title: Fly content: first plant pollination in the Triassic. Mosquitoes are vectors for malaria, dengue, West Nile fever, yellow fever, encephalitis, and other infectious diseases; and houseflies, commensal with humans all over the world, spread food-borne illnesses. Flies can be annoyances, especially in some parts of the world where they can occur in large numbers, buzzing and settling on the skin or eyes to bite or seek fluids. Larger flies such as tsetse flies and screwworms cause significant economic harm to cattle. Blowfly larvae, known as gentles, and other dipteran larvae, known more generally as maggots, are used as fishing bait, as food


title: Fly content: for carnivorous animals, and in medicine for debridement to clean wounds. Fruit flies are used as model organisms in research. In culture, the subject of flies appears in religion, literature, cinema, and music. Dipterans are endopterygotes, insects that undergo radical metamorphosis. They belong to the Mecopterida, alongside the Mecoptera, Siphonaptera, Lepidoptera and Trichoptera. The possession of a single pair of wings distinguishes most true flies from other insects with "fly" in their names. However, some true flies such as Hippoboscidae (louse flies) have become secondarily wingless. The cladogram represents the current consensus view. The first true dipterans known are from


title: Fly content: the Middle Triassic around 240 million years ago, and they became widespread during the Middle and Late Triassic. Phylogenetic analysis of times of divergence suggests that dipterans originated in the Permian, some 260 million years ago. Modern flowering plants did not appear until the Cretaceous (around 140 million years ago), so the original dipterans must have had a different source of nutrition other than nectar. Based on the attraction of many modern fly groups to shiny droplets, it has been suggested that they may have fed on honeydew produced by sap-sucking bugs which were abundant at the time, and dipteran


title: Fly content: mouthparts are well-adapted to softening and lapping up the crusted residues. The basal clades in the Diptera include the Deuterophlebiidae and the enigmatic Nymphomyiidae. Three episodes of evolutionary radiation are thought to have occurred based on the fossil record. Many new species of lower Diptera developed in the Triassic, about 220 million years ago. Many lower Brachycera appeared in the Jurassic, some 180 million years ago. A third radiation took place among the Schizophora at the start of the Paleogene, 66 million years ago. The phylogenetic position of Diptera has been controversial. The monophyly of holometabolous insects has long been


title: Fly content: distinguishable from the rest of the body, and few, if any, sclerites are present. Informally, such brachyceran larvae are called maggots, but the term is not technical and often applied indifferently to fly larvae or insect larvae in general. The eyes and antennae of brachyceran larvae are reduced or absent, and the abdomen also lacks appendages such as cerci. This lack of features is an adaptation to food such as carrion, decaying detritus, or host tissues surrounding endoparasites. Nematoceran larvae generally have well-developed eyes and antennae, while those of Brachyceran larvae are reduced or modified. Dipteran larvae have no jointed,


title: "Mickey Mantle" content: 1949, after Mantle's high school graduation, to sign Mantle to a minor league contract. Mantle signed for $140 per month with a $1,500 signing bonus. Mantle was assigned to the Yankees' Class-D Independence Yankees of the Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League, where he played shortstop. During a slump, Mantle called his father to tell him he wanted to quit baseball. Mutt drove to Independence, Kansas and convinced Mantle to keep playing. Mantle hit .313 for the Independence Yankees. Shulthis Stadium, the baseball stadium in Independence where Mantle played, was the site of the first night game in organized baseball. Mantle hit his first


title: Van content: parks, picnics, and visiting other churches. Vans are also used by schools to drive sports teams to intramural games. Vans have been used by touring music groups to haul equipment and people to music venues around the country. Another type of van, peculiar to North America, is the "step van," so-called because of the ease with which one can step in and out of it. Widely used by delivery services, courier companies and the parcel division of the US Postal Service and Canada Post, they are often seen driven with the door open, especially in big cities. Step vans have


title: "Patricia Highsmith" content: underwent psychoanalysis in an effort "to regularize herself sexually" so she could marry Brandel. The analysis was brought to a stop by Highsmith, after which she ended her relationship with him. After ending her engagement to Marc Brandel, she had an affair with psychoanalyst Kathryn Hamill Cohen, the wife of British publisher Dennis Cohen and founder of Cresset Press, which later published "Strangers on a Train". To help pay for the twice-a-week therapy sessions, Highsmith had taken a sales job during Christmas rush season in the toy section of Bloomingdale's department store. Ironically, it was during this attempt to "cure"


title: Brigadoon content: the family Bible, including Jean's wedding, are listed as if they had happened 200 years earlier. When he asks Fiona about this, she sends him to the schoolmaster, Mr. Lundie. Fiona, Tommy, and Jeff arrive at Mr. Lundie's home, where he relates a story that the two New Yorkers can hardly believe: to protect Brigadoon from being changed by the outside world, 200 years ago the local minister prayed to God to have Brigadoon disappear, only to reappear for one day every 100 years. All citizens of Brigadoon are forbidden to leave the town, or it will disappear forever. Tommy


title: Cemetery content: in a concrete chamber. Before 1977, double graves were dug to 8 feet and singles to 6 feet. As a single grave is now dug to 54 inches, old cemeteries contain many areas where new single graves can be dug on "old ground". This is considered a valid method of resource management and provides income to keep older cemeteries viable, thus forestalling the need for permanent closure, which would result in a reduction of their work force. Usually there is a legal requirement to maintain records regarding the burials (or interment of ashes) within a cemetery. These "burial registers" usually


title: Dysentery content: can cause elevated physical temperature, painful spasms of the intestinal muscles (cramping), swelling due to fluid leaking from capillaries of the intestine (edema) and further tissue damage by the body's immune cells and the chemicals, called cytokines, which are released to fight the infection. The result can be impaired nutrient absorption, excessive water and mineral loss through the stools due to breakdown of the control mechanisms in the intestinal tissue that normally remove water from the stools, and in severe cases, the entry of pathogenic organisms into the bloodstream. Anemia may also arise due to the blood loss through diarrhea.


title: "Impact event" content: was most likely an unidentified artificial satellite. As predicted, it fell over Sri Lanka at 6:18 UTC (11:48 local time). The sky in the region was very overcast, so only an airborne observation team was able to successfully observe it falling above the clouds. It is now thought to be a remnant of the Lunar Prospector mission in 1998, and is the third time any previously unknown object – natural or artificial – was identified prior to impact. On 22 January 2018, an object, A106fgF, was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) and identified as possibly impacting


title: "Huntington Beach, California" content: between , and . In the United States House of Representatives, Huntington Beach is in . As of June 1, 2010, the city has 127,660 registered voters. 45.8% are registered Republicans, 28.5% are registered Democrats, 20.7% are unaffiliated, and the remainder are registered with third parties. Huntington Beach is the home of Golden West College, which offers two-year associates of arts degrees and transfer programs to four-year universities. Huntington Beach is in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes Edison High School, Huntington Beach High School, Marina High School, and Ocean View High School in the city of


title: "Huntington Beach, California" content: 2015, only 2.6 percent of Huntington Beach households lacked a car, which decreased slightly to 2.2 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Huntington Beach averaged fully two cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8. Fire protection in Huntington Beach is provided by the Huntington Beach Fire Department. Law enforcement is provided by the Huntington Beach Police Department. Huntington Beach Marine Safety Officers and its seasonal lifeguards are recognized as some of the best in the world with a top notch safety record. It has an active Community Emergency Response Team


title: "Whipping knot" content: ends of every reef point, where the constant "whipping" against the sail makes the wear excessive; this is said to be the source of the name "whipping"." The other type of stopping knot is a seizing knot. Whipping is suitable for synthetic and natural stranded and braided ropes, lines and cables, including 3-strand rope, 4-strand cable and 8-strand multiplait as well as concentric and braided constructions. Multiple turns of twine (sometimes called small stuff for smaller lines) or heavier whipcord (for large diameter cables and ropes) are tightly wrapped around a rope's cut end to prevent its fibers from unlaying.


title: Shrub content: Shrub A shrub or bush is a small- to medium-sized woody plant. Unlike herbs, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, and are usually under 6 m (20 ft) tall. Plants of many species may grow either into shrubs or trees, depending on their growing conditions. Small, low shrubs, generally less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, such as lavender, periwinkle and most small garden varieties of rose, are often termed "subshrubs". An area of cultivated shrubs in a park or a garden is known as a


title: Shrub content: shrubbery. When clipped as topiary, suitable species or varieties of shrubs develop dense foliage and many small leafy branches growing close together. Many shrubs respond well to renewal pruning, in which hard cutting back to a "stool" results in long new stems known as "canes". Other shrubs respond better to selective pruning to reveal their structure and character. Shrubs in common garden practice are generally considered broad-leaved plants, though some smaller conifers such as mountain pine and common juniper are also shrubby in structure. Species that grow into a shrubby habit may be either deciduous or evergreen. In botany and


title: Shrub content: ecology, a shrub is more specifically used to describe the particular physical structural or plant life-form of woody plants which are less than high and usually have many stems arising at or near the base. For example, a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia is based on structural characteristics based on life-form, plus the height and amount of foliage cover of the tallest layer or dominant species. For shrubs high the following structural forms are categorized: For shrubs less than high the following structural forms are categorized: Those marked with * can also develop into tree form. Shrub A shrub


title: "Akita Prefecture" content: Akita Prefecture The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu. Separated from the principal Japanese centres of commerce, politics, and population by several hundred kilometres and the Ōu and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year 600. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes. The first historical record of what is now Akita Prefecture dates to 658, when the Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Ezo tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro. Hirafu, then governor


