Usually, a suanpan is about 20 cm (8 in) tall and it comes in various widths depending on the application.  It usually has more than seven rods.  There are two beads on each rod in the upper deck and five beads on each rod in the bottom deck.  The beads are usually rounded and made of a hardwood.  The beads are counted by moving them up or down towards the beam.  The suanpan can be reset to the starting position instantly by a quick jerk around the horizontal axis to spin all the beads away from the horizontal beam at the center.

Suanpan


Suanpans can be used for functions other than counting.  Unlike the simple counting board used in elementary schools, very efficient suanpan techniques have been developed to do multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, square root and cube root operations at high speed.

Suanpan


The modern suanpan has 4+1 beads, colored beads to indicate position and a clear-all button. When the clear-all button is pressed, two mechanical levers push the top row beads to the top position and the bottom row beads to the bottom position, thus clearing all numbers to zero.  This replaces clearing the beads by hand, or quickly rotating the suanpan around its horizontal center line to clear the beads by centrifugal force.

Suanpan


The word "abacus" was first mentioned by Xu Yue (160–220) in his book suanshu jiyi (算数记遗), or Notes on Traditions of Arithmetic Methods, in the Han dynasty. As it described, the original abacus had five beads (suan zhu) bunched by a stick in each column, separated by a transverse rod, and arrayed in a wooden rectangle box. One in the upper part represents five and each of four in the lower part represents one. People move the beads to do the calculation.

Suanpan


The long scroll Along the River During Qing Ming Festival painted by Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) during the Song dynasty (960–1279) might contain a suanpan beside an account book and doctor's prescriptions on the counter of an apothecary.  However, the identification of the object as an abacus is a matter of some debate.

Suanpan


Zhusuan was an abacus invented in China at the end of the 2nd century CE and reached its peak during the period from the 13th to the 16th century CE. In the 13th century, Guo Shoujing (郭守敬) used Zhusuan to calculate the length of each orbital year and found it to be 365.2425 days. In the 16th century, Zhu Zaiyu (朱載堉) calculated the musical Twelve-interval Equal Temperament using Zhusuan. And again in the 16th century, Wang Wensu (王文素) and Cheng Dawei (程大位) wrote respectively Principles of Algorithms and General Rules of Calculation, summarizing and refining the mathematical algorithms of Zhusuan, thus further boosting the popularity and promotion of Zhusuan. At the end of the 16th century, Zhusuan was introduced to neighboring countries and regions.

Suanpan


A 5+1 suanpan appeared in the Ming dynasty, an illustration in a 1573 book on suanpan showed a suanpan with one bead on top and five beads at the bottom.

Suanpan


The evident similarity of the Roman abacus to the Chinese one suggests that one may have inspired the other, as there is strong evidence of a trade relationship between the Roman Empire and China. However, no direct connection can be demonstrated, and the similarity of the abaci could be coincidental, both ultimately arising from counting with five fingers per hand. Where the Roman model and Chinese model (like most modern Japanese) has 4 plus 1 bead per decimal place, the old version of the Chinese suanpan has 5 plus 2, allowing less challenging arithmetic algorithms. Instead of running on wires as in the Chinese and Japanese models, the beads of Roman model run in grooves, presumably more reliable since the wires could be bent.

Suanpan


Another possible source of the suanpan is Chinese counting rods, which operated with a place value decimal system with empty spot as zero.

Suanpan


Although sinologist Nathan Sivin claimed that the abacus, with its limited flexibility, "was useless for the most advanced algebra", and suggested that "the convenience of the abacus" may have paradoxically stymied mathematical innovation from the 14th to 17th centuries, Roger Hart counters that the abacus in fact facilitated new developments during that time, such as Zhu Zaiyu's treatises on musical equal temperament, for which he used nine abacuses to calculate √200 to twenty-five digits.

Suanpan


There are two types of beads on the suanpan, those in the lower deck, below the separator beam, and those in the upper deck above it. The ones in the lower deck are sometimes called earth beads or water beads, and carry a value of 1 in their column. The ones in the upper deck are sometimes called heaven beads and carry a value of 5 in their column. The columns are much like the places in Indian numerals: one of the columns, usually the rightmost, represents the ones place; to the left of it are the tens, hundreds, thousands place, and so on, and if there are any columns to the right of it, they are the tenths place, hundredths place, and so on.

Suanpan


The suanpan is a 2:5 abacus: two heaven beads and five earth beads. If one compares the suanpan to the soroban which is a 1:4 abacus, one might think there are two "extra" beads in each column. In fact, to represent decimal numbers and add or subtract such numbers, one strictly needs only one upper bead and four lower beads on each column. Some "old" methods to multiply or divide decimal numbers use those extra beads like the "Extra Bead technique" or "Suspended Bead technique".

Suanpan


The most mysterious and seemingly superfluous fifth lower bead, likely inherited from counting rods as suggested by the image above, was used to simplify and speed up  addition and subtraction somewhat, as well as to decrease the chances of error. Its use was demonstrated, for example, in the first book devoted entirely to suanpan: Computational Methods with the Beads in a Tray (Pánzhū Suànfǎ 盤珠算法) by Xú Xīnlǔ 徐心魯 (1573, Late Ming dynasty).

Suanpan


A simplify explanation on how to use the 5th beads is shown here.

Suanpan


The following two animations show the details of this particular usage:

Suanpan


The beads and rods are often lubricated to ensure quick, smooth motion.

Suanpan


Calculating on a suanpan

Suanpan


At the end of a decimal calculation on a suanpan, it is never the case that all five beads in the lower deck are moved. Compared with the Chinese abacus, Japanese Sorobans can accommodate up to 9 in each digit rod and when it becomes 10, the digit rod changes that will visualise the Decimal system bead in the top deck takes their place. Similarly, if two beads in the top deck are pushed down, they are pushed back up, and one carry bead in the lower deck of the next column to the left is moved up. The result of the computation is read off from the beads clustered near the separator beam between the upper and lower deck. In the past, the Chinese used the traditional system of measurements called the Shì yòng zhì (市用制) for its suanpan.

Suanpan


In Shì yòng zhì (市用制), the unit of weight, the jīn (斤), was defined as 16 liǎng (兩), which made it necessary to perform calculations in hexadecimal. The Suanpan can accommodate up to 15 in each digit rod and when it becomes 16, the digit rod changes that will visualise the hexadecimal system.

Suanpan


This is the reason why the Japanese Soroban's 4 earth beads (when the value is 0) is one bead apart from the beam while the suanpan's 5 earth beads (when the value is 0) are 2 beads apart from its beam.

Suanpan


There exist different methods to perform division on the suanpan. Some of them require the use of the so-called "Chinese division table".

Suanpan


The two most extreme beads, the bottommost earth bead and the topmost heaven bead, are usually not used in addition and subtraction.  They are essential (compulsory) in some of the multiplication methods (two of three methods require them) and division method (special division table, Qiuchu 九歸, one amongst three methods).  When the intermediate result (in multiplication and division) is larger than 15 (fifteen), the second (extra) upper bead is moved halfway to represent ten (xuanchu, suspended).  Thus the same rod can represent up to 20 (compulsory as intermediate steps in traditional suanpan multiplication and division).

Suanpan


The mnemonics/readings of the Chinese division method [Qiuchu] has its origin in the use of bamboo sticks [Chousuan], which is one of the reasons that many believe the evolution of suanpan is independent of the Roman abacus.

Suanpan


This Chinese division method (i.e. with division table) was not in use when the Japanese changed their abacus to one upper bead and four lower beads in about the 1920s.

Suanpan


This 4+1 abacus works as a bi-quinary based number system (the 5+2 abacus is similar but not identical to bi-quinary) in which carries and shifting are similar to the decimal number system.  Since each rod represents a digit in a decimal number, the computation capacity of the suanpan is only limited by the number of rods on the suanpan.  When a mathematician runs out of rods, another suanpan can be added to the left of the first.  In theory, the suanpan can be expanded indefinitely in this way.

Suanpan


The suanpan's extra beads can be used for representing decimal numbers, adding or subtracting decimal numbers, caching carry operations, and base sixteen (hexadecimal) fractions.

Suanpan


Zhusuan (Chinese: 珠算; literally: "bead calculation") is the knowledge and practices of arithmetic calculation through the suanpan. In the year 2013, it has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Zhusuan is named after the Chinese name of abacus, which has been recognised as one of the Fifth Great Innovation in China While deciding on the inscription, the Intergovernmental Committee noted that "Zhusuan is considered by Chinese people as a cultural symbol of their identity as well as a practical tool; transmitted from generation to generation, it is a calculating technique adapted to multiple aspects of daily life, serving multiform socio-cultural functions and offering the world an alternative knowledge system." The movement to get Chinese Zhusuan inscribed in the list was spearheaded by Chinese Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association.

Suanpan


Zhusuan is an important part of the traditional Chinese culture. Zhusuan has a far-reaching effect on various fields of Chinese society, like Chinese folk custom, language, literature, sculpture, architecture, etc., creating a Zhusuan-related cultural phenomenon. For example, ‘Iron Abacus’ (鐵算盤) refers to someone good at calculating; ‘Plus three equals plus five and minus two’ (三下五除二; +3 = +5 − 2) means quick and decisive; ‘3 times 7 equals 21’ indicates quick and rash; and in some places of China, there is a custom of telling children's fortune by placing various daily necessities before them on their first birthday and letting them choose one to predict their future lives. Among the items is an abacus, which symbolizes wisdom and wealth.

Suanpan


Suanpan arithmetic was still being taught in school in Hong Kong as recently as the late 1960s, and in China into the 1990s. In some less-developed industry, the suanpan (abacus) is still in use as a primary counting device and back-up calculating method. However, when handheld calculators became readily available, school children's willingness to learn the use of the suanpan decreased dramatically.  In the early days of handheld calculators, news of suanpan operators beating electronic calculators in arithmetic competitions in both speed and accuracy often appeared in the media. Early electronic calculators could only handle 8 to 10 significant digits, whereas suanpans can be built to virtually limitless precision. But when the functionality of calculators improved beyond simple arithmetic operations, most people realized that the suanpan could never compute higher functions – such as those in trigonometry – faster than a calculator. As digitalised calculators seemed to be more efficient and user-friendly, their functional capacities attract more technological-related and large scale industries in application. Nowadays, even though calculators have become more affordable and convenient, suanpans are still commonly used in China. Many parents still tend to send their children to private tutors or school- and government-sponsored after school activities to learn bead arithmetic as a learning aid and a stepping stone to faster and more accurate mental arithmetic, or as a matter of cultural preservation. Speed competitions are still held.

Suanpan


Suanpans are  still widely used elsewhere in China and Japan, as well as in a few places in Canada and the United States. With its historical value, it has symbolized the traditional cultural identity. It contributes to the advancement of calculating techniques and intellectual development, which closely relate to the cultural-related industry like architecture and folk customs. With their operational simplicity and traditional habit, Suanpans are still generally in use in small-scale shops.

Suanpan


In mainland China, formerly accountants and financial personnel had to pass certain graded examinations in bead arithmetic before they were qualified. Starting from about 2002 or 2004, this requirement has been entirely replaced by computer accounting.

Suanpan


Ifrah, Georges (2001). The Universal History of Computing: From the Abacus to the Quantum Computer. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0-471-39671-0.

Suanpan


Peng Yoke Ho (2000). Li, Qi and Shu: An Introduction to Science and Civilization in China. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-41445-0.

Suanpan


Martzloff (2006). A History of Chinese Mathematics. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-33782-2.

