History.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) project was initiated in 1990 with the objective of acquiring an Indian launch capability for geosynchronous satellites.  GSLV uses major components that are already proven in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launchers in the form of the S125/S139 solid rocket booster and the liquid-fueled Vikas engine. Due to the thrust required for injecting the satellite in a GTO orbit the third stage was to be powered by a LOX/LH2 Cryogenic engine which at that time India did not possess or had the technology know-how to build one.  The first development flight of the GSLV (Mk.I configuration) was launched on 18 April 2001 was a failure as the payload failed to reach the intended orbit parameters. The launcher was declared operational after the second development flight successfully launched the GSAT-2 satellite. During the initial years from the initial launch to 2014 the launcher had a checkered history with only 2 successful launches out of 7.

Cryogenic Engine Controversy.

The third stage was to be procured from Russian company Glavcosmos, including transfer of technology and design details of the engine based on an agreement signed in 1991. Russia backed out of the deal after US objected to the deal as in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) May 1992. As a result, ISRO initiated the Cryogenic Upper Stage Project in April 1994 and began developing its own cryogenic engine. A new agreement was signed with Russia for 7 KVD-1 cryogenic stages and 1 ground mock-up stage with no technology transfer, instead of 5 cryogenic stages along with the technology and design as per the earlier agreement. These engines were used for the initial flights and were named GSLV Mk.1.

Vehicle description.

The tall GSLV, with a lift-off mass of, is a three-stage vehicle with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages respectively. The payload fairing, which is long and in diameter, protects the vehicle electronics and the spacecraft during its ascent through the atmosphere. It is discarded when the vehicle reaches an altitude of about.  GSLV employs S-band telemetry and C-band transponders for enabling vehicle performance monitoring, tracking, range safety / flight safety and preliminary orbit determination. The Redundant Strap Down Inertial Navigation System/Inertial Guidance System of GSLV housed in its equipment bay guides the vehicle from lift-off to spacecraft injection. The digital auto-pilot and closed loop guidance scheme ensure the required altitude maneuver and guide injection of the spacecraft to the specified orbit.  The GSLV can place approximately into an easterly Low Earth orbit or (for the Mk. II version) into an 18° geostationary transfer orbit.

Liquid boosters.

The first GSLV flight, GSLV-D1 used the L40 stage. Subsequent flights of the GSLV used high pressure engines in the strap-on boosters called the L40H. The GSLV uses four L40H liquid strap-on boosters derived from the L37.5 second stage, which are loaded with 42.6 tons of hypergolic propellants (UDMH & NO). The propellants are stored in tandem in two independent tanks diameter. The engine is pump-fed and generates of thrust, with a burn time of 150 seconds.

First stage.

GSLV-D1 used the S125 stage which contained of solid propellant and had a burn time of 100 seconds. All subsequent launches have used enhanced propellant loaded S139 stage. The S139 stage is 2.8 m in diameter and has a nominal burn time of 109 seconds. The stage generates a maximum thrust of 4700 kN.

Second stage.

The GS2 stage is powered by the Vikas engine. It has a diameter of.

Third stage.

The third stage of the GSLV Mk.II is propelled by the Indian CE-7.5 cryogenic rocket engine while the older defunct Mk.I is propelled using a Russian made KVD-1. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) The Indian cryogenic engine was built at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre The engine has a default thrust of but is capable of a maximum thrust of.

Variants.

GSLV rockets using the Russian Cryogenic Stage (CS) are designated as the GSLV Mk I while versions using the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) are designated the GSLV Mk II. All GSLV launches have been conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

GSLV Mark I.

The first developmental flight of GSLV Mark I had a 129 tonne (S125) first stage and was capable of launching around 1500 kg into geostationary transfer orbit. The second developmental flight replaced the S125 stage with S139. It used the same solid motor with 138 tonne propellant loading. The chamber pressure in all liquid engines were enhanced, enabling a higher propellant mass and burn time. These improvements allowed GSLV to carry an additional 300 kg of payload. The fourth operational flight of GSLV Mk I, GSLV-F06, has a 15 tonne propellant loading in the third stage, called the C-15.

GSLV Mark II.

This variant uses an Indian cryogenic engine, the CE-7.5, and is capable of launching 2500 kg into geostationary transfer orbit. Previous GSLV vehicles (GSLV Mark I) have used Russian cryogenic engines.  For launches from 2018 a 6% increased thrust version of the Vikas engine was developed. It was demonstrated on 29 March 2018 in the GSAT 6A launch second stage. It will be used for the four Vikas engines first stage boosters on future missions.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). GSLV was used in thirteen launches from 2001 to 2018, with more launches planned. Even though GSLV Mk III shares the name, it is an entirely different launcher.


Biography.

Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman (later Eliezer Ben-Yehuda) was born in Luzhki ( ("Lužki"), Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus). He attended a Jewish elementary school (a "cheder") where he studied Hebrew and Bible from the age of three, as was customary among the Jews of Eastern Europe. By the age of twelve, he had read large portions of the Torah, Mishna, and Talmud. His mother and uncle hoped he would become a rabbi, and sent him to a yeshiva. There he was exposed to the Hebrew of the enlightenment which included some secular writings. Later, he learned French, German, and Russian, and was sent to Dünaburg for further education. Reading the Hebrew-language newspaper, "HaShahar", he became acquainted with the early movement of Zionism and concluded that the revival of the Hebrew language in the Land of Israel could unite all Jews worldwide.  Upon graduation in 1877 Ben-Yehuda went to Paris for four years. While there, he studied various subjects at the Sorbonne University--including the history and politics of the Middle East. It was in Paris that he met a Jew from Jerusalem, who spoke Hebrew with him. It was this conversation that convinced him that the revival of Hebrew as the language of a nation was feasible.  In 1881 Ben-Yehuda immigrated to Palestine, then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, and settled in Jerusalem. He found a job teaching at the Alliance Israelite Universelle school. Motivated by the surrounding ideals of renovation and rejection of the diaspora lifestyle, Ben‐Yehuda set out to develop a new language that could replace Yiddish and other regional dialects as a means of everyday communication between Jews who moved to Israel from various regions of the world. Ben-Yehuda regarded Hebrew and Zionism as symbiotic: "The Hebrew language can live only if we revive the nation and return it to the fatherland," he wrote.  To accomplish the task, Ben-Yehuda insisted with the Committee of the Hebrew Language that, to quote the Committee records, "In order to supplement the deficiencies of the Hebrew language, the Committee coins words according to the rules of grammar and linguistic analogy from Semitic roots: Aramaic and especially from Arabic roots" (Joshua Blau, page 33).  Ben-Yehuda was married twice, to two sisters. His first wife, Devora (née Jonas), died in 1891 of tuberculosis, leaving him with five small children. Her final wish was that Eliezer marry her younger sister, Paula Beila. Soon after his wife Devora's death, three of his children died of diphtheria within a period of 10 days. Six months later, he married Paula, who took the Hebrew name "Hemda." Hemda Ben-Yehuda became an accomplished journalist and author in her own right, ensuring the completion of the Hebrew dictionary in the decades after Eliezer's death, as well as mobilising fundraising and coordinating committees of scholars in both Palestine and abroad.  Ben‐Yehuda raised his son, Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda (the first name meaning "son of Zion"), entirely in Hebrew. He did not allow his son to be exposed to other languages during childhood. He even berated his wife for singing a Russian lullaby. Ben-Zion thus became the first native speaker of modern Hebrew as a mother tongue.

Journalistic career.

Ben-Yehuda was the editor of several Hebrew-language newspapers: "HaZvi", "Hashkafa", and "HaOr". "HaZvi" was closed down for a year in the wake of opposition from Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community, which fiercely objected to the use of Hebrew, their holy tongue, for everyday conversation.

Lexicography.

Ben-Yehuda was a major figure in the establishment of the Committee of the Hebrew Language (Va'ad HaLashon), later the Academy of the Hebrew Language, an organization that still exists today. He was the author of the first modern Hebrew dictionary and became known as the "reviver" (המחיה) of the Hebrew language, despite opposition to some of the words he coined. Many of these words have become part of the language but others never caught on.  Ancient languages and modern Standard Arabic were major sources for Ben-Yehuda and the Committee. According to Joshua Blau, quoting the criteria insisted on by Ben-Yehuda: "In order to supplement the deficiencies of the Hebrew language, the Committee coins words according to the rules of grammar and linguistic analogy from Semitic roots: Aramaic, Canaanite, Egyptian [sic] ones and especially from Arabic roots." Concerning Arabic, Ben-Yehuda maintained, inaccurately according to Blau and historical evidence, that Arabic roots are "ours": "the roots of Arabic were once a part of the Hebrew language... lost, and now we have found them again!"

Death and commemoration.

In December 1922, Ben-Yehuda, 64, died of tuberculosis, from which he suffered most of his life. He was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. His funeral was attended by 30,000 people.  Ben-Yehuda built a house for his family in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, but died three months before it was completed. His wife Hemda lived there for close to thirty years. Ten years after her death, her son Ehud transferred the title of the house to the Jerusalem municipality for the purpose of creating a museum and study center. Eventually it was leased to a church group from Germany who established a center there for young German volunteers. The house is now a conference center and guesthouse run by the German organization Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP), which organizes workshops, seminars and Hebrew language ulpan programs.  In his book "Was Hebrew Ever a Dead Language", Cecil Roth summed up Ben-Yehuda's contribution to the Hebrew language: "Before Ben‐Yehuda, Jews "could" speak Hebrew; after him, they "did"." This comment reflects the fact that there are no other examples of a natural language without any native speakers subsequently acquiring several million native speakers, and no other examples of a sacred language becoming a national language with millions of "first language" speakers.