title: "Aomori (city)" content: fishermen as a landmark. A different theory suggests the name might have been derived from the Ainu language. The area has been settled extensively since prehistoric times, and numerous Jōmon period sites have been found by archaeologists, the most famous being the Sannai-Maruyama Ruins located just southwest of the city center dating to 5500-4000 BC, and the Komakino Site slightly farther south dating to around 4000 BC. The large scale of these settlements revolutionized theories on Jōmon period civilization. During the Heian period, the area was part of the holdings of the Northern Fujiwara clan, but remained inhabited by the


title: Pilgrim content: or cultural importance, and can be defined as places "of cultural significance: an artist's home, the location of a pivotal event or an iconic destination". An example might be a baseball fan visiting Cooperstown, New York. Destinations for cultural pilgrims include Auschwitz concentration camp, Gettysburg Battlefield or the Ernest Hemingway House. Cultural pilgrims may also travel on religious pilgrimage routes, such as the Way of St. James, with the perspective of making it a historic or architectural tour rather than – or as well as – a religious experience. Under communist regimes, devout secular pilgrims visited locations such as the


title: "Inner automorphism" content: . The notion of inner automorphism for Lie algebras is compatible with the notion for groups in the sense that an inner automorphism of a Lie group induces a unique inner automorphism of the corresponding Lie algebra. If is the group of units of a ring, , then an inner automorphism on can be extended to a mapping on the projective line over by the group of units of the matrix ring, . In particular, the inner automorphisms of the classical groups can be extended in that way. Inner automorphism In abstract algebra an inner automorphism is an automorphism of


title: Dorking content: by Margaret Vaughan Williams, sister of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Lady (Evangeline) Farrer, wife of Lord Farrer of Abinger Hall. Ralph Vaughan Williams was the Festival Conductor from 1905 to 1953. The present Festival Conductor is Brian Kay. The festival is competitive lasting three days, each day with a different division of choirs; each evening the choirs who have competed during the day combine to give a concert of the works which form the subject of the competitions. Following the tradition established by Vaughan Williams, the St. Matthew Passion or the St. John Passion of J. S. Bach


title: "Chromosomal crossover" content: factors behind unequal recombination remain obscure, elements of the physical mechanism have been elucidated. Mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, for instance, are a well-known regulatory family of proteins, responsible for regulating mismatched sequences of DNA during replication and escape regulation. The operative goal of MMRs is the restoration of the parental genotype. One class of MMR in particular, MutSβ, is known to initiate the correction of insertion-deletion mismatches of up to 16 nucleotides. Little is known about the excision process in eukaryotes, but "E. coli" excisions involve the cleaving of a nick on either the 5’ or 3’ strand, after which


title: "Junk food" content: Junk food Junk food is a pejorative term for food containing a large number of calories from sugar or fat with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins or minerals. The term can also refer to high protein food like meat prepared with saturated fat. Food from many hamburger joints, pizza places and fried chicken outlets is often considered junk food. Concerns about the negative health effects resulting from a junk food-heavy diet, especially obesity, have resulted in public health awareness campaigns, and restrictions on advertising and sale in several countries. The term "junk food" dates back at least to the early


title: "Junk food" content: just another way of saying, 'I disapprove of it.' There are bad diets - that is, bad mixtures and quantities of food - but there are no 'bad foods' except those that have become bad through contamination or deterioration." Junk food in its various forms is extremely popular, and an integral part of modern popular culture. In the US, annual fast food sales are in the area of $160 billion, compared to supermarket sales of $620 billion (a figure which also includes junk food in the form of convenience foods, snack foods, and candy). In 1976, "Junk Food Junkie", the


title: "Junk food" content: a cultural and gastronomical icon." America also celebrates an annual National Junk Food Day on July 21. Origins are unclear; it is one of around 175 US food and drink days, most created by "people who want to sell more food", at times aided by elected officials at the request of a trade association or commodity group. "In honor of the day," "Time" in 2014 published, "5 Crazy Junk Food Combinations". Headlines from other national and local media coverage include: "Celebrate National Junk Food Day With… Beer-Flavored Oreos?" (MTV); "National Junk Food Day: Pick your favorite unhealthy treats in this


title: "Junk food" content: poll" (Baltimore); "Celebrities' favorite junk food" (Los Angeles); "A Nutritionist's Guide to National Junk Food Day" with "Rules for Splurging" ("Huffington Post"); and "It's National Junk Food Day: Got snacks?" (Kansas City). It is well-established that the poor eat more junk food overall than the more affluent, but the reasons for this are not clear. Few studies have focused on variations in food perception according to socio-economic status (SES); some studies that have differentiated based on SES suggest that the economically challenged don't perceive healthy food much differently than any other segment of the population. Recent research into scarcity, combining


title: "Junk food" content: behavioral science and economics, suggests that, faced with extreme economic uncertainty, where even the next meal may not be a sure thing, judgment is impaired and the drive is to the instant gratification of junk food, rather than to making the necessary investment in the longer-term benefits of a healthier diet. When junk food is consumed very often, the excess fat, simple carbohydrates, and processed sugar found in junk food contributes to an increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and many other chronic health conditions. A case study on consumption of fast foods in Ghana suggested a direct correlation between


title: "Junk food" content: consumption of junk food and obesity rates. The report asserts that obesity resulted in related complex health concerns such upsurge of heart attack rates. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could begin clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. Consumers also tend to eat too much in one sitting, and those who have satisfied their appetite with junk food are less likely to eat healthy foods like fruit or vegetables. Testing on rats has indicated negative effects of junk food that may manifest likewise in people. A Scripps Research Institute study in 2008


title: "Junk food" content: suggested that junk food consumption alters brain activity in a manner similar to addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. After many weeks with unlimited access to junk food, the pleasure centers of rat brains became desensitized, requiring more food for pleasure; after the junk food was taken away and replaced with a healthy diet, the rats starved for two weeks instead of eating nutritious fare. A 2007 study in the "British Journal of Nutrition" found that female rats who eat junk food during pregnancy increased the likelihood of unhealthy eating habits in their offspring. Other research has been done on


title: "Junk food" content: Australia, the sport's governing body, to "phase out sponsorships with unhealthy brands", emphasizing that cricket is a "healthy, family-oriented sport" with children in the audience. Many countries have restricted advertising of junk food. Junk food Junk food is a pejorative term for food containing a large number of calories from sugar or fat with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins or minerals. The term can also refer to high protein food like meat prepared with saturated fat. Food from many hamburger joints, pizza places and fried chicken outlets is often considered junk food. Concerns about the negative health effects resulting from


title: "Ice skate" content: Ice skate Ice skates are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice while ice skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. These skates required a pole with a sharp metal spike that was used for pushing the skater forward, unlike modern bladed skates. Modern skates come in many different varieties, which are chosen depending on the nature of the requirements needed for the skating activity. They are worn recreationally in ice rinks or on


title: "Ice skate" content: frozen bodies of water across the globe and are used as footwear in many sports, including figure skating, ice hockey, bandy, speed skating and tour skating. According to a study done by Federico Formenti, University of Oxford, and Alberto Minetti, University of Milan, Finns were the first to develop ice skates some 5,000 years ago from animal bones. This was important for the Finnish populations to save energy in harsh winter conditions when hunting in Finnish Lakeland. The earliest known skate to use a metal blade was found in Scandinavia and was dated to 200 A.D. and was fitted with


title: "Ice skate" content: a thin strip of copper folded and attached to the underside of a leather shoe. William Fitzstephen, writing in the 12th century, described the use of bone skates in London. The following seems to be an Early Modern English translation of the Latin original: There are five main types of ice skates: the figure skate, the hockey skate, the bandy skate, the racing skate and the touring skate. Figure skates are used in the sport of figure skating. Unlike hockey skates, they have "toe picks" on the front of the blade, which are usually made out of stainless steel or


title: "Ice skate" content: aluminium with a steel runner. The toe pick has a variety of uses, but is most commonly used for certain jumps in figure skating, such as the Lutz jump and toe loop or starting a backspin. Figure skating boots are typically made of several layers of leather and the leather is very stiff to provide ankle support. In addition, the figure skate's blade is curved, allowing for minute adjustments in balance and weight distribution. The base of the figure-skate blade is slightly concave, or "hollow ground." The hollow, which runs the length of the blade, creates two edges, which come


title: "Ice skate" content: in contact with the ice. The forward part of the blade, the toe-rake, is saw-toothed and is used for jumps and spins on the toes. Hockey skates are used for playing the games of ice hockey and ringette. The boot is generally made of molded plastic, leather (often synthetic), and ballistic nylon. Skates used in competitive hockey rarely use molded plastic for the upper boot, as this results in limited mobility. The skates used by goaltenders are cut lower in the ankle than a normal hockey skate and the boot sits closer to the ice for a lower center of


title: "Ice skate" content: gravity. The boot itself is encased in hardened plastic, called a "cowling", protecting the toe, ankle and heel from the force of the shot puck. The blade is usually longer and has less rocker (curvature to the blade) to make it easier for the goalie to move side to side in the crease. Goalie skates lack a tendon guard. Unlike regular hockey skates, goalie skates are usually protected by a synthetic material covering the toe-part of the skate. This is to prevent damage from the puck. The blade of the goalie skate is not as useful in turning as regular


title: "Ice skate" content: hockey skates, because the blade is rockered less, thus making turns slightly inconvenient. The material used to make the boot of the goalie skate is a harder synthetic material than regular hockey boots. Sharpening ice hockey skates plays a key factor in a player’s ability to skate and players will sharpen their skates hundreds of times throughout their career. Similar to figure skates, the blade is hollow ground in cross section, creating two edges that contact and cut into the ice, allowing increased maneuverability. The blades are sharpened with round-edged grinding wheels that create the two edges. The wheels grind


