natalia Vodianova has been the face of Guerlain campaigns since 2008. Vodianova began advertising "Shalimar" to celebrate the perfume house's 180th birthday. For the Fall 2013 makeup collection, Olivier Echaudemaison, Guerlian's Creative Director of Makeup since 2000 commented "Every season we fantasize with Natalia's image and invent for her a new role. For us, it is not just a model, which advertises cosmetics, but above all, a great actress". In October 2011, the company named Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh as a new spokesmodel. Yeoh is an ambassador for the Orchidée Impériale line of skincare.

Products.

Guerlain's creations have long influenced the trends of perfumery with fragrances such as "Jicky", "Shalimar", and "Vétiver". Guerlain is among the few older houses (such as Caron) that exist solely to produce and market perfumes. Many brands in the perfume industry, such as Chanel and Jean Patou are in fact divisions of fashion houses or multinational conglomerates that license the brand name. Alongside its fragrances, today Guerlain has expanded to offer a large range of makeup and skincare. Guerlain products are available across the world at serviced counters within department stores, and at beauty stores such as fellow LMVH brand Sephora. Guerlain also maintains thirteen international beauty and spa 'boutiques', five within France (two being in Paris).

Perfumes.

Since its foundation in 1828, Guerlain has created over 300 fragrances. These include:

Guerlain () is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade". The house was founded in Paris in 1828 by the perfumer Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain. It was run by the Guerlain family until 1994, when it was bought by the French multinational company LVMH. Its flagship store is 68, Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris.


The revolution in military affairs.

Ogarkov was a strong advocate of reconstructing the huge, unwieldy Soviet military machine into a smaller, more compact strike force based around advanced technology. In a candid exchange with an American journalist in 1982, he had admitted that "Soviet technology is a generation or two behind America. In your country, even small children play with computers. We do not even have them in every office of the Defense Ministry. And for reasons you well know, we cannot easily make computers available in our society. Economic reforms are sorely needed, but they will most likely also entail political reforms." This openness was in sharp contrast with the anti-American rhetoric he displayed during the aftermath of the KAL-007 shootdown. Aside from Ogarkov's belief that fundamental changes needed to be made to the Soviet socioeconomic status quo, he also ran afoul of army officers who believed in a more traditional World War II style of warfare. In a 1984 article in the army newspaper "Krasnaya Zvezda", Ogarkov outlined his vision for modernizing the Soviet military.

Ogarkov's ousting.

Ogarkov was fired by the Politburo on 6 September 1984 in both his capacity of Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defense, and was replaced by Sergey Akhromeyev.  The political analyst Ilya Zemtsov has argued that Ogarkov's removal was the result of Grigory Romanov's failed ambitions to succeed Konstantin Chernenko as General Secretary. According to Zemtsov, Romanov had been trying to force a crisis of succession where his control of the armed forces, via his good relations to Ogarkov, would have tipped a split within the Politburo to his favor. Furthermore, the Politburo was worried about Ogarkov's rapid ascension: Ogarkov had already weakened the power of the Main Political Administration, the organisation tasked with keeping the military under party control, and he had gained access to the Defense Council, though not as a voting member. Romanov, who was preparing for a diplomatic mission, could not protect Ogarkov from being dismissed from his positions for "unpartylike tendencies".  Raymond L. Garthoff has written that although "the reasons for Ogarkov's abrupt removal are not known, there is little question that they concerned matters of defense allocation". Contrary to Zemtsov, Garthoff argued that "There is no indication that Ogarkov was involved in factional political infighting".  Ogarkov was soon after made commander of a newly created Western theater of war command.

Legacy.

In 2003, a regional museum was opened in Molokovo. The museum is named after Ogarkov and presents expositions about his life.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Ogarkov (; 30 October 1917 in the village of Molokovo, Tver Governorate – 23 January 1994, Moscow) was a prominent Soviet military personality. He was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1977. Between 1977 and 1984, he was Chief of the General Staff of the USSR. He became widely known in the West when he became the Soviet military's spokesman following the shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near Moneron Island in September 1983. He was dismissed as Chief of the General Staff on 6 September 1984.


History.

Actimel was invented in the 1980s when the first steps to developing a fermented milk based on Lactobacillus casei Danone were taken.  But it wasn’t until 1994 when it was commercially-launched in Belgium. The word Actimel is derived from the Flemish “Active melk” which translates simply as Active Milk.

Scientific basis.

