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The individual word elements are "Onold" (the city founder's name), the Suffix "-es" (a possessive ending, like "-'s" in English) and the Old High German expression "pah" or "bach" (for brook). The name of the city has slightly changed throughout the centuries into Onoltespah (837 AD), Onoldesbach (1141 AD), Onoldsbach (1230 AD), Onelspach (1338 AD), Onsbach (1508 AD) and finally Ansbach (1732 AD).
It was also formerly known as Anspach.
History.
According to folklore, towards the end of the 7th century a group of Franconian peasants and their families went up into the wilderness to found a new settlement. Their leader Onold led them to an area called the "Rezattal" (Rezat valley). This is where they founded the "Urhöfe" (meaning the first farms: Knollenhof, Voggenhof and Rabenhof). Gradually more settlers, such as the "Winden-Tribe" came, and the farms grew into a small village. Many villages around Ansbach were founded by the "Winden" during that period (even today, their settlements can easily identified by their names, like Meinhardswinden, Dautenwinden or Brodswinden). A Benedictine monastery was established there around 748 by the Frankish noble St Gumbertus. The adjoining village of Onoltesbach was first noticed as a proper town in 1221.
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The counts of Öttingen ruled over Ansbach until the Hohenzollern burgrave of Nürnberg took over in 1331. The Hohenzollerns made Ansbach the seat of their dynasty until their acquisition of the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1415. After the 1440 death of Frederick I, a cadet branch of the family established itself as the margraves of Ansbach. George the Pious introduced the Protestant Reformation to Ansbach in 1528, leading to Gumbertus Abbey's secularization in 1563.
The Markgrafenschloß was built between 1704 and 1738. Its gardens continued to be a notable attraction into the 1800s. In 1791, the last margrave sold his realm to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1796, the Duke of Zweibrücken, Maximilian Joseph — the future Bavarian king— was exiled to Ansbach the French took Zweibrücken. In Ansbach, Maximilian von Montgelas wrote an elaborate concept for the future political organization of Bavaria, which is known as the Ansbacher Mémoire. Napoleon forced Prussia to cede Ansbach and its principality to Bavaria in the Franco-Prussian treaty of alliance signed at Schönbrunn Palace on 15 December 1805 at the end of the Third Coalition. Ansbach became the capital of the ('Circle of the Rezat'). Bavarian ownership was confirmed by the 1815 Congress of Vienna; Prussia was compensated with the Bavarian Duchy of Berg. In 1837 the became the circle of Middle Franconia. Following the unification of Germany Ansbach had a population of 12,635.
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Jewish families were resident in Ansbach from at least the end of the 18th century. They set up a Jewish Cemetery in the Ruglaender Strasse, which was vandalised and razed under the Nazi regime in the Kristallnacht. It was repaired in 1946, but it was damaged several times more. A plaque on the wall of the cemetery commemorates these events. The Jewish Congregation built its synagogue at No 3 Rosenbadstrasse, but it too was damaged by the SA, though it was not burnt down for fear of damaging the neighbouring buildings. It serves today as a "Symbolic House of God". A plaque in the entrance serves as a memorial to the synagogue and to Jewish residents who were murdered during the Holocaust. In 1940, at least 500 patients were deported from the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Ansbach ["Ansbach Medical and Nursing Clinic"] to the extermination facilities Sonnenstein and Hartheim which were disguised as psychiatric institutions, as part of the Action T4 euthanasia action. They were gassed there. At the clinic in Ansbach itself, around 50 intellectually disabled children were injected with the drug Luminal and killed that way. A plaque was erected in their memory in 1988 in the local hospital at No. 38 Feuchtwangerstrasse.
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During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here. Also during the Second World War the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht had bases here. The nearby airbase was the home station for the Stab & I/KG53 (Staff & 1st Group of Kampfgeschwader 53) operating 38 Heinkel He 111 bombers. On 1 September 1939 this unit was one of the many that participated in the attack on Poland that started the war. All of its bridges were destroyed during the course of the war. During the Western Allied invasion of Germany in April 1945, the airfield was seized by the United States Third Army, and used by the USAAF 354th Fighter Group which flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the aerodrome (designated ALG R-82) from late April until the German capitulation on 7 May 1945. At the end of the war, 19-year-old student Robert Limpert tried to get the town to surrender to the US Forces without a fight. He was betrayed by Hitler Youth and was hanged from the portal of the City Hall by the city's military commander, Col. ("Oberst") Ernst Meyer. Several memorials to his heroic deed have been erected over the years, despite opposition from some residents — in the Ludwigskirche, in the Gymnasium Carolinum and at No 6 Kronenstrasse. After the Second World War, Ansbach belonged to the American Zone. The American Military authorities established a displaced persons (DP) camp in what used to be a sanatorium in what is today the Strüth quarter.
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Bachwoche Ansbach has been held in Ansbach since 1947. Since 1970, Ansbach has enlarged its municipal area by incorporating adjacent communities. Ansbach hosts several units of the U.S. armed forces, associated with German units under NATO. There are five separate U.S. installations: Shipton Kaserne, home to 412th Aviation Support Battalion, Katterbach Kaserne, formerly the home of the 1st Infantry Division's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, also home of 501st M.I. Bn and 501st Avn Bn. which has been replaced by the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade as of 2006, as part of the 1st Infantry Division's return to Fort Riley, Kansas; Bismarck Kaserne, which functions as a satellite post to Katterbach, hosting their Post Theater, barracks, Von Steuben Community Center, Military Police, and other support agencies, Barton Barracks, home to the USAG Ansbach and Bleidorn Barracks, which has a library and housing, and Urlas, which hosts the Post Exchange as well as a housing area opened in 2010. Ansbach was also home to the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division (United States) from 1972 to the early 1990s.
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On 24 July 2016 a bomb was detonated in a restaurant in the city, killing only the bomber himself and injuring few people. The perpetrator was reported to be a Syrian refugee whose asylum application had been rejected but who had been given exceptional leave to remain until the security situation in Syria returned to a safe condition. Witnesses reported he had tried to enter a nearby music festival but had been turned away, before detonating his device outside a nearby wine bar.
Climate.
Ansbach has a transitional temperate-continental climate (Köppen climate classification: "Cfb"/"Dfb"), with a small diurnal air temperature variation between day and night during winter, and with a moderate annual precipitation.
Economy.
Around the time of the unification of Germany in 1871, the chief manufactures of Ansbach were woollen, cotton, and half-silk goods; earthenware; tobacco; cutlery; and playing cards. A considerable trade in grain, wool, and flax was also supported. By the onset of the First World War, it also produced machinery, toys, and embroidery.
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Today there is a large density of plastics industry in the city and rural districts around Ansbach.
The city is known for making Peperami pork sausages and jerky.
Transport.
Ansbach lies on the Treuchtlingen-Würzburg railway.
Twin towns – sister cities.
Ansbach is twinned with:
In popular culture.
In the novel "The Schirmer Inheritance" (1953) by Eric Ambler (1909–1998), Sergeant Franz Schirmer of the Ansbach Dragoons is wounded in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau in 1807. He returns to Ansbach to settle but changes his name as he has been posted as a deserter. The bulk of the novel concerns efforts by an American law firm to trace his descendants to claim an inheritance.
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National Alliance (Italy)
National Alliance (, AN) was a national conservative political party in Italy. It was the successor of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), a neo-fascist party founded in 1946 by former followers of Benito Mussolini that had moderated its policies over its last decades and finally distanced itself from its former ideology, a move known as "", during a convention in Fiuggi by dissolving into the new party in 1995.