Eliezer Ben‐Yehuda (; ; born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman; 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Hebrew lexicographer and newspaper editor. He was the driving force behind the revival of the Hebrew language in the modern era.


Biblical town: etymology and location.

In the Hebrew Bible.

Kiryat Arba is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the former name of Hebron and as the place where Abraham's wife, Sarah, has died: "And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron)" (). The Book of Joshua says: "Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba; this Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim." ().

Identification.

Some researchers identify Tel Rumeida with the biblical town.

Meaning.

There are various explanations for the name, not mutually exclusive. According to the biblical commentator Rashi, "Kiryat Arba" ("Town of "Arba"") means either the town ("kirya") of Arba, the giant who had three sons, or the town of the four giants: "Anak" (the son of Arba) and his three sons – Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai – who are described as being the sons of a "giant" in : "On the way through the Negev, they (Joshua and Caleb) came to Hebron where [they saw] Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmi, descendants of the Giant ("ha-anak")..."  Some say that "Anak" ("giant", see Anak) is a proper name (Targum Jonathan and the Septuagint), and that he, "Anak", may have been the father of the three others mentioned in the Book of Numbers as living in Hebron, previously known as "Kiryat Arba."  Alternatively, the name may refer to the four couples buried in the Machpela Cave: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, and according to the Zohar, Adam and Eve.

History.

A secret government plan to establish the settlement began with the expropriation of Palestinian land ostensibly for a military base. According to the minutes of a meeting between senior officials in the office of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in July 1970, houses would be constructed "for military purposes" before being turned over to Jewish civilians as a settlement. This method of settlement foundation, which was very common at the time, was intended to give the appearance of compliance with International Law. Israeli settlers claimed that Jewish settlement around Hebron was justified in light of the 1929 Hebron massacre and the continuous presence of Jews in the area until then. The town is a self-sufficient community, with pre-nursery through post-secondary educational institutions, medical facilities, shopping centers, a bank and a post office. Kiryat Arba attained local council status in 1979. While Kiryat Arba is located within the territory of the Har Hebron Regional Council, it is an independent local council.  Israeli settlers living at Kiryat Arba have been subjected to multiple attacks by Palestinians. In 1980, three 20-year-old yeshiva students studying in Kiryat Arba were among the six Jews killed by terrorists after praying in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Friday night. Between 1981 and 1986, four people from Kiryat Arba were shot and wounded in the Hebron marketplace. In 1994, a 17-year Sarit Prigral from Kiryat Arba was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. In March 2003, Eli and Dina Horowitz were shot to death in their home and five others wounded. On November 26, 2009, a Palestinian stabbed and wounded two Israelis at a Kiryat Arba gas station. The Palestinian was then shot dead by an Israeli soldier. On August 31, 2010, four residents, including a pregnant woman, were shot to death in their car by Hamas militants outside Kiryat Arba. The Palestinian Authority arrested the perpetrators, but promptly released them after Hamas accused it of treason. On October 8, 2010, Israeli troops killed two of the perpetrators and arrested six during a raid in Hebron. In October 2011, a Palestinian stoning attack near Kiryat Arba caused the car of a resident to overturn, killing him and his infant son. The man's handgun and wallet were then stolen. Following an investigation by Shin Bet, the IDF and police, two Palestinians from Halhul were arrested for throwing the stones that caused the car to overturn, and three others were arrested for stealing the gun. On June 30, 2016, a Palestinian from the nearby village of Bani Naim entered a house in Kiryat Arba and stabbed to death 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel, an Israeli-American girl. The attacker was shot to death, after also wounding a security guard who responded to the Ariel stabbing.  In October 2018, Eliyahu Libman was elected council head beating Malachi Levinger, the son of Moshe Levinger, who had served as head of council for 10 years.

Education.

The settlement has the following high schools and yeshivas:

Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba (), lit. "Town of the Four," is an urban Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, in the Judean Mountains region of the West Bank. Founded in 1968, in it had a population of.


Biography.

John of Montfort was born in 1295, the only son to Arthur II of Brittany and his second wife Yolande of Dreux. In 1322 he inherited from his mother the title of count of Montfort-l'Amaury, and in 1329 he married Joanna of Flanders in Chartres. Joanna was the daughter of Louis I, Count of Nevers, and Joan, Countess of Rethel. They had:

Succession to Duke John III.

On 30 April 1341, John III, Duke of Brittany, died without a male heir. His half-brother, John of Montfort, was a candidate for the succession, which was also claimed by Joan of Penthièvre, niece of John III and wife of Charles of Blois, himself a nephew of the Philip VI, King of France. The King was, of course, favourable to his nephew.  The Duchy of Brittany historically had a "semi-Salic" mode of inheritance; male primogeniture was followed unless no direct male descendants remained. At that point the closest female descendant inherited as Duchess, with her husband serving as Duke by "right of representation". The position of John of Montfort was legally founded on the belief that a brother (even a half-brother) was a closer heir than a beneficiary niece, and that the Salic form of inheritance adopted by the Kingdom of France should be followed. This argument was based on the fact that since 1297 Brittany had been a "Duché-pairie" ("member and part of the crown"), and that the legislation of the suzerain kingdom should therefore be applied. Challenges to the Salic law of the Franks had historically been rejected for the Kingdom of France, allowing Philip V to gain the throne in 1316, and Philip VI most recently. This made Edward III's support of John of Montfort quite ironic, in that the argument for Edward III to inherit the Kingdom of France was based on the opposing philosophy that the crown should be able to descend through a female line.  A civil war, termed the War of the Breton Succession, then began and lasted 23 years. This conflict was also called "La guerre de deux Jeanne", after the French names of the two duchesses in competition: Jeanne de Penthièvre and Jeanne de Flanders, wife of John of Montfort.

Early stages of the War (1341).

After the funeral of John III, Charles of Blois returned to the Court of France and John of Montfort returned to his Breton estate in Guérande. Then, incited by his wife (according to tradition), he went with a small army to Nantes where he was well received by the inhabitants who swore their loyalty. John then went to Limoges where he managed to obtain the ducal treasury. John returned to Nantes and was recognised as Duke in May 1341 by an assembly composed of members of the towns and minor nobles, but shunned by the major vassals with the exception of Hervé VII, Count of Léon. Thanks to the ducal treasury, he recruited mercenaries which allowed him to perform in June and July a 'great ride in Brittany' (as described by Arthur de la Borderie) and take control of the duchy. John first gained Rennes, then Vannes and the places surrounding the Château de Suscinio, Auray, Hennebont, and then Quimperlé. Having failed to take the domains of Rohan, he submitted Quimper and Brest before descending to Carhaix, and then went back northward and captured Saint-Brieuc, Lamballe, Jugon, Dinan, Dol-de-Bretagne, and returned to Nantes via Ploërmel.  Always accompanied by Hervé VII of Léon, John obtained the submission, if not the support, of some of the major nobles who possessed several of these strongholds and had been loyal to Charles of Blois. However it would probably require getting Josselin, or the support of the high secular clergy and great lords, or more, to control the domains of the Penthièvres and the House of Rohan, which represented about two-thirds of Brittany. John also went to England and met with Edward III of England in Windsor, who promised him military assistance and invested him with the Honour of Richmond.  Charles of Blois then made an appeal to Philip VI, who summoned John of Montfort to a Court of Peers session in Conflans in September 1341. In this context by the judgment of Conflans, the Duchy of Brittany was attributed to Charles of Blois. Philip VI agreed to receive "l'hommage lige" of Charles of Blois on behalf of his wife, and confiscated from John of Montfort the French lands of the County of Montfort-l'Amaury, as well as the Viscounty of Limoges that he held more unduly.  In October 1341, Charles of Blois and John II, Duke of Normandy (later King of France), put together an army and penetrated into Brittany. They managed to retrieve a number of strongholds which had been lost, including Nantes, which relented on 21 November 1341 after three weeks of siege. John of Montfort was captured and imprisoned in the Louvre in Paris. Despite the change of camp of Hervé VII de Leon (due to criticisms from John regarding his handling of the siege of Nantes), Joanna, the wife of John of Montfort, continued the armed struggle supported by his allies.

Subsequent stages of the War (1342–1345).

After a winter break that ended on 15 April 1342, Charles of Blois resumed the fight and regained a large part of Brittany between May and September 1342. King Edward III of England decided to intervene on behalf of the House of Montfort. Charles de Blois failed to take Hennebont, which was defended by Joanna of Flanders, while Robert III of Artois was mortally wounded besieging Vannes in vain leading an English contingent. In January 1343, through Pope Clement VI, a truce was signed at Malestroit to bring peace and the liberation of John of Montfort. The latter was released in September 1343 and retired to England 27 March 1345. His return to the struggle with reinforcements provided by King Edward III of England put an end to the truce. John of Montfort unsuccessfully laid siege to Quimper, then fell ill and died in Hennebont on 16 September 1345.

Tomb of John of Monfort.

He was buried in the convent of the Dominicans of Quimperlé where his tomb, which had already been desecrated, was found again in December 1883. His remains are now in the Church of Sainte-Croix de Quimperlé.

