title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: quickly diffuse into a soft, recently molted blue crab's shell, allowing it to harden more quickly. The effects of diseases and parasites on growth and molting are less well understood, but in many cases have been observed to reduce growth between molts. For example, mature female blue crabs infected with the parasitic rhizocephalan barnacle "Loxothylacus texanus" appear extremely stunted in growth when compared to uninfected mature females. Blue crab may reach maturity within one year of hatching in the Gulf of Mexico, while Chesapeake Bay crabs may take up to 18 months to mature. As a result of different growth


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: rates, commercial and recreational crabbing occur year-round in the Gulf of Mexico, while crabbing seasons are closed for colder parts of the year in northern states. Mating and spawning are distinct events in blue crab reproduction. Males may mate several times and undergo no major changes in morphology during the process. Female blue crabs mate only once in their lifetimes during their pubertal, or terminal, molt. During this transition, the abdomen changes from a triangular to a semicircular shape. Mating in blue crab is a complex process that requires precise timing of mating at the time of the female's terminal


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: molt. It generally occurs during the warmest months of the year. Prepubertal females migrate to the upper reaches of estuaries where males typically reside as adults. To ensure that a male can mate, he will actively seek a receptive female and guard her for up to 7 days until she molts, at which time insemination occurs. Crabs compete with other individuals before, during, and after insemination, so mate guarding is very important for reproductive success. After mating, a male must continue to guard the female until her shell has hardened. Inseminated females retain spermatophores for up to one year, which


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: they use for multiple spawnings in high salinity water. During spawning, a female extrudes fertilized eggs onto her swimmerets and carries them in a large egg mass, or sponge, while they develop. Females migrate to the mouth of the estuary to release the larvae, the timing of which is believed to be influenced by light, tide, and lunar cycles. Blue crabs have high fecundity: females may produce up to 2 million eggs per brood. Migration and reproduction patterns differ between crab populations along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. A distinct and large scale migration occurs in Chesapeake


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: Bay, where "C. sapidus" undergoes a seasonal migration of up to several hundred miles. In the middle and upper parts of the bay, mating peaks in mid to late summer, while in the lower bay there are peaks in mating activity during spring and late summer through early fall. Changes in salinity and temperature may impact time of mating because both factors are important during the molting process. After mating, the female crab travels to the southern portion of the Chesapeake, using ebb tides to migrate from areas of low salinity to areas of high salinity, fertilizing her eggs with


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: sperm stored during her single mating months or almost a year before. Spawning events in the Gulf of Mexico are less pronounced than in estuaries along the East Coast, like the Chesapeake. In northern waters of the Gulf of Mexico, spawning occurs in the spring, summer, and fall, and females generally spawn twice. During spawning, females migrate to high salinity waters to develop a sponge, and return inland after hatching their larvae. They develop their second sponge inland, and again migrate to the higher-salinity waters to hatch the second sponge. After this, they typically do not reenter the estuary. Blue


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: crabs along the southernmost coast of Texas may spawn year-round. Commercial fisheries for "C. sapidus" exist along much of the Atlantic coast of the United States, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the fishery has been historically centered on the Chesapeake Bay, contributions from other localities are increasing in importance. In the past two decades, the majority of commercial crabs have been landed in four states: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Weight and value of harvests since 2000 are listed below. As early as the 1600s, the blue crab was an important food item for Native Americans and


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: European settlers in the Chesapeake Bay area. Soft and hard blue crabs were not as valuable as fish but gained regional popularity by the 1700s. Throughout their range crabs were also an effective bait type for hook and line fisheries. Rapid perishing limited the distribution and hindered the growth of the fishery. Advances in refrigeration techniques in the late 1800s and early 1900s increased demand for blue crab nationwide. The early blue crab fishery along the Atlantic coast was casual and productive because blue crabs were extremely abundant. In the lower Chesapeake Bay, crabs were even considered a nuisance species


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: because they frequently clogged the nets of seine fishermen. Early on, the blue crab fishery of the Atlantic states was well documented. Atlantic states were the first to regulate the fishery, particularly the Chesapeake states. For example, after observing a slight decline in harvest, the fishing commissions of Virginia and Maryland put size limits into place by 1912 and 1917 respectively. Catch-per-unit-effort at the time was determined by packing houses, or crab processing plants. The early history of the recreational blue crab fishery in the Gulf of Mexico is not well known. Commercial crabbing was first reported in the Gulf


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: of Mexico in the 1880s. Early crab fishermen used long-handled dip nets and drop nets among other simple fishing gear types to trap crabs at night. Blue crab spoiled quickly, which limited distribution and hindered the growth of the fishery for several decades. The first commercial processing plant in Louisiana opened in Morgan City in 1924. Other plants opened soon after, although commercial processing of hard blue crabs was not widespread until World War II. Louisiana now has the world's largest blue crab fishery. Commercial harvests in the state account for over half of all landings in the Gulf of


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: Mexico. The industry was not commercialized for interstate commerce until the 1990s, when supply markedly decreased in Maryland due to problems (see above) in Chesapeake Bay. Since then, Louisiana has steadily increased its harvest. In 2002, Louisiana harvested 22% of the nation's blue crab. That number rose to 26% by 2009 and 28% by 2012. The vast majority of Louisiana crabs are shipped to Maryland, where they are sold as "Chesapeake" or "Maryland" crab. Louisiana's harvest remained high in 2013, with 17,597 metric tons of blue crab valued at $51 million. In addition to commercial harvesting, recreational crabbing is very


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: popular along Louisiana's coast. The Chesapeake Bay has had the largest blue crab harvest for more than a century. Maryland and Virginia are usually the top two Atlantic coast states in annual landings, followed by North Carolina. In 2013, crab landings were valued at $18.7 million from Maryland waters and $16.1 million from Virginia waters. Although crab populations are currently declining, blue crab fishing in Maryland and Virginia remains a livelihood for thousands of coastal residents. As of 2001, Maryland and Virginia collectively had 4,816 commercial crab license holders. Three separate licenses are required for each of the three major


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: jurisdictional areas: Maryland, the Potomac River, and Virginia waters. While the Bay’s commercial sector lands the majority of hard crab landings and nearly all peeler or soft crab landings, the recreational fishery is also significant. In 2013, an estimated 3.9 million pounds of blue crab were harvested recreationally. Blue crab populations naturally fluctuate with annual changes in environmental conditions. They have been described as having a long-term dynamic equilibrium, which was first noted after irregular landings data in the Chesapeake in 1950. This tendency may have made it difficult for managers to predict the severe decline of the Chesapeake’s blue


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: crab populations. Once considered an overwhelmingly abundant annoyance, the declining blue crab population is now the subject of anxiety among fishermen and managers. Over the decade between the mid-1990s to 2004, the population fell from 900 million to around 300 million, and harvest weight fell from 52,000 tons (115,000,000 lbs) to 28,000 tons (62,000,000 lbs). Revenue fell further, from $72 million to $61 million. Long term estimates say that the overall Chesapeake population decreased approximately 70% in the last few decades. Even more alarming, the number of females capable of reproducing, known as spawning age females, has plummeted 84% in


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: just a few decades. Survival and addition of juveniles to the harvestable crab population is also low. Many factors are to blame for low blue crab numbers, including high fishing pressure, environmental degradation, and disease prevalence. The 2018 reduction in H-2B visas available for seasonal workers is impacting Maryland's 20 crab processors, which typically employ about 500 foreign workers; however, the effect this will have on the crab fishery is not yet clear. Many types of gear have been used to catch blue crabs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Initially people used very simple techniques and gear, which included


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: hand lines, dip nets, and push nets among a variety of other gear types. The trotline, a long baited twine set in waters 5–15 feet deep, was the first major gear type used commercially to target hard crabs. Use of commercial trotlines is now mostly limited to the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. In the Gulf of Mexico, trotline use drastically declined after invention of the crab pot in 1938. Crab pots are rigid boxlike traps made of hexagonal or square wire mesh. They possess between two and four funnels that extend into the trap, with the smaller end of


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: the funnel inside of the trap. A central compartment made of smaller wire mesh holds bait. Crabs attracted by odorant plumes from the bait, often an oily fish, enter the trap through the funnels and cannot escape. Species other than blue crab are often caught incidentally in crab pots, including fish, turtles, conch, and other crab species. In Georgia, hermit crabs ("Pagurus" spp.), channeled whelk ("Busycon canaliculatum"), spider crabs ("Libinia" spp.), and stone crabs ("Menippe mercenaria") were the most common species observed as bycatch in commercial crab pots. Of important concern is the diamondback terrapin, "Malaclemys terrapin". The blue crab