Gianfranco Fini was the leader of AN from its foundation through 2008, after being elected President of the Chamber of Deputies. Fini was succeeded by Ignazio La Russa, who managed the merger of the party with Forza Italia (FI) into The People of Freedom (PdL) in 2009. During AN's last congress, it was decided that a foundation would manage the assets and the political legacy of MSI/AN; as a result, the National Alliance Foundation was established in 2011. A group of former AN members, led by La Russa and Giorgia Meloni, as well as former Christian Democrat Guido Crosetto, left the PdL in 2012 to launch the Brothers of Italy (FdI), while others remained in the PdL and were among the founding members of the re-launched Forza Italia (FI) in 2013. The National Alliance Foundation authorised FdI to use AN's symbol in 2014 and onwards.
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History.
Foundation.
National Alliance was launched in 1994 when the Italian Social Movement (MSI), the former neo-fascist party, merged with conservative elements of the former Christian Democracy, which had disbanded in 1994 after two years of scandals and various splits due to political corruption at its highest levels, exposed by the "Mani pulite" investigation, and the Italian Liberal Party, disbanded in the same year. It was officially launched in January 1995. Former MSI members dominated the new party, and the MSI's last leader, Gianfranco Fini, was elected the new party's first leader.
The AN logo followed a template very similar to that of the Democratic Party of the Left, incorporating the MSI logo in a small roundel of the AN logo as a means of legally preventing others from using it. The name was suggested by an article on the Italian newspaper "Il Tempo" written in 1992 by Domenico Fisichella, a prominent conservative academic. Starting in the 1990s, the MSI gradually transformed into a mainstream right-wing party, culminating in its 1995 dissolution into AN.
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Government participation.
The party was part of all three House of Freedoms coalition governments led by Silvio Berlusconi. Fini was nominated Deputy Prime Minister after the 2001 Italian general election and was Foreign Minister from November 2004 to May 2006.
When Fini visited Israel in late November 2003 in the function of Italian Deputy Prime Minister, he labelled the racial laws issued by the Italian fascism regime in 1938 as "infamous", as also Giorgio Almirante, historic leader of MSI, had done before. He also referred to the Italian Social Republic as belonging to the most shameful pages of the past, and considered fascism part of an era of "absolute evil", something which was hardly acceptable to the few remaining hardliners of the party. As a result, Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who had been at odds with the party on a number of issues for a long time, and some hardliners left the party and formed Social Action.
In occasion of the 2006 Italian general election, AN ran within the House of Freedoms, with new allies. The centre-right lost by 24,000 votes in favour of the centre-left coalition The Union. Individually, AN received nearly 5 million votes, amounting to 12.3%. In July 2007, a group of splinters led by Francesco Storace formed The Right, which was officially founded on 10 November. Seven MPs of AN, including Teodoro Buontempo and Daniela Santanchè, joined the new party.
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The People of Freedom.
In November 2007, Silvio Berlusconi announced that Forza Italia would have soon merged or transformed into The People of Freedom (PdL) party.
After the sudden fall of the Prodi II Cabinet in January 2008, the break-up of The Union and the subsequent political crisis which led to a fresh general election, Berlusconi hinted that Forza Italia would have probably contested its last election and the new party would have been officially founded only after that election. In an atmosphere of reconciliation with Gianfranco Fini, Berlusconi also stated that the new party could see the participation of other parties. Finally, on 8 February, Berlusconi and Fini agreed to form a joint list under the PdL banner, allied with Lega Nord (LN). After the victory of the PdL in the 2008 Italian general election, AN was merged into the PdL in early 2009.
During AN's last congress, it was decided that a foundation would manage the assets and the political legacy of MSI/AN; as a result, in 2011 the National Alliance Foundation was established. In 2014 the Foundation, which has been successively led by Franco Pontone, Franco Mugnai and Giuseppe Valentino, gave the Brothers of Italy (FdI), a political party formed by former AN members who had splintered from the PdL and who were led by La Russa and Giorgia Meloni, the authorisation to use AN's symbol. Former AN members have since been active in several parties, but mostly in FdI, however the Foundation continues to have former AN members of all ideological stripes in its ranks, including those who are now members of the new Forza Italia, the new Lega and the most-recently formed Independence.
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Ideology.
National Alliance's political programme emphasised:
Distinguishing itself from the MSI, the party distanced itself from Benito Mussolini and fascism, and made efforts to improve relations with Jewish groups. For example, after far-right skinheads celebrated the then-AN politician Gianni Alemanno's election as Mayor of Rome in 2008 by making the Roman salute outside the Palazzo Senatorio, Alemanno visited Rome Synagogue, where he gave a speech praising what he called the universal values of the fight against Nazism. The shift was also present in the rhetoric of the party's leader Fini, who went from declaring himself as "fascist for the 2000s" in 1987 when at the head of the MSI, to describing himself as a conservative at the time of the AN's launch in 1994. With most hardliners leaving the party, it sought to present itself as a respectable conservative party and to join forces with Forza Italia in the European People's Party and eventually in a united party of the centre-right. Historian David Broder has compared the AN to the People's Party in Spain, a post-Francisco Franco party.
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Although the party approved the market economy and held favourable views on liberalisation and the privatisation of state-owned companies, AN was to the left of Forza Italia on economic issues and sometimes supported statist policies. That is why the party was strong in Rome and Lazio, where most civil servants live. The implosion of the Christian Democrats created space for a more economically interventionist party of the conservative right, and the AN sought closer ties to the former DC factions that joined the Berlusconi-led alliances of the right. As part of this, it also moderated its stances on the European Union and immigration, both of which were conditionally accepted by the party's leadership. Moreover, AN presented itself as a party promoting national cohesion, national identity, and patriotism.
Regarding institutional reforms, the party was a long-time supporter of presidentialism and a plurality voting system, and came to support also federalism and to fully accept the alliance with Lega Nord, although the relations with that party were tense at times, especially about issues regarding national unity.
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Fini, a moderniser who saw Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron as role-models, impressed an ambitious political line to the party, combining the pillars of conservative ideology like security, family values, and patriotism with a more progressive approach in other areas, such as stem cell research and supporting voting rights for legal aliens. Some of these positions were not shared by many members of the party, most of whom staunchly opposed stem cell research and artificial insemination.
Factions.
National Alliance was a heterogeneous political party and within it members were divided in different factions, some of them very organised:
In the party there was also a group named Ethic-Religious Council, whose board members included Gaetano Rebecchini (founder, ex-DC), Riccardo Pedrizzi (president), Franco Tofoni (vice-president), Luigi Gagliardi (secretary-general), Alfredo Mantovano, Antonio Mazzocchi, and Riccardo Migliori. This was not a faction but an official organism within the party and expressed the official position of the party on ethical and religious matters. Sometimes the group criticised Fini for his liberal views on abortion, artificial insemination, and stem-cell research, which led some notable ex-DC members as Publio Fiori to leave the party. Some members of the council, such as Pedrizzi and Mantovano, were described as members of an unofficial Catholic Right faction.
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Popular support.
The party had roughly 10–15% support across Italy, having its strongholds in Central Italy, as well as Southern Italy (Lazio 18.6%, Umbria 15.2%, Marche 14.3%, Abruzzo 14.3%, Apulia 13.2%, Sardinia 12.9%, Tuscany 12.6%, and Campania 12.6% in the 2006 Italian general election), scoring badly in Lombardy (10.2%) and Sicily (10.9%), while competing in the North-East (Friuli-Venezia Giulia 15.5% and Veneto 11.3%).
The party had a good showing in the first general election in which it took part, achieving 13.5% of the popular vote in 1994 Italian general election. In the 1996 Italian general election, when Fini tried for the first time to replace Silvio Berlusconi as leader of the centre-right, the party grew its support to 15.7%. From that moment the party suffered an electoral decline but remained the third force of Italian politics.
In the 2006 Italian general election, the final election in which the party participated on its own account, AN won 12.3% of the vote, securing 71 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 41 in the Senate. In the 2008 Italian general election, the party had 90 deputies (excluding Fiamma Nirenstein, Alessandro Ruben, and Souad Sbai, whose election was supported both by Forza Italia and National Alliance), and 48 senators, who were elected as part of a joint election list under the banner of The People of Freedom.
