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Victorian-era architectural element For the model house dessert, see Gingerbread house. Gingerbread trim on a Victorian-era house in Cape May, New Jersey Gingerbread is an architectural style that consists of elaborately detailed embellishment known as gingerbread trim. It is more specifically used to describe the detailed decorative work of American designers in the late 1860s and 1870s, which was associated mostly to the Carpenter Gothic style. It was loosely based on the Picturesque period of English architecture in the 1830s. History ------- During the 1830s and 1840s, American home builders started interpreting the European Gothic Revival architecture, which had elaborate masonry details, in wood to decorate American timber frame homes. This was also known as Carpenter Gothic. The early designs started with simple stickwork such as vertical sawtooth siding. By the middle of the 19th century, with the invention of the steam-powered scroll saw, the mass production of thin boards that were cut into a variety of ornamental parts had helped builders to transform simple cottages into unique houses. At the time, standard sized gingerbread elements were manufactured at low cost in the American East Coast. Not everyone agreed with this architectural style. Andrew Jackson Downing, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival criticized this style in his Architecture of Country Houses in 1852. He classified homes in the United States into three types: villas for the wealthy, cottages for working people and farmhouses for farmers. He argued that the lower-cost cottages which were small in size and had simplistic style should not be ornamented with the elaborate embellishment of a villa. He also pointed out that the vergeboard of the Rural Gothic gable should have been carefully carved in thick and solid plank to appreciate its beauty instead of an ornamental part which was "sawn out of thin board, so as to have a frippery and 'gingerbread' look which (degraded), rather than (elevated), the beauty of the cottage." The style lived on and flourished in the residential areas of Chicago in the 1860s. That didn't last very long as the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 destroyed many of those buildings. Some attributed a cause of the fire to be worsened due to the cheap construction materials and the gingerbread decorations in hoping other cities would heed the warning. Still, the style continued to spread to the West. By the late 1870s, San Francisco had many gingerbread houses at a similar level of Chicago five or ten years earlier. In Ontario, Canada, a house style in the area called Ontario Cottage had been evolving since the 1830s. In the third quarter of the 19th century, the builders incorporated gingerbread elements to large houses. A prominent character was to use ornamental bargeboard and finials to decorate the gables. As railways were expanded into cities such as Stratford, more Ontario cottages and houses were built. They were typically one and a half story to one and three-quarter story brick homes with gingerbread wood trim on gables and the front facade. This type of house became prominent from the 1870s to the 1890s. In 1878, a fire in Cape May, New Jersey, destroyed 30 blocks of properties of the seaside town. The town rebuilt quickly. Many were rebuilt with much gingerbread trim and many gables and turrets. This resulted in a high concentration of late 19th century buildings in the town. According to the National Register of Historic Places, "Cape May has one of the largest collections of late 19th century frame buildings left in the United States. It contains over 600 summer houses, old hotels, and commercial structures that give it a homogeneous architectural character, a kind of textbook of vernacular American building." In the 1880s, many houses in California adopted the Eastlake style, which was named after Charles Eastlake a British architect and furniture designer. Eastlake published a book that contained illustrations of interior designs of incised wood panels and knobs to complement his furniture designs. American home builders expanded that to home exteriors by replacing flat-cut gingerbread ornamental elements with lathe-turned spindlework for balusters and wall surface decoration. However, Eastlake criticized the American adaptation as "extravagant and bizarre". The style was later combined with Italianate and Second Empire elements to create the "San Francisco Style". In Haiti -------- A gingerbread house in Port-au-Prince Residential buildings of wealthy individuals in Haiti during the Gingerbread era, between the 1880s and the 1920s, had a unique architecture that combined the local traditions and adaptation of foreign influences. The adaptation was influenced by many factors including manuals of styles that were circulated from Europe and North America, Haitian architects who studied abroad, and French artisans who set up woodworking shops to train Haitian artisans. Those Gingerbread houses were highly decorative with fretworks, latticeworks with patterns that are unique to Haiti. The structures of this style typically have large windows and doors, tall ceilings, large attics, and deep porches. ### History The movement of the style began in 1881 with the second Haitian National Palace during the presidency of Lysius Salomon. This was followed by the construction of a private villa, now known as Hotel Oloffson, commissioned by President Tirésias Simon Sam's son in 1887. In 1895, three young Haitians—Georges Baussan, Léon Mathon, and Joseph-Eugène Maximilien—traveled to Paris to study architecture, were inspired to build upon the nascent architectural movement, and modified the style to the climate in Haiti by designing homes with vibrant patterns and flamboyant colors of French resort architecture. Many large houses in upscale neighborhoods of Pacot, Turgeau, and Bois-Verna in Port-au-Prince were built in this style. A notable example of those is Villa Miramar (also known as Villa Cordasco) in Pacot, built in 1914. The style then spread to the rest of the country including Saint-Marc, Jérémie, Les Cayes, Petit-Goâve, and Léogâne until 1925. * The second National PalaceThe second National Palace * Hotel Oloffson, a Gingerbread hotel in Port-au-Prince, HaitiHotel Oloffson, a Gingerbread hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti * The school of the Brothers of Christian Instruction in Saint-Marc, HaitiThe school of the Brothers of Christian Instruction in Saint-Marc, Haiti * The Hilaire residence in Jérémie, HaitiThe Hilaire residence in Jérémie, Haiti * Villa MiramarVilla Miramar After 1925, new construction materials became available including concrete, and a new regulation that mandated masonry, reinforced concrete, or iron structures for fire prevention. That caused the architectural styles in Haiti to shift away from the gingerbread style. However, after 1946, the middle class families in Port-au-Prince neighborhoods incorporated parts of the styles into their modest sized houses. Gingerbread was coined by American tourists in the 1950s, who appreciated the style which bore similarity to that of the Victorian-era buildings with gingerbread trim in the United States. Prior to 2010, the style had bad connotations due to its associations with colonialism and elitism. After the 2010 earthquake, people in Haiti considered rebuilding their homes in gingerbread style due to its resilience to earthquakes. It shifted the tone for the style to be more positive in local communities. Tall doors with louvered shutters at Villa Miramar in Port-au-Prince, Haiti ### Characteristics The gingerbread house by design combines architectural knowledge that stemmed abroad, into an understanding of the Caribbean climate and its living conditions. They were constructed with tall doors, high ceilings, with steep turret roofs to redirect hot air above its inhabitable rooms, along with a cross-breeze of louvered shutter windows on all sides instead of glass to offset the most scorching of days, flexible timber frames with the innate ability to weather some of the toughest storms and tremors, and built with wrap-around verandas. The houses are usually constructed of wood, masonry, or stone and clay. ### Preservation Gingerbread house at Université Episcopale d'Haiti was left standing when the three-story classroom building adjacent to it collapsed in an earthquake. This specific architectural heritage in Haiti is now threatened as the natural aging of the wood, the weather, the high cost of restoration and repairs are all detrimental to the survival of this style. The style was listed on the 2010 World Monuments Watch. The listing was just before the 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti. Surprisingly, only five percent of the estimated 200 gingerbread houses were partially or fully collapsed, in contrast to about 300,000 collapsed buildings which were 40% of all other structures. This left U.S. conservation experts to believe that this architecture can be a model for seismic-resistant structures for the future. The gingerbread neighborhood of Haiti was listed as one of twenty-five sites on the 2020 World Monuments Watch. In Thailand ----------- Gingerbread air passages under the windows of Vimanmek Mansion in Bangkok, Thailand ### History During the European colonisation of Southeast Asia in the 19th century, wood was in high demand. The British timber industry started logging in India for teak, a tropical hardwood native to south and southeast Asia. The teak logging industry then expanded from India to Burma following British rule in Burma. Although Thailand was not a colony, Britain still wanted to expand its teak logging to Thailand. In 1883, Britain won logging a concession agreement with a local ruler in the northern provinces, making Phrae the center of British teak logging in Thailand. The British companies and rulers in northern Thailand built their teak gingerbread houses based on the styles from Britain. The Western architectural style with gingerbread trim was blended with Asian architectural elements such as perforated wood panels to create a style known locally as Lanna Colonial. During that period, American style gingerbread houses with decorative wooden fretwork became popular. The style caught on in some British colonies including Singapore and Burma, and then spread to Thailand. Thais of high social standing in the era of King Rama V built teak gingerbread houses to showcase the craftsmanship. Eventually, the popularity of gingerbread houses in Thailand faded away due to high construction and maintenance costs. Today, the remaining gingerbread houses in Thailand can be seen in various locations in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Phrae, Lampang and Chanthaburi. ### Characteristics Moung Ngwe Zin, an example of gingerbread commercial buildings in Lampang Gingerbread houses in the northern provinces of Thailand combined the Lan Na arts and crafts and Victorian-era architecture. Additionally, commercial buildings owned by Chinese settlers and Burmese logging workers incorporated elaborate gingerbread decoration as part of the unique half-wood half-concrete structure called Saranai (or Salanai). These buildings are terraced houses with folding front doors on the first floor that can be fully opened to use as a storefront. The eaves, air passages above the doors, and ornate balustrades are decorated with intricately carved wood panels in different styles including Burmese style. These commercial buildings can be seen in Chiang Mai and Lampang. There were no specific patterns on the gingerbread trim used in the houses in Bangkok and the northern provinces. The principal design elements of Victorian Gothic such as quatrefoil, cross, and flame were used as an inspiration and several gingerbread patterns were developed locally. Popular patterns included, tulips, vines, geometric shapes, mosquito larvae, fruits and vegetables. The fretworks were made by using both perforated and carved woods. Most artisans were local and Chinese that made the fretwork locally, but some of the gingerbread trim was made in Bangkok and shipped to construction sites. A unique character of gingerbread houses in Thailand, to adapt to warmer climate, was the use of gingerbread-style fretwork to create air passages and install them near the floor or under the roof to allow air to flow throughout the house. A gingerbread house, originally known as Windsor House, on the bank of Chao Phraya River in disrepair ### Preservation Many of the gingerbread houses that are owned by the Thai government or temples are preserved in good condition. However, many private homes are at risk of destruction by the elements due to high costs of maintenance of intricate fretwork. Another approach to preservation is to repurpose the buildings. Some private homes have been preserved and given a new life as museums. A deserted gingerbread house, a former private residence in Bangkok, was restored and turned into a cafe. Many teak gingerbread houses in the northern provinces, especially in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Phayao, have been destroyed throughout the years as the owners demolished them to sell the wood due to high demand of second-hand teak wood since 1989. To combat this issue, the Phrae Architectural Heritage Club has engaged the communities in Phrae to preserve their gingerbread houses and turned them into a major tourist attraction for Phrae. Notable examples ---------------- * Many Victorian-era buildings in the Cape May Historic District, New JerseyMany Victorian-era buildings in the Cape May Historic District, New Jersey * Gingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs, MassachusettsGingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts * Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, a gingerbread house in Bangkok, ThailandAbhisek Dusit Throne Hall, a gingerbread house in Bangkok, Thailand * Gingerbread Mansion in Ferndale, California built in the American Queen Anne styleGingerbread Mansion in Ferndale, California built in the American Queen Anne style Further reading --------------- * "The Gingerbread Houses of Port-au-Prince, Haiti". Columbia GSAAP. 2016.
1981 studio album by Fad Gadget *Incontinent* is the second album by Frank Tovey, better known as Fad Gadget, released in 1981. While developing the industrial sound of his debut Fireside Favourites in 1980, the new album relied less on drum machines and found objects, introducing more traditional instruments such as accordion and jaw harp, as well as making more frequent use of female backing vocals. The album's cover featured Tovey made up as the puppet Punch. Its lyrical content was informed by his tour of the US in 1980. Background ---------- "Blind Eyes" satirised keeping the world's problems at arm's length, with lines such as "Send a few pounds to a charity / Now we're feeling so much better" and a chorus intoning "Hear no, see no, speak no evil". This was followed by "Swallow It", which foresaw the general public swallowing whatever mass-circulation newspapers put before them. "Saturday Night Special" took its title from an American revolver and ruminated on the right of men to bear arms and rule their home. It has been called a "baroque ditty for all gun lovers", and "a comment on the macho attitudes of Reagan's America". The title track and "Manual Dexterity", respectively the last track on Side 1 and the first track on Side 2 of the original vinyl LP, were the album's twin instrumentals. The former track featured Mute Records founder Daniel Miller, the latter Robert Gotobed of the band Wire. A non-album single, "Make Room" backed with "Lady Shave", preceded Incontinent's release on 18 March 1981. "King of the Flies" was released as a flexi-single on 2 October 1981. "Saturday Night Special" backed with "Swallow It Live" (recorded at the Venue on 8 December 1981) was issued on 5 January 1982. A rerecorded version of "King of the Flies" backed with "Plain Clothes" was released on 6 April 1982. None of these singles, or the parent album, made the mainstream charts. Reception --------- Professional ratings\| Review scores \| \| --- \| \| Source \| Rating \| \| AllMusic \| \| At the time of its release in November 1981, NME remarked on the album's "brooding nature... offset by female vocals and exultant piano". More recently Trouser Press described it as possessing "more instrumental variety and better production" than its predecessor Fireside Favourites, but added: "Forgetting tripe like "Swallow It" and the charming title tune, some of this is interesting enough, but none is really involving; overall, the self-indulgent album rambles incoherently". Track listing ------------- All songs written by Fad Gadget. 1. "Blind Eyes" – 5:04 2. "Swallow It" – 5:42 3. "Saturday Night Special" – 6:39 4. "Incontinent" – 3:27 5. "Manual Dexterity" – 3:35 6. "Innocent Bystander" – 6:32 7. "King of the Flies" – 4:29 8. "Diminished Responsibility" – 5:50 9. "Plain Clothes" – 4:40 Personnel --------- * Fad Gadget – vocals, Chinese shawm, saxophone, flute, percussion, synthesizer, sequencer * Nick Cash – drums (except track 5), percussion, steel drum, vocals, jaw harp, accordion * Peter Balmer – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals * David Simmonds – piano, synthesizer, voice * B.J. Frost – vocals * Anne Clift – vocals * Eric Radcliffe – guitar (tracks 6 and 9) * Robert Gotobed – drums (track 5) * Daniel Miller – sequencer (track 4) * John Fryer – percussion, voice
Paride Negri (2 September 1883 – 8 April 1954) was an Italian general during World War II. Biography --------- He was born in Perugia on 2 September 1883, the son of Pietro Negri. In 1900 he entered the Royal Academy of Artillery and Engineers in Turin, from which he graduated on 7 September 1903 with the rank of artillery second lieutenant. He participated in the Italo-Turkish War with the rank of captain, and later in the First World War, serving at the observation points operating on aerostatic balloons for the direction of artillery fire on the Isonzo Front; by the end of the war he reached the rank of major, being awarded a Bronze Medal and a War Cross for Military Valor. After serving as a staff officer, he was promoted to colonel on 28 November 1929, first taking command of the Reserve Officer School of Lucca and then of the 27th Artillery Regiment between 1935 and 1936. On 1 June 1936 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1937 he became commander of the artillery of the Army Corps of Udine, then he returned to Rome, where he was promoted to Head of Office of the Command of the Staff Officer Corps, later becoming Chief of Staff of the Army Command of Naples between 1938 and 1939. From 15 September 1939 to 8 June 1941, after promotion to major general on 17 August 1939, he was commander of the 41st Infantry Division "Firenze", which he commanded during the campaign against Greece in March-April 1941, after which it was stationed in Montenegro as an occupation unit. After a period at the VII Army Corps for special duties from June to December 1941, on 1 December he was appointed commander of the 154th Infantry Division "Murge", stationed in Herzegovina for occupation duties, with garrisons in Mostar and other towns. The Division was engaged in operations against the Yugoslav partisans. In Mostar Negri declared to the German command that the Royal Italian Army would not take action against the Jews, and to a German officer who demanded that he hand over the Jews living in the area under his control he replied harshly: "The deportation of the Jews is contrary to the honor of Italian army". On 13 May 1942, while crossing the woods of Bisina, six kilometers north of Nevesinje, with a large column of his division, he was ambushed by the partisans, who blocked the road with fallen trees, rocks and telegraph poles and opened fire on the head of the column, killing the commanding officer of the 154th Artillery Regiment and another four officers as well as the two drivers. Under heavy enemy fire, Negri managed to organize an improvised defense that allowed the column to retreat from the ambush site, and after the arrival of a reinforcing blackshirt unit he led the counterattack, in which he was slightly wounded. For this, he was awarded another Bronze Medal of Military Valor. From January to March 1943 he was acting commander of the VI Army Corps (having been promoted to lieutenant general), while also retaining command of the "Murge" Division until 1 March, and later he was placed at the disposal of the High Command of Slovenia and Dalmatia (SUPERSLODA). From March to early September 1943 he was attached to the Armed Forces High Command of Albania for special duties. On 2 September 1943 he was assigned to the Ministry of War in Rome for special assignments, due to having reached the age limit. He died in Rome in 1954.
Canadian outlaw biker and gangster Stéphane Gagné (born 12 December 1969) is a Canadian former gangster, outlaw biker and contract killer who was a hitman for the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club during the Quebec Biker War. Charged with two counts of first-degree murder, Gagné turned Crown witness against the Hells Angels in 1997 in exchange for one murder charge against him being dismissed. He was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment. Gagné's testimony resulted in Hells Angels leader Maurice "Mom" Boucher being imprisoned for murder in 2002. Drug dealer ----------- Gagné was born into a working class French-Canadian family in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal. His father worked as a professional wrestler while his mother was a housewife. His uncle was a hitman for the Dubois brothers and was murdered in 1974. Paul Cherry, the crime correspondent of The Montreal Gazette, wrote that Gagné speaks his joual (Quebec French) with a strong working class accent with a distinctive nasal tone. Cherry noted that Gagné usually has a "goofy grin" on his face, which gives the impression that his intelligence is very low. As a child he suffered from learning disabilities, especially from attention deficient disorder, and was much bullied by the other children. Gagné dropped out of school in grade 7 to work as a drug dealer and as a thief. A self-confessed drug addict, Gagné was as a teenager "quasiment gelé" ("almost frozen") as he phrased it as he was usually high on hashish and PCPs. Besides for selling drugs, Gagné stole automobiles and robbed homes and businesses. He amassed a criminal record, being convicted nine times over 12 years for automobile theft, home invasions, drug trafficking and probation violations. Gagné told the National Parole Board in 2016 that he wanted to become a gangster because being a gangster brings "beautiful women and money". By the age of 24, Gagné had made enough money to purchase a house with his wife, Marie-Claude Nantais, who was also involved in his drug dealing business. He fathered a son, whom he named Harley-David, after his motorcycle. Alongside his partner, Tony Jalbert, Gagné operated a string of crack houses and shooting galleries for cocaine and heroin addicts. Gagné's nickname of Godasse (Old Shoe) came from his reputation for brutality as he would beat up people and kick them in the head, usually wearing his old shoes. He testified in court that he had once savagely beat a prostitute because she had stolen from a drug dealer working for him. Gagné stated he felt no shame in beating up a woman because as put it: "if you let that kind of thing go, all of the druggie girls are going to steal from you". He was successful in his business, making $6,000 in cash per week and about $250,000 per year. Gagné also engaged in welfare fraud as he claimed to be unemployed, which allowed him to collect welfare. He has often used the "stupidity defense" at his trials, claiming that his IQ is so low that he could not be held legally responsible for his crimes, a defense that the courts have consistently rejected. Gagné has admitted that he is not as asinine as he claimed to be, saying he acted like a mentally challenged person out of the hope of avoiding prison time. Hells Angels ------------ In July 1994, Gagné was ordered by the Hells Angel, Paul "Fonfon" Fontaine, to close his shooting galleries for heroin addicts, which were competing with the shooting galleries owned by the Hells Angels. Desperate to stay in business, Gagné met with Maurice "Mom" Boucher on Sherbrooke Street. Using a type of sign language used in the Montreal undeworld, Gagné pointed to his nose (meaning he wanted to buy cocaine) and then touched Boucher's arm (meaning he wanted to buy cocaine from the Hells Angels). Boucher pointed to Fontaine, which indicated that he was buy the cocaine from him. Gagné was very attracted to joining the Hells Angels, which he believed would make him into a powerful man. By contrast, Gagné's business partner, Jalbert, broke with him and joined the Rock Machine. Gagné sold an average of three kilograms of cocaine per month for the Hells Angels. Gagné usually paid about $34,000 in cash while the rest of the cocaine he took on was sur la bras (credit). At Boucher's trial in 1998, Gagné testified: "I'm not stupid. I knew that the Hells would win the war. They're rich, better organized and certainly more disciplined". In the fall of 1994, Gagné was sent to