Suanpan


Suanpan Tutor - See the steps in addition and subtraction

Suanpan


A Traditional Suan Pan Technique for Multiplication

Suanpan


UNESCO video on Chinese Zhusuan on YouTube (Published on Dec 4, 2013): Zhusuan

Suanpan


Suppression of tumorigenicity 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ST5 gene. ST5 orthologs have been identified in nearly all mammals for which complete genome data are available.

ST5 (gene)


This gene was identified by its ability to suppress the tumorigenicity of Hela cells in nude mice. The protein encoded by this gene contains a C-terminal region that shares similarity with the Rab 3 family of small GTP binding proteins. This protein preferentially binds to the SH3 domain of c-Abl kinase, and acts as a regulator of MAPK1/ERK2 kinase, which may contribute to its ability to reduce the tumorigenic phenotype in cells. Three alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene encoding distinct isoforms are identified.

ST5 (gene)


== Further reading ==

ST5 (gene)


Nelson Suburbs FC is a football club in Nelson, New Zealand. They compete in the Mainland Premier League.

Nelson Suburbs FC


They have won the Mainland Premier League three times. Nelson Suburbs FC has strong ties with the region's most successful football school Nelson College.

Nelson Suburbs FC


Nelson Suburbs FC manages teams for Seniors, Women, Juniors/Youth (ages 9 to 19), Fun Football (ages 7 to 8)  and First Kicks (ages 4 to 6).

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 1978 Nelson Suburbs FC joined Central League where it participated for 8 years until 1985.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 1996 Nelson Suburbs FC entered the National League.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 1999 Nelson Suburbs FC entered the new South Island league.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 2000, Nelson Suburbs FC entered the Mainland Premier League. It won the competition in 2004, 2005 and 2008.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 2018, Nelson Suburbs FC entered the newly formed Southern Football League, comprising the five best finishers in the Mainland Premier League and the three best finishers in the Southern Premier League.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 2019, Nelson Suburbs FC won the Southern Football League by 1 point over Mainland Premier League rivals Cashmere Technical Football Club.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In 2020, Nelson Suburbs FC launched the Nelson Suburbs Football Academy.

Nelson Suburbs FC


In national competition, Nelson Suburbs have yet to reach the final of the Chatham Cup; having reached the semi-finals in 2008 and 2018. Both campaigns ended with loses to eventual champions East Coast Bays 2–1 in 2008 and Birkenhead United 2–0 in 2018. The team spent one season in the national league in 2000, finishing seventh out of ten teams but withdrawing from the 2001 league for financial reasons.

Nelson Suburbs FC


Cinematic Titanic was a project by Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) creator and original host, Joel Hodgson.

Cinematic Titanic


The project involved "riffing" B-movies, in a manner similar to that of MST3K.

Cinematic Titanic


Joining Hodgson were some of the original MST3K cast, as well as some cast members who joined later in the show's run. These included Trace Beaulieu, J. Elvis Weinstein, Frank Conniff and Mary Jo Pehl.

Cinematic Titanic


It was first performed live on December 7, 2007, and first aired on December 22, 2007.

Cinematic Titanic


On February 16, 2013, it was announced that the touring portion of Cinematic Titanic was going on an indefinite hiatus. According to an email sent out to members of the site, due to "5 people living in 5 different cities with different lives and projects, it has become increasingly difficult to coordinate our schedules and give Cinematic Titanic the attention it requires to keep growing as a creative enterprise and a business." The final tour began on September 23, 2013.

Cinematic Titanic


Like Mystery Science Theater 3000, the series used black silhouettes of the riffers placed over the films, but in the case of Cinematic Titanic they sit on both sides of the screen rather than just on the lower right.

Cinematic Titanic


Visual gags are frequent (such as Beaulieu's use of a cherry picker in The Oozing Skull), and there are two or three host segments per episode, all performed in silhouette.

Cinematic Titanic


The actors essentially play themselves as they participate in an experiment for some unknown (possibly shadowy) corporation or military force. The story currently provided to the cast is that there is a tear in the "electron scaffolding" that threatens all digital media in the world. Their experience doing MST3K is key to the organization's plans. The riffing for each film is recorded to a "nanotated disc" and inserted into a "Time Tube" by Hodgson that descends into the frame at the end of every episode. The unknown organization is very firm on keeping the cast focused on their duties, providing no time frame for completion and requiring them to stay within the facilities at all times. They apparently have massive resources and an autonomous military force, which they use to keep the cast in line. The cast is inquisitive of the true purpose of the experiments but have no major problems as, aside from having to watch bad movies, they are well-treated.

Cinematic Titanic


When the cast switched to performing for live audiences, the "corporation" premise was abandoned.

Cinematic Titanic


Relation to RiffTrax

Cinematic Titanic


When asked about potential collaborations with those involved in RiffTrax, Hodgson told New York magazine, "I don't know. I think those guys—Bill, Kevin and Mike—are really talented, obviously. I think anything’s possible, but I thought it might get confusing to try to merge them together or do crossover projects. I would never rule it out because it's all kind of the same universe. But RiffTrax, the idea of riffing on topical movies, is a different thing. And I like that the movie-riffing universe got bigger when they decided to do that, but we just do weird movies you've never seen before."

Cinematic Titanic


Studio / "Live" DVDs

Cinematic Titanic


In a question and answer session at the Tivoli Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, it was announced that Cinematic Titanic would begin to release recordings from their live shows as "Live" DVDs in an effort to bring the energy of their on stage antics into people's living rooms and further promote the stage show. When asked if this meant the demise of the studio produced DVDs, J. Elvis Weinstein said, "No, studio releases will return at some point in the future." The first of these "Live" DVDs to be released was East Meets Watts, which was recorded in front of a live audience during one of the group's performances in Los Angeles.

Cinematic Titanic


The first live performance was a private show for employees of Industrial Light & Magic on December 7, 2007. Afterwards, the cast reworked some jokes, delaying the original December 10 release date. The first episode of Cinematic Titanic was released on DVD to the public at midnight on December 21, via the download-to-burn company EZTakes. According to the Cinematic Titanic website, due to rights issues, the episode was not available for download until April 2, 2008.

Cinematic Titanic


Both the private show and the first release feature the B-movie Brain of Blood. One of the original film's producers, concerned that creating multiple versions of the film could create marketplace confusion, requested that Cinematic Titanic's version have a different name. To alleviate his concerns, Cinematic Titanic retitled their release The Oozing Skull.

Cinematic Titanic


In March 2013, Cinematic Titanic sold the last of their on-hand DVD stock and ceased pressing their own discs. From then on all releases were either in digital format, or through Amazon.com's print-on-demand service.

Cinematic Titanic


In May 2017, Shout! Factory released a Complete Series set, featuring all twelve episodes.

Cinematic Titanic


Releases have been available to purchase as a physical DVD, and also as a download and burned DVD version.

Cinematic Titanic


The following is an incomplete list of live performances by Cinematic Titanic.

Cinematic Titanic


MST3K.info for Cinematic Titanic

Cinematic Titanic


Interview with Joel Hodgson at IFC.com

Cinematic Titanic


Interview at StarWars.com

Cinematic Titanic


Review of Cinematic Titanic and its first episode Archived 2008-08-29 at the Wayback Machine

Cinematic Titanic


DVD Talk discusses the first Cinematic Titanic episode

Cinematic Titanic


Official playlist on ShoutFactoryTV

Cinematic Titanic


Rhus potaninii, the Chinese varnish tree, Chinese sumac (names it shares with other species), Potanin's sumac, or Potanin's lacquer tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to central and southern China. A deciduous tree reaching 12 m (39 ft), it is typically found growing on hill and mountain slopes, in forests and thickets at elevations from 900 to 2,500 m (3,000 to 8,200 ft) above sea level. It is named for its collector, Grigory Potanin. Valued for its rounded crown and vibrant red fall foliage, it is available from commercial suppliers.

Rhus potaninii


Clondavaddog (Irish: Cluain Dabhaodóg) is a civil parish in the northern part of the Fanad peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland. It is in the historical barony of Kilmacrenan. Clondavaddog is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe. Clondevaddock ("Christ The Redeemer") is also a parish in the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Raphoe.

Clondavaddog


William Hamilton, who had been appointed the Protestant minister of Clondavaddog in 1790, was killed by an angry mob near Manorcunningham in March 1797. This was one of several precursors to the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Clondavaddog


Henry Maturin (1842–1920), Irish cricketer and physician

Clondavaddog


The Alexandria Hotel and Annex, also known as Plaza Hotel and Annex, is located at 840-844 Brown St. in Napa, California. Built in 1910, the hotel was a work of architect William H. Corlett. The hotel's design exemplifies the Mission Revival and Mediterranean Revival styles, which were both popular in California in the early 20th century. The design features three square towers on the street facing corners, overhanging eaves, and both slanted bay and rounded windows. The hotel's annex is older than the hotel and was redesigned to match the hotel's architecture when the hotel was built.

Alexandria Hotel and Annex


The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The listing included two contributing buildings, the hotel and its annex.

Alexandria Hotel and Annex


2014 Napa Valley earthquake

Alexandria Hotel and Annex


The building was damaged by the 2014 South Napa earthquake, and has been renovated.

Alexandria Hotel and Annex


The Madonna of the Baldacchino is a c.1506-1508 oil on wood holy conversation-style painting by Raphael, now in the Galleria Palatina in Florence.

Madonna of the Baldacchino


It was Raphael's first major commission in Florence, produced for the cappella Dei in Santo Spirito. It remained incomplete on the artist's return to Rome in 1508 after being summoned by pope Julius II. It was a popular model for artists such as Andrea del Sarto, Fra' Bartolomeo and Lorenzo Lotto in the 1510s, although another altarpiece was commissioned from Rosso Fiorentino for the chapel.

Madonna of the Baldacchino


In Pescia Cathedral by the mid 16th century, Raphael's work was acquired by prince Ferdinando de' Medici in 1697. He had it restored and completed by the brothers Niccolò and Agostino Cassana. Ferdinando wished Raphael's work to act as a pendant to another work in his collection, Fra' Bartolomeo's Christ Among the Doctors, and so had a strip added to the top of Raphael's work to make it the same height as the other painting. Raphael's work was taken to Paris in 1799 and only returned to Florence in 1813.

Madonna of the Baldacchino


List of paintings by Raphael

Madonna of the Baldacchino


Vecchi, Pierluigi De (1975). Raffaello. Milano: Rizzoli.

Madonna of the Baldacchino


Vecchi, Pierluigi De; Cerchiari, Elda (1999). I tempi dell'arte. Vol. 2. Milano: Bompiani. ISBN 88-451-7212-0.

Madonna of the Baldacchino


Franzese, Paolo (2008). Raffaello. Milano: Mondadori Arte. ISBN 978-88-370-6437-2.

Madonna of the Baldacchino


Media related to Baldachin Madonna by Raphael at Wikimedia Commons

Madonna of the Baldacchino


The Best American Short Stories 2024 is a volume in the annual Best American Short Stories anthology. It was edited by the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, and guest editor Lauren Groff. The collection was published in October 2024 with a print run of 75,000 copies.

The Best American Short Stories 2024


Short stories included

The Best American Short Stories 2024


Moxico Leste is a province of Angola. It was created on 5 September 2024 from the eastern part of Moxico Province. Its capital is Cazombo.

Moxico Leste Province


Geography and climate

Moxico Leste Province


Moxico Leste borders the Angolan provinces of Lunda Sul to the northwest and Moxico to the southwest. It also borders Lualaba Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the northeast, and Zambia's North-Western Province to the southeast. Much of Moxico Leste lies in the upper Zambezi River basin, except for the portion along the Kasai River that demarcates the provincial border with Lunda Sul. Cameia National Park is located in the province, as is Lake Dilolo, Angola's largest lake. Ecoregions found in the province include Angolan miombo woodlands, Zambezian evergreen dry forests and Zambezian flooded grasslands.