Claimed benefits range from reducing the incidence of diarrhea and rhinitis reduction for young children, to improvement of the immune function in adults and seniors  A 2007 study published by the "British Medical Journal" suggests that the product could help avoid antibiotic–associated diarrhoea and limit "Clostridium difficile colitis" infections in elderly patients.

Debates surrounding health claims on probiotic foods.

On 23 January 2008, a proposed class action was filed in California, accusing Danone Co. Inc. of false advertising in their marketing of yogurt containing probiotic bacteria (Danactive & Activia), alleging that the claimed health benefits have never been proven. The company has denied this accusation.  Foodwatch claims that Danone "makes a mountain out of a molehill" in suggesting that Actimel protects from cold and boosts health. Foodwatch believes that the company sells a commodity product as a niche product using branding.  The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an independent regulator for advertisements, sales promotion and direct marketing in the UK. According to "Spiegel Online" one TV spot from Actimel was blocked by the ASA in 2006 and one in 2008. In the first case the ASA upheld a complaint that the advert misleadingly implied that children given Actimel would be prevented from catching bacterial infections. Meanwhile in the second case complaints about the use of the phrase "Actimel is scientifically proven and you can see that proof for yourself on our website" were upheld as only summaries of, or references to, these studies were present on the website and the full content was not available. A TV advert which stated that Actimel was "scientifically-proven to help support your kids' defences" was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.  Alexa Meyer, from the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria, comparing probiotic drinks and normal yogurt, found no significant difference in the effect of Actimel and normal yogurt with living bacteria. The nutritional researcher recommends getting enough sleep, washing hands often and eating a daily bowl of yogurt. She says this would activate more active germ-fighting white blood cells, enhancing the immune system, probably due to the presence of Lactobacillus bulgaricus, from any normal yogurt, which is half the price of Actimel.  The equivalence of yogurts is supported by Berthold Koletzko from the University of Munich, Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition, Munich, Germany in case of diarrhoea advises parents to give their children yogurt with living bacteria. It does not necessarily need to be Actimel, but may also be other yogurts. A measurable health benefit linked to the presence of live Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii sp. Bulgaricus in yogurt was reported by Koletzko and colleagues in 2005. In this review Koletzko and colleagues say that it was clearly demonstrated that yogurt containing viable bacteria improves lactose digestion and eliminates symptoms of lactose intolerance, and clearly fulfill the current concept of probiotics.  The net "all-cause" effects of yogurts have also been questioned; its 6 September 2009 issue, "Nature" featured an article by Didier Raoult who claimed that "probiotic-enriched" yogurt beverages may have contributed to the increase in obesity over the past 20 years.  Within the 27 countries of the European Union, a new health claims regulation was put in place by the European Commission as of 1 July 2007. In Canada, a similar regulation is currently in the works at Health Canada.

Actimel (known as DanActive in the United States and Canada) is a 'probiotic' yogurt-type drink produced by the French company Danone.


Background.

After the defeat of Hasdrubal Barca in the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC, the Romans had secured their bases north of the Ebro. They then proceeded to win over some Iberian tribes in the region. Both the Romans and Carthaginians faced and put down Iberian tribal revolts. The Scipios received no reinforcement from Italy, where Hannibal had the Romans hard pressed. Due to a lack of support from Rome, the Scipios mounted no decisive operations against the Carthaginians in 214–213 BC. In 215 BC, the brothers complained about the lack of Roman supplies and finance for their army. The Roman Senate responded by sending private companies to supply their forces. Two of these merchants, Pomponius and Postumius, turned out to be criminals who cheated the Scipios of their money. In 214 BC, Rome suffered a financial crisis as a result of the strains of war, increasing the Scipios' funding troubles. Despite the lack of any reinforcement or renewed funding, the Scipios went over to the offensive in 212 BC, re-capturing Saguntum, which had been lost to Hannibal in 219 BC.  Meanwhile, Hasdrubal had been reinforced by two armies, led respectively by his younger brother, Mago Barca, and Hasdrubal Gisco. According to Livy, the Romans fought multiple battles against the Carthaginians south of the Ebro from 215–214 BC, at Iliturgi, Munda, and Orongi. Livy's chronology is confused and contradicted by Polybius, who explicitly states that the Scipio brothers did not venture south of the Ebro until 212 BC. As a result, most historians consider these engagements to be ahistorical.  The Scipios had persuaded Syphax, a Numidian king, to open hostilities against Carthage with an army that had been trained by Statorius, a Roman centurion, in 213 or 212 BC. On the whole, the situation in Iberia was stable enough for Hasdrubal Barca to shift his attention to Africa in 213/212 BC in order to put down this rebellion. Hasdrubal Barca returned to Iberia in late 212 BC, bringing with him 3,000 Numidians under Masinissa, the future king of Numidia.