title: "Ice skate" content: out a hollow semi-circle along the length of the underside of the blade, forming the sharp edge on each side. Skate blade sharpness is measured by the thickness of the round-edged grinding wheel being used, the smaller the radius, the sharper the edge will be. The sharpness chosen by a player is based completely upon preference, not player size or level of play. While a radius of hollow is the most common and standard sharpening for most players, the standard radius of hollow for goalies is . Bandy skates are used for playing the game of bandy. The boot is


title: "Ice skate" content: generally made of leather (often synthetic). The boot is lower than the hockey version, often not covering the ankles. All bandy skates are designed such that they will not cause injury to an opponent. The blade is generally an inch longer than the hockey skates, allowing for higher speeds at the large bandy rink. The Russian bandy skates have an even longer blade and a very low cut shoe. Racing skates, also known as speed skates, have long blades and are used for speed skating. A clap skate (or "clapper skate") is a type of skate where the shoe is


title: "Ice skate" content: skates the blades are bonded to the bottom of an aluminum foot-plate. A binding for a specific type of boot is mounted on the top of the foot-plate. Traditionally, the bindings held down both toe and heel of the boot ("fixed-heel"). Some bindings require special boots like "telemark" ski boots with a "duck-bill" shaped toe, others like the Multiskate have padded adjustable straps that will attach to most hiking boots. Since the early 1990s, models have been designed for mounting "free-heel" cross-country ski bindings to the skates, and thus attach matching ski boots to the skates. The "free-heel" models give


title: "Norwegian krone" content: its dissolution, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all decided to keep the names of their respective and since then separate currencies. Within the Scandinavian Monetary Union, the krone was on a gold standard of 2,480 kroner = 1 kilogram of pure gold (1 krone = 403.226 milligrams gold). This gold standard was restored between 1916 and 1920 and again in 1928. It was suspended permanently in 1931, when a peg to the British pound of 19.9 kroner = 1 pound was established. (The previous rate had been 18.16 kroner = 1 pound). In 1939, Norway pegged the krone temporarily to the


title: "Sphynx cat" content: different sets of hairless felines discovered in North America in the 1970s provided the foundation cats for what was shaped into the existing Sphynx breed. The contemporary breed of Sphynx cat, also known as the Canadian Sphynx, is distinct from the Russian hairless cat breeds like Peterbald and Donskoy. The current American and European Sphynx breed is descended from two lines of natural mutations: The Canadian Sphynx breed was started in 1966 in Toronto when a hairless kitten named Prune was born to a black and white domestic shorthair queen (Elizabeth). The kitten was mated with its mother (something called


title: "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" content: back to his room at Camillus Sidney "Buck" Fly's Lodging House to sleep off his drinking, then went home and to bed. Tombstone Marshal Virgil Earp played poker with Ike Clanton, Tom McLaury, Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan and a fifth unnamed man in a back room of the Occidental Saloon until morning. At about dawn on October 26, the card game broke up and Behan and Virgil Earp went home to bed. Ike Clanton testified later he saw Virgil take his six-shooter out of his lap and stick it in his pants when the game ended. Not having rented


title: "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" content: "Throw up your hands, I want your guns!" Wyatt said Virgil told the Cowboys, "Throw up your hands; I have come to disarm you!" Virgil and Wyatt both testified they saw Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton draw and cock their six-shooters. Virgil yelled: "Hold! I don't mean that!" or "Hold on, I don't want that!" The single-action revolvers carried by both groups had to be cocked before firing. Jeff Morey, who served as the historical consultant on the film "Tombstone", compared testimony by partisan and neutral witnesses and came to the conclusion that the Earps described the situation accurately. Who


title: Formaldehyde content: at least at two Carrefour supermarkets, the Central Jakarta Livestock and Fishery Sub-Department found a sweet glutinous rice drink (cendol) contained 10 parts per million of formaldehyde. In 2014, the owner of two noodle factories in Bogor, Indonesia; was arrested for using formaldehyde in noodles. 50 kg of formaldehyde was confiscated. Foods known to be contaminated included noodles, salted fish, and tofu. Chicken and beer were also rumored to be contaminated. In some places, such as China, manufacturers still use formaldehyde illegally as a preservative in foods, which exposes people to formaldehyde ingestion. In humans, the ingestion of formaldehyde has


title: "Picture archiving and communication system" content: separate C-STORE messages on one or more separate connections) with an identifier known as the destination Application Entity Title (AE Title). For a C-MOVE to work, the server must be configured with mapping of the AE Title to a TCP/IP address and port, and as a consequence the server must know in advance all the AE Titles that it will ever be requested to send images to. A C-GET, on the other hand, performs the C-STORE operations on the same connection as the request, and hence does not require that the "server" know the "client" TCP/IP address and port, and


title: "Initial public offering" content: Initial public offering Initial public offering (IPO) or stock market launch is a type of public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also retail (individual) investors; an IPO is underwritten by one or more investment banks, who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process, colloquially known as "floating", or "going public", a privately held company is transformed into a public company. Initial public offerings can be used: to raise new equity capital for the company concerned; to monetize the investments of private


title: "Australian Mist" content: Australian Mist The Australian Mist (formerly known as the Spotted Mist) is a breed of cat developed in Australia. This breed was developed by Truda Straede in Australia beginning in 1975. The breed was developed by crossing the Burmese, Abyssinian, and miscellaneous domestic short-haired cats to create a short-haired cat with a spotted coat. The name was changed from "Spotted Mist" to "Australian Mist" in 1998, when cats with marbled coats, rather than spots, were accepted as part of the breed. Australian Mists are medium-sized short-haired cats, with a round head and large eyes. The coat is very short and


title: "Australian Mist" content: Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in October 2011. Australian Mist The Australian Mist (formerly known as the Spotted Mist) is a breed of cat developed in Australia. This breed was developed by Truda Straede in Australia beginning in 1975. The breed was developed by crossing the Burmese, Abyssinian, and miscellaneous domestic short-haired cats to create a short-haired cat with a spotted coat. The name was changed from "Spotted Mist" to "Australian Mist" in 1998, when cats with marbled coats, rather than spots, were accepted as part of the breed. Australian Mists are medium-sized short-haired cats, with a round head


title: "Bicolor cat" content: a book written by Terry Pratchett, with cartoons by Gray Jolliffe. Other well-known cartoon bicolor cats include Sylvester the Cat, Krazy Kat, Felix the Cat, Tom Cat from "Tom and Jerry", Jess from "Postman Pat", Kitty Softpaws from the "Shrek" spin-off "Puss in Boots", Figaro, Beans and Sebastian the cat from "Josie and the Pussycats". A bicolor cat named Mittens is one of the main characters in the 2008 Disney animated film "Bolt". Aldwyn from "The Familiars" is a tuxedo cat, while Meowrice (voiced by Paul Frees) from "Gay Purr-ee" is a bicolor. A tuxedo cat is also the protagonist


title: Match content: Match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, modern matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matches are packaged in matchboxes, and paper matches are partially cut into rows and stapled into matchbooks. The coated end of a match, known as the match "head", consists of a bead of active ingredients and binder; often colored for easier inspection. There are two main types of matches: safety matches, which can be


title: Match content: struck only against a specially prepared surface, and strike-anywhere matches, for which any suitably frictional surface can be used. Historically, the term "match" referred to lengths of cord (later cambric) impregnated with chemicals, and allowed to burn continuously. These were used to light fires and fire guns (see matchlock) and cannons (see linstock). Such matches were characterised by their burning speed i.e. "quick match" and "slow match". Depending on its formulation, a slow match burns at a rate of around 30 cm (1 ft) per hour and a quick match at per minute. The modern equivalent of this sort of


title: Match content: match is the simple fuse, still used in pyrotechnics to obtain a controlled time delay before ignition. The original meaning of the word still persists in some pyrotechnics terms, such as "black match" (a black-powder-impregnated fuse) and "Bengal match" (a firework akin to sparklers producing a relatively long-burning, coloured flame). But, when friction matches became commonplace, they became the main object meant by the term. The word "match" derives from Old French "mèche" referring to the wick of a candle. A note in the text "Cho Keng Lu", written in 1366, describes a sulfur match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated


title: Match content: with sulfur, used in China by "impoverished court ladies" in AD 577 during the conquest of Northern Qi. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (AD 907–960), a book called the "Records of the Unworldly and the Strange" written by Chinese author Tao Gu in about 950 stated: If there occurs an emergency at night it may take some time to make a light to light a lamp. But an ingenious man devised the system of impregnating little sticks of pinewood with sulfur and storing them ready for use. At the slightest touch of fire, they burst into flame. One


title: Match content: gets a little flame like an ear of corn. This marvelous thing was formerly called a "light-bringing slave", but afterward when it became an article of commerce its name was changed to 'fire inch-stick'. Another text, "Wu Lin Chiu Shih", dated from 1270 AD, lists sulfur matches as something that was sold in the markets of Hangzhou, around the time of Marco Polo's visit. The matches were known as "fa chu" or "tshui erh". Prior to the use of matches, fires were sometimes lit using a burning glass (a lens) to focus the sun on tinder, a method that could