Moxico Leste Province


Moxico Leste experiences a tropical savanna climate with the dry season or cacimbo running from May to August.

Moxico Leste Province


Since at least 2016, there have been proposals to divide Moxico, formerly Angola's largest province by area, into two smaller provinces. On 14 August 2024, Angola's National Assembly approved a law to create three new provinces, including separating the municipalities of Alto Zambeze, Cameia, Luacano and Luau from Moxico to form the new province of Moxico Leste. This law went into effect with its publication in the official gazette of Angola on 5 September 2024. Originally the new province was to be named Cassai Zambeze, but the name was changed after consultation with Nhakatolo Ngambo, the sovereign of the Luvale and Lunda peoples.

Moxico Leste Province


Moxico Leste is divided into the nine municipalities of Caianda, Cameia, Cazombo, Lago Dilolo, Lóvua do Zambeze, Luacano, Luau, Macondo and Nana Candundo. Cazombo is further subdivided into the communes of Cazombo and Lumbala Caquengue, and Macondo is subdivided into the communes of Macondo and Calunda.

Moxico Leste Province


The first governor of Moxico Leste is Crispiniano Vivaldino Evaristo dos Santos, who was appointed in December 2024.

Moxico Leste Province


The former municipalities that now form part of Moxico Leste reported a combined population of 250,584 in the 2014 census. In 2022 the population of these municipalities was projected at 318,582 inhabitants. Major ethnic groups in the region include the Chokwe, Luvale, and Lunda Dembo.

Moxico Leste Province


Economy and infrastructure

Moxico Leste Province


The main economic activity in Moxico Leste is agriculture. In colonial times, Alto Zambeze was a major rice producer in Angola, while nowadays Cameia is a locally significant producer of fruits such as oranges and bananas. Anglo American, Rio Tinto, and Ivanhoe Mines are prospecting in the area for minerals such as copper, zinc, titanium and aluminum. Many Angolans living near the national border go to work in the DRC and Zambia.

Moxico Leste Province


The Benguela railway runs through the towns of Cameia, Luacano and Luau. National road EN250 connects Luau to Cazombo, but it is in a severe state of disrepair.

Moxico Leste Province


Nigeria competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


Track and road events

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


Bridget Yamala Egwolosan

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


Chiaka Lauretta Ihebom

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


Nigeria at the 1990 Commonwealth Games

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


Nigeria at the 1994 Commonwealth Games

Nigeria at the 1992 Summer Olympics


Marie Podvalová (5 September 1909 – 16 May 1992) was a Czech opera singer who had a long career at the National Theatre in Prague from 1936 to 1978. A dramatic soprano who excelled in the Czech repertoire, she garnered particular acclaim for her portrayal of the title heroine in Bedřich Smetana's Libuše. Her physical beauty and dramatic talents further added to her great popularity among Czech audiences.

Marie Podvalová


Podvalová was born in Prague-Čakovice. In her early childhood, she moved with her parents to a house in Chrást, which she visited until her death.

Marie Podvalová


Podvalová first studied the violin before studying singing voice privately in Prague. She entered the Prague Conservatory where she studied voice with A. Fatissová and Doubravka Brambergová. She made her professional opera debut in 1935 at the Mahen Theatre in Brno as Marina in Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.

Marie Podvalová


Under the recommendation of conductor Václav Talich, Podvalová was made a principal artist at the Prague National Theater in 1936. She was the theatre's leading dramatic soprano for the next 38 years. Among her signature roles at the opera house were Emilia Marty in Leoš Janáček's The Makropulos Affair, the Foreign Princess in Antonín Dvořák's Rusalka, Kostelnička Buryjovka in Janáček's Jenůfa, Leonora in Fidelio, Milada in Smetana's Dalibor, Senta in Richard Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, and the title roles in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca and Smetana's Libuše. In 1938 she created various roles in the world premiere of Bohuslav Martinů's Julietta. In 1959 she toured the Soviet Union with the Prague National Theatre.

Marie Podvalová


Podvalová received numerous honors during her career. She made numerous recordings during her career, mostly on the Supraphon label. She died at the age of 82 in Prague.

Marie Podvalová


Olivin "Olive" Malmberg Johnson (March 14, 1872 – June 16, 1954) was a Swedish-American socialist, newspaper editor and political activist. She is best remembered as a long-time editor of the weekly English-language newspaper of the Socialist Labor Party of America.

Olive M. Johnson


Olivin Malberg was born March 14, 1872, in Lund, Sweden, the daughter of a merchant. The family emigrated to the United States in the 1890s, with Olive graduating high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Olive M. Johnson


Olive joined the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) in 1895. She acted as a lecturer and speaker on behalf of the party beginning in 1898. She worked variously as a retail clerk, restaurant worker, office worker, housekeeper, and teacher.

Olive M. Johnson


Malmberg was married to another member party member by the name of Johnson, took his name, and moved with him to California. The Johnsons' marriage eventually ended, but as was the custom of the day, Olive kept her former husband's surname after its dissolution. She never remarried.

Olive M. Johnson


Johnson attended Hunter College in New York City, from which she obtained a bachelor's degree in 1916, at the age of 44. She later did graduate course work at Columbia University and New York University.

Olive M. Johnson


Johnson was a close friend and trusted political associate of party leader Daniel DeLeon (1852–1914). She was first elected a member of the governing National Executive Committee of the SLP in 1904, remaining in that capacity until 1912. She joined DeLeon as a delegate of the SLP to the 1910 Copenhagen Congress of the Second International and was a delegate to many of the SLP's quadrennial national conventions, beginning in 1904.

Olive M. Johnson


Johnson was also close to Arnold Petersen (1885–1976), the Danish-born successor to Daniel DeLeon's mantle as top leader of the Socialist Labor Party. In 1918, Johnson became editor of the SLP's official newspaper, The Weekly People, replacing Edmund Seidel, who had begun advocating a merger with the leftward tilting Socialist Party of America. She remained in that position for 20 years, also writing many articles and pamphlets on behalf of the party. A number of Johnson's pamphlets were translated into Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Croatian by the various foreign language federations of the SLP.

Olive M. Johnson


As editor of the SLP's official organ, Johnson continued to advocate a harsh line towards other political organizations on the left. Historian Ben Perry notes:

Olive M. Johnson


"Her editorial positions were especially hostile to the Communist and Socialist parties and the anti-political Industrial Workers of the World, but she also condemned the CIO as well as non-revolutionary movements such as the cooperative movement and the New Deal. She was very active during this period, not only as editor, but also as a pamphlet writer, speaker, and candidate for public office."

Olive M. Johnson


On the SLP ticket, Johnson ran for Governor of New York in 1918, for Mayor of New York City in 1929, and for U.S. Senator from New York in 1934.

Olive M. Johnson


Johnson was elected by the SLP as its fraternal delegate to the 3rd World Congress of the Communist International in 1922, but was refused a passport to travel by the American government.

Olive M. Johnson


In the early 1930s Johnson contracted tuberculosis, a disease which sapped her vitality, and she was forced to handle the editorial tasks of The Weekly People more and more from her home. In 1938 she retired from editing the newspaper.

Olive M. Johnson


Olive M. Johnson died in Malibu, California, on June 16, 1954, at 82 years of age.  Her ashes were scattered at Topanga Canyon, California where she had lived with her brother Nils Malmberg for several years.

Olive M. Johnson


Woman and the Socialist Movement: Published Under the Auspices of the Socialist Women of Greater New York. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1908. (Reissued 1919).

Olive M. Johnson


Americanism: An Open Letter to the Board of Education, New York. New York : Socialist Labor Party, 1920.

Olive M. Johnson


Revolution: "Dictatorship" and "Suppression" Incidental to Social Progress. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1923.

Olive M. Johnson


Daniel De Leon, American Socialist Pathfinder. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1923.

Olive M. Johnson


The Cooperative Movement: An Infantile Disorder and an Old-Age Disease. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1924.

Olive M. Johnson


The Socialist Party: A Quarter Century Later: From the Kangaroo Exodus to La Follette. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1924.

Olive M. Johnson


Karl Marx: Forty years After (1883-1923). With Daniel DeLeon. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1924.

Olive M. Johnson


The Soviet Revolution, 1917-1927: A Historical Comparison. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1927.

Olive M. Johnson


Russia in Revolution: Selected Editorials. With Daniel DeLeon. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1927.

Olive M. Johnson


The Reform Vote versus the Revolutionary Vote: The Socialist Party - Workers (Communist) Party: Petty Bourgeois Twins Contrasted with the Revolutionary Socialist Labor Party. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1929.

Olive M. Johnson


The Spy in the Labor Movement: Essays. With Paul LaFargue. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1929.

Olive M. Johnson


Industrial Government: Industrial Feudal Autocracy versus Industrial Democracy. With Arnold Petersen. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1930.

Olive M. Johnson


The Socialist Labor Party during Four Decades: 1890-1930. With Henry Kuhn. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1931.

Olive M. Johnson


The School To The Teacher. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1932.

Olive M. Johnson


Americanism: Reaction Subverting the Constitution and the American Tradition. New York: Socialist Labor Party, 1935.

Olive M. Johnson


Industrial Unionism. With Thomas Grady. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1935.

Olive M. Johnson


The Virus of Anarchy: Bakuninism vs. Marxism. With Arnold Petersen. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1935.

Olive M. Johnson


May Day vs. Labor Day: A Comparison of the Social Significance of the Two Days of Labor Celebration.  New York: New York Labor News Co., 1936.

Olive M. Johnson


Revolution. With Arnold Petersen. New York: New York Labor News Co., 1936.

Olive M. Johnson


The Broken Violin is an American film that was released in 1923. It was directed by John Francis Dillon. It was produced by Atlantic Features and distributed by Arrow Film Corporation It is a melodrama. A 1923 publication described the film as "heart interest laid on thick."

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Variety wrote, "The story is of an imposter endeavoring to secure the millions rightfully belonging to another. His ruse works for a time, but the rightful heir finally comes into his own and incidentally wins the girl which the other hand had also attempted to secure".

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


A review in Variety reads, "These long drawn-out melodramas are pretty tough on summer-time audiences" and "Melodramatics are the stock in trade of this production, with the story bringing forth only old bits in this line to create interest. The tale has a flimsy love angle weakly told, with the theme in general falling short of holding attention".

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Dorothy Mackaill as Constance Morley

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Reed Howes as John Ellsworth

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Zena Keefe as Governess

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Warren Cook as Thomas Kitterly

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Joseph Blake as Jeremy Ellsworth

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Henry Sedley as James Gault

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Sydney Deane as Dr. Mason

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Rita Rogan as Beatrice Ellsworth

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


J.H. Lewis as Jules Davega

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Gladden James as Phil Carter / Floyd Watson

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


Edward Roseman as Half-Wit

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


The Broken Violin (1928 film)

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


The Broken Violin at IMDb

The Broken Violin (1923 film)


L'ajo nell'imbarazzo (The Tutor Embarrassed or The Tutor in a Jam) is a melodramma giocoso, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, after the 1807 play by Giovanni Giraud. At its premiere at the Teatro Valle, Rome, on 4 February 1824, it "was greeted with wild enthusiasm [and] it was with this opera that [...] Donizetti had his first really lasting success" During revisions planned for the 1826 production in Naples, Donizetti renamed the opera Don Gregorio, and it is under that name that most later productions were staged.

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Performances were given in many Italian cities and it became the first of the composer's operas to be given outside the country, with productions mounted in Vienna, Dresden, Barcelona, and Rio de Janeiro.