prison after selling cocaine to an undercover Sûreté du Québec officer, Robert Pigeon. In December 1994, while serving his sentence at Bordeaux prison, Gagné was confronted by a member of the Rock Machine, Jean Duquaire, who demanded that he stomp on a photograph of Boucher and declare his allegiance to the Rock Machine. When he refused, he was beaten by Duquaire. After recovering, Gagné attacked Duquaire with a metal bar and beat him bloody. Gagné testified about life in the underworld: "In this environment, there's only rule: win". Gagné was sent to another prison in Sorel, where he met up with Boucher, who was serving six months for violating a weapons ban after the police discovered a gun on him. Boucher was so pleased by the beating that he had given Duquire that he ordered his son Francis to make weekly cash payments to Gagné's wife to support her while her husband was in prison. Boucher and Gagné became close and were often seen talking in the prison courtyard. As a prisoner, Gagné invented what he called the pen-merde ("shit-pen"), a mixture of his own excrement and urine that he would keep in an empty shampoo bottle for ten days and then use to soak the guards with. In July 1995, Boucher was released and in April 1996 Gagné was released. On his first day of freedom, Gagné contacted Francis Boucher to ask for a meeting with his father and on the second day he had lunch with Maurice Boucher. Gagné was told: "I've got important work for you. I want you to stick around". He later testified: "It was there that Maurice Boucher said that he had big things for me. And he didn't say much more than that". Gagné discovered that Boucher had a disconcerting habit of suddenly appearing and expecting Gagné to drop everything to carry out his latest project. Gagné took Boucher on a trip through Verdun, where Boucher ordered him to drive and park a car packed with a powerful bomb to explode outside of a Rock Machine clubhouse. After setting off the bomb, the Hells Angels planned to storm the clubhouse and gun down everyone inside. Gagné was trained in how to set off a remote-controlled bomb. The police informer Dany Kane alerted the police to the planned attack which never happened as there was always a police car near the clubhouse. One evening in the summer of 1996, Gagné was supposed to drive a stolen automobile packed with a bomb to the clubhouse, but the attack was cancelled when the Angels noted there was a police cruiser waiting for them. In another attempt to bomb the clubhouse, Gagné stole a van that was painted the same shade of grey as Hydro-Québec vans. On 23 August 1996, the police seized the van that Gagné had parked outside the clubhouse that had 200 pounds of dynamite fashioned into a remoted controlled bomb. Gagné joined the Rockers, the Hells Angels puppet club that Boucher had founded in March 1992. The Rockers were divided into a "baseball team" that beat people up and destroyed property and a "football team" that functioned as a death squad. Gagné joined the latter. Gagné testified that: "The football team is a team of killers". Gagné remembered how the Rocker Pierre Provencher told one drug dealer that he was to pay 10% of his profits to Gagné because: "Godasse is going to open some doors". When the drug dealer expressed some confusion about that statement, Provencher stated that Gagné would kill any drug dealer not working for the Hells Angels. Gagné described the atmosphere in the Rockers as one of relentless paranoia as members communicated via sign language or by writing on an erasable magnetic board of the fear of police wiretaps. In February and March 1997, instead of working on the "football team", Gagné was assigned to the Gay Village project under Serge Boutin, an attempt to take over all drug dealing in Montreal's Gay Village. Gagné reported that the majority of his clients in the Gay Village were male prostitutes who only turned to prostitution to support their drug addictions. In March 1997, Gagné together with a Peruvian immigrant, Steve Boies, kidnapped a rival drug dealer, Christian Bellemare, and took him out to a chalet in the Laurentians. As Bellemare begged for his life, Boies shot him while Gagné's gun jammed. Together, Boies and Gagné shot Bellemare three times. Gagné strangled Bellemare and then buried him in the snow. However, Bellemare was not dead and was able to climb out of the snow, causing Gagné to go into hiding for the next month. Despite botching his first murder attempt, Gagné became a "hang-around" member of the Rockers in May 1997. Gagné served as a drug dealer and bodyguard for the Hells Angels. At restaurants, he always monitored people coming out of the washrooms where weapons might be hidden. Accordingly, to Gagné: "If the guy returned and put his fingerprints everywhere, that's not a killer, that guy because a killer would not put his fingerprints everywhere". Gagné found that the Hells Angels had their own intelligence unit with three vehicles equipped with hidden cameras powered by batteries that lasted for 72 hours. To create a cover, Gagné testified that the Hells Angels printed their surveillance vehicles with the lettering of a fake construction contractor and even created a cell phone number for the pseudo-company to give the impression that the vehicles were parked in the same spot for so long because a construction contractor was at work. Gagné would park one of the three vehicles and then pick it up the next day. When the mother of the gangster Frank Cotroni died, Boucher had Gagné park the automobiles with hidden cameras in the parking lot of the church where the service was held as Boucher wanted footage of everyone who attended the funeral and the license plates of their cars as he was planning to liquate the Cotroni family. One policeman stated: "When the Hells went on a biker rally and stopped for a rest, Gagné would jump off his Harley and starting polishing the Hells' machine. He'd make sure the refrigerator was stocked with beer at biker parties and brought them drinks". Gagné was also involved in the escape of Richard Vallée in June 1997. ### Murders Boucher knew from corrupt policemen that there was an informer in the ranks of the Hells Angels, but did not know his name. To flush out the "mole", Boucher wanted the Hells Angels to start murdering people associated with the justice system. Boucher ordered two Hells Angels, André "Toots" Tousignant and Paul "Fonfon" Fontaine, to kill some random prison guards, and the two men recruited Gagné in turn. Together with Tousignant, Gagné waited outside of Rivière-des-Prairies prison in the eastern end of Montreal, waiting for an auspicious moment to strike. However, it was decided to murder prison guards from Bordeaux prison instead as that prison was closer to the major highways, which made an escape more easier. On 26 June 1997, Gagné and Tousigant armed themselves with handguns and got on two stolen '81 Suzuki Katana motorcycles. As the prison guard Diane Lavigne was leaving work in her minivan at the Bordeaux prison shortly after 9:48 pm, Gagné and Tousigant followed her. The two men rode up next to her minivan and opened fire, putting one bullet through Lavigne's arm and another into her lung, the latter which proved to be fatal. Both men abandoned their guns at the crime scene. After the killing, Lavinge, Tousigant and Gagné returned to the garage, changed their clothes and then went out to the woods to burn the clothing and biker helmets they had been wearing when they had killed Lavigne. The next day, Gagné went for a walk down Saint Catherine Street with Boucher, Fonatine, and Gilles "Trooper" Mathieu. Boucher told Gagné about the murder of Lavigne: "That's great, my Godasse. It's not serious that she had tits". Mathieu agreed with Boucher's statement that there was no dishonor in killing a woman, saying: "That's great, Godasse!". Gagné by his own admission was proud to have killed Lavigne as he remembered he felt was he would soon be promoted up to join the Hells Angels proper. Gagné told the National Parole Board in 2016 about his thinking about having killed a woman: "It was a power trip. I wanted my patches, I adhered to the values [of the Hells Angels]. I had lost sight of my parents' values". On the day after Lavigne was killed, Gagné's wife was watching the television news and stated it must had been a "sick person" who had killed her, a statement made that her husband leave the room in his shame. Shortly after the murder, a member of the Rock Machine used his car to run over Gagné while he was riding his motorcycle, an incident that put Gagné into a hospital for a month. While in the hospital, Gagné was promoted up to being a prospect with the Rockers. On 21 August 1997, Gagné received his half-patch Rockers jacket. Boucher now wanted Fontaine to kill a prison guard to prove that he was not an informer, and once again Gagné was asked to help. This time, Gagné felt more confident about having a good escape route from Rivière des Prairies prison. Gagné reported that Fontaine was desperate to be promoted to being a "full patch" Hells Angel and attended a meeting along with Boucher, Normand "Biff" Hamel, Gilles Mathieu, and Normand Robitalle to ask for permission to kill a prison guard. At about 6:15 am, Fontaine and Gagné were waiting in a van outside of Rivière-des-Praires prison for the prison bus to arrive. As the prison bus driven by Pierre Rondeau and Robert Corriveau arrived to pick up prisoners due in court that day, Fontaine and Gagné opened fire with 9 mm semi-automatic handguns. While Gagné was shooting at the van from the side, Fontaine leaped forward and rolled himself onto the hood of the van to open fire at point-blank range into the front window. Fontaine pumped three bullets into Rondeau, hitting him in the heart, lungs and liver, while Gagné shot and wounded Corriveau. One of the bullets in Rondeau came from Gagné's gun, but the fatal shot through the heart came from Fontaine's gun. Both Gagné and Fontaine fled in their van, which they parked at a pre-selected place. Gagné set the van on fire and accidentally seared his face with the heat from the flames. However, he closed the doors to the burning van, which cut off the oxygen to the fire, which died out and left the murder weapons abandoned inside intact. As Gagné got into the getaway car, a sales clerk, Nancy Dubé, waiting in a bus stop, got a good look at his face. Dubé gave the detectives from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal a detailed enough description that the police were able to issue a composite sketch that closely resembled Gagné. Upon arriving at the garage, Boies assisted Gagné by burning his clothes and driving the getaway car to a junk yard to be crushed. After the murder, Gagné wanted to go to sleep, but instead had to buy several boxes of bolts at a Réno-Dépôt store to assist Tousignant with a bomb he was building to kill some Rock Machine members. To reward him, Boucher paid for Gagné and his family to take a vacation in the Dominican Republic. After Rondeau's murder, Boucher asked Fontaine and Gagné: "Does anybody else know about this?" Gagné was about to say that Boies had assisted him with cleaning up, but Fontaine spoke first, saying: "No. Nobody else knows". Gagné was greatly worried about Fontaine's statement as he knew that Boucher always assumed the worst when people lied to him and would have him killed if he learned Boies had been involved in the clean-up. Gagné admitted to Tousignant that he had lied to Boucher and he was told: "If you lie to the guys, you're going to be killed. You can't lie to the guys. You can lie to the police, but among the bikers you can't lie". In October 1997, Serge Boutin, the boyfriend of Fontaine, reported that he heard rumors that the guards in Bordeaux prison were accusing Gagné of being involved in the Lavigne and Rondeau murders. Boucher demanded a meeting and told Gagné: "Do you know that there are guys at Bordeaux prison, people who are our allies, who say that when they go through the classification in the prison the guards ask them if they know Godasse. When they say yes, the guards say, 'You know that Godasse killed the prison guards?'" However, Boucher concluded: "It's because you're so irritating when you're in prison. That must be why the guards think it's you". ### Arrest On 4 December 1997, a police raid led by Commander André Bouchard at a strippers' agency run by the Hells Angels seized some $2.5 million in drugs and 67 guns. One of those arrested in the raid was Boies. Detective Mike Vargas, an immigrant from Peru, was approached by Boies in the police station. Boies was afraid of being deported back to Peru and wanted to cut a deal with the Crown. Vargas burst into Bouchard's office to tell him that Boies was willing to testify that Gagné was one of the killers. Gagné, unaware that Boies had been arrested, spent the next day working as a bodyguard at Boucher's farm at Contrecoeur outside of Montreal. Upon learning from Boucher's lawyer, Robert Cliche, that Boies was under arrest, Gagné tried to flee to a motel in Saint-Ignace, but was arrested by the police along the way at about 11 pm. At about 2:40 am, Sergeant Detective Robert Pigeon started the interrogation of Gagné. Pigeon was chosen because he had arrested Gagné in 1994 and was the policeman who knew him the best. The journalists Julian Sher and William Marsden wrote: "Detective Sergeant Pigeon is a hard guy to read. He is of medium height and build. His face is round. His eyes are brown and watchful. His voice is soft, but steady. He has an aura of intensity, but at the same time seems to lack all flair or style. Which is probably why he's good at what he does. There's nothing distracting about his physical presence. You tend to listen to him, not see him. And what you hear is the voice that explains your life to you, lays out the choices and then quietly leads you to the right one, making you think you're the one who made that choice. That you're still in control". Gagné was uncooperative, saying he had nothing to say to Pigeon and swore at him a number of times. Pigeon who had arrested Gagné in 1994 felt that he understood his psychology very well, namely that Gagné was a weak man of low intelligence whose self-esteem was based entirely on his association with the Hells Angels, and chose to take advantage of his weaknesses. Over the course of a lengthy interrogation that lasted several hours, Pigeon proceeded to psychologically deconstruct Gagné as he relentlessly challenged him on his life choices and pointed out that the Hells Angels were just using him. Pigeon performed a "good cop/bad cop routine" as he was alternatively sympathetic and unsympathetic towards Gagné, posing as both a potential friend willing to help him avoid going to prison for the rest of his life and as a tormentor who mercilessly mocked Gagné as a loser too dimwitted to realize he was being used by the Hells Angels. Pigeon at times spoke in a friendly tone about Gagné's family and motorcycle, saying he knew that he was a good father and a husband who greatly loved his wife, children and his motorcycles as he was well aware that being too confrontational would strengthen Gagné's resolve and he needed to be seen as a potential friend. Pigeon noted to Gagné that several other Rockers who had killed for the Hells Angels had in turn been killed by the Angels once they ceased to be useful, asking Gagné what made him think that he could avoid the same fate. Pigeon pointed out the absurdity of murdering people at random just out of the hope of being allowed to wear the Hells Angels death's head patch on his biker's vest, and noted that almost everybody else in the world did not need to wear the Hells Angel patch on their backs to feel happy. Gagné was arrogant as he told Piegon in a cocky tone: "I can guarantee you that I won't make the decision you want me to make. You can take that to the bank". At about 5:31 am, Pigeon told Gagné that he was under arrest for two counts of first-degree murder. Using the information gained from Boies, Pigeon informed Gagné that the Crown had a solid case against him and that he had no hope of an acquittal as Boies had told all in his confession. Pigeon told him: "I also arrest you for the murder of the prison guard Diane Lavigne. That's serious, that! You know how serious! But it's over. We have the whole chain, every single link. I know where you parked the little van. I can even tell you that when you first set fire to the van you scorched yourself a little. You went to the Dominican Republic with Marie-Claude to let the heat die down. Why? Because you wanted to become a Hells Angel!". Pigeon was bluffing as only 25% of what Boies had said in his confession was true with the other 75% all lies as Boies was desperate to avoid being deported back to Peru, but he gambled that the sheer psychological impact of learning that Boies had turned Crown's evidence would shatter Gagné's resolve. Pigeon also told Gagné that his wife had been arrested as an accessory to murder and told him that she was also going to prison while their son would be placed in foster care. Changing his approach, Pigeon savagely mocked Gagné as a coward for killing an unarmed woman in cold blood, telling him that the exaggerated machismo of the outlaw biker subculture was only a psychological defense mechanism for weak, insecure men like himself. Pigeon kept taunting Gagné over his sense of masculinity, saying "be a man" and confess. Pigeon told him: "Why did you choose Diane Lavigne? Why did you choose that poor woman? Killing prison guards, what were you thinking when you did that? Be enough of a man at least to answer me today!" Gagné kept mumbling in response: "I have nothing to say". Confronting Gagné head-on, Pigeon told him that he had murdered two people all because he wanted to wear the Hells Angels death head patch on his back, asking him was it really worth it given that he was going to prison for the rest of his life if he did not make a plea bargain immediately. Piegon told him that he was being used, saying: "They made sure you were covered in blood. They injected you with it". Gagné screamed: "I have nothing to say, I have nothing to say, I have nothing to say! And I want my lawyer and I want you to put me the fuck in my cell!"" Pigeon told him: "Yahoo! I killed the prison guard. Yahoo! Me, Stéphane Gagné, I wanted a Hells Angels patch, and I want went as far as killing prison guards to get it. And if you think you're going to get out of here in two years, forget that, Stéphane, my boy. It's all over for you". Gagné broke down hysterically in tears, but Pigeon was relentless in his verbal assault as he told him that the Angels had abandoned him as he reminded him that was just a barely literate grade 7 drop-out who could not even speak proper French whom nobody outside of his family cared about. Gagné was allowed to phone Cliche and left a message on his answering machine, and was then taken back to the interrogation room. The news that Boies had turned Crown's evidence would ensure that Boucher would learn that Gagné had lied to him and he become convinced that Boucher would have him killed. The fact that the lawyers for the Hells Angles such as Cliche were refusing to go to the police station because it was very late in the night made Pigeon's statements about his abandonment seem believable to Gagné. At about 6:30 am, Gagné finally collapsed and amid his tears asked Pigeon: "If I talk, how many years could I expect to get?" At about 7:30 am, Marie-Cluade Nantais, who charged with being an accessory to two counts of murder, arrived at the police station to tell her husband to make a deal with the Crown, saying she did not want to go to prison for his crimes as she had been informed that the Crown was willing to drop the charges against her if her husband turned Crown's evidence. Gagné wanted to see the videotape of Boies's confession, leading Pigeon to play the tape on the police VHS machine and after watching the first five minutes, Gagné said he wanted to become a délateur (informer). Starting at 8:10 am, Gagné gave a full confession of his crimes to Pigeon. After giving his confession, Gagné asked for police protection for his wife and son, saying that Boucher would have them both killed if he learned that he become a délateur. In response, Pigeon told him that both his wife and son would be placed under 24 hour police guard. Gagné testified at Boucher's trial in 1998: "I understood that if I went to prison, I was a dead man. They would been afraid that I'd talk. Look at what happened to Toots and Paul. It wasn't easy. In a few seconds I had to confide to the police and the system I have hated since I was 15 years old" . Two weeks later, Gagné and his lawyer met with André Vincent, the chief Crown Attorney for Montreal, to negotiate the terms of his plea bargain. Gagné wanted full immunity and to be paid for testifying against Boucher, but Vincent refused both demands. In exchange for a plea bargain where Gagné was to serve 25 years in prison for Lavigne's murder, Vincent dropped the charge of first-degree murder in connection with Rondeau's slaying. If Gagné had been convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, he would have received a life sentence with no chance of parole, and Vincent told Gagné that dropping the charges for Rondeau's murder was a major concession on the part of the Crown. Vincent refused Gagné's demand to be paid $1 million for his testimony as he stated that the people of Quebec would never stand for a murderer be allowed to profit from his crimes at their expense. The only financial concession that Vincent made was that the Crown would pay $400 a week to assist Nantais with raising their son. Vincent informed Gagné that given the gravity of his crimes that he was very lucky to only receive a sentence of 25 years in prison, and he was only making the plea bargain because he wanted to see Boucher convicted. Witness for the Crown --------------------- On the basis of Gagné's confession, Boucher was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on 18 December 1997. Before the trial started, a lawyer for the Hells Angels offered Gagné a $1 million bribe to not testify against Boucher. To further encourage Gagné not to testify against Boucher, the Hells Angels burned down the house of Gagné's parents. He was told that the next time the Hells Angles burned down his parents' house, they would be in it. On 19 March 1998, Gagné pledged guilty to one count of first-degree murder for the slaying of Dianne Lavinge on 26 June 1997 and one count of attempted murder in regards to the shooting of Robert Corriveau on 8 September 1997 in exchange for which the Crown dropped the charge of first-degree murder in connection with the slaying of Pierre Rondeau. The Crown Attorney in charge of prosecuting Boucher, Jacques Dagenais, felt that Gagné was a terrible witness, an unsavory and unlikable hitman who spoke in a flat, cold nasal tone and who only turned Crown's evidence for a lighter sentence. Going into the trial, Dagenais stated that he was facing an uphill battle as Boucher had never actually said anything about murdering prison guards and instead expressed himself to Gagné via sign language, making it difficult to prove that he indeed ordered the murders. Dagenais feared the unlikability of Gagné together with his long criminal record would make it difficult for the jury to believe his testimony that Boucher had ordered him to commit murders via his hand gestures. Boucher's lawyer, Jacques Larochelle, was a well respected defense lawyer noted for his ability to tear apart the credibility of the Crown's witnesses on the stand via a series of sharp, probing questions. Larochelle regarded Gagné as being the weakest link in the Crown's case against Boucher and planned to discredit him as a witness as the best way to secure the acquittal of his client. The trial for Boucher on two counts of first-degree murder began in Montreal on 2 November 1998. During the trial, Larochelle brought up Gagné's long history of telling lies and of anti-social behavior, which he used to paint him as a dishonest sociopath who would tell any falsehood if it would serve his interests such as avoiding going to prison for the rest of his life. Larochelle used the pen-merde during the trial as an example of Gagné's anti-social tendencies. Larochelle argued that Gagné had an extreme hatred of prison guards as proven by the pen-merde and had murdered the two prison guards on his own initiative. Larochelle made much of the fact that Gagné had been convicted 11 times between 1990-1997 for various offenses and that his criminal record went back to the age of 13. Larochelle also made much of the fact that Gagné had frequently lied to the National Parole Board to gain early releases, leading Gagné to reply: "All criminals are bluffers. If we don't bluff, we're dead".. During his cross-examination of Gagné, Larochelle was able to get Gagné to admit under oath that he had "no respect for the truth", a damning statement that Larochelle used in his final address to the jury as evidence that Gagné had committed perjury to avoid a life prison sentence. Larochelle argued that Gagné had fabricated the claim that Boucher had ordered his crimes in avoid to a life prison sentence. In response, Dagenais admitted that Gagné was an unsavory witness, but argued that all of the evidence supported his testimony. The judge