title: Banksia content: All but one of the living "Banksia" species are endemic to Australia. The exception is "B. dentata" (tropical banksia), which occurs throughout northern Australia, and on islands to the north including New Guinea and the Aru Islands. An extinct species, "B. novae-zelandiae", were found in New Zealand. The other species occur in two distinct geographical regions: southwest Western Australia and eastern Australia. Southwest Western Australia is the main centre of biodiversity; over 90% of all "Banksia" species occur only there, from Exmouth in the north, south and east to beyond Esperance on the south coast. Eastern Australia has far fewer


title: Banksia content: species, but these include some of best known and most widely distributed species, including "B. integrifolia" (coast banksia) and "B. spinulosa" (hairpin banksia). Here they occur from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia right around the east coast up to Cape York in Queensland. The vast majority of "Banksia" are found in sandy or gravelly soils, though some populations of "B. marginata" (silver banksia) and "B. spinulosa" do occur on heavier, more clay-like, soils. "B. seminuda" is exceptional for its preference for rich loams along watercourses. Most occur in heathlands or low woodlands; of the eastern species, "B. integrifolia" and


title: Banksia content: "B. marginata" occur in forests; many south-western species such as "B. grandis", "B. sphaerocarpa", "B. sessilis", "B. nobilis" and "B. dallanneyi" grow as understorey plants in jarrah ("Eucalyptus marginata"), wandoo ("E. wandoo") and karri ("E. diversicolor") forests, with "B. seminuda" being one of the forest trees in suitable habitat. Most species do not grow well near the coast, notable exceptions being the southern Western Australian species "B. speciosa", "B. praemorsa" and "B. repens". Only a few species, such as "B. rosserae" and "B. elderiana" (swordfish banksia), occur in arid areas. Most of the eastern Australian species survive in uplands, but


title: Banksia content: only a few of the Western Australian species native to the Stirling Ranges – "B. solandri", "B. oreophila", "B. brownii" and "B. montana" – survive at high altitudes. Studies of the south-western species have found the distribution of "Banksia" species to be primarily constrained by rainfall. With the exception of "B. rosserae", no species tolerates annual rainfall of less than 200 millimetres, despite many species surviving in areas that receive less than 400 millimetres. "Banksia" species are present throughout the region of suitable rainfall, with greatest speciation in cooler, wetter areas. Hotter, drier regions around the edges of its range


title: Banksia content: tend to have fewer species with larger distributions. The greatest species richness occurs in association with uplands, especially the Stirling Range. There are many fossils of "Banksia". The oldest of these are fossil pollen between 65 and 59 million years old. There are fossil leaves between 59 and 56 million years old found in southern New South Wales. The oldest fossil cones are between 47.8 and 41.2 million years old, found in Western Australia. Although "Banksia" is now only native to Australia and New Guinea, there are fossils from New Zealand, between 21 and 25 million years old. Evolutionary scientists


title: Banksia content: Marcell Cardillo and Renae Pratt have proposed a southwest Australian origin for banksias despite their closest relatives being north Queensland rainforest species. "Banksia"s are heavy producers of nectar, making them an important source of food for nectivorous animals, including honeyeaters and small mammals such as rodents, antechinus, honey possums, pygmy possums, gliders and bats. Many of these animals play a role in pollination of "Banksia". Various studies have shown mammals and birds to be important pollinators. In 1978 Carpenter observed that some "banksias" had a stronger odour at night, possibly to attract nocturnal mammal pollinators. Other associated fauna include the


title: Banksia content: larvae of moths (such as the Dryandra Moth) and weevils, which burrow into the "cones" to eat the seeds and pupate in the follicles; and birds such as cockatoos, who break off the "cones" to eat both the seeds and the insect larvae. A number of "Banksia" species are considered rare or endangered. These include "B. brownii" (Feather-leaved Banksia), "B. cuneata" (Matchstick Banksia), "B. goodii" (Good's Banksia), "B. oligantha" (Wagin Banksia), "B. tricuspis" (Pine Banksia), and "B. verticillata" (Granite Banksia). "Banksia" plants are naturally adapted to the presence of regular bushfires in the Australian landscape. About half of "Banksia" species


title: Banksia content: are killed by bushfire, but these regenerate quickly from seed, as fire also stimulates the opening of seed-bearing follicles and the germination of seed in the ground. The remaining species usually survive bushfire, either by resprouting from a woody base known as a lignotuber or, more rarely, epicormic buds protected by thick bark. In Western Australia, "banksias" of the first group are known as 'seeders' and the second group as 'sprouters'. Infrequent bushfires at expected intervals pose no threat, and are in fact beneficial for regeneration of "banksia" populations. However, too frequent bushfires can seriously reduce or even eliminate populations


title: Banksia content: from certain areas, by killing seedlings and young plants before they reach fruiting age. Many fires near urban areas are caused by arson, and thus the frequency is often much higher than fires would have been prior to human habitation. Furthermore, residents who live in areas near bushland may pressure local councils to burn areas near homes more frequently, to reduce fuel-load in the bush and thus reduce ferocity of future fires. Unfortunately there are often discrepancies in agreed frequency between these groups and conservation groups. Another threat to "Banksia" is the water mould "Phytophthora cinnamomi", commonly known as "dieback".


title: Banksia content: Dieback attacks the roots of plants, destroying the structure of the root tissues, "rotting" the root, and preventing the plant from absorbing water and nutrients. "Banksia"'s proteoid roots, which help it to survive in low-nutrient soils, make it highly susceptible to this disease. All Western Australian species are vulnerable, although most eastern species are fairly resistant. Vulnerable plants typically die within a few years of infection. In southwest Western Australia, where dieback infestation is widespread, infested areas of "Banksia" forest typically have less than 30% of the cover of uninfested areas. Plant deaths in such large proportions can have a


title: Banksia content: profound influence on the makeup of plant communities. For example, in southwestern Australia "Banksia" often occurs as an understorey to forests of Jarrah ("Eucalyptus marginata"), another species highly vulnerable to dieback. Infestation kills both the Jarrah overstorey and the original "Banksia" understorey, and over time these may be replaced by a more open woodland consisting of an overstorey of the resistant Marri ("Corymbia calophylla"), and an understorey of the somewhat resistant "Banksia sessilis" (Parrotbush). A number of species of "Banksia" are threatened by dieback. Nearly every known wild population of "B. brownii" shows some signs of dieback infection, which could


title: Banksia content: possibly wipe it out within years. Other vulnerable species include "B. cuneata", and "B. verticillata". Dieback is notoriously difficult to treat, although there has been some success with phosphite and phosphorous acid, which are currently used to inoculate wild "B. brownii" populations. However this is not without potential problems as it alters the soil composition by adding phosphorus. Some evidence suggests that phosphorous acid may inhibit proteoid root formation. Because dieback thrives in moist soil conditions, it can be a severe problem for "Banksia"s that are watered, such as in the cut flower industry and urban gardens. Most of species


title: Banksia content: are shrubs, only few of them can be found as trees and they are very popular because of their size, the tallest species are: "B. integrifolia" having its subspecies "B. integrifolia" subsp. "monticola" notable for reaching the biggest banksias and it is the most frost tolerant in this genus, "B. seminuda", "B. littoralis", "B. serrata"; species that can grow as small trees or big shrubs: "B. grandis", "B. prionotes", "B. marginata", "B. coccinea", "B. speciosa" and "B. menziesii". Due to their size these species are popularly planted in parks, gardens and streets, the remaining species in this genus are only


title: Banksia content: shrubs. "Banksia"s are popular garden plants in Australia because of their large, showy flower heads, and because the large amounts of nectar they produce attracts birds and small mammals. Popular garden species include "B. spinulosa", "B. ericifolia", "B. aemula" (Wallum Banksia ), "B. serrata" (Saw Banksia), "Banksia media" (Southern Plains Banksia) and the cultivar "Banksia" 'Giant Candles'. "Banksia" species are primarily propagated by seed in the home garden as cuttings can be difficult to strike. However commercial nurserymen extensively utilize the latter method (indeed, cultivars by nature must be vegetatively propagated by cuttings or grafting). Over time, dwarf cultivars and


title: Banksia content: prostrate species are becoming more popular as urban gardens grow ever smaller. These include miniature forms under 50 cm high of "B. spinulosa" and "B. media", as well as prostrate species such as "B. petiolaris" and "B. blechnifolia" . "Banksia"s possibly require more maintenance than other Australian natives, though are fairly hardy if the right conditions are provided (sunny aspect and well drained sandy soil). They may need extra water during dry spells until established, which can take up to two years. If fertilised, only slow-release, low-phosphorus fertilizer should be used, as the proteoid roots may be damaged by high


title: Banksia content: nutrient levels in the soil. All respond well to some form of pruning. Within the Australian horticultural community there is an active subculture of "Banksia" enthusiasts who seek out interesting flower variants, breed and propagate cultivars, exchange materials and undertake research into cultivation problems and challenges. The main forum for exchange of information within this group is ASGAP's "Banksia Study Group". With the exception of the nursery industry, "Banksia" have limited commercial use. Some species, principally "B. coccinea" (scarlet banksia), "B. baxteri", "B. hookeriana" (Hooker's banksia), "B. sceptrum" (sceptre banksia), and "B. prionotes" (acorn banksia), and less commonly "B. speciosa"


title: Banksia content: (showy banksia), "B. menziesii" (Menzies' banksia), "B. burdettii" and "B. ashbyi" are grown on farms in Western and Southern Australia, as well as Israel and Hawaii, and the flower heads harvested for the cut flower trade. Eastern species, such as "B. ericifolia", "B. robur" and "B. plagiocarpa", are sometimes cultivated for this purpose. The nectar is also sought by beekeepers, not for the quality of the dark-coloured honey, which is often poor, but because the trees provide an abundant and reliable source of nectar at times when other sources provide little. "Banksia" wood is reddish in color with an attractive