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


However, before the planned Naples production of 1826, Donizetti revised the opera under the title of Don Gregorio, and under that name, it premiered at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples on 11 June 1826. That same year, it also was given at La Scala. On 28 July 1846 it was first given in London, but "seems to have disappeared from view until it turned up again in Italy in the twentieth century".

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


20th century and beyond

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


It was presented at the Teatro Donizetti in the composer's home town of Bergamo in 1959 and an Italian TV production was broadcast in 1964. A successful staging by the Wexford Festival in 1973 led to it appearing in four additional European cities between 1975 and 1990 and a new video recording was made from live performances given by the Teatro Donizetti in November 2007.

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Time: Early nineteenth century

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Place: An Italian city

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Marquis Giulio demands that his sons, Enrico and Pippetto, grow up in complete ignorance of all matters of the flesh. Yet Enrico has secretly married Gilda, and they even have a son. Exasperated by the life he's forced to lead, the youth begs the elderly tutor Gregorio for help, and has him meet his wife. When, however, the Marquis arrives, Gilda remains trapped in Gregorio's room. She worries, for she must nurse her child: Gregorio is forced to fetch the baby and bring it to her, hidden under his cloak. Leonarda, an old servant in the household, informs the Marquis of her suspicions; he discovers Gilda, but is convinced she must be the tutor's lover. In the tempestuous scene that follows, involving all the characters, the truth finally comes out. The Marquis realizes his error, and decides to entrust his younger son, Pippetto, to Enrico, so that he might help him learn "the ways of the world."

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Ashbrook, William, "Ajo nell'imbarazzo, L'" in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Oxford Music Online (accessed 24 September 2011, by subscription)

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Ashbrook, William (1998), "Ajo nell'imbarazzo, L'" in Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. two. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-73432-7, 1-56159-228-5

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Ashbrook, William; Sarah Hibberd (2001), "L'ajo nell'imbarazzio, o Don Gregorio" in Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Osborne, Charles, (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-71-3

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Ashbrook, William (1982), Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-23526-X

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Weinstock, Herbert (1963), Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, New York: Pantheon Books. LCCN 63-13703

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


L'ajo nell'imbarazzo: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

L'ajo nell'imbarazzo


Klaus Becker (born February 4, 1953, in Marburg, Germany) is a German/American businessman, working in the steel industry.

Klaus Becker


Early life and education

Klaus Becker


Klaus Becker was born in Marburg, Germany in 1953 and grew up in Dortmund, where his father worked as a technician in a steel production company. He graduated from an apprenticeship program as merchant of foreign trade. Traineeships took him to Italy, Brazil, and the US. Later, he studied business administration and national economics and received a master’s degree from the Ruhr-Universität in Bochum.

Klaus Becker


Since 1979, Becker has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, working in the international steel trade. In 1991, Becker founded SouthStar Steel Cooperation which became the largest importer of stainless-steel bars in the US within five years. It was the fastest growing privately held company in the Southern Piedmont three years in a row, and was 21st in Inc. Magazine's "The Inner City 100". With warehouses in Charlotte, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Houston, the company created new supply lines and distributed stainless steel bars from Spanish, Korean, Brazilian and Italian manufacturers.

Klaus Becker


Currently, Becker owns Nirosteel LLC, an international steel trading company based in Charlotte. Nirosteel imports steel and steel related products into the US, Mexico and several European countries.

Klaus Becker


Becker was voted Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in North Carolina in 1996, and by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in 1998. Additionally, he has served as president of the N.C. Chapter of the German-American Chamber of Commerce for seven years, from 2004 to 2011.

Klaus Becker


Klaus Becker has been married to Concha Becker since 1983. They have a daughter, Fiorella.

Klaus Becker


In 2013, Klaus Becker was appointed as honorary consul of the Federal Republic of Germany for North Carolina. In this function, he founded the N.C. Zeitgeist Foundation. The goal of the Foundation is to inform about German culture, industry, politics, as well as history. The foundation has promoted Charlotte as a US location for international business, trade, and investment, and Becker continues to engage German and American businesses. He was instrumental in bringing the soccer clubs FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund to Charlotte to play against foreign teams in the International Champions Cup tournament in 2016.

Klaus Becker


Omoayena Rosemary Odunbaku is a Nigerian development expert, university lecturer, human settlement officer with UN Habitat, and founder of the organization Her Ability Hub.

Omoayena Odunbaku


Odunbaku holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. She was a lecturer of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Lagos between 2012 and 2018, and a lecturer assistant of the Department of Town Planning at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta between 2006 and 2007.

Omoayena Odunbaku


She joined the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) as a Programme Manager in 2014 before becoming the Human Settlement Officer, Regional Office for Africa (ROAf) in 2016.

Omoayena Odunbaku


Recognition and awards

Omoayena Odunbaku


In 2012, she received the Distinguished Researcher award from the University of Lagos.

Omoayena Odunbaku


In 2021, she authored a 331-page biography, Omoh, which documents her life journey.

Omoayena Odunbaku


Abune-the-Hill is a place in the north of the Orkney Mainland (59.13° N 03.25° W HY2828) and just to the west of the Loch of Swannay.

Abune-the-hill


Abune-the-Hill means "Above the hill" in the local dialect.

Abune-the-hill


The site of a Romish Church is at Abune-the-Hill.

Abune-the-hill


Words of War is a 2025 biographical drama film about the late Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Directed by James Strong, Maxine Peake as Politkovskaya, Jason Isaacs as her husband Alexander Politkovsky, and Ciarán Hinds as her Nobel Peace Prize–winning editor at the Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov.

Words of War


Anna Politkovskaya was a journalist and human rights activist who persisted with reporting on the conflict in Chechnya despite considerable danger to herself and tried to expose corruption within Russia under the governance of Vladimir Putin. She continued in the face of poisoning, intimidation and violence before being the victim of a contract killing in the elevator of her house on October 7, 2006.

Words of War


Maxine Peake as Anna Politkovskaya

Words of War


Ciarán Hinds as Dmitry Muratov

Words of War


Jason Isaacs as Alexander Politkovsky

Words of War


Naomi Battrick as Vera Politkovskaya

Words of War


Harry Lawtey as Ilya Politkovsky

Words of War


Ellie Bamber as Elena Milashina

Words of War


Fady Elsayed as Anzor

Words of War


The project was announced as Mother Russia at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival with Maxine Peake, Jason Isaacs, and Ciarán Hinds attached to the main roles. The film had James Strong attached as director, working from a screenplay by Eric Poppen, with filming scheduled for UK and Latvia in 2022.

Words of War


In December 2022, it was announced by Deadline Hollywood that Good Films Collective had teamed with Burbank-based Rolling Pictures on the production. Producers were listed as Miriam Segal and Mark Maxey. Principal photography was revealed to have commenced in Latvia, with filming scheduled to last into February 2023.

Words of War


In 2024, Sean Penn joined the project as an executive producer.

Words of War


In September 2022, Emma D'Arcy, Harry Lawtey and Ellie Bamber were added to the cast. Lawtey confirmed his role as Anna Politkovskaya's son and discussed the film within a geo-political context saying "The film has been planned for years and obviously now it has unfortunately become too relevant...being part of a project that feels current and meaningful is a privilege." D'Arcy was replaced by Naomi Battrick due to scheduling issues.

Words of War


In February 2023, the family of Anna Politkovskaya released a joint statement expressing concern about the factual accuracy of the script they had been given at the start of production, that they had not contributed in any way, nor had they granted permission for their names to be used in the film.

Words of War


In May 2024, it was reported that sales agent Concourse Media presented the film to buyers in Cannes under the title of Words of War.

Words of War


Following the Toronto International Film Festival market in September 2024, it was announced that domestic distribution rights for the Words of War film were acquired by Decal Releasing and a theatrical release scheduled for 2025.

Words of War


Variety reported that Words of War was released in U.S. theaters starting on May 2, 2025. The film was released in UK and Ireland cinemas on June 27, 2025.

Words of War


On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 24 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 63 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Words of War


Words of War at IMDb

Words of War


Vourgareli (Greek: Βουργαρέλι) is a village and a community in Arta prefecture, northern Greece. It is located in the north-east of Arta prefecture, built at a height of 900 meters in the slope of Tzoumerka Mountains. The village is the seat of Central Tzoumerka municipality and Athamania municipal unit. Its population is 466 inhabitants according to the 2021 census.

Vourgareli


The symbol and monument of the village is the Red Church.

Vourgareli


Vourgareli is initially referred in a Venetian document of 1696. The derivation of this name is unknown. It is believed that it derives from local lumberjack named Vourgarelis or from Bulgarian lumberjacks that were settled in this area in the past.

Vourgareli


In the late of 18th century the Souliote chieftain Giorgos Botsaris and other 170 Souliote families were settled in Vourgareli. After the fall of Souli to Ali Pasha in 1803 many Souliotes fled to Seltsou Monastery and fought with the Turks. Most were captured and only few managed to escape.

Vourgareli


The last years of Ottoman rule the area of the village was a fief of a Turk, named Abram Karakehaya. After the annexation of Arta to Greece in 1881, the residents of Vourgareli bought the fief, paying 4.416 Ottoman liras. A local rich landholder, named Karapanos, helped to gather the money, in exchange for the exploitation of this area for 40 years.

Vourgareli


During the Greek Resistance, the headquarters of the Greek guerrilla group EDES was established in Vourgareli. The Germans bombed the village on 5 May 1943.

Vourgareli


Historical population

Vourgareli


Red Church (κόκκινη εκκλησία): A Byzantine church, built in 1281.

Vourgareli


Saint George Monastery (Μονή Αγίου Γεωργίου): Old monastery, built at the beginnings of 18th century.

Vourgareli


Site about the village

Vourgareli


Heroscape (stylized as "heroScape" or "HeroScape") is an expandable turn-based miniature wargaming system originally manufactured by Hasbro subsidiaries from 2004 until its discontinuation in November 2010. Geared towards younger players, the game is played using pre-painted miniature figures on a board made from interlocking hexagonal tiles, allowing for the construction of an interchangeable and variable 3D landscape. This system and the production quality of the game materials have been lauded by fans even after its discontinuation, eventually leading to its revival in 2024.

Heroscape


Heroscape was first released in 2004 by game designers Craig Van Ness, Rob Daviau, and Stephen Baker through the Milton Bradley Company under Hasbro. The first master set was entitled Rise of the Valkyrie, featuring thirty plastic figures and corresponding cards, eighty-five terrain pieces of various sizes, and two ruins structures. From 2004 to 2008, releases included another master set (Swarm of the Marro), ten small-figure expansions, three large-figure expansions, and four large terrain expansions, alongside various exclusive sets and figures through partnerships with Walmart, Toys "R" Us, and Gen Con.

Heroscape


In 2007, a master set based on Marvel Comics was released, entitled The Conflict Begins. Hasbro had recently acquired the license to produce Marvel-themed toys and merchandise. Featuring ten comic book characters and urban-style terrain, the Marvel expansion is still compatible with the regular game.

Heroscape


In 2008, Hasbro shifted the Heroscape brand away from Milton Bradley to Wizards of the Coast (WOTC). At the time, WOTC was also responsible for the development and distribution of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). From 2008 to 2010, another master set (Battle for the Underdark) and three small-figure expansions were released featuring D&D-themed characters and concepts. These behind-the-scenes changes were reportedly intended to reduce production costs, but players also interpreted it as an attempt to convert players away from Heroscape to the more popular D&D line of products. On November 3, 2010, Wizards of the Coast announced that they would be discontinuing production of Heroscape products in favor of focusing on developing their core games: Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. This announcement included the cancellation of various expansions already in development, such as a second wave of Marvel content. An immediate backlash occurred within the Heroscape community, including petitions and threats of boycotts. Despite the lack of official production for over a decade, the game remained popular with a strong community, regular tournaments, and user-created content.