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: and diamondback terrapin have overlapping ranges along the East and Gulf coasts of the United States. Because the funnels in a crab pot are flexible, small terrapins may easily enter and become entrapped. Traps are checked every 24 hours or less, frequently resulting in drowning and death of terrapins. Crab pot bycatch may reduce local terrapin populations to less than half. To reduce terrapin entrapment, bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) may be installed on each of the funnels in a crab pot. BRDs effectively reduce bycatch (and subsequently mortality) of small terrapins without affecting blue crab catch. Because of its commercial


title: "Callinectes sapidus" content: and environmental value, "C. sapidus" is the subject of management plans over much of its range. In 2012, the "C. sapidus" population in Louisiana was recognized as a certified sustainable fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council. It was the first and remains the only certified sustainable blue crab fishery worldwide. For the state to maintain its certification, it must undergo annual monitoring and conduct a full re-evaluation five years after the certification date. Callinectes sapidus Callinectes sapidus (from the Greek ' = "beautiful", ' = "swimmer", and Latin ' = "savory"), the blue crab, Atlantic blue crab, or regionally as


title: Tupolev content: Tupolev Tupolev (, ) is a Soviet, and later a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Joint Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau (OKB-156, design office prefix Tu) headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev. The company celebrated its 90th anniversary on October 22, 2012. The Russian government merged Tupolev with Mikoyan, Ilyushin, Irkut, Sukhoi, and Yakovlev as a new company named the United Aircraft Corporation. The capabilities of PSC Tupolev include development, manufacturing, and overhaul for both civil and


title: Tupolev content: military aerospace products such as aircraft and weapons systems. It is also active with missile and naval aviation technologies. More than 18,000 Tupolev aircraft were produced for the USSR and the Eastern Bloc. Tupolev OKB was founded by Andrei Tupolev in 1922. Its facilities are tailored for aeronautics research and aircraft design only, manufacturing is handled by other firms. It researched all-metal airplanes during the 1920s, based directly on the pioneering work already done by Hugo Junkers during World War I. The first successful all-metal airplane was built with sheet electrical steel by the German engineer Hugo Junkers in 1915.


title: Tupolev content: With the never-completed Junkers J 3 of 1916, used strictly as a design study, Junkers shifted to lighter construction using corrugated duralumin. In the aftermath of World War I and to evade the terms of the Versailles Treaty that prevented German companies from building warplanes Junkers founded a clandestine aircraft factory in the Moscow suburb of Fili in 1922. This factory was turned over to Tupolev in 1925. Russian sources usually refrain from making the link between Junkers and Tupolev. Tupolev was an able designer, but his first generation aircraft were heavily influenced by his early connection to Junkers. Among


title: Tupolev content: the notable results during Tupolev's early period were two significant all-metal heavy bombers with corrugated duralumin skins, the ANT-4 twin-engined bomber which first flew in 1925 and the four-engined ANT-6 of 1932, from which such airplanes as the ANT-20 were derived (see Yefim Gordon & Vladimir Rigmant, OKB Tupolev. Hinckley, UK: Midland, 2005. pp. 22–28 & 30-34). Tupolev's design approach in these two airplanes defined for many years the trends of heavy aircraft development, civil and military. During World War II, the twin-engined, all-metal Tu-2 was one of the best front-line bombers of the Soviets. Several variants of it were


title: Tupolev content: produced in large numbers from 1942. During the war it used wooden rear fuselages due to a shortage of metal. This was succeeded by the development of the jet-powered Tu-16 bomber, which used a sweptback wing for good subsonic performance. As turbojets were not fuel efficient enough to provide truly intercontinental range, the Soviets elected to design a new bomber, the Tu-20, more commonly referred to as the Tu-95. It, too, was based on the fuselage and structural design of the Tu-4, but with four colossal Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines providing a unique combination of jet-like speed and long range.


title: Tupolev content: It became the definitive Soviet intercontinental bomber, with intercontinental range and jet-like performance. In many respects the Soviet equivalent of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, it served as a strategic bomber and in many alternate roles, including reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare. The Tu-16 was developed into the civil Tu-104. The Tu-95 became the basis of the unique Tu-114 medium-to-long-range airliner, the fastest turboprop aircraft ever. One common feature found in many large subsonic Tupolev jet aircraft is large pods extending rearward from the trailing edge of the wings, holding the aircraft's landing gear. These allow the aircraft to have landing gears


title: Tupolev content: made up of many large low-pressure tires, which are invaluable for use on the poor quality runways that were common in the Soviet Union at the time. For example, the Tu-154 airliner, the Soviet equivalent of the Boeing 727, has 14 tyres, the same number as Boeing's far larger 777–200. Even before the first flights of the Tu-16 and Tu-20/Tu-95, Tupolev was working on supersonic bombers, culminating in the unsuccessful Tu-98. Although that aircraft never entered service, it became the basis for the prototype Tu-102 (later developed into the Tu-28 interceptor) and the Tu-105, which evolved into the supersonic Tu-22


title: Tupolev content: bomber in the mid-1960s. Intended as a counterpart to the Convair B-58 Hustler, the Tu-22 proved rather less capable, although it remained in service much longer than the American aircraft. Meanwhile, the "K" Department was formed in the Design Bureau, with the task of designing unmanned aircraft such as the Tu-139 and the Tu-143 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. In the 1960s A. N. Tupolev's son, A. A. Tupolev, became active with management of the agency. His role included the development of the world's first supersonic airliner, the Tu-144, the popular Tu-154 airliner and the Tupolev Tu-22M strategic bomber. All these developments


title: Tupolev content: enabled the Soviet Union to achieve strategic military and civil aviation parity with the West. In the 1970s, Tupolev concentrated its efforts on improving the performance of the Tu-22M bombers, whose variants included maritime versions. It is the presence of these bombers in quantity that brought about the SALT I and SALT II treaties. Also the efficiency and performance of the Tu-154 was improved, culminating in the efficient Tu-154M. In the 1980s the design bureau developed the supersonic Tu-160 strategic bomber. Features include variable-geometry wings. With the end of the Cold War, research work was concentrated on subsonic civil aircraft,


title: Tupolev content: mainly on operating economics and alternative fuels. The developments include fly-by-wire, use of efficient high-bypass turbofans and advanced aerodynamic layouts for the 21st century transport aircraft such as the Tu-204/Tu-214, Tu-330 and Tu-334. Among current Tupolev projects: At the MAKS-2003 airshow, Tupolev revealed the Tu-444 supersonic business jet concept; development was intended to start in the first half of 2004, however nothing further came of the program. On 19 August 2009, Tupolev announced that it had a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to develop a new-generation strategic bomber which "will be a conceptually new plane based on the most


title: Tupolev content: advanced technologies". Tupolev Tupolev (, ) is a Soviet, and later a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Joint Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau (OKB-156, design office prefix Tu) headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev. The company celebrated its 90th anniversary on October 22, 2012. The Russian government merged Tupolev with Mikoyan, Ilyushin, Irkut, Sukhoi, and Yakovlev as a new company named the United Aircraft Corporation. The capabilities of PSC Tupolev include development, manufacturing, and overhaul for both


title: "Jon Spencer Blues Explosion" content: "Damage" was the only album to be released on Sanctuary Records and for this release the band were temporarily known as just the "Blues Explosion". The shortened name lasted less than two years. The album was recorded between December 2003 and April 2004 at Empire View Studios, NYC, Globe Studios, NYC and Elegant Too Studios with production and mixing credits including Dan The Automator, DJ Shadow, Steve Jordan, Free Association (David Holmes), Jay Braun, Alan Moulder, Danny Madorsky, Chris Maxwell and Phil Hernandez (Elegant Too) as well as the Blues Explosion, Jon Spencer and Russell Simins. During this time the


title: "Feodor Chaliapin" content: Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin (; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form. During the first phase of his career, Chaliapin endured direct competition from three other great basses: the powerful Lev Sibiriakov (1869–1942), the more lyrical Vladimir Kastorsky (1871–1948), and Dmitri Buchtoyarov (1866–1918), whose voice was intermediate between those of Sibiriakov and Kastorsky. The fact that Chaliapin is far and away the best remembered of


title: Compsognathus content: confirmed these conclusions. Some relatives of "Compsognathus", namely "Sinosauropteryx" and "Sinocalliopteryx", have been preserved with the remains of simple feathers covering the body like fur, promoting some scientists to suggest that "Compsognathus" might have been feathered in a similar way. Consequently, many depictions of "Compsognathus" show them with coverings of downy proto-feathers. However, no feathers or feather-like covering have been preserved with "Compsognathus" fossils, in contrast to "Archaeopteryx", which are found in the same sediments. Karin Peyer, in 2006, reported skin impressions preserved on the side of the tail starting at the 13th tail vertebra. The impressions showed small bumpy


title: "Olive baboon" content: Olive baboon The olive baboon ("Papio anubis"), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys). The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being found in 25 countries throughout Africa, extending from Mali eastward to Ethiopia and Tanzania. Isolated populations are also present in some mountainous regions of the Sahara. It inhabits savannahs, steppes, and forests. The common name is derived from its coat colour, which is a shade of green-grey at a distance. A variety of communications, vocal and non-vocal, facilitate a complex social structure. The olive baboon is named for


title: "Olive baboon" content: its coat, which, at a distance, is a shade of green-grey. Its alternative name comes from the Egyptian god Anubis, who was often represented by a dog head resembling the dog-like muzzle of the baboon. At closer range, its coat is multicoloured, due to rings of yellow-brown and black on the hairs. The hair on the baboon's face is coarser and ranges from dark grey to black. This coloration is shared by both sexes, although males have a mane of longer hair that tapers down to ordinary length along the back. Besides the mane, the male olive baboon differs from


title: "Olive baboon" content: the female in terms of size and weight, and canine tooth size; males are, on average, tall while standing and females measure in height. The olive baboon is one of the largest species of monkey; only the chacma baboon and the mandrill attain similar sizes. The head-and-body length can range from , with a species average of around . At the shoulder on all fours, females average against males, which average . The typical weight range for both sexes is reportedly , with males averaging and females averaging . Some males may weigh as much as . Like other baboons,


