Taxonomy.

The Egyptian goose is believed to be most closely related to the shelducks (genus "Tadorna") and their relatives, and is placed with them in the subfamily Tadorninae. It is the only extant member of the genus "Alopochen", which also contains closely related prehistoric and recently extinct species. mtDNA cytochrome "b" sequence data suggest that the relationships of "Alopochen" to "Tadorna" need further investigation.  The generic name is based on Greek ἀλώπηξ ("alōpēx"), "fox", and χήν ("chēn") "goose", referring to the ruddy colour of its back. The species name "aegyptius" is from the Latin "Aegyptius", "Egyptian".

Description.

It swims well, and in flight looks heavy, more like a goose than a duck, hence the English name. It is long.  The sexes of this species are identical in plumage but the males average slightly larger. There is a fair amount of variation in plumage tone, with some birds greyer and others browner, but this is not sex- or age-related. A large part of the wings of mature birds is white, but in repose the white is hidden by the wing coverts. When it is aroused, either in alarm or aggression, the white begins to show. In flight or when the wings are fully spread in aggression, the white is conspicuous.  The voices and vocalisations of the sexes differ, the male having a hoarse, subdued duck-like quack which seldom sounds unless it is aroused. The male Egyptian goose attracts its mate with an elaborate, noisy courtship display that includes honking, neck stretching and feather displays. The female has a far noisier raucous quack that frequently sounds in aggression and almost incessantly at the slightest disturbance when tending her young.

Distribution.

This species breeds widely in Africa except in deserts and dense forests, and is locally abundant. They are found mostly in the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara. While not breeding, it disperses somewhat, sometimes making longer migrations northwards into arid regions of the Sahel. It spread to Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Italy where there are self-sustaining populations which are mostly derived from escaped ornamental birds. Escapes have also bred on occasion in other places, such as Texas, Florida, California, and New Zealand.  The British population dates back to the 18th century, though only formally added to the British list in 1971. In Britain, it is found mainly in East Anglia, where it breeds at sites with open water, short grass and suitable nesting locations (either islands, holes in old trees or amongst epicormic shoots on old trees). During the winter they are widely dispersed within river valleys where they feed on short grass and cereals. In the United Kingdom in 2009, it was officially declared a non-native species. Accordingly, Egyptian geese in Britain may be shot without special permission if they cause problems.

Behaviour.

This is a largely terrestrial species, which will also perch readily on trees and buildings. Egyptian geese typically eat seeds, leaves, grasses, and plant stems. Occasionally, they will eat locusts, worms, or other small animals. Until the goslings are a few weeks old, and strong enough to graze, they feed largely on small aquatic invertebrates, especially freshwater plankton. As a result, if anoxic conditions lead to the production of botulinum toxin, and it gets passed up the food chain via worms and insect larvae insensitive to the toxin, entire clutches of goslings feeding on such prey may die. The parents, who do not eat such organisms to any significant extent, generally remain unaffected.  Both sexes are aggressively territorial towards their own species when breeding and frequently pursue intruders into the air, attacking them in aerial "dogfights". Egyptian geese have been observed attacking aerial objects such as drones that enter their habitat as well. Neighbouring pairs may even kill another's offspring for their own offsprings' survival as well as for more resources.  This species will nest in a large variety of situations, especially in holes in mature trees in parkland. The female builds the nest from reeds, leaves and grass, and both parents take turns incubating eggs. Egyptian geese usually pair for life. Both the male and female care for the offspring until they are old enough to care for themselves. Such parental care however, does not include foraging for the young, who, being precocial, forage for themselves.

The Egyptian goose ("Alopochen aegyptiaca") is a member of the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. It is native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley.


Structure.

Intervertebral discs consist of an outer fibrous ring, the annulus fibrosus disci intervertebralis, which surrounds an inner gel-like center, the nucleus pulposus. The "annulus fibrosus" consists of several layers (laminae) of fibrocartilage made up of both type I and type II collagen. Type I is concentrated toward the edge of the ring, where it provides greater strength. The stiff laminae can withstand compressive forces. The fibrous intervertebral disc contains the "nucleus pulposus" and this helps to distribute pressure evenly across the disc. This prevents the development of stress concentrations which could cause damage to the underlying vertebrae or to their endplates. The nucleus pulposus contains loose fibers suspended in a mucoprotein gel. The nucleus of the disc acts as a shock absorber, absorbing the impact of the body's activities and keeping the two vertebrae separated. It is the remnant of the notochord.  There is one disc between each pair of vertebrae, except for the first cervical segment, the "atlas". The "atlas" is a ring around the roughly cone-shaped extension of the "axis" (second cervical segment). The axis acts as a post around which the atlas can rotate, allowing the neck to swivel. There are 23 discs in the human spine: 6 in the neck (cervical) region, 12 in the middle back (thoracic) region, and 5 in the lower back (lumbar) region Discs are named by the vertebral body above and below. For example, the disc between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae is designated "C5-6".

Development.

During development and at birth, vertebral discs have some vascular supply to the cartilage endplates and the annulus fibrosus. These quickly deteriorate leaving almost no direct blood supply in healthy adults.

Intervertebral disc space.

The intervertebral disc space is typically defined on an X-ray photograph as the space between adjacent vertebrae. In healthy patients, this corresponds to the size of the intervertebral disc. The size of the space can be altered in pathological conditions such as discitis (infection of the intervertebral disc).

Function.

The intervertebral disc functions to separate the vertebrae from each other and provides the surface for the shock-absorbing gel of the nucleus pulposus. The nucleus pulposus of the disc functions to distribute hydraulic pressure in all directions within each intervertebral disc under compressive loads. The nucleus pulposus consists of large vacuolated notochord cells, small chondrocyte-like cells, collagen fibrils, and aggrecan, a proteoglycan that aggregates by binding to hyaluronan. Attached to each aggrecan molecule are glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains of chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate. Increasing the amount of negatively charged aggrecan increases oncotic pressure, resulting in a shift of extracellular fluid from the outside to the inside of the nucleus pulposus. The amount of glycosaminoglycans (and hence water) decreases with age and degeneration.

Clinical significance.

Herniation.

A spinal disc herniation, commonly referred to as a slipped disc, can happen when unbalanced mechanical pressures substantially deform the annulus fibrosus, allowing part of the nucleus to obtrude. These events can occur during peak physical performance, during traumas, or as a result of chronic deterioration, typically accompanied with poor posture and has been associated with a "Propionbacterium acnes" infection. Both the deformed annulus and the gel-like material of the nucleus pulposus can be forced laterally or posteriorly, distorting local muscle function and putting pressure on the nearby nerve. This can give the symptoms typical of nerve root entrapment. These symptoms can vary between paresthesia, numbness, chronic and/or acute pain, either locally or along the dermatome served by the entrapped nerve, loss of muscle tone and decreased homeostatic performance. The disc is not physically slipped; it bulges, usually in just one direction. Risk of Cauda Equina.  Another kind of herniation, of the nucleus pulposus, can also happen as a result of the formation of Schmorl's nodes on the intervertebral disc. This is referred to as "vertical disc herniation".

Degeneration.

Before age 40, approximately 25% of people show evidence of disc degeneration at one or more levels. Beyond age 40, more than 60% of people show evidence of disc degeneration at one or more levels on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These degenerative changes are a normal part of the ageing process and do not correlate to pain.  One effect of aging and disc degeneration is that the nucleus pulposus begins to dehydrate and the concentration of proteoglycans in the matrix decreases, thus limiting the ability of the disc to absorb shock. This general shrinking of disc size is partially responsible for the common decrease in height as humans age. The annulus fibrosus also becomes weaker with age and has an increased risk of tearing. In addition, the cartilage endplates begin thinning, fissures begin to form, and there is sclerosis of the subchondral bone. Since the fissures are formed in the annulus fibrosus due to osteo-arthritic bones or degeneration in general, the inner nucleus pulposus can seep out and put pressure on any number of vertebral nerves. A herniated disc can cause mild to severe pain such as sciatica and treatment for herniated discs range from physical therapy to surgery. Other degeneration of the vertebral column includes diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) which is the calcification or ossification of the ligaments surrounding the vertebrae. This degeneration causes stiffness and sometimes even curvature in the lumbar and thoraco-lumbar spinal region. Burgeoning evidence suggests that long-term running may mitigate age-related degeneration within lumbar intervertebral discs

Scoliosis.

While this may not cause pain in some people, in others it may cause chronic pain. Other spinal disorders can affect the morphology of intervertebral discs. For example, patients with scoliosis commonly have calcium deposits (ectopic calcification) in the cartilage endplate and sometimes in the disc itself. Herniated discs are also found to have a higher degree of cellular senescence than non-herniated discs. In addition to scoliosis, which is the lateral 'S' curvature of the spine, the fused vertebrae can also experience other abnormalities such as kyphosis (hunchback) which shows in old age, or lordosis (swayback), which is often present in pregnancy and obesity.

Etymology.

Historically, "annulus" is a misspelling of the Latin "anulus", the Latin word for "little ring" and the diminutive of the Latin "anus" (a ring).

An intervertebral disc (or intervertebral fibrocartilage) lies between adjacent vertebrae in the vertebral column. Each disc forms a fibrocartilaginous joint (a symphysis), to allow slight movement of the vertebrae, to act as a ligament to hold the vertebrae together, and to function as a shock absorber for the spine.


Key features.

BIND 9 is intended to be fully compliant with the IETF DNS standards and draft standards. Important features of BIND 9 include: TSIG, nsupdate, IPv6, RNDC (remote name daemon control), views, multiprocessor support, Response Rate Limiting (RRL), DNSSEC, and broad portability. RNDC enables remote configuration updates, using a shared secret to provide encryption for local and remote terminals during each session.

Database support.