The electoral results of National Alliance in general (Chamber of Deputies) and European Parliament elections since 1994 are shown in the chart below.
The electoral results of National Alliance in the 10 most populated regions of Italy are shown in the table below.
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Arno
The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber.
Source and route.
The river originates on Monte Falterona<ref name="LIFE98 NAT/IT/005075"></ref> in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a southward curve. The river turns to the west near Arezzo passing through Florence, Empoli and Pisa, flowing into the Ligurian Sea at Marina di Pisa.
With a length of , it is the largest river in the region. It has many tributaries: Sieve at long, Bisenzio at , Ombrone Pistoiese at , and the Era, Elsa, Pesa, and Pescia. The drainage basin amounts to more than and drains the waters of the following subbasins:
It crosses Florence, where it passes below the Ponte Vecchio and the Santa Trinita bridge (built by Bartolomeo Ammannati but inspired by Michelangelo). The river flooded this city regularly in historical times, most recently in 1966, with after rainfall of in Badia Agnano and in Florence, in only 24 hours.
Before Pisa, the Arno is crossed by the Imperial Canal at La Botte. This water channel passes under the Arno through a tunnel, and serves to drain the former area of the Lago di Bientina, which was once the largest lake in Tuscany before its reclamation.
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The flow rate of the Arno is irregular. It is sometimes described as having a torrentlike behaviour, because it can easily go from almost dry to near flood in a few days. At the point where the Arno leaves the Apennines, flow measurements can vary between . New dams built upstream of Florence have greatly alleviated the problem in recent years.
The flood on November 4, 1966 collapsed the embankment in Florence, killing at least 40 people and damaging or destroying millions of works of art and rare books. New conservation techniques were inspired by the disaster, but even decades later hundreds of works still await restoration.
Etymology.
From Latin "Arnus" (Pliny, "Natural History" 3.50). The philologist Hans Krahe related this toponym on a paleo-European basis "*Ar-n-", derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *"er-", "flow, move".. The hydronym is closely akin to another nearby hydronym, for the Reno (river).
Ecology.
The Arno river has been strongly affected by non-native species: over 90% of fish species and 70% of macroinvertebrate species in the area around Florence are alien species. These include the European catfish, channel catfish, Crucian carp, common bleak, topmouth gudgeon, New Zealand mud snail, and killer shrimp. The mud crab has been found in the river near Pisa.
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Uses and human impacts.
Water from the Arno drainage basin is used for drinking water, irrigation, and firefighting. Citizens in the central part of the drainage basin also identified flood control, support for biodiversity, fisheries, and cultural value as other services that the river provides. There is the risk that flooding will jeopardize these ecosystem services, as 9% of wastewater treatment plants, 10% of landfills or other waste sites, and 4.5% of contaminated sites are at high risk of flooding, which would produce hotspots of pollution.
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Aveiro, Portugal
Aveiro () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. In 2021, the population was 80,880, in an area of : it is the second most populous city in the Centro Region of Portugal (after Coimbra).
Along with the neighbouring city of Ílhavo, Aveiro is part of an urban agglomeration that includes 120,000 inhabitants, making it one of the most important populated regions by density in the North Region, and primary centre of the Intermunicipal Community of Aveiro and Baixo Vouga. Administratively, the president of the municipal government is José Ribau Esteves, elected by coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Social Centre, who governs the ten civil parishes ().
History.
The presence of human settlement in the territory of Aveiro extends to the period associated with the great dolmens of pre-history, which exist in most of the region. The Latinised toponym ‘'Averius'’ derived from the Celtic word "aber" (river-mouth, etym.< Brythonic *aber < Proto-Celtic *adberos, compare Welsh Aberystwyth).
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For a long period Aveiro was an important economic link in the production of salt and commercial shipping. It was a centre of salt exploration by the Romans and trade centre through the Middle Ages, registered since 26 January 959 (from the testament of Countess Mumadona Dias to the "cenóbio" of Guimarães). During this testament, Mumadona Dias also highlighted the ancient name for Aveiro, this time referring to the monastery's lands in "Alauario et Salinas", literally, "a gathering place or preserve of birds and of great salt".
From 11th century onwards, Aveiro became popular with Portuguese royalty.
Kingdom of Portugal.
Later, King João I, on the advice of his son Pedro, who was the donatary of Aveiro, requested the construction of fortification walls.
King D. Duarte conceded in 1435 the privilege of providing an annual duty-free fair, later referred to as the "Feira de Março" ("March Fair"), today still an annual tradition.
The Princess St. Joana, daughter of Afonso V lived in Aveiro, entering the convent of Jesus, and lived there until her death on 12 May 1490. During her life her presence brought attention to the town, and favoured it with an elevated level of development for the time.
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The first charter (foral) was conceded by Manuel I of Portugal on 4 August 1515, as indicated in the "Livro de Leituras Novas de Forais da Estremadura". Its geographic position along the Aveiro River had always helped it to subsist and grow, supported by salt market, fishing and maritime commercial development.
By the beginning of the 15th century, there already existed a great wall around the historical centre, intonating the significance of the community and growth of the population. This included the founding of many religious institutions and their supports, which assisted during the 17th and 18th century crises associated with silt in the waterway. In the winter of 1575, a terrible storm closed the entrance to its port, ending a thriving trade in metals and tiles, and creating a reef barrier at the Atlantic Ocean. The walls were subsequently demolished and used to create the docks around the new sand bar.
Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the river's instability at the mouth (between the Ria and open ocean) resulted in the closure of the canal, impeding the use of the port of Aveiro, and creating stagnation in the waters of the lagoon. This blow to the economy created a social and economic crisis, and resulted in the decrease in the population and emigration. It was at this time that the Church of the Miserícordia was constructed, during the Philippine Dynastic union.
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In 1759, King José I elevated the town to the status of city, a few months after condemning the Duke of Aveiro (a title established in 1547 by João III), José Mascarenhas, to death. As a result, Aveiro became known as Nova Bragança: it was later abandoned much later, and returned to Aveiro. In 1774, by request of King José, Pope Clement XIV instituted the Diocese of Aveiro.
In the 19th century, the Aveirense were active during the Liberal Wars, and it was José Estêvão Coelho de Magalhães, a parliamentary member who was determinant in resolving the problem of access along the Ria. He also helped with the development of transport, especially the railway line between Lisbon and Porto. It was the opening of the artificial canals, completed in 1808, that allowed Aveiro to expand economically, marking the beginning in the town's growth.
The municipality was elevated to the status of town, centered on its principal church, consecrated to the Archangel Michael, today the location of the "Praça da República" (having been demolished in 1835).
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Geography.
Located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, Aveiro is an industrial city with an important seaport.
The seat of the municipality is the city of Aveiro, comprising the five urban parishes with about 73,003 inhabitants. The city of Aveiro is also the capital of the District of Aveiro, and the largest city in the Baixo Vouga intermunicipal community subregion.
Aveiro is known as "the Portuguese Venice", due to its system of canals and boats similar to the Italian city of Venice.
Climate.
Aveiro has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The maritime influence causes a narrow temperature range resulting in summers averaging around in daytime temperatures, considerably lower than inland areas on the same parallel on the Iberian Peninsula. As typical of mediterranean climates, summers are dry and winters are wet. A characteristic of the coastal climate is that frosts are rare and never severe, though still happening on average 9 days per year. The hottest temperature recorded was . Temperatures above are only occasional.
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Demography.
Administratively, the municipality is divided into 10 civil parishes ():
São Jacinto is located on an eponymous peninsula, between the Atlantic Ocean and Ria de Aveiro. Aveiro had 61,430 eligible voters in 2006.
International relations.
Aveiro's sister cities are:
Economy.
Aveiro was known for many years for its production of salt and for the moliço seagrass harvest, which was used as fertilizer before the development of chemicals for that purpose. The boats once used for harvesting now carry tourists on the canals. Salt production has also decreased dramatically with only a few salt ponds still remaining.