overseeing the trial, Justice Jean-Guy Boilard, showed a strong bias for the defense and excluded much of the Crown's evidence such as the police recordings of Boucher's phone calls-which confirmed several points of Gagné's testimony-which reduced much of the Crown's case down to Gagné. Boilard accused the police of illegally tapping Boucher's cell phone calls, which led him to exclude the phone calls as evidence despite the fact the police had a warrant. In his instructions to the jury, Boilard came very close to accusing Gagné of perjury and told the jury that they should not convict Boucher on the basis of a witness who had probably committed perjury. Dagenais felt that Boilard's jury instructions were so biased in favor of the defense that he filed for a mistrial. In particular, Dagenais noted that Boilard in his instructions had stated that the Crown's case rested entirely on Gagné's testimony, a statement that was false as the Crown had introduced other evidence and witnesses during the course of the trial, which he felt proved that Boilard was determined to see Boucher acquitted. On 27 November 1998, Boucher was acquitted. In a rare move, the Crown chose to challenge double jeopardy in an appeal as it was stated that the trial had been marred by the extreme pro-defense bias of Boilard. Many newspapers in Quebec attacked the plea bargain the Crown made with Gagné, charging that a self-confessed hitman had just been given only 25 years in prison while Boucher had been acquitted. Gagné testified in 2015 that he felt badly about the acquittal of Boucher, saying: "It was he who had lots of people killed and it was me who was in the hole. Justice had not been served. I was disappointed because I owed at least that to the families of the victims". On 10 October 2000, the Crown Attorney, France Charbonneau, in an appeal was able to undo double jeopardy as the Quebec Court of Appeals ordered a new trial under the grounds that Boucher's first trial had been tainted by Justice Boilard's pro-defense bias to such an extent that a new trial was required. The second trial began in Montreal on 26 March 2002. At the second trial, Charbonneau was able to bring in new evidence that confirmed much of Gagné's testimony at the first trial such as phone calls and security camera footage that showed Gagné to be at the places and times that he had testified to having been. Charbonneau was able to have the cell phone calls that Boilard excluded as evidence at the first trial introduced as evidence in the second trial. Cherry described Gagné as a "much more polished witness" at the second trial in 2002 than he had been at the first trial in 1998. Charbonneau was also able to bring the reports from the police informer Dany Kane which confirmed that Gagné had indeed been offered a $1 million bribe. During his cross-examination of Gagné, Larochelle, who again acted as Boucher's counsel, once again hammered Gagné, accusing him of perjury. When Gagné mentioned that he was tired when he gave his confession to Pigeon and failed to mention certain details, Larochelle mocking declared: "I've seen the video and you don't look tired". Charbonneau in response showed the videotape of the confession where Gagné was clearly exhausted as he struggled to stay awake in his chair. Charbonneau was able to use the videotape to put Larochelle on trial in a sense as she presented him as a ruthless lawyer who would tell the most outrageous lies to acquit his client. On 5 May 2002, the trial ended with Boucher being convicted of two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. In April 2004, the Crown's case against the Hells Angels national president Walter "Nurget" Stadnick and his deputy Donald "Pup" Stockford was badly weakened when the Crown's star witness, Gagné testified. Instead of testifying against Stadnick and Stockford, Gagné went on an extended rant about how the Crown had not in his opinion honored its agreement with him when he agreed to turn Crown's evidence in 1997, complaining he felt cheated. The attempts by the Crown Attorney Randall Richmond to have Gagné to testify about the matter at hand were completely unsuccessful. Gagné's lengthy rant on the stand about how badly he felt treated by the Crown and his unwillingness to testify in support of the Crown's thesis that he committed his murders on the orders of Stadnick and Stockford effectively derailed the Crown's case on the first-degree murder charges. The trial ended with Stadnick and Stockford convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and gangsterism, but acquitted on the charges of first-degree murder. In 2009, Gagné served as the main witness for the Crown at Fontaine's trial for Rondeau's murder. Richmond, who prosecuted Fontaine at his trial in 2008 and 2009, praised Gagné, saying: "He held his ground throughout". The trial ended with Fonatine being convicted of first-degree murder. In prison --------- During his prison sentence, Gagné had to be kept separate from the other prisoners as the Hells Angels had placed a contract on his life. In 2006, Gagné suffered from cancer and had to receive chemotherapy. Gagné learned to meditate from a Buddhist monk and claimed that he is now repentant for the crimes he committed, saying he had a spiritual awakening under the influence of Buddhism. Prison officials described Gagné as a much better man than he what he had been when he started his sentence, saying that his claims of repentance seem genuine. Gagné apologized to the daughters of Lavigne for having killed their mother. In 2010 and again in April 2016, Gagné was involved in two incidents that made the National Parole Board unwilling to grant him parole. In 2015, Gagné testified that his son had told him: "Dad, I'm ashamed of you but I love you the same.' It broke my heart." In December 2016, Gagné told the National Parole Board: "Connaissez-vous la blague des motards? C'est deux Hells Angels qui vont dans le bois. L'un dit : "Il fait noir et j'ai peur." L'autre répond : "Je vais avoir encore plus peur quand je vais repartir tout seul" ("Do you know the biker joke? It's two Hells Angels going into the woods. One says: "It’s dark and I’m scared." The other responds: "I'm going to be even more afraid when I go back alone"). Gagné used the joke to illustrate the amorality of the Hells Angels as he stated that the much vaulted biker "brotherhood" does not exist and that the Hells Angels will turn on each on other without guilt the moment it profits them to do so. In the 2017 Quebec television series Délateurs (Informers), Gagné was played by the actor Maxime Denommée. On 18 October 2018, Gagné was granted day parole. During his outings from prison, Gagné was according to the National Parole Board "able to interact with citizens, learn to pay with bank cards, shop and eat in a restaurant". As a prisoner, Gagné worked in the prison kitchen. In February 2023, the National Parole Board granted Gagné permission to live in a half-way house as a prelude to his release from prison. The National Parole Board wrote: "At the hearing, you mentioned understanding the damage you caused to the victims and collateral victims. You say you have a thought for them every morning. You say that you will never forgive yourself for the irreparable actions you have committed, but that you must learn to live with them". Books ----- * Auger, Michel; Edwards, Peter (2012). The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime: From Captain Kidd to Mom Boucher. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0771030499. * Cherry, Paul (2006). The Biker Trials: Bringing Down the Hells Angels. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1550226386. * Lavigne, Yves (1999). Hells Angels at War. Toronto: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002000246. * Sher, Julian; Marsden, William (2003). The Road To Hell How the Biker Gangs Are Conquering Canada. Toronto: Alfred Knopf. ISBN 0-676-97598-4.
The conductivity factor (CF) of dissolved salts in a given solution is a measurement of conductivity. Using the electrical conductivity between two electrodes in a water solution, the level of dissolved solids in that solution can be measured. Measurements can then be used to dose the solution with the necessary nutrients in the case of hydroponics. Conductivity measurements are also used in ecology and environmental sciences to assess the level of nutrients in lakes and rivers. For a discussion of conductivity in this context, see Total dissolved solids. CF (conductivity factor) is basically EC multiplied by 10, and is used in some places because it eliminates the need for a decimal point, so an EC of 0.1 is equal to a CF of 1. Electrical conductivity can be expressed using a number of different units but the international standard is EC, and the unit of measurement is usually milliSiemens or microSiemens. The difference between these two units of measurement is the placement of the decimal point, so 1 milliSiemens is equal to 1000 microSiemens.
Japanese visual novel *Gaku Ou: The Royal Seven Stars* (学☆王 -THE ROYAL SEVEN STARS-, lit. "School King") is a Japanese adult visual novel developed and published by Lump of Sugar. The game first released on January 27, 2012, it was then later ported to PlayStation Portable, entitled Gaku Ou: The Royal Seven Stars + Meteor (学☆王 -THE ROYAL SEVEN STARS- ＋METEOR), and released on March 28, 2013 by Alchemist. The PSP version removes the explicit scenes and loses the rating 15 or older, but adds a new opening and the new main female character named Sorano. Lump of Sugar later went on to produce a fan disc called Gaku Ou -It's Heartful Days!!- (学☆王 -It’s Heartful Days!!-) released on Comiket 82 in 2012. The fan disc is set after the events of the main game. A manga adaptation, titled Gaku ☆ Ou -twinkle star story- (学☆王〜the twinkle star story〜) began serialization in Monthly Comic Alive by Media Factory. Gameplay -------- A screenshot from the game, depicting the protagonist, Hiroto, making conversation with one of the heroines, Akari. Alike a typical visual novel game, the amount of gameplay is extremely minimal. The game gives the player a well-rounded perspective of the characters through the use of dialogue boxes that narrate the character's voice as well as their thoughts and emotions. As the game progresses, the player will reach a point where the players will choose an alternate direction between routes. The PC version contains adult material scenes, depicting the protagonist having sex with the various heroines. In the PSP port, it removes any scenes that involve sexual interaction between characters, it also contains additional scenarios and adds a new main female character, Sorano, the protagonist's younger sister. Plot ---- ### Story Hiroto is a prince from the Kingdom of Eleutheria on the small far-away planet of Fadenfrus. He was tired of spending his days in the royal palace and yearned for a school life like those on Earth, where his mother had once attended. His wish came true when he was allowed to attend Konoegahara Gakuen in Junesis, a country well known for its superior education system. However, the school only had 7 students (including himself) and was on the brink of closure since it was being targeted by officials. He decided to oppose the country to save the school and protect the school life that he had longed for… but moreover, the ulterior motive for him being sent to Earth was to take over Junesis! PSP cover art, featuring new heroine, Sorano. ### Playable characters Hiroto Hiroto is the male protagonist of the game. Sorano Sorano is the female protagonist of the game. She is Hiroto's younger sister. This character is only playable on the PSP version of the game. ### Seven Stars Akari Konoe (近衛光莉, Konoe Akari) * Voiced by: Yuka Kotorii (PC), Natsumi Takamori (PSP) Akari is the first heroine met by Hiroto, she is the school director's granddaughter. Annemarie Lohenstein (アンネマリー・ローエンシュタイン, Annemarī Rōenshutain) * Voiced by: Usa Fujisaki (PC), Chiyo Ousaki (PSP) Annemarie is a cute girl who is an exchange student from Switzerland. She enjoys baking. Hinayu Mayuzumi (黛比奈夕, Mayuzumi Hinayu) * Voiced by: Rokka Kitami (PC), Ryoko Ono (PSP) Hinayu is one of the teachers teaching at Konoegahara Gakuen, she is quite shy at times. Despite her small stature, she is a senior classmate. Uzuki Aquarius Tenguuji (天宮寺・アクアリウス・海月, Tenguuji Akuariusu Uzuki) * Voiced by: Yuri Bara (PC), Misato Fukuen (PSP) Uzuki is a high spirited, energetic girl who excels in sports. She likes to tease Akari. Erkenbert Lohenstein (エルケンバート・ローエンシュタイン, Erukenbāto Rōenshutain) * Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka (PC, PSP) Erkenbert is Annemarie's older brother, he is an otaku. Shou Onihara (穂仁原翔, Onihara Shō) * Voiced by: Kōta Ōshita (PC, PSP) Shou's nickname is Harashou, he likes music. Related media ------------- ### Printed media In 2012, a manga called Gaku Ou: The Twinkle Star Story was serialized in Comic Alive by Media Factory, which was authored by Lump of Sugar. Tatetsu Teto provides the illustrations. A visual fan book for Gaku Ou: The Royal Seven Stars was officially released on June 15, 2012, published by Enterbrain. The visual book contains material suitable for audiences over 18, and is precisely 144 pages long. ### Music All the songs, including in the PSP version, were composed by a.k.a.dRESS of Ave;new. Both the opening and ending songs were performed by Saori Sakura, titled "My Sweet Lady" and "Fluorite Diary", respectively. In the PSP game, the opening song "My Little Glory" was also sung by Saori Sakura.
An aerial view of Lethbridge from 1963. The modern history of Lethbridge extends to the mid-19th century, when the area was developed from drift mines opened by Nicholas Sheran in 1874, and the North Western Coal and Navigation Company in 1882. Prior to the development of drift mines in the area, Lethbridge, Alberta was known as Coal Banks, and was part of the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy. The Confederacy was made up of the Kainai Nation, the Northern Peigan, the Southern Peigan (Blackfeet), and the Siksika Nation. 19th century ------------ Fort Whoop-Up, a whiskey trading post, was established in 1869 after the United States Army outlawed alcohol trade with the Kainai Nation in Montana. After the United States Army outlawed alcohol trading in 1869 with the Blood nation in Montana, traders John J. Healy and Alfred B. Hamilton started the whisky trading post Fort Hamilton near the junction of the St. Mary and Oldman rivers. It was burned down, but they rebuilt it and eventually it came to be nicknamed Fort Whoop-Up. The whisky traded at this post was often not much more than alcohol, river water, chewing tobacco and lye. The whisky trade eventually led to the massacre of many Assiniboines in the Cypress Hills area by some Americans in 1873. As a result, the North-West Mounted Police (now the RCMP) were established, and a contingent travelled to southern Alberta to stop the trade and establish order. The NWMP arrived at Fort Whoop-Up on 9 October 1874. Later in 1875, the NWMP established a post at Fort Whoop-up by renting a room from Healy and Hamilton. For the next twelve years, the fort continued to trade (although not in "whisky") while also hosting a NWMP post. ### Coal mining By the 1870s, Nicholas Sheran (an American entrepreneur) mined a coal seam in the coulees on the west side of what is now the Oldman River. He sold what he mined to Montana traders and the NWMP. Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt was interested in the success Sheran was having. He knew a transcontinental railway was soon to be built in the area, and the settlers it would bring would create a profitable market for the coal. On 13 October 1882, Galt's company North Western Coal and Navigation Company opened the first drift mine across from Sheran's operation. This mine was managed by William Stafford. The first president and largest shareholder of the company, William Lethbridge, was the one after whom the town was named. 20th century ------------ By the start of the 20th century, the mines employed about 150 men and produced about 300 tonnes of coal each day. By the time production peaked during World War I, 10 mines employed 2,000 miners and produced 1 million tonnes of coal annually. At the time, Lethbridge area collieries were the largest coal producers in the Northwest Territories. After the war, an increase in oil and natural gas production caused a decline in coal production, and the last mine in Lethbridge closed in 1957. Some of this mine, Galt No. 8, still stands today, and a local society is attempting to renovate it as a museum or interpretive centre. ### Rail Immigrants arrive at Lethbridge station in 1953. Passenger rail service continued to the city until 1971. The first rail line was built in Lethbridge, being completed 28 August 1885 by the Alberta Railway and Coal Company. The line was further extended 595 kilometres beyond Lethbridge and was instrumental in feeding the main CPR lines at the time the ARCC sold it to the CPR in 1912. Because of the rail industry's dependence of coal and the CPR's efforts to settle immigrants in southern Alberta, the railway centre of Lethbridge was instrumental in the economic success of the region. In the mid-1980s, the railyards in downtown Lethbridge were moved to nearby Kipp and Lethbridge ceased operating as a hub for rail traffic. ### Riot of 1907 On 25 December 1907, an altercation occurred at the Dallas Hotel (now the Coalbanks Inn) on 5 Street South in downtown Lethbridge. Reportedly, the altercation was between a Chinese employee working the hotel's restaurant and a Caucasian customer. Word of the altercation spread and somehow escalated into rumours the employee had killed the customer. As a result, a large crowd gathered at the hotel and ransacked the restaurant. Shortly after, they moved to nearby Chinatown to wreak havoc there. At this point, the local police gathered to control the situation and mayor W. S. Galbraith read the Riot Act to those gathered. As a result, everything was brought under control and the crowd soon dispersed. ### Development The University of Lethbridge was established in 1967, one of two post-secondary institutions established in Lethbridge after World War II. After the CPR moved the divisional point of its Crowsnest Line from Fort Macleod to Lethbridge in 1905, the city became a regional centre for Southern Alberta; something the region did not have previously. Between 1907 and 1913, a development boom occurred in Lethbridge, making it the main marketing, distribution and service centre in southern Alberta. Several municipal projects, a construction boom, and rising real estate prices transformed the mining town into a significant city. Part of the impetus behind the municipal projects above was the city playing host to the 7th International Dry-Farming Congress in 1912. As recently as 1911, the city had no facilities to host an event of this significance. By the time the event arrived in October, the city had spent $1.35 million paving downtown streets, putting in cement sidewalks, improving the water and sewer systems, building a street railcar system, creating Henderson Park and setting aside 60 acres (24 ha) for the Exhibition Grounds. Despite the event attracting thousands of delegates from throughout Canada and such places as China, Italy, and India, the city's tax base of only 8,000 could not support those improvements. The city carried the debt for decades after. Even so, the Lethbridge Herald labelled the event as "the greatest week in the history of the city". Between World War I and World War II, the city experienced an economic slump. Development slowed, drought drove farmers from their farms and coal mining rapidly declined from its peak before 1920. Following WWII, irrigation in the surrounding area caused the city's population to swell, which in turn boosted the local economy. Lethbridge Community College (now Lethbridge College) opened in April 1957, and the University of Lethbridge in 1967. Names ----- The town was named after William Lethbridge. Before settlement, the area where Lethbridge is located was known as The Arid Region. After geological surveys around 1880 revealed an abundance of coal, it became called The Belly River Coal District. After the Galts introduced irrigation to counter the Arid Region problems around 1900, the locality became called the Irrigated District. Finally, as an aid to land sales after the rush of dryland settlement started about 1905, the non-irrigable portion was called The Winter Wheat Lands. Other names the area was known by are as follows: * Blackfoot + Aksaysim, also transliterated as Aksiiksahko or Steep Banks + Mek-kio-towaghs, also Miiksskoowa, variously translated as Painted Rock, Red Painted Rock, or Medicine Stone + Assini-etomochi, also Asinaawaiitomottsaawa, or Where We Slaughtered the Crees + Sik-ooh-kotok, Black/Rocks or Coal * Sarcee + Chadish-kashi, Black/Rocks * Cree + Kuskusukisay-guni, Black/Rocks * Stony + Ipubin-saba-akabin, or Digging Coal * English + Coal Banks + Sherans, or Sheran's Ferry + The Crossing + The Colliery + Newlethbridge + Lethbridge Colliery + Upper and Lower Town + Coalhurst + Riverside Since October 15, 1885, the name Lethbridge has been the official term. The name Lethbridge was in common unofficial use for the river bottom community at least as early as May 1884.
Canadian anthology television series Canadian TV series or program *Scope* is a Canadian anthology television series which aired on CBC Television from 1954 to 1955. Premise ------- This series was one of the CBC's early venues for broadcasting artistic works. It consisted of various presentations such as ballet, documentary, drama and opera. The debut episode featured Sunshine Town, a musical version of the Stephen Leacock story. The National Ballet of Canada performed The Nutcracker for the second episode. The third episode in January 1955 featured Eric Nicol's review of the previous year. Another episode included a performance of The Telephone, the Gian Carlo Menotti opera, highlighting a theme of communications. Sketches by Federico García Lorca and Anton Chekhov formed an episode concerning the topic of marriage. "Sea of Troubles", a documentary by Lister Sinclair, was featured in another episode. Scheduling ---------- This half-hour series was broadcast Sundays at 10:00 p.m. from 19 December 1954 to 1 May 1955.