While earlier versions of BIND offered no mechanism to store and retrieve zone data in anything other than flat text files, in 2007 BIND 9.4 DLZ provided a compile-time option for zone storage in a variety of database formats including LDAP, Berkeley DB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and ODBC.  BIND 10 planned to make the data store modular, so that a variety of databases may be connected. In 2016 ISC added support for the 'dyndb' interface, contributed by RedHat, with BIND version 9.11.0.

Security.

Security issues that are discovered in BIND 9 are patched and publicly disclosed in keeping with common principles of open source software. A complete list of security defects that have been discovered and disclosed in BIND9 is maintained by Internet Systems Consortium, the current authors of the software.  The BIND 4 and BIND 8 releases both had serious security vulnerabilities. Use of these ancient versions, or any un-maintained, non-supported version is strongly discouraged. BIND 9 was a complete rewrite, in part to mitigate these ongoing security issues. The downloads page on the ISC web site clearly shows which versions are currently maintained and which are end of life.

History.

Originally written by four graduate students at the Computer Systems Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), BIND was first released with Berkeley Software Distribution 4.3BSD. Paul Vixie started maintaining it in 1988 while working for Digital Equipment Corporation., the Internet Systems Consortium maintains, updates, and writes new versions of BIND.  BIND was written by Douglas Terry, Mark Painter, David Riggle and Songnian Zhou in the early 1980s at the University of California, Berkeley as a result of a DARPA grant. The acronym "BIND" is for "Berkeley Internet Name Domain", from a technical paper published in 1984.  Versions of BIND through 4.8.3 were maintained by the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) at UC Berkeley.  In the mid-1980s, Paul Vixie of DEC took over BIND development, releasing versions 4.9 and 4.9.1. Vixie continued to work on BIND after leaving DEC. BIND Version 4.9.2 was sponsored by Vixie Enterprises. Vixie eventually founded the ISC, which became the entity responsible for BIND versions starting with 4.9.3.  BIND 8 was released by ISC in May 1997.  Version 9 was developed by Nominum, Inc. under an ISC outsourcing contract, and the first version was released 9 October 2000. It was written from scratch in part to address the architectural difficulties with auditing the earlier BIND code bases, and also to support DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions). The development of BIND 9 took place under a combination of commercial and military contracts. Most of the features of BIND 9 were funded by UNIX vendors who wanted to ensure that BIND stayed competitive with Microsoft's DNS offerings; the DNSSEC features were funded by the US military, which regarded DNS security as important. BIND 9 was released in September 2000.  In 2009, ISC started an effort to develop a new version of the software suite, called BIND10. In addition to DNS service, the BIND10 suite also included IPv4 and IPv6 DHCP server components. In April 2014, with the BIND10 release 1.2.0 the ISC concluded its development work of the project and renamed the project to "Bundy", moving the source code repository to GitHub for further development by outside public efforts.. ISC discontinued its involvement in the project due to cost-cutting measures. The development of DHCP components was split off to become a new Kea project.

BIND (, or named (pronounced "name-dee":, short for "name daemon"), is an implementation of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. It performs both of the main DNS server roles, acting as an authoritative name server for domains, and acting as a recursive resolver in the network. As of 2015, it is the most widely used domain name server software, and is the "de facto" standard on Unix-like operating systems.


Early life.

Ekaterina was born in St. Petersburg and named after her grandmother, Catherine the Great. Described as beautiful and vivacious, she had a happy childhood and her education was carefully supervised by her mother. Ekaterina received the best education and constantly furthered her education through reading new literary publications and personal contacts with various outstanding persons. Known as Katya in the family, she was very close to her siblings, particularly her eldest brother Tsar Alexander I. Throughout her life she would maintain a close relationship with him. It was said that she was Alexander's favorite sister and one of the few persons he loved unconditionally. His letters to her are expressed in phrases like ""I am yours, heart and soul, for life"," ""I think that I love you more with each day that passes"," and ""to love you more than I do is impossible"." Although Paul and Maria Feodorovna were initially disappointed at the birth of a fourth daughter, Ekaterina later became her mother's favorite daughter.

First marriage.

While the Napoleonic Wars were still in progress, the childless Napoléon I arranged his divorce from his beloved but aged wife Empress Joséphine, in order to marry a princess of high birth, get connected to royalty and beget the much desired heir. While the divorce itself did not happen until 1810, Napoleon was on the lookout for a new wife for some years previous to that, and seriously considered Ekaterina as a candidate - in addition to everything else, such a marriage would also provide strategic advantage by drawing the Russians to his side. The matter was broached or hinted at by the French delegation, at the behest of Talleyrand, at a meeting between them and the Russians at Erfurt in 1808. Ekaterina's family was utterly horrified, and the Dowager Empress immediately arranged a marriage for her daughter to her nephew, Duke George of Oldenburg.  Thus, Ekaterina was married to her first cousin Duke George of Oldenburg on 3 August 1809. George was the second son of Peter, Duke of Oldenburg and his wife, Duchess Friederike of Württemberg. The couple resided in Tver, where George had been appointed governor general. Catherine lived a lavish court life and entertained with balls, grand dinners and similar events in the pattern of the Imperial court, to create "a Small Saint Petersburg" in Tver. The couple were quickly blessed with two sons: Peter George (b. 1810) and Konstantin Friedrich Peter (b. 1812). Although the match had been arranged by their families, Ekaterina was devoted to her husband, and the marriage was harmonious. It was said that he was not handsome but Ekaterina cared for him deeply, and his death in 1812, due to typhoid fever, was a very severe shock to her. They had been married barely three years, and Ekaterina, now the mother of two infant sons, was only 24 years old.  While residing in Tver with George, Ekaterina supported N.M. Karamzin to write his later famous historical work. Tsar Alexander adopted reactionary ideas from a patriotic group which she dominated. In 1812, some conspirators who planned to depose Tsar Alexander had the ambitions to put her on the throne as Empress Catherine III. In 1812, she supported the suggestion to summon a national militia, and formed a special regiment of chasseurs which took part in many of the great battles of the era.

Second marriage.

Following the death of her husband, Ekaterina spent much of the next few years with her siblings, especially her brother the Tsar with whom she had a very close relationship. During 1813-1815, she travelled to England with her brother Tsar Alexander I to meet the Prince Regent. She was again with her brother during the Congress of Vienna in 1815. She was not without influence upon his political acts during these trips. She also promoted the marriage between her youngest sister Anna and William II of the Netherlands during this time.  In England, Ekaterina met the Crown Prince William of Württemberg. It was love at first sight for the couple. However, William was married to princess Caroline Augusta of Bavaria; he took the drastic step of divorcing her. The background to this turn of events is that William and Caroline Augusta had hastily married each other in order to avoid a political marriage devised by Napoleon. They had never got on with each other, and both of them claimed, at the time of seeking an annulment, that their marriage had never been consummated. The annulment was duly granted by the papacy on grounds of non-consummation. Shortly afterwards (in 1816), Caroline Augusta married Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and became Empress Consort of Austria.  Very early in the year 1816, Ekaterina was married to the newly divorced William. The wedding was held in Saint Petersburg. The couple was immediately blessed with a daughter, Marie Frederikke Charlotte, who was born on 30 October 1816, perchance the very day on which Ekaterina's father-in-law, Frederick I of Wurttemberg, died. The day therefore marked her husband's accession as king, and Ekaterina, now Queen Katharina of Württemberg, became active in charity works in her adopted homeland. She established numerous institutions for the benefit of the public. She supported elementary education and organized a charity foundation during the hunger of 1816. In 1818, she gave birth to another daughter, Sophie Frederike Mathilde, who would marry Ekaterina's nephew William III of Orange and become Queen of the Netherlands.

Death.

In January 1819, six months after the birth of her youngest child, Ekaterina died at Stuttgart of erysipelas complicated by pneumonia. She was barely thirty years old, and left behind four children, dispersed across two different families, the eldest of whom was barely eight years old. After her death, her surviving husband built Württemberg Mausoleum in Rotenberg, Stuttgart, dedicated to her memory. William later married again; his next wife was his first cousin, Princess Pauline of Württemberg.

Issue.

Ekaterina had two sons with Duke George of Oldenburg (9 May 1784 – 27 December 1812):  With the King of Württemberg, she had the following children:

Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (; 21 May 1788 [OS 10 May 1788] – 9 January 1819) later Queen Catharina Pavlovna of Württemberg, was the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. She became the Queen of Württemberg upon her marriage to her first cousin Crown Prince William who eventually became King William I of Württemberg in 1816.


History.

In 1956, about of land in the area that is now Karmiel, owned by residents of the nearby Israeli Arab villages of Deir al-Asad, Bi'ina and Nahf, were declared "closed areas" by Israeli authorities. This area, near the main road between Acre and Safed, had been an important marble quarrying site. In 1961, the Israeli authorities expropriated the land to build Karmiel. The villagers offered "equally good land" in the area, but when Moshe Sneh (Maki) and Yusef Khamis (Mapam) brought the case to the Knesset on behalf of the villagers, the Knesset established that there was no such land. According to the Haredi newspaper She'arim, about (394 lots) were confiscated by a court order on 4 March 1963, at the request of the Israel Development Authority. However, the land was rocky, uninhabited and unfit for agriculture. In 1964, when local Arabs applied for permission to move into the town, Minister of Housing Yosef Almogi replied that "Karmiel was not built to solve the problems for the people in the surrounding area." In February 1965, 400 protesters marched from Tel Aviv to protest against "discrimination of a group of our citizens". Representatives went to a local police station, informing the police that they were staying in the area without permission. Eventually, the perceived leaders were arrested and tried before a military tribunal.  Karmiel was one of the first cities in Israel to be established according to an urban master plan. It was built as part of the Central Galilee Development Project. Work began in 1963, and the official inauguration ceremony took place in October 1964. The first 16 families moved in at that time. A tender for the construction of Karmiel's main roads was issued in 1963, and Mekorot built a water pipe network connecting Karmiel, Rameh, Sha'ab and other nearby villages. In 1972, Karmiel was granted development town status, which bolstered its growth due to government-provided economic incentives to attract young couples.  In 1981, Karmiel was awarded the Beautiful Israel prize and the Kaplan Prize for Management and Services. Karmiel achieved city status on November 20, 1986. The first mayor was Baruch Venger, followed by Adi Eldar, who has remained in this position until today. Some 18,000 new immigrants settled in Karmiel between 1990 and 2002. In the 2000s, some SLA families were resettled in Karmiel following the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon.  During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Hezbollah fired 180 Katyusha rockets into Karmiel and the neighboring villages, leading to casualties and damage to buildings, roads, and cars.  In the 2010s, Israeli-Arab families began moving to Karmiel to improve their quality of life.