Prelude.

In 212 BC, the Scipio brothers captured Castulo, a major mining town and the home of Hannibal's wife Imilce. They then wintered at Castulo and Ilugia.  The brothers hired 20,000 Celt-Iberian mercenaries to reinforce their army of 20,000 Romans. The Romans strength had been reduced by losses sustained against the Carthaginians and Iberian tribes since 218 BC and the need to garrison the main Roman base at Tarraco. Observing that the Carthaginian armies were deployed separately from each other, with Hasdrubal Barca's army near Amtorgis; and, further to the west, Mago Barca with 13,500 men alongside Hasdrubal Gisco's army, the Scipio brothers decided to divide their forces. Publius Scipio led Roman and allied soldiers to attack Mago Barca near Castulo, while Gnaeus Scipio took one-third of the Roman army in Spain and the mercenaries to attack Hasdrubal Barca. This stratagem would lead to two battles, the Battle of Castulo and the Battle of Ilorca, which took place within a few days of each other.  Gnaeus Scipio arrived at his objective first. However, Hasdrubal Barca had already ordered the armies of Indibilis and Mandonius (Iberian chieftains friendly to the Carthaginians) and Hasdrubal Gisco to join Mago near Castulo. Hasdrubal Barca held his ground against Gnaeus Scipio, staying within his fortified camp, then managed to bribe the Celt-Iberian mercenaries to desert Gnaeus Scipio. This led to Hasdrubal's army outnumbering that of Gnaeus Scipio. Hasdrubal bided his time, avoiding any battles with the Romans.

Battle of Castulo.

As Publius Scipio neared Castulo, he was harassed day and night by the Numidian light cavalry under Masinissa. When informed that Indibilis was moving across his line of retreat with 7,500 Iberians, Publius Scipio decided not to face Mago but to attack the Iberian chieftain, fearing that he would be surrounded by Carthaginian forces. Leaving 2,000 soldiers in his camp under the legate Tiberius Fonteus, he marched out that night to launch an attack on the Iberians and, hopefully, evade Masinissa's cavalry. Scipio marched throughout the night and caught Indibilis and his men by surprise in the early morning; and, with a numerical superiority, began to gain the upper hand in the ensuing action. However, the Iberians managed to hold off the Romans in the confused night battle just long enough for Masinissa to arrive.  With the Numidian horse attacking from the flank, the Roman assault on the Iberians began to slacken. When Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their combined armies, the Romans finally, after a grim struggle, broke and fled, leaving Publius Scipio and most of their comrades dead on the field. Mago gave the Numidians enough time to loot the dead before force marching the army towards Hasdrubal Barca's position. A handful of Roman survivors managed to reach their camp.

Battle of Ilorca.

Gnaeus Scipio had lost the advantage of numbers with the desertion of the mercenaries. Although unaware of Publius Scipio's fate, Gnaeus decided to withdraw towards northern Iberia after Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their armies. The Romans moved out of their camp, leaving their camp fires burning, and made for the Ebro at night. The Numidians located them the following day; their attacks forced the Romans to take position for the night on a hilltop near Ilorca. The main Carthaginian army, which now comprised the forces of Hasdrubal Barca, Hasdrubal Gisco, and Mago, arrived during the night. In desperation, the Romans tried to create a defensive wall with baggage and saddles, as the ground was too stony for digging. The Carthaginians easily overran this, and Gnaeus was killed in the fighting; most of his army was destroyed.

Aftermath.

The Roman fugitives fled north of the Ebro, where they eventually gathered a hodge-podge army of 8,000–9,000 soldiers. The Carthaginian commanders made no coordinated attempts to wipe out these survivors and then send help to Hannibal Barca. In late 211 BC, Rome sent 13,100 troops under Claudius Nero to reinforce its forces in Iberia. Nero scored no spectacular victories and the Carthaginians did not launch a coordinated assault on the Romans in Iberia. With the arrival of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the son of Publius Scipio, with another 10,000 troops in 210 BC, the Carthaginians would come to regret their earlier inaction when engaged in the Battle of Cartagena in 209 BC.  With the Carthaginian armies in Iberia failing to eliminate the Romans, Hannibal would not get any reinforcements from Iberia during the crucial year of 211 BC, when the Romans were besieging Capua.