title: "Olive baboon" content: the olive baboon has an elongated, dog-like muzzle. In fact, along with the muzzle, the animal's tail () and four-legged gait can make baboons seem very canine. The tail almost looks as if it is broken, as it is erect for the first quarter, after which it drops down sharply. The bare patch of a baboon's rump, famously seen in cartoons and movies, is a good deal smaller in the olive baboon. The olive baboon, like most cercopithecines, has a cheek pouch with which to store food. The species inhabits a strip of 25 equatorial African countries, very nearly ranging


title: "Olive baboon" content: from the east to west coasts of the continent. The exact boundaries of this strip are not clearly defined, as the species' territory overlaps with that of other baboon species. In many places, this has resulted in cross-breeding between species. For example, considerable hybridisation has occurred between the olive baboon and the hamadryas baboon in Ethiopia. Cross-breeding with the yellow baboon and the Guinea baboon has also been observed. Although this has been noted, the hybrids have not as yet been well studied. Throughout its wide range, the olive baboon can be found in a number of different habitats. It


title: "Olive baboon" content: is usually classified as savannah-dwelling, living in the wide plains of the grasslands. The grasslands, especially those near open woodland, do make up a large part of its habitat, but the baboon also inhabits rainforests and deserts. Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance, both support olive baboon populations in dense tropical forests. The olive baboon lives in groups of 15 to 150, made up of a few males, many females, and their young. Each baboon has a social ranking somewhere in the group, depending on its dominance. Female dominance is hereditary, with daughters having nearly the


title: "Olive baboon" content: same rank as their mothers, and adult females forming the core of the social system. Female relatives form their own subgroups in the troop. Related females are largely friendly to each other. They tend to stay close together and groom one another, and team up in aggressive encounters within the troop. Female kin form these strong bonds because they do not emigrate from their natal groups. Occasionally, groups may split up when they become so large that competition for resources is problematic, but even then, members of matrilines tend to stick together. Dominant females procure more food, matings, and supporters.


title: "Olive baboon" content: Among olive baboons in Tanzania, high-ranking females give birth at shorter intervals to infants with a higher survival rate, and their daughters tend to mature faster than low-ranking females. These high-ranking females also appear to have a higher probability of miscarriages and some high-ranking matrilines have inexplicably low fertility. One theory suggests this occurs due to stress on the high-ranking females, although this theory is controversial. A female often forms a long-lasting social relationship with a male in her troop, known as a "friendship". These nonsexual affiliative friendships benefit both the male and female. Males benefit from these relationships because


title: "Olive baboon" content: they are usually formed soon after he immigrates into a new group, and helps the male integrate into the group more easily. He could also potentially end up mating with his female friend in the future. Females gain protection from threats to themselves and their infants (if they have any). Males occasionally "baby-sit" for their female friends, so she can feed and forage freely without the burden of having to carry or watch the infant. Sexually receptive females and newly immigrated males can form such friendships. These relationships are sometimes enduring and the pair grooms and remains close to each


title: "Olive baboon" content: other. They also travel, forage, sleep, and raise infants together, as well as fight together against aggressive conspecifics. Males establish their dominance more forcefully than females. A male disperses, or leaves his natal group and joins another group, after reaching sexual maturity. Adult males are very competitive with each other and fight for access to females. Higher dominance means better access to mating and earlier access to food, so naturally a great deal of fighting over rank occurs, with younger males constantly trying to rise in position. Because females stay with their groups their entire lives, and males emigrate to


title: "Olive baboon" content: others, often a new male challenges an older one for dominance. Frequently, when older baboons drop in the social hierarchy, they move to another tribe. The younger males who pushed them down often bully and harass them. Older males tend to have more supportive and equal relationships than those of the younger males. The former may form coalitions against the latter. Despite being hierarchical, baboons appear to be "democratic" when it comes to deciding the direction of collective movement. Individuals are more likely to follow when multiple decision-makers agree on what direction to go rather than simply following dominant individuals.


title: "Olive baboon" content: Females are sexually mature at seven to eight years old, and males at seven to 10 years. The beginning of a female's ovulation is a signal to the males that she is ready to mate. During ovulation, the skin of the female's anogenital area swells and turns a bright red/pink. The swelling makes it difficult to move and increases the female's chance of microbial or parasitic infection. Females with more swollen anogenital areas reproduce while younger, produce more offspring per year, and those offspring have a better chance of surviving. These females also attract more males, and are more likely


title: "Olive baboon" content: to cause aggressive fights between them. Olive baboons tend to mate promiscuously. A male forms a mating consortship with an estrous female, staying close to and copulating with her. Males guard their partner against any other male trying to mate with her. Unless a female is in a multiday consortship, she often copulates with more than one male each day. Multiple copulations are not necessary for reproduction, but may function to make the actual paternity of the female's offspring ambiguous. This lack of paternal certainty could help reduce the occurrence of infanticide. Occasionally, male olive baboons monopolize a female for


title: "Olive baboon" content: her entire period of probable conception. The male protects his female from being mated by other males during consortship. Newborns have black natal coats and bright pink skin. Females are the primary caregivers of infants, but males also play a role. In its first few days, the infant may be unable to stay attached to its mother and relies on her for physical support. Its grasp grows stronger by its first week and it is able to cling to its mother's fur by itself. By two weeks, the infant begins to explore its surroundings for short periods, but stays near


title: "Olive baboon" content: her. The distance the infant spends away from its mother increases the older it gets. In general, higher-ranking females are usually more relaxed parents than females of lower rank, which usually keep their offspring close to them. This difference lasts for approximately the first eight weeks of an infant's life. Olive baboons do not seem to practise co-operative parenting, but a female may groom an infant that is not hers. Subadult and juvenile females are more likely to care for another's young, as they have not yet produced offspring of their own. One theory for why immature females tend to


title: "Olive baboon" content: seek out infants is that they can prepare for their future roles as mothers. Infant baboons born to first-time mothers suffer higher mortality than those born to experienced mothers, which suggests that prior experience in caring for infants is important. Adult males in the groups also care for the infants, as they are likely to be related to them. Males groom infants, reducing the amount of parasites they may have, and calm them when they are stressed. They may also protect them from predators, such as chimpanzees. Adult males exploit infants and use them to reduce the likelihood that other


title: "Olive baboon" content: males will threaten them. Olive baboons communicate with various vocalizations and facial expressions. Throughout the day, baboons of all ages emit the "basic grunt". Adults give a range of calls. The "roargrunt" is made by adult males displaying to each other. The "cough-bark", and the "cough geck" are made when low-flying birds or humans they do not know are sighted. A "wa-hoo" call is made in response to predators or neighbouring groups at night and during stressful situations. Other vocalizations include "broken grunting" (low-volume, quick series of grunts made during relatively calm aggressive encounters), "pant-grunts" (made when aggressive encounters escalate),


title: "Olive baboon" content: "shrill barks" (loud calls given when potential threats appear suddenly), and "screams" (continuous high-pitch sounds responding to strong emotions). The most common facial expression of the olive baboon is "lipsmacking", which is associated with a number of behaviours. "Ear flattening", "eyes narrowed", "head shaking", "jaw-clapping", lipsmacking, and "tongue protrusion" are used when baboons are greeting each other, and are sometimes made with a "rear present". "Eyebrow raising", "molar grinding", "staring", and "yawning" are used to threaten other baboons. A submissive baboon responds with displays such as the "fear grin", the "rigid crouch", and "tail erect". One major reason for its


title: "Olive baboon" content: widespread success is that the olive baboon is omnivorous. As such it is able to find nutrition in almost any environment, and it is able to adapt with different foraging tactics. For instance, the olive baboon in grassland goes about finding food differently from one in a forest. The baboon forages on all levels of an environment, above and beneath the ground and in the canopy of forests. Most animals only look for food at one level; an arboreal species such as a lemur does not look for food on the ground. The olive baboon searches as wide an area


title: "Olive baboon" content: as it can, and it eats virtually everything it finds. The diet typically includes a large variety of plants, and invertebrates and small mammals, as well as birds. The olive baboon eats leaves, grass, roots, bark, flowers, fruit, lichens, tubers, seeds, mushrooms, corms, and rhizomes. Corms and rhizomes are especially important in times of drought, because grass loses a great deal of its nutritional value. In dry, arid regions, such as the northeastern deserts, small invertebrates like insects, spiders, and scorpions fill out its diet. The olive baboon also actively hunts prey, from small rodents and hares to foxes and


title: "Olive baboon" content: other primates. Its limit is usually small antelope, such as Thomson's gazelle and also, rarely, sheep, goats, and live chickens, which may amount to 33.5% of its food from hunting. Hunting is usually a group activity, with both males and females participating. This systematic predation was apparently developed recently. In a field study, such behaviour was observed as starting with the males of one troop and spreading through all ages and sexes. In Eritrea, the olive baboon has formed a symbiotic relationship with that country's endangered elephant population. The baboons use the water holes dug by the elephants, while the


title: "Olive baboon" content: elephants use the tree-top baboons as an early warning system. The olive baboon is listed as least concern by the IUCN because "this species is very widespread and abundant and although persecuted as a crop raider there are no major threats believed to be resulting in a range-wide population decline". Despite persecution, the baboon is still widespread and numerous. Competition and disease have possibly led to fewer baboons in closed forests. It has been actively persecuted as a pest. Olive baboon The olive baboon ("Papio anubis"), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae (Old World