Geography.

Karmiel is located on the Acre–Safed road, on the northern edge of the Lower Galilee. It lies in Emek Beit HaKerem and its elevation is. The Hilazon Stream passes slightly to the south of Karmiel. Its tributaries, the Shezor and Shagor Streams pass through Karmiel on the east and north, respectively. Karmiel sits on the Shagor mountain range, which stretches from Mount Hazon in the east (, next to Maghar) to Mount Gilon in the west (, at Gilon). Western Karmiel was built on the Karmi (362 m) and Makosh (315 m) mountains. Work on a new railway line linking Haifa and Karmiel began in 2011.

Demographics.

, the city encompasses an area of about 24,000 dunams (24 km2) with a population of about 50,000 residents approximately 40% of whom are immigrants from 75 countries. The city also receives significant internal migration of Haredi families. Since 1990, 16,000 immigrants have arrived in Karmiel, the majority of whom are from the Former Soviet Union. According to the national master plan, by 2020 Karmiel will have a population of approximately 120,000 residents. Since 1980, six new neighborhoods have been developed and populated, and a technical college has been serving the community since 1989., work is underway to create a further neighborhood on Mount Karmi on Karmiel's western fringe.

Local government.

Adam Tal was the first official head of the group that founded Karmiel in 1964. Avraham Argov replaced him and was himself replaced in 1968 by Baruch Venger, who headed the municipality of Karmiel until his death in office on November 22, 1988. His successor was Adi Eldar, who was re-elected several times. In November 2018, Moshe Kuninsky was elected mayor of Karmiel.

Education.

Today there are four high schools, four junior high schools, a vocational training center, nine state-run elementary schools, one state-run religious school (including high school), an independent education elementary school, a school for gifted children and an educational farm, many kindergartens, nursery schools and daycare centers, as well as a network of community youth and sports centers and the international ORT Braude College of Engineering with a student body of 3,500 studying computers, electronics, industrial administration, biotechnology and other subjects. A biotechnology research and development center will also open at the college.

Health care.

In 2011, a Terem emergency care clinic was opened in Karmiel. The clinic is under the medical management of Dr. Walid Assadi and is open seven days a week, including Sabbath and holidays. Israel's four national health funds all maintain clinics in the city. In addition, Karmiel has dental clinics, eye clinics, and private clinics.

Culture.

The city is known for the Karmiel Dance Festival, a yearly event since 1988. The festival is usually held for 3 days and nights in July, and includes dance performances, workshops, and open dance sessions. The festival began as a celebration of Israeli folk dance, but today it features many different dance forms from all around the globe, and attracts thousands of dancers and hundreds of thousands of spectators from many countries.  "Nitzotz-Machanayim" is a community center which caters to the Russian-speaking population of Karmiel. It is one of a number of similar centers in Israel which operate in the framework of the Machanayim "Communities" project. Rabbi Eli Talberg is the director of Natzotz-Machanyim, which is located on the first floor of "Kikar Ha’Ir" (often called "The Old Mall"). Activities include a Beit-Midrash, conversion classes, Hebrew classes, a youth club, a women's club, and additional workshops and activities for all ages. The community also organizes regular educational tours throughout Israel and participates in sporting and social events with other branches of the Communities project.

Environmental protection.

Karmiel was the first Israeli city to receive ISO 9002 certification for the quality of its services. It is one of the few Israeli cities with ISO 1410 certification for environmental standards. Karmiel has enacted by-laws to protect the environment and prevent pollution, and become a center for clean industries and advanced technology enterprises that abide by these standards.

Parks and gardens.

The Holocaust Memorial Park is located at the entrance to the city. The bronze sculptures were made by Jewish sculptor and artist Nicky Imber (1920-1996). The sculptures are separated into three groups: Holocaust, wondering and hope; which represent the story of the Jewish people from the time of the Holocaust to the return to the holy land.  The Karmiel Quarries Park is a 12.4-acre park developed on the site of a defunct limestone quarry. One section of the park is a sculpture garden. An amphitheater on the grounds of the park hosts local events and incorporates a drainage system that collects rainfall which is later used for watering greenery.

Karmiel (, "lit." "God's vineyards") is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, from Safed and from Ma'alot-Tarshiha and from Acre. In Karmiel had a population of.


Biography.

Born in Breslau in Silesia (modern-day southwest Poland), into a Jewish family, Cassirer studied literature and philosophy at the University of Marburg (where he completed his doctoral work in 1899 with a dissertation on René Descartes's analysis of mathematical and natural scientific knowledge entitled ["Descartes' Critique of Mathematical and Scientific Knowledge"]) and at the University of Berlin (where he completed his habilitation in 1906 with the dissertation ["The Problem of Knowledge in Philosophy and Science in the Modern Age: Volume I"]).  Politically, Cassirer supported the liberal German Democratic Party (DDP). After working for many years as a at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, Cassirer was elected in 1919 to the philosophy chair at the newly founded University of Hamburg, where he lectured until 1933, supervising amongst others the doctoral theses of Joachim Ritter and Leo Strauss. Because he was Jewish, he left Germany after the Nazis came to power in 1933.  After leaving Germany he taught for a couple of years at the University of Oxford, before becoming a professor at Gothenburg University. When Cassirer considered Sweden too unsafe, he applied for a post at Harvard University, but was rejected because thirty years earlier he had rejected a job offer from them. In 1941 he became a visiting professor at Yale University, then moved to Columbia University in New York City, where he lectured from 1943 until his death in 1945.  Cassirer died of a heart attack in April 1945 in New York City. His grave is located in Westwood, New Jersey, on the Cedar Park Beth-El Cemeteries in the graves of the Congregation Habonim. His son, Heinz Cassirer, was also a Kantian scholar.

Influences.

Donald Phillip Verene, who published some of Cassirer's papers kept at Yale University, gave this overview of his ideas: "Cassirer as a thinker became an embodiment of Kantian principles, but also of much more, of an overall movement of spirit stretching from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, and on to Herder’s conception of history, Goethe’s poetry, Wilhelm von Humboldt’s study of the Kavi language, Schelling’s, Hegel’s "Phenomenology of Spirit", and Vischer’s conception of the aesthetic symbol, among many others. Cassirer’s own position is born through a mastery of the whole development of this world of the humanistic understanding, which included the rise of the scientific world view — a mastery evident both in his historical works and in his systematic philosophy."

Work.

History of science.

Cassirer's first major published writings were a history of modern thought from the Renaissance to Kant. In accordance with his Marburg neo-Kantianism he concentrated upon epistemology. His reading of the scientific revolution, in books such as "The Individual and the Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy" (1927), as a "Platonic" application of mathematics to nature, influenced historians such as E. A. Burtt, E. J. Dijksterhuis, and Alexandre Koyré.

Philosophy of science.

In "Substance and Function" (1910), he writes about late nineteenth-century developments in physics including relativity theory and the foundations of mathematics. In "Einstein's Theory of Relativity" (1921) he defended the claim that modern physics supports a neo-Kantian conception of knowledge. He also wrote a book about Quantum mechanics called "Determinism and Indeterminism in Modern Physics" (1936).

Philosophy of symbolic forms.

At Hamburg Cassirer discovered the Library of the Cultural Sciences founded by Aby Warburg. Warburg was an art historian who was particularly interested in ritual and myth as sources of surviving forms of emotional expression. In "Philosophy of Symbolic Forms" (1923–29) Cassirer argues that man (as he put it in his more popular 1944 book "Essay on Man") is a "symbolic animal". Whereas animals perceive their world by instincts and direct sensory perception, humans create a universe of symbolic meanings. Cassirer is particularly interested in natural language and myth. He argues that science and mathematics developed from natural language, and religion and art from myth.

The Cassirer–Heidegger debate.

In 1929 Cassirer took part in a historically significant encounter with Martin Heidegger in Davos. Cassirer argues that while Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" emphasizes human temporality and finitude, he also sought to situate human cognition within a broader conception of humanity. Cassirer challenges Heidegger's relativism by invoking the universal validity of truths discovered by the exact and moral sciences.

"Philosophy of the Enlightenment".

Cassirer believed that reason's self-realization leads to human liberation. Mazlish (2000), however, notes that Cassirer in his "The Philosophy of the Enlightenment" (1932) focuses exclusively on ideas, ignoring the political and social context in which they were produced.

"The Logic of the Cultural Sciences".

In "The Logic of the Cultural Sciences" (1942) Cassirer argues that objective and universal validity can be achieved not only in the sciences, but also in practical, cultural, moral, and aesthetic phenomena. Although inter-subjective objective validity in the natural sciences derives from universal laws of nature, Cassirer asserts that an analogous type of inter-subjective objective validity takes place in the cultural sciences.

"The Myth of the State".