title: Banksia content: grain but it is rarely used as it warps badly on drying. It is occasionally used for ornamental purposes in wood turning and cabinet paneling. It has also been used to make keels for small boats. Historically, the wood of certain species such as "B. serrata" was used for yokes and boat parts. The large "cones" or seed pods of "B. grandis" are used for woodturning projects. They are also sliced up and sold as drink coasters; these are generally marketed as souvenirs for international tourists. Woodturners throughout the world value "Banksia" pods for making ornamental objects. The Indigenous people


title: Banksia content: of south-western Australia would suck on the flower spikes to obtain the nectar, they also soaked the flower spikes in water to make a sweet drink. "Banksia" trees are a reliable source of insect larvae which are extracted as food. A number of field guides and other semi-technical books on the genus have been published. These include: Perhaps the best known cultural reference to "Banksia" is the "big bad Banksia men" of May Gibbs' children's book "Snugglepot and Cuddlepie". Gibb's "Banksia men" are modelled on the appearance of aged "Banksia" "cones", with follicles for eyes and other facial features. There


title: Banksia content: is some contention over which species actually provided the inspiration for the "Banksia men": the drawings most resemble the old cones of "B. aemula" or "B. serrata", but "B. attenuata" (slender banksia) has also been cited, as this was the species that Gibbs saw as a child in Western Australia. In 1989, the Banksia Environmental Foundation was created to support and recognise people and organizations that make a positive contribution to the environment. The Foundation launched the annual Banksia Environmental Awards in the same year. Banksia Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These


title: "Mai Zetterling" content: Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 - 17 March 1994) was a Swedish actress and film director. Zetterling was born in Västerås, Västmanland, Sweden, to a working class family. She started her career as an actress at the age of 17 at Dramaten, the Swedish national theatre, appearing in war-era films. Zetterling appeared in film and television productions spanning six decades from the 1940s to the 1990s. Her breakthrough came in the 1944 film "Torment" written by Ingmar Bergman, in which she played a controversial role as a tormented shopgirl. Shortly afterwards she moved to England and


title: "Alpine skiing" content: Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for recreation or sport, it is typically practised at ski resorts, which provide such services as ski lifts, artificial snow making, snow grooming, restaurants, and ski patrol. "Off-piste" skiers—those skiing outside ski area boundaries—may employ snowmobiles, helicopters or snowcats to deliver them to the top of a slope. Back-country skiers may use specialized equipment with a free-heel mode for hiking up slopes and


title: "Alpine skiing" content: a locked-heel mode for descents. Alpine skiing has been an event at the Winter Olympic Games since 1936. As of 1994, there were estimated to be 55 million people worldwide, who engaged in Alpine skiing. The estimated number of skiers, who practised Alpine, cross-country skiing, and related snow sports, amounted to 30 million in Europe, 15 million in the US, and 14 million in Japan. As of 1996, there were reportedly 4,500 ski areas, operating 26,000 ski lifts and enjoying skier visits. The predominant region for downhill skiing was Europe, followed by Japan and the US. A skier following the


title: "Alpine skiing" content: fall line will reach the maximum possible speed for that slope. A skier with skis pointed perpendicular to the fall line, across the hill instead of down it, will accelerate more slowly. The speed of descent down any given hill can be controlled by changing the angle of motion in relation to the fall line, skiing across the hill rather than down it. Downhill skiing technique focuses on the use of turns to smoothly turn the skis from one direction to another. Additionally, the skier can use the same techniques to turn the ski away from the direction of movement,


title: "Alpine skiing" content: generating skidding forces between the skis and snow which further control the speed of the descent. Good technique results in a flowing motion from one descent angle to another one, adjusting the angle as needed to match changes in the steepness of the run. This looks more like a single series of S's than turns followed by straight sections. The oldest and still common form of alpine ski turn is the stem, turning the front of the skis sideways from the body so they form an angle against the direction of travel. In doing so, the ski pushes snow forward


title: "Alpine skiing" content: and to the side, and the snow pushes the skier back and to the opposite side. The force backwards directly counteracts gravity, and slows the skier. The force to the sides, if unbalanced, will cause the skier to turn. Carving is based on the shape of the ski itself; when the ski is rotated onto its edge, the pattern cut into its side causes it to bend into an arc. The contact between the arc of the ski edges and the snow naturally causes the ski to tend to move along that arc, slowing the skier and changing their direction


title: "Alpine skiing" content: of motion. The turning snowplow is the simplest form of turning and is usually learned by beginners. To perform the turning snowplow one must be in the snowplow position while going down the ski slope. While doing this they apply more pressure to the inside of the opposite foot of which the direction they would like to turn. This type of turn allows the skier to keep a controlled speed and introduces the idea of turning across the fall line. Side slip/turning uphill: When learning to turn uphill a skier must learn how to side slip. They begin by skiing


title: "Alpine skiing" content: across the fall line, while skiing across the fall line they must push their ski facing the downhill side of the slope. This will cause the ski to begin to skid, when the ski skids the skier shifts their weight towards the skidding ski causing them to make a 180 degree turn towards the other direction of the fall line. These actions in a sequence are the basic method of carving while skiing. To perform an uphill turn one does the side slip method, but instead of shifting their weight over their skidding ski, they turn their skis upwards, which


title: "Alpine skiing" content: will cause them to stop. This method is used to slow down or stop while skiing on a slope. Modern alpine skis are shaped to enable carve turning, and have evolved significantly since the 1980s, such as, Powder skis, Freestyle skis, All-Mountain skis, Kids skis and more. Powder skis are usually used when there is a large amount of fresh snow. The reason being is the shape of a powder ski is wide allowing the ski to float on top of the snow compared to a normal downhill ski which would most likely sink into the snow. Freestyle skis are


title: "Alpine skiing" content: used by skiers who ski terrain parks. These skis are meant to help a skier who skis jumps, rails, and other features placed throughout the terrain park. Freestyle skis are usually fully symmetric, meaning they are the same dimensions from the tip of the ski to the backside of the ski. All mountain skis are the most common type of ski, All mountain skis tend to be used as a typical alpine ski. All Mountain skis are built to do a little bit of everything, they can be used in fresh snow (powder) or used when skiing groomers. Slalom Race


title: "Alpine skiing" content: Skis, or usually referred to as race skis are short narrow skis. These skis are usually on the stiffer side of rank because they are meant for those who want to go fast as well as make quick sharp turns. The binding is a device used to connect the skier's boot to the ski. The purpose of the binding is to allow the skier to stay connected to the ski, but if the skier falls the binding can safely release them from the ski to prevent injury. There are two types of bindings: the heel and toe system (step in)


title: "Alpine skiing" content: and the plate system binding. Ski boots are one of the most important accessories to skiing. They connect the skier to the skis allowing them full control over the ski. When ski boots first came about they were made of leather and laces were used. The leather ski boots started off as low cut, but gradually became taller as injuries became more common allowing for more ankle support. Eventually the tied laces were replaced with buckles and the leather boots were replaced with plastic. This allowed the bindings to be much more closely matched to the fit of the boot,


title: "Alpine skiing" content: and offer dramatically improved performance. The new plastic model contained two parts of the boots: inner boot and outer shell. The inner part of the boot (also called the liner) is the cushioning part of the boot and contains a footbed along with cushion to keep a skier's foot warm and comfortable. The outer shell is the part of the boot that is made of plastic and contains the buckles. Most ski boots contain a strap at shin level to allow for extra strength when tightening the boots. The purpose of ski helmets are to reduce the chances of getting


title: "Alpine skiing" content: a head injury while skiing. Ski helmets also help to provide warmth to the head since they consist of an inner liner that traps warmth. Helmets are available in many styles, and typically consist of a hard plastic/resin shell with inner padding. Modern ski helmets may include many additional features such as vents, earmuffs, headphones, goggle mounts, and camera mounts. Elite competitive skiers participate in the FIS World Cup, the World Championships, and the Winter Olympics. Broadly speaking, competitive skiing is divided into two disciplines: Other disciplines administered by the FIS but not usually considered part of alpine are speed


title: "Alpine skiing" content: skiing and grass skiing. In most ski resorts, the runs are graded according to comparative difficulty so that skiers can select appropriate routes. The grading schemes around the world are related, although with significant regional variations. Skiers should be careful to gauge the range of trail difficulty of the mountain they are skiing and select trails rated to their ability accordingly. A beginner-rated trail at a large mountain may be more of an intermediate-rated trail on a smaller mountain. In the United States, there are 4 rating symbols: Easy (green circle), Intermediate (blue square), and Difficult (black diamond), and Experts


title: "Alpine skiing" content: Only (Double-Black Diamond) Ski trail difficulty is measured by percent slope, not degree angle. A 100% slope is a 45 degree angle. In general, beginner slopes (green circle) are between 6% and 25%. Intermediate slopes (blue square) are between 25% and 40%. Difficult slopes (black diamond) are 40% and up. However, this is just a general "rule of thumb." Although slope gradient is the primary consideration in assigning a trail difficulty rating, other factors come into play. A trail will be rated by its most difficult part, even if the rest of the trail is easy. Ski resorts assign ratings


title: "Alpine skiing" content: to their own trails, rating a trail compared only with other trails at that resort. Also considered: width of the trail, sharpest turns, terrain roughness, and whether the resort regularly grooms the trail. The most common types of ski injuries are those of the knee, head, neck and shoulder area, hands and back. Before skiing an individual should workout and stay in shape to avoid any type of injury. Ski helmets are highly suggested by professionals as well as doctors. Head injuries caused in skiing can lead to death or permanent brain damage. Skiers should know what skill level their