title: Lamination content: Lamination Lamination is the technique of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance or other properties from the use of differing materials. A laminate is a permanently assembled object by heat, pressure, welding, or adhesives. There are different lamination processes, depending on the type of materials to be laminated. The materials used in laminates can be the same or different, depending on the processes and the object to be laminated. An example of the type of laminate using different materials would be the application of a layer of plastic


title: Lamination content: film—the "laminate"—on either side of a sheet of glass—the "laminated" subject. Vehicle windshields are commonly made by laminating a tough plastic film between two layers of glass. This is to prevent shards of glass detaching from the windshield in case it breaks. Plywood is a common example of a laminate using the same material in each layer. Glued and laminated dimensioned timber is used in the construction industry to make wooden beams, Glulam, with sizes larger and stronger than can be obtained from single pieces of wood. Another reason to laminate wooden strips into beams is quality control, as with


title: Lamination content: this method each and every strip can be inspected before it becomes part of a highly stressed component. Electrical equipment such as transformers and motors usually use steel laminations to form the core of coils used to produce magnetic fields. The thin laminations reduce the loss due to eddy currents. Examples of laminate materials include melamine adhesive countertop surfacing and plywood. Decorative laminates are produced with decorative papers with a layer of overlay on top of the decorative paper, set before pressing them with thermoprocessing into high-pressure decorative laminates. A new type of HPDL is produced using real wood veneer


title: Lamination content: or multilaminar veneer as top surface. High-pressure laminates consists of laminates "molded and cured at pressures not lower than 1,000 lb per sq in.(70 kg per sq cm) and more commonly in the range of 1,200 to 2,000 lb per sq in. (84 to 140 kg per sq cm). Meanwhile, low pressure laminate is defined as "a plastic laminate molded and cured at pressures in general of 400 pounds per square inch (approximately 27 atmospheres or 2.8 × 106 pascals). Corrugated fiberboard boxes are examples of laminated structures, where an inner core provides rigidity and strength, and the outer layers


title: Lamination content: provide a smooth surface. Laminating paper products, such as photographs, can prevent them from becoming creased, faded, water damaged, wrinkled, stained, smudged, abraded, or marked by grease or fingerprints. Photo identification cards and credit cards are almost always laminated with plastic film. Boxes and other containers are also laminated using a UV coating. Lamination is also used in sculpture using wood or resin. An example of an artist who used lamination in his work is the American Floyd Shaman. Further, laminates can be used to add properties to a surface, usually printed paper, that would not have them otherwise. Sheets


title: Lamination content: of vinyl impregnated with ferro-magnetic material can allow portable printed images to bond to magnets, such as for a custom bulletin board or a visual presentation. Specially surfaced plastic sheets can be laminated over a printed image to allow them to be safely written upon, such as with dry erase markers or chalk. Multiple translucent printed images may be laminated in layers to achieve certain visual effects or to hold holographic images. Many printing businesses that do commercial lamination keep a variety of laminates on hand, as the process for bonding many types is generally similar when working with arbitrarily


title: Lamination content: thin material. Three types of laminators are used most often in digital imaging: Laminate plastic film is generally categorized into these five categories: Lamination Lamination is the technique of manufacturing a material in multiple layers, so that the composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance or other properties from the use of differing materials. A laminate is a permanently assembled object by heat, pressure, welding, or adhesives. There are different lamination processes, depending on the type of materials to be laminated. The materials used in laminates can be the same or different, depending on the processes and the


title: Walgreens content: admission of guilt. In September 2011 Walgreens settled a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that claimed that a store improperly terminated a worker with diabetes for eating a package of the store's food while working to stop a hypoglycemia attack. Also, in 2008, Walgreens "agreed to pay $35 million to the U.S. and 42 states and Puerto Rico for overcharging state Medicaid programs by filling prescriptions with more expensive dosage forms of ranitidine, a generic form of Zantac and fluoxetine, which is a generic form of Prozac." In 2009 Walgreens threatened to leave the Medicaid program, the state


title: MD4 content: to provide a unique identifier for a file in the popular eDonkey2000 / eMule P2P networks. MD4 was also used by the rsync protocol (prior to version 3.0.0.) MD4 is used to compute NTLM password-derived key digests on Microsoft Windows NT, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10. Weaknesses in MD4 were demonstrated by Den Boer and Bosselaers in a paper published in 1991. The first full-round MD4 collision attack was found by Hans Dobbertin in 1995, which took only seconds to carry out at that time. In August 2004, Wang et al. found a very efficient collision attack, alongside attacks


title: "Flight lieutenant" content: the RAF. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the current rank of flight lieutenant would have been "air lieutenant". Although the Admiralty objected to this simple modification of their rank titles, it was agreed that the RAF might base many of its officer rank titles on navy officer ranks with differing pre-modifying terms. It was also suggested that RAF captains might be entitled flight-leaders. However, the rank


title: "Robert Joy" content: boyfriend Jim in 1985's "Desperately Seeking Susan", and the Dutch-Israeli Hans in the 1986 Alliance/CTV production "Sword of Gideon", an adaptation of George Jonas's book "Vengeance". In 1998, he appeared in Gregory Hoblit's thriller "Fallen", where he fit into the all-star cast that included Denzel Washington, Donald Sutherland, James Gandolfini, and John Goodman. In 2005, he had a lead role as the simple-minded sharpshooter Charlie Houx in George A. Romero's zombie film "Land of the Dead". In the fall of 2005, Joy joined the CBS police procedural series, "", during its second season as a recurring character, Dr. Sid Hammerback,


title: "Soccer in the United States" content: was first held in 1913–14 when it was called the National Challenge Cup. The overall league structure in the United States is significantly different from that used in almost all the rest of the world, but similar to that used by other American team sports leagues, in that there is no system of promotion and relegation between lower and higher leagues, but rather a minor league system, generally the same as almost all other top-level pro sports leagues in North America. In addition, teams playing in American soccer leagues are not private clubs founded independently of the league that join


title: "Channel Dash" content: terminally damaged "Gneisenau". Operation Fuller had failed, a British destroyer had been severely damaged and had been lost in fighter, and Command sorties. British public opinion was appalled and British prestige suffered at home and abroad. A leading article in "The Times" read, Stephen Roskill, the British naval official historian, wrote in 1956 that the German verdict was accurate. Hitler had exchanged the threat to British Atlantic convoys for a defensive deployment near Norway against a threat that never materialised. Roskill wrote that the British had misjudged the time of day when the German ships would sail but this mistake


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: Kisimul Castle Kisimul Castle () and also known as Kiessimul Castle, is a small medieval castle located on a small island off Castlebay, Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It gets its name from the Gaelic "ciosamul" meaning "castle island". The earliest documentary record of Kisimul Castle dates from the mid 16th century. Writing in 1549, Dean Monro stated of Barra that "Within the southwest end of this isle, ther enters a salt water loche, verey narrow in the entrey, and round and braide within. Into the middis of the saide loche there is ane ile, upon ane strenthey craige,


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: callit Kiselnin, perteining to M’Kneil of Barray." However, Campbell (1936) points out that Monro has in part confused the nearby "Bàgh Beag" with "Bàgh a' Chaisteil". The castle is built on a rocky islet in the bay, just off the coast of Barra. It can only be reached by boat. Kisimul has its own fresh water wells. Legend has it that was the stronghold of the MacNeils since the 11th century. Kisimul was abandoned in 1838 when the island was sold, and the castle's condition subsequently deteriorated. Some of its stone was used as ballast for fishing vessels, and some


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: even ended up as paving in Glasgow. The remains of the castle, along with most of the island of Barra, were purchased in 1937 by Robert Lister MacNeil, the then chief of Clan MacNeil, who made efforts at restoration. In 2001 the castle was leased by the chief of Clan MacNeil to Historic Scotland for 1000 years for the annual sum of £1 and a bottle of whisky. For the 2011 census the island was classified by the National Records of Scotland as an inhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: censuses". Archaeological investigations were carried out at Kisimul Castle by Headland Archaeology, on behalf of Historic Scotland. This involved some excavation, building recording and archival research. It was hoped that the project would help clarify the date of the castle and its sequence of construction. Another aim was to establish whether or not the island had been occupied before construction of the castle. The dating of the castle was particularly difficult due to the lack of datable architectural features visible in the castle fabric. The results of the building recording and archival research concluded a likely date of construction during


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: the late 15th century coinciding with the height of Gaelic power in Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages. Records make no mention of it during the reign of Robert II (1371-90), in the island descriptions in the Chronica Gentis Sctoroum (1371-1387) or in the initial grant of the island of Barra to the MacNeills from 1427. This ‘negative’ evidence supports the hypothesis that Kisimul postdates these records since it presumably would have been mentioned if it existed during those times. It is possible that timber hoardings were a part of the original castle design, due to the presence of


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: putlog holes in the curtain wall. However the holes are not level with the wall walk as would be expected of this particular building feature. As this trend was going out of fashion at the time when Kisimul was built it is thought that they had a more decorative, than defensive function, such as providing extra space for people to walk and exercise in a castle where its location meant that space for such activities was limited. Excavation concentrated on areas of the courtyard, the basement of the tower and the bottom of a pit prison. At the east end


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: of the courtyard there was a great deal of building rubble directly below the surface, some of which had mortar attached. This suggested that an earlier building had been demolished or collapsed, and the stone used to form a level courtyard. This happened before the building known as the kitchen was built. At the other end of the site a stone drain leading under the great hall was uncovered together with a paved stone surface. Above these was a layer containing large amounts of animal bone, shell and pottery. There were also floor surfaces within buildings that had been demolished.