Cassirer's last work, "The Myth of the State" (1946), was published posthumously; at one level it is an attempt to understand the intellectual origins of Nazi Germany. Cassirer sees Nazi Germany as a society in which the dangerous power of myth is not checked or subdued by superior forces. The book discusses the opposition of logos and mythos in Greek thought, Plato's Republic, the medieval theory of the state, Machiavelli, Thomas Carlyle's writings on hero worship, the racial theories of Arthur de Gobineau, and Hegel. Cassirer claimed that in 20th-century politics there was a return, with the passive acquiescence of Martin Heidegger, to the irrationality of myth, and in particular to a belief that there is such a thing as destiny. Of this passive acquiescence, Cassirer says that in departing from Husserl's belief in an objective, logical basis for philosophy, Heidegger attenuated the ability of philosophy to oppose the resurgence of myth in German politics of the 1930s.

Ernst Alfred Cassirer (; ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic philosophy of science.


History of concept.

The term "allophone" was coined by Benjamin Lee Whorf circa 1929. In doing so, he placed a cornerstone in consolidating early phoneme theory. The term was popularized by George L. Trager and Bernard Bloch in a 1941 paper on English phonology and went on to become part of standard usage within the American structuralist tradition.

Complementary and free-variant allophones and assimilation.

Whenever a user's speech is vocalized for a given phoneme, it is slightly different from other utterances, even for the same speaker. That has led to some debate over how real and how universal phonemes really are (see phoneme for details). Only some of the variation is significant, by being detectable or perceivable, to speakers.  There are two types of allophones, based on whether a phoneme must be pronounced using a specific allophone in a specific situation or whether the speaker has the unconscious freedom to choose the allophone that is used.  If a specific allophone from a set of allophones that correspond to a phoneme must be selected in a given context, and using a different allophone for a phoneme would cause confusion or make the speaker sound non-native, the allophones are said to be "complementary". The allophones then complement each other, and one of them is not used in a situation in which the usage of another is standard. For complementary allophones, each allophone is used in a specific phonetic context and may be involved in a phonological process.  In other cases, the speaker can freely select from "free variant" allophones on personal habit or preference, but free variant allophones are still selected in the specific context, not the other way around.  Another example of an allophone is assimilation, in which a phoneme is to sound more like another phoneme. One example of assimilation is consonant voicing and devoicing, in which voiceless consonants are voiced before and after voiced consonants, and voiced consonants are devoiced before and after voiceless consonants.

Allotone.

An allotone is a tonic allophone, such as the neutral tone in Standard Mandarin.

Examples.

English.

There are many allophonic processes in English: lack of plosion, nasal plosion, partial devoicing of sonorants, complete devoicing of sonorants, partial devoicing of obstruents, lengthening and shortening vowels, and retraction.  Because the choice among allophones is seldom under conscious control, few people realize their existence. English-speakers may be unaware of the differences among six allophones of the phoneme : unreleased as in "cat", aspirated as in "top", glottalized as in "button", flapped as in American English "water", nasalized flapped as in "winter", and none of the above as in "stop". However, they may become aware of the differences if, for example, they contrast the pronunciations of the following words:  A flame that is held before the lips while those words are spoken flickers more for the aspirated "nitrate" than for the unaspirated "night rate." The difference can also be felt by holding the hand in front of the lips. For a Mandarin-speaker, for whom and are separate phonemes, the English distinction is much more obvious than for an English-speaker, who has learned since childhood to ignore the distinction.  Allophones of English may be noticed if the 'light' of "leaf" is contrasted with the 'dark' of "feel". Again, the difference is much more obvious to a Turkish-speaker, for whom and are separate phonemes, than to an English speaker, for whom they are allophones of a single phoneme.  These descriptions are more sequentially broken down in the next section.

Rules for English Consonant Allophones.

Peter Ladefoged, a renowned phonetician, clearly explains the consonant allophones of English in a precise list of statements to illustrate the language behavior. Some of these rules apply to all the consonants of English; the first item on the list deals with consonant length, items 2 through 18 apply to only selected groups of consonants, and the last item deals with the quality of a consonant. These descriptive rules are as follows:

Other languages.

There are many examples for allophones in languages other than English. Typically, languages with a small phoneme inventory allow for quite a lot of allophonic variation: examples are Hawaiian and Toki Pona. Here are some examples (the links of language names go to the specific article or subsection on the phenomenon):

Representing a phoneme with an allophone.

Since phonemes are abstractions of speech sounds, not the sounds themselves, they have no direct phonetic transcription. When they are realized without much allophonic variation, a simple broad transcription is used. However, when there are complementary allophones of a phoneme, the allophony becomes significant and things then become more complicated. Often, if only one of the allophones is simple to transcribe, in the sense of not requiring diacritics, that representation is chosen for the phoneme.  However, there may be several such allophones, or the linguist may prefer greater precision than that allows. In such cases, a common convention is to use the "elsewhere condition" to decide the allophone that stands for the phoneme. The "elsewhere" allophone is the one that remains once the conditions for the others are described by phonological rules.  For example, English has both oral and nasal allophones of its vowels. The pattern is that vowels are nasal only before a nasal consonant in the same syllable; elsewhere, they are oral. Therefore, by the "elsewhere" convention, the oral allophones are considered basic, and nasal vowels in English are considered to be allophones of oral phonemes.  In other cases, an allophone may be chosen to represent its phoneme because it is more common in the languages of the world than the other allophones, because it reflects the historical origin of the phoneme, or because it gives a more balanced look to a chart of the phonemic inventory.  An alternative, which is commonly used for archiphonemes, is to use a capital letter, such as /N/ for [m], [n], [ŋ].  In rare cases, a linguist may represent phonemes with abstract symbols, such as dingbats, to avoid privileging any particular allophone.

In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek, "állos", "other" and, "phōnē", "voice, sound") is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds, or "phones", or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in "stop" ) and the aspirated form (as in "top" ) are allophones for the phoneme, while these two are considered to be different phonemes in some languages such as Thai and Hindi. On the other hand, in Spanish, (as in "dolor" ) and (as in "nada" ) are allophones for the phoneme, while these two are considered to be different phonemes in English.


Foundation.

The order was founded by Saint Cajetan (Gaetano dei Conti di Thiene), Paolo Consiglieri, Bonifacio da Colle, and Giovanni Pietro Carafa (afterwards Pope Paul IV). Carafa was Bishop of Chieti; Chieti (Theate) is a city of the Abruzzi in Central Italy, from which the congregation adopted its specific name, to distinguish it from other congregations (Barnabites, Somaschi, Caracciolini, etc.) modelled upon it. The Theatines combined the pursuit of evangelical perfection traditional among religious orders with apostolic service generally expected of diocesan clergy. It was Caraffa who wrote the constitutions of the order.  Cajetan consecrated his order to the Cross, which he adopted as its emblem, and the foundation took place on the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, May 3, 1524. It was approved on June 24 of that year, by Pope Clement VII in the Brief "Exponi Nobis". On September 14, feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Cajetan and his companions made solemn profession before the papal altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, in the presence of Mgr. Giovanni Battista Bonziano, Bishop of Caserta, a special papal delegate. Caraffa was chosen the first General.  The chief object of the order was to recall the clergy to an edifying life and the laity to the practice of virtue. They founded oratories (among them the celebrated "Divino Amore") and hospitals, devoted themselves to preaching the Gospel, and reformed lax morals. They were exclusive, aristocratic, and formidably austere. They wore the simple black cassock of the local clergy and maintained a modest lifestyle.

Growth.

The prohibition on both owning property and soliciting alms tended to limit applicants to members of the aristocracy, and so they remained relatively few in number. In 1546 they were briefly joined with the Somaschi Fathers, but as the object of the respective orders differed, they separated in 1555. In 1527 their house in Rome was sacked by the army of Charles V, and the Roman community sought refuge in Venice.  They founded many beautiful churches, among them that of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome, a gift of Costanza Piccolomini D'Aragona, Duchess of Amalfi. This church is a masterpiece of Carlo Maderno and contains several paintings by Domenichino. The Theatines still operate the church.  In France, through the efforts of Cardinal Mazarin, they built the Church of St. Anne la Royale opposite the Louvre in 1644. In Spain, under Philip II, the Theatine Cardinal Paolo Burali d'Arezzo, filled various embassies at the command of the viceroy of Naples. In Portugal, John IV, in 1648, gave the Theatines a splendid house and college for the education of noble youth. In England, under Henry VIII, Thomas Goldwell, Bishop of St. Asaph, entered the order of Theatines. In Bavaria, the Theatine Church St. Kajetan was built from 1663 to 1690, founded by Elector Ferdinand Maria.  The Theatines were the first to found papal missions in: Golconda (in present-day India), Ava (Burma), Peru, Mingrelia (Georgia), founded by Andrea Borromeo, the East Indies, (the history of which was written by the Theatine Bartolomeo Ferro - ""Missioni Teatine nelle Indie Orientali""), Arabia, and Armenia. In 1626 Theatines went to Persia.  Theatine manuscripts dating from 1530 until the end of the 18th century show there were missions established in a number of other countries also. By 1700 the Theatines numbered 1400.

Decline of the Order.

By the end of the eighteenth century, decline had set in, exacerbated by political upheavals. General suppression of religious orders affected the Theatines more significantly because the order historically acquired no possessions and so had no institutional infrastructure.  Pope Pius X had a hand in attempts at revival, calling upon the services of Cardinal José de Calasanz Félix Santiago Vives y Tutó. The papal Motu Proprio "Auspicato", of December 15, 1909, decreed the union of the Congregation of the Regular Theatine Clergy with the youthful Spanish Congregation of the Holy Family founded at Barcelona by Josep Manyanet y Vives, but the two groups were separated again in 1916. In 1910, the Theatines were amalgamated with the Congregation of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, which had been founded in Mallorca in 1867.

Today.

According to the "Annuario Pontificio", as of 31 December 2014, the Theatines had 34 houses and numbered 170 members, of whom 139 were priests. The Theatines are present in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States of America, where they maintain a flourishing mission at Durango, Colorado.