The region is now known for the preponderance of ceramics industries, a reflection of the regions advancements, resulting in a long productive tradition since the late Roman, early medieval period (reflected in the ceramics kilns).
Software development is important too, both at the R&D centre for a large telecom company and at the University of Aveiro (UA) which is attended by 15,000 students on undergraduate and postgraduate programs. UA works with companies in national and European R&D projects.
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The city of Aveiro has several shopping centers and malls (Pingo Doce Shopping Center, Fórum Aveiro, Glicínias Plaza (Jumbo – Auchan), Aveiro's Shopping Center (Continente & Mediamarkt), Aveiro's Retail Park and the Oita Shopping Center). This city has many traditional commerce stores. The most central one being Forum Aveiro with clothes stores, restaurant zone and book stores.
The town's unemployment rate in 2015 was 12.5%; the University of Aveiro is a major employer.
Tourism.
Tourism is also important for the economy. The old town centre, with its Art Nouveau and Romanesque architecture and "gondolas" (barcos moliceiros once used for collecting moliço seaweed) plying the Ria de Aveiro canals, is referred to as "The Venice of Portugal" in some tourist brochures.
Important tourist attractions are the Arte Nova (Art Nouveau) architectural designs and tiles of some buildings that were created in the early 20th century, the Art Nouveau museum, the Aveiro Museum (Museu de Aveiro, formerly the Mosteiro de Jesus convent with exhibits of King Afonso V's daughter, Santa Joana), the 15th century Aveiro Sé or São Domingos cathedral and the Church of Jesus (Igreja de Jesus) with its architecture. The nearby beaches, Costa Nova and Barra, attract many visitors in warm weather; they can be reached by bus from Aveiro. Other sites of interest to tourists include the Carmelite Church and the Misericórdia Church built in the 16th century.
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Transport.
The local economy is fed by a series of transport networks that cross the municipal boundaries.
Air.
Regional gateways include air service through the Aeródromo de Aveiro/São Jacinto (LPAV) and the Porto de Aveiro (Ílhavo/Aveiro).
Rail.
Rail service includes service by Alfa Pendular (between Lisbon and Braga; Lisbon and Oporto; Faro and Oporto) and Intercity (between Lisbon and Oporto as well as Lisbon and Guimarães) trains; suburban links through the Urbanos do Porto and, also, the Linha do Vouga, a narrow gauge railway to Águeda and Sernada do Vouga.
Road.
The primary expressways and inter-regional thoroughfares include: A1 (between Porto and Lisbon); and the A25 (which links Viseu, Guarda and Vilar Formoso).
Intercity buses connect Aveiro with Porto and Lisbon several times a day.
Water.
"Moliceiros" provide access along the Ria for tourist visits, in addition to traditional fishing or recreational purposes, including regattas.
Architecture.
The architecture of Aveiro is influenced by two phases: the pre-Kingdom era, with a number of historical monuments; and the modernist movements resulting from the expansion of economy during the 19th-20th centuries.
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The city's primary landmark is the 15th century Monastery of Jesus (), containing the tomb of King Afonso V's daughter, St. Joana (who died in 1490). The presence of this royal personage, beatified in 1693, proved to be of great benefit when she bequeathed her valuable estate to the convent. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the convent housed a school of embroidery, but was transformed into the "Museu de Santa Joana", or simply, the Museum of Aveiro, housing many of these handicrafts.
The abundance of 19th-20th century architectural buildings reflects the effects of the boom during that period, including many of the Arte Nova and Art Deco buildings, inspired by modernist trends and Nationalist tendencies of the Estado Novo regime. The best of these is in the university campus, where many of the nationalist architects were involved in construction projects. The Arte Nova architecture was built by wealthy families from Brazil; their buildings included homes and shops. Traditional Portuguese decorations such as tiles were used. The concept did not last for a long time, but its presence is very distinctive in Aveiro; it is one of only 20 cities in the world that are included in the Réseau Art Nouveau Network, listing cities in Europe that are known for this architectural style.
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There are several attractions in the city of Aveiro, including cathedrals, canals and the beaches, including the "Ílhavo ceramica de Vista Alegre" and the beaches of Barra, Costa Nova do Prado, and Gafanha da Nazaré.
Culture.
Aveiro is known in Portugal for its traditional sweets, "Ovos Moles de Aveiro" (PGI), "trouxas de ovos", both made from eggs. "Raivas" are also typical biscuits of Aveiro.
The municipal holiday is 12 May, the day of Joanna, Princess of Portugal (1452–1490).
Education.
The University of Aveiro was created in 1973 and attracts thousands of students to the city. It is ranked as the 354th best university in the world in the "Times" World University Rankings, and the 2nd best in Portugal.
The university has about 430 professors (with PhD degrees), 11,000 undergraduate students, and 1,300 post-graduate students.
Sport.
Sport Clube Beira-Mar is an association football club. Founded in 1922, it has a sports academy with various youth levels in sports including basketball and futsal. The club used to play at Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, designed by Portuguese architect Tomás Taveira for Euro 2004, where it held two group matches.
The other long-established club in the city, Os Galitos, was founded in 1904 and houses a wide variety of sports. Its rowers have represented Portugal in international tournaments including the Olympic Games.
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Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great ( ὁ Μέγας "Antónios ho̅ Me̅́gas"; ; ; ; – 17 January 356) was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as , by various epithets: , , , , , and . For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the . His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.
The biography of Anthony's life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations. He is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, among the first known to go into the wilderness (about AD 270), which seems to have contributed to his renown. Accounts of Anthony enduring supernatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the depiction of his temptations in visual art and literature.
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Anthony is invoked against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many such afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas, and shingles, were referred to as "Saint Anthony's fire".
"Life of Anthony".
Most of what is known about Anthony comes from the "Life of Anthony". Written in Greek by Athanasius of Alexandria, it depicts Anthony as an illiterate and holy man who, through his existence in a primordial landscape, has an absolute connection to the divine truth, which is always in harmony with that of Athanasius as the biographer.
A continuation of the genre of secular Greek biography, it became his most widely read work. Sometime before 374 it was translated into Latin by Evagrius of Antioch. The Latin translation helped the "Life" become one of the best-known works of literature in the Christian world, a status it would hold through the Middle Ages.
Translated into several languages, it became something of a "best seller" in its day and played an important role in the spreading of the ascetic ideal in Eastern and Western Christianity. It later served as an inspiration to Christian monastics in both the East and the West, and helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe via its Latin translations.
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Many stories are also told about Anthony in the "Sayings of the Desert Fathers".
Anthony probably spoke only his native language, Coptic, but his sayings were spread in a Greek translation. He himself dictated letters in Coptic, seven of which are extant.
Life.
Early years.
Anthony was born in Koma in Lower Egypt to wealthy landowner parents. When he was about 20 years old, his parents died and left him with the care of his unmarried sister. Shortly thereafter, he decided to follow the gospel exhortation in Matthew 19: 21, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven." Anthony gave away some of his family's lands to his neighbors, sold the remaining property, and donated the funds to the poor. He then left to live an ascetic life, placing his sister with a group of Christian virgins.
Hermit.
For the next fifteen years, Anthony remained in the area, spending the first years as the disciple of another local hermit. There are various legends that he worked as a swineherd during this period.
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According to the "Temptation of Saint Anthony" (1878) by Félicien Rops:
Anthony maintained a very strict ascetic diet. He ate only bread, salt and water and never meat or wine. He ate at most only once a day and sometimes fasted through two or four days.
According to Athanasius, the devil fought Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women, which he overcame by the power of prayer, providing a theme for Christian art. After that, he moved to one of the tombs near his native village. There it was that the "Life" records those strange conflicts with demons in the shape of wild beasts, who inflicted blows upon him, and sometimes left him nearly dead.