Heroscape


In 2015, Wizards of the Coast published Magic: The Gathering – Arena of the Planeswalkers, incorporating the rules and terrain based on Heroscape, but with the addition of spell cards, summoning, and select creatures and spells from the Magic: The Gathering universe. Two expansions were later released: Battle for Zendikar, which featured additional figures, updates, and combinations; and Shadows Over Innistrad, which adds a battlefield obstacle called the cryptolith. Some considered Arena of the Planeswalkers to be the spiritual successor to Heroscape, while others still disagreed. The game was discontinued in 2016.

Heroscape


During the August 2022 Gen Con, Hasbro announced that another of their subsidiaries, Avalon Hill, would be attempting to release a new expansion entitled Heroscape: Age of Annihilation, showcasing a teaser trailer featuring new figures and terrain. Original co-designer Craig Van Ness was involved with the project, along with other dedicated members of the Heroscape community. A HasLab crowdfunding campaign ran from October to November 2022, but it did not reach the required number of backers by the deadline.

Heroscape


In June 2023, Renegade Game Studios announced that it was taking responsibility for the reboot after reaching a licensing deal with Hasbro. In March 2024, Renegade revealed that the first wave would include the master set Age of Annihilation, along with expansion sets Battle for the Wellspring and The Grove at Laur's End.

Heroscape


Game modes and terrain

Heroscape


Designed for two or more players ages 8 and older, the game can also be easily adapted for a large group of players, particularly if multiple master sets and expansion sets are used.

Heroscape


The game comes with two sets of rules: the basic rules create a simpler and shorter game accessible to younger players, while the advanced rules are designed for a longer and more complicated game for older and more experienced players. Regardless of the game mode, each miniature figure or squad of figures has a corresponding card, called an army card, with the basic game mode printed on one side and advanced game mode on the other. For the basic game, only the factors of movement, range, attack, and defense are used, while the advanced game considers these factors, plus point value, health, species, class, personality, size, and special abilities.

Heroscape


To play the game, a master set is required, which contains enough tiles to build a battlefield large enough for more than two players, but experienced players often combine multiple sets to create larger and more elaborate playing surfaces. Over the course of production, four total master sets were released. The original, Rise of the Valkyrie, includes grass, rock, sand, and water pieces of various tile sizes, plus two ruins to diversify the playing surface. Various expansions and the other master sets add molten lava, lava field, snow, ice, swamp grass, swamp water, dungeon, shadow, road, concrete, and asphalt tiles, in addition to ruins, trees, glaciers, jungle vegetation, rock outcrops, a bridge system, and even a castle structure, complete with walls, turrets, and a gate.

Heroscape


Building the scenario

Heroscape


Heroscape requires players to construct the three-dimensional playing surface for the game. Scenarios from the master set or some of the larger expansions include detailed instructions for board setups, but many players enjoy designing their own. While the original master set Rise of the Valkyrie was released in 2004, two more master sets were released in 2007. Continuing the story from the first set, The Swarm of the Marro was released in August and features two alternate models of characters from Rise of the Valkyrie, plus new characters. The previous month, the Marvel Comics Master Set called The Conflict Begins was released, containing five heroes and five villains from the Marvel Comics universe. Following the transition to Wizards of the Coasts, a master set based on the Dungeons & Dragons franchise was released in 2010, entitled Battle for the Underdark.

Heroscape


There are also separate smaller expansions that contain a new set of themed terrain along with a new unit(s) that takes advantage of said terrain. Volcarren Wasteland contains lava and volcanic rock tiles; Thaelenk Tundra contains ice and snow tiles, plus large glaciers; Road to the Forgotten Forest contains roads, bridge pieces, and trees of varying sizes; and Ticalla Jungle features more trees and jungle vegetation.

Heroscape


Each player selects one or more "units," where a unit may be a unique and distinct hero or an entire squad of generic figures. Army cards explain the various attributes and special abilities are packaged with each unit. There are four types of units in the original game: Unique Hero, Common Hero, Unique Squad, and Common Squad. Hero cards are associated with a single figure and squad cards are associated with a set of two or more figures. In their army, a given player may only have one of a unique hero or squad, but there is no limit on how many copies of a common hero or squad may be selected. D&D Heroscape introduced a fifth type of unit: Uncommon Hero. These play just like Unique Heroes, but a player can have more than one in his army and one must keep track of which one belongs to which card since they can take damage (as opposed to Common units, which only have one hit point). The idea proved to be unpopular, as most players simply played with them as if they were just Unique Heroes.

Heroscape


All basic game scenarios and some advanced game scenarios specify the units for each player. Most advanced game scenarios allow players to choose units based on the points values printed on the army card. Usually, scenarios have a different number of points that you can use to buy characters. Depending on the scenario, players may be required to place their team in a specific location, or they may randomly select where each player begins.

Heroscape


Playable units in Heroscape are divided between Archkyrie Generals, fighting on the fictional planet of Valhalla. All started as Valkyrie who discovered and drank from mythical Wellsprings, which granted them the ability to manipulate spacetime to gather massive armies from numerous planets, dimensions, and time periods. Five generals (Jandar, Ullar, Vydar, Einar, and Utgar) appeared in the original game; Aquilla was introduced in 2007; and Valkrill was introduced in 2010 as part of D&D Heroscape.

Heroscape


Despite this backstory, players are free to draft any combination of characters without regard for the in-game alliances or hostilities, unless a group specifically wants to play through the events of the story. Only a few characters' army cards have special abilities that specifically reference the generals.

Heroscape


Jandar is considered an archetypical "heroic general," fighting to stop Utgar from using the wellsprings to conquer all of Valhalla, the universe, and possibly time itself. His army includes the Sentinel faction of Kyrie, Sgt. Drake Alexander and his Airborne Elite from an alternate version of World War II, Vikings, knights, yetis, robotic Omnicron Snipers, the cowboy Johnny "Shotgun" Sullivan, Scottish warriors, and the white dragon Nilfheim. Jandar's army cards have a blue and white color scheme.

Heroscape


Ullar consistently allies with Jandar, with his army consisting of species often referenced in the fantasy genre with an overall "good nature" theme. His army consists of elves, reptilian assassins called Vipers, Shaolin monks, the giant Jotun, the gryphillin Theracus, the Protector faction of Kyrie, the green dragon Charos, and the cowboy sniper "Deadeye" Dan. Ullar's army cards have a dark green and brown color scheme.

Heroscape


Vydar is the only "true-neutral" of the neutral generals, aiding either Jandar or Utgar as it suits his own mysterious agenda. His army is very futuristic and technological, mainly consisting of advanced humans and robots, while also incorporating the gun-wielding gorilla-like Primadons, a dog-like alien creature called Dünd, the undead queen Sudema, and the black dragon Braxas. Vydar's army cards have a grey and navy blue color scheme.

Heroscape


Einar first allied with Utgar, but later shifted his alliance to join Jandar. His army consists almost entirely of humans from the history of Earth, including warriors from Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, the American Revolutionary War, and feudal Japan. Exceptions to this include the Imperium faction of Kyrie, the red dragon Zelrig, and a cyclops-like ogre named Gurei-Oni. Einar's army cards have an orange and purple color scheme.

Heroscape


Utgar is the archetypical "conqueror/overlord," a villainous figure fighting to take control of the mysterious wellsprings in order to use their power to conquer Valhalla, and then the rest of time and space. His army consists of dark forces including the Minion faction of Kyrie, the hive-controlled skeletal Marro, orcs with dinosaur mounts, robots, the undead (ghosts, zombies, and vampires), wolves, werewolves, ogres, and the dragons Mimring, Othkurik, and Moltenclaw, among a scattering of other creatures and beings. Utgar's army cards have a red and black color scheme.

Heroscape


In 2007, Aquilla was the first new general to be introduced, as well as the only female general. Little is known about this mysterious general, except that she is allied with Jandar. Aquilla's army is made up of a darker fantasy/nature theme, with squads of Fyorlag spiders and other giant bugs, Native Americans, and fantasy dwarves. Aquilla's army cards have a black and gold color scheme.

Heroscape


In 2010, Valkrill was introduced in later expansions for D&D Heroscape as an initial ally of Utgar who turned and formed his own evil and chaotic faction. As Heroscape would be canceled shortly after his introduction, Valkirill possesses the smallest army, consisting of demons, goblins, orcs, and the undead. Valkrill's army cards have a dark olive-green and rusty bronze color scheme.

Heroscape


In 2022, Revna was revealed in the Avalon Hills announcements regarding Heroscape: Age of Annihilation. After the game transferred subsidiaries, Renegade Game Studios maintained Revna's status as a new general effectively replacing Valkrill's macabre theming and having similarly gray-colored army cards.

Heroscape


In 2022, Volarak was also revealed in the Avalon Hills announcements, leading a chaotic steampunk style army with lime green army cards.

Heroscape


The Marvel expansion entitled The Conflict Begins includes ten Marvel superheroes and villains that are not allied with any particular general, though they are still fully compatible with the other characters. Each card has a unique color scheme reflecting the comic book origins of the specific hero or villain.

Heroscape


Structure of a round

Heroscape


The flow of play in Heroscape is broken up into rounds and turns. The terms are often used interchangeably in other board games, but there is a key distinction in Heroscape with each round including 3 turns for each player.

Heroscape


At the beginning of the round, each player must place order markers on their armies. Order markers determine which armies will be used during that round and what order they will be utilized. These markers indicate the turn in which each unit will be activated, but the numbers are hidden from the table.  A fourth "dummy" marker may also be placed to add some ambiguity as to which units one will be activating.  The same unit may be activated multiple times in a single round by placing multiple order markers on it.

Heroscape


After order markers have been placed, each player rolls a twenty-sided initiative die. The highest roller takes the first turn and play passes to the left.

Heroscape


The player with the highest initiative roll begins his first turn by revealing which unit contains his first order marker.  A turn usually consists of moving and then attacking.  For squads, each figure in the squad is moved before any may attack.  The number of hexes that each figure may move is listed on its card.  Typical movement amounts range from 4 to 8 and normally moving one hex costs one point movement. Certain types of terrain are dangerous (e.g. lava), impassable (e.g. glaciers), slow you down (e.g. snow) or speed you up (e.g. roads). Moving up in elevation also costs additional movement points for each level, but not for moving down.  Some figures' special abilities, such as flying, may also affect movement.

Heroscape


After movement has been completed, each surviving figure in the unit may attack any figure within its range and line of sight. Melee units are those with a range of one, and ranged units typically have a range of four or more.

Heroscape


The number of dice rolled for offense is listed on the army card, but may be improved by various bonuses, including terrain bonuses, elevation bonuses, or special abilities. The attack dice contain skulls on three surfaces (in 1st edition) giving a 50% chance at scoring a hit for each die.  The defender likewise calculates how many defense dice he may roll, based on his unit's natural defense value and any other bonuses (terrain, elevation, special abilities, etc.).  The defense dice contain only two shields, giving a statistical advantage to the attacker.  In the second edition the defense and attack dice are combined into one white dice, with three chances for attack, two chances for defense, and one chance for a blank roll.

Heroscape


If the defender rolls a number of shields equal to or higher than the number of skulls rolled by the attacker, nothing happens.  If the number is lower, the defender receives a number of wound markers equal to the difference. Once a unit receives a number of wound markers equal to its total life points, it is destroyed and removed from the playing surface immediately.  Heroes usually have multiple life points; squads always have one life point per figure in the squad.  In the basic rules version of the game the wound marker system is not used, and each unit simply has one life point; hero units usually have exaggerated defense to compensate.