title: "Alpine skiing" content: skiing is at and should ski the runs that suit their capability. In alpine skiing, for every 1000 people skiing in a day, on average between two and four will require medical attention. Most accidents are the result of user error leading to an isolated fall. Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for recreation or sport, it is typically practised at ski resorts, which provide such services as ski


title: "Polish United Workers' Party" content: and advocated working with Catholic and trade unionist opposition groups. He met with Solidarity Union leader Lech Wałęsa, and other critics of the party. Though Kania agreed with his predecessors that the Communist Party must maintain control of Poland, he never assured the Soviets that Poland would not pursue actions independent of the Soviet Union. On October 18, 1981, the Central Committee of the Party withdrew confidence on him, and Kania was replaced by Prime Minister (and Minister of Defence) Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski. On 11th of February 1981, Jaruzelski was elected Prime Minister of Poland and became the first secretary


title: Pistachio content: Pistachio The pistachio (, "Pistacia vera"), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. "Pistacia vera" often is confused with other species in the genus "Pistacia" that are also known as pistachio. These other species can be distinguished by their geographic distributions (in the wild) and their seeds which are much smaller and have a soft shell. Pistachio is from late Middle English "pistace", from Old French, superseded in the 16th century by forms from Italian "pistacchio", via Latin from


title: Pistachio content: Greek "pistakion", from Persian "pesteh". Archaeology shows that pistachio seeds were a common food as early as 6750 BC. Pliny the Elder writes in his "Natural History" that "pistacia", "well known among us", was one of the trees unique to Syria, and that the seed was introduced into Italy by the Roman Proconsul in Syria, Lucius Vitellius the Elder (in office in 35 AD) and into Hispania at the same time by Flaccus Pompeius. The early sixth-century manuscript "De observatione ciborum" ("On the observance of foods") by Anthimus implies that "pistacia" remained well known in Europe in Late Antiquity. Archaeologists


title: Pistachio content: have found evidence from excavations at Jarmo in northeastern Iraq for the consumption of Atlantic pistachio. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have contained pistachio trees during the reign of King Merodach-Baladan about 700 BC. The modern pistachio "P. vera" was first cultivated in Bronze Age Central Asia, where the earliest example is from Djarkutan, modern Uzbekistan. It appears in Dioscurides as "pistakia" πιστάκια, recognizable as "P. vera" by its comparison to pine nuts. Additionally, remains of the Atlantic pistachio and pistachio seed along with nut-cracking tools were discovered by archaeologists at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site in


title: Pistachio content: Israel's Hula Valley, dated to 780,000 years ago. More recently, the pistachio has been cultivated commercially in parts of the English-speaking world, such as Australia along with New Mexico and California in the United States, where it was introduced in 1854 as a garden tree. David Fairchild of the United States Department of Agriculture introduced hardier cultivars collected in China to California in 1904 and 1905, but it was not promoted as a commercial crop until 1929. Walter T. Swingle’s pistachios from Syria had already fruited well at Niles, California, by 1917. Pistachio is a desert plant and is highly


title: Pistachio content: tolerant of saline soil. It has been reported to grow well when irrigated with water having 3,000–4,000 ppm of soluble salts. Pistachio trees are fairly hardy in the right conditions and can survive temperatures ranging between in winter and in summer. They need a sunny position and well-drained soil. Pistachio trees do poorly in conditions of high humidity and are susceptible to root rot in winter if they get too much water and the soil is not sufficiently free-draining. Long, hot summers are required for proper ripening of the fruit. The tree grows up to tall. It has deciduous pinnate


title: Pistachio content: leaves 10–20 centimeters (4–8 inches) long. The plants are dioecious, with separate male and female trees. The flowers are apetalous and unisexual and borne in panicles. The fruit is a drupe, containing an elongated seed, which is the edible portion. The seed, commonly thought of as a nut, is a culinary nut, not a botanical nut. The fruit has a hard, cream-colored exterior shell. The seed has a mauve-colored skin and light green flesh, with a distinctive flavor. When the fruit ripens, the shell changes from green to an autumnal yellow/red and abruptly splits partly open. This is known as


title: Pistachio content: dehiscence, and happens with an audible pop. The splitting open is a trait that has been selected by humans. Commercial cultivars vary in how consistently they split open. Each pistachio tree averages around of seeds, or around 50,000, every two years. The shell of the pistachio is naturally a beige color, but it is sometimes dyed red or green in commercial pistachios. Originally, dye was applied by importers to hide stains on the shells caused when the seeds were picked by hand. Most pistachios are now picked by machine and the shells remain unstained, making dyeing unnecessary except to meet


title: Pistachio content: ingrained consumer expectations. The trees are planted in orchards, and take approximately seven to ten years to reach significant production. Production is alternate-bearing or biennial-bearing, meaning the harvest is heavier in alternate years. Peak production is reached around 20 years. Trees are usually pruned to size to make the harvest easier. One male tree produces enough pollen for eight to 12 drupe-bearing females. Harvesting in the United States and in Greece is often accomplished using equipment to shake the drupes off the tree. After hulling and drying, pistachios are sorted according to open-mouth and closed-mouth shells, then roasted or processed


title: Pistachio content: by special machines to produce pistachio kernels. In California, almost all female pistachio trees are the cultivar 'Kerman'. A scion from a mature female 'Kerman' is grafted onto a one-year-old rootstock. Pistachio trees are vulnerable to numerous diseases and infection by insects such as "Leptoglossus clypealis". Among these is infection by the fungus "Botryosphaeria", which causes panicle and shoot blight (symptoms include death of the flowers and young shoots), and can damage entire pistachio orchards. In 2004, the rapidly growing pistachio industry in California was threatened by panicle and shoot blight first discovered in 1984. In 2011, anthracnose fungus caused


title: Pistachio content: a sudden 50% loss in the Australian pistachio harvest. Several years of severe drought in Iran around 2008 to 2015 caused significant declines in production. In 2016, world production of pistachios was 1.1 million tonnes, with the United States and Iran as leading producers, together accounting for 68% of the total (table). Secondary producers were Turkey and China. The kernels are often eaten whole, either fresh or roasted and salted, and are also used in pistachio ice cream, kulfi, spumoni, historically in Neapolitan ice cream, pistachio butter, pistachio paste and confections such as baklava, pistachio chocolate, pistachio halva, pistachio lokum


title: Pistachio content: or biscotti and cold cuts such as mortadella. Americans make pistachio salad, which includes fresh pistachios or pistachio pudding, whipped cream, and canned fruit. Pistachios are a nutritionally dense food. In a 100 gram serving, pistachios provide 562 calories and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value or DV) of protein, dietary fiber, several dietary minerals and the B vitamins, thiamin and especially vitamin B at 131% DV (table). Pistachios are a good source (10–19% DV) of calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B, folate, vitamin E, and vitamin K (table). The fat profile of raw pistachios consists of


title: Pistachio content: saturated fats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fatty acids include palmitic acid (10% of total) and stearic acid (2%). Oleic acid is the most common monounsaturated fatty acid (51% of total fat) and linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, is 31% of total fat. Relative to other tree nuts, pistachios have a lower amount of fat and calories but higher amounts of potassium, vitamin K, γ-tocopherol, and certain phytochemicals such as carotenoids and phytosterols. In July 2003, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved the first qualified health claim specific to consumption of seeds (including pistachios) to lower


title: Pistachio content: the risk of heart disease: "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease". Although a typical serving of pistachios supplies substantial calories (nutrition table), their consumption in normal amounts is not associated with weight gain or obesity. Pistachio consumption appears to modestly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in persons without diabetes mellitus. As with other tree seeds, aflatoxin is found in poorly harvested or processed pistachios. Aflatoxins are potent carcinogenic chemicals produced


title: Pistachio content: by molds such as "Aspergillus flavus" and "Aspergillus parasiticus". The mold contamination may occur from soil, poor storage, and spread by pests. High levels of mold growth typically appear as gray to black filament-like growth. It is unsafe to eat mold-infected and aflatoxin-contaminated pistachios. Aflatoxin contamination is a frequent risk, particularly in warmer and humid environments. Food contaminated with aflatoxins has been found as the cause of frequent outbreaks of acute illnesses in parts of the world. In some cases, such as Kenya, this has led to several deaths. Pistachio shells typically split naturally prior to harvest, with a hull


title: Pistachio content: covering the intact seeds. The hull protects the kernel from invasion by molds and insects, but this hull protection can be damaged in the orchard by poor orchard management practices, by birds, or after harvest, which makes it much easier for pistachios to be exposed to contamination. Some pistachios undergo so-called "early split", wherein both the hull and the shell split. Damage or early splits can lead to aflatoxin contamination. In some cases, a harvest may be treated to keep contamination below strict food safety thresholds; in other cases, an entire batch of pistachios must be destroyed because of aflatoxin


title: Pistachio content: contamination. Like other members of the "Anacardiaceae" family (which includes poison ivy, sumac, mango, and cashew), pistachios contain urushiol, an irritant that can cause allergic reactions. The improper storage of pistachio products in bulk containers has been known to start fires. Because of their high fat and low water contents, the nuts and especially kernels are prone to self-heating and spontaneous combustion when stored with the oil-soaked fiber/fibrous materials. Pistachio The pistachio (, "Pistacia vera"), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely


title: "Alexander Hamilton" content: and readied for war. The army did not see combat in the Quasi-War, and Hamilton was outraged by Adams' diplomatic success in resolving the crisis with France. His opposition to Adams' re-election helped cause the Federalist party defeat in 1800. Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the presidency in the electoral college in 1801, and Hamilton helped to defeat Burr, whom he found unprincipled, and to elect Jefferson despite philosophical differences. Hamilton continued his legal and business activities in New York City, and was active in ending the legality of the international slave trade. Vice President Burr ran for governor


title: "George IV of the United Kingdom" content: lack of competence were strongly criticised, with "The Lancet" labelling Halford's bulletins on the King's health as "utterly and entirely destitute of information", subsequently characterising Halford's treatment of George, which involved administering both opium and laudanum as sedatives, as appearing to lack sense or direction. George dictated his will in May and became very devout in his final months, confessing to an archdeacon that he repented of his dissolute life, but hoped mercy would be shown to him as he had always tried to do the best for his subjects. By June, he was unable to lie down, and received


title: "Jupiter (mythology)" content: the Piacenza Liver—before "Cilens" (Nocturnus), who ends (or begins in the Etruscan vision) the disposition of the gods. In Martianus Capella's division of heaven, he is found in region XV with the "dii publici"; as such, he numbers among the infernal (or antipodal) gods. The location of his two temples in Rome—near those of Jupiter (one on the Capitoline Hill, in the low between the "arx" and the Capitolium, between the two groves where the asylum founded by Romulus stood, the other on the Tiber Island near that of "Iuppiter Iurarius", later also known as temple of Aesculapius)—may be significant


title: Harthacnut content: the "Encomium", the English took the initiative in communicating with Harthacnut in 1039, possibly when they became aware that Harold had not long to live. Harthacnut travelled to England with his mother. The landing at Sandwich on 17 June 1040, "seven days before Midsummer", was a peaceful one, though he had a fleet of 62 warships. Even though he had been invited to take the throne, he was taking no chances and came as a conqueror with an invasion force. The crews had to be rewarded for their service, and to pay them, he levied a geld of more than


title: "Harold Washington" content: leading roles in Chicago politics. The organization disbanded upon Harold Washington's death. Harold Washington's Political Education Project Records is an archival collection detailing the organization's work. It is located in the Chicago Public Library Special Collections, Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago, Illinois. In addition to Daley's strong-arm tactics, Washington's time in the Illinois House was also marred by problems with tax returns and allegations of not performing services owed to his clients. In her biography, Levinsohn questions whether the timing of Washington's legal troubles was politically motivated. In November 1966, Washington was re-elected to the House over Daley's strong objections;


title: "Inertial confinement fusion" content: put forth a variety of reasons that KMS should not be allowed to develop ICF in public. This opposition was funnelled through the Atomic Energy Commission, who demanded funding for their own efforts. Adding to the background noise were rumours of an aggressive Soviet ICF program, new higher-powered CO and glass lasers, the electron beam driver concept, and the 1970s energy crisis which added impetus to many energy projects. In 1972 Nuckolls wrote an influential public paper in "Nature" introducing ICF and suggesting that testbed systems could be made to generate fusion with drivers in the kJ range, and high-gain


title: Fetchmail content: MTA/Message transfer agent or invoking a mail delivery agent like procmail, maildrop, or sendmail; delivering directly to mail folders such as maildir is not supported. Dan Bernstein, getmail creator Charles Cazabon and FreeBSD developer Terry Lambert, have criticized Fetchmail's design, its number of security holes, and that it was prematurely put into "maintenance mode". In 2004, a new team of maintainers took over Fetchmail development, and laid out development plans that broke with design decisions that Eric Raymond had made in earlier versions. Fetchmail Fetchmail is an open source software utility for POSIX-compliant operating systems which is used to retrieve


title: "Semiconductor device" content: Semiconductor device Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have replaced thermionic devices (vacuum tubes) in most applications. They use electronic conduction in the solid state as opposed to the gaseous state or thermionic emission in a high vacuum. Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as single discrete devices and as "integrated circuits" (ICs), which consist of a number – from a few (as low as two) to billions – of devices manufactured and interconnected on a single semiconductor substrate, or wafer.


title: "Semiconductor device" content: Semiconductor materials are useful because their behavior can be easily manipulated by the addition of impurities, known as doping. Semiconductor conductivity can be controlled by the introduction of an electric or magnetic field, by exposure to light or heat, or by the mechanical deformation of a doped monocrystalline grid; thus, semiconductors can make excellent sensors. Current conduction in a semiconductor occurs via mobile or "free" "electrons" and "holes", collectively known as "charge carriers". Doping a semiconductor such as silicon with a small proportion of an atomic impurity, such as phosphorus or boron, greatly increases the number of free electrons or


title: "Semiconductor device" content: holes within the semiconductor. When a doped semiconductor contains excess holes it is called "p-type", and when it contains excess free electrons it is known as "n-type", where "p" (positive for holes) or "n" (negative for electrons) is the sign of the charge of the majority mobile charge carriers. The semiconductor material used in devices is doped under highly controlled conditions in a fabrication facility, or "fab", to control precisely the location and concentration of p- and n-type dopants. The junctions which form where n-type and p-type semiconductors join together are called p–n junctions. Semiconductor devices made per year have


title: "Semiconductor device" content: been growing by 9.1% on average since 1978, and shipments in 2018 are predicted for the first time to exceed 1 trillion, meaning that well over 7 trillion has been made to date, in just in the decade prior. A semiconductor diode is a device typically made from a single p–n junction. At the junction of a p-type and an n-type semiconductor there forms a depletion region where current conduction is inhibited by the lack of mobile charge carriers. When the device is "forward biased" (connected with the p-side at higher electric potential than the n-side), this depletion region is


title: "Semiconductor device" content: diminished, allowing for significant conduction, while only very small current can be achieved when the diode is "reverse biased" and thus the depletion region expanded. Exposing a semiconductor to light can generate electron–hole pairs, which increases the number of free carriers and thereby the conductivity. Diodes optimized to take advantage of this phenomenon are known as "photodiodes". Compound semiconductor diodes can also be used to generate light, as in light-emitting diodes and laser diodes. Bipolar junction transistors are formed from two p–n junctions, in either n–p–n or p–n–p configuration. The middle, or "base", region between the junctions is typically very


title: "Semiconductor device" content: narrow. The other regions, and their associated terminals, are known as the "emitter" and the "collector". A small current injected through the junction between the base and the emitter changes the properties of the base-collector junction so that it can conduct current even though it is reverse biased. This creates a much larger current between the collector and emitter, controlled by the base-emitter current. Another type of transistor, the field-effect transistor, operates on the principle that semiconductor conductivity can be increased or decreased by the presence of an electric field. An electric field can increase the number of free electrons


title: "Semiconductor device" content: and holes in a semiconductor, thereby changing its conductivity. The field may be applied by a reverse-biased p–n junction, forming a "junction field-effect transistor" (JFET) or by an electrode insulated from the bulk material by an oxide layer, forming a "metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor" (MOSFET). The MOSFET, a solid-state device, is the most used semiconductor device today. The "gate" electrode is charged to produce an electric field that controls the conductivity of a "channel" between two terminals, called the "source" and "drain". Depending on the type of carrier in the channel, the device may be an "n-channel" (for electrons) or a


title: "Semiconductor device" content: "p-channel" (for holes) MOSFET. Although the MOSFET is named in part for its "metal" gate, in modern devices polysilicon is typically used instead. By far, silicon (Si) is the most widely used material in semiconductor devices. Its combination of low raw material cost, relatively simple processing, and a useful temperature range makes it currently the best compromise among the various competing materials. Silicon used in semiconductor device manufacturing is currently fabricated into boules that are large enough in diameter to allow the production of 300 mm (12 in.) wafers. Germanium (Ge) was a widely used early semiconductor material but its


title: "Semiconductor device" content: thermal sensitivity makes it less useful than silicon. Today, germanium is often alloyed with silicon for use in very-high-speed SiGe devices; IBM is a major producer of such devices. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is also widely used in high-speed devices but so far, it has been difficult to form large-diameter boules of this material, limiting the wafer diameter to sizes significantly smaller than silicon wafers thus making mass production of GaAs devices significantly more expensive than silicon. Other less common materials are also in use or under investigation. Silicon carbide (SiC) has found some application as the raw material for blue


title: "Semiconductor device" content: light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and is being investigated for use in semiconductor devices that could withstand very high operating temperatures and environments with the presence of significant levels of ionizing radiation. IMPATT diodes have also been fabricated from SiC. Various indium compounds (indium arsenide, indium antimonide, and indium phosphide) are also being used in LEDs and solid state laser diodes. Selenium sulfide is being studied in the manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells. The most common use for organic semiconductors is organic light-emitting diodes. "Two-terminal devices:" "Three-terminal devices:" "Four-terminal devices:" All transistor types can be used as the building blocks of logic


title: "Semiconductor device" content: gates, which are fundamental in the design of digital circuits. In digital circuits like microprocessors, transistors act as on-off switches; in the MOSFET, for instance, the voltage applied to the gate determines whether the switch is on or off. Transistors used for analog circuits do not act as on-off switches; rather, they respond to a continuous range of inputs with a continuous range of outputs. Common analog circuits include amplifiers and oscillators. Circuits that interface or translate between digital circuits and analog circuits are known as mixed-signal circuits. Power semiconductor devices are discrete devices or integrated circuits intended for high


title: "Semiconductor device" content: current or high voltage applications. Power integrated circuits combine IC technology with power semiconductor technology, these are sometimes referred to as "smart" power devices. Several companies specialize in manufacturing power semiconductors. The type designators of semiconductor devices are often manufacturer specific. Nevertheless, there have been attempts at creating standards for type codes, and a subset of devices follow those. For discrete devices, for example, there are three standards: JEDEC JESD370B in United States, Pro Electron in Europe and Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) in Japan. Semiconductors had been used in the electronics field for some time before the invention of the