After fifteen years of this life, at the age of thirty-five, Anthony determined to withdraw from the habitations of men and retire in absolute solitude. He went into the desert to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir (now Der-el-Memun), opposite Arsinoë. There he lived strictly enclosed in an old abandoned Roman fort for some 20 years.
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He went into the desert to a mountain by the Nile called Pispir (now Der-el-Memun), opposite Arsinoë. There he lived strictly enclosed in an old abandoned Roman fort for some 20 years. Food was thrown to him over the wall. He was at times visited by pilgrims, whom he refused to see; but gradually a number of would-be disciples established themselves in caves and in huts around the mountain. Thus, a colony of ascetics was formed, who begged Anthony to come forth and be their guide in the spiritual life. Eventually, he yielded to their importunities and, about the year 305, emerged from his retreat. To the surprise of all, he appeared to be not emaciated, but healthy in mind and body.For five or six years he devoted himself to the instruction and organization of the great body of monks that had grown up around him; but then he once again withdrew into the inner desert that lay between the Nile and the Red Sea, near the shore of which he fixed his abode on a mountain (Mount Colzim) where still stands the monastery that bears his name, Der Mar Antonios.
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but then he once again withdrew into the inner desert that lay between the Nile and the Red Sea, near the shore of which he fixed his abode on a mountain (Mount Colzim) where still stands the monastery that bears his name, Der Mar Antonios. Here he spent the last forty-five years of his life, in a seclusion, not so strict as Pispir, for he freely saw those who came to visit him, and he used to cross the desert to Pispir with considerable frequency. Amid the Diocletian Persecutions, around 311 Anthony went to Alexandria and was conspicuous visiting those who were imprisoned.
Father of Monks.
Anthony was not the first ascetic or hermit, but he may properly be called the "Father of Monasticism" in Christianity, as he organized his disciples into a community and later, following the spread of Athanasius's hagiography, was the inspiration for similar communities throughout Egypt and elsewhere. Macarius the Great was a disciple of Anthony. Visitors traveled great distances to see the celebrated holy man. Anthony is said to have spoken to those of a spiritual disposition, leaving the task of addressing the more worldly visitors to Macarius. Macarius later founded a monastic community in the Scetic desert.
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The fame of Anthony spread and reached Emperor Constantine, who wrote to him requesting his prayers. The brethren were pleased with the Emperor's letter, but Anthony was not overawed and wrote back exhorting the Emperor and his sons not to esteem this world but remember the next.
The stories of the meeting of Anthony and Paul of Thebes, the raven who brought them bread, Anthony being sent to fetch the cloak given him by "Athanasius the bishop" to bury Paul's body in, and Paul's death before he returned, are among the familiar legends of the "Life". However, belief in the existence of Paul seems to have existed quite independently of the "Life".
In 338, he left the desert temporarily to visit Alexandria to help refute the teachings of Arius.
Final days.
When Anthony sensed his death approaching, he commanded his disciples to give his staff to Macarius of Egypt, and to give one sheepskin cloak to Athanasius of Alexandria and the other sheepskin cloak to Serapion of Thmuis, his disciple. Anthony was interred, according to his instructions, in a grave next to his cell.
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Temptation.
Accounts of Anthony enduring preternatural temptation during his sojourn in the Eastern Desert of Egypt inspired the often-repeated subject of the temptation of St. Anthony in Western art and literature.
Anthony is said to have faced a series of preternatural temptations during his pilgrimage to the desert. The first to report on the temptation was his contemporary Athanasius of Alexandria. It is possible these events, like the paintings, are full of rich metaphor or in the case of the animals of the desert, perhaps a vision or dream. Emphasis on these stories, however, did not really begin until the Middle Ages when the psychology of the individual became of greater interest.
Some of the stories included in Anthony's biography are perpetuated now mostly in paintings, where they give an opportunity for artists to depict their more lurid or bizarre interpretations. Many artists, including Martin Schongauer, Hieronymus Bosch, Joos van Craesbeeck, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, Matthias Grünewald, Jacob van Swanenburg, and Salvador Dalí, have depicted these incidents from the life of Anthony; in prose, the tale was retold and embellished by Gustave Flaubert in "The Temptation of Saint Anthony".
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The satyr and the centaur.
Anthony was on a journey in the desert to find Paul of Thebes, who according to his dream was a better Hermit than he. Anthony had been under the impression that he was the first person to ever dwell in the desert; however, due to the dream, Anthony was called into the desert to find his "better", Paul. On his way there, he ran into two creatures in the forms of a centaur and a satyr. Although chroniclers sometimes postulated that they might have been living beings, Western theology considers them to have been demons.
While traveling through the desert, Anthony first found the centaur, a "creature of mingled shape, half horse half-man", whom he asked about directions. The creature tried to speak in an unintelligible language, but ultimately pointed with his hand the way desired, and then ran away and vanished from sight. It was interpreted as a demon trying to terrify him, or alternately a creature engendered by the desert.
Anthony found next the satyr, "a manikin with hooked snout, horned forehead, and extremities like goats's feet." This creature was peaceful and offered him fruits, and when Anthony asked who he was, the satyr replied, "I'm a mortal being and one of those inhabitants of the desert whom the Gentiles, deluded by various forms of error, worship under the names of Fauns, Satyrs, and Incubi. I am sent to represent my tribe. We pray you in our behalf to entreat the favor of your Lord and ours, who, we have learnt, came once to save the world, and 'whose sound has gone forth into all the earth.'" Upon hearing this, Anthony was overjoyed and rejoiced over the glory of Christ. He condemned the city of Alexandria for worshipping monsters instead of God while beasts like the satyr spoke about Christ.
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Silver and gold.
Another time Anthony was travelling and found a plate of silver coins in his path. Since he was in the middle of the desert, where it didn't make any sense for anyone to be there, he declared that the silver was a temptation from the devil. Immediately after Anthony's declaration, the silver vanished. Soon, after walking some more in that desert, he found a pile of gold coins that was also a temptation from the devil. Anthony cast the gold into a fire, and the gold coins immediately disappeared just like the silver ones.
After these two events, he had a vision where the whole world was covered with snares and traps. Anthony prayed saying, "Oh good Lord, who may escape from these snares?” He was responded to by a voice that said, "Humility shall escape them without more."
Demons in the cave.
Being an ascetic, Anthony went out to live in the tombs away from the village. There were so many demons in the cave though, that Anthony's servant had to carry him out because they had beaten him to death. When the hermits were gathered to Anthony's corpse to mourn his death, Anthony was revived. He demanded that his servants take him back to that cave where the demons had beaten him. When he got there he called out to the demons, and they came back as wild beasts to rip him to shreds. Suddenly a bright light flashed, and the demons ran away. Anthony knew that the light must have come from God, and he asked God where he was before when the demons attacked him. God replied, "I was here but I would see and abide to see thy battle, and because thou hast mainly fought and well maintained thy battle, I shall make thy name to be spread through all the world."
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Veneration.
Anthony had been secretly buried on the mountaintop where he had chosen to live. His remains were reportedly discovered in 361 and transferred to Alexandria. Some time later, they were taken from Alexandria to Constantinople, so that they might escape the destruction being perpetrated by invading Saracens. In the eleventh century, the Byzantine emperor gave them to the French Count Jocelin. Jocelin had them transferred to La-Motte-Saint-Didier, later renamed. There, Jocelin undertook to build a church to house the remains, but died before the church was even started. The building was finally erected in 1297 and became a centre of veneration and pilgrimage, known as Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye.
Anthony is credited with assisting in a number of miraculous healings, primarily from ergotism, which became known as "St. Anthony's Fire". Two local noblemen credited his assistance in their recovery from the disease. They then founded the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony in honor of him, who specialized in nursing the victims of skin diseases.
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He is venerated especially by the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit for his close association with Paul of Thebes, after whom they take their name. In the "Life of St. Paul the First Hermit", by Jerome, it is recorded that it was Anthony who found Paul towards the end of Paul's life and without whom it is doubtful Paul would be known.