John of Montfort (, ) (1295 – 16 September 1345, Château d'Hennebont), sometimes known as John IV of Brittany, and 6th Earl of Richmond from 1341 to his death. He was the son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany and his second wife, Yolande de Dreux. He contested the inheritance of the Duchy of Brittany by his niece, Joan of Penthièvre, which led to the War of the Breton Succession, which in turn evolved into being part of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. John's patron in his quest was King Edward III of England. He died in 1345, 19 years before the end of the war, and the victory of his son John IV over Joan of Penthièvre and her husband, Charles of Blois.


Cultivar.

"Brassica juncea" cultivars can be divided into four major subgroups: integrifolia, juncea, napiformis, and tsatsai.

Nutrition.

In 100 grams, cooked mustard greens provide 26 calories and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value) of vitamins A, C, and K which is especially high as a multiple of its Daily Value. Mustard greens are a moderate source of vitamin E and calcium. Greens are 92% water, 4.5% carbohydrates, 2.6% protein and 0.5% fat (table).

Uses.

Food.

The leaves, seeds, and stems of this mustard variety are edible. The plant appears in some form in African, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Nepali, Pakistani, Korean, and African-American (soul food) cuisines. Cultivars of "B. juncea" are grown for their greens, and for the production of oilseed. The mustard condiment made from the seeds of the "B. juncea" is called brown mustard and is considered to be spicier than yellow mustard.  Because it may contain erucic acid, a potential toxin, mustard oil is restricted from import as a vegetable oil into the United States. Essential oil of mustard, however, is accepted as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). But in Russia, this is the main species grown for the production of mustard oil. It is widely used in canning, baking and margarine production in Russia, and the majority of Russian table mustard is also made from "B. juncea".  The leaves are used in African cooking, and all plant parts are used in Nepali cuisine, particularly in the mountain regions of Nepal, as well as in the Punjabi cuisine in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, where a dish called "sarson da saag" (mustard greens) is prepared. "B. juncea" subsp. "tatsai", which has a particularly thick stem, is used to make the Nepali pickle called "achar", and the Chinese pickle "zha cai".  The Gorkhas of the Indian states of Darjeeling, West Bengal and Sikkim as well as Nepal prepare pork with mustard greens (also called "rayo" in Nepali). It is usually eaten with relish and steamed rice, but can also be eaten with "roti" (griddle breads). In Nepal it is also a common practice to cook these greens with meat of all sorts specially goat meat; which is normally prepared in a pressure cooker with minimal use of spices to focus on the flavour of the greens and dry chillies. "Brassica juncea" (especially the seeds) is more pungent than greens from the closely related "Brassica oleracea" (kale, broccoli, and collard greens), and is frequently mixed with these milder greens in a dish of "mixed greens".  Chinese and Japanese cuisines also make use of mustard greens. In Japanese cuisine, it is known as "takana" and often pickled for use as filling in onigiri or as a condiment. Many varieties of "B. juncea" cultivars are used, including "zha cai", "mizuna", "takana" (var. "integrifolia"), "juk gai choy", and "xuelihong". Asian mustard greens are most often stir-fried or pickled. A Southeast Asian dish called "asam gai choy" or "kiam chai boey" is often made with leftovers from a large meal. It involves stewing mustard greens with tamarind, dried chillies and leftover meat on the bone. Brassica juncea is also known as "gai choi", "siu gai choi", "xaio jie cai", baby mustard, Chinese leaf mustard or "mostaza".

Green manure.

Vegetable growers sometimes grow mustard as a green manure. Its main purpose is to act as a mulch, covering the soil to suppress weeds between crops. If grown as a green manure, the mustard plants are cut down at the base when sufficiently grown, and left to wither on the surface, continuing to act as a mulch until the next crop is due for sowing, when the mustard is dug in. In the UK, mustard sown in summer and autumn is cut down starting in October. April sowings can be cut down in June, keeping the ground clear for summer-sown crops. One of the disadvantages of using mustard as a green manure is its propensity to harbor club root.

Phytoremediation.

This mustard plant is used in phytoremediation to remove heavy metals, such as lead, from the soil in hazardous waste sites because it has a higher tolerance for these substances and stores the heavy metals in its cells. In particular, "Brassica juncea" was particularly effective at removing cadmium from soil. The process of removing heavy metals ends when the plant is harvested and properly discarded. Phytoremediation has been shown to be cheaper and easier than traditional methods for heavy metal reduction in soils. In addition, it has the effect of reducing soil erosion, reducing cross-site contamination.

Brassica juncea, commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant.


Function and construction.

Modchips operate by replacing or overriding a system's protection hardware or software. They achieve this by either exploiting existing interfaces in an unintended or undocumented manner, or by actively manipulating the system's internal communication, sometimes to the point of re-routing it to substitute parts provided by the modchip.  Most modchips consist of one or more integrated circuits (microcontrollers, FPGAs, or CPLDs), often complemented with discrete parts, usually packaged on a small PCB to fit within the console system it is designed for. Although there are modchips that can be reprogrammed for different purposes, most modchips are designed to work within only one console system or even only one specific hardware version.  Modchips typically require some degree of technical skill to install since they must be connected to a console's circuitry, most commonly by soldering wires to select traces or chip legs on a system's circuit board. Some modchips allow for installation by directly soldering the modchip's contacts to the console's circuit ("quicksolder"), by the precise positioning of electrical contacts ("solderless"), or, in rare cases, by plugging them into a system's internal or external connector.  Memory cards or cartridges that offer functions similar to modchips work on a completely different concept, namely by exploiting flaws in the system's handling of media. Such devices are not referred to as modchips, even if they are frequently traded under this umbrella term.  The diversity of hardware modchips operate on and varying methods they use mean that while modchips are often used for the same goal, they may work in vastly different ways, even if they are intended for use on the same console. Some of the first modchips for the Nintendo Wii known as drive chips, modify the behaviour and communication of the optical drive to bypass security. While on the Xbox 360, a common modchip took advantage of the fact short periods of instability in the CPU could be used to fairly reliably lead it to incorrectly compare security signatures. The precision required in this attack meant the modchip made use of a CPLD. Other modchips, such as the XenoGC and clones for the Nintendo GameCube, invoke a debug mode where security measures are reduced or absent, in this case a stock Atmel AVR microcontroller was used. A more recent innovation are optical disk drive emulators or ODDE, these replace the optical disk drive and allow data to come from another source bypassing the need to circumvent any security. These often make use of FPGAs to enable them to accurately emulate timing and performance characteristics of the optical drives.

History.

Most cartridge-based console systems did not have modchips produced for them. They usually implemented copy protection and regional lockout with game cartridges, both on hardware and software level. Converters or passthrough devices have been used to circumvent the restrictions, while flash memory devices (game backup devices) were widely adopted in later years to copy game media. Early in the transition from solid-state to optical media, CD-based console systems did not have regional market segmentation or copy protection measures due to the rarity and high cost of user-writable media at the time.  Modchips started to surface with the PlayStation system, due to the increasing availability and affordability of CD writers and the increasing sophistication of DRM protocols. At the time, a modchip's sole purpose was to allow the use of imported and copied game media.  Today, modchips are available for practically every current console system, often in a great number of variations. In addition to circumventing regional lockout and copy protection mechanisms, modern modchips may introduce more sophisticated modifications to the system, such as allowing the use of user-created software (homebrew), expanding the hardware capabilities of its host system, or even installing an alternative operating system to completely re-purpose the host system ("e.g." for use as a home theater PC).

Anti-modchip measures.

Most modchips open the system to copied media, therefore the availability of a modchip for a console system is undesirable for console manufacturers. They react by removing the intrusion points exploited by a modchip from subsequent hardware or software versions, changing the PCB layout the modchips are customized for, or by having the firmware or software detect an installed modchip and refuse operation as a consequence. Since modchips often hook into fundamental functions of the host system that cannot be removed or adjusted, these measures may not completely prevent a modchip from functioning but only prompt an adjustment of its installation process or programming, e.g. to include measures to make it undetectable ("stealth") to its host system.  With the advent of online services to be used by video game consoles, some manufacturers have executed their possibilities within the service's license agreement to ban consoles equipped with modchips from using those services.  In an effort to dissuade modchip creation, some console manufacturers included the option to run homebrew software or even an alternative operating system on their consoles. However, some of these features have been withdrawn at a later date. An argument can be made that a console system remains largely untouched by modchips as long as their manufacturers provide an official way of running unlicensed third-party software.

Legality.

One of the most prominent functions of many modchips—the circumvention of copy protection mechanisms—is outlawed by many countries' copyright laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in the United States, the European Copyright Directive and its various implementations by the EU member countries, and the Australian Copyright Act. Other laws may apply to the many diversified functions of a modchip, e.g. Australian law specifically allowing the circumvention of region coding.  The ambiguity of applicable law, its nonuniform interpretation by the courts, and constant profound changes and amendments to copyright law do not allow for a definitive statement on the legality of modchips. A modchip's legality under a country's legislature may only be individually asserted in court.  Most of the very few cases that have been brought before a court ended with the conviction of the modchip merchant or the manufacturer under the respective country's anti-circumvention laws. A small number of cases in the United Kingdom and Australia were dismissed under the argument that a system's copy protection mechanism would not be able to prevent the actual infringement of copyright—the actual process of copying game media—and therefore cannot be considered an effective technical protection measure protected by anti-circumvention laws. In 2006, Australian copyright law has been amended to effectively close this legal loophole.  In a 2017 lawsuit against a retailer, a Canadian court ruled in favor of Nintendo under anti-circumvention provisions in Canadian copyright law, which prohibit any breaching of technical protection measures. The court ruled that even though the retailer claimed the products could be used for homebrew, thus asserting exemptions for maintaining interoperability, the court ruled that because Nintendo offers development kits for its platforms, interoperability could be achieved without breaching TPMs, and thus the defence is invalid.