The Battle of the Upper Baetis was a double battle, comprising the battles of "Castulo" and "Ilorca", fought in 211 BC during the Second Punic War between a Carthaginian force led by Hasdrubal Barca (Hannibal's brother) and a Roman force led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus. The immediate result was a Carthaginian victory in which both Roman brothers were killed. Before this defeat, the brothers had spent seven years (218BC - 211BC) campaigning in Hispania, which had limited the resources available to Hannibal, who was simultaneously fighting the Romans in Italy.


Biography.

Abraham was born in Marienburg, East Prussia in 1895. He volunteered for military service after the outbreak of World War I and the following year was commissioned as a "Leutnant der Reserve". He was demobilised in 1920 as an honorary "Oberleutnant", and joined the police. He returned to military service in 1935 in the rank of "Major". He commanded an infantry battalion in the 105th Infantry Regiment in 1936–39, being promoted to "Oberstleutnant" in 1938. In 1939, he was transferred to the 266th Infantry Regiment, again commanding a battalion for a year. In 1940 he was appointed as the commanding officer of the 230th Infantry Regiment, and in 1941 was promoted to "Oberst", continuing in command of that regiment until 1942. During his time in command of the 230th Infantry Regiment, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.  On 17 February 1943 he was appointed to command the 76th Infantry Division which was being rebuilt in France after the original division had been destroyed at Stalingrad. He was promoted to "Generalmajor" on 1 June 1943, after which he led the division initially to Italy before being moved to Army Group South on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1943–44. On 1 January 1944, Abraham was promoted to "Generalleutnant". He continued to command the division in heavy fighting and during the withdrawal in the face of the Red Army Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive, and other than for a short time in July–August, commanded the division until October 1944. While commanding the division, he was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Later that year he was appointed to command LXIII Corps. In March 1945 he was promoted to "General der Infanterie". Captured at the end of the war, he was released in August 1947. After release he lived in Wiesbaden, West Germany. He died in 1971.

Erich Abraham (27 March 1895 – 7 March 1971) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who command the 76th Infantry Division then the LXIII Corps on the Western Front during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.


Biography.

Prahlad Jani was born on 13 August 1929 in Charada village in British India (now in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India). According to Jani, he left his home in Gujarat at the age of seven, and went to live in the jungle.  At the age of 12, Jani underwent a spiritual experience and became a follower of the Hindu goddess Amba. From that time, he chose to dress as a female devotee of Amba, wearing a red sari-like garment, jewellery and crimson flowers in his shoulder-length hair. Jani was commonly known as "Mataji" ("[a manifestation of] The Great Mother"). Jani believed that the Goddess provided him with water which dropped down through a hole in his palate, which allowed him to live without food or drink.  Since the 1970s, Jani had lived as a hermit in a cave in the forest in Gujarat. He died on 26 May 2020 at his native Charada. He was given samadhi in his ashram at Gabbar Hill near Ambaji on 28 May 2020.

Investigations.

Two observational studies and one imaging study of Jani have been conducted. The observational studies were one in 2003 and one in 2010, both involving Dr. Sudhir Shah, a neurologist at the Sterling Hospitals in Ahmedabad, India, who had studied people claiming to have exceptional abilities, including other fasters such as Hira Ratan Manek. In both cases the investigators confirmed Jani's ability to survive healthily without food and water during the testing periods, although neither study was submitted to a scientific journal. When questioned six days into the 2010 experiment, the DRDO spokesperson announced that the study's findings would be "confidential" until results were established. Uninvolved doctors and other critics have questioned the validity of the studies and stated their belief that, although people can survive for days without food or water, it is not possible to survive for years, especially since glucose, a substrate critical to brain function, is not provided.

2003 tests.

In 2003, Dr. Sudhir Shah and other physicians at Sterling Hospitals, Ahmedabad, India observed Jani for 10 days. He stayed in a sealed room. Doctors said that he passed no urine or stool during the observation, but that urine appeared to form in the bladder. A hospital spokesperson said that Jani was physically normal, but noted that a hole in the palate was an abnormal condition. The fact that Jani's weight dropped slightly during the 10 days has cast some doubt on his claim to go indefinitely without food.