Veneration of Anthony in the East is more restrained. There are comparatively few icons and paintings of him. He is, however, regarded as the "first master of the desert and the pinnacle of holy monks", and there are monastic communities of the Maronite, Chaldean, and Orthodox churches which state that they follow his monastic rule. During the Middle Ages, Anthony, along with Quirinus of Neuss, Cornelius and Hubertus, was venerated as one of the Four Holy Marshals in the Rhineland.
Anthony is remembered in the Anglican Communion with a Lesser Festival on 17 January.
Though Anthony himself did not organize or create a monastery, a community grew around him based on his example of living an ascetic and isolated life. Athanasius' biography helped propagate Anthony's ideals. Athanasius writes, "For monks, the life of Anthony is a sufficient example of asceticism.
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His story influenced the conversion of Augustine of Hippo and John Chrysostom.
The main centre of veneration of this saint in the Canary Islands (Spain) is located in the town of La Matanza de Acentejo, on the island of Tenerife. The "sanctuary of San Antonio Abad" is one of the oldest temples in the Canary Islands, founded shortly after the completion of the conquest of the archipelago.
Coptic literature.
Examples of purely Coptic literature are the works of Anthony and Pachomius, who spoke only Coptic, and the sermons and preaching of Shenouda the Archmandrite, who chose to write only in Coptic. The earliest original writings in the Coptic language were the letters of Anthony. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, many ecclesiastics and monks wrote in Coptic.
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Amblypoda
Amblypoda was a taxonomic hypothesis uniting a group of extinct, herbivorous mammals. They were considered a suborder of the primitive ungulate mammals and have since been shown to represent a polyphyletic group.
Characteristics.
The Amblypoda take their name from their short and stumpy feet, which were furnished with five toes each and supported massive pillar-like limbs. The brain cavity was extremely small and insignificant in comparison to the bodily mass, which was equal to that of the largest rhinoceroses. These animals were descendants of the small ancestral ungulates that retained all the primitive characteristics of the latter, accompanied by a huge increase in body size.
The Amblypoda were confined to the Paleocene and Eocene periods and occurred in North America, Asia (especially Mongolia) and Europe. The cheek teeth were short-crowned (brachyodont), with the tubercles more-or-less completely fused into transverse ridges, or cross-crests (lophodont type), and the total number of teeth was in one case the typical 44, but in another was fewer. The vertebra of the neck unite on nearly flat surfaces, the humerus had lost the foramen, or perforation, at the lower end, and the third trochanter to the femur may have also been wanting. In the forelimb, the upper and lower series of carpal (finger) bones scarcely alternated, but in the hind foot, the astragalus overlapped the cuboid, while the fibula, which was quite distinct from the tibia (as was the radius from the ulna in the forelimb), articulated with both astragalus and calcaneum.
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Types of amblypods.
The most generalized type was "Coryphodon", representing the family Coryphodontidae, from the lower Eocene of Europe and North America, in which there were 44 teeth and no horn-like excrescences on the long skull, while the femur had a third trochanter. The canines were somewhat elongated and were followed by a short gap in each jaw, and the cheek-teeth were adapted for succulent food. The length of the body reached about six feet in some cases.
In the middle Eocene formations of North America occurred the more specialized "Uintatherium" (or "Dinoceras"), typifying the family Uintatheriidae. Uintatheres were huge creatures with long narrow skulls, of which the elongated facial portion carried three pairs of bony horn-cores, probably covered with short horns in life, the hind-pair having been much the largest. The dental formula was i. 0/3, c. 1/1, p. 3/3·4, m. 3/3, the upper canines having been long sabre-like weapons, protected by a descending flange on each side of the lower front jaw.
In the basal Eocene of North America, the Amblypoda were represented by extremely primitive, five-toed, small ungulates such as "Periptychus" and "Pantolambda", each of these typifying a family. The full typical series of 44 teeth was developed in each, but whereas in the Periptychidae, the upper molars were bunodont and tritubercular, in the Pantolambdidae, they had assumed a selenodont structure. Creodont characters were displayed in the skeleton.
Current taxonomy of animals once classified in Amblypoda.
Few authorities recognize Amblypoda in modern classifications. The following mammals were once considered part of this group:
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Amblygonite
Amblygonite () is a fluorophosphate mineral, , composed of lithium, sodium, aluminium, phosphate, fluoride and hydroxide. The mineral occurs in pegmatite deposits and is easily mistaken for albite and other feldspars. Its density, cleavage and flame test for lithium are diagnostic. Amblygonite forms a series with montebrasite, the low fluorine endmember. Geologic occurrence is in granite pegmatites, high-temperature tin veins, and greisens. Amblygonite occurs with spodumene, apatite, lepidolite, tourmaline, and other lithium-bearing minerals in pegmatite veins. It contains about 10% lithium, and has been utilized as a source of lithium. The chief commercial sources have historically been the deposits of California and France.
History.
The mineral was first discovered in Saxony by August Breithaupt in 1817, and named by him from the Greek "amblus", blunt, and "gonia", angle, because of the obtuse angle between the cleavages. Later it was found at Montebras, Creuse, France, and at Hebron in Maine; and because of slight differences in optical character and chemical composition the names montebrasite and hebronite have been applied to the mineral from these localities.The term amblygonite has been used interchangeably in mining, whether this mineral or montebrasite was extracted. In fact, montebrasite is much more common than amblygonite, which is a rare mineral. It has been discovered in considerable quantity at Pala in San Diego county, California; Caceres, Spain; and the Black Hills of South Dakota. A blue form of amblygonite-montebrasite has been described from Rwanda. The largest documented single crystal of amblygonite measured 7.62 × 2.44 × 1.83 m and weighed about 102 tons.
Gemology.
Transparent amblygonite has been faceted and used as a gemstone. As a gemstone set into jewelry it is vulnerable to breakage and abrasion from general wear, as its hardness and toughness are poor. The main sources for gem material are Brazil and the United States. Australia, France, Germany, Namibia, and Norway, and Spain have also produced gem quality amblygonite.
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Amygdalin
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: "" 'almond') is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels, pips or stones) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries and plums, and in the roots of manioc.
Amygdalin is classified as a cyanogenic glycoside, because each amygdalin molecule includes a nitrile group, which can be released as the toxic cyanide anion by the action of a beta-glucosidase. Eating amygdalin will cause it to release cyanide in the human body, and may lead to cyanide poisoning.
Since the early 1950s, both amygdalin and a chemical derivative named laetrile have been promoted as alternative cancer treatments, often under the misnomer vitamin B17 (neither amygdalin nor laetrile is a vitamin). Scientific study has found them to not only be clinically ineffective in treating cancer, but also potentially toxic or lethal when taken by mouth due to cyanide poisoning. The promotion of laetrile to treat cancer has been described in the medical literature as a canonical example of quackery and as "the slickest, most sophisticated, and certainly the most remunerative cancer quack promotion in medical history". It has also been described as traditional Chinese medicine.
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Chemistry.
Amygdalin is a cyanogenic glycoside derived from the aromatic amino acid phenylalanine. Amygdalin and prunasin are common among plants of the family Rosaceae, particularly the genus "Prunus", Poaceae (grasses), Fabaceae (legumes), and in other food plants, including flaxseed and manioc. Within these plants, amygdalin and the enzymes necessary to hydrolyze it are stored in separate locations, and only mix as a result of tissue damage. This provides a natural defense system.
Amygdalin is contained in stone fruit kernels, such as almonds, apricot (14 g/kg), peach (6.8 g/kg), and plum (4–17.5 g/kg depending on variety), and also in the seeds of the apple (3 g/kg). Benzaldehyde released from amygdalin provides a bitter flavor. Because of a difference in a recessive gene called "Sweet kernal [Sk]", much less amygdalin is present in nonbitter (or sweet) almond than bitter almond. In one study, bitter almond amygdalin concentrations ranged from 33 to 54 g/kg depending on variety; semibitter varieties averaged 1 g/kg and sweet varieties averaged 0.063 g/kg with significant variability based on variety and growing region.