Alternatives.

An alternative of installing a modchip is a process of softmodding a device. A softmodded device does not need to permanently have any additional hardware pieces inside. Instead, the software of a device or its internal part is modified in order to change the device's behaviour.

A modchip (short for modification chip) is a small electronic device used to alter or disable artificial restrictions of computers or entertainment devices. Modchips are mainly used in video game consoles, but also in some DVD or Blu-ray players. They introduce various modifications to its host system's function, including the circumvention of region coding, digital rights management, and copy protection checks for the purpose of using media intended for other markets, copied media, or unlicensed third-party (homebrew) software.


Etymology.

is a Sanskrit bahuvrihi of'"great" and'"time/death", which means "beyond time" or death.

Description.

According to "Shaktisamgama Tantra", the spouse of Mahakali is extremely frightening. Mahakala has four arms, three eyes and is of the brilliance of 10 million black fires of dissolution, dwells in the midst of eight cremation grounds. He is adorned with eight skulls, seated on five corpses, holds a trident, a drum, a sword and a scythe in his hands. He is adorned with ashes from the cremation ground and surrounded by numbers of loudly shrieking vultures and jackals. At his side is his consort symbolized as Kālī (काली, “the power of time”). Both Mahakala and Kālī (काली, “the power of time”) represent the ultimate destructive power of Brahman and they are not bounded by any rules or regulations. They have the power to dissolve even time and space into themselves and exist as Void at the dissolution of the universe. They are responsible for the dissolution of the universe at the end of Kalpa. They are also responsible for annihilating great evils and great daemons when other gods, Devas and even Trimurtis fail to do so. Mahakala and Kali annihilates men, women, children, animals, the world and the entire universe without mercy because they are "Kala" or "Time" in the personified form and Time is not bound by anything and Time does not show mercy, nor does it wait for anything or anyone. In some parts of Odisha, Jharkhand and Dooars, (that is, in northern Bengal), wild elephants are worshiped as Mahakala. Mahakala is typically black in color. Just as all colors are absorbed and dissolved into black, all names and forms are said to melt into those of Mahakala, symbolizing his all-embracing, comprehensive nature. Black can also represent the total absence of color, and again in this case it signifies the nature of Mahakala as ultimate or absolute reality. This principle is known in Sanskrit as "nirguna", beyond all quality and form, and it is typified by both interpretations.  Mahayana Buddhism, and all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, rely on Mahakala as guardian deity. He is depicted in a number of variations, each with distinctly different qualities and aspects. He is also regarded as the emanation of different beings in different cases, namely Avalokiteśvara () or Cakrasaṃvara (). Mahakala is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five kleśās (negative afflictions) into the five wisdoms.  The most notable variation in Mahakala's manifestations and depictions is in the number of arms, but other details can vary as well. For instance, in some cases there are Mahakalas in white, with multiple heads, without genitals, standing on varying numbers of various things, holding various implements, with alternative adornments, and so on.

Six-Armed Mahakala.

Nyingshuk came from Khyungpo Nenjor, the founder of the Shangpa Kagyu, and spread to all the lineages—Sakya, Nyingma, and Gelug—as well as various Kagyu lineages. There are also terma lineages of various forms of Six-Armed Mahakala. Nyinghsuk, though derived from the Shangpa, is not the major Shangpa one—it is in a dancing posture rather than upright, and is a very advanced Mahakala practice.  The White Six-Armed Mahakala (Skt: "Ṣadbhūjasītamahākāla"; ) is popular among Mongolian Gelugpas.

Four-Armed Mahakala.

Various Four-Armed Mahakalas (Skt. "Chaturbhūjamahākāla", ) are the primary protectors of the Karma Kagyu, Drikung Kagyu, Drukpa Lineage and the Nyingma of Tibetan Buddhism. A four-armed Mahakala is also found in the Nyingma school, although the primary protector of the Dzogchen (Skt: "Mahasandhi") teachings is Ekajati.

Two-Armed Mahakala.

The two-armed "Black-Cloaked Mahakala" () is a protector of the Karma Kagyu school clad in the cloak of a "māntrika" "warlock". His imagery derives from terma of the Nyingma school and was adopted by the Karma Kagyu during the time of Karma Pakshi, 2nd Karmapa Lama. He is often depicted with his consort, Rangjung Gyalmo. He is often thought to be the primary protector, but he is in fact the main protector of the Karmapas specifically. Four-Armed Mahakala is technically the primary protector. Six-Armed Mahakala ( is also a common dharmapala in the Kagyu school.  Pañjaranātha Mahakala "Mahakala, Lord of the Tent", an emanation of Mañjuśrī, is a protector of the Sakya school.

Mahakala Bhairava.

Mahakala is also known as Mahakala Bhairava and Kala Bhairava in Hinduism, and many temples in India and Nepal are dedicated solely for Mahakala Bhairava, for example at the temple in Ujjain, which is mentioned more than once by Kālidāsa. The primary temple, place of worship for Mahakala is Ujjain. Mahakala is also a name of one of Shiva's principal attendants (Sanskrit: "gaṇa"), along with Nandi, Shiva's mount and so is often represented outside the main doorway of early Hindu temples.

Mahakala in Japan.

Mahakala (known as "Daikokuten" 大黑天) enjoys an exalted position as a household deity in Japan, as he is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese folklore.  The Japanese also use the symbol of Mahakala as a monogram. The traditional pilgrims climbing the holy Mount Ontake wear tenugui on white Japanese scarves with the Sanskrit seed syllable of Mahakala.  In Japan, this deity is variously considered to be the god of wealth or of the household, particularly the kitchen. He is recognised by his wide face, smile, and a flat black hat, in stark contrast to the fierce imagery portrayed in Tibetan Buddhist art. He is often portrayed holding a golden mallet, otherwise known as a magic money mallet, and is seen seated on bales of rice, with mice nearby (mice signify plentiful food).

Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. According to Hinduism, Mahākāla is a manifestation of Shiva and is the consort of the goddess Mahākālī; he most prominently appears in the sect of Shaktism.


Description.

"Lactuca serriola" has a spineless reddish stem, containing a milky latex, growing from.  The leaves get progressively smaller as they reach its top. They are oblong or lanceolate, often pinnately lobed and (especially for the lower leaves), waxy grey green. Fine spines are present along the veins and leaf edges. The undersides have whitish veins. They emit latex when cut.  The flower heads are wide, pale yellow, often tinged purple, with 12-20 ray flowers but no disc flowers. The bracts are also often tinged purple. It flowers from July until September in the northern hemisphere. The achenes are grey, tipped with bristles. The pappus is white with equal length hairs.  Similar to "Mycelis muralis" but showing more than 5 florets.  It can cause pulmonary emphysema in cattle feeding exclusively on the plant.

Culinary and medicinal uses.

"Lactuca serriola" can be eaten as a salad, although it has something of a bitter taste. Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Older leaves can be steamed.  Its presence in some ancient deposits has been linked more to its soporific properties which might suggest ritual use. The Ancient Greeks also believed its pungent juice to be a remedy against eye ulcers and Pythagoreans called the lettuce "eunuch" because it caused urination and relaxed sexual desire. The Navajo used the plant as a ceremonial emetic. In the island of Crete in Greece the leaves and the tender shoots of a variety called maroula (μαρούλα) or agriomaroulo (αγριομάρουλο) are eaten boiled. It is used by a growing number of Jews and the Samaritans as the Maror (bitter herb) on Pesach.  "Lactuca serriola" contains lactucarium, which is the milky sap (white latex) that flows through the stem of the plant. It is used as a medicinal herb when dried after contact with air. Although the standard definition of lactucarium requires its production from "Lactuca virosa", it was recognized that smaller quantities of lactucarium could be produced in a similar way from "Lactuca sativa" and "Lactuca canadensis" var. "elongata", and even that lettuce-opium obtained from "Lactuca serriola" or "Lactuca quercina" was of superior quality.

History.

The Egyptian god Min is associated with this species of lettuce. Also, archaeobotanical evidence in Greek archaeological contexts is scanty, although uncarbonised seeds have been retrieved from a 7th-century BC deposit in a sanctuary of Hera on Samos. It is also described by Theophrastus. In mythology, Aphrodite is said to have laid Adonis in a lettuce bed, leading to the vegetable's association with food for the dead.

Pathogen resistance.

"Lactuca serriola" is the wild progenitor of cultivated lettuce ("Lactuca sativa"), and can be affected by lettuce downy mildew, one of the most serious diseases of lettuce. "L. serriola" has shown resistance to the plant pathogen "Bremia lactucae", the cause of the disease. This pathogen is able to undergo sexual reproduction, and once virulent strains have been produced, can undergo rapid asexual reproductive cycles. As a result, there are many strains, which vary in virulence.  Resistance to "Bremia lactucae" in "Lactuca serriola" is due to "Dm" genes, or single dominant genes. Nine of the dominant genes that confer resistance are "Dml, Dm, Dm3, Dm6, Dml4, Dml5, DmlO," "Dm5/8, Dm10", "Dm4, Dm7, Dm11," and "Dm13". These genes are mapped in four linkage groups, so the genes within each group will be more likely to be inherited together. "Lactuca serriola" and "B. lactucae" have a gene-for-gene relationship, meaning that each resistance gene in the plant is associated with a specific gene in the pathogen, with avirulence being dominant to virulence. The possible combinations of these "Dm" genes can provide the plant with resistance to multiple strains of "Bremia lactucae".  Testing for the presence of new resistance factors is conducted by screening samples of "L. serriola" with various isolates of "B. lactucae." Samples of "L. serriola" can be found around the world with genetic diversity between populations regarding the "Dm" genes. This genetic diversity is considered a resource for lettuce breeding because it provides a greater variety of genes to be used in response to new strains of "B. lactucae", which continually emerge. There is especially high diversity within the Mediterranean area and Southwest Asia, but "L. serriola" has established populations on all continents and has the most widespread distribution compared to other "Lactuca" species.