title: Match content: only work on sunny days. Another more common method was igniting tinder with sparks produced by striking flint and steel, or by sharply increasing air pressure in a fire piston. Early work had been done by alchemist Hennig Brand, who discovered the flammable nature of phosphorus in 1669. Others, including Robert Boyle and his assistant, Ambrose Godfrey, continued these experiments in the 1680s with phosphorus and sulfur, but their efforts did not produce practical and inexpensive methods for generating fires. A number of different ways were employed in order to light smoking tobacco: One was the use of a spill


title: Match content: — a thin object something like a straw, rolled paper, or a thin candle, which would be lit from a nearby, already existing flame and then used to light the pipe or cigar — most often kept near the fireplace in a spill vase. Another method saw the use of a striker, a tool that looked like scissors, but with flint on one "blade" and steel on the other. These would then be rubbed together, ultimately producing sparks. If neither of these two was available, one could also use ember tongs to pick up a coal from a fire and


title: Match content: light the tobacco directly. The first modern, self-igniting match was invented in 1805 by Jean Chancel, assistant to Professor Louis Jacques Thénard of Paris. The head of the match consisted of a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulfur, sugar, and rubber. The match was ignited by dipping its tip in a small asbestos bottle filled with sulfuric acid. This kind of match was quite expensive, however, and its use was also relatively dangerous, so Chancel's matches never really became widely adopted or in commonplace use. This approach to match making was further refined in the proceeding decades, culminating with the 'Promethean


title: Match content: Match' that was patented by Samuel Jones of London in 1828. His match consisted of a small glass capsule containing a chemical composition of sulfuric acid colored with indigo and coated on the exterior with potassium chlorate, all of which was wrapped up in rolls of paper. The immediate ignition of this particular form of a match was achieved by crushing the capsule with a pair of pliers, mixing and releasing the ingredients in order for it to become alight. In London, similar matches meant for lighting cigars were introduced in 1849 by Heurtner who had a shop called the


title: Match content: Lighthouse in the Strand. One version that he sold was called "Euperion" (sometimes "Empyrion") which was popular for kitchen use and nicknamed as "Hugh Perry", while another meant for outdoor use was called a "Vesuvian" or "flamer". The head was large and contained niter, charcoal and wood dust, and had a phosphorus tip. The handle was large and made of hardwood so as to burn vigorously and last for a while. Some even had glass stems. Both Vesuvians and Prometheans had a bulb of sulfuric acid at the tip which had to be broken to start the reaction. Samuel Jones


title: "Static random-access memory" content: than NMOS when same sized. Consequently, when one transistor pair (e.g. M and M) is only slightly overridden by the write process, the opposite transistors pair (M and M) gate voltage is also changed. This means that the M and M transistors can be easier overridden, and so on. Thus, cross-coupled inverters magnify the writing process. RAM with an access time of 70 ns will output valid data within 70 ns from the time that the address lines are valid. But the data will remain for a hold time as well (5–10 ns). Rise and fall times also influence valid


title: "Professional wrestling match types" content: pinfall or submission unless specific other stipulations are made beforehand. Steel cages are one of the oldest form of enclosures used in professional wrestling. The earliest known "steel cage matches" of any kind took place on January 9, 1936 in Caruthersville, Missouri, in a card that included two such "chicken wire fence" matches between Lon Chaney and Otto Ludwig, and Joe Dillman vs. Charles Sinkey. These matches took place in a ring surrounded by chicken wire, in order to keep the athletes inside, and prevent any potential interference. They have evolved a great deal over time, changing from chicken wire


title: Powerlifting content: was no 52 kg class, 100 kg class, or 125 kg class. At the first World Championships, one of the American super-heavyweights, Jim Williams, benched 660 lbs on his second attempt (no shirt), and almost locked out 680 lbs on a third attempt. Some other notable lifts were Larry Pacifico benching 515 lbs in the 90 kg class, John Kuc deadlifting 820 lbs, and Vince Anello attempting 800 lbs at 90 kg. Hugh Cassidy and Williams both totaled 2,160 lbs, but Cassidy got the win because of a lower bodyweight in the Super heavyweight division. In 1972 the 'second' AAU


title: "Pit bull" content: Pit bull Pit bull is the common name for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers. Formal breeds often considered to be of the pit bull type include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The American Bulldog is also sometimes included. Mixed-breed dogs which physically resemble these breeds often get labelled as "pit bulls" by shelters. Many of these breeds were originally developed as fighting dogs from cross breeding bull-baiting dogs (used to hold the faces and heads of larger animals such as bulls) and terriers. After the use of


title: "Pit bull" content: before allowing a dog to be labelled as a pit bull, as well as objections from veterinarians. Many of the jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls apply their restriction to the modern American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and any other dog that has the substantial physical characteristics and appearance of those breeds. Such jurisdictions include the Canadian province of Ontario, and the U.S. cities of Miami and Denver. However a few jurisdictions, such as Singapore also classify the modern American Bulldog as a "pit bull-type dog". In the United Kingdom, a pit bull is an American


title: "Pit bull" content: Pit Bull Terrier. Courts in the United States and Canada have ruled that expert identification, when using published breed standards, is sufficient for the enforcement of breed-specific legislation. Approximately 550 jurisdictions have enacted breed-specific legislation (BSL) in response to a number of well-publicized incidents involving pit bull-type dogs, and some government organizations such as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have taken administrative action as well. These actions range from outright bans on the possession of pit bull-type dogs, to restrictions and conditions on pit bull ownership. They often establish a legal presumption that a pit bull-type dog is "prima


title: "Pit bull" content: viral; and Lilly, who lost a leg after being struck by a freight train while pulling her unconscious owner from the train tracks. Daddy, Cesar Millan's right-hand dog, was famous for his mellow temperament and his ability to interact calmly with ill-mannered dogs. Pit bull Pit bull is the common name for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers. Formal breeds often considered to be of the pit bull type include the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, and Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The American Bulldog is also sometimes included. Mixed-breed dogs which physically resemble these


title: Cadillac content: and therefore, reliability; a Cadillac was simply a better-made vehicle than its competitors. The Cadillac Automobile Company merged with Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing, forming The Cadillac Motor Company in 1905. From its earliest years, Cadillac aimed for precision engineering and stylish luxury finishes, causing its cars to be ranked amongst the finest in the United States. Cadillac was the first volume manufacturer of a fully enclosed car, in 1906. Cadillac participated in the 1908 interchangeability test in the United Kingdom, and was awarded the Dewar Trophy for the most important advancement of the year in the automobile industry. In 1912,


title: Cadillac content: Book by Cadillac would be expanding to Dallas and Los Angeles. Current Future Additionally, Russian company Avtotor assembles the Cadillac CTS and Cadillac Escalade under license in Kaliningrad. Cadillac has won the "Motor Trend" Car of the Year award five times: Before the outbreak of World War II, Cadillac (like most manufacturers) participated in various types of motorsport. Many Allard automobiles used Cadillac engines. In the 1950s, Cadillac (like all American manufacturers at the time) participated in the NASCAR Grand National Series. The brand disappeared from the series by the 1960s. Cadillac powered the Cadillac Northstar LMP a Le Mans


title: "Bristol Aeroplane Company" content: Corporation (BAC). Bristol formed a holding company which held a 20 per cent share of BAC, while English Electric and Vickers held 40 per cent each. In 1966, the Bristol holding company which held 20 per cent of BAC and 50 per cent of Bristol Siddeley engines was acquired by Rolls-Royce. Bristol also had the following holdings and subsidiary companies at this time:- Bristol Aerojet (50 per cent) – Bristol Aeroplane Co Australia – Bristol DE Mexico SA (78 per cent) – Motores Bristol De Cuba SA – Bristol Aeroplane Co of Canada – Bristol Aero Industries Ltd – Bristol


title: "Bart Simpson" content: Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series "The Simpsons" and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in "The Tracey Ullman Show" short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, "Life in Hell", but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named


title: "Bart Simpson" content: after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word "brat". After appearing on "The Tracey Ullman Show" for three years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, and the brother of Lisa and Maggie. Bart's most prominent and popular character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. He has appeared in other media relating to "The Simpsons" – including video games, "The Simpsons Movie", "The Simpsons" Ride, commercials, and comic books –


title: "Bart Simpson" content: and inspired an entire line of merchandise. In casting, Nancy Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Cartwright found that Lisa was not interesting at the time, so instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", ""¡Ay, caramba!"", and "Don't have a cow, man!" Although, with the exception


title: "Bart Simpson" content: of "Ay, caramba!", they have been retired or not often used. During the first two seasons of "The Simpsons", Bart was the show's breakout character and "Bartmania" ensued, spawning Bart Simpson-themed merchandise touting his rebellious attitude and pride at underachieving, which caused many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children. Around the third season, the series started to focus more on the family as a whole, though Bart still remains a prominent character. "Time" named Bart one of the , and he was named "entertainer of the year" in 1990 by "Entertainment Weekly". Nancy


title: "Bart Simpson" content: Cartwright has won several awards for voicing Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 and an Annie Award in 1995. In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has appeared in every Simpsons episode except "Four Great Women and a Manicure". "The Simpsons" uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not age or age very little, and as such, the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this


title: "Bart Simpson" content: timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Bart's year of birth was stated in "I Married Marge" (season three, 1991) as being in the early 1980s. In "Simpsorama" (season 26, 2014) Bart states his birthday as February 23. He lived with his parents in the Lower East Side of Springfield until the Simpsons bought their first house. When Lisa was born, Bart was at first jealous of the attention she received, but he soon warmed to her when he discovered that "Bart" was her first word. Bart's first day of school was in the early 1990s. His initial enthusiasm was


title: "Bart Simpson" content: prevalent "Simpsons" character on memorabilia, such as T-shirts. In the early 1990s, millions of T-shirts featuring Bart were sold; as many as one million were sold on some days. Believing Bart to be a bad role model, several American public schools banned T-shirts featuring Bart next to captions such as "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" and "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". "The Simpsons" merchandise sold well and generated $2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. The success of Bart Simpson merchandise inspired an entire line of black market counterfeit items, especially T-shirts.