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For one method of isolating amygdalin, the stones are removed from the fruit and cracked to obtain the kernels, which are dried in the sun or in ovens. The kernels are boiled in ethanol; on evaporation of the solution and the addition of diethyl ether, amygdalin is precipitated as minute white crystals. Natural amygdalin has the ("R")-configuration at the chiral phenyl center. Under mild basic conditions, this stereogenic center isomerizes; the ("S")-epimer is called neoamygdalin. Although the synthesized version of amygdalin is the ("R")-epimer, the stereogenic center attached to the nitrile and phenyl groups easily epimerizes if the manufacturer does not store the compound correctly.
Amygdalin is hydrolyzed by intestinal β-glucosidase (emulsin) and amygdalin beta-glucosidase (amygdalase) to give gentiobiose and -mandelonitrile. Gentiobiose is further hydrolyzed to give glucose, whereas mandelonitrile (the cyanohydrin of benzaldehyde) decomposes to give benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide in sufficient quantities (allowable daily intake: ~0.6 mg) causes cyanide poisoning which has a fatal oral dose range of 0.6–1.5 mg/kg of body weight.
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Laetrile.
Laetrile (patented 1961) is a simpler semisynthetic derivative of amygdalin. Laetrile is synthesized from amygdalin by hydrolysis. The usual preferred commercial source is from apricot kernels ("Prunus armeniaca"). The name is derived from the separate words "laevorotatory" and "mandelonitrile". Laevorotatory describes the stereochemistry of the molecule, while mandelonitrile refers to the portion of the molecule from which cyanide is released by decomposition. A 500 mg laetrile tablet may contain between 2.5 and 25 mg of hydrogen cyanide.
Like amygdalin, laetrile is hydrolyzed in the duodenum (alkaline) and in the intestine (enzymatically) to -glucuronic acid and -mandelonitrile; the latter hydrolyzes to benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, that in sufficient quantities causes cyanide poisoning.
Claims for laetrile were based on three different hypotheses: The first hypothesis proposed that cancerous cells contained copious beta-glucosidases, which release HCN from laetrile via hydrolysis. Normal cells were reportedly unaffected, because they contained low concentrations of beta-glucosidases and high concentrations of rhodanese, which converts HCN to the less toxic thiocyanate. Later, however, it was shown that both cancerous and normal cells contain only trace amounts of beta-glucosidases and similar amounts of rhodanese.
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The second proposed that, after ingestion, amygdalin was hydrolyzed to mandelonitrile, transported intact to the liver and converted to a beta-glucuronide complex, which was then carried to the cancerous cells, hydrolyzed by beta-glucuronidases to release mandelonitrile and then HCN. Mandelonitrile, however, dissociates to benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, and cannot be stabilized by glycosylation.
Finally, the third asserted that laetrile is the discovered vitamin B-17, and further suggests that cancer is a result of "B-17 deficiency". It postulated that regular dietary administration of this form of laetrile would, therefore, actually prevent all incidences of cancer. There is no evidence supporting this conjecture in the form of a physiologic process, nutritional requirement, or identification of any deficiency syndrome. The term "vitamin B-17" is not recognized by Committee on Nomenclature of the American Institute of Nutrition Vitamins. Ernst T. Krebs (not to be confused with Hans Adolf Krebs, the discoverer of the citric acid cycle) branded laetrile as a vitamin in order to have it classified as a nutritional supplement rather than as a pharmaceutical.
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History of laetrile.
Early usage.
Amygdalin was first isolated in 1830 from bitter almond seeds ("Prunus dulcis") by Pierre-Jean Robiquet and Antoine Boutron-Charlard. Liebig and Wöhler found three hydrolysis products of amygdalin: sugar, benzaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide. Later research showed that sulfuric acid hydrolyzes it into -glucose, benzaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide; while hydrochloric acid gives mandelic acid, -glucose, and ammonia.
In 1845 amygdalin was used as a cancer treatment in Russia, and in the 1920s in the United States, but it was considered too poisonous. In the 1950s, a purportedly non-toxic, synthetic form was patented for use as a meat preservative, and later marketed as laetrile for cancer treatment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited the interstate shipment of amygdalin and laetrile in 1977. Thereafter, 27 U.S. states legalized the use of amygdalin within those states.
Subsequent results.
In a 1977 controlled, blinded trial, laetrile showed no more activity than placebo.
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Subsequently, laetrile was tested on 14 tumor systems without evidence of effectiveness. The Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) concluded that "laetrile showed no beneficial effects." Mistakes in an earlier MSKCC press release were highlighted by a group of laetrile proponents led by Ralph Moss, former public affairs official of MSKCC who had been fired following his appearance at a press conference accusing the hospital of covering up the benefits of laetrile. These mistakes were considered scientifically inconsequential, but Nicholas Wade in "Science" stated that "even the appearance of a departure from strict objectivity is unfortunate." The results from these studies were published all together.
A 2015 systematic review from the Cochrane Collaboration found:
The authors also recommended, on ethical and scientific grounds, that no further clinical research into laetrile or amygdalin be conducted. Subsequent research has confirmed the evidence of harm and lack of benefit.
Given the lack of evidence, laetrile has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the European Commission.
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The U.S. National Institutes of Health evaluated the evidence separately and concluded that clinical trials of amygdalin showed little or no effect against cancer. For example, a 1982 trial by the Mayo Clinic of 175 patients found that tumor size had increased in all but one patient. The authors reported that "the hazards of amygdalin therapy were evidenced in several patients by symptoms of cyanide toxicity or by blood cyanide levels approaching the lethal range."
The study concluded "Patients exposed to this agent should be instructed about the danger of cyanide poisoning, and their blood cyanide levels should be carefully monitored. Amygdalin (Laetrile) is a toxic drug that is not effective as a cancer treatment".
Additionally, "No controlled clinical trials (trials that compare groups of patients who receive the new treatment to groups who do not) of laetrile have been reported."
The side effects of laetrile treatment are the symptoms of cyanide poisoning. These symptoms include: nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness, cherry red skin color, liver damage, abnormally low blood pressure, droopy upper eyelid, trouble walking due to damaged nerves, fever, mental confusion, coma, and death.
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The European Food Safety Agency's Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain has studied the potential toxicity of the amygdalin in apricot kernels. The Panel reported, "If consumers follow the recommendations of websites that promote consumption of apricot kernels, their exposure to cyanide will greatly exceed" the dose expected to be toxic. The Panel also reported that acute cyanide toxicity had occurred in adults who had consumed 20 or more kernels and that in children "five or more kernels appear to be toxic".
Advocacy and legality of laetrile.
Advocates for laetrile assert that there is a conspiracy between the US Food and Drug Administration, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical community, including the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society, to exploit the American people, and especially cancer patients.
Advocates of the use of laetrile have also changed the rationale for its use, first as a treatment of cancer, then as a vitamin, then as part of a "holistic" nutritional regimen, or as treatment for cancer pain, among others, none of which have any significant evidence supporting its use.
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Despite the lack of evidence for its use, laetrile developed a significant following due to its wide promotion as a "pain-free" treatment of cancer as an alternative to surgery and chemotherapy that have significant side effects. The use of laetrile led to a number of deaths.
The FDA and AMA crackdown, begun in the 1970s, effectively escalated prices on the black market, played into the conspiracy narrative and enabled unscrupulous profiteers to foster multimillion-dollar smuggling empires.
Some American cancer patients have traveled to Mexico for treatment with the substance, for example at the Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana. The actor Steve McQueen died in Mexico following surgery to remove a stomach tumor, having previously undergone extended treatment for pleural mesothelioma (a cancer associated with asbestos exposure) under the care of William D. Kelley, a de-licensed dentist and orthodontist who claimed to have devised a cancer treatment involving pancreatic enzymes, 50 daily vitamins and minerals, frequent body shampoos, enemas, and a specific diet as well as laetrile.