Lactuca serriola, also called prickly lettuce, milk thistle (not to be confused with "Silybum marianum", also called milk thistle), compass plant, and scarole, is an annual or biennial plant in the dandelion tribe within the daisy family. It has a slightly fetid odor and is commonly considered a weed of orchards, roadsides and field crops. It is the closest wild relative of cultivated lettuce ("Lactuca sativa" L.).


Overview and etymology.

The term was proposed in French ("géomatique") at the end of the 1960s by scientist Bernard Dubuisson to reflect at the time recent changes in the jobs of surveyor and photogrammetrist. The term was first employed in a French Ministry of Public Works memorandum dated 1st June 1971 instituting a "standing committee of geomatics" in the government.  The term was popularised in English by French-Canadian surveyor Michel Paradis in a "The little Geodesist that could" article in 1981 and in a keynote address at the centennial congress of the in April 1982. He claimed that at the end of the 20th century the needs for geographical information would reach a scope without precedent in history and that, in order to address these needs, it was necessary to integrate in a new discipline both the traditional disciplines of land surveying and the new tools and techniques of data capture, manipulation, storage and diffusion.  Geomatics includes the tools and techniques used in land surveying, remote sensing, cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), global-navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Compass), photogrammetry, geophysics, geography, and related forms of earth mapping. The term was originally used in Canada, because it is similar in origin to both French and English, but has since been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and many other international authorities, although some (especially in the United States) have shown a preference for the term "geospatial technology".  The related field of "hydrogeomatics" covers the area associated with surveying work carried out on, above or below the surface of the sea or other areas of water. The older term of hydrographics was considered too specific to the preparation of marine charts, and failed to include the broader concept of positioning or measurements in all marine environments.  A "geospatial network" is a network of collaborating resources for sharing and coordinating geographical data and data tied to geographical references. One example of such a network is the Open Geospatial Consortium's efforts to provide "ready global access to geographic information".  A number of university departments which were once titled "surveying", "survey engineering" or "topographic science" have re-titled themselves using the terms "geomatics" or "geomatic engineering".  The rapid progress and increased visibility of geomatics since the 1990s has been made possible by advances in computer hardware, computer science, and software engineering, as well as by airborne and space observation remote-sensing technologies.  The science of deriving information about an object using a sensor without physically contacting it is called remote sensing, which is a part of geomatics.

Science.

Geospatial science is an academic discipline incorporating fields such as surveying, geographic information systems, hydrography and cartography. Spatial science is typically concerned with the measurement, management, analysis and display of spatial information describing the Earth, its physical features and the built environment.  The term spatial science or spatial sciences is primarily used in Australia. Australian universities which offer degrees in spatial science include Curtin University, the University of Tasmania, the University of Adelaide,Melbourne University and RMIT University.  In the U.S., Texas A&M University offers a bachelor's degree in Spatial Sciences and is home to its own Spatial Sciences Laboratory. Beginning in 2012, the University of Southern California started to place more emphasis on the spatial science branch of its geography department, with traditional human and physical geography courses and concentrations either not being offered on a regular basis or phased out. In place, the university now offers graduate programs strictly related to spatial science and its geography department offers a spatial science minor rather than the original geography major.  Spatial information practitioners within the Asia-Pacific region are represented by the professional body called the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI).

Engineering.

Geomatics Engineering, Geomatic Engineering, Geospatial Engineering is a rapidly developing engineering discipline that focuses on spatial information (i.e. information that has a location). The location is the primary factor used to integrate a very wide range of data for spatial analysis and visualization. Geomatics engineers apply engineering principles to spatial information and implement relational data structures involving measurement sciences, thus using geomatics and acting as spatial information engineers. Geomatics engineers manage local, regional, national and global spatial data infrastructures. Geomatics Engineering also involves aspects of Computer Engineering, Software Engineering and Civil Engineering.  Geomatics is a field that incorporates several others such as the older field of land surveying engineering along with many other aspects of spatial data management ranging from data science and cartography to geography. Following the advanced developments in digital data processing, the nature of the tasks required of the professional land surveyor has evolved and the term "surveying" no longer accurately covers the whole range of tasks that the profession deals with. As our societies become more complex, information with a spatial position associated with it becomes more critical to decision-making, both from a personal and a business perspective, and also from a community and a large-scale governmental viewpoint.  Therefore, the geomatics engineer can be involved in an extremely wide variety of information gathering activities and applications. Geomatics engineers design, develop, and operate systems for collecting and analyzing spatial information about the land, the oceans, natural resources, and manmade features.  The more traditional land surveying strand of geomatics engineering is concerned with the determination and recording of boundaries and areas of real property parcels, and the preparation and interpretation of legal land descriptions. The tasks more closely related to civil engineering include the design and layout of public infrastructure and urban subdivisions, and mapping and control surveys for construction projects.  Geomatics engineers serve society by collecting, monitoring, archiving, and maintaining diverse spatial data infrastructures. Geomatics engineers utilize a wide range of technologically advanced tools such as digital theodolite/distance meter total stations, Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, digital aerial imagery (both satellite and air-borne), and computer-based geographic information systems (GIS). These tools enable the geomatics engineer to gather, process, analyze, visualize and manage spatially related information to solve a wide range of technical and societal problems.  Geomatics engineering is the field of activity that integrates the acquisition, processing, analysis, display and management of spatial information. It is an exciting and new grouping of subjects in the spatial and environmental information sciences with a broad range of employment opportunities as well as offering challenging pure and applied research problems in a vast range of interdisciplinary fields.  In different schools and in different countries the same education curriculum is administered with the name surveying in some, and in others with the names geomatics, civil engineering surveying, geomatics engineering, geospatial (information) engineering, surveying engineering, or geodesy and geoinformatics. While these occupations were at one time often taught in civil engineering education programs, more and more universities include the departments relevant for geo-data sciences under informatics, computer science or applied mathematics. These facts demonstrate the breadth, depth and scope of the highly interdisciplinary nature of geomatics engineering. The job of "geospatial engineer" is well established in the U.S. military.

Applications.

Application areas include:

Areas of knowledge.

Geomatics integrates science and technology from both new and traditional disciplines:

Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, it "consists of products, services and tools involved in the collection, integration and management of geographic data". It includes geomatics engineering (and surveying engineering) and is related to geospatial science (also geospatial engineering and geospatial technology).


Taxonomy.

Studies in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in several formerly separate genera being absorbed into "Echinopsis":  Some have proposed merging "Rebutia" as well.  Like several other taxonomic changes in Cactaceae, this one has not been universally accepted. Amateur and professional growers still use names like "Echinopsis" (in the older sense), "Lobivia", "Setiechinopsis" and "Trichocereus", although many of the others listed above fell out of common usage long before the change.  Changing the genus name necessitated using some different specific epithets to avoid creating duplicate names. Thus both "Echinopsis bridgesii" and "Trichocereus bridgesii" previously existed. These are very different plants: "Echinopsis bridgesii" is a short clumping cactus, whereas "Trichocereus bridgesii" is a tall columnar cactus similar to "E." (or "T.") "pachanoi". Under the new classification, "Trichocereus bridgesii" becomes "Echinopsis lageniformis".  The genus name "Trichocereus" was given to a number of columnar cacti in 1909 by Vincenzo Riccobono, before the genus was subsumed—along with "Lobivia"—into "Echinopsis" in 1974 by Friedrich. A 2012 genetic and morphological study by Albesiano found "Trichocereus" to be monophyletic if it included three species of "Harrisia".  A 2012 genetic analysis of chloroplast DNA indicates "Echinopsis" is made up of several divergent lineages. "E. spachiana" was not included in the study but is thought to be related to a "Helianthocereus" clade.  Many hybrids exist, mostly between similar species but also between more distinct ones, such as the cross between "E. pachanoi" and "E. eyriesii" which was sold under the name "Trichopsis pachaniesii" by Sacred Succulents.

Distribution.

"Echinopsis" species are native to South America (Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay). They grow only in situations where the soil is sandy or gravelly, or on the sides of hills in the crevices of rocks.

Cultivation.

The growing and resting seasons for "Echinopsis" are the same as for "Echinocactus". Research by J. Smith (former Curator at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) showed that species like the Chilean "Echinopsis cristata" and its Mexican relatives thrive if potted in light loam, with a little leaf mould and a few nodules of limestone. The limestone keeps the soil open; it is important that the soil should be well drained. In winter, water must be given very sparingly, and the atmosphere should be dry; the temperature need not exceed during the night, and in very cold weather it may be allowed to fall to, provided a higher temperature of is maintained during the day. In spring, the plants should receive the full influence of the increasing warmth of the sun; and during hot weather, they will be benefited by frequent spraying overhead, which should be done in the evening. The soil should never be saturated, as the soft fibrous roots will rot if kept wet for any length of time.  None of the species need to be grafted to grow freely and remain healthy, as the stems are all robust enough and of sufficient size to take care of themselves. The only danger is in keeping the plants too moist in winter, for although a little water now and again keeps the stems fresh and green, it deprives them of that rest which is essential to the development of their large, beautiful flowers in summer.

Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, "E. chamaecereus", is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti. The name derives from "echinos" hedgehog or sea urchin, and "opsis" appearance, a reference to these plants' dense coverings of spines.


Company structure.

The group comprises 134 companies in 48 countries. The group's parent company is Endress+Hauser AG in Reinach, Switzerland: a stock corporation under Swiss law whose shares are not listed on a stock exchange. Shareholders are the families of the eight children of company founder Georg H Endress, each holding 12 percent. An additional 4 percent has been placed in the non-profit Georg H Endress Foundation.  Today, Endress+Hauser provides sales and support in 125 countries and manufactures in the major economic regions. The company operates production facilities in Brazil, Germany, the United States, China, France, India, the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and South Africa.

Products, services, customers.

Endress+Hauser manufactures Electronic instruments for process automation including level, flow, pressure and temperature measurement; instruments for liquid, solids and gas analysis; data acquisition and system integration. Under the Analytik Jena brand, the group markets analytical instruments and bioanalytical systems for laboratories.  Commercial customers mainly operate in the food and beverage, chemical, life sciences, oil and gas, water and wastewater, power and energy and primaries and metals industries. In the laboratory business the group also serves customers from healthcare and academia.

History.

The company was founded as L Hauser KG on 1 February 1953 by Swiss engineer Georg H. Endress (1924–2008) and German banker Ludwig Häusser (1895–1975). Starting capital was a modest 2,000 deutschmarks; the first ‘operating facility’ was a room in Hauser’s apartment in Lörrach, Germany. The business has traded under the name Endress+Hauser since 1957.  In the beginning, the company sold innovative level instruments produced by the British company Fielden Electronics. Soon after, Georg H Endress started to develop his own devices. In 1955, he registered his first patent and set up a production facility.  The company expanded the portfolio by adding new measurement principles and pursued business opportunities in other countries. The first foreign subsidiary was established in 1960 in the Netherlands. In 1968, a holding company was registered in Switzerland. In 1970, Endress+Hauser entered the US and Japanese markets.  In 1975, co-founder Ludwig Hauser died; the Endress family became sole shareholder. In the following years, the company expanded its offering through acquisitions and start-ups. Measurement value recording, liquid analysis and flow measurement engineering were added as new fields of activity, followed later by pressure and temperature measurement technologies.  Klaus Endress, the second-eldest son of the company founder, took over as the group’s CEO in 1995. By that time, Endress+Hauser had grown into a global company with 4,339 employees and net sales of 679.6 million Swiss francs.  In 2005, Endress+Hauser acquired Innovative Sensor Technology IST AG, a Swiss-based provider of physical, chemical and biological sensors with operations in Ebnat-Kappel, Switzerland, and Roznov, Czech Republic.  In 2008, Georg H Endress died. The shareholder family had created a family charter while the company founder was still alive. It states “Endress+Hauser shall remain a family company oriented toward sustainable success.”  In 2013, Endress+Hauser entered the laboratory instrumentation business with the acquisition of German company Analytik Jena AG. Additional takeovers (SpectraSensors Inc., Kaiser Optical Systems Inc., SensAction AG, Blue Ocean Nova AG) strengthened the segment of process analysis and measurement of quality parameters. Besides this strategic focal point, the issue of digitalization was another major factor of influence in company development.  On 1 January 2014, Matthias Altendorf took over as CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group from Klaus Endress, who became president of the Supervisory Board. At that time the company generated net sales of €1.814 billion and employed 11,919 staff worldwide. Although not a member of the family, the new CEO has been with the company for more than 25 years. He promotes digitalization and applications for the Industrial Internet of Things and wants to further develop the offering in the field of laboratory and process analysis.

Endress+Hauser in the US.

Endress+Hauser Inc. opened the first US office in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1970 and moved to Greenwood, Indiana, in 1973. For a while E+H had a subsidiary Ondyne, Inc in Concord, California that primarily made moisture measurement instruments. In 1991 this facility was closed and most of the personnel moved to Greenwood, IN. In addition to its own sales organization, the company relies on a nationwide network of select representatives to support customers. Additionally, the group offers lab and field calibration services and operates various process training facilities in the US. Endress+Hauser produces flow, level, pressure and temperature instruments in Greenwood, Indiana, and liquid analysis technology in Anaheim, California; Kaiser Optical Systems Inc. manufactures Raman analyzers in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and SpectraSensors Inc. with headquarters in Houston, Texas, assembles its TDLAS gas analyzers in Rancho Cucamonga, California. According to Endress+Hauser, 80 percent of the instruments delivered in the US are made in the US. The laboratory business is represented by Analytik Jena US LLC, based in Upland, California. The group employs more than 850 people in the US; the representative network accounts for another 350 sales engineers and service technicians. Todd Lucey has been managing director of Endress+Hauser Inc. since 2004.

Endress+Hauser in the UK.

Endress+Hauser Ltd was established in 1968 and today employs 210 people. The company provides products, and services to customers in Britain and designs and manufactures industrial temperature sensors. The managing director is Steven Endress, a grandson of the company founder. The laboratory business in the UK is represented by Analytik Jena UK Ltd in London From its premises in Richmond, MHT Technology Ltd supplies the oil, gas and petrochemical industries with inventory management and stock reconciliation systems.

Endress+Hauser in Canada.

Endress+Hauser Canada Ltd was founded in 1990. Today, more than 150 employees serve customers from headquarters in Burlington, Ontario, and offices in Montreal, Quebec, Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta. Technical representatives are based in Windsor, Saskatoon and Vancouver. In Atlantic Canada, Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Calgary (well servicing) and British Columbia, sales are handled through representatives. The managing director is Anthony Varga.

Endress+Hauser in South Africa.

Endress+Hauser (Pty) Ltd in Sandton was founded in 1984. With 120 employees, the company serves the South African market as well as customers in other subequatorial African countries such as Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Bernhard Klöss has been managing director of Endress+Hauser (Pty) Ltd since the beginning of 2019. In the country’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment program, Endress+Hauser has reached a level 4 rating. In addition to the group’s sales and service operations, in Benoni Endress+Hauser Pyrotemp (Pty) Ltd manufactures temperature measurement devices and system products.

Endress+Hauser in Australia.

Established in 2001 after a period of distributor representation, Endress+Hauser Australia Pty Ltd based in North Ryde, New South Wales, has developed as a full-fledged subsidiary. The company serves customers throughout the country.

Endress+Hauser in Ireland.

The group’s sales organization in Ireland was established in 1979, initially as an agency. Today Endress+Hauser (Ireland) Ltd, with offices in Kildare and Cork and 26 staff, assists customers nationwide. The managing director is Christophe Roche. In addition, the group has held a minority stake in the engineering-based calibration management software development company CompuCal Calibration Solutions Ltd, Little Island, since 2012.

Endress+Hauser in India.

The group's sales organization in India was established in 1994. Today Endress + Hauser India Pvt. Ltd with 9 branch offices assist customers across India.

Endress+Hauser (Endress and Hauser) is a Swiss-based globally operating process and laboratory instrumentation and automation supplier. In 2018, the family-owned company generated net sales of €2.455 billion, recorded a net income of €232.2 million and employed 13,928 staff worldwide.


Biography.

Early life.

Louis Antoine was born at Versailles, as the eldest son of Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, the youngest brother of King Louis XVI of France. He was born one year after the death of his great-grandfather, Louis XV of France. His mother was Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy (known as "Marie Thérèse" in France), the daughter of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonia of Spain.  From 1780 until 1789, Louis Antoine and his younger brother, Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry, were educated by Armand-Louis de Sérent "marquis de Sérent", their "gouverneur", in the "château de Beauregard", a few miles from Versailles. On the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 the two young princes followed their father into exile to first Turin, then to Germany and finally England.  In 1792, Louis Antoine joined the émigré army of his cousin, the Prince of Condé.  In June 1795, his uncle, the "comte de Provence", proclaimed himself King Louis XVIII. Later that year, the 20-year-old Louis Antoine led an unsuccessful royalist uprising in the Vendée. In early 1797, he joined his brother and uncle in the German Duchy of Brunswick, hoping to join the Austrian Army. The defeat of Austria by France obliged them to flee, and they took refuge in Mittau, Courland, under the protection of Tsar Paul I of Russia.  There, on 10 June 1799, he married his first cousin, Marie Thérèse of France, the eldest child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and the only member of the immediate royal family to survive the French Revolution. Since her release from the Temple Prison in 1795, she had been living at the Austrian court. They had no children.

Military service.

In April 1800, Louis Antoine took command of a regiment of cavalry in the Bavarian army and took part in the battle of Hohenlinden against the French, showing some ability.  In early 1801, Tsar Paul made peace with Bonaparte, and the French court in exile fled to Warsaw, then controlled by Prussia. For the next ten years, Louis-Antoine accompanied and advised his uncle, Louis XVIII. They returned to Russia when Alexander I became Tsar, but in mid-1807 the treaty between Napoleon and Alexander forced them to take refuge in England. There, at Hartwell House, King Louis reconstituted his court, and Louis-Antoine was granted an allowance of £300 a month. Twice (in 1807 and 1813) he attempted to return to Russia to join the fight against Napoleon, but was refused permission by the Tsar. He remained in England until 1814 when he sailed to Bordeaux, which had declared for the King. His entry into the city on 12 March 1814 was regarded as the beginning of the Bourbon restoration. From there, Louis Antoine fought alongside the Duke of Wellington to restore his cousin Ferdinand VII to the throne of Spain.