Heroscape


Various abilities by specific units may modify these rules to some degree (e.g., the samurai may counterattack and inflict damage while defending), but this move/attack/defense flow is typical of a turn.

Heroscape


Once the player has finished all of his attacks, play passes to the left, and that player then reveals his first order marker and takes his turn. Play continues in this manner until the final player has completed his first turn, and then play resumes with the first player, who reveals his second order marker and takes a turn with that unit. This process is repeated for the third order marker, and then the round is completed. Sometimes a player will lose a turn if the unit he had placed an order marker on was destroyed on a previous player's turn.

Heroscape


The conditions for victory vary based on the scenario. Time limits, round limits, holding certain locations, quest-like goals, or "last man standing" variants are all common. In tournament settings, there is often a "Fractional Scoring" system used when time expires. In this case, the player with the most points remaining at the end of the time limits wins.

Heroscape


Heroscape's interlocking hexagonal system and the relatively high production quality of the game materials have been lauded by fans years after the game was discontinued.

Heroscape


In a review of Heroscape in Black Gate, Howard Andrew Jones said "Two thumbs way up for both the game and the expansion. Sometimes the products I buy are really neat and I read and enjoy them... then put them on the shelf. This is one that my whole family can enjoy for many years to come. If you used to love the idea of the original Risk but grew frustrated at the way blind dumb luck could overrule actual tactical planning, you're likely to enjoy this game. A lot."

Heroscape


In a 2022 retrospective review, Comic Book Resources ranked Heroscape as the best discontinued board game, noting the ambition of "combining the fun of Lego with the excitement of miniature games." They also discussed how the modern-day costs of plastics indicate that a game of such scope and scale could never be replicated today, hence the interest in buying second-hand.

Heroscape


Family Games: The 100 Best

Heroscape


Fan-generated content and tournaments

Heroscape


Fan-generated content

Heroscape


Heroscape players have created much fan-generated content and material, including custom terrain, jungle pieces made out of aquarium plants, battle boards, ruins, buildings, and sci-fi terrain. Custom figures are also created in a variety of ways: some create cards for figures from other miniature games, and some 3D print their own using online software. Groups of players have formed to create and play-test custom figures.

Heroscape


The Classic Customs Creators of Valhalla (C3V) attempts to keep continuity with the official Heroscape characters, backstories, and themes by play-tested against official figures.

Heroscape


The Soldiers of Valhalla (SoV) reviews existing customs created by members for inclusion into "Fanscape."

Heroscape


Valhalla Customs (VC) is the collective name for the C3V and the SoV, whom work very closely together.

Heroscape


The Comics Customs Creators Guild (C3G) releases superhero customs, mostly using HeroClix figures play-tested against the canon Marvel Heroscape figures, as well as updated versions of latter to balance their abilities.

Heroscape


Various groups have come together to play-test figures from a number of different franchises such as Star Wars, Middle-Earth, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles using previously existing figures or creating new 3D printed versions using a number of different software systems.

Heroscape


Although fan-generated content may be posted at various online outlets, the most prominent community of custom creators and their creations is found on forums of the fan-site Heroscapers.com.

Heroscape


Tournaments and events

Heroscape


Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast never held nor supported officially sanctioned events such as they had with Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon or Axis & Allies; however, a fan-run tournament scene started up soon after the release of Heroscape. The biggest tournaments have been held at major gaming conventions such as Gen Con or multi-genre conventions such as Comic-Con, but various local and regional tournaments are run regularly.

Heroscape


In August 2022 (twelve years after the original game's discontinuation), another Hasbro subsidiary, Avalon Hill, announced that they would be attempting to revive Heroscape by releasing a HasLab crowdfunding campaign for a new expansion, entitled Heroscape: Age of Annihilation. The HasLab ran from October to November 2022, and they did not receive enough backers to justify the production of the new master set. In June 2023, Renegade Game Studios announced that it was taking responsibility for the reboot after reaching a licensing deal with Hasbro.

Heroscape


On March 1, 2024 Renegade Game Studios announced that Wave 1 would be released in August 2024, with the first wave including a master set and two expansions. As a first, Renegade Game Studios gave the option to buy these new sets and expansions with the choice of either unpainted or pre-painted miniature figures at different retail price points dependent upon players' personal preference and/or financial situation. In addition, Renegade Game Studios announced a new Heroscape Play Network that will help local game stores run regular tournaments for Heroscape.

Heroscape


Various Heroscape releases from BoardGameGeek

Heroscape


Heroscape Wave 10: Valkrill's Gambit at Black Gate

Heroscape


Heroscape Wave 11 at Black Gate

Heroscape


Francesca Maria Steele (21 April 1848 – 10 August 1931) was an English novelist, historian, and biographer, who began writing to support her family. She began her writing career with juvenile fiction; she later moved into adult fiction, using the pseudonym Darley Dale for her fiction writing. Intensely religious, she converted to Roman Catholicism in 1887 and later wrote several books on religious topics.

Francesca Maria Steele


Steele was born in London on 21 April 1848. Her parents were Robert Peter Steele  (1816 – 10 May 1884), the secretary of the Royal Assurance Company and Frances Mary Francis (8 February 1818 – 3 October 1902).

Francesca Maria Steele


Steele was educated at Bedford College, London, the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. Steele lived in Jersey from 1874 to 1884. She began writing in Jersey, with The Jersey Boys in 1878. Her father died on 10 May 1884, and his pension died with him. He had lost everything else in a bank collapse, so Steele's mother was now dependent on what Steele could earn from her writing.

Francesca Maria Steele


Steele moved to Gloucestershire with her mother and sisters. Steele and her sister Alice Mary (1856 – c. 1935) converted to Roman Catholicism in 1877. Alice went on to become a nun and was the sister in charge at Tyburn Convent at 6 Hyde Park Place, in London at the time of the 1911 census. Alice was still in charge there twenty years later when Steele died.

Francesca Maria Steele


Steele had already moved to Loretto House at Stroud in Gloucestershire when her mother died there on 3 October 1902. She was still there nearly thirty years later when she died. Even after her mother died, Steele was still supporting her youngest sister, Emma Caroline, when she applied to the Royal Literary Fund in 1914.

Francesca Maria Steele


Steele was registered at birth and baptised as Fanny Maria Steele, and she used this name up until the 1891 census. By the 1901 census she was using the name Florence Steel, but soon changed to Francesca Maria Steele. She used this name for the publication of The Convents of Great Britain in 1902. In the 1911 Census, she used that form of her name also, and continued to do so. For her writing, she used the pseudonym Darley Dale for all of her fiction, but used her real name for her writing on religious topics.

Francesca Maria Steele


Steele's work can be divided into three types:

Francesca Maria Steele


Juvenile fiction. Indicated by juv. in the table below. Steele wrote about 20 books for children. Children's books were usually illustrated and printed in a single volume.

Francesca Maria Steele


Adult fiction. Indicated by adt. in the table below. Steele wrote over a dozen adult novels. The earlier adult novels were published in as three-volume novels volumes. This was the norm at the time, as such a format had an appeal to circulating libraries.

Francesca Maria Steele


Religious topics. Indicated by rel. in the table below. Steele wrote biographies of saints and of important figures in church history, as well as her survey of convents and monasteries. She contributed 21 articles to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Francesca Maria Steele


The sources for the table are:

Francesca Maria Steele


The Jisc Library Hub Discover Database, that collates catalogues from 161 academic and specialist libraries across the UK and Ireland.

Francesca Maria Steele


The list in the Who Was Who article for Steele.

Francesca Maria Steele


The author page for Steele on the At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837-1901

Francesca Maria Steele


There seem to be no works by Steele at Project Gutenberg, so the table indicated those cases where online versions of the texts are available.

Francesca Maria Steele


Example of illustration of one of Steele's books

Francesca Maria Steele


The following four illustrations by AFB were produced for The Family Failing (1883) by Steele (courtesy of The British Library) Typically, at the time, when it came to novels, only juvenile fiction was illustrated, although serial stories were often illustrated, even if they were for adults.

Francesca Maria Steele


At the time of the 1911 Census, Steele was living with her sister Emma Caroline at Loretto House in Stroud. Whatever income she had from her writing, it was obviously not enough as she applied for assistance from the Royal Literary Fund in 1914. In her later years, Steele was an invalid. She died on 16 August 1931, leaving a relatively modest estate of less than £400. Her sister Emma Caroline was her executor, and only survived her sister by four years, dying on 9 December 1935.

Francesca Maria Steele


Books by Steele in the Jisc database of collated library catalogues.

Francesca Maria Steele


Books by Steele on the Internet Archive.

Francesca Maria Steele


Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle is a 1982 platform game developed and published by Coleco for the ColecoVision and Atari 2600. The game is based on the television series The Smurfs. In the game, the player must brave a series of obstacles to rescue Smurfette from Gargamel's castle.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Gargamel has kidnapped Smurfette.  As a Smurf, the player has to walk from the Smurf village through a forest and a cave on the way to Gargamel's castle, where Smurfette awaits rescue. The player has an energy bar that slowly depletes over time.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Each side-scrolling screen presents various obstacles that the player must precisely jump over (e.g. fences, stalagmites) or land upon (e.g. ledges). Failure to execute any jump results in instant death. Higher difficulty levels introduce crows, flying bats, and spiders that the player must also avoid.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


The ColecoVision version of Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle contains Easter eggs: initials may appear onscreen when moving between screens, and the player will receive hundreds of thousands of points when moving between two forest screens.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Two of the background music tracks are "Simple Gifts" and the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 6th Symphony, the "Pastoral".

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games said in 1983 that Smurf for ColecoVision was "truly good fun", approving of its graphics. The magazine stated that the game was suitable for very young children and older ones, reporting that neighborhood kids "loved it. I almost had to evict them from my house at night so I could get a game in before going to sleep". The ColecoVision version was reviewed in Video magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was praised as utilizing "the best audiovisuals in the entire [ColecoVision] line". The visuals were described as "what amounts to the video-game equivalent of a Saturday-morning cartoon show", and the audio was described as "sophisticated" with nuanced sounds such as ominous organ music and the "muted echo" accompaniment to standard leaps. The reviewers also cautioned players to "prepare for frustration" until they learned how to accurately judge leaps.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Computer Entertainer gave the ColecoVision version of the game a perfect four stars in both gameplay and graphics and described it as "a must" for Smurfs fans. They would describe the Atari 2600 version as "somewhat less elegant" than the ColecoVision version but still an excellent conversion. Computer Entertainer complemented the game's graphics, especially the smurf player character, which they would describe as "nearly as well

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


animated as the cartoons from which he is drawn". Though they do acknowledge the game would probably be unappealing to teenagers or adults.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


The game was given the award for "Best Video Game Audiovisual Effects" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards.