title: "Bart Simpson" content: made available for purchase on May 7, 2009. Bibliography Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series "The Simpsons" and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in "The Tracey Ullman Show" short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, "Life in Hell", but instead decided to create a new set of


title: "Jesus Prayer" content: Centering Prayer; the method used by The World Community for Christian Meditation, based on the Aramaic invocation "Maranatha"; the use of Lectio Divina; etc. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: In addition to Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, many Christians of other traditions also use the Jesus Prayer, primarily as a centering prayer or for contemplative prayer. The prayer is sometimes used with the Anglican rosary. The structure and content of the Jesus Prayer also bears a resemblance to the "Sinner's Prayer" used by many evangelical Protestants. Jesus Prayer The Jesus Prayer (or The Prayer) is a short formulaic


title: PowerBASIC content: are included among the GRAPHIC statements. Character output to a GRAPHIC target uses fonts specified via the FONT NEW statement. A GRAPHIC WINDOW is the equivalent of a Windows dialog box containing a static control on which drawing operations can be done. A single BASIC statement will create a GRAPHIC WINDOW and specify its size, position and title. It is not essential to specify a WNDPROC for the GRAPHIC WINDOW. A short source code example for a complete GRAPHIC WINDOW application follows: Using PB GRAPHIC statements, a GRAPHIC (WINDOW, BITMAP or control) is first selected as the current GRAPHIC target,


title: "Moiré pattern" content: moiré magnification occurs when viewing a chain-link fence through a second chain-link fence of identical design. The fine structure of the design is visible even at great distances. Let us consider two patterns made of parallel and equidistant lines, e.g., vertical lines. The step of the first pattern is , the step of the second is , with . If the lines of the patterns are superimposed at the left of the figure, the shift between the lines increase when going to the right. After a given number of lines, the patterns are opposed: the lines of the second pattern


title: "Moiré pattern" content: instructed to avoid clothing which could cause the effect. Photographs of a TV screen taken with a digital camera often exhibit moiré patterns. Since both the TV screen and the digital camera use a scanning technique to produce or to capture pictures with horizontal scan lines, the conflicting sets of lines cause the moiré patterns. To avoid the effect, the digital camera can be aimed at an angle of 30 degrees to the TV screen. The Moiré effect is used in shoreside beacons called "Inogon leading marks" or "Inogon lights" to mark underwater hazards (usually pipelines or cables). The moiré


title: Percentage content: Percentage In mathematics, a percentage is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", or the abbreviations "pct.", "pct"; sometimes the abbreviation "pc" is also used. A percentage is a dimensionless number (pure number). For example, 45% (read as "forty-five percent") is equal to , 45:100, or 0.45. Percentages are often used to express a proportionate part of a total. If 50% of the total number of students in the class are male, that means that 50 out of every 100 students are male. If there are 500 students,


title: Percentage content: then 250 of them are male. An increase of $0.15 on a price of $2.50 is an increase by a fraction of = 0.06. Expressed as a percentage, this is a 6% increase. While many percentage values are between 0 and 100, there is no mathematical restriction and percentages may take on other values. For example, it is common to refer to 111% or −35%, especially for percent changes and comparisons. In Ancient Rome, long before the existence of the decimal system, computations were often made in fractions which were multiples of . For example, Augustus levied a tax of


title: Percentage content: on goods sold at auction known as "centesima rerum venalium". Computation with these fractions was equivalent to computing percentages. As denominations of money grew in the Middle Ages, computations with a denominator of 100 became more standard and from the late 15th century to the early 16th century it became common for arithmetic texts to include such computations. Many of these texts applied these methods to profit and loss, interest rates, and the Rule of Three. By the 17th century it was standard to quote interest rates in hundredths. The term "per cent" is derived from the Latin "per centum",


title: Percentage content: meaning "by the hundred". The sign for "per cent" evolved by gradual contraction of the Italian term "per cento", meaning "for a hundred". The "per" was often abbreviated as "p." and eventually disappeared entirely. The "cento" was contracted to two circles separated by a horizontal line, from which the modern "%" symbol is derived. The percent value is computed by multiplying the numeric value of the ratio by 100. For example, to find 50 apples as a percentage of 1250 apples, first compute the ratio = 0.04, and then multiply by 100 to obtain 4%. The percent value can also


title: Percentage content: be found by multiplying first, so in this example the 50 would be multiplied by 100 to give 5,000, and this result would be divided by 1250 to give 4%. To calculate a percentage of a percentage, convert both percentages to fractions of 100, or to decimals, and multiply them. For example, 50% of 40% is: It is not correct to divide by 100 and use the percent sign at the same time. (E.g. , not , which actually is . A term such as would also be incorrect, this would be read as 1 percent even if the intent


title: Percentage content: was to say 100%.) Whenever we talk about a percentage, it is important to specify what it is relative to, i.e. what is the total that corresponds to 100%. The following problem illustrates this point. We are asked to compute the ratio of female computer science majors to all computer science majors. We know that 60% of all students are female, and among these 5% are computer science majors, so we conclude that × = or 3% of all students are female computer science majors. Dividing this by the 10% of all students that are computer science majors, we arrive


title: Percentage content: at the answer: = or 30% of all computer science majors are female. This example is closely related to the concept of conditional probability. Due to inconsistent usage, it is not always clear from the context what a percentage is relative to. When speaking of a "10% rise" or a "10% fall" in a quantity, the usual interpretation is that this is relative to the "initial value" of that quantity. For example, if an item is initially priced at $200 and the price rises 10% (an increase of $20), the new price will be $220. Note that this final price


title: Percentage content: is 110% of the initial price (100% + 10% = 110%). Some other examples of percent changes: In general, a change of percent in a quantity results in a final amount that is 100 + percent of the original amount (equivalently, 1 + 0.01 times the original amount). Percent changes applied sequentially "do not add up" in the usual way. For example, if the 10% increase in price considered earlier (on the $200 item, raising its price to $220) is followed by a 10% decrease in the price (a decrease of $22), the final price will be $198, "not" the


title: Percentage content: original price of $200. The reason for the apparent discrepancy is that the two percent changes (+10% and −10%) are measured relative to "different" quantities ($200 and $220, respectively), and thus do not "cancel out". In general, if an increase of percent is followed by a decrease of percent, and the initial amount was , the final amount is ; thus the net change is an overall decrease by percent "of" percent (the square of the original percent change when expressed as a decimal number). Thus, in the above example, after an increase and decrease of , the final amount,


title: Percentage content: $198, was 10% of 10%, or 1%, less than the initial amount of $200. The net change is the same for a decrease of percent followed by an increase of percent; the final amount is . This can be expanded for a case where you do not have the same percent change. If the initial percent change is and the second percent change is , and the initial amount was , then the final amount is . To change the above example, after an increase of and decrease of , the final amount, $209, is 4.5% more than the initial


title: Tamale content: the Spanish name "bollo" or "dukunu", a green corn tamale. Nicaragua has a large form known as "nacatamales." Unlike other tamale recipes, the meat is added raw and cooked in the dough. In Panama, where they are considered one of the main national dishes, tamales are fairly large. The most common fillings are chicken, raisins, onions, tomato sauce, and sometimes sweet peas. Pork is also used. Another variation is "tamal en olla", or tamal in pot, which simply is the tamale mixture, not wrapped in either plantain or banana leaves, and served directly from the pot onto plates. Tamales are


title: Tamale content: are sometimes filled with meat and seafood, or are plain and have no filling. There are certain varieties, such as tamalos, that are made of a sweet corn masa wrapped in a corn husk or leaf. There are also varieties made without masa, like tamalis, which are made with small fish fry wrapped in banana leaves and steamed, similar to the tamales de charal from Mexico, where the small fish are cooked whole with herbs and seasonings wrapped inside a corn husk without masa. The number of varieties have unfortunately dwindled through the years so certain types of tamales that


title: Snowball content: Snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is often used to engage in games, such as snowball fights. Snowball fights are usually light-hearted and involve throwing snowballs at one's friends or family. The pressure exerted by the hands on the snow is a determinant for the final result. Reduced pressure leads to a light and soft snowball. Compacting humid or "packing" snow, by applying a high pressure produces a harder snowball or "iceball", which eventually can be considered harmful


title: Snowball content: during a snowball fight. A snowball may also be a large ball of snow formed by rolling a smaller snowball on a snow-covered surface. The smaller snowball grows by picking up additional snow as it rolls. The terms "snowball effect", "snowballing" and "Y Gasseg Eira" are named after this process. Often a snowman can be created using this method of snowballing, to create the sections needed to build the sculpture. There are some temperature and humidity ranges that prohibit or restrict the formation of a snowball. With a powdery snow, snowballs are difficult to form. In temperatures below , there


title: Snowball content: may create beach snowballs. This is the same mechanism that creates rounded boulders and pebbles on a beach. A snowball that turns into a child is a protagonist in a 1969 children's novel, "The Snowball", by Barbara Sleigh Snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and compacting it into a roughly fist-sized ball. The snowball is often used to engage in games, such as snowball fights. Snowball fights are usually light-hearted and involve throwing snowballs at one's friends or family. The pressure exerted by the hands on the snow