Russian chess player Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov (Russian: Ратмир Дмитриевич Холмов) (13 May 1925 in Shenkursk – 18 February 2006 in Moscow) was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff. Kholmov was not well known in the West, since he never competed there during his career peak, being confined to events in socialist countries. His chess results were impressive, so this may have been for security reasons, as Kholmov had been a wartime sailor. But he was one of the strongest Soviet players from the mid-1950s well into the 1970s, and was ranked as high as No. 8 in the world by Chessmetrics.com from August 1960 to March 1961. Kholmov stayed active in competitive chess right to the end of his life, and maintained a high standard of play past the age of 80. Early years ----------- Kholmov learned chess at age 12, and was near Master strength within three years. He served as a sailor in the Soviet merchant marine during World War II, sailing mainly the Northern Arctic route. In 1945, he took 5th in Tula. In 1946, he won in Zhdanovichi (Belarus). In 1947, he took 4th in the 13th Belarusian championship. Later that year, he made his first high-level appearance at the Mikhail Chigorin Memorial, Moscow 1947, scoring 5½/15 against a powerful international field. In 1948, Kholmov won the next BLR-ch in 1948, unbeaten, with 11½/13. Kholmov qualified for his first Soviet final in 1948, Moscow URS-ch16, scoring 8½/18 for 12th place, where the winners were David Bronstein and Alexander Kotov. He had to return to the Soviet semifinal level at Tbilisi 1949, where he placed 3rd with 10½/17 to advance. At Moscow URS-ch17, 1949, he showed solid improvement, finishing tied 9th–10th with 10/19, as Bronstein and Vasily Smyslov won. In 1950, he took 3rd in Pärnu, 7th in Tbilisi, and tied 4th–5th in the Spartak Club Championship. He missed Finals qualifying at Tartu 1950 (URS-ch18sf) with 9½/15 for fifth place. In 1954, he took 2nd, behind Vladas Mikėnas in Vilnius (Quadrangular). Kholmov won, or tied for 1st, in the Lithuanian championships in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960, making a total of ten outright or shared Lithuanian titles. This consistent success meant that he could be a full-time chess professional. International debut ------------------- Kholmov made his international debut at Bucharest 1954 with a tied 3rd–4th place, on 11/17, as Viktor Korchnoi won. He placed 6th at Kiev 1954 in the URS-ch21 with 10½/19, with Yuri Averbakh winning; this heralded his arrival in the Soviet elite. FIDE awarded Kholmov the International Master (IM) title in 1954. He tied for 3rd–6th places at Leningrad 1955–56 with 10½/18, as Vladimir Antoshin won. Kholmov tied for 1st–2nd places at Dresden 1956 with Averbakh on 12/15. He earned the International Master title for this. A very solid tied 5th–7th place at URS-ch23 in Leningrad 1956, with 10½/17, reinforced his high-echelon status. He maintained this standard at the next Soviet final, URS-ch24 at Moscow 1957, with 6th place on 12½/21. He placed 2nd at Szczawno-Zdrój 1957 with 11/15 behind winner Efim Geller. Kholmov won the Soviet semifinal at Tashkent 1958 with 11½/15, ahead of Korchnoi and Geller. His first clear international title was at Balatonfüred 1959, where he scored 10/13 to edge Wolfgang Uhlmann. In the URS-ch26 at Tbilisi 1959, Kholmov continued his improvement at the top Soviet level with a tied 4th–5th place, with 12/19, as Tigran Petrosian won. Grandmaster ----------- Kholmov scored one of the best results of his career with a tied 1st–2nd, along with Smyslov, at the Moscow International 1960 with 8½/11. The same year FIDE awarded him the Grandmaster (GM) title. He won the Soviet semifinal at Novgorod 1961 with 13/16. In Baku, at URS-ch29 (December 1961), he scored 11/20 to tie for 8th–11th places. He was clear first at Bucharest 1962 with 11½/15, ahead of Vladislav Shianovsky. He tied for 2nd–4th places in the Spartak Championship at Minsk 1962 with 11/17, behind Anatoly Bannik. Kholmov won at Kecskemét 1962 with 11/15, ahead of Lajos Portisch and László Szabó, who tied for 2nd–3rd places. He placed 4th in the URS-ch30 at Yerevan 1962 with 13/19, a point behind champion Korchnoi. In 1963 he shared 1st–3rd, with Boris Spassky and Leonid Stein, at Leningrad at the 31st Soviet Chess Championships. Stein prevailed in the three man playoff. Consequently, Kholmov is arguably the strongest player of the era ranging from the 1940s through the 1960s to never hold the title of Soviet Champion. (Isaac Boleslavsky is the only other player of Kholmov's strength in that period to never hold the title.) At Sochi 1964, Kholmov tied 2nd–3rd places with 10/15, behind winner Nikolai Krogius. Then Kholmov suffered perhaps his greatest career disappointment in the Soviet Zonal tournament, Moscow 1964, where he scored 6/12 for 4th in a super-strong field, but fell one place short of advancing to the Interzonal stage. At Kiev in the URS-ch32 (1964/65), Kholmov tied 5th–6th places with 11½/19, as Korchnoi won. He made a notable result at Havana 1965 with 5th place on 14½/21, as Smyslov won, but Kholmov defeated Bobby Fischer and finished undefeated in the tournament. At Tbilisi 1966/67 for URS-ch34, he scored 10/20 to tie for 10th–12th places, as Stein won again. Kholmov moved to Moscow in 1967 and lived there for the rest of his life. He won at Belgrade 1967 with 6½/9. One of his best career results was 2nd in a very strong field at Leningrad 1967 with 12/16, behind Korchnoi. He was 4th in an excellent field at Skopje 1967 with 11½/17, as Fischer won. Kholmov won at Havana 1968 with a powerful 12/14, ahead of Stein and Alexey Suetin. His play in the next four Soviet finals continued to be strong. At Alma-Ata 1968/69 for URS-ch36, he placed 6th–9th with 10½/19, as Lev Polugaevsky and Alexander Zaitsev won. The next Interzonal qualifier was URS-ch37 at Moscow 1969, and he finished tied 7th–9th with 12½/22, with Polugaevsky and Petrosian winning; this was a point short of advancing to the Interzonal. At Riga 1970 for URS-ch38, he dropped a bit with just 10/21 for a tied 13th–14th, as Korchnoi won. Then in Baku 1972 for URS-ch40, he had 10½/21 for a tied 10th–11th place, with Tal winning. This was his last Soviet final. His form in his late 40s had substantially fallen from his best years, and a new generation of Soviet players would earn most of the top tournament places and international opportunities. Kholmov got just one chance to represent the USSR in a team event at full international level when he played board ten at the European Team Championships, Kapfenberg 1970. He won the board gold medal with 4½/6 (+3−0=3), and helped his side to team gold. Kholmov did play in many national matches, such as against Hungary and Yugoslavia, generally scoring well. The Chessmetrics website statistically estimates his retroactive ranking at a minimum of Top 25 in the world from 1956 to 1970, with his peak ranking being 8th in 1960–61. They further estimate that his peak rating was 2736, also in 1961. Later years ----------- Kholmov continued to stay very active in competitive play, and he was generally quite successful. At Luhacovice 1973, he tied for 4th–5th places with 9/15, with Andras Adorjan and Jan Smejkal winning. At Sochi 1974, he scored 8½/15 for a tied 4th–6th place, with Polugaevsky winning. He placed 2nd at Kecskemét 1975 with 8½/13 behind winner Karolyi Honfi. One of Kholmov's best late-career results was his tied 3rd–5th place in a very strong Moscow 1975 tournament, with 9½/15, as Geller won. He tied for 1st–2nd at Budapest 1976 on 10½/15 with László Vadász. He placed 2nd at Zalaegerszeg 1977 with 7½/12 behind Evgeni Vasiukov. At age 63, Kholmov tied 3rd–6th at Sochi 1988 with 7/13, as Sergey Dolmatov won. At Voskresensk 1990, Kholmov tied 3rd–6th on 6½/11 behind winners Igor Naumkin and Valery Neverov. He had an excellent 2nd place at Moscow 1991 with 8½/11 behind winner Mikhail Ivanov. At age 72, Kholmov tied for 1st–3rd at Moscow 1997 on 7½/11 with Igor Zaitsev and Andrey Rychagov. World Senior Champion --------------------- Kholmov tied for the title in the 2000 World Senior Championship at Rowy, on 8/11 with Mark Taimanov, Jānis Klovāns, and Alexander Chernikov. Then he placed 2nd–4th in the same event the next year at Arco, again with 8/11, tied with Klovans and Vladimir Karasev, behind champion Vladimir Bukal, Sr. Kholmov played competitive chess virtually right up until his death in early 2006 at age 80. He appeared in a Senior event in Dresden, 50 years after he won a tournament there. Legacy ------ Kholmov was known as "The Central Defender" in Soviet chess circles, because of his great skill at repulsing enemy aggression. But he was also a very dangerous attacker, as most of the leading Soviet players learned. During his peak years, Kholmov was difficult to defeat, even at the top levels. He qualified for 16 Soviet finals between 1949 and 1972, with an aggregate well over 50 per cent. He scored wins over World Champions Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. Kholmov was comfortable as White with both 1.e4 and 1.d4, could play excellent classical chess with both colours, and had an occasional fondness for unusual openings, with which he had good success, as the game selection shows. Notable chess games ------------------- * Efim Geller vs. Ratmir Kholmov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1949, Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defence (C61), 0–1 Two rising stars battle for position late in the tournament, and Kholmov scores with an offbeat variation, unleashing a lovely rook sacrifice in the endgame. * Tigran Petrosian vs. Ratmir Kholmov, USSR Championship, Moscow 1957, Blumenfeld Gambit (E10), 0–1 Another unusual defensive choice takes off the future World Champion. * Viktor Korchnoi vs. Ratmir Kholmov, USSR Championship semifinal, Tashkent 1958, Modern Benoni Defence (A64), 0–1 The Modern Benoni was just coming into fashion around this time. * Ratmir Kholmov vs. Paul Keres, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1959, Sicilian Defence, Rossolimo Variation (B30), 1–0 It's highly unusual to see the powerful tactician Keres get knocked off so quickly. * Ratmir Kholmov vs. Laszlo Szabo, Kecskemet 1962, Slav Defence, Czech Variation (D19), 1–0 Kholmov overcomes the nine-time Hungarian champion. * Ratmir Kholmov vs. Leonid Stein, USSR Championship, Yerevan 1962, Sicilian Defence, Moscow Variation (B52), 1–0 Kholmov again scores with this unusual Sicilian line against one of his great rivals from this period. * Mark Taimanov vs. Ratmir Kholmov, USSR Championship, Leningrad 1963, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein / Gligoric Variation (E54), 0–1 Taimanov was a recognized expert on both sides of this defence. * Ratmir Kholmov vs. Boris Spassky, USSR Zonal Tournament, Moscow 1964, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B84), 1–0 Spassky was the tournament winner and a future World Champion. * Ratmir Kholmov vs. David Bronstein, USSR Championship, Kiev 1964–65, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B99), 1–0 Kholmov outplays the creative attacker Bronstein for one of his most memorable victories. * Robert Fischer vs. Ratmir Kholmov, Havana 1965, Ruy Lopez, Closed / Chigorin Variation (C98), 0–1 Fischer lost exceptionally rarely on the White side of the Ruy Lopez, so this win was quite an achievement. * Ratmir Kholmov vs. Garry Kasparov, USSR Championship Qualifying Tournament, Daugavpils 1978, Caro–Kann Defence, Classical Variation (B18), 1–0 Kasparov, just 15 at the time, was the tournament winner and a future World Champion. Opening theory -------------- This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. A couple of opening variations have been named after Kholmov. * ECO C92: Ruy Lopez, Closed, Kholmov Variation 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Be6 * Russian Game, Damiano Variation, Kholmov Gambit (C42) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4 4.Qe2 Qe7 Further reading --------------- * Giddins, Steve, British Chess Magazine, vol. May 2006 `{{citation}}`: Missing or empty `\|title=` (help) * Sosonko, Gennadi (2006), Smart chip from St. Petersburg, New in Chess, ISBN 90-5691-169-4
Kells Parish Church Kells parish, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright in Scotland, is located 14 miles (NWbN) from Castle-Douglas, and 19 miles (NbW) from Kirkcudbright. It contains, with the burgh of New Galloway, 1121 inhabitants.[when?] History and description ----------------------- Kells parish is supposed by some to derive its name from its elevated situation, of which, in the Gaelic language, the word is descriptive; others deduce it from the British Cell, on account of the extensive woods formerly existing here, and of which considerable remains are still found embedded in the various mosses. The parish, which is one of the largest in the county, is bounded on the west and south by the river Dee, which separates it from the parishes of Minnigaff, Girthon, and Balmaghie; and on the east by the river Ken, which divides it from Dalry, Balmaclellan, and Parton. It is about sixteen miles in length and eight miles in breadth, comprising an area of 47,500 acres, of which most is mountain pasture, and, with the exception of about 400 acres of woodland and plantations, the remainder is arable and in good cultivation. The surface is irregularly broken, rising towards the north into a range of lofty mountains, including the heights of Galloway, of which some have an elevation of 2700 feet above the sea. The arable lands, which are chiefly along the banks of the Ken, and interspersed with copses of oak and birch. The lower grounds are watered by numerous rivulets, which intersect the parish in various directions, and form tributaries to the Dee and to the Ken. The Ken has its source on the confines of Dumfriesshire, and, after entering the parish on the north-east, receives the waters of the Deuch, and at the southern extremity unites with the Dee. There are also many lakes, of which those of Loch Dungeon and Loch Harrow, in the north, are of considerable extent, but both inferior to Loch Ken, on the eastern border of the parish, which is about five miles in length and three quarters of a mile in breadth. The soil of the lands along the Ken is a rich clay, producing good crops of oats. The hills in the parish are chiefly of granite: there are neither mines nor quarries of any description. The remains of ancient wood are principally copses of oak and birch, both of which are indigenous, and appear well adapted to the soil; and the plantations, which are of recent formation, consist of oak, intermixed with Scotch fir and larch, and are well managed. Kenmure Castle, the seat of Lord Viscount Kenmure, the principal landed proprietor, is a very ancient structure, is seated on a circular mount, at the head of Loch Ken, within a mile of the town of New Galloway, and is supposed to have been the residence of John Balliol. It suffered frequent assaults during the wars with England in the time of Edward I; and was burnt in the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and again during the usurpation of Cromwell. The estate subsequently belonged to the Gordons, of Lochinvar, of whom Sir John was created Lord of Lochinvar and Viscount Kenmure, in 1633; but it became forfeited to the crown in the time of William, the sixth viscount, who was attainted for his participation in the rebellion of 1715, and beheaded on Tower Hill, London, in the following year. The property was, however, purchased from the crown by a member of his family; and the title was restored by act of parliament, in 1824, to his grandson, the late viscount and proprietor. The grounds are embellished with stately timber and thriving plantations, and the approach to the castle is by an avenue of lime trees. Glenlee is a mansion, which has been greatly enlarged, and is situated on the banks of the Ken, in a park embellished with many large oak trees. The church, erected in 1822, is a structure in the early English style of architecture, with a square embattled tower; it contains 560 sittings, and can be made to hold a greater number. The Glenkens Society annually award prizes to the most deserving of the scholars. A school-house was erected in the early 19th century in the northern part of the parish, by Mr. Kennedy, of Knocknalling, who paid the salary of the master; and there was also a Sabbath school, to which had attached a good library. The poor were partly supported by the interest of £522 bequeathed by various individuals, in the hands of the Kirk Session. There are several chalybeate springs in the parish, of which one, on Cairn-Edward, about two miles from New Galloway, was formerly in great repute, and is still used by the inhabitants in its neighbourhood. Notable residents ----------------- Among the natives of the parish have been the poet John Lowe, 1750-98, the author of Mary's Dream; Robert Heron, author of a History of Scotland; Thomas Gordon, the translator of Tacitus; and the Rev. William Gillespie, author of the Progress of Refinement, of Consolation, and other works. The tiny parish has produced three Moderators: * Very Rev Dr Nathaniel Paterson Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1850/51. * Very Rev James Maitland Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1860 * Very Rev Thomas Nicol Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1914
Sigma Iota (ΣΙ), Established March 12, 1912 is the first Latin American–based Greek lettered inter-collegiate fraternity in the United States. On December 26, 1931 Sigma Iota Fraternity merged with Phi Lambda Alpha Fraternity to form Phi Iota Alpha. History ------- ### Origins Sociedad Hispano-Americana Sigma Iota was founded on November 27, 1904 in Louisiana State University as a secret society for Spanish-American students under the name La Colonia Hispano-Americana. Soon after its founding La Colonia Hispano-Americano decided to change its name to Sociedad Hispano-Americana in December 1904. ### Founding On March 12, 1912, recognizing the benefit of the disciplinary background of a Greek system, the society transformed itself into the very first Latino fraternity, Sigma Iota. This name change allowed for the official transformation from a Latin American social club to Latin American Greek Lettered Fraternity. ### Expansion Monument of Sigma Iota's birthplace on the former LSU Campus Between 1912 and 1925, Sigma Iota expanded very rapidly in the United States, Central America, and Europe. As a result of this, Sigma Iota became the first international Latin American–based fraternity. By 1928, Sigma Iota had lost many of its chapters and therefore sought to stabilize its operations by consolidating its chapters in the United States with a more stationary and well-rooted organization. ### Consolidation Meanwhile, another fraternity Phi Lambda Alpha, which had been recently founded in 1919 at the University of California, Berkeley was seeking to expand throughout the United States. Sigma Iota Fraternity was in search of revitalizing some of its defunct chapters. Thus both organizations complemented each other and began to work towards the creation of the fraternity now known as Phi Iota Alpha. On December 26, 1931 Sigma Iota Fraternity merged with Phi Lambda Alpha fraternity to form Phi Iota Alpha. Phi Sigma Alpha fraternity can also trace its roots back to Sigma Iota. Former Chapters --------------- \| Collegiate Institution \| Establishment Year \| Country \| \| --- \| --- \| --- \| \| Louisiana State University \| 1912 \| United States \| \| Auburn University (formerly Alabama Polytechnic Institute) \| 1913 \| United States \| \| University of Geneva \| 1913 \| Switzerland \| \| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute \| 1913 \| United States \| \| Syracuse University \| 1913 \| United States \| \| Atlanta Medical School \| 1914 \| United States \| \| University of Guatemala \| 1914 \| Guatemala \| \| University of Liège \| 1914 \| Belgium \| \| University of Louvain \| 1914 \| Belgium \| \| University of Pennsylvania \| 1915 \| United States \| \| Tulane University \| 1924 \| United States \| \| Loyola University, New Orleans \| 1927 \| United States \| \| University of Iowa \| 1928 \| United States \| \| Iowa State University \| 1928 \| United States \| \| University of Florida \| 1928 \| United States \|
James Preston Poindexter (October 26, 1819 – February 7, 1907) was an abolitionist, civil rights activist, politician, and Baptist minister from Columbus, Ohio. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and moved to Ohio as a young man. In Ohio he was a part of abolitionist and Underground Railroad societies and became a Baptist preacher. From the pulpit, he preached against slavery and for African-American rights. After the American Civil War (1861–1865), he was involved in political activities in Columbus, serving on the City Council, the city Board of Education, the state Forestry Bureau, and as trustee of the Institute for the Blind and of Wilberforce University. At his death, he was noted as the second longest serving advocate for African American rights after Booker T. Washington. Biography --------- ### Early life James Preston Poindexter was born in Richmond, Virginia October 26, 1819 to Evelina and Joseph Poindexter. His mother was black and Cherokee. Joseph was a white man and may have been a brother of George Poindexter, second governor of Mississippi. Joseph was a journalist at the Richmond Enquirer. His mother died when he was four years old. As a child, he attended school, and at the age ten, he was apprenticed to the barber's business. He worked in an aristocratic shop, and Poindexter became acquainted with many Richmond leaders. He later moved to Ohio, settling in Columbus at the age of twelve. In Ohio, he continued to attend school, now privately, and to work as a barber, which again afforded him a variety of useful contacts. In the 1840s he married. After giving the baccalaureate sermon before the graduating class of the State University, Louisville, Kentucky in May, 1887, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity by the school. ### Early career Poindexter is featured on a historical memorial in front of the Second Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio Poindexter was baptized at the Second Baptist Church in Columbus in the spring of 1840, was ordained in 1849, and became pastor of the Second Baptist Church in 1862, serving until 1893. He was a member of the Pastor's Union and later elected president of the union. He frequently preached against slavery, working against the trend of many preachers failing to respond to claims that the Bible sanctioned slavery. In about 1857 he became president of the society called, "sons of protection," a position he held for 30 years, a secretive African-American civil rights group associated with the Underground Railroad. Other African-American active abolitionists in Columbus included David Jenkins, John Booker, Leslie Washington Sr, and John T. Ward and where helped by white abolitionists including Joseph Sullivant, James E. Coulter, L. G. Van Slyke, Samuel H. Smith, James M. Westwater, the Keltons, William Hanby, Phillip Doddridge, and Eli M. Pinney. In December 1848, Poindexter played an important role in bringing Frederick Douglass to Columbus to speak at a Free Soil Party Convention. ### Later career Poindexter in 1888 After the Civil War, Poindexter was a leading advocate for education of black children. He was a delegate to the 1872 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia and was a delegate to state conventions many times. In 1873, he was the first black man in Ohio nominated to run for a seat in the House of Representatives. He was nominated by the Republican Party, but was defeated by the overwhelmingly Democratic electorate in Franklin County. Starting in 1880, he served two terms, four years, as a member of the city council of Columbus, serving as council vice-president. He was also appointed to fill a vacancy in the Board of Education and later elected to the position, from 1884 to 1893. He was appointed to a four-year term as trustee of the Institute for the Blind by Ohio Governor Charles Foster. He was also appointed trustee of the Athens University (now Ohio University) by Governor George Hoadly but was rejected by the state senate for political reasons in 1885. In 1887 he was appointed to a six-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ohio State Forestry Bureau and was reappointed twice more. In September 1888, he served as president of the Columbus Centennial Freedom Jubillee. He was appointed as a trustee for Wilberforce University in 1898 by governor Asa Bushnell. He served as the first black foreman of an Ohio grand Jury. He was a frequent contributor to numerous newspapers and journals and worked closely with Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley and Ohio governor William Dennison Jr. ### Death and legacy In 1898 he resigned as pastor of the Second Baptist Church, although he continued to preach. He died in Columbus on February 7, 1907, of pneumonia and was survived by two grandchildren. The first public housing project built in Columbus, Poindexter Village, was named for him.
Building in Biscay, Spain Sabin Etxea Sabin Etxea (English: Sabin's House, named after Sabino Arana) is the official headquarters of the Basque Nationalist Party, located in Abando, Bilbao. History ------- In 1857, Santiago Arana, who owned a shipyard in the Bilbao basin, decided to build a home for his family in Ibáñez Street, Bilbao. Sabino Arana, considered the father of Basque nationalism and the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party, lived there most of his childhood and adolescence. In Sabin Etxea, Arana's first political statements were made. In 1898, the building was attacked by Spanish nationalists by throwing stones at it. At the end of the century, the family decides to sell the property because of financial reasons. In 1931, Basque nationalists at the Bilbao Ensanche said a batzoki was needed for assembly, and most members of the party proposed the Sabin Etxea for its historical value. The building was finally rented by the BNP, and rent was paid by membership fees and voluntary donations. Sabin Etxea was used for both cultural and political purposes, including Basque language and dances classes, conferences, excursions, and many others. By January 1932, a nationalist holiday was organized, coinciding with Aberri Eguna. However, the event was postponed to March 26, 27, and 28. On March 27, 1932, the first Aberri Eguna takes place. Many Basque nationalists from all over the Basque went to Bilbao for the occasion. A parade finished in front of Sabin Etxea, where a plaque was unveiled in remembrance of Sabino Arana. In 1933, as the Basque nationalist movement grew, the Spanish government tried to stop it by arresting the seven members of the Bizkai Buru Batzar and closing the whole batzoki. However, charges were withdrawn two weeks after the incidents. This important site for Basque Nationalism was purchased and held vacant for many years, before it was acquired by the Basque Nationalists to become a place for their headquarters.