Flight to England and return.

Louis Antoine was unable to prevent Napoleon's return to Paris as chief of the royalist army in the southern Rhône River valley, and he was again forced to flee to England during the "Hundred Days". He loyally served Louis XVIII after the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. In 1823, he commanded a French army sent into Spain to restore the King's absolute powers, known as the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis. He was victorious in the Battle of Trocadero, after which the reactionary power of King Ferdinand VII of Spain was firmly restored. For this achievement, he was awarded the title of a "Prince of Trocadero".  Upon the King's death in 1824, his father became King Charles X and Louis-Antoine became Dauphin, heir-apparent to the throne. He supported his father's reactionary policy of purging France of her recent revolutionary and imperial past, expelling former imperial officers from the Army.

July Revolution.

Masses of angry demonstrators demanded the abdication of Charles and of his descendants in July 1830, in what became known as the July Revolution, in favour of his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans. They sent a delegation to the Tuileries Palace to force his compliance.  Charles reluctantly signed the document of abdication on 2 August 1830; Louis Antoine followed 20 minutes later. It is said that Louis Antoine spent this time listening to the entreaties of his wife not to sign, while the former Charles X sat weeping. After that, he also abdicated (in favour of his nephew, the Duke of Bordeaux). For the final time he left for exile, where he was known as the "Count of Marnes". He never returned to France.  Louis Antoine and his wife travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland, in November 1830 and took up residence in a house at 21 (now 22) Regent Terrace near Holyrood Palace where Charles X was staying.  Emperor Francis I of Austria offered the Prague Castle in Prague to the royal entourage in 1832, so Louis-Antoine and Charles X moved there. Francis I, however, died in 1835, and his successor Ferdinand I of Austria told the French royal family that he needed the palace for his coronation in the summer of 1836. The exiled French kings and their entourage therefore left and eventually arrived at the palace of Grafenberg in Gorizia on 21 October 1836.  Many legitimists did not recognize the abdications as valid, and recognized Charles X as king until his death in 1836, with Louis XIX succeeding him. Louis Antoine died in Görz, Austria, in 1844, aged 69. He was buried in his father Charles X's crypt in the church of the Franciscan monastery of Kostanjevica near Görz, now Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Upon his death, his nephew the Duke of Bordeaux became head of the royal family of France under the regnal name Henry V, although he used the title of Count of Chambord in exile.

In fiction and film.

The newborn Duke of Angoulême is portrayed by an uncredited child actor in a brief scene from the Sofia Coppola motion picture "Marie Antoinette". This scene contains a great error as it mistakenly names his parents as being Louis XVIII and Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, who never had children.

Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (6 August 1775 – 3 June 1844) was the elder son of Charles X of France and the last Dauphin of France from 1824 to 1830. He was technically King of France and Navarre for less than 20 minutes before he himself abdicated, due to his father's abdication during the July Revolution in 1830. He never reigned over the country, but after his father's death in 1836, he was the legitimist pretender as Louis XIX.


History.

The organization grew out of a single club, Smedley Chapter One Club, which would become the first Toastmasters club. It was founded by Ralph C. Smedley on October 22, 1924, at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, United States. It originated as a set of classes with the aim of improving the communication skills of the young men under his charge. Toastmasters International was incorporated under Californian law on December 19, 1932.  The first international chapter was established in Vancouver, Canada in 1932. The organization began admitting women in 1973.  Throughout its history, Toastmasters has served over four million people, and today the organization serves over 358,000 members in 141 countries, through its 16,400 member clubs. Toastmasters membership increased rapidly around the turn of the century, nearing 16,000 clubs worldwide by 2016.

Toastmasters club structure.

Toastmasters International uses a local club-based structure, each having around 20–40 members. Meetings are held every week or other week and usually in the evening, although some clubs meet in the morning or afternoon. Each club operates as a separate entity with a set of requirements leading to chartered status for them to be recognised as official Toastmasters clubs. Chartered status allows for clubs to use the names, promotional material and programme of Toastmasters International.

Meeting format.

Table Topics.

Part of meetings is devoted to Table Topics, which are off-the-cuff speeches which are assigned on the spot by a Topicsmaster. The goal of this is to think on one's feet with minimal preparation. In some clubs attendees are then asked to vote on who they thought gave the best speech.

Prepared speeches.

Every meeting is based around a set of organized speeches. Speakers are given feedback, often by a more experienced member who then gives an impromptu speech with constructive feedback based on their performance.

Public speaking championship.

Toastmasters runs an international public speaking championship formally known as the Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking, which is held annually at its International Convention in August. It started in 1938 and involves over 33,000 participants in 141 countries making it the world's largest speech contest. There is a six-month process of elimination to reach the semifinals, in which in 2018 there were 106 participants who got that far. There are ten places in the final and speeches are judged on content, gestures, organization and style.

Toastmasters International (TI) is a US headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication, public speaking and leadership.


Biography.

Ivan Paskevich was born in Poltava on 19 May 1782, to a well-known family of Ukrainian Cossack gentry, he was educated at the Page Corps, where his progress was rapid, and in 1800 received his commission in the Guards and was named aide-de-camp to the tsar. His first active service was in 1805, in the auxiliary army sent to the assistance of Austria against France, when he took part in the Battle of Austerlitz, 2 December 1805, where Austrian – Russian troops were defeated by the French under Napoleon. From 1807 to 1812, Ivan Paskevich was engaged in the campaigns against the Ottomans, and distinguished himself by many brilliant and daring exploits, being made a general officer in his thirtieth year. During the war with France in 1812–1814 he was present, in command of the 26th division of infantry, at all the most important engagements, and he won promotion to the rank of lieutenant general. On the outbreak of Russo-Persian War (1826–28) in 1826 he was appointed second in command, and, in the spring of the following year he replaced Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov as chief command. Under his leadership, Echmiadzin and the Nakhichevan Khanate were conquered from the Persians. After the Persians unsuccessfully tried to recapture Echmiadzin, the tsar granted Paskevich the title of "Erivanskii" ("Count of Yerevan)," a million rubles and a diamond-mounted sword for his services. The Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829 immediately followed and he successfully led the eastern or Caucasus front. For this he was made a Field Marshal at the age of forty-seven. In 1830, he was engaged in the Caucasian War on the territory of present-day Dagestan. At the same time he appointed the high-ranking Muslim cleric Mir-Fatah-Agha from Iran as head of the recently established Caucasus Committee. Paskevich hoped that by the help of Mir-Fattah's high stature in the Muslim community, he could make a very valuable contribution to the Russian consolidation of power in the Caucasus. Together with Mir-Fatah's high esteem among Muslims and his devised plans for the Caucasus, they managed to keep the entire Caucasus stable from rebellious Muslim insurrections for many years to come. In June 1831, after the death of Field Marshal von Diebitsch, commander of Russian troops in Congress Poland, Paskevich was appointed his successor in crushing the Polish uprising. His armies, following the decisive success of Diebitsch at the Battle of Ostrołęka in May, advanced slowly, but Paskevich redeemed his reputation at the Battle of Warsaw, giving a death blow to Polish hopes of restoring independence. He was created "Prince of Warsaw" and awarded the office of Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland. With the kingdom's autonomy limited by the Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland, the period under Namestnik Paskevich – known in Poland as the "Paskevich Night" – became infamous for political and economic repressions, as well as for Russification. On the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 he was appointed to command the Russian troops sent to aid Austria, and finally compelled the Hungarians' surrender at Világos.  In 1854 Paskevich took command of the Army of the Danube, which was then engaging the Turks in the initial stage of the conflict which evolved into the Crimean War. Though he laid siege to Silistria, Paskevich advocated aborting the campaign due to Austria's threat to intervene in the war. On 9 June he suffered a combat injury and was compelled to return to Russia, handing command of the army to General Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov. Paskevich died in Warsaw, where in 1870 a memorial was erected to him before the Koniecpolski Palace. It was demolished in October 1917 by the Poles. His remains were reburied by his son in the family mausoleum on the grounds of the Homel Palace. His widow Irina died in 1925.

Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Yerevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (, tr. ; – ) was a Imperial Russian military leader of Ukrainian Cossack ethnicity. For his victories, he was made Count of Yerevan in 1828 and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831. He attained the rank of field marshal in the Russian army, and later in the Prussian and Austrian armies.


Liturgical.

The term "Nativity Drama" is used by Wellesz in his discussion of the "troparion" hymns in the Christmas liturgy of Byzantine Rite Churches, from Sophronius in the seventh century. Goldstein argues that the label "drama" is misleading, that the "troparia" are more akin to an oratorio than a play, and that the form is not a precursor of later more decidedly dramatic forms.  Saint Francis of Assisi performed Midnight Mass in Greccio on Christmas Eve 1223 in front of a life-size nativity scene (crib or creche) built by Giovanni Velita, with live animals. This is sometimes credited as the first nativity play. However, more formal Nativity plays have featured in Christian worship since medieval mystery plays. The twelfth to nineteenth pageants of the 48-play York Mystery Cycle dealt with the Nativity story. In Germany, the Weihnachten services on Christmas Eve include a children's mass called "Weihnachtsgeschichte", which features a "Krippenspiel" ("crib play").

Popular.