title: "Dr. Nick" content: "Treehouse of Horror IX", he injects "himself" with anesthetic after punching Homer in the face in order to knock him out before performing a hair transplant on him, using a pizza cutter. In the episode "Much Apu About Nothing", he is seen taking a citizenship test, implying that prior to this he was not a citizen of the United States. Though his origin remains unconfirmed, Dr Nick has a notable Argentine accent in the Spanish-language dubs. In the episode "Margical History Tour", the sequence set in 18th-century Vienna has Dr. Nick saying "Guten Tag, everybody!" The degrees in his office


title: "Doodles Weaver" content: 1950s through the 1970s. Weaver made his last onscreen appearance in 1981. Weaver was married four times, with all his marriages ending in divorce. He had two sons from his last marriage to actress Reita Green. Despondent over poor health, Weaver fatally shot himself in January 1983. Born in Los Angeles, Weaver was one of four children born to Sylvester Laflin Weaver, a wealthy roofing contractor, and Annabel (née Dixon) Weaver. His older brother was Sylvester "Pat" Weaver who served as the President of NBC in the 1950s. Weaver's niece is actress Sigourney Weaver. He was of English and Scottish


title: Berkshire content: has offices of the Big Four accounting firms Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst and Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The global headquarters of Reckitt Benckiser and the UK headquarters of Mars, Incorporated are based in Slough. The European head offices of major IT companies BlackBerry, CA Technologies, are in the town. O has headquarters in four buildings. The town is home to the National Foundation for Educational Research, which is housed in The Mere. Other major brands with offices in the town include Nintendo, Black and Decker, Amazon.co.uk, Honda, HTC, Scottish and Southern Energy and Abbey Business Centres. Dulux paints are still manufactured in


title: "Maria Callas" content: breath support, even though she does not make the connection between her weight and her breath support. In an April 1977 interview with journalist , she stated, My best recordings were made when I was skinny, and I say "skinny", not slim, because I worked a lot and couldn't gain weight back; I became even too skinny ... I had my greatest successes — "Lucia", "Sonnambula", "Medea", "Anna Bolena" — when I was skinny as a nail. Even for my first time here in Paris in 1958 when the show was broadcast through Eurovision, I was skinny. Really skinny." And


title: Tire content: form the ply and bead and provide the tensile strength necessary to contain the inflation pressure, can be composed of steel, natural fibers such as cotton or silk, or synthetic fibers such as nylon or kevlar. The elastomer, which forms the tread and encases the cords to protect them from abrasion and hold them in place, is a key component of pneumatic tire design. It can be composed of various composites of rubber material – the most common being styrene-butadiene copolymer – with other chemical compound such as silica and carbon black. Optimizing rolling resistance in the elastomer material is


title: Toronto content: Toronto Toronto ( ) is the capital city of the province of Ontario and the largest city in Canada by population, with 2,731,571 residents in 2016. Current to 2016, the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA), of which the majority is within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), held a population of 5,928,040, making it Canada's most populous CMA. Toronto is the anchor of an urban agglomeration, known as the Golden Horseshoe in Southern Ontario, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture, and is recognized as one of


title: Triticale content: all amphidiploid, which means the plant is diploid for two genomes derived from different species. In other words, triticale is an allotetraploid. In earlier years, most work was done on octoploid triticale. Different ploidy levels have been created and evaluated over time. The tetraploids showed little promise, but hexaploid triticale was successful enough to find commercial application. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center triticale improvement program was intended to improve food production and nutrition in developing countries. Triticale was thought to have potential in the production of bread and other food products, such as cookies, pasta, pizza dough and


title: Tahiti content: and connected by a short isthmus named after the small town of Taravao which is situated there. The northwestern portion is known as "Tahiti Nui" ("big Tahiti"), while the much smaller southeastern portion is known as "Tahiti Iti" ("small Tahiti") or "Tai'arapū". "Tahiti Nui" is heavily populated along the coast, especially around the capital, Papeete. The interior of "Tahiti Nui" is almost entirely uninhabited. "Tahiti Iti" has remained isolated, as its southeastern half ("Te Pari") is accessible only to those travelling by boat or on foot. The rest of the island is encircled by a main road which cuts between


title: "Patty Hearst" content: van. Accompanied by a female employee, the manager followed Harris out and confronted him. During the ensuing scuffle one of Harris' wrists was restrained, and his pistol fell out of his waistband. Hearst, who had been taught to use guns by her father, discharged the entire magazine of an automatic carbine into the overhead storefront, causing the manager to dive behind a lightpost. When he tried to shoot back with the pistol, Hearst, now firing single shots with another weapon, brought her fire closer, blasting fragments around him. Escaping from the area, Hearst and the Harrises hijacked two cars, abducting


title: Hobo content: The most notable is the National Hobo Convention held in Britt, Iowa. The town first hosted the Convention in 1900, but there followed a hiatus of thirty-three years. Since 1934 the Convention has been held annually in Britt, on the second weekend in August. The Britt Hobo Museum exhibits a smattering of hobo history and lore. Initially just a "Hobo Convention" museum, in the late 1990s it evolved into a fuller Hobo History museum. LeAnn Castillo, a local artist and the hobo painter, exhibits her portrait collection of hobo kings and queens since 1900. All of her paintings are made


title: Hobo content: festivities. There is also stock-car racing. Examples of characters based on hobos include: Musicians known for hobo songs include: Baby Gramps, Railroad Earth, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Utah Phillips, Jimmie Rodgers, Seasick Steve, and Boxcar Willie. Examples of hobo songs include: Hobo A hobo is a migrant worker or homeless vagrant, especially one who is impoverished. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States around 1890. Unlike a "tramp", who works only when forced to, and a "bum", who does not work at all, a "hobo" is a traveling worker. The origin of the term is unknown. According to etymologist Anatoly


title: Kickflip content: Kickflip The kickflip is a maneuver in skateboarding in which a rider flips their skateboard 360° along the axis that extends from the nose to the tail of the deck. When the rider is regular footed the board spins clockwise if viewed from the front. It was the first of many modern flip tricks to be invented or modified by Rodney Mullen in the early 1980s. The original kickflip was invented by pioneer Curt Lindgren prior to 1978 and was later modified and popularized by Mullen. In March 2011, the first kickflip in surfing was landed by Zoltan "The Magician"


title: Kickflip content: Torkos. Torkos's feat was widely criticized and remains disputed as to whether or not it traveled up and off the lip of the wave. In the 1970s freestyle skateboarders learned to flip the board over beneath them by lifting an edge of the board with the top of one toe. While the board flipped completely over, It did not gain much clearance from the ground, and the setup required the rider to stand more parallel to the direction of motion, with both feet facing the nose. Very well known and commonly performed today, the kickflip is a basic skateboarding trick.


title: Kickflip content: Once they have mastered the trick on flat ground, many skateboarders like to up the stakes and start taking this recently learned maneuver down obstacles. They also start combining it with other tricks such as kickflip to frontside boardslide. In 1982 Rodney Mullen invented the modern form of the trick, initially naming it the "magic flip". He first would use his relatively new flatground ollie to leave the ground, then, instead of lifting an edge with a toe, he initiated the flip by sliding his front foot off the top of the board. Mullen's kickflip technique gave him more control


title: Kickflip content: possible: Kickflip The kickflip is a maneuver in skateboarding in which a rider flips their skateboard 360° along the axis that extends from the nose to the tail of the deck. When the rider is regular footed the board spins clockwise if viewed from the front. It was the first of many modern flip tricks to be invented or modified by Rodney Mullen in the early 1980s. The original kickflip was invented by pioneer Curt Lindgren prior to 1978 and was later modified and popularized by Mullen. In March 2011, the first kickflip in surfing was landed by Zoltan "The


title: "Sudden infant death syndrome" content: the bed partners are using drugs or alcohol or are smoking. The risk remains, however, even in parents who do not smoke or use drugs. The American Academy of Pediatrics thus recommends "room-sharing without bed-sharing", stating that such an arrangement can decrease the risk of SIDS by up to 50%. Furthermore, the Academy recommended against devices marketed to make bed-sharing "safe", such as in-bed co-sleepers. Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of SIDS. It is not clear if co-sleeping among mothers who breastfeed without any other risk factors increases SIDS risk. SIDS rates decrease with increasing maternal age, with


title: Brake content: described according to several characteristics including: Foundation components are the brake-assembly components at the wheels of a vehicle, named for forming the basis of the rest of the brake system. These mechanical parts contained around the wheels are controlled by the air brake system. The three types of foundation brake systems are “S” cam brakes, disc brakes and wedge brakes. Most modern vehicles use a vacuum assisted brake system that greatly increases the force applied to the vehicle's brakes by its operator. This additional force is supplied by the manifold vacuum generated by air flow being obstructed by the throttle


title: Tigger content: Tigger Tigger is a fictional tiger character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book "The House at Pooh Corner." Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toy animals. Tigger appears in the Disney cartoon versions of Winnie the Pooh and has also appeared in his own film. He is known for his distinctive orange and black stripes, large eyes, a long chin, a springy tail, and his love of bouncing. As he says himself, "Bouncing is what Tiggers do best." Tigger never refers to himself as a tiger, but as a "Tigger". Although


title: Tigger content: the 2011 film. Tigger Tigger is a fictional tiger character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book "The House at Pooh Corner." Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toy animals. Tigger appears in the Disney cartoon versions of Winnie the Pooh and has also appeared in his own film. He is known for his distinctive orange and black stripes, large eyes, a long chin, a springy tail, and his love of bouncing. As he says himself, "Bouncing is what Tiggers do best." Tigger never refers to himself as a tiger, but as