Prominent members.

The Order has numbered among its members It has also furnished one pope, Paul IV (Giovanni Pietro Carafa), 250 bishops, archbishops, and papal legates, and several cardinals.  Among noted nineteenth-century Theatines was the Sicilian Father Gioacchino Ventura dei baroni di Raulica, a philosopher, littérateur, and orator. One of his most celebrated works being his funeral oration on the death of Daniel O'Connell. The astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi (1746-1826), professor of mathematics and astronomy in Palermo, Sicily, discoverer of the first asteroid, Ceres, in 1801, became a Theatine at the age of 19.

The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence are a religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R.".


Cultures discussed.

Classical archaeology in its strictest, most traditional sense applies only to the study of Classical Athenian culture and the culture of the Roman Republic and Empire. However, over the course of the last century, the field has expanded to include discussions of the elaborate mosaic of cultures that produced the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Rome. Classical archaeologists interested in Greece frequently discuss Crete and the Minoan civilization present on that island during the Bronze Age. They also discuss the Helladic and Geometric periods, as well as occasionally discussing the Neolithic period as it pertains to Greece. Even during the Classical period, it is completely untrue to say that Greece had one true culture - a great deal of regional variation was present, and much of the study of Greek archaeology lies in examination of these regional differences. Greek archaeology covers the Hellenistic period as well, frequently compelling the classical archaeologist to examine the Greek influences present in all the areas that were part of Alexander the Great's empire, including much of the Middle East and Egypt.  Classical archaeologists interested in Roman civilization discuss the influence of the Etruscans and other early cultures present on the Italic Peninsula. They also discuss the subcultures present within the Roman Republic and Empire based on regional differences, and any discussion of the later empire requires at least a partial segue into the Byzantine Empire.

Excavations.

While inspired by ancient texts and sometimes using them to interpret artifacts, classical archaeology would not exist without ancient artifacts. Though much of classical archaeology (like any kind of archaeology) is performed by scholars in their studies, the most vibrant and crucial parts of classical archaeology are the archaeological excavations, more commonly known as "digs." Excavation techniques at first were modelled after excavations in Egypt and the Near East and searched for large artifacts and walls without much care for the delicate remains that might have existed in the ground around these artifacts. Many of the earliest sites still cannot be dated in a satisfying manner because the stratigraphy, soil layers with embedded artifacts used to determine the age of a site, was completely stripped away. Early excavations also often failed to record the items they found in sufficient detail, making it difficult to date artifacts, determine precisely where they were found, or establish a connection between objects that may have been found together. Over time, excavation techniques have greatly improved and the amount of information gleaned from each excavation is exponentially greater than that recorded in early excavations. While excavation reports now take many years to compile due to the level of detail included and analyzed.

Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth-century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and Greek texts. Many universities and foreign nations maintain excavation programs and schools in the area-such is the enduring appeal of the region's archaeology.


Construction.

The Warsaw radio mast was a guyed steel lattice mast of equilateral triangular cross section, with a face width of. The vertical steel tubes forming the vertices of the mast had a diameter of 245 millimetres (10 in); the thickness of the walls of these tubes varied between 8–34 mm (0.31–1.33 in) depending on height. The mast consisted of 86 elements, each of which had a length of. The mast had 3 arrays of guy wires, each array attached to the mast at 5 levels:,,,, and above ground. Each guy was fixed on a separate anchor block at the ground and was in diameter. To prevent the guy wires from interfering with the radio transmissions, the guys were insulated at regular intervals. The weight of guys and insulators used to anchor the mast was. An elevator and separate protected ladders were installed in the interior of the mast to facilitate access to the various mast components, including the aircraft warning lamps. The elevator had a maximum speed of and required 30 minutes for a trip from the bottom of the structure to the top.  In the lower half of the mast, there was a vertical steel tube, attached to the mast's outer structure with large insulators. This tube was grounded at the bottom, and connected electrically to the mast structure by an adjustable metal bar at a height of when the tower transmitted on 227 kHz longwave and at a height of when it switched to 225 kHz on 1 February 1988. This technique allowed adjusting the impedance of the mast for the transmitter and worked by applying a direct current ground at a point of low radio frequency voltage, to conduct static charge to ground without diminishing the radio energy. Static electrical charge can build up to high values, even at times of no thunderstorm activity, when such tall structures are insulated from ground. Use of this technique provides better lightning protection than using just a spark gap at the mast base, as it is standard at most mast radiators insulated against ground.  The mast was equipped in 16 levels with air traffic warning lights with 200 watts power. At the top there was a flashing beacon consisting of two lamps with 1000 watts power.  A special overhead radio frequency transmission line was used to transfer the signal from the transmitter building to the mast. The transmitter building had a volume of and was approximately from the mast. The transmitter consisted of two 1,000 kilowatt units built by Brown Boveri and Cie. An atomic clock was used to generate the transmission frequency in order to provide a very accurate, stable signal source which could be used as a frequency standard by anyone within signal range. The station, which had an area of 65 hectares (161 acres), also had a lattice tower of rectangular cross-section close to the transmitter building. This tower was used to provide a radio link for programme feeds from the studio, which ran from the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw via a radio relay tower at Wiejca.  To supply power to the station a 110 kV substation was built. The substation was over-engineered due to the strategic importance of the station as Poland's central transmitter. Although the power consumption of the transmitting station was large (estimated 6,000 kW), the substation was capable of supplying much more than was required. Six small towers were erected around the periphery of the station's grounds in order to support aircraft warning lamps where the guy ropes were located.  The official name of the facility was "Radiofoniczny Ośrodek Nadawczy w Konstantynowie" (Radiophonic Transmission Center Konstantynow), "Radiowe Centrum Nadawcze w Konstantynowie" (Radio Transmission Center Konstantynow) or "Warszawska Radiostacja Centralna (WRC) w Gąbinie" (Warsaw Central Radio Station Gabin). It broadcast Polskie Radio's Program I.  Approximately ten years after completion of the mast, inspections revealed structural damage caused by wind-induced oscillations at the mast, the backstay insulators and the guys. Repair work was very difficult and replacement of the mast by a stronger construction of the same height was considered. This was not realized as a result of Poland's economic situation. In 1988 the mast was repainted, but this could not be done to the desired extent, as there was not enough paint available.

Collapse.

At 16:00 UTC on 8 August 1991 a catastrophic failure led to the collapse of the mast. The mast first bent and then snapped at roughly half its height. The helix building and the transmitter building (including the transmitter devices in it) were not damaged. The construction coordinator and the division chief of the company which built and maintained the mast were found liable for the collapse, and both were sentenced to two years in prison.  Since the collapse of the Warsaw radio mast, the tallest structure in Poland has been the FM radio and TV transmission mast at Olsztyn-Pieczewo, measuring

Replacement.

After the collapse of the radio mast at Konstantynów, the Polish broadcasting company used the old Raszyn transmitter with its mast near Warsaw, which had been used since 1978 for daytime transmissions of a second Polish broadcasting service programme in the longwave range on the frequency AM-LW 198 kHz, for transmissions on AM-LW 225 kHz with a power of 500 kilowatts. It is not possible to transmit from Raszyn on AM-LW (long wave) 198 kHz/1515 meters and 225 kHz/1333 meters simultaneously, so the transmissions on the second longwave frequency AM-LW (long wave) 198 kHz had to be discontinued until either a second longwave broadcasting transmitting facility was built in Poland or a special frequency switch, which would allow transmissions on both frequencies, was installed at the Raszyn transmitter. The latter, simpler solution would have decreased the effectiveness and reliability of both transmitters and was therefore found unacceptable.  Because the Polish longwave transmitters are of special importance to Polish people abroad, as early as April 1992 the Polish government planned to rebuild the mast at Konstantynów. In September 1995 the Polish government was set to rebuild the mast. Although refurbishment of the old foundations, which could be reused, had already started, the rebuilding of the mast was cancelled due to protests by local residents, who claimed that radiation from the mast was a health hazard. While the accuracy of these claims has not been verified, a new site for the transmitter was sought. Several other locations were considered, but due to the continuing resistance of nearby inhabitants (backed by the Solidarity trade union), planned mast height and transmitter range were both greatly reduced, and an old military site just southeast of Solec Kujawski was chosen. There, a new longwave transmission facility was built in 1998–1999, with a transmitter of 1200 kW output power for the frequency AM-LW (long wave) 225 kHz. This facility, which was inaugurated on 4 September 1999, uses one 330 metre (1083 ft) and one 289 metre (948 ft) grounded top-fed masts as aerials.  After the inauguration of the transmitter at Solec Kujawski, the transmitter at Raszyn was again used for transmitting on the frequency AM-LW (long wave) 198 kHz for the programme Radio Parliament.

Current state.

Except for the mast and the radio frequency transmission line that led to it, nearly all components of the facility remain in place, unused and slowly deteriorating.

The Warsaw Radio Mast was a telecommunications tower located near the town of Gąbin, central Poland, and the world's tallest structure at from 1974 until its collapse on 8 August 1991. It was the second tallest structure ever built, being surpassed as the tallest by the Burj Khalifa tower in the United Arab Emirates, completed in 2009.


Phytochemistry.

"Prosopis" species have been found to contain 5-hydroxytryptamine, apigenin, isorhamnetin-3-diglucoside, l-arabinose, quercetin, tannin, and tryptamine.  The tannins present in "Prosopis" species are of the pyrogallotannin and pyrocatecollic types. The tannins are mainly found in the bark and wood while their concentration in the pods is low.  Some species, such as "P. africana" or "P. velutina", produce a gum (mesquite gum).

As an introduced and invasive species.