title: "Semiconductor device" content: transistor. Around the turn of the 20th century they were quite common as detectors in radios, used in a device called a "cat's whisker" developed by Jagadish Chandra Bose and others. These detectors were somewhat troublesome, however, requiring the operator to move a small tungsten filament (the whisker) around the surface of a galena (lead sulfide) or carborundum (silicon carbide) crystal until it suddenly started working. Then, over a period of a few hours or days, the cat's whisker would slowly stop working and the process would have to be repeated. At the time their operation was completely mysterious. After


title: "Semiconductor device" content: the introduction of the more reliable and amplified vacuum tube based radios, the cat's whisker systems quickly disappeared. The "cat's whisker" is a primitive example of a special type of diode still popular today, called a Schottky diode. Another early type of semiconductor device is the metal rectifier in which the semiconductor is copper oxide or selenium. Westinghouse Electric (1886) was a major manufacturer of these rectifiers. During World War II, radar research quickly pushed radar receivers to operate at ever higher frequencies and the traditional tube based radio receivers no longer worked well. The introduction of the cavity magnetron


title: "Semiconductor device" content: from Britain to the United States in 1940 during the Tizard Mission resulted in a pressing need for a practical high-frequency amplifier. On a whim, Russell Ohl of Bell Laboratories decided to try a cat's whisker. By this point they had not been in use for a number of years, and no one at the labs had one. After hunting one down at a used radio store in Manhattan, he found that it worked much better than tube-based systems. Ohl investigated why the cat's whisker functioned so well. He spent most of 1939 trying to grow more pure versions of


title: "Semiconductor device" content: the crystals. He soon found that with higher quality crystals their finicky behaviour went away, but so did their ability to operate as a radio detector. One day he found one of his purest crystals nevertheless worked well, and it had a clearly visible crack near the middle. However as he moved about the room trying to test it, the detector would mysteriously work, and then stop again. After some study he found that the behaviour was controlled by the light in the room – more light caused more conductance in the crystal. He invited several other people to see


title: "Semiconductor device" content: this crystal, and Walter Brattain immediately realized there was some sort of junction at the crack. Further research cleared up the remaining mystery. The crystal had cracked because either side contained very slightly different amounts of the impurities Ohl could not remove – about 0.2%. One side of the crystal had impurities that added extra electrons (the carriers of electric current) and made it a "conductor". The other had impurities that wanted to bind to these electrons, making it (what he called) an "insulator". Because the two parts of the crystal were in contact with each other, the electrons could


title: "Semiconductor device" content: be pushed out of the conductive side which had extra electrons (soon to be known as the "emitter") and replaced by new ones being provided (from a battery, for instance) where they would flow into the insulating portion and be collected by the whisker filament (named the "collector"). However, when the voltage was reversed the electrons being pushed into the collector would quickly fill up the "holes" (the electron-needy impurities), and conduction would stop almost instantly. This junction of the two crystals (or parts of one crystal) created a solid-state diode, and the concept soon became known as semiconduction. The


title: "Semiconductor device" content: mechanism of action when the diode is off has to do with the separation of charge carriers around the junction. This is called a "depletion region". Armed with the knowledge of how these new diodes worked, a vigorous effort began to learn how to build them on demand. Teams at Purdue University, Bell Labs, MIT, and the University of Chicago all joined forces to build better crystals. Within a year germanium production had been perfected to the point where military-grade diodes were being used in most radar sets. After the war, William Shockley decided to attempt the building of a


title: "Semiconductor device" content: triode-like semiconductor device. He secured funding and lab space, and went to work on the problem with Brattain and John Bardeen. The key to the development of the transistor was the further understanding of the process of the electron mobility in a semiconductor. It was realized that if there were some way to control the flow of the electrons from the emitter to the collector of this newly discovered diode, an amplifier could be built. For instance, if contacts are placed on both sides of a single type of crystal, current will not flow between them through the crystal. However


title: "Semiconductor device" content: if a third contact could then "inject" electrons or holes into the material, current would flow. Actually doing this appeared to be very difficult. If the crystal were of any reasonable size, the number of electrons (or holes) required to be injected would have to be very large, making it less than useful as an amplifier because it would require a large injection current to start with. That said, the whole idea of the crystal diode was that the crystal itself could provide the electrons over a very small distance, the depletion region. The key appeared to be to place


title: "Semiconductor device" content: the input and output contacts very close together on the surface of the crystal on either side of this region. Brattain started working on building such a device, and tantalizing hints of amplification continued to appear as the team worked on the problem. Sometimes the system would work but then stop working unexpectedly. In one instance a non-working system started working when placed in water. Ohl and Brattain eventually developed a new branch of quantum mechanics, which became known as surface physics, to account for the behaviour. The electrons in any one piece of the crystal would migrate about due


title: "Semiconductor device" content: to nearby charges. Electrons in the emitters, or the "holes" in the collectors, would cluster at the surface of the crystal where they could find their opposite charge "floating around" in the air (or water). Yet they could be pushed away from the surface with the application of a small amount of charge from any other location on the crystal. Instead of needing a large supply of injected electrons, a very small number in the right place on the crystal would accomplish the same thing. Their understanding solved the problem of needing a very small control area to some degree.


title: "Semiconductor device" content: Instead of needing two separate semiconductors connected by a common, but tiny, region, a single larger surface would serve. The electron-emitting and collecting leads would both be placed very close together on the top, with the control lead placed on the base of the crystal. When current flowed through this "base" lead, the electrons or holes would be pushed out, across the block of semiconductor, and collect on the far surface. As long as the emitter and collector were very close together, this should allow enough electrons or holes between them to allow conduction to start. The Bell team made


title: "Semiconductor device" content: many attempts to build such a system with various tools, but generally failed. Setups where the contacts were close enough were invariably as fragile as the original cat's whisker detectors had been, and would work briefly, if at all. Eventually they had a practical breakthrough. A piece of gold foil was glued to the edge of a plastic wedge, and then the foil was sliced with a razor at the tip of the triangle. The result was two very closely spaced contacts of gold. When the wedge was pushed down onto the surface of a crystal and voltage applied to


title: "Semiconductor device" content: the other side (on the base of the crystal), current started to flow from one contact to the other as the base voltage pushed the electrons away from the base towards the other side near the contacts. The point-contact transistor had been invented. While the device was constructed a week earlier, Brattain's notes describe the first demonstration to higher-ups at Bell Labs on the afternoon of 23 December 1947, often given as the birthdate of the transistor. What is now known as the "p–n–p point-contact germanium transistor" operated as a speech amplifier with a power gain of 18 in that


title: "Semiconductor device" content: trial. John Bardeen, Walter Houser Brattain, and William Bradford Shockley were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in physics for their work. Bell Telephone Laboratories needed a generic name for their new invention: "Semiconductor Triode", "Solid Triode", "Surface States Triode", "Crystal Triode" and "Iotatron" were all considered, but "transistor", coined by John R. Pierce, won an internal ballot. The rationale for the name is described in the following extract from the company's Technical Memoranda (May 28, 1948) [26] calling for votes: Transistor. This is an abbreviated combination of the words "transconductance" or "transfer", and "varistor". The device logically belongs in the


title: "Semiconductor device" content: varistor family, and has the transconductance or transfer impedance of a device having gain, so that this combination is descriptive. Shockley was upset about the device being credited to Brattain and Bardeen, who he felt had built it "behind his back" to take the glory. Matters became worse when Bell Labs lawyers found that some of Shockley's own writings on the transistor were close enough to those of an earlier 1925 patent by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld that they thought it best that his name be left off the patent application. Shockley was incensed, and decided to demonstrate who was the


title: "Semiconductor device" content: real brains of the operation. A few months later he invented an entirely new, considerably more robust, type of transistor with a layer or 'sandwich' structure. This structure went on to be used for the vast majority of all transistors into the 1960s, and evolved into the bipolar junction transistor. With the fragility problems solved, a remaining problem was purity. Making germanium of the required purity was proving to be a serious problem, and limited the yield of transistors that actually worked from a given batch of material. Germanium's sensitivity to temperature also limited its usefulness. Scientists theorized that silicon


title: "Semiconductor device" content: would be easier to fabricate, but few investigated this possibility. Gordon K. Teal was the first to develop a working silicon transistor, and his company, the nascent Texas Instruments, profited from its technological edge. From the late 1960s most transistors were silicon-based. Within a few years transistor-based products, most notably easily portable radios, were appearing on the market. The static induction transistor, the first high frequency transistor, was invented by Japanese engineers Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe in 1950. It was the fastest transistor through to the 1980s. A major improvement in manufacturing yield came when a chemist advised the


title: "Semiconductor device" content: companies fabricating semiconductors to use distilled rather than tap water: calcium ions present in tap water were the cause of the poor yields. "Zone melting", a technique using a band of molten material moving through the crystal, further increased crystal purity. Semiconductor device Semiconductor devices are electronic components that exploit the electronic properties of semiconductor materials, principally silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors. Semiconductor devices have replaced thermionic devices (vacuum tubes) in most applications. They use electronic conduction in the solid state as opposed to the gaseous state or thermionic emission in a high vacuum. Semiconductor


title: "Philip Melanchthon" content: Christ was our justification only according to his human nature. He was also still a strong opponent of the Roman Catholics, for it was by his advice that the Elector of Saxony declared himself ready to send deputies to a council to be convened at Trent, but only under the condition that the Protestants should have a share in the discussions, and that the Pope should not be considered as the presiding officer and judge. As it was agreed upon to send a confession to Trent, Melanchthon drew up the "Confessio Saxonica" which is a repetition of the Augsburg Confession,