2010 tests.

From 22 April until 6 May 2010, Prahlad Jani was again observed and tested by Dr Sudhir Shah and a team of 35 researchers from the Indian Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), as well as other organizations. The director of DIPAS said that the results of the observations could "tremendously benefit mankind", as well as "soldiers, victims of calamities and astronauts", all of whom may have to survive without food or water for long durations. The tests were again conducted at Sterling Hospitals. Professor Anil Gupta of SRISTI, involved in monitoring the tests, described the team as being "intrigued" by Jani's kriyas apparently allowing him to control his body's physiological functions.  The team studied Jani with daily clinical examinations, blood tests, and scans. Round-the-clock surveillance was reportedly followed using multiple CCTV cameras and personal observation. The researchers say that Jani was taken out of the sealed room for tests and exposure to sun under continuous video recording.  After fifteen days of observation during which he reportedly did not eat, drink or go to the toilet, all medical tests on Jani were reported as normal. The doctors reported that although the amount of liquid in Jani's bladder fluctuated and that Jani appeared "able to generate urine in his bladder", he did not pass urine. Based on Jani's reported levels of leptin and ghrelin, two appetite-related hormones, DRDO researchers posited that Jani may be demonstrating an extreme form of adaptation to starvation and water restriction. DIPAS stated in 2010 that further studies were planned, including investigations into how metabolic waste material is eliminated from Jani's body, from where he gets his energy for sustenance, and how he maintains his hydration status.

2017 Brain Imaging Study.

Independent of DRDO studies, IIT Madras team has conducted an imaging study in 2017. They have collected Jani's brain images and measured the size of Pineal and Pituitary glands. The result of the imaging study shows that the size of Jani's Pineal and Pituitary glands are of the same order of a 10 year old boy. The study results have been published in scientific journals.

Reactions.

Dr. Michael Van Rooyen, director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, dismissed the observation results as "impossible", observing that the bodies of profoundly malnourished people quickly consume their own body's resources, resulting in renal/liver failure, tachycardia and heart strain. A spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association stated that, "The bottom line is that even fasting for more than a day can be dangerous. You need food to function." Nutrition researcher Peter Clifton also disagreed with study results, accusing the research team of "cheating" by allowing Jani to gargle and bathe, and stating that a human of average weight would die after "15 to 20 days" without water. People who avoid food and water to emulate mystical figures often die. Sanal Edamaruku characterized the experiment as a farce for allowing Jani to move out of the CCTV cameras' field of view, claiming that video footage showed Jani was allowed to receive devotees and to leave the sealed test room for sunbathing. Edamaruku also said that the gargling and bathing activities were insufficiently monitored. Edamaruku was denied access to the site where the tests were conducted in both 2003 and 2010, and accuses Jani of having "influential protectors" responsible for denying him permission to inspect the project during its operation, despite having been invited to join the test during a live television broadcast. The Indian Rationalist Association observed that individuals making similar claims in the past have been exposed as frauds. In 2010, the prominent scientific sceptic James Randi criticized the studies performed by the Indian government, citing insufficient scrutiny of the subject. He also proposed that if Prahlad Jani could prove his claims, he would receive the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge prize.  In September 2010, Dr. Shah announced that scientists from Austria and Germany had offered to visit India to carry out further research on Jani, and scientists from the United States had also offered to join the research. Jani has expressed interest in cooperating in further investigations.

Television, video and public appearances.

In 2006, The Discovery Channel aired a documentary called "The Boy with Divine Powers" featuring a five-minute interview with Jani and Shah. In 2010, the Independent Television Network (ITN) posted an article and video featuring Prahlad Jani, commenting on the 2010 tests. In 2010 Prahlad Jani was featured in an Austrian documentary "Am Anfang war das Licht" (English title "In the Beginning There Was Light").  In October 2010, the Italian television station Rai 2 broadcast a program named "Voyager" which presented an extensive report on Prahlad Jani and the tests.  In October 2011 Jani was the "param pujya" (master of ceremony) in a large shobha yatra performed near Gandhinagar. 1000 of goddess Durga were chanted.

Prahlad Jani, also known as Mataji or Chunriwala Mataji, (13 August 1929 ― 26 May 2020) was an Indian breatharian monk who claimed to have lived without food and water since 1940. He said that the goddess Amba sustained him. However, the findings of the investigations on him have been kept confidential and viewed with skepticism. He made several media and public appearances.