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle at MobyGames

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


Video demonstration of Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


The Atari 2600 version of Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle


लक्ष्मी निवास मित्तल (जन्म: १५ जून १९५०) लंदन में बसे भारतीय मूल के उद्योगपति है। उनका जन्म राजस्थान के चूरु जिले के शादूलपुर नामक स्थान में हुआ है।

लक्ष्मी मित्तल


वे दुनिया के सबसे धनी भारतीय, ब्रिटेन के सबसे धनी एशियाई और विश्व के 91वें सबसे धनी व्यक्ति है। मित्तल एल एन एम नामक उद्योग समूह के मालिक हैं। इस समूह का सबसे बड़ा व्यवसाय इस्पात क्षेत्र में है|

लक्ष्मी मित्तल


मित्तल के पास आर्सेलर मित्तल की 38% हिस्सेदारी है और ईएफएल चैम्पियनशिप टीम क्वींस पार्क रेंजर्स में उनकी 3% हिस्सेदारी है।

लक्ष्मी मित्तल


2005 में फोर्ब्स ने मित्तल को दुनिया का तीसरा सबसे अमीर व्यक्ति बताया था, जिससे वे इस पत्रिका की दुनिया के सबसे अमीर लोगों की वार्षिक सूची में शीर्ष दस में स्थान पाने वाले पहले भारतीय नागरिक बन गये थे।

लक्ष्मी मित्तल


फोर्ब्स की 2015 की "सबसे शक्तिशाली लोगों" की सूची में शामिल 72 व्यक्तियों में से "57वें सबसे शक्तिशाली व्यक्ति" भी हैंउनकी बेटी वनिशा मित्तल की शादी (2005 में) इतिहास की दूसरी सबसे महंगी शादी थी

लक्ष्मी मित्तल


मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान  राजस्थान के थार मरुस्थल में अवस्थित है। यह जैसलमेर जिले से 40 किलोमीटर दूर है। यह उद्यान न केवल राज्य का सबसे बड़ा उद्यान है बल्कि पूरे भारत में इसके बराबर का कोई राष्ट्रीय उद्यान नहीं है। उद्यान का कुल क्षेत्र 3162 वर्ग किलोमीटर है। उद्यान का काफी बड़ा भाग लुप्त हो चुकी नमक की झीलों की तलहटी और कंटीली झाड़ियों से परिपूर्ण है। इसके साथ ही रेत के टीलों की भी बहुतायत है। उद्यान का 20 प्रतिशत भाग रेत के टीलों से सजा हुआ है। उद्यान का प्रमुख क्षेत्र खड़ी चट्टानों, नमक की छोटी-छोटी झीलों की तलहटियों, पक्के रेतीले टीलों और बंजर भूमि से अटा पड़ा है।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


एक नाज़ुक पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र के बावजूद यहाँ पक्षी जीवन की बहुतायत है। यह क्षेत्र रेगिस्तान के प्रवासी और निवासी पक्षियों के लिए स्वर्ग है। कई क़िस्म के बाज़ और गिद्ध इन सबके बीच आम हैं। रेत का मुर्ग छोटे तालाबों या झीलों के पास देखा जाता है। लुप्तप्राय ग्रेट इंडियन बस्टर्ड (सोन चिरैया), जो कि एक शानदार पक्षी है, यहाँ अपेक्षाकृत अच्छी संख्या में पाया है। यह विभिन्न मौसमों में स्थानीय रूप से प्रवास करता है। नवंबर और जनवरी के बीच का समय यहाँ आने के लिए सबसे उपयुक्त समय है। यह उद्यान १८ करोड़ वर्ष पुराने जानवरों और पौधों के जीवाश्म का एक संग्रह है। इस क्षेत्र में डायनोसोर के कुछ जीवाश्म तो ऐसे पाये गये हैं जो ६० लाख साल पुराने हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


भारतीय राज्य राजस्थान में जैसलमेर के पास स्थित।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


थार की भंगुर पर्यावरणीय प्रणाली में अनेक प्रकार की अनूठी वनस्पतियों और पशुओं की प्रजातियों के साथ-साथ वन्यजीवों को पनाह मिली हुई है। मरुस्थलीय पर्यावरण प्रणाली का यह सर्वथा उपयुक्त उदाहरण है। इन कठिन परिस्थितियों में अनेक प्रकार के जीवों को फलते फूलते देखना अपने आप में एक सुखद आश्चर्य है। उद्यान की अद्भुत वनस्पतियों और पशुओं को देखने का सबसे उत्तम स्थान सुदाश्री वन चौकी है। भरतपुर पक्षी अभयारण्य के निकट स्थित होने के कारण यहां भी अनेक प्रकार के प्रवासी पक्षी आते रहते हैं। उद्यान में तीन प्रमुख झीलें हैं – राजबाग झील, मलिक तलाव झील और पदम तलाव झील। ये तीनों झीलें, इस राष्ट्रीय उद्यान के निवासियों के प्रमुख जल स्रोत हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


कृष्णमृग इस क्षेत्र में एक आम मृग है। राष्ट्रीय उद्यान के अन्य उल्लेखनीय निवासियों रेगिस्तानी लोमड़ी, भेड़िया और रेगिस्तानी बिल्ली हैं। इस रेतीले आवास में पक्षी जीवन ज्वलंत और शानदार है।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


भंगुर पर्यावरणीय प्रणाली के बावजूद यहां अनेक प्रकार के पक्षी पाये जाते हैं। लुप्तप्राय ग्रेट इंडियन बस्टर्ड (सोन चिरैया) इस उद्यान में अच्छी खासी संख्या में मौजूद हैं। यह क्षेत्र मरुस्थल के प्रवासी एवं स्थानीय पक्षियों का सुरक्षित आश्रयस्थल बना हुआ है। यहां उकाब, बाज़, चील, लंबे पांव और चोंच वाले अनेक प्रकार के शिकारी पक्षियों के अलावा गिध्दों का दीदार आसानी से हो जाता है। विविध रंगरूप, पंखों और पंजों की बनावट वाले चील, उकाब, बाज़ और गिध्द यहां पर्याप्त मात्रा में पाए जाते हैं। शाही मरु तीतर छोटे-छोटे तलाबों और झीलों के आसपास देखे जा सकते हैं। बटेर, मधुमक्खी- भक्षी, लवा (भरत पक्षी) और इस तरह की अनेक प्रजातियां यहां सर्वत्र देखी जा सकती हैं। जबकि लंबी गर्दन वाले सारस और बगुले जाड़ों में ही दिखाई देते हैं। नीली दुम वाले और हरे मधुभक्षी पक्षियों के अलावा अनेक प्रकार के सामान्य और दुर्लभ तीतर-बटेर पक्षीप्रेमियों के आकर्षण का केन्द्र बने हुए हैं। इस उद्यान में शीतकाल में अनेक प्रवासी पक्षी भी अपना बसेरा बनाते नज़र आते हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


शायद उद्यान का सबसे बड़ा आकर्षण ग्रेट इंडियन बस्टर्ड (सोन चिरैया) नामक पक्षी है, जो एक लुप्तप्राय प्रजाति है और केवल भारत में ही पाया है। यह उद्यान उन आखिरी जगहों में से एक है जहाँ यह प्रजाति अच्छी संख्या में पाई जा सकती है। वैसे भी, इस प्रजाति को देखने दुनिया भर से पक्षी प्रेमी हजारों की संख्या में आते हैं। ग्रेट इंडियन बस्टर्ड के अलावा, यह उद्यान अन्य कई किस्म के पक्षियों का गढ़ है जो पक्षी प्रेमियों और संरक्षणवादियों, दोनों को समान रूप से आकर्षित करते हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


थार रेगिस्तान, जिसे अक्सर 'रेत के समुद्र' कहा जाता है, पश्चिमी राजस्थान के एक बड़े क्षेत्र में फैला हुआ है। थार का नाजुक पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र एक अद्वितीय और विविध वन्य जीवन को सहारा देता है। रेत के इस विशाल सागर में यह प्रसिद्ध राष्ट्रीय उद्यान है, जो थार रेगिस्तान और उसके विविध वन्य जीवन के पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र का एक उत्कृष्ट उदाहरण है।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


यहाँ वनस्पति विरल है, लेकिन सेवन घास और आक की झाड़ियाँ यहाँ-वहाँ देखी जा सकती हैं। परिदृश्य ऊँची-नीची चट्टानों और ठोस नमक झील के तल, मध्यवर्ती क्षेत्रों और दोनों तरह के रेत के टीलों - चल एवं अचल- से भरा है। रेत के टिब्बे इस विशाल विस्तार का लगभग २०% हिस्सा हैं। पदम तलाव झील, राजबाग़ झील, मिलक झील इत्यादि इस कठोर परिवेष में रहने वाले वन्य प्राणियों के लिए मुख्य जल स्रोत हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


उद्यान की वनस्पतियों और पेड़-पौधों की प्रजातियों में धोक, रोंज, सलाई और ताड़ के वृक्ष प्रमुख हैं। वनस्पतियां बिखरी और छितरी हुई हैं। आक की झाड़ियों और सेवान घास से भरे छोटे-छोटे भूखंड भी यत्र-तत्र दिखाई देते हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान में पशुओं और पौधों के जीवाश्मों के ढेर लगे हैं। कहते हैं कि ये जीवाश्म 18 करोड़ वर्ष पुराने हैं। डायनासोर के 60 लाख वर्ष पुराने जीवाश्म भी इस क्षेत्र में पाए जाते हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान (डेज़र्ट नेशनल पार्क) के वन्यजीवों में ब्लैक बक (काला हिरण), चिंकारा, रेगिस्तानी लोमड़ी, बंगाल लोमड़ी, भारतीय भेड़िया, रेगिस्तानी बिल्ली, खरगोश आदि प्रमुख हैं। सांप भी यहां खूब पाए जाते हैं। अनेक प्रकार की छिपकलियां, गिरगिट, रूसेल वाइपर, करैत जैसे जहरीले सांपों की अन्य कई प्रजातियां भी यहां पाई जाती हैं।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


राजस्थान सरकार ने जैसलमेर जिले के इस उद्यान का 4 अगस्त 1980 को जारी अपनी अधिसूचना क्रमांक एफ-3(1)(73) संशो. के जरिये इसे मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान अर्थात डेजर्ट नेशनल पार्क के रूप में अधिसूचित किया था। इससे पूर्व यह मरुभूमि वन्यजीव अभयारण्य के रूप में जाना जाता था। अपने पर्यावरणीय और वानस्पतिक, महत्व के कारण ही इसे राष्ट्रीय उद्यान का दर्जा प्रदान किया गया है ताकि उद्यान में रहने वाले वन्यजीवों और इस राष्ट्रीय उद्यान के पर्यावरण का संरक्षण, प्रचार और विकास भलीभांति किया जा सके।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


भारत में वन्य जीवों के संरक्षण के लिए सर्वप्रथम लिखित कानून शासक मौर्य सम्राट अशोक ने बनाया था। (ईसा पूर्व तीसरी

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


आधुनिक भारत में वन्यजीव संरक्षण हेतु बनाया गया प्रथम अधिनियम-  भारतीय पशु पक्षी संरक्षण अधिनियम – 1887. मूल संविधान में वन्यजीव विषय राज्य सूची का विषय था।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


42वें  संविधान संशोधन 1976 के द्वारा वन्यजीव विषय को राज्य सूची से हटाकर समवर्ती सूची में शामिल किया गया।

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


Desert National Park; Nomination as World Heritage Site; Nomination entry - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


Location in Google maps

मरुभूमि राष्ट्रीय उद्यान


दरियापुर भारतीय राज्य बिहार के पटना जिले के फतुहा प्रखण्ड का एक गाँव है।

दरियापुर गाँव, फतुहा (पटना)


भटेडी, पिथौरागढ (सदर) तहसील में भारत के उत्तराखण्ड राज्य के अन्तर्गत कुमाऊँ मण्डल के पिथोरागढ जिले का एक गाँव है।

भटेडी, पिथौरागढ (सदर) तहसील


उत्तराखण्ड - भारत सरकार के आधिकारिक पोर्टल पर

भटेडी, पिथौरागढ (सदर) तहसील


उत्तराखण्ड सरकार का आधिकारिक जालपृष्ठ (अंग्रेज़ी)

भटेडी, पिथौरागढ (सदर) तहसील


उत्तराखण्ड (उत्तराखण्ड के बारे में विस्तृत एवं प्रामाणिक जानकारी)

भटेडी, पिथौरागढ (सदर) तहसील


दंत प्रत्यारोपण दांतों की एक बनावटी जड़ है जिसका इस्तेमाल दंत चिकित्सा में दांतों को फिर से स्थापित करने के लिए किया जाता है जो देखने में दांत या दांतों के समूह की तरह लगते हैं।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


आजकल किए जाने वाले लगभग सभी दंत प्रत्यारोपण जड़-रूप अन्तर्स्थिकलात्मक प्रत्यारोपण (रूट-फॉर्म एंडोसियस इम्प्लांट्स) होते हैं। दूसरे शब्दों में इक्कीसवीं सदी में किए जाने वाले लगभग सभी दंत प्रत्यारोपण देखने में दांतों की एक वास्तविक जड़ की तरह लगते हैं (और इस प्रकार एक "जड़ का रूप" धारण कर लेते हैं) और इन्हें हड्डी के भीतर स्थापित किया जाता है (एंड- "में" का यूनानी उपसर्ग है और ओसियस का मतलब "हड्डी" है).