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: During the excavation many finds were recovered. These included large quantities of animal bone and shell. Further study of these will allow us to discover more about the diet of those who lived in the castle. A large quantity of broken pottery was also found and appears to range in date from prehistoric times through the medieval period to the more recent past. A number of pieces of flint were recovered including a particularly fine flint blade. These tools together with some of the pottery show that people were using the island thousands of years before the present castle was


title: "Kisimul Castle" content: built. Kisimul Castle Kisimul Castle () and also known as Kiessimul Castle, is a small medieval castle located on a small island off Castlebay, Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It gets its name from the Gaelic "ciosamul" meaning "castle island". The earliest documentary record of Kisimul Castle dates from the mid 16th century. Writing in 1549, Dean Monro stated of Barra that "Within the southwest end of this isle, ther enters a salt water loche, verey narrow in the entrey, and round and braide within. Into the middis of the saide loche there is ane ile, upon ane strenthey


title: Nemophila content: Nemophila Nemophila is a genus found in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. Most of the species in "Nemophila" contain the phrase "baby blue eyes" in their common names. "N. menziesii" has the common name of "baby blue eyes". "N. parviflora" is called the "smallflower baby blue-eyes" and "N. spatulata" is called the "Sierra baby blue eyes". An exception to this naming tendency is "N. maculata", whose common name is fivespot. "Nemophila" species are mainly native to the western United States, though some species are also found in western Canada and Mexico, and in the southeastern United States. "Nemophila" are commonly


title: Nemophila content: offered for sale for garden cultivation. Generally these are "N. menziesii". All species of "Nemophila" are annuals, and most bloom in the spring. Their flowers have five petals and are bell or cup-shaped, and purple, blue, or white in color, often spotted or marked. The stamens are included and there is only one ovary chamber. The leaves are simple, with an opposite or alternate arrangement. The petiole is generally bristly. The leaf blade is pinnately toothed or lobed. The fruit is 2–7 mm wide and generally enclosed by the calyx. The fruit itself is spherical to ovoid in shape. It


title: Nemophila content: is also hairy. The seeds are ovoid, smooth, wrinkled or pitted. At one end there is a colorless, conic appendage. Some of the species of "Nemophila" are of restricted range. For example, "Nemophila menziesii" has been observed only in western North America, but chiefly in California. "Nemophila heterophylla" occurs in a more restricted range within northern and central California (with some proximate state populations); "N. heterophylla" has the greatest number of sightings Marin County at locations such as Ring Mountain. "Nemophila" means "woodland-loving". It comes from the Latin word "nemus", which means "grove" or "wooded glade", and the Greek word


title: Nemophila content: "philos", which means "loving". There are 11 species in "Nemophila": "N. menziesii", "N. parviflora", and "N. pulchella" have varieties under each species. Nemophila Nemophila is a genus found in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae. Most of the species in "Nemophila" contain the phrase "baby blue eyes" in their common names. "N. menziesii" has the common name of "baby blue eyes". "N. parviflora" is called the "smallflower baby blue-eyes" and "N. spatulata" is called the "Sierra baby blue eyes". An exception to this naming tendency is "N. maculata", whose common name is fivespot. "Nemophila" species are mainly native to the western


title: "Nemophila menziesii" content: Nemophila menziesii Nemophila menziesii, known commonly as baby blue eyes or baby's-blue-eyes, is an annual herb, native to western North America. The plant is native to California, Baja California, and Oregon. It grows virtually throughout California at elevations from sea level up to almost . It grows in many types of habitats, including chaparral, valley grasslands, and montane locales. "Nemophila menziesii" is variable in appearance. Lower leaves are stalked, lobed and oppositely arranged, with five to thirteen lobes, each entire or with one to three teeth. Upper leaves are more or less sessile and less lobed than lower. The stalk


title: "Nemophila menziesii" content: of the inflorescence is . Calyx lobes are . The flower is blue with a white center or all white, usually with blue veins and black dots near the center. It is wide. The tube is less than or equal to the filaments. The species includes three varieties: It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant, as annual wildflower in native plant, water conserving, traditional, and wildlife gardens. It can occasionally be found outside its native range as an introduced species, such as in Alaska. Nemophila menziesii Nemophila menziesii, known commonly as baby blue eyes or baby's-blue-eyes, is an annual


title: "Five Suns" content: of their gods from other tribes, both assigning their own new aspects to these gods and endowing them with aspects of similar gods from various other cultures. Older myths can be very similar to newer myths while contradicting one another by claiming that a different god performed the same action, probably because myths changed in correlation to the popularity of each of the gods at a given time. Other variations on this myth state that Coatlicue, the earth goddess, was the mother of the four Tezcatlipocas and the Tzitzimitl. Some versions say that Quetzalcoatl was born to her first, while


title: "Debra Wong Yang" content: as an Assistant United States Attorney for approximately seven years prior to her judicial career. As a federal prosecutor, she handled violent crimes, white-collar crimes, international money laundering, arson and computer crimes. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Yang successfully prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, including a Glendale arson investigator convicted of setting fires throughout the state of California; the first federal carjacking case in California; the kidnapping of a local real estate agent; and a computer hacker who received what was then the longest prison sentence for computer intrusion. Yang resigned her position as the United States Attorney


title: Cardoon content: Cardoon The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), also called the artichoke thistle or globe artichoke, is a thistle in the sunflower family. It is a naturally occurring species that also has many cultivated forms, including the globe artichoke. It is native to the western and central Mediterranean region, where it was domesticated in ancient times and still occurs as a wild plant. The wild cardoon is a stout herbaceous perennial plant growing tall, with deeply lobed and heavily spined green to grey-green tomentose (hairy or downy) leaves up to long, with yellow spines up to 3.5 cm long. The flowers are violet-purple,


title: Cardoon content: produced in a large, globose, massively spined capitulum up to in diameter. It is adapted to dry climates, native across an area from Morocco and Portugal east to Libya and Greece and north to France and Croatia; it may also be native on Cyprus, the Canary Islands and Madeira. In France, it only occurs wild in the Mediterranean south (Gard, Hérault, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Corsica). It has become an invasive weed in the pampas of Argentina, and is also considered a weed in Australia and California. The two main cultivar groups are the cardoon ("Cynara cardunculus" Cardoon Group, syn. "C. cardunculus"


title: Cardoon content: var. "altilis" DC), selected for edible leaf stems, and the artichoke ("Cynara cardunculus" Scolymus Group, sometimes distinguished as "Cynara scolymus" or "C. cardunculus" var. "scolymus" (L.) Fiori), selected for larger edible flower buds. They differ from the wild plant in being larger (up to 2 m tall), much less spiny, and with thicker leaf stems and larger flowers, all characteristics selected by humans for greater crop yield and easier harvest and processing. Wild and cultivated cardoons and artichokes are very similar genetically, and are fully interfertile, but only have very limited ability to form hybrids with other species in the


title: Cardoon content: genus "Cynara". The earliest description of the cardoon may come from the fourth-century BC Greek writer Theophrastus, under the name (), although the exact identity of this plant is uncertain. The cardoon was popular in Greek, Roman, and Persian cuisine, and remained popular in medieval and early modern Europe. It also became common in the vegetable gardens of colonial America, but fell from fashion in the late 19th century and is now very uncommon. In Europe, cardoon is still cultivated in France (Provence, Savoie, Lyonnais), Spain, and Italy. In the Geneva region, where Huguenot refugees introduced it about 1685, the


title: Cardoon content: local cultivar "Argenté de Genève" ("Cardy") is considered a culinary specialty. "Before cardoons are sent to table, the stalks or ribs are blanched tying them together and wrapping them round with straw, which is also tied up with cord, and left so for about three weeks". Cardoons also are common vegetables in northern Africa, often used in Algerian or Tunisian "couscous". Cardoon stalks can be covered with small, nearly invisible spines that can cause substantial pain if they become lodged in the skin. Several spineless cultivars have been developed to overcome this. Cardoon requires a long, cool growing season (about


title: Cardoon content: five months), but it is frost-sensitive. It also typically requires substantial growing space per plant, so is not much grown except where it is regionally popular. In cultivation in the United Kingdom, this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. While the flower buds can be eaten much as small (and spiny) artichokes, more often the stems are eaten after being braised in cooking liquid. Cardoon stems are part of Lyonnaise cuisine (e.g. "gratin de cardons"). Only the innermost, white stalks are considered edible, and cardoons are therefore usually prepared for sale by protecting the leaf


title: Cardoon content: stalks from the sunlight for several weeks. This was traditionally done by burying the plant underground, thus, cardoon plantations in Spain are often formed by characteristic earth mounds surrounding each plant, the earth covering the stalks. In modern cultivation, the plant is usually instead wrapped in black plastic film or other opaque material. The flower buds of wild cardoons are still widely collected and used in southern Italy and Sicily. In Spain and Portugal, the flower buds are also employed in cheesemaking: the pistils of the cardoon flower are used as a vegetable rennet in the making of some cheeses


title: Cardoon content: such as the Torta del Casar and the Torta de la Serena cheeses in Spain, or the Queijo de Nisa and Serra da Estrela cheeses in Portugal. Cardoon leaf stalks, which look like giant celery stalks, can be served steamed or braised, and have an artichoke-like flavour with a hint of bitterness. They are harvested in winter and spring, being best just before the plant flowers. In the Abruzzo region of Italy, Christmas lunch is traditionally started with a soup of cardoon cooked in chicken broth with little meatballs (lamb or, more rarely, beef), sometimes with the further addition of