The promenade position (abbreviated as PP in dance diagrams) is a dance position in ballroom and other dances. It is described differently in various dance categories. Connection ---------- The promenade position is a V-shaped dance position with the man's right hip and the woman's left hip in contact at the point of the "V", and with the man's left side and the woman's right side slightly open. The direction of travel is toward the openside. The man and woman stand in front of each other in body contact, slightly offset to the left, with the middle of the woman's front connected to the man's right front. The connection begins at the upper thighs and should continue all of the way up to the middle of the torso. The man's left hand holds the woman’s right hand, palm to palm in an upper-hand clasp, with fingers and thumbs closed around partner's hand. The man's right hand must rest on the woman’s back, loosely cupped with fingers and thumb together (not spread apart). The man's hand connects to her back on her shoulder blade. His wrist should make contact with her underarm at the junction of her arm and body. This connection should not change from the basic closed position. The woman’s left hand and forearm must be on the man's upper arm. This connection should also not change from the basic closed position. Ballroom -------- In ballroom dances their common trait is that when in promenade position, the dance couple moves (or intends to move) essentially sidewise to the leader's left while partners nearly face each other. Steps of both partners are basically sidewise or diagonally forward with respect to their bodies. Normally the dancers look in the direction of the intended movement. ### International Standard / American Smooth In the International Standard and American Smooth dance categories the promenade position is described as a V-shaped dance position with the man's right hip and the woman’s left hip in contact at the point of the "V". The dancer's heads face the open portion of the "V". The intended direction of movement is in this direction as well, with some exceptions. In International Standard, many pota ballroom partners strive to keep their shoulder lines close to parallel throughout a promenade, by means of an internal rotational stretch which is one of the more elusive dance concepts. Some expansion of the hold may often be seen, in the form of the leader stretching diagonally forwards and the follower diagonally back, each of course retaining their own largely independent balance. Diagonal movement across the feet and placement of the step of the inside foot into Contra body movement position may reduce the amount of hip turnout required for free movement. With proper foot usage, no sacrifice of motion is required to maintain this position. At the same time other skilled dancers often sacrifice the "narrowness" of the V-shape in favor of the amount of the progressive movement Some dance moves started from the PP are Chasse, weave, and several others whose description includes the words "from PP", e.g. "Cross Hesitation from PP". Some dance moves that may end in the PP are Open Telemark, Chasse ### Latin / Rhythm International Latin and American Rhythm dance categories usually do not involve the immediate body contact, but the general relative body positions are basically the same as described above, only the shoulder lines may remain parallel, i.e. one usually do not speak of V-shaped bodies position. Some dance moves that may involve the PP are Botafogos (Samba) and Travelling Spins (Paso Doble). Square and line dancing, Country/Western ---------------------------------------- Main article: Promenade (dance move) In square dances the promenade is a side-by-side position, with the intention to move together forward. The dancers may use various promenade handholds. Some of them are: * Basic promenade or Skirt Skater's handhold: The woman extends her left hand horizontally, palm down, across the front of the gent, and he takes it in his left hand. The woman places her right hand at the right side of her waist or slightly behind her right hip, and the gent holds this hand loosely with his right hand. The woman might also use her right hand to hold on to a full skirt with petticoats, sway the skirt in time to the music as a flourish ("skirtwork"), or simply place her hand on her waist. In this case, the gent places his right hand on the small of her back. * Skater’s handhold: Both hands are held in front of the partners at waist-level. The left hands are held in front of the gent’s waist; the right hands are held in front of the woman’s waist. The gent’s right arm crosses in front of the lady’s left arm. * Varsouvienne handhold (also called Shadow, Horseshoe, Cape Position): The man holds the woman's left hand with his left hand in front of her left shoulder. The man crosses his right arm behind the woman and holds her right hand with his right hand in front of the woman's right shoulder. The man's arm is held just above the woman's shoulder. * Cuddle or Wrap Position (also called Sweetheart or Sweetheart’s Wrap): The gent wraps his right arm around the woman’s waist; she wraps her left arm around her front to hold his right hand. She wraps her right arm over her left arm and across her front to hold his left hand. Hands are at waist level. Lindy Hop --------- In Lindy Hop, the promenade position is often defined similarly to the square dancing version: it is a side-by-side position with the leader's right arm on the follower's right shoulder, see, e.g. Lindy Basic.
Protein family Molecular machinery driving vesicle fusion in neuromediator release. The core SNARE complex is formed by four α-helices contributed by synaptobrevin, syntaxin and SNAP-25, synaptotagmin serves as a calcium sensor and closely regulates the SNARE zipping. SNARE proteins – "SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate the fusion of vesicles with the target membrane; this notably mediates exocytosis, but can also mediate the fusion of vesicles with membrane-bound compartments (such as a lysosome). The best studied SNAREs are those that mediate the release of synaptic vesicles containing neurotransmitters in neurons. These neuronal SNAREs are the targets of the neurotoxins responsible for botulism and tetanus produced by certain bacteria. Types ----- SNAREs can be divided into two categories: vesicle or v-SNAREs, which are incorporated into the membranes of transport vesicles during budding, and target or t-SNAREs, which are associated with nerve terminal membranes. Evidence suggests that t-SNAREs form stable subcomplexes which serve as guides for v-SNARE, incorporated into the membrane of a protein-coated vesicle, binding to complete the formation of the SNARE complex. Several SNARE proteins are located on both vesicles and target membranes, therefore, a more recent classification scheme takes into account structural features of SNAREs, dividing them into R-SNAREs and Q-SNAREs. Often, R-SNAREs act as v-SNAREs and Q-SNAREs act as t-SNAREs. R-SNAREs are proteins that contribute an arginine (R) residue in the formation of the zero ionic layer in the assembled core SNARE complex. One particular R-SNARE is synaptobrevin, which is located in the synaptic vesicles. Q-SNAREs are proteins that contribute a glutamine (Q) residue in the formation of the zero ionic layer in the assembled core SNARE complex. Q-SNAREs include syntaxin and SNAP-25. Q-SNAREs are further classified as Qa-, Qb-, or Qc-SNAREs depending on their location in the four-helix bundle. Occurrence ---------- Variants are known from yeasts, mammals Drosophila, and Caenorhabditis elegans. Structure --------- SNAREs are small, abundant, sometimes tail-anchored proteins which are often post-translationally inserted into membranes via a C-terminal transmembrane domain. Seven of the 38 known SNAREs, including SNAP-25, do not have a transmembrane domain and are instead attached to the membrane via lipid modifications such as palmitoylation. Tail-anchored proteins can be inserted into the plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and peroxisomes among other membranes, though any particular SNARE is targeted to a unique membrane. The targeting of SNAREs is accomplished by altering either the composition of the C-terminal flanking amino acid residues or the length of the transmembrane domain. Replacement of the transmembrane domain with lipid anchors leads to an intermediate stage of membrane fusion where only the two contacting leaflets fuse and not the two distal leaflets of the two membrane bilayer. Although SNAREs vary considerably in structure and size, they all share a segment in their cytosolic domain called a SNARE motif that consists of 60-70 amino acids and contains heptad repeats that have the ability to form coiled-coil structures. V- and t-SNAREs are capable of reversible assembly into tight, four-helix bundles called "trans"-SNARE complexes. In synaptic vesicles, the readily-formed metastable "trans" complexes are composed of three SNAREs: syntaxin 1 and SNAP-25 resident in cell membrane and synaptobrevin (also referred to as vesicle-associated membrane protein or VAMP) anchored in the vesicle membrane. In neuronal exocytosis, syntaxin and synaptobrevin are anchored in respective membranes by their C-terminal domains, whereas SNAP-25 is tethered to the plasma membrane via several cysteine-linked palmitoyl chains. The core trans-SNARE complex is a four-\alpha -helix bundle, where one \alpha -helix is contributed by syntaxin 1, one \alpha -helix by synaptobrevin and two \alpha -helices are contributed by SNAP-25. The plasma membrane-resident SNAREs have been shown to be present in distinct microdomains or clusters, the integrity of which is essential for the exocytotic competence of the cell. Membrane fusion --------------- Layering of the core SNARE complex. In the center is the zero hydrophilic ionic layer, flanked by hydrophobic leucine-zipper layers. During membrane fusion, v-SNARE and t-SNARE proteins on separate membranes combine to form a trans-SNARE complex, also known as a "SNAREpin". Depending on the stage of fusion of the membranes, these complexes may be referred to differently. During fusion of trans-SNARE complexes, the membranes merge and SNARE proteins involved in complex formation after fusion are then referred to as a "cis"-SNARE complex, because they now reside in a single (or cis) resultant membrane. After fusion, the cis-SNARE complex is bound and disassembled by an adaptor protein, alpha-SNAP. Then, the hexameric ATPase (of the AAA type) called NSF catalyzes the ATP-dependent unfolding of the SNARE proteins and releases them into the cytosol for recycling. SNAREs are thought to be the core required components of the fusion machinery and can function independently of additional cytosolic accessory proteins. This was demonstrated by engineering "flipped" SNAREs, where the SNARE domains face the extracellular space rather than the cytosol. When cells containing v-SNAREs contact cells containing t-SNAREs, trans-SNARE complexes form and cell-cell fusion ensues. Components ---------- The core SNARE complex is a 4-\alpha -helix bundle. Synaptobrevin and syntaxin contribute one \alpha -helix each, while SNAP-25 participates with two \alpha -helices (abbreviated as Sn1 and Sn2). The interacting amino acid residues that zip the SNARE complex can be grouped into layers. Each layer has 4 amino acid residues – one residue per each of the 4 \alpha -helices. In the center of the complex is the zero ionic layer composed of one arginine (R) and three glutamine (Q) residues, and it is flanked by leucine zippering. Layers '-1', '+1' and '+2' at the centre of the complex most closely follow ideal leucine-zipper geometry and aminoacid composition. The zero ionic layer is composed of R56 from VAMP-2, Q226 from syntaxin-1A, Q53 from Sn1 and Q174 from Sn2, and is completely buried within the leucine-zipper layers. The positively charged guanidino group of the arginine (R) residue interact with the carboxyl groups of each of the three glutamine (Q) residues. The flanking leucine-zipper layers act as a water-tight seal to shield the ionic interactions from the surrounding solvent. Exposure of the zero ionic layer to the water solvent by breaking the flanking leucine zipper leads to instability of the SNARE complex and is the putative mechanism by which \alpha -SNAP and NSF recycle the SNARE complexes after the completion of synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Mechanism of membrane fusion ---------------------------- ### Assembly Depiction of the formation of a trans-SNARE complex. Shows how Munc18 interacts with the SNARE proteins during complex formation. SNARE proteins must assemble into trans-SNARE complexes to provide the force that is necessary for vesicle fusion. The four α-helix domains (1 each from synaptobrevin and syntaxin, and 2 from SNAP-25) come together to form a coiled-coil motif. The rate-limiting step in the assembly process is the association of the syntaxin SNARE domain, since it is usually found in a "closed" state where it is incapable of interacting with other SNARE proteins. When syntaxin is in an open state, trans-SNARE complex formation begins with the association of the four SNARE domains at their N-termini. The SNARE domains proceed in forming a coiled-coil motif in the direction of the C-termini of their respective domains. SNAP and NSF also associate with the complex formed by SNAREs during this step and participate in the later events of priming and disassembly. The SM protein Munc18 is thought to play a role in assembly of the SNARE complex, although the exact mechanism by which it acts is still under debate. It is known that the clasp of Munc18 locks syntaxin in a closed conformation by binding to its α-helical SNARE domains, which inhibits syntaxin from entering SNARE complexes (thereby inhibiting fusion). The clasp is also capable, however, of binding the entire four-helix bundle of the trans-SNARE complex. One hypothesis suggests that, during SNARE-complex assembly, the Munc18 clasp releases closed syntaxin, remains associated with the N-terminal peptide of syntaxin (allowing association of the syntaxin SNARE domain with other SNARE proteins), and then reattaches to the newly formed four-helix SNARE complex. This possible mechanism of dissociation and subsequent re-association with the SNARE domains could be calcium-dependent. This supports the idea that Munc18 plays a key regulatory role in vesicle fusion; under normal conditions the SNARE complex will be prevented from forming by Munc18, but when triggered the Munc18 will actually assist in SNARE-complex assembly and thereby act as a fusion catalyst. ### Zippering and fusion pore opening This figure provides a simple overview of the interaction of SNARE proteins with vesicles during exocytosis. Shows SNARE complex assembly, zippering, and disassembly. Membrane fusion is an energetically demanding series of events, which requires translocation of proteins in the membrane and disruption of the lipid bilayer, followed by reformation of a highly curved membrane structure. The process of bringing together two membranes requires input energy to overcome the repulsive electrostatic forces between the membranes. The mechanism that regulates the movement of membrane associated proteins away from the membrane contact zone prior to fusion is unknown, but the local increase in membrane curvature is thought to contribute in the process. SNAREs generate energy through protein-lipid and protein-protein interactions which act as a driving force for membrane fusion. One model hypothesizes that the force required to bring two membranes together during fusion comes from the conformational change in trans-SNARE complexes to form cis-SNARE complexes. The current hypothesis that describes this process is referred to as SNARE "zippering." When the trans-SNARE complex is formed, the SNARE proteins are still found on opposing membranes. As the SNARE domains continue coiling in a spontaneous process, they form a much tighter, more stable four-helix bundle. During this "zippering" of the SNARE complex, a fraction of the released energy from binding is thought to be stored as molecular bending stress in the individual SNARE motifs. This mechanical stress is postulated to be stored in the semi-rigid linker regions between the transmembrane domains and the SNARE helical bundle. The energetically unfavorable bending is minimized when the complex moves peripherally to the site of membrane fusion. As a result, relief of the stress overcomes the repulsive forces between the vesicle and the cell membrane and presses the two membranes together. Several models to explain the subsequent step – the formation of stalk and fusion pore – have been proposed. However, the exact nature of these processes remains debated. In accordance with the "zipper" hypothesis, as the SNARE complex forms, the tightening helix bundle puts torsional force on the transmembrane (TM) domains of synaptobrevin and syntaxin. This causes the TM domains to tilt within the separate membranes as the proteins coil more tightly. The unstable configuration of the TM domains eventually causes the two membranes to fuse and the SNARE proteins come together within the same membrane, which is referred to as a "cis"-SNARE complex. As a result of the lipid rearrangement, a fusion pore opens and allows the chemical contents of the vesicle to leak into the outside environment. The continuum explanation of stalk formation suggests that membrane fusion begins with an infinitesimal radius until it radially expands into a stalk-like structure. However, such a description fails to take into account the molecular dynamics of membrane lipids. Recent molecular simulations show that the close proximity of the membranes allows the lipids to splay, where a population of lipids insert their hydrophobic tails into the neighboring membrane – effectively keeping a "foot" in each membrane. The resolution of the splayed lipid state proceeds spontaneously to form the stalk structure. In this molecular view, the splayed-lipid intermediate state is the rate determining barrier rather than the formation of the stalk, which now becomes the free energy minimum. The energetic barrier for establishment of the splayed-lipid conformation is directly proportional to the intermembrane distance. The SNARE complexes and their pressing of the two membranes together, therefore, could provide the free energy required to overcome the barrier. ### Disassembly The energy input that is required for SNARE-mediated fusion to take place comes from SNARE-complex disassembly. The suspected energy source is N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF), an ATPase that is involved with membrane fusion. NSF homohexamers, along with the NSF cofactor α-SNAP, bind and dissociate the SNARE complex by coupling the process with ATP hydrolysis. This process allows for reuptake of synaptobrevin for further use in vesicles, whereas the other SNARE proteins remain associated with the cell membrane. The dissociated SNARE proteins have a higher energy state than the more stable cis-SNARE complex. It is believed that the energy that drives fusion is derived from the transition to a lower energy cis-SNARE complex. The ATP hydrolysis-coupled dissociation of SNARE complexes is an energy investment that can be compared to "cocking the gun" so that, once vesicle fusion is triggered, the process takes place spontaneously and at optimum velocity. A comparable process takes place in muscles, in which the myosin heads must first hydrolyze ATP in order to adapt the necessary conformation for interaction with actin and the subsequent power stroke to occur. Regulatory effects on exocytosis -------------------------------- ### Regulation via SNAP-25 palmitoylation The Q-SNARE protein Synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) is composed of two α-helical domains connected by a random coil linker. The random coil linker region is most notable for its four cysteine residues. The α-helical domains combine with those of both syntaxin and synaptobrevin (also known as vesicle associated membrane protein or VAMP) to form the 4-α-helix coiled-coil SNARE complex critical to efficient exocytosis. While syntaxin and synaptobrevin both contain transmembrane domains which allow for docking with target and vesicle membranes respectively, SNAP-25 relies on the palmitoylation of cysteine residues found in its random coil region for docking to the target membrane. Some studies have suggested that association with syntaxin via SNARE interactions precludes the need for such docking mechanisms. Syntaxin knockdown studies however, failed to show a decrease in membrane bound SNAP-25 suggesting alternate docking means exist. The covalent bonding of fatty acid chains to SNAP-25 via thioester linkages with one or more cysteine residues therefore, provides for regulation of docking and ultimately SNARE mediated exocytosis. This process is mediated by a specialized enzyme called DHHC palmitoyl transferase. The cysteine rich domain of SNAP-25 has also been shown to weakly associate with the plasma membrane possibly allowing it to be localized near the enzyme for subsequent palmitoylation. The reverse of this process is carried out by another enzyme called palmitoyl protein thioesterase (see figure). A simplified depiction of the palmitoylation of a cysteine residue in a protein The availability of SNAP-25 in the SNARE complex is also theorized to possibly be spatially regulated via localization of lipid microdomains in the target membrane. Palmitoylated cysteine residues could be localized to the desired target membrane region via a favorable lipid environment (possibly cholesterol rich) complementary to the fatty acid chains bonded to the cysteine residues of SNAP-25. ### SNAP-25 regulation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in neuronal axon terminals As an action potential reaches the axon terminal, depolarization events stimulate the opening of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) allowing the rapid influx of calcium down its electrochemical gradient. Calcium goes on to stimulate exocytosis via binding with synaptotagmin 1. SNAP-25 however, has been shown to negatively regulate VGCC function in glutamatergic neuronal cells. SNAP-25 leads to a reduction of current density through VGCC's and therefore a decrease in the amount of calcium that is binding the synaptotagmin, causing a decrease in neuronal glutamatergic exocytosis. Conversely, underexpression of SNAP-25 allows for an increase in VGCC current density and increase in exocytosis. Further investigation has suggested possible relationships between SNAP-25 over/underexpression and a variety of brain diseases. In attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, polymorphisms at the SNAP-25 gene locus in humans have been linked to the disease suggesting a potential role in its manifestation. This is further suggested by heterogeneous SNAP-25 knockout studies performed on coloboma mutant mice, which led to phenotypic characteristics of ADHD. Studies have also shown a correlation of SNAP-25 over/underexpression and the onset of schizophrenia. ### Syntaxin and the Habc domain Syntaxin consists of a transmembrane domain (TMD), alpha-helical SNARE domain, a short linker region, and the Habc domain which consists of three alpha-helical regions. The SNARE domain in syntaxin serves as a target site for docking of SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin in order to form the four helix bundle requisite to the SNARE complex and subsequent fusion. The Habc domain, however, serves as an autoinhibitory domain in syntaxin. It has been shown to fold over and associate with the SNARE domain of syntaxin inducing a "closed" state, creating a physical barrier to the formation of the SNARE motif. Conversely, the Habc domain can again disassociate with the SNARE domain leaving syntaxin free to associate with both SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin. ### Syntaxin 1B and readily releasable pool of vesicles There is an immense diversity of syntaxin subtypes, with 15 varieties in the human genome. It has been suggested that syntaxin1B has a role in regulating number of synaptic vesicles ready for exocytosis in the axon terminal. This is also called the readily releasable pool (RRP) of vesicles. A knock out study in 2014 showed that the lack of syntaxin1B led to a significant decrease in RRP size. Toxins ------ Many neurotoxins directly affect SNARE complexes. Such toxins as the botulinum and tetanus toxins work by targeting the SNARE components. These toxins prevent proper vesicle recycling and result in poor muscle control, spasms, paralysis, and even death. ### Botulinum neurotoxin Botulinum Toxin (BoNT) is one of the most potent toxins to have ever been discovered. It is a proteolytic enzyme that cleaves SNARE proteins in neurons. Its protein structure is composed of two peptide subunits, a heavy chain (100kDas) and a light chain (50kDas), which are held together by a disulfide bond. The action of BoNT follows a 4-step mechanism including binding to the neuronal membrane, endocytosis, membrane translocation, and proteolysis of SNARE proteins. Target SNARE proteins of Botulinum Neurotoxin (BoNT) and Tetanus Neurotoxin (TeNT) inside the axon terminal. In its mechanism of action, the heavy chain of BoNT is first used to find its neuronal targets and bind to the gangliosides and membrane proteins of presynaptic neurons. Next, the toxin is then endocytosed into the cell membrane. The heavy chain undergoes a conformational change important for translocating the light chain into the cytosol of the neuron. Finally, after the light chain of BoNT is brought into the cytosol of the targeted neuron, it is released from the heavy chain so that it can reach its active cleavage sites on the SNARE proteins. The light chain is released from the heavy chain by the reduction of the disulfide bond holding the two together. The reduction of this disulfide bond is mediated by the NADPH-thioredoxin reductase-thioredoxin system. The light chain of BoNT acts as a metalloprotease on SNARE proteins that is dependent on Zn(II) ions, cleaving them and eliminating their function in exocytosis. There are 8 known isotypes of BoNT, BoNT/A – BoNT/H, each with different specific cleavage sites on SNARE proteins. SNAP25, a member of the SNARE protein family located in the membrane of cells, is cleaved by BoNT isotypes A, C, and E. The cleavage of SNAP-25 