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


रूट-फॉर्म एंडोसियस इम्प्लांट्स के आगमन से पहले ज्यादातर प्रत्यारोपण या तो ब्लेड एंडोसियस इम्प्लांट्स होते थे जिनमें हड्डी के भीतर लगाए जाने वाले धातु के टुकड़े की आकृति देखने में चपटे ब्लेड की तरह लगती थी या सबपेरीयोस्टील इम्प्लांट्स होते थे जिनमें जबड़े की दिखाई देने वाली हड्डी पर स्थापित करने के लिए एक रूपरेखा का निर्माण किया जाता था और उसे उस हड्डी के साथ स्क्रू की सहायता से जोड़ दिया जाता था।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


दंत प्रत्यारोपणों का इस्तेमाल दांत के ऊपरी भाग, प्रत्यारोपण समर्थित पुल या बनावटी बत्तीसी सहित कई बनावटी दांतों की पंक्ति (डेंटल प्रॉस्थेसिस) को सहारा देने के लिए किया जाता है।दंत प्रत्यारोपण का प्राथमिक उपयोग दंत प्रोस्थेटिक्स (यानी नकली दांत) का समर्थन करना है। आधुनिक दंत प्रत्यारोपण, जैविक प्रक्रिया जहां हड्डी टाइटेनियम और कुछ सिरेमिक जैसी विशिष्ट सामग्रियों की सतह पर कसकर जुड़ जाती है। इम्प्लांट और हड्डी का एकीकरण बिना किसी असफलता के दशकों तक शारीरिक भार का समर्थन कर सकता है।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


यह दर्शाया गया है कि माया सभ्यता के लोग, पेर-इंग्वर ब्रेनमार्क द्वारा टाइटेनियम का इस्तेमाल शुरू करने के लगभग 1,350 साल पहले से ही एंडोसियस इम्प्लांट्स (हड्डी में स्थापित किए गए प्रत्यारोपण) का इस्तेमाल करते रहे हैं। 1931 में होन्डुरास में माया कब्रिस्तान की खुदाई करते समय पुरातत्वविदों को लगभग 600 ई. पुराने माया मूल के जबड़े का एक टुकड़ा मिला. इस जबड़े, जो शायद किसी बीस साल की महिला का था, में दांत के आकार के खोल के तीन टुकड़े थे जिन्हें तीन लापता निचले कृंतक दांतों के कोटर में स्थापित किया गया था। चालीस साल तक पुरातात्विक जगत के लोग यही मानते रहे कि इन खोलों को लगभग उसी तरीके से उस महिला की मौत के बाद स्थापित किया गया था जिस तरीके का इस्तेमाल प्राचीन मिस्रवासियों में भी देखा गया था। हालांकि 1970 में ब्राज़ील के एक दंत शिक्षक प्रोफ़ेसर अमाडियो बोबियो ने उस जबड़े के नमूने का अध्ययन किया और उसके कई रेडियोग्राफ लिए॰ उनका ध्यान उनमें से दो प्रत्यारोपणों के चारों तरफ की घनी हड्डी संरचना पर गया जिससे वे इस निष्कर्ष पर पहुँचे कि इन प्रत्यारोपणों को उस महिला के जिन्दा रहने के दौरान स्थापित किया गया था।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


1950 के दशक में इंग्लैण्ड में कैम्ब्रिज यूनिवर्सिटी में जीवित ऊतक के अंदर खून के बहाव पर अध्ययन करने के लिए एक शोध किया जा रहा था। इन कर्मचारियों ने टाइटेनियम के एक चैंबर के निर्माण की एक विधि की योजना बनाई और उसके बाद उसे खरगोशों के कानों के कोमल ऊतक में अन्तःस्थापित कर दिया. हड्डियों को ठीक करने और उनको फिर से उत्पन्न करने में दिलचस्पी लेने वाले स्वीडिश विकलांग शल्य चिकित्सक पी आई ब्रेनमार्क ने 1952 में खरगोश के जांघ की हड्डी में इस्तेमाल करने के लिए कैम्ब्रिज में डिजाइन किए गए "खरगोश के कान के चैंबर" को अपनाया. कई महीनों के अध्ययन के बाद उन्होंने खरगोशों से इन महंगे चैम्बरों को पुनः प्राप्त करने का प्रयास किया और देखा कि वह उन्हें निकालने में असमर्थ थे। ब्रेनमार्क के पर्यवेक्षण के अनुसार टाइटेनियम के साथ हड्डी का विकास इतना करीब से हो गया था कि यह प्रभावी रूप से धातु से जुड़ गया था। ब्रेनमार्क ने जानवर और मनुष्य दोनों पर इस घटना और कई अध्ययन किए जिनमें से सभी अध्ययनों में टाइटेनियम के इस अनोखे गुण की पुष्टि हुई.

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


इस बीच स्टेफानो मेल्चियाड ट्रेमोंटे नामक एक इतालवी चिकित्सक के दिमाग में यह बात आई कि दांतों को फिर से स्थापित करने के लिए टाइटेनियम का इस्तेमाल किया जा सकता है और उन्होंने अपने खुद के नकली दांतों को सहारा देने के लिए टाइटेनियम के एक स्क्रू को तैयार करके 1959 में अपने क्लिनिक में कई रोगियों पर इसका इस्तेमाल करना शुरू कर दिया. इंसानों पर उनके नैदानिक अध्ययनों के अच्छे परिणामों को 1966 में प्रकाशित किया गया।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


हालांकि ब्रेनमार्क का वास्तव में यह मानना था कि सबसे पहले इसका इस्तेमाल घुटने और कूल्हे की सर्जरी के लिए किया जाना चाहिए लेकिन अन्त में उन्होंने फैसला किया कि निरन्तर क्लिनिकल पर्यवेक्षणों के लिए मुंह अधिक सुलभ था और आम लोगों में एडेन्टुलिज्म की उच्च दर होने के कारण काफी विस्तृत अध्ययन के लिए अधिक संख्या में रोगी उपलब्ध थे। उन्होंने टाइटेनियम के साथ हड्डी के नैदानिक रूप से पर्यवेक्षित अनुपालन को 'ओसियोइंटीग्रेशन' नाम दिया. 1965 में स्वीडन में गोथेनबर्ग यूनिवर्सिटी में एनाटॉमी के तत्कालीन प्रोफ़ेसर ब्रेनमार्क ने गोस्टा लार्सन नामक एक स्वीडनवासी मानव स्वयंसेवक के दांतों में अपना सबसे पहला टाइटेनियम दन्त प्रत्यारोपण किया।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


स्टीवंस और अलेक्जेंडर द्वारा संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका में समकालीन स्वतंत्र शोध के फलस्वरूप 1969 में टाइटेनियम दन्त प्रत्यारोपणों के अमेरिकी पेटेंट के लिए फाइलिंग की गई।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


अगले चौदह सालों में ब्रेनमार्क ने डेंटल इम्प्लांटोलॉजी में टाइटेनियम के इस्तेमाल पर किए गए कई अध्ययनों को प्रकाशित किया; उसके बाद 1978 उन्होंने अपने डेंटल इम्प्लान्ट्स के विकास और विपणन के लिए स्वीडिश डिफेन्स कंपनी बोफोर्स एबी के साथ एक व्यावसायिक समझौते पर हस्ताक्षर किये. जनक कंपनी के रूप में बोफोर्स (जो बाद में नोबेल इन्डस्ट्रीज बनी) के साथ डेंटल इम्प्लांटोलॉजी पर ध्यान केन्द्रित करने के लिए 1981 में नोबेलफार्मा एबी (बाद में नोबेल बायोकेयर नाम पड़ा) की स्थापना की गई। अब तक 7 मिलियन से भी अधिक ब्रेनमार्क सिस्टम इम्प्लान्ट्स को स्थापित किया जा चुका है और सैकड़ों अन्य कंपनियां डेंटल इम्प्लान्ट्स का निर्माण करती हैं। फ़िलहाल उपलब्ध ज्यादातर डेंटल इम्प्लान्ट्स का आकार छोटे-छोटे स्क्रू की तरह है जिनके अगल-बगल के हिस्से या तो पतले या समानांतर हैं। उन्हें दांत निकालने के दौरान ही दांत के कोटर की दीवारों की हड्डी के साथ और कभी-कभी कोटर के ऊपरी सिरे से परे हड्डी के साथ भी स्थापित किया जा सकता है। वर्तमान सबूतों से पता चलता है कि सीधे निष्कर्षण कोटर में लगाए गए इम्प्लान्ट्स स्वस्थ हड्डी में लगाए गए इम्प्लान्ट्स की तुलना में अधिक कारगर साबित हुए हैं। सावधानीपूर्वक चयनित मामलों में ताजे निष्कर्षण कोटरों (उसी समय अस्थायी क्राउन को स्थापित किया जाता है) में लगाए गए डेंटल इम्प्लान्ट्स के तुरन्त पुनर्स्थापनों की सफलता दर और रेडियोग्राफिक परिणामों से पता चला है कि थोड़ी देर से लगाए जाने वाले डेंटल इम्प्लान्ट्स (जहां क्राउन को कुछ सप्ताह या महीने बाद लगाया जाता है) की तुलना में ये अधिक कारगर हैं।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण


डेंटल इम्प्लांटोलॉजी के कुछ मौजूदा अनुसन्धान में डेंटल इम्प्लान्ट्स के निर्माण में जिर्कोनिया (ZrO2) जैसे सीरमयुक्त पदार्थों के इस्तेमाल पर ध्यान दिया जा रहा है। जिर्कोनिया जिर्कोनियम का डाइऑक्साइड है जो आवधिक सारणी (पीरियोडिक टेबल) के हिसाब से टाइटेनियम की एक लगभग समकालीन धातु है और जिसमें टाइटेनियम की तरह ही बायोकम्पैटबिलटी (जैवसुसंगति) गुण पाए जाते हैं। हालांकि आम तौर पर टाइटेनियम इम्प्लान्ट्स के समान आकार का होने की वजह से कई सालों तक आर्थोपेडिक सर्जरी के लिए सफलतापूर्वक इस्तेमाल किए जा चुके जिर्कोनिया से इसके चमकदार दांत जैसे रंग की वजह से सुंदरता की दृष्टि से दांत की सुंदरता में और वृद्धि होने का लाभ मिल सकता है। हालांकि दैनिक अभ्यास के लिए एक-अंशीय ZrO2 इम्प्लान्ट्स का सुझाव देने से पहले दीर्घकालिक क्लिनिकल डेटा की जरूरत है।

दंत प्रत्यारोपण