title: "Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor" content: or of the Netherlands, and a daughter, Elizabeth, married Charles IX of France. Maximilian's policies of religious neutrality and peace in the Empire afforded its Roman Catholics and Protestants a breathing-space after the first struggles of the Reformation. His reign also saw the high point of Protestantism in Austria and Bohemia and unlike his successors, Maximilian did not try to suppress it. He disappointed the German Protestant princes by his refusal to invest Lutheran administrators of prince-bishoprics with their imperial fiefs. Yet on a personal basis he granted freedom of worship to the Protestant nobility and worked for reform in


title: Engagement content: were once common in formal arranged marriages, and it was not uncommon for parents betrothing children to arrange marriages many years before the engaged couple were old enough. This is still common in some countries. The origins of European engagement in marriage practice is found in the Jewish law (Torah), first exemplified by Abraham, and outlined in the last Talmudic tractate of the Nashim (Women) order, where marriage consists of two separate acts, called "erusin" (or "kiddushin", meaning "sanctification"), which is the betrothal ceremony, and "nissu'in" or "chupah", the actual ceremony for the marriage. "Erusin" changes the couple's interpersonal status,


title: "Common carrier" content: and schedules, i.e., as regular route carrier or on an "ad hoc" basis as an irregular route carrier. It should be mentioned that the carrier refers only to the person (legal or physical) that enters into a contract of carriage with the shipper. The carrier does not necessarily have to own or even be in the possession of a means of transport. Unless otherwise agreed upon in the contract, the carrier may use whatever means of transport approved in its operating authority, as long as it is the most favorable from the cargo interests' point of view. The carriers' duty


title: Dielectric content: ions (displacement of the electron cloud from the nucleus) and polarization of molecules or combinations of ions or defects. Paraelectricity can occur in crystal phases where electric dipoles are unaligned and thus have the potential to align in an external electric field and weaken it. An example of a paraelectric material of high dielectric constant is strontium titanate. The LiNbO crystal is ferroelectric below 1430 K, and above this temperature it transforms into a disordered paraelectric phase. Similarly, other perovskites also exhibit paraelectricity at high temperatures. Paraelectricity has been explored as a possible refrigeration mechanism; polarizing a paraelectric by applying


title: "Four-wire terminating set" content: return loss. Four-wire terminating sets were largely supplanted by resistance hybrids in the late 20th century. Four-wire terminating set A four-wire terminating set (4WTS) is a balanced transformer used to perform a conversion between four-wire and two-wire operation in telecommunication systems. For example, a 4-wire circuit may, by means of a 4-wire terminating set, be connected to a 2-wire telephone set. Also, a pair of 4-wire terminating sets may be used to introduce an intermediate 4-wire circuit into a 2-wire circuit, in which loop repeaters may be situated to amplify signals in each direction without positive feedback and oscillation. The


title: Harmonic content: have a "glassy", pure tone. On stringed instruments, harmonics are played by touching (but not fully pressing down the string) at an exact point on the string while sounding the string (plucking, bowing, etc.); this allows the harmonic to sound, a pitch which is always higher than the fundamental frequency of the string. Harmonics may also be called "overtones", "partials" or "upper partials". The difference between "harmonic" and "overtone" is that the term "harmonic" includes all of the notes in a series, including the fundamental frequency (e.g., the open string of a guitar). The term "overtone" only includes the pitches


title: "Bix Beiderbecke" content: by contrasting it with Armstrong's markedly different approach. Armstrong was a virtuoso on his instrument, and his solos often took advantage of that fact. Beiderbecke was largely, although not completely, self-taught, and the constraints imposed by that fact were evident in his music. While Armstrong often soared into the upper register, Beiderbecke stayed in the middle range, more interested in exploring the melody and harmonies than in dazzling the audience. Armstrong often emphasized the performance aspect of his playing, while Beiderbecke tended to stare at his feet while playing, uninterested in personally engaging his listeners. Armstrong was deeply influenced by


title: "Polarization (waves)" content: are separate reflection coefficients for the linear polarizations in and orthogonal to the plane of incidence ("p" and "s" polarizations, see below), that choice greatly simplifies the calculation of a wave's reflection from a surface. Moreover, one can use as basis functions "any" pair of orthogonal polarization states, not just linear polarizations. For instance, choosing right and left circular polarizations as basis functions simplifies the solution of problems involving circular birefringence (optical activity) or circular dichroism. Consider a purely polarized monochromatic wave. If one were to plot the electric field vector over one cycle of oscillation, an ellipse would generally


title: "Zero-dispersion wavelength" content: refers to the wavelength at which the material dispersion is minimum, "i.e." "essentially" zero. This is more accurately called the minimum-dispersion wavelength. The rate of change of dispersion with respect to wavelength at the zero-dispersion point is called the zero-dispersion slope. Doubly and quadruply clad single-mode fibers have two zero-dispersion points, and thus two zero-dispersion slopes. Zero-dispersion wavelength In a single-mode optical fiber, the zero-dispersion wavelength is the wavelength or wavelengths at which material dispersion and waveguide dispersion cancel one another. In all silica-based optical fibers, minimum material dispersion occurs naturally at a wavelength of approximately 1300 nm. Single-mode fibers


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: Compact Disc Digital Audio Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the Red Book, one of a series of "Rainbow Books" (named for their binding colors) that contain the technical specifications for all CD formats. The "Red Book" specifies the physical parameters and properties of the CD, the optical "stylus" parameters, deviations and error rate, modulation system (eight-to-fourteen modulation, EFM) and error correction facility (cross-interleaved Reed–Solomon coding, CIRC), and the eight subcode channels. These parameters are common to all compact discs and


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: used by all logical formats, such as CD-ROM. The standard also specifies the form of digital audio encoding: 2-channel signed 16-bit Linear PCM sampled at 44,100 Hz. Although rarely used, the specification allows for discs to be mastered with a form of emphasis. The first edition of the "Red Book" was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc Committee and ratified by the International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee 100, as an International Standard in 1987 with the reference IEC 60908. The second edition of IEC 60908 was published in 1999 and it


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: cancels and replaces the first edition, amendment 1 (1992) and the corrigendum to amendment 1. The IEC 60908 however does not contain all the information for extensions that is available in the Red Book, such as the details for CD-Text, CD+G and CD+EG. The standard is not freely available and must be licensed. It is available from Philips and the IEC. , Philips outsources licensing of the standard to Adminius, which charges for the "Red Book", plus each for the "Subcode Channels R-W" and "CD Text Mode" annexes. The audio contained in a CD-DA consists of two-channel signed 16-bit Linear


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: PCM sampled at 44,100 Hz. The sampling rate is adapted from that attained when recording digital audio on a PAL (or NTSC) videotape with a PCM adaptor, an earlier way of storing digital audio. An audio CD can represent frequencies up to 22.05 kHz, the Nyquist frequency of the 44.1 kHz sample rate. The selection of the sample rate was based primarily on the need to reproduce the audible frequency range of 20–20,000 Hz (20 kHz). The Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem states that a sampling rate of more than twice the maximum frequency of the signal to be recorded is needed,


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: resulting in a required rate of at least 40 kHz. The exact sampling rate of 44.1 kHz was inherited from a method of converting digital audio into an analog video signal for storage on U-matic video tape, which was the most affordable way to transfer data from the recording studio to the CD manufacturer at the time the CD specification was being developed. The device that converts an analog audio signal into PCM audio, which in turn is changed into an analog video signal is called a PCM adaptor. This technology could store six samples (three samples per stereo channel)


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: in a single horizontal line. 60 field/s black and white video (not 59.94 color) was required, and in NTSC countries (USA/Japan) that video signal has 245 usable lines per field, which works out to be (245 * 60 * 3) = 44,100 samples/s/stereo channel. Similarly, PAL has 294 lines and 50 fields, which gives 44,100 samples/s/stereo channel. This system could store 14-bit samples with some error correction, or 16-bit samples with almost no error correction. There was a long debate over the use of 14-bit (Philips) or 16-bit (Sony) quantization, and 44,056 or 44,100 samples/s (Sony) or approximately 44,000 samples/s


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: (Philips). When the Sony/Philips task force designed the Compact Disc, Philips had already developed a 14-bit D/A converter (DAC), but Sony insisted on 16-bit. In the end, 16 bits and 44.1 kilosamples per second prevailed. Philips found a way to produce 16-bit quality using its 14-bit DAC by using four times oversampling. Some CDs are mastered with pre-emphasis, an artificial boost of high audio frequencies. The pre-emphasis improves the apparent signal-to-noise ratio by making better use of the channel's dynamic range. On playback, the player applies a de-emphasis filter to restore the frequency response curve to an overall flat one.