by these isotypes of BoNT greatly inhibits their function in forming the SNARE complex for fusion of vesicles to the synaptic membrane. BoNT/C also targets Syntaxin-1, another SNARE protein located in the synaptic membrane. It degenerates these Syntaxin proteins with a similar outcome as with SNAP-25. A third SNARE protein, Synaptobrevin (VAMP), is located on cell vesicles. VAMP2 is targeted and cleaved by BoNT isotypes B, D, and F in synaptic neurons. The targets of these various isotypes of BoNT as well as Tetanus Neurotoxin (TeNT) are shown in the figure to the right. In each of these cases, Botulinum Neurotoxin causes functional damage to SNARE proteins, which has significant physiological and medical implications. By damaging SNARE proteins, the toxin prevents synaptic vesicles from fusing to the synaptic membrane and releasing their neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. With the inhibition of neurotransmitter release into the synaptic cleft, action potentials cannot be propagated to stimulate muscle cells. This result in paralysis of those infected and in serious cases, it can cause death. Although the effects of Botulinum Neurotoxin can be fatal, it has also been used as a therapeutic agent in medical and cosmetic treatments. ### Tetanus neurotoxin The breakdown of responsibilities and mechanisms of the heavy (HC) and light chain (LC) of tetanus neurotoxin: The HC assists in binding of TeNT to both the ganglioside receptor and the final receptor. Once TeNT is in the vesicle in the inhibitory interneuron space the HC assists in translocation of the LC into the cytoplasm. Then the LC, characterized by zinc endopeptidase activity, inhibits neurotransmission by cleavage of synaptobrevin 1. Tetanus toxin, or TeNT, is composed of a heavy chain (100KDa) and a light chain (50kDa) connected by a disulfide bond. The heavy chain is responsible for neurospecific binding of TeNT to the nerve terminal membrane, endocytosis of the toxin, and translocation of the light chain into the cytosol. The light chain has zinc-dependent endopeptidase or more specifically matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity through which cleaveage of synaptobrevin or VAMP is carried out. For the light chain of TeNT to be activated one atom of zinc must be bound to every molecule of toxin. When zinc is bound reduction of the disulfide bond will be carried out primarily via the NADPH-thioredoxin reductase-thioredoxin redox system. Then the light chain is free to cleave the Gln76-Phe77 bond of synaptobrevin. Cleavage of synaptobrevin affects the stability of the SNARE core by restricting it from entering the low energy conformation which is the target for NSF binding. This cleavage of synaptobrevin is the final target of TeNT and even in low doses the neurotoxin will inhibit neurotransmitter exocytosis. Role in neurotransmitter release -------------------------------- Neurotransmitters are stored in readily releasable pools of vesicles confined within the presynaptic terminal. During neurosecretion/exocytosis, SNAREs play a crucial role in vesicle docking, priming, fusion, and synchronization of neurotransmitter release into the synaptic cleft. The first step in synaptic vesicle fusion is tethering, where the vesicles are translocated from the reserve pool into physical contact with the membrane. At the membrane, Munc-18 is initially bound to syntaxin 1A in a closed structure. It is postulated that the dissociation of Munc-18 from the complex frees syntaxin 1A to bind with the v-SNARE proteins. The next step in release is the docking of vesicles, where the v- and t-SNARE proteins transiently associate in a calcium-independent manner. The vesicles are then primed, wherein the SNARE motifs form a stable interaction between the vesicle and membrane. Complexins stabilize the primed SNARE-complex rendering the vesicles ready for rapid exocytosis. The span of presynaptic membrane containing the primed vesicles and dense collection of SNARE proteins is referred to as the active zone. Voltage-gated calcium channels are highly concentrated around active zones and open in response to membrane depolarization at the synapse. The influx of calcium is sensed by synaptotagmin 1, which in turn dislodges complexin protein and allows the vesicle to fuse with the presynaptic membrane to release neurotransmitter. It has also been shown that the voltage-gated calcium channels directly interact with the t-SNAREs syntaxin 1A and SNAP-25, as well as with synaptotagmin 1. The interactions are able to inhibit calcium channel activity as well as tightly aggregate the molecules around the release site. There have been many clinical cases that link SNARE genes with neural disorders. Deficiency in SNAP-25 mRNA has been observed in hippocampal tissue of some schizophrenic patients, a SNAP-25 single-nucleotide polymorphism is linked to hyperactivity in autism-spectrum disorders, and overexpression of SNAP-25B leads to the early onset of bipolar disorder. Role in autophagy ----------------- Macroautophagy is a catabolic process involving the formation of double-membrane bound organelles called autophagosomes, which aid in degradation of cellular components through fusion with lysosomes. During autophagy, portions of the cytoplasm are engulfed by a cup-shaped double-membrane structure called a phagophore and eventually become the contents of the fully assembled autophagosome. Autophagosome biogenesis requires the initiation and growth of phagophores, a process that was once thought to occur through de novo addition of lipids. However, recent evidence suggests that the lipids that contribute to the growing phagophores originate from numerous sources of membrane, including endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, plasma membrane, and mitochondria. SNAREs play important roles in mediating vesicle fusion during phagophore initiation and expansion as well as autophagosome-lysosome fusion in the later stages of autophagy. Though the mechanism of phagophore initiation in mammals is unknown, SNAREs have been implicated in phagophore formation through homotypic fusion of small, clathrin-coated, single-membrane vesicles containing Atg16L, the v-SNARE VAMP7, and its partner t-SNAREs: Syntaxin-7, Syntaxin-8, and VTI1B. In yeast, the t-SNAREs Sec9p and Sso2p are required for exocytosis and promote tubulovesicular budding of Atg9 positive vesicles, which are also required for autophagosome biogenesis. Knocking out either of these SNAREs leads to accumulation of small Atg9 containing vesicles that do not fuse, therefore preventing the formation of the pre-autophagosomal structure. In addition to phagophore assembly, SNAREs are also important in mediating autophagosome-lysosome fusion. In mammals, the SNAREs VAMP7, VAMP8, and VTI1B are required in autophagosome-lysosome fusion and this process is impaired in lysosomal storage disorders where cholesterol accumulates in the lysosome and sequesters SNAREs in cholesterol rich regions of the membrane preventing their recycling. Recently, syntaxin 17 (STX17) was identified as an autophagosome associated SNARE that interacts with VAMP8 and SNAP29 and is required for fusion with the lysosome. STX17 is localized on the outer membrane of autophagosomes, but not phagophores or other autophagosome precursors, which prevents them from prematurely fusing with the lysosome. In yeast, the fusion of autophagosomes with vacuoles (the yeast equivalent of lysosomes) requires SNAREs and related proteins such as the syntaxin homolog Vam3, SNAP-25 homolog Vam7, Ras-like GTPase Ypt7, and the NSF ortholog, Sec18. Flexible substitution of components ----------------------------------- Several complexes are known to flexibly substitute one protein for another: Two Qa-SNAREs in yeasts can substitute for each other to some degree. Yeasts which lose the R-SNARE - Sec22p - automatically increase levels of a homolog - Ykt6p - and use it the same way. Although Drosophilae cannot survive the loss of the SNAP-25 component, SNAP-24 can fully replace it. And also in Drosophila, an R-SNARE not normally found in synapses can substitute for synaptobrevin. In plants --------- SNAREs also occur in plants and some understanding of their occurrence and role has obtained. These have often been found to be essential to vesicle transport, including Zheng et al 1999's finding regarding Golgi-vacuole trafficking. Much of this study has been in Arabidopsis.
Advanced Numerical Research and Analysis Group (ANURAG) is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Located in Kanchanbagh, Hyderabad, it is involved in the development of computing solutions for numerical analysis and their use in other DRDO projects. History ------- ANURAG was established on 2 May 1988, to development of indigenous supercomputer.later in 1991,ANURAG became a part of defense R&D Organization.support aeronautical design work, with the mandate of executing specific, time-bound projects leading to the development of custom designed computing systems and software packages for numerical analysis and other applications. As of 2020, it is not longer functional or act as an independent laboratory. All the staff members are transferred to others DRDO labs in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi. Areas of work ------------- ANURAG helps design and develop advanced computing systems. Much of this research is conducted in state-of-the-art concepts like parallel architectures, etc. in order to build up a technology base in these areas. Its areas of work are: * Parallel processing technology. * Scientific Data Visualisation * System engineering, integration. * General purpose microprocessors. * 1 micrometre CMOS fabrication technology. * Design and development of VLSI chips & SOC development. * Processor related technology. * System software development for custom made processors. * Analog, RF and Mixed-signal ASIC design Products -------- ### PACE PACE (Processor for Aerodynamic Computations and Evaluation), developed by ANURAG, is a loosely coupled, message-passing parallel processing supercomputer. PACE was originally designed to cater to the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) needs in aircraft design. It can also be used for other fields such as weather forecasting, automobile & civil engineering design, and Molecular Biology. These systems have been built using VME-bus based Pentium processor boards, ATM switches, and Reflective Memory communication hardware. In 1987, India decided to launch a national initiative in supercomputing to design, develop and deliver a supercomputer in the gigaflops range. Complementary projects were initiated in various labs, ANURAG being one of them. PACE was unveiled by then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in April 1995.[] In late 1998, ANURAG developed the 15 times more powerful "Pace Plus 32", which can be used to support missile development, as well as other fields. A 128-node PACE++ system, built using Pentium processor-based VME boards was unveiled by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in January 2004. The performance of this system is 50 Gigaflops (sustained performance). It has been installed at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. At present work is in progress on a parallel processing system based on Linux clusters targeted to deliver 1 teraflop performance. ### ANAMICA ANAMICA (ANURAG's Medical Imaging and Characterization Aid) is a DICOM compliant three-dimensional medical visualization software for data obtained from any medical imaging system like MRI, CT and Ultrasound. The software has two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization techniques to visualize the images in various ways. The sequence of images obtained from any imaging system by scanning of a single patient is packed to form a three-dimensional grid. The software has also been modified for accepting data from Industrial CT systems. ### General purpose microprocessors ANURAG has designed and developed general-purpose microprocessors- ANUPAMA and ABACUS. ANUPAMA is a 32-bit RISC processor, and works at 33 MHz clock speed. The complete software development tool kit is available for application development. A single-board computer based on ANUPAMA is available for evaluation and software development. ANUPAMA is also available as an IP core. ABACUS is a 32-bit processor for multi-tasking applications with virtual memory support. It is designed around ANUPAMA core with additions like MMU, two levels of cache, double-precision FPU, SDRAM controller. The IP core of ABACUS is available in Verilog RTL code. This processor is suited for desktop applications. A complete software platform is available for the ABACUS processor and a single board computer with ABACUS is implemented. Linux Kernel is ported. ### Other technologies ANURAG has designed a 16-bit DSP processor, which is available as an IP core and the design is packaged in 120-pin CPGA. It has also designed other processors and arithmetic cores. ANURAG has also been able to fabricate CMOS designs up to 1-micrometer size and with up to 100,000 gates. Die sizes of 14 x 14 mm have been achieved.
English cartoonist and caricaturist Gilbert Thomas Webster (1886–1962) was an English cartoonist and caricaturist. Tom Webster by Howard Coster in The National Portrait Gallery London Born in Church Street, Bilston, Staffordshire (now West Midlands), the son of Daniel Webster, ironmonger, and his wife Sarah Ann (née Bostock) a tobacconist, however, his father died before Tom was five years old He was educated at the Royal Wolverhampton School, and at the age of fourteen got his first job as a railway booking-clerk. He taught himself to draw, and in 1904 he won a newspaper cartoon contest. This began his career in cartooning. He started out at the Sports Argus in Birmingham, moving to London in 1912 to become the political cartoonist for the short-lived Labour Party mouthpiece, the Daily Citizen. An ironic placement given his later Conservative standing. In November 1915 Webster volunteered for the army, giving his occupation as "Bank clerk". He was sent to France in May 1916 as a Lance Corporal and saw action in the Battle of the Somme. He was wounded in the neck at St. Eloi in November 1916 and invalided home soon afterwards. He spent six months in hospital before being discharged in July 1917. Eventually, in 1918, Webster secured a job with the Evening News, before joining the Daily Mail in 1919. He specialised in cartoons of horseracing, cricket and golf, and stayed at the Mail for over twenty years enjoying enormous popularity. As early as 1924 he was reputedly the highest-paid cartoonist in the world. In his capacity as a sports cartoonist, he became friends and golf partner with Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman, and one account says it was a combination of clothing worn by Webster that inspired Chapman to add white sleeves to Arsenal's red shirts. Webster also continued caricaturising politicians generally with an anti-Labour tone; notably on the night of the 1929 general election, a selection of his cartoons was projected in public in London's Trafalgar Square. Also in 1929, in New York City, Webster married Mae Flynn, a former member of the Ziegfeld Follies, and their wedding was covered by the newsreels. They had their honeymoon in Hollywood, where Webster drew Charlie Chaplin, whom he had known earlier in England. The marriage was childless and Webster was divorced in 1933. In December 1935, he married Ida Michael, an American showgirl who had starred on Broadway and in the Dorchester Cabaret in London. He left the Daily Mail in 1940, and later during the war he performed in concert parties in France and Belgium, as a cartoonist and comedian, as well as doing some work as a war correspondent. He continued to draw for other newspapers, and his own range of annuals, until 1960. Tom Webster died at his home in London on 21 June 1962 aged 76. He was survived by his second wife, two daughters, and a son.
Katherine Agnes Chandler (May 1865 – June 24, 1930) was a botanist and writer, known as "The Wildflower Lady of California". Biography --------- Katherine Agnes Chandler was born in San Francisco in 1865, the daughter of William Sylvester Chandler (1829–1898), of London, and Catherine Agnes Comerford (1847–1912). She had four brothers, Albert E. Chandler, William Sylvester Chandler (1867–1913), Joseph Francis Chandler (1869–1959), and George E. Chandler (1879–1887) and one sister, Mabel G. Chandler (1875-1958). She was a librarian associated with the Pacific Northwest and California (she contributed articles for the San Francisco Chronicle); she published books for 2nd and 3rd grade schoolchildren about California wildflowers (Habits of California Plants, 1903, and As California wild flowers grow: suggestions to nature lovers, 1922), Native folktales (In the reign of Coyote: folklore from the Pacific coast, 1905), Sacagawea (The Bird-Woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition), and William Clark's servant York. The Garden of Shakespearean Flowers in Golden Gate Park was originated by Alice Eastwood and carried out by Chandler. In 1903 Chandler credited Eastwood in her Habits of California Plants. Another of her ventures was The Deer Park Springs Hotel, near Lake Tahoe, constructed by John Brown Scott in 1880 who sold it to Chandler in 1905. She added tennis and croquet grounds to the resort. In 1908 Chandler recut the trail from Deer Park into the famous Hell Hole, a trail that had been lost for many years. In 1909 Emily Williams remodeled Deer Park Inn for Chandler. Emily probably met Chandler in Pacific Grove, California, where Chandler frequently rented a cottage. Both women were friends of Etta Belle Lloyd, a Pacific Grove businesswoman who ran an insurance agency and managed several commercial properties that had been owned by her father David. In 1905, Chandler compiled, for the Library Association of California, a list of California periodicals issued before the 1861 completion of the transcontinental telegraph. Katherine Chandler died in 1930 in Los Gatos, California, and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma.
Dana Paul Goldman is the dean of the USC Price School of Public Policy, Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair and director of the University of Southern California Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and Professor of Public Policy, Pharmacy, and Economics at the Price School and USC School of Pharmacy. He is also an adjunct professor of health services and radiology at UCLA, and a managing director and founding partner, along with Darius Lakdawalla and Tomas J. Philipson, at Precision Heath Economics, a health care consulting firm. Previously held positions include the director of the Bing Center for Health Economics, RAND Royal Center for Health Policy Simulation, and UCLA/RAND Health Services Research Postdoctoral Training Program. Goldman's professional interests include the innovation of health technology, the future of America's elderly population, the design of insurance, and disparities in health outcomes. More recently, his work has focused on medical innovation and regulation, comparative effectiveness and outcomes research, and patient-reported outcomes in emerging markets Goldman is also the founding co-editor of the Forum for Health Economics and Policy and has been on the editorial board of Health Affairs, B.E. Journals of Economic Analysis and Policy, and the RAND Journal of Economics, among others. He is a health policy advisor to the Congressional Budget Office and, in 2009, was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine. He is also the 2009 recipient of the Eugene Garfield Economic Impact Prize, in recognition of his outstanding research on how medical research impacts the economy. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University. Goldman’s 1997 article, "Redistributional Consequences of Community Rating" discusses a study done in California where health insurance premiums were based on community ratings. The Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act (PPACA) has been passed through Congress and implementation has commenced in the U.S. healthcare system. Community rating systems will be the basis for health care premiums in the future exchange system. These ratings, pool people in to demographic groups and charge all members a constant rate. The goal of this system is to prevent medical underwriting and decrease the inequities that occur for clients with higher risks of increased medical utilization present in a risk adjusted system. Goldman et al. conducted a study in California that trialed such clusters of insured clients by pooling at the state level, regional level, and metropolitan level. Results from California’s experiment with such a system conclude that the larger the areas pooled, the greater the transfer of costs. Another challenge to community based rating systems is that lower income neighborhoods with lower healthcare utilization subsidize the healthcare cost of higher income communities that tend to have higher healthcare expenditures. The health exchange system will not be the only place where community rating systems are utilized. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) (CMS) plans to initiate a modified rating system starting in January 2014, this may lead other insurance companies following suit. Due to the results of the California experiment and the widespread use of community based rating systems being initiated, it is imperative that some kind of subsidies be used for low income families. Otherwise, these families may be more likely to avoid insurance due to higher premium costs. This result would be counter intuitive to the goals of implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the U.S. healthcare system. In 2022, Goldman was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Use of drugs for chronic illness when co-payments are doubled ------------------------------------------------------------- Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that chronic illness affected 133 million people in the United States and accounted for seven out of ten deaths. In relationship to these numbers, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists say Americans spent $307.5 billion on pharmaceuticals in 2010. Research by Goldman, Joyce, Escarce, Pace, Soloman, Laouri, Landsman, and Teutsch (2001) studied the purchasing behavior of drugs used to treat eight chronic illnesses: diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, depression, allergies, arthritis, and stomach ulcers. This retrospective study presents a strong correlation between co-payment levels and medication use for these chronic illnesses. The study illustrated the change in consumption behaviors based on plan generosity and structure such as coinsurance rates and mandatory generic substitution. The study by Goldman et al. (2001) predicts there would be a significant decrease in medication utilization in all of the chronic disease categories examined when co-payments were doubled. However, of note, the researchers discovered that patients respond discriminatorily to changes in co-payment and are less likely to reduce consumption of disease specific medications and will reduce pharmacy spending in other medications. Goldman, et al. (2001) exposed the largest decrease in drug spending when co-payments were doubled were in medications to treat arthritis and allergies. The study revealed that patients with diabetes decreased their purchase of diabetes drugs the most compared to the other chronic illnesses examined when their co-payments doubled. The research by Goldman et al. (2001) reveals two points that could inform public policy related to pharmaceutical expenditures. One, consumption of over-the-counter drugs to treat allergies and arthritis are highly influenced by out of pocket spending. Two, diabetes patients may choose lifestyle behavior changes when faced with higher drug costs. Before changing payment structures, more research will be needed to examine adverse health consequences in the chronically ill if pharmaceutical interventions are limited by increasing out of pocket expenses. For instance, emergency department utilization could rise in response to these changes. The results of the study by Goldman et al. (2001) could inform public policy on ways to decrease excess drug usage when the benefits are less than the cost of the drug.