The species "Prosopis pallida" was introduced to Hawaii in 1828 and now dominates many of the drier coastal parts of the islands, where it is called the kiawe tree and is a prime source of monofloral honey production.  In Australia, invasive "Prosopis" species are causing severe economic and environmental damage. With their thorns and many low branches, "Prosopis" shrubs form impenetrable thickets which prevent cattle from accessing watering holes, etc. They also take over pastoral grasslands and suck up scarce water. "Prosopis" species cause land erosion due to loss of grassland that are habitats for native plants and animals. "Prosopis" thickets also provide shelter for feral animals such as pigs and cats.  For more information on invasiveness of mesquite species, see "Prosopis glandulosa" and "Prosopis juliflora".

Eradication.

Eradicating "Prosopis" is difficult because the plant's bud regeneration zone can extend down to below ground level; the tree can regenerate from a piece of root left in the soil. Some herbicides are not effective or only partially effective against mesquite. Spray techniques for removal, while effective against short-term regrowth, are expensive, costing more than $70/acre ($170/hectare) in the USA. Removing large trees requires tracked equipment; costs can approach $2,000 per acre. In Australia, several techniques are used to remove "Prosopis".

Prosopis is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in arid soil and are resistant to drought, on occasion developing extremely deep root systems. Their wood is usually hard, dense and durable. Their fruits are pods and may contain large amounts of sugar. The generic name means "burdock" in late Latin and originated in the Greek language.


Etymology.

Etymological data points to the Middle Persian word "kōšk" 'palace, portico' as the origin, via Turkish "köşk" 'pavilion' and French "kiosque" or Italian "chiosco".

History and origins.

A kiosk is an open summer-house or pavilion usually having its roof supported by pillars with screened or totally open walls. As a building type, it was first introduced by the Seljuks as a small building attached to the main mosque, which consisted of a domed hall with open arched sides. This architectural concept gradually evolved into a small yet grand residence used by Ottoman sultans, the most famous examples of which are quite possibly the Tiled Kiosk ("Çinili Köşk" in Turkish) and Baghdad Kiosk ("Bağdat Köşkü" in Turkish). The former was built in 1473 by Mehmed II ("the Conqueror") at the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, and consists of a two storey building topped with a dome and having open sides overlooking the gardens of the palace. The Baghdad Koshk was also built at the Topkapı Palace in 1638–39, by Sultan Murad IV. The building is again domed, offering direct views onto the gardens and park of the Palace as well as the architecture of the city of Istanbul. Sultan Ahmed III (1703–1730) also built a glass room of the Sofa Kiosk at the Topkapı Palace incorporating some Western elements, such as the gilded brazier designed by Duplessis père, which was given to the Ottoman ambassador by King Louis XV of France.  The first English contact with Turkish Kiosk came through Lady Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul, who in a letter written on 1 April 1717 to Anne Thistlethwayte, mentions a "chiosk" describing it as ""raised by 9 or 10 steps and enclosed with gilded lattices"". European monarchs adopted the building type. Stanisław Leszczyński, king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV, built kiosks for himself based on his memories of his captivity in Turkey. These kiosks were used as garden pavilions serving coffee and beverages but later were converted into band stands and tourist information stands decorating most European gardens, parks and high streets.  Conservatories were in the form of corridors connecting the Pavilion to the stables and consisting of a passage of flowers covered with glass and linked with orangery, a greenhouse, an aviary, a pheasantry and hothouses. The influence of Muslim and Islamo-Indian forms appears clearly in these buildings and particularly in the pheasantry where its higher part is an adaptation of the kiosks found on the roof of Allahabad Palace, as illustrated by Thomas Daniell. Today's conservatories incorporate many elements of Islamic architecture, although modern art forms have shifted from the classical art forms that were used in earlier times.

Small shops and cafés.

In the Western hemisphere and in English-speaking countries, a "kiosk" is also a booth with an open window on one side. Some vendors operate from kiosks (see mall kiosk), selling small, inexpensive consumables such as newspapers, magazines, lighters, street maps, cigarettes, live and frozen fishing bait and confections.  In Australia, the word is commonly used for small buildings that are used to dispense mainly take-away food and drinks, on beaches, in shopping arcades or in parks. Since the 21st century, many of these have been upgraded and serve fancier food and barista-made coffee.  An information kiosk (or information booth) dispenses free information in the form of maps, pamphlets, and other literature, and/or advice offered by an attendant.

Interactive kiosks.

An electronic kiosk (or computer kiosk or interactive kiosk) houses a computer terminal that often employs custom kiosk software designed to function while preventing users from accessing system functions. Indeed, "kiosk mode" describes such a mode of software operation. Computerized kiosks may store data locally, or retrieve it from a computer network. Some computer kiosks provide a free, informational public service, while others serve a commercial purpose (see mall kiosk). Touchscreens, trackballs, computer keyboards, and pushbuttons are all typical input devices for interactive computer kiosk. Touchscreen kiosks are commercially used as industrial appliances, reducing lines, eliminating paper, improving efficiency and service. Their uses are unlimited from refrigerators to airports, health clubs, movie theaters and libraries.

Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist in and around the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, and they can be seen in Balkan countries.


Origin.

The network was set up in 1957 following an idea of F.Q. den Hollander, then president-director of the Dutch national railway company (NS). TEE was a network jointly operated by the railways of West Germany (DB), France (SNCF), Switzerland (SBB-CFF-FFS), Italy (FS) and the Netherlands. Although some trains passed through Belgium from the beginning, the Belgian national railway company (NMBS/SNCB) joined the program only in 1964. Luxembourg (CFL) also joined at a later date.  The idea was for a network of fast and comfortable transnational trains that would be attractive to businessmen and other regular travellers. All trains were first-class-only and required payment of a special supplement over the normal first-class ticket price, the amount of which depended on the distance covered. Where possible, TEE trains' schedules were timed to allow a business traveller to make a round trip (return journey) within a single day and also have time for business activity at the destination. Each train was named, and all were expresses, stopping only at major cities. Some of the named trains had already existed for some years before creation of the TEE network and were simply newly designated as Trans-Europe Expresses in 1957 or later. For example, the "Settebello" had been in operation since 1953 and the "Rheingold" since 1951 (as a revival of a pre-World War II train). The network was launched in 1957 with trains serving 13 different routes.

Rolling stock.

Initially, the system was a completely diesel network. Because of the many different kinds of electrical specifications (voltages and current types – alternating current and direct current) used in the different countries it was thought at that time that use of diesel-hauled trains or diesel multiple-unit trainsets would greatly speed up border crossing. Moreover, at that time many border crossing sections were not yet electrified. The German DB built the streamlined DB Class VT 11.5, while the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the Dutch NS developed the RAm / DE, both diesel trains. However, the creation of the international TEE network provided impetus for the development of special electric trainsets and electric locomotives, capable of operating at two or more different voltages. The DB used the 160 km/h E 10.12 and the 200 km/h DB Class 103, among other types. The SBB developed its RAe TEE II electric trainset, which was designed for four different railway electrification systems, and this type entered service in 1961. Belgian National Railways introduced its Type 150 locomotives (now called Class 15) in 1962, capable of handling three different voltages, followed by the four-voltage Type 160 (Class 16) in 1966 and Class 18 in 1973. Meanwhile, France's SNCF also developed and introduced ten quadruple-voltage locomotives, its Class CC 40100, between 1964 and 1970.  By 1975, all but two ("L'Arbalète" and "Bavaria") of the 43 TEE trains were electrically powered, and most were locomotive-hauled.

Modification of service.

Originally the idea was to promote only international routes as TEE routes. This idea was abandoned in 1965 with the introduction of the French "Le Mistral" and the German "Blauer Enzian". Later, TEE trains serving single countries were also introduced on other routes in France and Germany as well as in Italy, but most TEE routes continued to be international.

Growth.

The network grew in the course of the years, adding three more countries: Spain (RENFE), Denmark (DSB) and Austria (ÖBB). The system reached furthest in 1974. However, of these three only RENFE became a TEE member; the other two countries had TEEs running through them but the rail administrations were never members. In the late 1970s, the TEE network comprised 39 different named trains, serving 31 routes. A few routes had more than one TEE train concurrently; for example, the Paris–Brussels route had four TEEs, running at different times of the day.

Contraction and end.

From the late 1970s onward, gradually more and more Trans-Europe Express trains were replaced by other trains giving a similar kind of service but also carrying 2nd class. Business travellers used air travel more and more. In 1979 DB completely restructured the network with the coming of the new national InterCity services, resulting in successively fewer TEE services and more InterCity services in the course of time. The introduction of the TGV service in France in 1981, and its subsequent expansion, along with expansion of high-speed rail lines in other European countries led to still more TEEs' being replaced by domestic high-speed trains.  After 1984 most services were abandoned, leaving only some national services in (mostly) Italy and France and very few international services. Most trains were replaced by a new international intercity network with the name EuroCity which provides both 1st and 2nd class service. The EuroCity network began operating on 31 May 1987, and with effect from that date the last remaining international Trans-Europe Express trains were redesignated or withdrawn, except the "Gottardo" (reclassified as EuroCity in September 1988), but in name, the TEE designation continued to be used for a few domestic trains operating entirely within France until 1 June 1991. In September 1993 certain former TEE trains operating non-stop journeys between Brussels and Paris (or vice versa), which had been converted to EuroCity and offered both first- and second-class coaches, were rebranded as Trans-Europe Expresses, but remaining two-class trains. This was during a transition of Paris–Brussels express services to a new TGV alignment, and initially included the trains "Brabant", "Île de France", "Rubens" and "Watteau", all four serving the route in both directions. However, by 1995 the only TEE-branded trains remaining were the northbound "Île de France" (train 85) and southbound "Watteau" (train 88), the opposing-direction trains carrying the same names having already been converted to TGV stock (and designation), and these last two TEEs were replaced by TGV trains with effect from 29 May 1995, once again ending the formal use of the Trans-Europ Express name. These few Paris–Brussels (or vice versa) expresses, operated 1993–1995, were the only TEE-designated trains ever to carry second-class carriages (they were in effect EuroCity services). A few trains continued to utilise TEE branded coaches until 1 June 1996, but the trains themselves were no longer classified as TEEs.