title: Cardoon content: egg (which scrambles in the hot soup – called "stracciatella") or fried chopped liver and heart. The cardoon stalks are considered a delicacy in Spain, particularly in the northern region of Navarre, where they are grown in large quantities. In Spain, cardoons are typically cooked by first boiling the stalks to soften them, and then adding simple sauces such as almond sauce or small amounts of jamón; they are sometimes combined with clams, artichokes, or beans as well. Because of their seasonality (from November to February), cardoons are a staple of the Christmas dinner in Navarre and the surrounding regions;


title: Cardoon content: for the same reason, cardoons are often sold as vegetable preserves, usually in water or brine, so that they can be eaten all year round. Cardoons are an ingredient in one of the national dishes of Spain, the "cocido madrileño", a slow-cooking, one-pot, meat and vegetable dish simmered in broth. In the US, it is rarely found in conventional grocery stores but is available in some farmers' markets in the months of May, June, and July. The main root can also be boiled and served cold. The stems are also traditionally served battered and fried at St. Joseph's altars in


title: Cardoon content: New Orleans. Cardoon is one of the herbs used to flavour Amaro liqueur, which may be called "Cardamaro". Cardoons are used as a vegetarian source of enzymes for cheese production. In Portugal, traditional coagulation of the curd relies entirely on this vegetable rennet. This results in cheeses such as the Serra da Estrela and Nisa. The cardoon is also grown as an ornamental plant for its imposing architectural appearance, with very bright silvery-grey foliage and large flowers in selected cultivars. Cardoon has attracted recent attention as a possible source of biodiesel fuel. The oil, extracted from the seeds of the


title: Cardoon content: cardoon, and called artichoke oil, is similar to safflower and sunflower oil in composition and use. Cardoon is the feedstock for the first biorefinery in the world converting the installations of a petrochemical plant in Porto Torres, Sardinia, providing biomass and oils for the building blocks of bioplastics. Cardoon The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), also called the artichoke thistle or globe artichoke, is a thistle in the sunflower family. It is a naturally occurring species that also has many cultivated forms, including the globe artichoke. It is native to the western and central Mediterranean region, where it was domesticated in ancient


title: "Carl Hayden" content: contemporary men. Time actually makes specialists of us all. When a house is built there is a moment for the foundation, another for the walls, the roof and so on. Arizona's foundation includes fast highways, adequate electric power, and abundant water, and these foundations have been laid. It is time for a new building crew to report, so I have decided to retire from office at the close of my term this year." Hayden recommended long-term aide Roy Elson to succeed him. Elson lost his election bid to Senator Barry Goldwater. Following his retirement from Congress, Hayden returned to Tempe


title: "Bleaker Island" content: by stands of tussac grass. The island is home to a wide variety of wildlife including southern sea lions with some visiting southern elephant seals. Norway rats were accidentally introduced to the island in the 1980s. They have now spread throughout the island and onto First, Second and Third Islands. Overgrazing was a problem but reduced grazing pressure is helping the slow regeneration of tussac and native flowering plants. The Bleaker Island group has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. A survey identified 49 bird species on the islands, 37 of which were confirmed as breeding


title: "Bleaker Island" content: there. Breeding species include rockhopper, Magellanic and gentoo penguins, king and rock cormorants, many small bird species and several birds of prey, including striated and southern caracaras. Bleaker Island Bleaker Island () is one of the Falkland Islands, lying off south east Lafonia (the southern peninsula of East Falkland). The name is a corruption of "Breaker Island" due to the waves that break on it. It was also known as "Long Island" at one point. Bleaker Island is long, narrow and low-lying and the southern tip of the Island is separated from Lafonia by a thin stretch of water named


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings. The surrounding parkland has a herd of deer, and is regularly used for large-scale outdoor events such as rock concerts, sporting events and festivals. Wollaton is a classic prodigy house, "the architectural sensation of its age", though its builder was not a leading courtier and its construction stretched the resources he mainly obtained from coalmining; the original family home was at


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: the bottom of the hill. Though much re-modelled inside, the "startlingly bold" exterior remains largely intact. Wollaton Hall was built between 1580 and 1588 for Sir Francis Willoughby and is believed to be designed by the Elizabethan architect, Robert Smythson, who had by then completed Longleat, and was to go on to design Hardwick Hall. The general plan of Wollaton is comparable to these, and was widely adopted for other houses, but the exuberant decoration of Wollaton is distinctive, and it is possible that Willoughby played some part in creating it. The style is an advanced Elizabethan with early Jacobean


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: elements. The building consists of a central block dominated by a hall three storeys high, with a stone screen at one end and galleries at either end, with the "Prospect Room" above that. From this there are extensive views of the park and surrounding country. There are towers at each corner, projecting out from this top floor. At each corner of the house is a square pavilion of three storeys, with decorative features rising above the roof line. Much of the basement storey is cut from the rock the house sits on. The floor plan has been said to derive


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: from Serlio's drawing (in Book III of his "Five Books of Architecture") of Giuliano da Majano's Villa Poggio Reale near Naples of the late 15th century, with elevations derived from Hans Vredeman de Vries. The architectural historian Mark Girouard has suggested that the design is in fact derived from Nikolaus de Lyra's reconstruction, and Josephus's description, of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, with a more direct inspiration being the mid-16th century Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall, which Smythson knew. The building is of Ancaster stone from Lincolnshire, and is said to have been paid for with coal from the Wollaton pits owned


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: by Willoughby; the labourers were also paid this way. Cassandra Willoughby, Duchess of Chandos recorded in 1702 that the master masons, and some of the statuary, were brought from Italy. The decorative gondola mooring rings carved in stone on the exterior walls offer some evidence of this, as do other architectural features. There are also obvious French and Dutch influences. The exterior and hall have extensive and busy carved decoration, featuring strapwork and a profusion of decorative forms. The window tracery of the upper floors in the central block and the general business of the decoration look back to the


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: Middle Ages, and have been described as "fantasy-Gothic". The house was unused for about four decades before 1687, following a fire in 1642, and then re-occupied and given the first of several campaigns of re-modelling of the interiors. Paintings on the ceilings of the two main staircases and round the walls of one are attributed to Sir James Thornhill and perhaps also Laguerre, carried out around 1700. Re-modelling was carried out by Wyatville in 1801 and continued intermittently until the 1830s. The hall remains essentially in its original Elizabethan state, with a "fake hammerbeam" wood ceiling, in fact supported by


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: horizontal beams above, but given large and un-needed hammerbeans for decoration. The gallery of the main hall contains Nottinghamshire's oldest pipe organ, thought to date from the end of the 17th century, possibly by the builder Gerard Smith. It is still blown by hand. Beneath the hall are many cellars and passages, and a well and associated reservoir tank, in which some accounts report that an admiral of the Willoughby family took a daily bath. The Willoughbys were noted for the number of explorers they produced, most famously Sir Hugh Willoughby who died in the Arctic in 1554 attempting a


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: North East passage to Cathay. Willoughby's Land is named after him. In 1881, the house was still owned by the head of the Willoughby family, Digby Willoughby, 9th Baron Middleton, but by then it was "too near the smoke and busy activity of a large manufacturing town... now only removed from the borough by a narrow slip of country", so that the previous head of the family, Henry Willoughby, 8th Baron Middleton, had begun to let the house to tenants and in 1881 it was vacant. The hall was bought by Nottingham Council, and opened as a museum in 1925.


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: It re-opened in April 2007 after being closed for refurbishment. The prospect room at the top of the house, and the kitchens in the basement, were opened up for the public to visit, though this must be done on one of the escorted tours. The latter can be booked on the day, lasts about an hour, and a small charge is made. In 2011, key scenes from the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" were filmed outside Wollaton Hall. The Hall was featured as the latest Wayne Manor. The Hall is five miles north of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, through which Gotham


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: City indirectly got its name. Wollaton Hall Park is Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. In 1855, Joseph Paxton designed Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, which borrows many features from Wollaton. Both properties have been used as film locations for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy of films, featuring as Wayne Manor – the latter in "Batman Begins" and Wollaton Hall itself in "The Dark Knight Rises". Since Wollaton Hall opened to the public in 1926, it has been home to the city's natural history museum. On display are some of the items from the three quarters of


title: "Wollaton Hall" content: a million specimens that make up its zoology, geology, and botany collections. These are housed in six main galleries: The Museum started life as an interest group at the Nottingham Mechanics' Institution; it is now owned by the Nottingham City Council. Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings. The surrounding parkland has a herd of deer, and is regularly used for large-scale outdoor events such as rock concerts,


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Outer Banks are a group of barrier islands on the North Carolina coast that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the coastal sounds and inlets. Atlantic currents in this area made for excellent travel for ships, except in the area of Diamond Shoals, just offshore at Cape Hatteras. Nearby, the warm Gulf Stream ocean current collides with the colder Labrador Current, creating ideal conditions for powerful ocean


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: storms and sea swells. The large number of ships that ran aground because of these shifting sandbars gave this area the nickname "Graveyard of the Atlantic." It also led Congress to authorize the construction of the Cape Hatteras Light. Its 210-foot height makes it the tallest brick lighthouse structure in the United States and 2nd in the world. Since its base is almost at sea level, it is only the 15th highest light in the United States, the first 14 being built on higher ground. Adjacent to the Cape Hatteras Light is the Hatteras Island Visitor Center and Museum of