Azerbaijani Red Army lieutenant (1919–1946) Israfil Maharram oglu Mamedov (or Mammadov, Azerbaijani: İsrafil Məhərrəm oğlu Məmmədov, Azeri Cyrillic: Исрафил Məhəррəм oғлу Мəммəдов, Russian: Исрафил Магеррам оглы Мамедов; 30 May 1919 – 5 May 1946) was an Azerbaijani Red Army lieutenant and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was the assistant commander of a platoon of the Soviet 42nd Rifle Regiment during World War II. He was the first Azerbaijani to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, on 11 December 1941. Mammadov was awarded the title for reportedly killing 70 German soldiers and three officers. Early life ---------- Mammadov was born on 16 March 1919 in Chaparly to a peasant family. He graduated from the Kirovabad Industrial College. He worked at a textile mill. Mammadov volunteered for the Red Army in 1939. World War II ------------ Mamedov received the rank of Senior Sergeant and fought in military operations on the Northwestern Front as an assistant platoon leader in the 42nd Rifle Regiment of the 180th Rifle Division. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1941. Mammadov fought in battles around Novgorod. He led 20 soldiers in defending the command post and communication line near Pustynka settlement in the Novgorod Oblast. His troops were cut off from the main Soviet forces. After the artillery preparation the Germans commenced a new attack, assuming that the Soviet forces were weakened. Understanding their strategy, Mammadov ordered his troops to hold fire, allowing the enemy to get within 10–15 meters. After three German assaults, he launched a counter-attack with bayonets. The Germans lost over 300 soldiers and retreated. Mammadov personally killed approximately 70 enemy troops, including three officers. For his actions, Mammadov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 11 December 1941 from Pavel Kurochkin. He was the first Azerbaijani to receive the title. Post-war -------- In 1943, Mammadov was medically retired. He lived in Kirovabad, working in the Azerbaijan Komsomol Central Committee. He died on 1 May 1946 in a military hospital in Yalta and was buried in Kirovabad. Personal life ------------- Mammadov married Yevdokia Ivanovna and had two daughters, Galina and Svetlana. Legacy ------ A street in Ganja was named after Mammadov, and a museum and monument were built in the same place. A school in Ganja was named after him, as well as a school in Chaparly.
GB international rugby league footballer Neil James (14 February 1961 – 17 December 2014) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Castleford, Halifax, Gold Coast-Tweed Giants, Leeds and Sheffield Eagles, as a prop, or second-row. Background ---------- Neil James was born in Castleford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, and he died aged 53. Playing career -------------- ### Castleford James played as a right-second-row in Castleford's 2-13 defeat by Hull F.C. in the 1983 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1983–84 season at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 15 October 1983. ### Halifax In 1985, James was loaned out to Halifax. The deal was later made permanent with Castleford receiving Alan Shillito and a fee of £5,000 in exchange. James made 34-appearances (including 4 as an interchange/substitute) in the Second-row in Halifax's victory in the Championship during the 1985–86 season, scoring 3-tries in League matches and 1 in the Premiership Trophy. James appeared as a substitute (replacing prop Ben Beevers on 70-minutes) in Halifax's 19-18 victory over St. Helens in the 1987 Challenge Cup Final during the 1986–87 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 2 May 1987, and played left-prop and scored a try in the 12-32 defeat by Wigan in the 1988 Challenge Cup Final during the 1987–88 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 30 April 1988. In April 1990, he was signed by Leeds for a fee of £20,000. ### International honours Neil James won a cap for Great Britain while at Halifax, playing right-second-row scored a try, and was man of the match in the 24-10 victory over France at Central Park, Wigan on Saturday 1 March 1986.
Shallow Reign is a band from Deep Ellum, the East of Dallas, Texas arts and entertainment district. The band was one of the first to become popular in the area from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Original Theater Gallery booking agent Jeff Liles described their sound as neopsychedelic. The songs revolved around layered guitar riffs with melancholy lyrics and a dynamic rhythm section. [] The original line-up included Bob Watson, Mark Thomas, Jan Paul Davidsson and Patrick Sugg. The band was said to be pioneering and Sugg was referred to as a guitar whiz in a 1996 story in the Dallas Morning News. The band continued after Sugg left and he eventually joined up with Ian Astbury and the Holy Barbarians. History ------- In May 1985 Shallow Reign played its first live performance at Theatre Gallery in Deep Ellum. Clay McNear of The Dallas Observer wrote: > "Those who were at Theatre Gallery on May 30, 1985 laid witness to the birth of the Deep Ellum music scene...how did this band come out of nowhere to set a standard as one of Dallas' finest acts ever, and to help conceive a local revolution that was long overdue." > > [] They played a historical show on December 14, 1986. It was a benefit concert at Prophet Bar and the Theatre Gallery for a homeless shelter along with The New Bohemians and End Over End, among others. Shallow Reign released its self-titled debut on July 4, 1986. The band was featured on Island Records The Sound Of Deep Ellum compilation record in 1987 with the song "Paint The Flowers All Black" and in Oliver Stone's movie "Born on the Fourth of July" performing Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Born On The Bayou". [] In 1989 Shallow Reign went on to release their second full-length album "Strange World" and was then signed to a developmental deal with Interscope Records. [] Shallow Reign played and recorded from May 1985 until 1991 before disbanding. The band toured both coasts and played in the southwest extensively over their six-year career at clubs including CBGB, the China Club and Cat Club in NYC, the Scream Club and Club Lingerie in LA, 930 Club in DC and the infamous Rathskeller in Boston.[] After Shallow Reign disbanded in 1991, Bob Watson and Mark Thomas went on to form Medicine Show Caravan with two members from the Deep Ellum band The Trees. This new band played live and recorded from 1991 to 1994. After Medicine Show Caravan disbanded, Bob Watson has continued writing and recording with and without members of these two bands. Mark and Jan Paul live in Austin now and Bob resides in the East Texas area. Pat Sugg went on to form Neverland and recorded for Interscope Records after his departure in 1988. Pat lives in Los Angeles and continues to play guitar, write, record and lend his skills to a wide range of artists including Blue October.[]
Caroline Estes Smith, 1901, Pacific coast music review Caroline M. Estes Smith (November 29, 1877 - April 18, 1970) was the first woman to manage the Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles. Early life ---------- Caroline M. Estes was born on November 29, 1877, in Winn, Maine, the daughter of Willie A. Estes and Mary Graves. Career ------ Robert E. Cowan, Cowan's wife Marie, and Caroline Estes-Smith, in the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library's sunken garden Caroline Estes Smith was William Andrews Clark Jr.’s private secretary until 1922, when she became the first woman to manage the Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles. Even after she retired from her private secretary's job, she and her husband, George Leslie Smith, were frequent guests of Clark at Mowitza Lodge, Salmon Lake State Park, Montana, and lived around the corner from the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library on St. Andrews Place. In 1930 she published The Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles. Uplifters Clubhouse She was a member of the Woman's Athletic Club, Casa del Mar, Southern California Athletic and Country Club, Los Angeles Athletic Club, California Country Club, Uplifters Club, Order of the Eastern Star. Personal life ------------- On October 2, 1899, Caroline Estes Smith married George Leslie Smith (1874-1943), at Calais, Maine, and had one son, George Leslie, Jr. For several years a resident of Boston, Caroline Estes Smith moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1903, and lived at 1237 S. Gramercy Place, Los Angeles, California. She died on April 18, 1970, and is buried with her husband at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale).
American historian Emma Lou Thornbrough (January 24, 1913 – December 19, 1994) was a pioneer among professional historians in African-American history, a lifelong civil-rights activist in Indiana, a professor of history at Butler University from 1946 until her retirement in 1983, and an Indiana historian and author. She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thornbrough's major scholarly contributions include several publications devoted to black history, such as The Negro in Indiana before 1900; Booker T. Washington; T. Thomas Fortune, Militant Journalist; Since Emancipation: A Short History of Indiana Negroes, 1863–1963; and Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century (published posthumously in 2000). She also wrote Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850–1880, among other scholarly publications. In addition to her writing and research, Thornbrough was well known as a social activist and was especially active in Indianapolis civil rights groups, including the Indianapolis Human Relations Council, which she helped organize; the Indiana Civil Liberties Union; and the Indianapolis National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Early life and education ------------------------ Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 24, 1913, Emma Lou was the first child of Harry C. Thornbrough, who was an inventor, and his wife, Bess Tyler. Emma Lou became an avid gardener, traveled extensively with her younger sister, Gayle, in Europe, and enjoyed the London theater, classical music, and literature. The sisters also shared their childhood home throughout their lives. Thornbrough attended Indianapolis's Shortridge High School. She received and undergraduate degree in 1934 and a master's degree in 1936 from Butler University and began a career teaching history at Indianapolis's George Washington High School. Thornbrough earned a doctorate in history from the University of Michigan in 1946 before returning to Indianapolis to teach at Butler. Thornbrough's interest in black history grew out of Dwight Lowell Dumond's graduate seminar, which she attended while studying for a doctorate degree at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dumond was a revisionist historian in interpreting the role of abolitionism and the causes of the American Civil War. Thornbrough's dissertation was titled Negro Slavery in the North: Its Legal and Constitutional Aspects. Career ------ Thornbrough, a lifelong educator, became a professor of history at Butler University in 1946 and remained on its faculty until her retirement in 1983. A Ford Foundation fellowship enabled Thornbrough to temporarily reside in New York and Washington, D.C. in 1955 and 1956 to conduct research on Timothy Thomas Fortune, the subject of one of her books. In addition, she was a visiting professor at Indiana University and at Case-Western Reserve University. Thornbrough is best known as the author of many scholarly works, including monographs, essays, and articles for academic journals. In 1952 she ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for the Indiana General Assembly, but she remained active in civic affairs and was a civil-rights activist throughout her adult life. ### Educator Thornbrough began teaching at Butler University immediately after receiving her doctorate in history from the University of Michigan in 1946. Known as innovative and committed to liberal education, she was a popular educator among Butler students. Thornbrough taught courses on American constitutional history, history of the American South, and African American history, as well as courses on Greek and Roman civilizations. During her tenure at Butler she also introduced an interdisciplinary comparative course on world cultures. Thornbrough retired from Butler in 1983. ### Author Although Thornbrough wrote numerous scholarly articles and books, the majority of her work concentrated on Indiana history, with a specific focus on African Americans. She was known for her meticulous research and straightforward presentation. Indiana historian Richard B. Pierce, who met Thornbrough while he was a graduate student, explained that she "produced work that has a lasting merit" in an area of civil rights and race relations that was not popular among historians at the beginning of her career. Thornbrough's range of interests and expertise in topics that included civil rights, legal and legislative history, and political and social issues are evident in reviews of her published works. Some historians have concluded that Thornbrough's reputation as a historian of Indiana rests principally on two books, The Negro in Indiana before 1900 (1957) and Indiana in the Civil War Era (1965). IU's Richard Blackett remarked that The Negro in Indiana "set the standard for examinations of the black experience in other northern states." A memorial tribute appearing in the Indiana Magazine of History in 1995 further explained that The Negro in Indiana was among "the first source consulted by those with questions relating to the 'middle period' of the state's nineteenth-century history." Ball State University's Robert LaFollette, who reviewed her book in 1958, described it as the "historical base for understanding the situation of the Negro in the twentieth century." The Indiana Historical Society commissioned Thornbrough to write Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850–1880, another of her major works, as the third volume of a five-part series about the history of Indiana for the state sesquicentennial. Thornbrough authored several notable biographies. Pioneering kindergarten educator Eliza Ann Cooper Blaker was the subject of her first publication, Eliza A. Blaker: Her Life and Work (1956). Thornbrough's biography of Booker T. Washington is part of publisher Prentice Hall's Great Lives Observed series, but T. Thomas Fortune, Militant Journalist may be considered her best work. Thornbrough was interested in women's history, but other than her book on Blaker and an essay she contributed on the history of Indiana’s black women, which appears in Indiana’s African-American Heritage (1993), her published scholarship was in other areas. Legal and constitutional history, as well as black history, were her major interests. Thornbrough's published works related to black history include Black Reconstructionists (1972), Since Emancipation: A Short History of Indiana Negroes, 1863–1963 ([1963?]), and topics such as the fugitive slave law in Indiana, the history of the civil rights movement in Indiana, and Indianapolis's school desegregation, among others. At the time of Thornbrough's death in 1994, she had completed all but the last chapter of Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century, the sequel to The Negro in Indiana before 1900 (1965). Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century, with edits and a final chapter by Lana Ruegamer, was published posthumously in 2000. Thornbrough's interest in civil rights also included research on the desegregation of Indianapolis's public schools. "The Indianapolis Story: School Segregation and Desegregation in a Northern City, 1993" provides a detailed account of the city's school policy regarding race and the school desegregation process, beginning with the school desegregation law in 1949 to 1971, when the Indianapolis Public Schools was found guilty in federal court of de jure segregation. Thornbrough donated the manuscript to the Indiana Historical Society in 1992. Although it remains unpublished as of 2016, the work is considered to be "a lasting testament to the length and breadth of her career." Community service ----------------- Emma Lou Thornbrough was active in many professional, academic, historical, and civil rights organizations, such as the Organization of American Historians, Southern Historical Association, American Association of University Professors, Indiana Association of Historians, Indiana Alpha Association of Phi Beta Kappa, Indiana Historical Society, and the Indianapolis Council of World Affairs. She served as an officer or board member for many of these groups, and was a past president of the Indiana Association of Historians. Thornbrough participated in several national and local historical organizations. In the late 1950s she helped organize the Indianapolis Human Relations Council and chaired its education committee. In addition, Thornbrough served on the executive boards of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union and the Indianapolis NAACP. She was the recipient of several awards from civil-rights organizations for her service. Later years ----------- Thornbrough continued to research and write after her retirement from Butler University in 1983. Two major manuscripts remained unpublished at the time of her death, Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century (published posthumously in 2000) and "The Indianapolis Study: School Segregation and Desegregation in a Northern City" (remains unpublished as of 2016). Death and legacy ---------------- Thornbrough died on December 16, 1994, leaving behind a lasting legacy of historical scholarship and community service. As one historian concluded, her scholarly research and publication "had a profound effect on many of us for she has shown the way and set a standard we must try to emulate." Honors and awards ----------------- While a professor at Butler University, Thornbrough received the Outstanding Professor Award in 1965. She was appointed to the McGregor Chair in History in 1981. the same year she received the Butler Medal, the university's highest honor. Butler awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1988. The IAH annual fall lecture was renamed to honor Thornbrough and her sister, Gayle, a retired editor and former director of the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Historical Bureau. The Indiana Magazine of History's annual Thornbrough award recognizes the best article to appear in its magazine as a tribute to the two Thornbrough sisters and their contributions to the history profession. Her numerous awards from the community include: Phi Beta Kappa, Indiana Author's Day recognition (1966), Martin Luther King award from the Indianapolis Education Association (1976), Indiana Liberty Bell from the Indiana State Bar Association (1987), Roy Wilkins award from the Indianapolis Urban League (1991), Fadely Award from the Marion County–Indianapolis Historical Society (1992), and the IHS's Hoosier Historian award (1992). In 1993 Thornbrough was a recipient of the American Historical Association's Scholarly Distinction Award. Selected works -------------- ### Books * Eliza A. Blaker, Her Life and Work (Indianapolis: Eliza A. Blaker Club and Indiana Historical Society, 1956). * The Negro in Indiana [before 1900]: A Study of a Minority Indiana Historical Collections, Vol. XXXVII (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1957) Reprinted, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. * Since Emancipation: A Short History of Indiana Negroes, 1863–1963 ([Indianapolis]: American Negro Emancipation Centennial Authority, Indiana Division, [1963?]. * Indiana in the Civil War Era, 1850–1880 (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and Indiana Historical Society, 1965) * Booker T. Washington (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1969). * Black Reconstructionists (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972). * T. Thomas Fortune, Militant Journalist (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972). * This Far by Faith: Black Hoosier Heritage (Indianapolis: Indiana Committee for the Humanities, 1982). * The Greco-Roman World: The Greeks (Indianapolis: Butler University, 1985). * The World of Christopher Columbus: Imperial Spain, 1469–1598 (Indianapolis: Butler University, 1985). Reprinted, Needham Heights, MA: Ginn Press, 1991. * Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000). Edited and with a final chapter by Lana Ruegamer. ### Chapters in books * "The Indiana Scene in 1870," in Irvington Historical Society Collected Papers, 1967–1968 (Indianapolis: Irvington Historical Society History Committee, [1968?]), 50–65. * "The Indianapolis School Busing Case," in We the People: Indiana and the United States Constitution (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1987), 68–92. * "The History of Black Women in Indiana" in Indiana’s African-American Heritage, ed. Wilma L. Gibbs (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1993), 67–85. * "African-Americans" overview essay in The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, eds. David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994), 5–14. ### Articles * "The Race Issue in Indiana Politics during the Civil War," Indiana Magazine of History, XLVII (June, 1951), 165–88. * "Indiana and Fugitive Slave Legislation," Indiana Magazine of History, L (September, 1954), 201–28. * "The Brownsville Episode and the Negro Vote," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XLIV (December, 1957) 469–93 * "More Light on Booker T. Washington and the New York Age," Journal of Negro History, XLIII ([Winter?], 1958) 33–49. * "The National Afro-American League, 1887–1908," Journal of Southern History, XXVII (November, 1961) 494–512. * "Segregation in Indiana during the Klan Era of the 1920s," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XLVII (March, 1961) 594–618. * "Judge Perkins, the Indiana Supreme Court, and the Civil War," Indiana Magazine of History, LX (March, 1964) 79–96. * "American Negro Newspapers, 1880–1914," Business History Review, XL (Winter, 1966) 467–90. * "Origins of 'The American Dilemma' Revisited," Reviews in American History, VII (September, 1979) 325–30. * "Breaking Racial Barriers to Public Accommodations in Indiana, 1935 to 1963," Indiana Magazine of History, LXXXIII (December, 1987) 301–43.
2017 political cartoon by Glenn McCoy *Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos* is a political cartoon by American cartoonist Glenn McCoy, published on February 13, 2017, on the GoComics website as well as the Belleville News-Democrat website. The cartoon centrally depicts Betsy DeVos, the United States Secretary of Education in the Trump Administration and is thematically based on the 1964 painting The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell. It attracted critical commentary in mainstream media. Description ----------- Betsy DeVos, the subject of the political cartoon The cartoon depicts a small version of DeVos walking and surrounded by large men in suits, who are possibly guards. The remains of a thrown tomato can also be seen. The word "CONSERVATiVE" is scrawled on the background wall in gray graffiti in addition to a red anarchy symbol. The abbreviation for the National Education Association is also written on the lefthand side. Publication ----------- The cartoon was published online on February 13, 2017, on the GoComics website, in addition to multiple newspapers. It was also published on the website of the Belleville News-Democrat. Reaction -------- Commentators point out that the political cartoon draws directly upon The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell, which depicts Ruby Bridges being escorted to school as a child during a time when crowds of white protesters would actively prevent desegregation efforts initiated by the Brown v. Board of Education case. McCoy confirmed that he used the Rockwell piece as an inspiration for the political cartoon. On social media, the cartoon was met with unfavorable criticism. Readers of the Belleville News-Democrat demanded both that McCoy apologize and that he be terminated from his position. Many complaints centered upon an alleged false equivalency. Among others, Chelsea Clinton responded publicly by expressing outrage at the cartoon, and subsequently pointed out The Problem We All Live With on Twitter. One reason for this reaction was due to the explicit comparison of opposition to DeVos with themes of racism explored in Norman Rockwell's The Problem We All Live With. German Lopez at Vox.com opined that "protests against DeVos and racial segregation in American schools are not the same". Jillian Steinhauer asserted that McCoy's work is an example of false equivalence, saying, "Glenn McCoy appropriated Norman Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With, replacing the six-year-old black girl who desegregated a public school with the billionaire Secretary of Education". USA Today highlighted a comment from a reader who responded to the image, claiming it represents an example of white privilege. A representative for the National Education Association offered no comment on the political cartoon. McCoy responded to criticism via e-mail, saying, "I regret if anyone was offended by my choice of metaphors", and noted that he wanted to draw attention to and start public discussion on the behavior of protesters. In a statement on the Belleville News-Democrat website, McCoy also expressed disappointment that, "decades beyond the civil rights protests... people are still being denied the right to speak freely or do their jobs or enter public buildings because others disagree with who they are or how they think". Faced with accusations that the image is hateful, McCoy defended his work, saying, "I thought I was speaking out against hate... You may disagree with her on issues but I didn't see any hate coming from her. I did, however, see hate going in the other direction, which is what made me think of the Rockwell image. That was the only comparison I was drawing".