In Latin America "pastorelas" ("shepherd's plays") are performed in many local communities. These were imported during Spanish colonization of the Americas but are no longer common in Spain. They recount the story of the shepherds travelling to worship the newborn Christ, augmenting the Biblical text with apocryphal events, indigenous beliefs, regional features, anachronisms, satire and buffoonery. Each community's play evolves into a distinctive tradition.  In Belgium, puppet theatres often put on variations on the Nativity play in the weeks before Christmas, with parents and their children in the audience. The play often depicts the Massacre of the Innocents which occurred after the birth of Jesus. Joan Gross traces this augmentation back to cryptic protests in the late nineteenth century against the abuse of native peoples by colonists in the King Leopold II's Congo Free State.  In Townsville, Queensland Australia, the Stable on the Strand is an annual nativity play held at the city's oceanfront park.  Nativity plays are also popular in the United States. Many larger congregations have an annual play which is popular in the community: one example is The Gift of Christmas, produced annually by Prestonwood Baptist Church at its main campus in Plano, Texas.

In schools.

Many, especially Christian-oriented, primary schools and Sunday Schools put on a Nativity play before the Christmas break begins. Children in costume act as the human and angel characters, and often as the animals and props. The infant Jesus is sometimes represented by a doll, but sometimes played by a real baby. Parents, grandparents, stepparents and siblings, schoolteachers and sometimes the church community in general form the audience. The tradition of Nativity plays in British state primary schools is declining in favour of secular plays, because of the need to include pupils of other faiths. However, a survey in 2012 found that 20% of schools were planning a traditional Nativity play and a further 50% were intending to stage an updated version of the Christmas story, sometimes with new music and extra characters.

Literary.

Modern writers to have written Nativity plays include Laurence Housman ("Bethlehem", 1902; musical accompaniment by Joseph Moorat c.1919); Lucjan Rydel ("Polish Bethlehem", 1904); Cicely Hamilton ("The Child in Flanders: A Nativity Play", 1922); and Dorothy L. Sayers ("He That Should Come", 1938).  Jean-Paul Sartre's first play was "Bariona ou le fils du tonerre", a nativity play performed on Christmas Eve 1940 while a prisoner of war in a German stalag. Sartre saw Christ as part of the Jewish Resistance to the Roman Empire's occupation, mirroring the French Resistance of Nazi Germany's occupation.

A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity.


Description.

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree, growing to heights of up to (rarely more), with a trunk up to in diameter and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is smooth and greenish-white to greyish-white with characteristic diamond-shaped dark marks on young trees, becoming blackish and fissured at the base of old trees. The young shoots are covered with whitish-grey down, including the small buds. The leaves are long, five-lobed, with a thick covering of white scurfy down on both sides, but thicker underneath; this layer wears off long, produced in early spring; they are dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate trees; the male catkins are grey with conspicuous dark red stamens, the female catkins are greyish-green. The female catkins lengthen to after pollination, with several green seed capsules, maturing in late spring to early summer. It also propagates by means of root suckers growing from the lateral roots, often as far as from the trunk, to form extensive clonal colonies.

Hybridization.

White poplar hybridizes with the closely related common aspen "Populus tremula"; the resulting hybrid, known as grey poplar ("Populus × canescens"), is intermediate between its parents, with a thin, grey, downy coating on the leaves, which are also much less deeply lobed than white poplar leaves. It is a very vigorous tree with marked hybrid vigour, reaching tall and a trunk diameter over, much larger than either of its parents. Most grey poplars in cultivation are male, but female trees occur naturally and some of these are also propagated.

Cultivation and uses.

White poplar requires abundant light and ample moisture, and stands up well to flood water and slightly acidic soils. Its green-and-white leaves make it an effective ornamental tree, but the root suckers may cause problems in some situations. It is very attractive as an open-grown tree in water meadows, and because of its extensive root system and tolerance of salt, is also planted to strengthen coastal sand dunes.  The majority of white poplars in cultivation in northern Europe are female trees.  White poplar was first introduced to North America in 1748 and has a long history in cultivation. It is now found in 43 states throughout the contiguous U.S. It has come to be considered weedy or invasive; it has been banned in Connecticut and is the most common introduced tree species on Cape Breton Island.  In US intensive forest management, it is being replaced by various "Populus" sect. "Aigeiros" hybrids. The wood is soft, and used for cellulose and to make cheap boxes.  A conical cultivar from Turkestan, "Populus alba" 'Pyramidalis' (Bolle's poplar; syn. "P. bolleana") is sometimes planted in parks.  A yellow dye is produced from the bark of the white poplar.

Sculpture.

The wood is soft but close-grained and easy to carve, shrinking very little during seasoning. It has been used for sculpture from Europe to China and the US. The "Penitent Magdalene" by Donatello is one 15th-century example.

History.

An Old English name "abele", now never used, is derived from the Latin "albellus", white, by way of Old French "aubel" and Low German name "abeel".  Leuce/Leuka, the "White Poplar"; Leuce or Leuka (Ancient Greek: Λεύκη) ("White" or specifically "White Poplar") was the most beautiful of the nymphs and an Oceanid, a daughter of Oceanus. Pluto fell in love with her and abducted her to the underworld. She lived out the span of her life in his realm, and when she died, the god sought consolation by creating a suitable memorial of their love: In the Elysian Fields, where the pious spend their afterlives, he brought forth a white tree into existence from her body, which became sacred for him from that moment on. In Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, it is a symbol of a peaceful afterlife and a memory of those we love who have died, and in the language of flowers, its meaning is "time". Herakles crowned himself with this tree to celebrate his return from the underworld.  According to ancient Roman mythology, the white poplar was consecrated to Hercules because he destroyed Cacus in a cavern adjoining the Aventine Hill, which was covered with these trees; in the moment of his triumph, he bound his brows with a branch of white poplar as a token of his victory. Persons offering sacrifices to Hercules were always crowned with branches of this tree, and all who had gloriously conquered their enemies in battle wore garlands of it, in imitation of Hercules. Homer in "Iliad" compares the fall of Simoisius when killed by Ajax to that of a poplar.  Ovid mentions that Paris had carved the name of Ænone on a poplar, as Shakespeare has Orlando carve the name of Rosalind upon the trees of the forest of Arden.  Virgil gives directions for the culture of this tree and Horace speaks of the white poplar as delighting to grow on the banks of rivers.

Invasive potential.

The white poplar is an invasive species in many parts of Australia. In Western Australia, it has formed dense stands in disturbed wetlands from Perth to Albany and it is considered a threat to riparian vegetation in Victoria. It has spread along the Murrumbidgee River and in wet areas in rural parts of the Australian Capital Territory. Despite that, it is still sold in nurseries around Australia. White poplar is also an environmental weed in South Africa.

Populus alba, commonly called silver poplar, silverleaf poplar, or white poplar, is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens ("Populus" sect. "Populus"). It is native to Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula through central Europe (north to Germany and Poland) to central Asia. It grows in moist sites, often by watersides, in regions with hot summers and cold to mild winters.


Biography.

Carl-Gustaf Rossby was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the first of five children born to Arvid and Alma Charlotta (Marelius) Rossby. He attended Stockholm University, where he developed his first interest in mathematical physics. Rossby came into meteorology and oceanography while studying geophysics under Vilhelm Bjerknes at the Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway during 1919, where Bjerknes' group was developing the groundbreaking concepts that became known as the Bergen School of Meteorology, including theory of the polar front. He also studied at the University of Leipzig and at the Lindenberg Observatory ("Meteorologisches Observatorium Lindenberg") in Brandenburg where upper air measurements by kite and balloon were researched. In 1921 he returned to Stockholm to join the Meteorological and Hydrographic Office (which later became the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute) where he served as a meteorologist on a variety of oceanographic expeditions. While ashore between expeditions, he studied mathematical physics at the University of Stockholm (Filosofie Licentiat, 1925).  In 1925 Rossby was granted a fellowship from the Sweden-America Foundation "to study the application of the polar front theory to American weather". In the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington, DC he combined theoretical work on atmospheric turbulence with the establishment of the first weather service for civil aviation. In 1928 he became associate professor in the Aeronautics Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Shortly after this MIT launched the first department of meteorology in the US. In 1931 he also became a research associate at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). His interests during this time ranged over atmospheric thermodynamics, mixing and turbulence, and the interaction between oceans and the atmosphere.  On 9 January 1939 he became an American citizen and in that same year, assistant director of research at the U.S. Weather Bureau. His appointment as chair of the department of meteorology at the University of Chicago in 1940 began the period in which he turned his attention to large-scale atmospheric motions. He identified and characterized both the jet stream and Rossby waves in the atmosphere. During World War II, Rossby organized the training of military meteorologists, recruiting many of them to his Chicago department in the post-war years where he began adapting his mathematical description of atmospheric dynamics to weather forecasting by electronic computer, having started this activity in Sweden using BESK. In 1947 he became founding director of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) in Stockholm, dividing his time between there, the University of Chicago and with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. After the war he visited an old friend Professor Hans Ertel in Berlin. Their cooperation led to the mathematical formulation of Rossby waves. Between 1954 and his death in Stockholm in 1957, he championed and developed the field of atmospheric chemistry. His contributions to meteorology were noted in the December 17, 1956 issue of "Time" magazine. His portrait appeared on the cover of that issue, the first meteorologist on the cover of a major magazine. During this period he considered the effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its potential warming effect.

Carl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby ( 28 December 1898 – 19 August 1957) was a Swedish-born American meteorologist who first explained the large-scale motions of the atmosphere in terms of fluid mechanics. He identified and characterized both the jet stream and the long waves in the westerlies that were later named Rossby waves.