title: "Great Seal of the United States" content: of this number is a common motif in the seal. The official description of the seal states that there should be thirteen stars in the "glory" above the eagle's head, thirteen stripes on the shield, and thirteen arrows in the eagle's talon. The initial description of the reverse specified thirteen [[step pyramid|levels to the pyramid]], and though the number was left out of the final version, all depictions typically still show thirteen levels. Also by custom, since 1885 there are thirteen leaves and thirteen olives on the olive branch. [[File:GreatSealPress.jpg|thumb|The press and cabinet, made in 1903]] In the Department of


title: "Aeron chair" content: people think is required for it to be a scientifically 'good' chair". Sitting expert A. C. Mandal has criticized the Aeron as "far too low" and not offering enough height adjustment and opportunities for the sitter to move. According to the chair's co-designer Don Chadwick, the task given to him by Herman Miller was to update the company's previous best-seller, not to design the ideal chair for an eight-hour workday. "We were given a brief and basically told to design the next-generation office chair," Chadwick said. Aeron chair The Aeron chair is an office chair designed in 1992 by Don


title: Chirp content: Chirp A chirp is a signal in which the frequency increases ("up-chirp") or decreases ("down-chirp") with time. In some sources, the term "chirp" is used interchangeably with sweep signal. It is commonly used in sonar, radar, and laser, but has other applications, such as in spread-spectrum communications. In spread-spectrum usage, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices such as reflective array compressors (RACs) are often used to generate and demodulate the chirped signals. In optics, ultrashort laser pulses also exhibit chirp, which, in optical transmission systems, interacts with the dispersion properties of the materials, increasing or decreasing total pulse dispersion as the


title: Chirp content: Chirp modulation, or linear frequency modulation for digital communication, was patented by Sidney Darlington in 1954 with significant later work performed by Winkler in 1962. This type of modulation employs sinusoidal waveforms whose instantaneous frequency increases or decreases linearly over time. These waveforms are commonly referred to as linear chirps or simply chirps. Hence the rate at which their frequency changes is called the "chirp rate". In binary chirp modulation, binary data is transmitted by mapping the bits into chirps of opposite chirp rates. For instance, over one bit period "1" is assigned a chirp with positive rate "a" and


title: Chirp content: "0" a chirp with negative rate "−a". Chirps have been heavily used in radar applications and as a result advanced sources for transmission and matched filters for reception of linear chirps are available. Another kind of chirp is the projective chirp, of the form: having the three parameters "a" (scale), "b" (translation), and "c" (chirpiness). The projective chirp is ideally suited to image processing, and forms the basis for the projective chirplet transform. A change in frequency of Morse code from the desired frequency, due to poor stability in the RF oscillator, is known as chirp, and in the R-S-T


title: Chirp content: system is given an appended letter 'C'. Chirp A chirp is a signal in which the frequency increases ("up-chirp") or decreases ("down-chirp") with time. In some sources, the term "chirp" is used interchangeably with sweep signal. It is commonly used in sonar, radar, and laser, but has other applications, such as in spread-spectrum communications. In spread-spectrum usage, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices such as reflective array compressors (RACs) are often used to generate and demodulate the chirped signals. In optics, ultrashort laser pulses also exhibit chirp, which, in optical transmission systems, interacts with the dispersion properties of the materials, increasing


title: Recife content: move away from the beach. The Council for Shark Hazard Monitoring (Cemit), recommends the following precautions to prevent the attack of sharks on beaches in Recife: Avoid bathing between sunset and sunrise. It is in this period that sharks are most active. Do not enter the sea when the tide is full. Hungry sharks get across the reef if there is enough water flowing over them. Avoid swimming alone and when the water is cloudy. Do not enter the water above the waist and do not swim in the open sea. In 1995, the Pernambuco government prohibited the practice of


title: Hypothyroidism content: of situations where hypothyroidism is common: other autoimmune diseases, a strong family history of thyroid disease, those who have received radioiodine or other radiation therapy to the neck, those who have previously undergone thyroid surgery, those with an abnormal thyroid examination, those with psychiatric disorders, people taking amiodarone or lithium, and those with a number of health conditions (such as certain heart and skin conditions). Yearly thyroid function tests are recommended in people with Down syndrome, as they are at higher risk of thyroid disease. Most people with hypothyroidism symptoms and confirmed thyroxine deficiency are treated with a synthetic long-acting


title: Microphone content: Microphone A microphone, colloquially nicknamed mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, sound recording, two-way radios, megaphones, radio and television broadcasting, and in computers for recording voice, speech recognition, VoIP, and for non-acoustic purposes such as ultrasonic sensors or knock sensors. Several different types of microphone are in use, which employ different methods to convert the air pressure variations of a sound wave to an


title: Microphone content: electrical signal. The most common are the dynamic microphone, which uses a coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field; the condenser microphone, which uses the vibrating diaphragm as a capacitor plate, and the piezoelectric microphone, which uses a crystal of piezoelectric material. Microphones typically need to be connected to a preamplifier before the signal can be recorded or reproduced. In order to speak to larger groups of people, a need arose to increase the volume of the human voice. The earliest devices used to achieve this were acoustic megaphones. Some of the first examples, from fifth century BC Greece,


title: Microphone content: were theater masks with horn-shaped mouth openings that acoustically amplified the voice of actors in amphitheatres. In 1665, the English physicist Robert Hooke was the first to experiment with a medium other than air with the invention of the "lovers' telephone" made of stretched wire with a cup attached at each end. German inventor Johann Philipp Reis designed an early sound transmitter that used a metallic strip attached to a vibrating membrane that would produce intermittent current. Better results were achieved with the "liquid transmitter" design in Scottish-American Alexander Graham Bell's telephone of 1876 – the diaphragm was attached to


title: Microphone content: a conductive rod in an acid solution. These systems, however, gave a very poor sound quality. The first microphone that enabled proper voice telephony was the (loose-contact) carbon microphone. This was independently developed by David Edward Hughes in England and Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison in the US. Although Edison was awarded the first patent (after a long legal dispute) in mid-1877, Hughes had demonstrated his working device in front of many witnesses some years earlier, and most historians credit him with its invention. The carbon microphone is the direct prototype of today's microphones and was critical in the development


title: "Printed circuit board" content: Printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB) mechanically supports and electrically connects electronic components or electrical components using conductive tracks, pads and other features etched from one or more sheet layers of copper laminated onto and/or between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate. Components are generally soldered onto the PCB to both electrically connect and mechanically fasten them to it. Printed circuit boards are used in all but the simplest electronic products. They are also used in some electrical products, such as passive switch boxes. Alternatives to PCBs include wire wrap and point-to-point construction, both once popular but now


title: "Printed circuit board" content: rarely used. PCBs require additional design effort to lay out the circuit, but manufacturing and assembly can be automated. Specialized CAD software is available to do much of the work of layout. Mass-producing circuits with PCBs is cheaper and faster than with other wiring methods, as components are mounted and wired in one operation. Large numbers of PCBs can be fabricated at the same time, and the layout only has to be done once. PCBs can also be made manually in small quantities, with reduced benefits. PCBs can be single-sided (one copper layer), double-sided (two copper layers on both sides


title: "Printed circuit board" content: of one substrate layer), or multi-layer (outer and inner layers of copper, alternating with layers of substrate). Multi-layer PCBs allow for much higher component density, because circuit traces on the inner layers would otherwise take up surface space between components. The rise in popularity of multilayer PCBs with more than two, and especially with more than four, copper planes was concurrent with the adoption of surface mount technology. However, multilayer PCBs make repair, analysis, and field modification of circuits much more difficult and usually impractical. The world market for bare PCBs exceeded $60.2 billion in 2014. In 2018, the Global


title: "Printed circuit board" content: Single Sided Printed Circuit Board Market Analysis Report estimated that the PCB market would reach $79 billion by 2024. Before the development of printed circuit boards electrical and electronic circuits were wired point-to-point on a chassis. Typically, the chassis was a sheet metal frame or pan, sometimes with a wooden bottom. Components were attached to the chassis, usually by insulators when the connecting point on the chassis was metal, and then their leads were connected directly or with jumper wires by soldering, or sometimes using crimp connectors, wire connector lugs on screw terminals, or other methods. Circuits were large, bulky,


title: "Printed circuit board" content: heavy, and relatively fragile (even discounting the breakable glass envelopes of the vacuum tubes that were often included in the circuits), and production was labor-intensive, so the products were expensive. Development of the methods used in modern printed circuit boards started early in the 20th century. In 1903, a German inventor, Albert Hanson, described flat foil conductors laminated to an insulating board, in multiple layers. Thomas Edison experimented with chemical methods of plating conductors onto linen paper in 1904. Arthur Berry in 1913 patented a print-and-etch method in the UK, and in the United States Max Schoop obtained a patent


title: "Printed circuit board" content: known pre-preg materials used in the PCB industry are FR-2 (phenolic cotton paper), FR-3 (cotton paper and epoxy), FR-4 (woven glass and epoxy), FR-5 (woven glass and epoxy), FR-6 (matte glass and polyester), G-10 (woven glass and epoxy), CEM-1 (cotton paper and epoxy), CEM-2 (cotton paper and epoxy), CEM-3 (non-woven glass and epoxy), CEM-4 (woven glass and epoxy), CEM-5 (woven glass and polyester). Thermal expansion is an important consideration especially with ball grid array (BGA) and naked die technologies, and glass fiber offers the best dimensional stability. FR-4 is by far the most common material used today. The board stock


title: Denim content: Denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been produced in India for hundreds of years, denim itself was first produced in the French city of Nîmes under the name “serge de Nîmes”. The most common denim is indigo denim, in which the warp thread is dyed, while the weft thread is left white. As a result of the warp-faced twill weaving, one side of the textile is


title: Denim content: the manufacture of the garment that they then hired Davis to be in charge of the mass production in San Francisco. All denim goes through generally the same process to creation. Dry or raw denim (contrasted with "washed denim") is denim that is not washed after having been dyed during production. Over time dry denim will fade, considered fashionable in some circumstances. During the process of wear, fading will usually occur on those parts of the article that receive the most stress. On a pair of jeans, this includes the upper thighs, the ankles, and the areas behind the knees.