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: the Sea, operated by the National Park Service, which is located in the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Double Keepers' Quarters. Exhibits include the history, maritime heritage and natural history of the Outer Banks and the lighthouse. The visitor center offers information about the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, ranger programs and a bookstore. On July 10, 1794, Congress appropriated $44,000 "for erecting a lighthouse on the head land of Cape Hatteras and a lighted beacon on Shell Castle Island, in the harbor of Ocracoke in the State of North Carolina." The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was constructed in 1802. The Cape Hatteras


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: light marked very dangerous shoals which extend from the cape for a distance of . The original tower was built of dark sandstone and retained its natural color. The original light consisted of 18 lamps; with reflectors, and was above sea level. It was visible in clear weather for a distance of . In July 1851, Lt. David D. Porter, USN, reported as follows: The improvement in the light referred to had begun in 1845 when the reflectors were changed from 14 to . In 1848 the 18 lamps were changed to 15 lamps with reflectors and the light had


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: become visible in clear weather at a distance of . In 1854 a first-order Fresnel lens with flashing white light was substituted for the old reflecting apparatus, and the tower was raised to . In 1860 the Lighthouse Board reported that Cape Hatteras Lighthouse required protection, due to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1862 the Board reported "Cape Hatteras, lens and lantern destroyed, light re-exhibited. At the behest of mariners and officers of the U.S. Navy, Congress appropriated $80,000 to the United States Lighthouse Board to construct a new beacon at Cape Hatteras in 1868. The Light-House Board


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: was a federal agency under the direction of the Treasury Department but was headed by a multi-agency committee. The Board consisted of two Army Engineers, two Navy officers, two civilian scientists, and one additional officer from both the Army and Navy to serve as secretaries. Congress established the Board in 1852 for the purpose of creating a unified, continuous system of navigational aides along the coasts. Prior to 1852, lighthouse construction generally rested with local authorities, ultimately leading to a disjointed, ineffective national system. Under the Light-House Board, Navy officers determined where new lighthouses were needed; Army Engineers selected exact


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: locations, designed, and built them; and civilian scientists developed new technologies and techniques for displaying bright, consistent beacons. Completed in just under two years under the direction of brevet Brigadier General J. H. Simpson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the new Cape Hatteras lighthouse cost $167,000. The new tower, from which the first-order light was first exhibited on December 16, 1871, was the tallest brick lighthouse tower in the world. It was above ground and the focal height of the light was above water. The old tower "being no longer of any use and in danger of falling


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: during some heavy storm" was demolished in February 1872. In the spring of 1879 the tower was struck by lightning. Cracks subsequently appeared in the masonry walls, which was remedied by placing a metal rod to connect the iron work of the tower with an iron disk sunk in the ground. In 1912 the candlepower of the light was increased from 27,000 to 80,000. Ever since the completion of the new tower in 1870, there had begun a very gradual encroachment of the sea upon the beach. This did not become serious, however, until 1919, when the high water line


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: had advanced to about 120 ft (36.5) from the base of the tower. Since that time the surf gnawed steadily toward the base of the tower until 1935, when the site was finally reached by the surf. Several attempts were made to arrest this erosion, but dikes and breakwaters had been of no avail. In 1935, therefore, the tower light was replaced by a beacon atop a four-legged steel skeleton tower, resembling a fire lookout tower, placed farther back from the sea on a sand dune above the sea, visible for . The abandoned brick tower was then put in


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: the custody of the National Park Service. The Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration erected a series of wooden revetments which checked the wash that was carrying away the beach. In 1942, when German U-Boats began attacking ships just offshore, the Coast Guard resumed its control over the brick tower and manned it as a lookout station until 1945. By then, due to accretion of sand on the beach, the brick tower was 500 to inland from the sea and again tenable as a site for the light, which was placed back in commission January 23, 1950. The new


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: light consisted of a aviation-type rotating beacon of 250,000 candlepower, visible , and flashing white every 7.5 seconds. The steel skeleton tower, known as the Buxton Woods Tower, was retained by the Coast Guard in the event that the brick tower again became endangered by erosion requiring that the light again be moved. The light displays a highly visible black and white diagonal daymark paint scheme. It shares similar markings with the St. Augustine Light. Another lighthouse, with helical markings—red and white 'candy cane stripe'-- is the White Shoal Light (Michigan), which is the only true 'barber pole' lighthouse in


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: the United States. Its distinctive "barber pole" paint job is consistent with other North Carolina black-and-white lighthouses, "each with their own pattern to help sailors identify lighthouses during daylight hours." The National Park Service acquired ownership of the lighthouse when it was abandoned in 1935. Today the Coast Guard owns and operates the navigational equipment, while the National Park Service maintains the tower as a historic structure. The Hatteras Island Visitor Center, formerly the Double Keepers Quarters located next to the lighthouse, elaborates on the Cape Hatteras story and the lifestyle on the Outer Banks. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, tallest in


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: the United States, stands from the bottom of the foundation to the peak of the roof. To reach the light, which shines above mean high-water mark, requires climbing 268 steps. The construction order of 1,250,000 bricks was used in construction of the lighthouse and principal keeper's quarters. In 1999, with the sea again encroaching, the Cape Hatteras lighthouse had to be moved from its original location at the edge of the ocean to safer ground. Due to erosion of the shore, the lighthouse was just from the water's edge and was in imminent danger. The move was a total distance


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: of to the southwest, placing the lighthouse from the current shoreline. All other support buildings at the site were also moved at the same time. All support buildings were placed back in positions that maintained their original compass orientations and distance/height relationship to the lighthouse. International Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, New York was awarded the contract to move the lighthouse, assisted by, among other contractors, Expert House Movers. The move was controversial at the time with speculation that the structure would not survive the move, resulting in lawsuits that were later dismissed. Despite some opposition, work progressed and the move


title: "Cape Hatteras Lighthouse" content: was completed on September 14, 1999. The Cape Hatteras Light House Station Relocation Project became known as "The Move of the Millennium." General contractor International Chimney and Expert House Movers won the 40th Annual Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is one of the tallest masonry structures ever moved (200 feet tall and weighing 5,000 tons). Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National


title: "Genital piercing" content: In contrast, the clitoral hood piercing is the most common genital piercing for female bodied individuals. It can be applied horizontally and vertically. The deep hood piercing is a variation of the clitoral hood piercing that pass deeper through the clitoral hood. The Isabella piercing passes vertically through the clitoral shaft and is rather complicated to pierce. The Labia piercing can be applied at the labia majora or the labia minora. The Triangle piercing is located at the ventral end of the labia minora, at the point of transition between labia and clitoral hood. It runs horizontally, partly under the


title: "Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–92)" content: Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–92) The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992. The MISL was founded by businessmen Ed Tepper and Earl Foreman in October 1977. The league fielded six teams for its inaugural 1978–79 season. Before folding after 14 seasons of competition, at the conclusion of the 1991–92 season, a total of 24 franchises – under 31 team names (seven teams would change city/name) – had played in the MISL. Over its


title: Ijevan content: call their town "the city of 100 sculptures". Currently, there are 116 sculptures erected at Ijevan sculptures garden at the centre of the town. The ethnographic museum of Ijevan was reopened in 1999 while the art gallery was renovated in 2003. The town is also served by a house of culture, a school of music, a school of arts, and an art gallery. Ijevan is a major centre for traditional Armenian handmade rugs and carpets. The town has its local "Ijevan TV" station. Ijevan is connected with the capital Yerevan and the rest of Armenian territories through the M-4 highway.


title: "Pit viper" content: Pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers, crotaline snakes (named for the "krotalon" castanet/rattle of a rattlesnake's tail), or pit adders, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Eurasia and the Americas. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on both sides of the head. Currently, 18 genera and 151 species are recognized: seven genera and 54 species in the Old World, against a greater diversity of 11 genera and 97 species in the New World. These are also the only viperids found in the Americas.


title: "Pit viper" content: The groups of snakes represented here include rattlesnakes, lanceheads, and Asian pit vipers. The type genus for this subfamily is "Crotalus", of which the type species is the timber rattlesnake, "C. horridus". These snakes range in size from the diminutive hump-nosed viper, "Hypnale hypnale", that grows to an average total length (including tail) of only , to the bushmaster, "Lachesis muta", a species known to reach a maximum total length of in length. What makes this subfamily unique is that all member species share a common characteristic: a deep pit, or fossa, in the loreal area between the eye and


title: "Pit viper" content: the nostril on either side of the head. These loreal pits are the external openings to a pair of extremely sensitive infrared-detecting organs, which in effect give the snakes a sixth sense to help them find and perhaps even judge the size of the small, warm-blooded prey on which they feed. Osine triphosphate, monoamine oxidase, generalized esterases and acetylcholine esterase have also been found in it. When prey comes into range, infrared radiation falling onto the membrane allows the snake to determine its direction. Experiments have shown, when deprived of their senses of sight and smell, these snakes can strike


title: "Pit viper" content: accurately at moving objects less than warmer than the background. The paired pit organs provide the snake with thermal rangefinder capabilities. These organs are of great value to a predator that hunts at night, as well as for avoiding the snake’s own predators. Among vipers, these snakes are also unique in that they have a specialized muscle, called the "muscularis pterigoidius glandulae", between the venom gland and the head of the ectopterygoid. Contraction of this muscle, together with that of the "m. compressor glandulae", forces venom out of the gland. The subfamily Crotalinae is found in the Old World from