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Dataset Card for SuperWiki-Tiny

Waifu to catch your attention.

Dataset Details

Dataset Description

SuperWiki-Tiny is a english only subset of the SuperWikipedia-NEXT (SuperWikiNEXT-32B)

Curated by: KaraKaraWitch
Funded by: Recursal.ai (I work there lol)
Shared by: KaraKaraWitch
Language(s) (NLP): English Only.
License: cc-by-sa-4.0,

Dataset Sources

Source Data: https://dumps.wikimedia.org/other/enterprise_html/

Dataset Summary

Refer to the original dataset for more details. All of it applies except the formatting and the language selection.
Additionally, only articles which character length exceeds > 2048 characters are included.

Data keys

Users can run less to see the contents. A sample and a list of dictionary keys have been provided below:

{
    "text": "\n**Tharman Shanmugaratnam** PBM (born 25 February 1957) is a Singaporean politician and economist. He is the President of Singapore since 2023. \n\nHe was Senior Minister of Singapore between 2019 and 2023.<...TRUNCATED IN SAMPLE>",
}

text: str (Markdown text)

Changelog

13 Jan 13:00 GMT
- Inital Release
15 Jan 10:11 GMT
- Replaced revision due to long context spam. Someone uploaded an article that is super long but is repeated words... Something to do with... Um... Jews and Niggers. Since those are clearly spam and not really nice, it's removed.

Dataset Curators

KaraKaraWitch. (I now mainly hangout in ~~PygmalionAI~~ EleutherAI discord. If something is wrong, @karakarawitch on discord.)

I'd be happy if you could spread the word and recommend this dataset over wikitext for your use cases :)

Licensing Information

Most of Wikipedia's text and many of its images are co-licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-SA) and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) (un-versioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).

Some text has been imported only under CC BY-SA and CC BY-SA-compatible license and cannot be reused under GFDL; such text will be identified on the page footer, in the page history, or on the discussion page of the article that utilizes the text.

Recursal Waifus (The banner image) are licensed under CC-BY-SA. They do not represent the related websites in any official capacity unless otherwise or announced by the website. You may use them as a banner image. However, you must always link back to the dataset.

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