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: Pre-emphasis time constants are 50µs and 15µs (9.49 dB boost at 20 kHz), and a binary flag in the disc subcode instructs the player to apply de-emphasis filtering if appropriate. Playback of such discs in a computer or 'ripping' to wave files typically does not take into account the pre-emphasis, so such files play back with a distorted frequency response. The creators of the CD originally aimed at a playing time of 60 minutes with a disc diameter of 100 mm (Sony) or 115 mm (Philips). Sony vice-president Norio Ohga suggested extending the capacity to 74 minutes to accommodate the


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: recording of Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the 1951 Bayreuth Festival. The additional 14-minute playing time subsequently required changing to a 120 mm disc. Kees Schouhamer Immink, Philips' chief engineer, however, denies this, claiming that the increase was motivated by technical considerations, and that even after the increase in size, the Furtwängler recording would not have fit on one of the earliest CDs. According to a "Sunday Tribune" interview, the story is slightly more involved. In 1979, Philips owned PolyGram, one of the world's largest distributors of music. PolyGram had set up a large experimental CD


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: plant in Hannover, Germany, which could produce huge numbers of CDs having a diameter of 115 mm. Sony did not yet have such a facility. If Sony had agreed on the 115-mm disc, Philips would have had a significant competitive edge in the market. The long playing time of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony imposed by Ohga was used to push Philips to accept 120 mm, so that Philips' PolyGram lost its edge on disc fabrication. The 74-minute playing time of a CD, which is longer than the 22 minutes per side typical of long-playing (LP) vinyl albums, was often used to


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: the CD's advantage during the early years when CDs and LPs vied for commercial sales. CDs would often be released with one or more bonus tracks, enticing consumers to buy the CD for the extra material. However, attempts to combine double LPs onto one CD occasionally resulted in the opposite situation in which the CD would instead offer fewer tracks than the LP. Playing times beyond 74 minutes are achieved by decreasing track pitch (the distance separating the track as it spirals the disc) in violation of strict "Red Book" standards. However, most players can still accommodate the more closely


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: spaced data if it is still within "Red Book" tolerances. Current manufacturing processes allow an audio CD to contain up to 80 minutes (variable from one replication plant to another) without requiring the content creator to sign a waiver releasing the plant owner from responsibility if the CD produced is marginally or entirely unreadable by some playback equipment. In current practice, maximum CD playing time has crept higher by reducing minimum engineering tolerances. This table shows the progression in the maximum duration of released audio CDs: Each audio sample is a signed 16-bit two's complement integer, with sample values ranging


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: from −32768 to +32767. The source audio data is divided into frames, containing twelve samples each (six left and right samples, alternating), for a total of 192 bits (24 bytes) of audio data per frame. This stream of audio frames, as a whole, is then subjected to CIRC encoding, which segments and rearranges the data and expands it with parity bits in a way that allows occasional read errors to be detected and corrected. CIRC encoding also interleaves the audio frames throughout the disc over several consecutive frames so that the information will be more resistant to burst errors. Therefore,


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: a physical frame on the disc will actually contain information from multiple logical audio frames. This process adds 64 bits of error correction data to each frame. After this, 8 bits of subcode or subchannel data are added to each of these encoded frames, which is used for control and addressing when playing the CD. CIRC encoding plus the subcode byte generate 33-bytes long frames, called "channel-data" frames. These frames are then modulated through eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM), where each 8-bit word is replaced with a corresponding 14-bit word designed to reduce the number of transitions between 0 and 1. This


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: reduces the density of physical pits on the disc and provides an additional degree of error tolerance. Three "merging" bits are added before each 14-bit word for disambiguation and synchronization. In total there are 33 × (14 + 3) = 561 bits. A 27-bit word (a 24-bit pattern plus 3 merging bits) is added to the beginning of each frame to assist with synchronization, so the reading device can locate frames easily. With this, a frame ends up containing 588 bits of "channel data" (which are decoded to only 192 bits music). The frames of channel data are finally written


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: to disc physically in the form of pits and lands, with each pit or land representing a series of zeroes, and with the transition points—the edge of each pit—representing 1. A Red Book-compatible CD-R has pit-and-land-shaped spots on a layer of organic dye instead of actual pits and lands; a laser creates the spots by altering the reflective properties of the dye. The audio data stream in an audio CD is continuous, but has three parts. The main portion, which is further divided into playable audio tracks, is the "program area". This section is preceded by a "lead-in" track and


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: followed by a "lead-out" track. The lead-in and lead-out tracks encode only silent audio, but all three sections contain subcode data streams. The lead-in's subcode contains repeated copies of the disc's Table Of Contents (TOC), which provides an index of the start positions of the tracks in the program area and lead-out. The track positions are referenced by absolute timecode, relative to the start of the program area, in MSF format: minutes, seconds, and fractional seconds called "frames". Each timecode frame is one seventy-fifth of a second, and corresponds to a block of 98 channel-data frames—ultimately, a block of 588


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: pairs of left and right audio samples. Timecode contained in the subchannel data allows the reading device to locate the region of the disc that corresponds to the timecode in the TOC. The TOC on discs is analogous to the partition table on hard drives. Nonstandard or corrupted TOC records are abused as a form of CD/DVD copy protection, in e.g. the key2Audio scheme. The largest entity on a CD is called a track. A CD can contain up to 99 tracks (including a data track for mixed mode discs). Each track can in turn have up to 100 indexes,


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: though players which handle this feature are rarely found outside of pro audio, particularly radio broadcasting. The vast majority of songs are recorded under index 1, with the pre-gap being index 0. Sometimes hidden tracks are placed at the end of the last track of the disc, often using index 2 or 3. This is also the case with some discs offering "101 sound effects", with 100 and 101 being indexed as two and three on track 99. The index, if used, is occasionally put on the track listing as a decimal part of the track number, such as 99.2


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: or 99.3. (Information Society's "Hack" was one of very few CD releases to do this, following a release with an equally obscure CD+G feature.) The track and index structure of the CD were carried forward to the DVD format as title and chapter, respectively. Tracks, in turn, are divided into timecode frames (or sectors), which are further subdivided into channel-data frames. The smallest entity in a CD is a channel-data "frame", which consists of 33 bytes and contains six complete 16-bit stereo samples: 24 bytes for the audio (two bytes × two channels × six samples = 24 bytes), eight


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: CIRC error-correction bytes, and one subcode byte. As described in the "Data encoding" section, after the EFM modulation the number of bits in a frame totals 588. On a "Red Book" audio CD, data is addressed using the "MSF scheme", with timecodes expressed in minutes, seconds and another type of "frames" (mm:ss:ff), where one frame corresponds to 1/75th of a second of audio: 588 pairs of left and right samples. This timecode frame is distinct from the 33-byte channel-data frame described above, and is used for time display and positioning the reading laser. When editing and extracting CD audio, this


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: timecode frame is the smallest addressable time interval for an audio CD; thus, track boundaries only occur on these frame boundaries. Each of these structures contains 98 channel-data frames, totaling 98 × 24 = 2,352 bytes of music. The CD is played at a speed of 75 frames (or sectors) per second, thus 44,100 samples or 176,400 bytes per second. In the 1990s, CD-ROM and related Digital Audio Extraction (DAE) technology introduced the term "sector" to refer to each timecode frame, with each sector being identified by a sequential integer number starting at zero, and with tracks aligned on sector


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: boundaries. An audio CD sector corresponds to 2,352 bytes of decoded data. The "Red Book" does not refer to sectors, nor does it distinguish the corresponding sections of the disc's data stream except as "frames" in the MSF addressing scheme. The following table shows the relation between tracks, timecode frames (sectors) and channel-data frames: The audio bit rate for a "Red Book" audio CD is 1,411,200 bits per second or 176,400 bytes per second; 2 channels × 44,100 samples per second per channel × 16 bits per sample. Audio data coming in from a CD is contained in sectors, each


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: sector being 2,352 bytes, and with 75 sectors containing 1 second of audio. For comparison, the bit rate of a "1×" CD-ROM is defined as 2,048 bytes per sector × 75 sectors per second = 153,600 bytes per second. The remaining 304 bytes in a sector are used for additional data error correction. Unlike on a DVD or CD-ROM, there are no "files" on a "Red Book" audio CD; there is only one continuous stream of LPCM audio data, and a parallel, smaller set of 8 subcode data streams. Computer operating systems, however, may provide access to an audio CD


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: as if it contains files. For example, Windows represents the CD's Table of Contents as a set of Compact Disc Audio track (CDA) files, each file containing indexing information, not audio data. In a process called ripping, digital audio extraction software can be used to read CD-DA audio data and store it in files. Common audio file formats for this purpose include WAV and AIFF, which simply preface the LPCM data with a short header; FLAC, ALAC, and Windows Media Audio Lossless, which compress the LPCM data in ways that conserve space yet allow it to be restored without any


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: changes; and various lossy, perceptual coding formats like MP3 and AAC, which modify and compress the audio data in ways that irreversibly change the audio, but that exploit features of human hearing to make the changes difficult to discern. Recording publishers have created CDs that violate the "Red Book" standard. Some do so for the purpose of copy prevention, using systems like Copy Control. Some do so for extra features such as DualDisc, which includes both a CD layer and a DVD layer whereby the CD layer is much thinner, 0.9 mm, than required by the "Red Book", which stipulates


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: a nominal 1.2 mm, but at least 1.1 mm. Philips and many other companies have stated that including the Compact Disc Digital Audio logo on such non-conforming discs may constitute trademark infringement. Super Audio CD was a standard published in 1999 that aimed to provide better audio quality in CDs, but it never became very popular. DVD Audio, an advanced version of the audio CD, emerged in 1999. The format was designed to feature audio of higher fidelity. It applies a higher sampling rate and uses 650 nm lasers. There have been moves by the recording industry to make audio