title: "Pit viper" content: eastern Europe eastward through Asia to Japan, China, Indonesia, peninsular India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. In the Americas, they range from southern Canada southward to Central America to southern South America. Crotalines are a versatile subfamily, with members found in habitats ranging from parched desert (e.g., the sidewinder, "Crotalus cerastes") to rainforests (e.g., the bushmaster, "Lachesis muta"). They may be either arboreal or terrestrial, and one species is even semiaquatic: the cottonmouth, "Agkistrodon piscivorus". The altitude record is held jointly by "Crotalus triseriatus" in Mexico and "Gloydius strauchi" in China, both of which have been found above the treeline at


title: "Pit viper" content: over 4,000 m elevation. Although a few species of crotalines are highly active by day, such as "Trimeresurus trigonocephalus", a bright green pit viper endemic to Sri Lanka, most are nocturnal, preferring to avoid high daytime temperatures and to hunt when their favored prey are also active. The snakes' heat-sensitive pits are also thought to aid in locating cooler areas in which to rest. As ambush predators, crotalines typically wait patiently somewhere for unsuspecting prey to wander by. At least one species, the arboreal "Gloydius shedaoensis" of China, is known to select a specific ambush site and return to it


title: "Pit viper" content: every year in time for the spring migration of birds. Studies have indicated these snakes learn to improve their strike accuracy over time. Many temperate species of pit vipers (e.g. most rattlesnakes) congregate in sheltered areas or "dens" to overwinter (see hibernation), the snakes benefiting from the combined heat. In cool temperatures and while pregnant, pit vipers also bask on sunny ledges. Some species do not mass together in this way, for example the copperhead, "Agkistrodon contortrix", or the Mojave rattlesnake, "Crotalus scutulatus". Like most snakes, crotalines keep to themselves and strike only if cornered or threatened. Smaller snakes are


title: "Pit viper" content: less likely to stand their ground than larger specimens. Pollution and the destruction of rainforests have caused many pit viper populations to decline. Humans also threaten pit vipers, as many are hunted for their skins or killed by cars when they wander onto roads. With few exceptions, crotalines are ovoviviparous, that is, females give birth to live young. Among the oviparous (egg-laying) pit vipers are "Lachesis", "Calloselasma", and some "Trimeresurus" species. All egg-laying crotalines are believed to guard their eggs. Brood sizes range from two for very small species, to as many as 86 for the fer-de-lance, "Bothrops atrox", a


title: "Pit viper" content: species among the most prolific of all live-bearing snakes. Many young crotalines have brightly coloured tails that contrast dramatically with the rest of their bodies. Used in a behavior known as caudal luring, the young snakes make worm-like movements with their tails to lure unsuspecting prey within striking distance. In the past, the pit vipers were usually classed as a separate family: the Crotalidae. Today, however, the monophyly of the viperines and the crotalines as a whole is undisputed, which is why they are treated here as a subfamily of the Viperidae. Pit viper The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit


title: "Host controller interface (USB, Firewire)" content: the newest host controller standard that improves speed, power efficiency and virtualization over its predecessors. The goal was also to define a USB host controller to replace UHCI/OHCI/EHCI. It supports all USB device speeds (USB 3.1 SuperSpeed+, USB 3.0 SuperSpeed, USB 2.0 Low-, Full-, and High-speed, USB 1.1 Low- and Full-speed). Virtual Host Controller Interface (VHCI) refers to a virtual controller that may export virtual USB devices not backed by physical devices. For instance, on Linux, VHCI controllers are used to expose USB devices from other machines, attached using the USB/IP protocol. Host controller interface (USB, Firewire) A host controller


title: "Segmentation (biology)" content: the "Drosophila" embryo, the anterior-posterior axis is defined by maternally supplied transcripts giving rise to gradients of these proteins. This gradient then defines the expression pattern for gap genes, which set up the boundaries between the different segments. The gradients produced from gap gene expression then define the expression pattern for the pair-rule genes. The pair-rule genes are mostly transcription factors, expressed in regular stripes down the length of the embryo. These transcription factors then regulate the expression of segment polarity genes, which define the polarity of each segment. Boundaries and identities of each segment are later defined. Within the


title: "First baseman" content: First baseman First base, or "1B", is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner to score a run for that player's team. A first baseman is the player on the team playing defense who fields the area nearest first base, and is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good


title: "First baseman" content: flexibility and quick reflexes. Flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to "stretch" towards the throw and catch it before the runner reaches first base. First base is often referred to as "the other hot corner"—the "hot corner" being third base—and therefore, like the third baseman, he must have quick reflexes to field the hardest hit balls down the foul line, mainly by left-handed pull hitters and right-handed


title: "First baseman" content: hitters hitting to the opposite field. They often are power hitters who have a substantial number of home runs and extra base hits while maintaining a .270 plus batting average. Good defensive first basemen, according to baseball writer and historian Bill James, are capable of playing off first base so that they can field ground balls hit to the fair side of first base. The first baseman then relies upon the pitcher to cover first base to receive the ball to complete the out. Indications of a good defensive first baseman include a large number of assists and a low


title: "First baseman" content: number of throwing errors by other infielders. The nature of play at first base often requires first basemen to stay close to the bag to hold runners or to reach the bag before the batter. First basemen are not typically expected to have the range required of a third baseman, shortstop, second baseman or an outfielder. As a result, first base is not usually perceived to be as physically demanding as other positions. However, it can also be a very hard position to play; a large amount of concentration and timing is required. Though many play at first base their


title: "First baseman" content: entire career, it is common for veteran players to be moved to first base to extend their careers or to accommodate other recently acquired players. Facing a possible trade or a considerable reduction in playing time, a player will usually opt to move to first base instead. Catchers and corner outfielders are often moved to first base due to deteriorating health or if their fielding abilities at their original position are detrimental to the team. Unlike the pitcher and catcher, who must start every play in a designated area (the pitcher must be on the pitcher's mound, with one foot


title: "First baseman" content: in contact with the pitcher's rubber, and the catcher must be behind home plate in the catcher's box) the first baseman and the other fielders can vary their positioning in response to what they anticipate will be the actions of the batter and runner(s) once play begins. When first base is not occupied by a baserunner, the first baseman usually stands behind first base and off the foul line. The distance he plays from the base and foul line is dependent on the current hitter and any runners on base. The exact position may also depend on the first baseman's


title: "First baseman" content: experience, preference, and fielding ability. For a known right-handed pull hitter, the first baseman might position himself further towards the second baseman's normal fielding position. For a known left-handed pull hitter, the first baseman will position himself closer to the foul line to stop a ball hit down the line. To protect against a bunt on the first base side of the infield, the first baseman will position himself in front of the base and move towards the hitter as the pitch is thrown. As soon as the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first baseman will charge


title: "First baseman" content: towards the hitter to field the bunt. During these plays, it is the responsibility of the second baseman to cover first base. With a base runner present at first base, the first baseman stands with his right foot touching the base to prepare for a pickoff attempt. Once the pitcher commits to throwing towards home plate, the first baseman comes off the bag in front of the runner and gets in a fielding position. If the bases are loaded, or if the runner on first base is not a base stealing threat, the first baseman will position himself behind the


title: "First baseman" content: runner and appropriate for the current batter. When waiting for a throw from another player, the first baseman stands with his off-glove foot touching the base, then stretches toward the throw. This stretch decreases the amount of time it takes the throw to get to first and encourages the umpire to call close plays in favor of the fielding team. Veteran first basemen are known to pull off the bag early on close plays to convince the umpire that the ball reached his glove before the runner reached first base. The first baseman also has the responsibility of cutting off


title: "First baseman" content: throws from any of the three outfield positions on their way to home plate. Though highly situational, the first baseman usually only receives throws from the center or right fielder. The first baseman is usually at the end of a double play, though he can be at the beginning and end of a double play. Unusual double plays involving the first baseman include the 3–6–3, 3–4–3, 3–2–3, or a 3–6–1 double play. In a 3–6–3 or 3–4–3 double play, the first baseman fields the ball, throws to second, where the shortstop (6) or second baseman (4) catches the ball to


title: "First baseman" content: make the first out and then throws back to the first baseman who reaches first base in time to tag first base before the batter reaches first base. For a 3–2–3 double play, the bases must be loaded for the force-out at home plate or the catcher must tag the runner coming from third base out. With a force-out at home plate, the first baseman fields the ball, throws to the catcher, the catcher steps on home plate for the first out, then he throws it back to the first baseman to complete the double play. The 3–2–3 double play


title: "First baseman" content: with a tag out at home plate is usually not attempted because of the possibility of the catcher not being able to tag the runner and/or block the plate. If the runner at third base is known as a good or fast baserunner, the first basemen will make considerable effort to make sure the third base runner does not advance to home plate for a run by "looking" him back to third base. The primary goal of the first baseman in this instance is to ensure the runner doesn't advance and that the team records at least one out, especially


title: "First baseman" content: in a close game. A 3–6–1 double play is almost like a 3–6–3 or a 3–4–3 double play, but the first baseman is usually playing deep in the infield. Here, the first baseman throws the ball to the shortstop covering second, but the pitcher then has the responsibility of covering first base to receive the throw from the shortstop. A first baseman can theoretically also make an unassisted double play. There are two ways to achieve this. The first is by catching a line drive and returning to first base to tag the base before a baserunner can return. This