title: Denim content: After being made into an article of clothing, most denim articles are washed to make them softer and to reduce or eliminate shrinkage (which could cause the article to not fit properly after its owner washes it). This process is known as sanforization. In addition to being sanforized, "washed denim" is sometimes artificially distressed to produce a "worn" look. Much of the appeal of artificially distressed denim is that it resembles dry denim which has faded. In jeans made from dry denim, such fading is affected by the body of the person who wears them and by the activities of


title: Denim content: their daily life. This process creates what many enthusiasts feel to be a look more "natural" than artificially distressed denim. To facilitate the natural distressing process, some wearers of dry denim will abstain from washing their jeans for more than six months. Most dry denim is made with 100% cotton and comes from several different countries. In particular, the United States, Zimbabwe and Japan are popular sources of cotton for making raw denim. Dry denim also varies in weight, typically measured by the weight of a yard of denim in ounces. 12 oz. or less is considered light denim, 12


title: Denim content: "give" in garments made from stretch denim. Only a small percentage (about 3%) of spandex is required within the fabric to create a significant stretching capacity of about 15%. However, this feature will shorten the wearing life of the garment. Starting with the 1973 model year, American Motors Corporation (AMC) offered a regular production option consisting of a Levi's interior trim package. Over the years it was available on the Gremlin, Hornet, and Pacer, as well as Jeep models. Although the car's jean material looks just like the real thing, AMC used spun nylon that was made to imitate denim.


title: Denim content: This was because real denim fabric is not tough enough for automobile use and cannot pass fire resistance safety standards. The copper rivets were the actual versions and the seat design included traditional contrasting stitching with the Levi's tab on both the front seat backs. The option also included unique door panels with Levis trim and removable map pockets, as well as "Levi's" decal identification on the front fenders. The Levi's interior was available through the 1978 AMC Concord. A Levi's trim package was also made available by AMC on most Jeeps, including the CJ series, Cherokee, Wagoneer, and J


title: Denim content: increase from $113 billion to $153 billion. The following table shows where the world's denim mills are located. Denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been produced in India for hundreds of years, denim itself was first produced in the French city of Nîmes under the name “serge de Nîmes”. The most common denim is indigo denim, in which the warp thread is dyed, while the weft


title: Rigoletto content: happens inside is easily seen from the exterior. At the back of the stage are deserted areas by the river which flows behind a parapet that has half collapsed into ruins. Beyond the river is Mantua. It is night. Gilda and Rigoletto, both uneasy, are standing in the road; Sparafucile is seated at a table in the tavern." A portion of Sparafucile's house is seen, with two rooms open to the view of the audience. Rigoletto and Gilda arrive outside. The Duke's voice can be heard from inside, singing "La donna è mobile" ("Woman is fickle"). Sparafucile's sister, Maddalena, has


title: "Pete Sampras" content: Campin in Bogotá, Colombia. Sampras won 12 of the 16 matches he played against Patrick Rafter, including eight of their first nine, and their final four meetings. In 1997, Rafter won the US Open, a tournament that many expected Sampras to win, having won in 1995 and 1996. The win catapulted Rafter to the year-end no. 2 rankings behind Sampras. Seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe believed Rafter to be a "one-slam wonder", since it was only his second career ATP title. Up to that point, Sampras was 5-1 against Rafter, and defeated Rafter three times in fall 1997 to


title: "Pete Sampras" content: spotted at multiple exhibitions playing with a Babolat Pure Storm Tour, along with Babolat's popular RPM Blast strings. "I need a little more pop...I need it if I'm going to play some tennis," he said after playing Gael Monfils in an exhibition at the SAP Open. During a good part of 2011, Sampras used a racquet that was painted all black, with Tourna Grip and Tourna Damper. In the late 1980s, Sampras signed a three-year endorsement contract with Sergio Tacchini. It was extended to five years before Sampras signed with Nike in 1994. He wore Nike apparel and Nike Air


title: Jaundice content: (which causes the jaundice); and protein levels, specifically, total protein and albumin. Other primary lab tests for liver function include gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and prothrombin time (PT). Some bone and heart disorders can lead to an increase in ALP and the aminotransferases, so the first step in differentiating these from liver problems is to compare the levels of GGT, which will only be elevated in liver-specific conditions. The second step is distinguishing from biliary (cholestatic) or liver (hepatic) causes of jaundice and altered laboratory results. The former typically indicates a surgical response, while the latter typically leans toward a


title: Mini content: Mini The Mini is a small economy car produced by the English-based British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered an icon of 1960s British popular culture. Its space-saving transverse engine front-wheel drive layout – allowing 80 percent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage – influenced a generation of car makers. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citroën DS and Volkswagen Beetle. This distinctive two-door car was


title: Mini content: designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. It was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England, the Victoria Park/Zetland British Motor Corporation (Australia) factory in Sydney, Australia, and later also in Spain (Authi), Belgium, Chile, Italy (Innocenti), Malta, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. The Mini Mark I had three major UK updates – the Mark II, the Clubman and the Mark III. Within these was a series of variations, including an estate car, a pick-up truck, a van and the Mini Moke, a jeep-like buggy. The performance versions, the Mini Cooper and Cooper "S", were successful


title: Mini content: as both race and rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967. In 1966, the first-placed Mini (along with nine other cars) was disqualified after the finish, under a controversial decision that the car's headlights were against the rules. On its introduction in August 1959 the Mini was marketed under the Austin and Morris names, as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor. The Austin Seven was renamed Austin Mini in January 1962 and Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969. In 1980 it once again became the Austin Mini and in 1988 just


title: Mini content: "Mini" (although the "Rover" badge was applied on some models exported to Japan). BMW acquired the Rover Group (formerly British Leyland) in 1994, and sold the greater part of it in 2000, but retained the rights to build cars using the "MINI" name. The Mini came about because of a fuel shortage caused by the 1956 Suez Crisis. Petrol was once again rationed in the UK, sales of large cars slumped, and the market for German bubble cars boomed, even in countries like Britain where imported cars were still a rarity. The Fiat 500, launched in 1957, was also hugely


title: Mini content: successful - especially in its native Italy. Leonard Lord, the somewhat autocratic head of BMC, reportedly detested these cars so much that he vowed to rid the streets of them and design a 'proper miniature car'. He laid down some basic design requirements: the car should be contained within a box that measured ; and the passenger accommodation should occupy of the length; and the engine, for reasons of cost, should be an existing unit. Alec Issigonis, who had been working for Alvis, had been recruited back to BMC in 1955 with a brief from Lord to design a range


title: Mini content: of technically advanced family cars in the same innovative spirit as his earlier Morris Minor to complement BMC's existing conventional models. Issigonis had set out design projects for three cars – large and small family cars and a very small economy car. His initial work was on the largest car, designated XC9001, with the smallest car, XC9003, having the lowest priority despite it being Issigonis' greatest personal interest. With Lord's dictum to produce a bubble car competitor and his revised design requirements being laid down in October 1956, work on XC9001 stopped and XC9003 became the priority. The team that


title: Mini content: designed the Mini was remarkably small: as well as Issigonis, there was Jack Daniels (who had worked with him on the Morris Minor), Chris Kingham (who had been with him at Alvis), two engineering students and four draughtsmen. Together, by July 1957, they had designed and built the original XC9003 prototype, which was affectionately named "The Orange Box" because of its colour. Leonard Lord approved the car for production on 19 July and XC9003 became project ADO15. The ADO15 used a conventional BMC A-Series four-cylinder, water-cooled engine, but departed from tradition by mounting it transversely, with the engine-oil-lubricated, four-speed transmission


title: Mini content: in the sump, and by employing front-wheel drive. Almost all small front-wheel-drive cars developed since have used a similar configuration, except with the transmission usually separately enclosed rather than using the engine oil. The radiator was mounted at the left side of the car so that the engine-mounted fan could be retained, but with reversed pitch so that it blew air into the natural low pressure area under the front wing. This location saved vehicle length, but had the disadvantage of feeding the radiator with air that had been heated by passing over the engine. It also exposed the entire


title: Mini content: ignition system to the direct ingress of rainwater through the grille. Early prototypes used the existing 948 cc A-Series unit but this provided the ADO15 with performance far greater than its price and purpose required – a top speed of over 90mph. The engine was reduced to a new 848cc capacity with a shorter stroke. This reduced power from 37 to 33 bhp and caused a significant drop in torque and so provided more realistic performance, especially when the ADO15 body was widened by 2 inches (5.08 cm) (5 cm) over the XC9003 prototype which blunted the car's top speed


title: Mini content: claimed that a kangaroo can go all day without drinking which the advertisers used to emphasise the frugal fuel consumption and, possibly, larger fuel tank. Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and designer and builder of Formula One and rally cars, saw the potential of the Mini for competition. Issigonis was initially reluctant to see the Mini in the role of a performance car, but after John Cooper appealed to BMC management, the two men collaborated to create the Mini Cooper. The Austin Mini Cooper and Morris Mini Cooper debuted in September 1961. The engine from