Cultural References.

The railway service was the subject of a 1977 album by German electronic music group Kraftwerk, the music of which has been sampled multiple times and has thus engrained the railway reference in a variety of musical genres.

The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express (TEE), is a former international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities, from Spain in the west to Austria in the east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy.


History.

"S. rebaudiana" has been used over centuries by the Guaraní people of Brazil and Paraguay, who called it "kaʼa heʼẽ" ("sweet herb"), to sweeten the local yerba mate tea, as medicine, and as a "sweet treat".  In 1899, botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni first described the plant as growing in eastern Paraguay, and observed its sweet taste.  In 1931, chemists M. Bridel and R. Lavielle isolated the glycosides stevioside and rebaudioside that give the leaves their sweet taste. The exact structures of the aglycone steviol and its glycoside were published in 1955.  Based on the JECFA (Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives) declaration, safe consumption of steviol glycosides for humans is determined to be 4 mg per kg body weight per day. It was also agreed by the European Commission in 2011 for use in food in European countries. Steviol glycosides have also been accepted in the US as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).  Stevia leaf and raw extracts are not treated as GRAS and their import into the US is not allowed for usage as sweeteners.

Description.

The flowers are white with light purple accents and no fragrance. Plants produce fruit which is ribbed spindle-shaped. Stevia prefers sandy-like soil.

Cultivation.

Begun in the 1960s, commercial cultivation has spread to Japan, Southeast Asia and the US, but also in mildly tropical climates in hilly areas of Nepal or India (Assam region). The plant prefers warm, moist and sunny conditions. The plant cannot survive frost during the winter and therefore greenhouses are used to grow stevia in Europe.  "Stevia rebaudiana" is found in the wild in semiarid habitats ranging from grassland to mountain terrain, do produce seeds, but only a small percentage of the seeds germinate.  "Stevia rebaudiana" has been grown on an experimental basis in Ontario, Canada since 1987 to determine the feasibility of commercial cultivation. Duke University researchers developed a strategic plan to assist farmers and exporters in Paraguay to compete in the global market for stevia.

As a sweetener.

When extracts of its leaves are processed into a powder, stevia is used as a sugar substitute in most of the developed world.

Stevia rebaudiana is a plant species in the genus "Stevia" of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is commonly known as candyleaf, sweetleaf or sugarleaf.


Early years.

Mary of Burgundy was born in Brussels at the ducal castle of Coudenberg, to Charles the Bold, then known as the Count of Charolais, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon. Her birth, according to the court chronicler Georges Chastellain, was attended by a clap of thunder ringing from the otherwise clear twilight sky. Her godfather was Louis, Dauphin of France, in exile in Burgundy at that time; he named her for his mother Marie of Anjou. Reactions to the child were mixed: the baby's grandfather, Duke Philip the Good, was unimpressed, and "chose not to attend the [baptism] as it was only for a girl", whereas her grandmother Isabella of Portugal was delighted at the birth of a granddaughter. Her illegitimate aunt Anne was assigned to be responsible for Mary's education and assigned Jeanne de Clito to be her Governess, Jeanne remained a constant friend to Mary later in life and was one of her most constant companions.

Heiress presumptive.

Philip the Good died in 1467 and Mary's father assumed control of the Burgundian State. Since her father had no living sons at the time of his accession, Mary became his heir presumptive. Her father controlled a vast and wealthy domain made up of the Duchy of Burgundy, the Free County of Burgundy, and the majority of the Low Countries. As a result, her hand in marriage was eagerly sought by a number of princes. The first proposal was received by her father when she was only five years old, in this case to marry the future King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Later she was approached by Charles, Duke of Berry; his older brother, King Louis XI of France, was intensely annoyed by Charles's move and attempted to prevent the necessary papal dispensation for consanguinity.  As soon as Louis succeeded in producing a male heir who survived infancy, the future King Charles VIII of France, Louis wanted him to be the one to marry Mary, even though he was thirteen years younger than Mary was. Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine, was a few years older than Mary and controlled a duchy that lay alongside Burgundian territory, but his plan to combine his domain with hers was ended by his death in battle in 1473.

Reign.

Mary assumed the rule of her father's domains upon his defeat in battle and death on 5 January 1477. King Louis XI of France seized the opportunity to attempt to take possession of the Duchy of Burgundy proper and also the regions of Franche-Comté, Picardy and Artois.  The king was anxious that Mary should marry his son Charles and thus secure the inheritance of the Low Countries for his heirs, by force of arms if necessary. Burgundy, fearing French military power, sent an embassy to France to negotiate a marriage between Mary and the six-year-old Dauphin (later King Charles VIII), but returned home without a betrothal; the French king's demands of cession of territories to the French crown were deemed unacceptable.

The Great Privilege.

Mary was compelled to sign a charter of rights known as the Great Privilege in Ghent on 10 February 1477 on the occasion of her formal recognition as her father's heir (the "Joyous Entry"). Under this agreement, the provinces and towns of Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, and Holland recovered all the local and communal rights that had been abolished by the decrees of the dukes of Burgundy in their efforts to create a centralised state on the French model out of their disparate holdings in the Low Countries. In particular, the Parliament of Mechelen (established formally by Charles the Bold in 1470) was abolished and replaced with the pre-existing authority of the Parliament of Paris, which was considered an amenable counterweight to the encroaching centralisation undertaken by both Charles the Bold and Philip the Good. The duchess also had to undertake not to declare war, make peace, or raise taxes without the consent of these provinces and towns and only to employ native residents in official posts.  Such was the hatred of the people for the old regime that in spite of the duchess's entreaties, two of her father's most influential councilors, the Chancellor Hugonet and the Sire d'Humbercourt, were executed in Ghent after it was discovered that they were in correspondence with the king of France.

Marriage.

Mary soon made her choice among the many suitors for her hand by selecting Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, who became her co-ruler. The marriage took place at Ghent on 19 August 1477. Mary's marriage into the House of Habsburg initiated two centuries of contention between France and the Habsburgs, a struggle that climaxed with the War of the Spanish Succession in the years 1701–1714.  In the Netherlands, affairs now went more smoothly; the French aggression was temporarily checked, and internal peace was in large measure restored.

Death and legacy.

In 1482, a falcon hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle was organised by Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein, who lived in the castle. Mary loved riding and was hunting with Maximilian and knights of the court when her horse tripped, threw her in a ditch, and then landed on top of her, breaking her back. She died several weeks later on 27 March from internal injuries, having made a detailed will. She was buried in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges on 3 April, 1482.  Her two-year-old daughter, Margaret of Austria, was sent in vain to France, to marry the Dauphin, in an attempt to please Louis XI and persuade him not to invade the territories owned by Mary.  Louis was swift to re-engage hostilities with Maximilian and forced him to agree to the Treaty of Arras of 1482, by which Franche-Comté and Artois passed for a time to French rule, only to be recovered by the Treaty of Senlis of 1493, which established peace in the Low Countries. Mary's marriage into the House of Habsburg proved to be a disaster for France because the Burgundian inheritance later brought it into conflict with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

Family.

Mary's son Philip succeeded to her dominions under the guardianship of his father.  Her children were as follows:

Mary (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), Duchess of Burgundy, reigned over the Burgundian State, now mainly in France and the Low Countries, from 1477 until her death in a riding accident at the age of 25.


Billa in Europe.

Billa operates stores in these 6 European countries: Billa also had locations in Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania but all of those had since been sold to other supermarket chains. In 2002, all 21 Billa stores in Hungary were sold to Spar. In 2009, all 14 Billa stores in Poland were sold to E.Leclerc. In 2016, all 86 Billa stores in Romania were sold to Carrefour. The same year, all 62 Billa stores in Croatia were sold to Spar.

Billa in Bulgaria.

The company opened its first supermarket in Bulgaria in 2000 and has since then expanded to cover 35 Bulgarian cities, operating a total of 119 supermarkets as of September 2016.  In June 2006, the roof of one of the stores in Sofia collapsed during a storm. There were no injuries reported. There was an investigation to determine the reason for the poor quality of the construction work and whether the same problems are present at other Billa stores in the country, with 11 people eventually going to court.

Billa in the Czech Republic.

The first Billa supermarket in the Czech Republic was opened in Stránského Street, Brno, on 26 October 1991. The company now has 215 stores in the country and employs more than 6,000 staff. Billa stores, which have an average sales area of 900 m, place particular emphasis on fresh products such as delicacies, pastries, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat, and chilled products.

Billa in Romania.

Billa was owned by Rewe Group, which also operates XXL, Penny Market and Selgros outlets in Romania. The company used the tagline "Billa zilnic - Cel mai bun pentru mine" ("Billa daily - The best for me") and opened its first store in Bucharest in 1999. Since then, Billa has turned into one of the most well represented supermarket chains, with 87 stores (as of September 2016) in Romania. In 2015, all Billa stores were sold to Carrefour Group, and by the end of 2017 will be rebranded into Carrefour Market.

Billa in Russia.

Rewe Group operates 151 stores 'Billa' in Russia (most of them in Moscow). The company opened its first supermarket in Russia in 2004 and has since then expanded to cover Moscow and a few cities around it.

BILLA () is an Austrian supermarket chain that operates throughout Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The company, which was founded by Karl Wlaschek in 1953, is currently owned by Germany's REWE Group.


Leaves.

Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by the unique attachment of their needle-like leaves to the twig by a base that resembles a small suction cup. The leaves are significantly flattened, sometimes even looking like they are pressed, as in "A. sibirica".  The leaves have two whitish lines on the bottom, each of which is formed by wax-covered stomatal bands. In most species, the upper surface of the leaves is uniformly green and shiny, without stomata or with a few on the tip, visible as whitish spots. Other species have the upper surface of leaves dull, gray-green or bluish-gray to silvery (glaucous), coated by wax with variable number of stomatal bands, and not always continuous. An example species with shiny green leaves is "A. alba", and an example species with dull waxy leaves is "A. concolor".  The tips of leaves are usually more or less notched (as in "A. firma"), but sometimes rounded or dull (as in "A. concolor", "A. magnifica") or sharp and prickly (as in "A. bracteata", "A. cephalonica", "A. holophylla"). The leaves of young plants are usually sharper.  The way they spread from the shoot is very diverse, only in some species comb-shaped, with the leaves arranged on two sides, flat ("A. alba")

Cones.

Firs differ from other conifers in having erect, cylindrical cones long that disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds.  In contrast to spruces, even large fir cones do not hang, but are raised like candles.  Mature cones are usually brown, young in summer can be green, for example:  or purple and blue, sometimes very dark:

Classification.

Section "Abies".

Section "Abies" is found in central, south, and eastern Europe and Asia Minor.

Section "Balsamea".

Section "Balsamea" is found in northern Asia and North America, and high mountains further south.

Section "Grandis".

Section "Grandis" is found in western North America to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, in lowlands in the north, moderate altitudes in south.

Section "Momi".

Section "Momi" is found in east and central Asia and the Himalaya, generally at low to moderate altitudes.

Section "Amabilis".

Section "Amabilis" is found in the Pacific Coast mountains in North America and Japan, in high rainfall areas.

Section "Pseudopicea".

Section "Pseudopicea" is found in the Sino – Himalayan mountains at high altitudes.

Section "Oiamel".

Section "Oiamel" is found in central Mexico at high altitudes.

Section "Nobilis".

Section "Nobilis" (western U.S., high altitudes)

Section "Bracteata".

Section "Bracteata" (California coast)

Section "Incertae sedis".

Section "Incertae sedis"

Uses and ecology.

Wood of most firs is considered unsuitable for general timber use and is often used as pulp or for the manufacture of plywood and rough timber. Because this genus has no insect or decay resistance qualities after logging, it is generally recommended in construction purposes for indoor use only (e.g. indoor drywall on framing). Fir wood left outside cannot be expected to last more than 12 to 18 months, depending on the type of climate it is exposed to.  Nordmann fir, noble fir, Fraser fir and balsam fir are popular Christmas trees, generally considered to be the best for this purpose, with aromatic foliage that does not shed many needles on drying out. Many are also decorative garden trees, notably Korean fir and Fraser fir, which produce brightly coloured cones even when very young, still only tall. Other firs can grow anywhere between tall. Fir Tree Appreciation Day is June 18.  "Abies religiosa"—sacred fir, is the overwinter host for the monarch butterfly ("Danaus plexippus"). This insect species migrates from central and north United States and south Canada to Central Mexico (Michoacán and Estado de Mexico). During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north. The western North American population of monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains often migrates to sites in southern California but has been found in overwintering Mexican sites as well. Firs are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, including "Chionodes abella" (recorded on white fir), autumnal moth, conifer swift (a pest of balsam fir), the engrailed, grey pug, mottled umber, pine beauty and the tortrix moths "Cydia illutana" (whose caterpillars are recorded to feed on European silver fir cone scales) and "C. duplicana" (on European silver fir bark around injuries or canker).  "Abies spectabilis" or Talispatra is used in Ayurveda as an antitussive (cough suppressant) drug.

Bibliography.

Philips, Roger. "Trees of North America and Europe", Random House, Inc., New York, 1979.

Firs (Abies) are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range. Firs are most closely related to the genus "Cedrus" (cedar). Douglas firs are not true firs, being of the genus "Pseudotsuga".


Biography.

Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, then in Austria-Hungary, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, to a Jewish family. Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition instead. He studied music theory and composition at the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music (then the Budapest Academy of Music), where he was a fellow student of Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály under Hans Kössler.  His early symphonic poems "Saturnalia" and "Endre es Johanna" were well-received, although he failed to achieve publication. He also composed piano music and wrote many songs: a song cycle on poems by Ludwig Jacobowski and a song collection published under the title "Dalai".  However, the popularity of his humorous cabaret songs led him towards the composition of operettas. His first great success was "Tatárjárás" – "Ein Herbstmanöver" in German, meaning "Autumn maneuver", although the English title is "The Gay Hussars", which was first staged at the in Budapest, on 22 February 1908. Thereafter he moved to Vienna, where he achieved worldwide fame through his operettas "Der Zigeunerprimas", "Die Csárdásfürstin", "Gräfin Mariza", and "Die Zirkusprinzessin".  Kálmán and Franz Lehár were the leading composers of what has been called the "Silver Age" of Viennese operetta during the first quarter of the 20th century. He became well known for his fusion of Viennese waltz with Hungarian csárdás. Even so, polyphonically and melodically, Kálmán was a devoted follower of Giacomo Puccini, while in his orchestration methods he employed principles characteristic of Tchaikovsky's music.  Despite his Jewish origins he was one of Adolf Hitler's favorite composers. After the Anschluss, he rejected Hitler's offer to become an 'honorary Aryan' and was forced to move first to Paris, then to the United States, settling in California in 1940.

Last years and death.

Following his emigration, performances of his works were prohibited in Nazi Germany. He emigrated back to Vienna from New York in 1949 before moving in 1951 to Paris, where he died.

Popular culture.

In 1958 a West German biopic "The Csardas King" was made of his life, starring Gerhard Riedmann in the lead role.

References.

Notes Sources

Emmerich Kálmán (; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was an Hungarian composer of operettas and a prominent figure in the development of Viennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most popular works are "Die Csárdásfürstin" (1915) and "Gräfin Mariza" (1924). Influences on his compositional style include Hungarian folk music (such as the csárdás), the Viennese style of precursors such as Johann Strauss II and Franz Lehár, and, in his later works, American jazz. As a result of the "Anschluss," Kálmán and his family fled to Paris and then to the United States. He eventually returned to Europe in 1949 and died in Paris in 1953.


Biography.

Stolz was born of musical parents in Graz. His father was a conductor and a composer, his mother a concert pianist, and he was the great-nephew of the soprano Teresa Stolz. At the age of seven, he toured Europe as a pianist, playing Mozart. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Robert Fuchs and Engelbert Humperdinck. From 1899 he held successive conducting posts at Maribor (then called Marburg), Salzburg and Brno before succeeding Artur Bodanzky at the Theater an der Wien in 1907. There he conducted, among other pieces, the first performance of Oscar Strauss's "Der tapfere Soldat" ("The Chocolate Soldier") in 1908, before leaving in 1910 to become a freelance composer and conductor. Meanwhile, he had begun to compose operettas and individual songs and had a number of successes in these fields.  After serving in the Austrian Army in World War I, Stolz devoted himself mainly to cabaret, and moved to Berlin in 1925. Around 1930, he started to compose music for films, such as the first German sound film "Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltakt" ("Two Hearts in Waltz Time"), of which the title-waltz rapidly became a popular favourite. Some earlier Stolz compositions, such as "Adieu, mein kleiner Gardeoffizier" from his operetta "Die lustigen Weiber von Wien", became known to wider audiences through the medium of film, after it was interpolated into Im weißen Rößl (The White Horse Inn).  The rise of Nazi Germany led Stolz to return to Vienna, where his title-song for the film "Ungeküsst soll man nicht schlafen gehn" was a hit. He remained active in Berlin as well. He used to travel by car between the two cities, so he smuggled Jews and political refugees across the German-Austrian border in the trunk of his limousine. He managed to do so 21 times. Then came the Anschluss, and he moved again, first to Zürich and then to Paris, where in 1939 he was interned as an enemy alien. With the help of friends he was released and in 1940 made his way to New York. In America, Stolz achieved fame with his concerts of Viennese music, starting with "A Night in Vienna" at Carnegie Hall. As a result, he received many invitations to compose music for shows and films, and he received two Academy Awards nominations: "Waltzing in the Clouds" for "Spring Parade" was nominated for Best Original Song in 1941, and his score for "It Happened Tomorrow" was nominated for Best Dramatic or Comedy Picture Score in 1945.  In 1946 Stolz returned to Vienna, where he lived for the rest of his life. In the 1960s and 1970s he made numerous recordings of operettas by composers such as Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, and Leo Fall, whom he had known previously.  In 1952, he began to compose for the Vienna Ice Revue. He dedicated his first of 19 ice operettas ("Eternal Eve") to European Champion Eva Pawlik. In 1970, to mark his 90th birthday, he was made an Honorary Citizen of Vienna. He was also awarded Vienna's Grand Medal of Honour, being only the second musician ever to be so honoured (after Richard Strauss). He also appeared on a series of commemorative Austrian postage stamps.  In later years he used a baton inherited from Franz Lehár, which had been originally owned by Johann Strauss and contained Strauss's initials engraved in silver.  After his death in Berlin in 1975, Robert Stolz received the honour of a lying-in-state in the foyer of the Vienna State Opera House. He was buried near Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss II in Vienna's Zentralfriedhof, and a statue to him was erected in the Wiener Stadtpark. A street is named after him - just off the Opernring in Vienna, close to the State Opera.

Marriages.

Robert Stolz was married five times. His first and second wives (Grete Holm and Franzi Ressel), were singers. His third wife was Josephine Zernitz and the fourth was named Lilli. His fifth wife Yvonne Louise Ulrich, called "Einzi" (1912-2004) or "die Einzige", for her role assisting German and Austrian artists in exile in Paris during the Second World War, was his manager until his death. She had one daughter from her first marriage, whom Robert Stolz adopted: Clarissa. Robert Stolz's grandchildren are French writer and entrepreneur and financier Nick Henry-Stolz.  Comprehensive list on IMDB Robert Stolz

Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.