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: CDs (Compact Disc Digital Audio) unplayable on computer CD-ROM drives, to prevent the copying of music. This is done by intentionally introducing errors onto the disc that the embedded circuits on most stand-alone audio players can automatically compensate for, but which may confuse CD-ROM drives. Consumer rights advocates as of October 2001 pushed to require warning labels on compact discs that do not conform to the official Compact Disc Digital Audio standard (often called the Red Book) to inform consumers which discs do not permit full fair use of their content. In 2005, Sony BMG Music Entertainment was criticized when


title: "Compact Disc Digital Audio" content: a copy protection mechanism known as Extended Copy Protection (XCP) used on some of their audio CDs automatically and surreptitiously installed copy-prevention software on computers (see 2005 Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal). Such discs are not legally allowed to be called CDs or Compact Discs because they break the Red Book standard governing CDs, and Amazon.com for example describes them as "copy protected discs" rather than "compact discs" or "CDs". Compact Disc Digital Audio Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in


title: "Brothers Grimm" content: employment. In 1840, von Savigny and Bettina von Arnim appealed successfully to Frederick William IV of Prussia on behalf of the brothers who were offered posts at the University of Berlin. In addition to teaching posts, the Academy of Sciences offered them stipends to continue their research. Once they had established their household in Berlin, they directed their efforts towards the work on the German dictionary and continued to publish their research. Jacob turned his attention to researching German legal traditions and the history of the German language, which was published in the late 1840s and early 1850s; meanwhile, Wilhelm


title: "Brothers Grimm" content: When Jacob returned to Marburg from Paris in 1806, their friend Brentano sought the brothers' help in adding to his collection of folk tales, at which time the brothers began to gather tales in an organized fashion. By 1810, they had produced a manuscript collection of several dozen tales, written after inviting storytellers to their home and transcribing what they heard. These tales were heavily modified in transcription, and many had roots in previously written sources. At Brentano's request, they printed and sent him copies of the 53 tales that they collected for inclusion in his third volume of "".


title: "Bonnie Tyler" content: Meat Loaf performing on "The Old Grey Whistle Test", she sought out Jim Steinman as her producer. Steinman requested for Tyler to send some of her previous albums for him to listen to. Though he was not impressed by the music she had recorded, he saw potential in her voice. She was invited to his New York apartment three weeks later, where he presented her with "Total Eclipse of the Heart", a song which became a trans-Atlantic number 1 hit in 1983. It was pulled from the RIAA Platinum-certified "Faster Than the Speed of Night". Bonnie received two Grammy Award


title: "Émile Picard" content: his father in law, Charles Hermite. In 1881 he married Marie, the daughter of Charles Hermite. Émile Picard Prof Charles Émile Picard FRS(For) FRSE () (24 July 1856 – 11 December 1941) was a French mathematician. He was elected the fifteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française in 1924. He was born in Paris on 24 July 1856 and educated there at the Lycée Henri-IV. He then studied Mathematics at the École Normale Supérieure. Picard's mathematical papers, textbooks, and many popular writings exhibit an extraordinary range of interests, as well as an impressive mastery of the mathematics


title: "Potassium ferrocyanide" content: offal, or dried blood. Treatment of potassium ferrocyanide with nitric acid gives H[Fe(NO)(CN)]. After neutralization of this intermediate with sodium carbonate, red crystals of sodium nitroprusside can be selectively crystallized. Upon treatment with chlorine gas, potassium ferrocyanide converts to potassium ferricyanide: This reaction can be used to remove potassium ferrocyanide from a solution. A famous reaction involves treatment with ferric salts to give Prussian blue. With the approximate composition KFe(CN), this insoluble but deeply coloured material is the blue of blueprinting. Potassium ferrocyanide finds many niche applications in industry. It and the related sodium salt are widely used as anticaking


title: "Flash Gordon" content: strip, "Rip Kirby". After Briggs left the Sunday strip in 1948, he was succeeded by former comic book artist Mac Raboy, who drew the strip until his death in 1967. In 1951, King Features created a new daily "Flash Gordon" strip. This strip was drawn by Dan Barry. Barry was assisted during his tenure by Harvey Kurtzman and Harry Harrison, who both wrote scripts for the strip.Barry also had several artists who aided him with "Flash Gordon's" illustrations, including Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Bob Fujitani, Jack Davis, Sy Barry, Fred Kida and Emil Gershwin. When Barry left the strip in


title: "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" content: planning the murder of their enemies. Byron Bolton claimed he and Jimmy Moran were charged with watching the S.M.C. Cartage garage and phoning the signal to the killers at the Circus Café when Bugs Moran arrived at the meeting. Police had indeed found a letter addressed to Bolton in the lookout nest (and possibly a vial of prescription medicine). Bolton guessed that the actual killers had been Burke, Winkeler, Goetz, Bob Carey, Raymond "Crane Neck" Nugent, and Claude Maddox (four shooters and two getaway drivers). Bolton gave an account of the massacre different from the one generally told by historians.


title: Parashurama content: one four hands, carrying his axe, bow, arrows and a shield like a warrior. Though a warrior, his representation inside Hindu temples with him in war scenes is rare (the Basohli temple is one such exception). Typically, he is shown with two hands, with axe in his right hand either seated or standing. Related Indian topics: Related International topics: Parashurama Parashurama (Sanskrit: परशुराम, IAST: "Paraśurāma", lit. "Rama with an axe") is the sixth avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. Born as a brahmin, Parshuram carried traits of a Kshatriya and is often regarded as a Brahmin-Kshatriya. He carried a number of


title: "Walter Mondale" content: earning him the unique distinction of having lost a statewide election in all 50 states as the nominee of a major party (he lost the other 49 in the 1984 presidential election). Upon conceding defeat, Mondale stated: "At the end of what will be my last campaign, I want to say to Minnesota, you always treated me well, you always listened to me." In 2004, Mondale became co-chairman of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Right to Counsel Committee. He endorsed former First Lady of the United States and Senator Hillary Clinton from New York for the presidency of the United States


title: Peanuts content: the treatment of Snoopy. In the strip, the dog's thoughts are verbalized in thought balloons; in animation, he is typically mute, his thoughts communicated through growls or laughs (voiced by Bill Meléndez), and pantomime, or by having human characters verbalizing his thoughts for him. These treatments have both been abandoned temporarily in the past. For example, they experimented with teacher dialogue in "She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown". The elimination of Snoopy's "voice" is probably the most controversial aspect of the adaptations, but Schulz apparently approved of the treatment. The success of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was the impetus for


title: "The Wicker Man" content: by critics. Film magazine "Cinefantastique" described it as "The "Citizen Kane" of horror movies", and in 2004 "Total Film" magazine named "The Wicker Man" the sixth greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, the burning Wicker Man scene was No. 45 on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments", and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony the film was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. In 2013, a copy of the original U.S. theatrical version was digitally restored and released. In 1989, Shaffer wrote a script treatment


title: "Topological group" content: is a homeomorphism from "G" to itself. Likewise, if "a" is any element of "G", then left or right multiplication by "a" yields a homeomorphism "G" → "G". Every topological group can be viewed as a uniform space in two ways; the "left uniformity" turns all left multiplications into uniformly continuous maps while the "right uniformity" turns all right multiplications into uniformly continuous maps. If "G" is not abelian, then these two need not coincide. The uniform structures allow one to talk about notions such as completeness, uniform continuity and uniform convergence on topological groups. As a uniform space, every


title: Ljubljana content: the building opened on 21 February 1933. It was for some time the tallest residential building in Europe. Tivoli City Park () is the largest park in Ljubljana. It was designed in 1813 by the French engineer Jean Blanchard and now covers approximately . The park was laid out during the French imperial administration of Ljubljana in 1813 and named after the Parisian Jardins de Tivoli. Between 1921 and 1939, it was renovated by the Slovene architect Jože Plečnik, who unveiled his statue of Napoleon in 1929 in Republic Square and designed a broad central promenade, called the Jakopič Promenade


title: "History of Bhutan" content: of the name Bhutan, which came into common foreign use in the late 19th century and is used in Bhutan only in English-language official correspondence. The traditional name of the country since the 17th century has been Drukyul—country of the Drukpa, the Dragon people, or the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a reference to the country's dominant Buddhist sect. Some scholars believe that during the early historical period the inhabitants were fierce mountain aborigines, the Monpa, who were of neither the Tibetan or Mongol stock that later overran northern Bhutan. The people of Monyul practiced a shamanistic religion, which emphasized


title: Reason content: Any group that managed to find ways of reasoning effectively would reap benefits for all its members, increasing their fitness. This could also help explain why humans, according to Sperber, are not optimized to reason effectively alone. Their argumentative theory of reasoning claims that reason may have more to do with winning arguments than with the search for the truth. Reason Reason is the capacity for consciously making sense of things, establishing and verifying facts, applying logic, and changing or justifying practices, institutions, and beliefs based on new or existing information. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities


title: "Flood (They Might Be Giants album)" content: the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album also contains two of the band's most well known songs, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". The former was released as a single, reaching number 61 on the UK Singles Chart, but failing to chart in the US. "Flood" was the first album released by They Might Be Giants to receive the RIAA Platinum sales award—indicating sales over one million copies—which it achieved on July 10, 2009. It is also certified Gold by the BPI in the United Kingdom. "Flood" is They Might Be Giants' best-selling album, and it is widely regarded


title: "Gloster Meteor" content: Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to achieve combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful


title: "Gloster Meteor" content: While various marks of Meteor had been introduced by 1948, they had remained very similar to the prototypes of the Meteor; consequently, the performance of the Meteor F.4 was beginning to be eclipsed by new jet designs. Gloster therefore embarked on a redesign programme to produce a new version of the Meteor with better performance. Designated "Meteor F.8", this upgraded variant was a potent fighter aircraft, forming the bulk of RAF Fighter Command between 1950 and 1955. The Meteor continued to be operated in a military capacity by several nations into the 1960s. In order to replace the increasingly obsolete


title: "Frank Whittle" content: and he was willing to surrender his shares in Power Jets to make this happen. In October, Cripps told Whittle that he decided a better solution would be to nationalise Power Jets only. Whittle believed that he had triggered this decision, but Cripps had already been considering how best to maintain a successful jet programme and act responsibly regarding the state's substantial financial investment, while at the same time wanting to establish a research centre that could utilise Power Jets' talents, and had come to the conclusion that national interests demanded the setting up of a Government-owned establishment. On 1