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Laetrile advocates in the United States include Dean Burk, a former chief chemist of the National Cancer Institute cytochemistry laboratory, and national arm wrestling champion Jason Vale, who falsely claimed that his kidney and pancreatic cancers were cured by eating apricot seeds. Vale was convicted in 2004 for, among other things, fraudulently marketing laetrile as a cancer cure. The court also found that Vale had made at least $500,000 from his fraudulent sales of laetrile.
In New Zealand, laetrile was among the purported treatments for cancer promoted by Milan Brych, who was later convicted of medical fraud.
In the 1970s, court cases in several states challenged the FDA's authority to restrict access to what they claimed are potentially lifesaving drugs. More than twenty states passed laws making the use of laetrile legal. After the unanimous Supreme Court ruling in "United States v. Rutherford" which established that interstate transport of the compound was illegal, usage fell off dramatically. The US Food and Drug Administration continues to seek jail sentences for vendors marketing laetrile for cancer treatment, calling it a "highly toxic product that has not shown any effect on treating cancer."
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Amok syndrome
Amok syndrome is an aggressive dissociative behavioral pattern derived from the Malay world, modern Indonesia and Malaysia, that led to the English phrase "running amok". The word derives from the Malay word , traditionally meaning "rushing in a frenzy" or "attacking furiously". Amok syndrome presents as an episode of sudden mass assault against people or objects following a period of brooding, which has traditionally been regarded as occurring especially in Malay culture but is now increasingly viewed as psychopathological behavior. The syndrome of "Amok" is found in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-IV TR). In the DSM-V, Amok syndrome is no longer considered a culture-bound syndrome, since the category of culture-bound syndrome has been removed.
Malay word.
The term "amok" originated from the Malay word "meng-âmuk", which when roughly defined means "to make a furious and desperate charge". In turn, the word was derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word "hamuk", "attack". According to Malaysian and Indonesian cultures, amok is rooted in a deep spiritual belief. Malaysians traditionally believe that amok is caused by the "hantu belian", which is an evil tiger spirit that enters one's body and causes the heinous act. As a result of the belief, those in Malay culture tolerate amok and deal with the after-effects with no ill will towards the assailant.
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Although commonly used in a colloquial and less violent sense, the phrase is particularly associated with a specific sociopathic culture-bound syndrome in the cultures of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. In a typical case of "running amok", an individual, almost always male, having shown no previous sign of anger or any inclination to violence, will acquire a weapon, traditionally a sword or dagger, but possibly any of a variety of weapons, and in a sudden frenzy, will attempt to kill or seriously injure anyone he encounters and himself.
Amok typically takes place in a well-populated or crowded area. Amok episodes of this kind normally end with the attacker being killed by bystanders or committing suicide, eliciting theories that amok may be a form of intentional suicide in cultures where suicide is heavily stigmatized. Those who do not commit suicide and are not killed typically lose consciousness, and upon regaining consciousness, claim amnesia.
An early Western account of the practice appears in the journals of British explorer Captain James Cook, who purportedly encountered amok firsthand in 1770 during a voyage around the world. Cook writes of individuals behaving in a reckless, violent manner, without apparent cause and "indiscriminately killing and maiming villagers and animals in a frenzied attack."
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A widely accepted explanation links amok with male honour. Amok by women and children is virtually unknown.
Running amok would thus be both a way of escaping the world, since perpetrators were normally killed or committed suicide, and re-establishing one's reputation as a man to be feared and respected.
Contemporary psychiatric syndrome.
In 1849, Amok was officially classified as a psychiatric condition based on numerous reports and case studies that showed the majority of individuals who committed amok were, in some sense, mentally ill. "Running amok," is used to refer to the behavior of someone who, in the grip of strong emotion, obtains a weapon and begins attacking people. For about twenty years, this type of behavior has been described as a culture-bound syndrome. As of the DSM-V, the culture-bound syndrome category has been removed, meaning that this particular condition is no longer categorized as such. Culture-bound syndromes are seen as those conditions that only occur in certain societies whereas standard psychiatric diagnoses are not seen that way regardless if there is some sort of cultural limitation.
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Recent research has revealed that Amok syndrome is not culture-specific but a syndrome that could happen anywhere around the world because anyone could experience an episode of Amok. Throughout history, mass murders have occurred in the United States, such as the Columbine High School massacre and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, bringing into question if Amok syndrome is based on mental illness or the simple act of committing mass murder. Amok syndrome would, in turn, be more prevalent in other societies and not only in Malay cultures. In fact, there are other societies like Polynesia, such as "cafard," and Puerto Rico, "mal de pelea," that have similar syndromes with different terms.
Forms.
Though the DSM-IV does not differentiate between them, observers historically described two forms of amok: beramok and amok. Beramok, considered to be more common, was associated with personal loss and preceded by a period of depression and brooding. Amok, the rarer form, was believed to stem from rage, perceived insult or a vendetta against a person.
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Historical and cross-cultural comparisons.
Early travelers in Asia sometimes describe a kind of military amok, in which soldiers apparently facing inevitable defeat suddenly burst into a frenzy of violence which so startled their enemies that it either delivered victory or at least ensured what the soldier in that culture considered an honourable death, for a similar case occurred at the Battle of Margarana on 1946 in Bali, where this refers to "puputan", a Balinese term referring to a mass suicide ritual carried out during war rather than surrender to the enemy.
Tomé Pires in his Suma Oriental, observed the custom of the Javanese people in 1513:There are among the nations no men who are "amocos" like those in the Javanese nation. "Amocos" means men who are determined to die (to run amuck). Some of them do it when they are drunk, and these are the common people; but the noblemen are much in the habit of challenging each other to duels, and they kill each other over their quarrels; and this is the custom of the country. Some of them kill themselves on horseback, and some of them on foot, according to what they have decided.Duarte Barbosa in 1514 recorded the Javanese people in Malacca:They have very good arms and fight valiantly. There are some of them who if they fall ill of any severe illness, vow to God that if they remain in health they will of their own accord seek another more honourable death for his service, and as soon as they get well they take a dagger in their hands and go out into the streets and kill as many persons as they meet, both men, women and children, in such wise that they go like mad dogs, killing until they are killed. These are called "amuco". And as soon as they see them begin this work, they cry out saying, "amuco", "amuco", in order that people may take care of themselves, and they kill them with dagger and spear thrusts. Many of these Javans live in this city with wives and children and property.
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This form of amok appears to resemble the Scandinavian "Berserker", "mal de pelea" (Puerto Rico), and iich'aa (Navaho). The Zulu battle trance is another example of the tendency of certain groups to work themselves up into a killing frenzy.
In contemporary Indonesia, the term "amok" ("amuk") generally refers not to individual violence, but to frenzied violence by mobs. Indonesians now commonly use the term 'gelap mata' (literally 'darkened eyes') to refer to individual amok. Laurens van der Post experienced the phenomenon in the East Indies and wrote in 1955:
In the Philippines, "amok" also means unreasoning murderous rage by an individual. In 1876, the Spanish governor-general of the Philippines José Malcampo coined the term "juramentado" for the behavior (from "juramentar" – "to take an oath"), surviving into modern Philippine languages as "huramentado". It has historically been linked with the Moro people of Mindanao, particularly in the Sulu Archipelago, in connection with societal and cultural pressures. A similar term to "gelap mata" in the Philippines is called "pagdilim ng paningin," which translates literally to "darkening of vision". The term is commonly used to refer to a situation where a person is consumed by anger.
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According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica" Eleventh Edition, some notable cases have occurred among the Rajputs. In 1634, the eldest son of the raja of Jodhpur ran amok at the court of Shah Jahan, failing in his attack on the emperor, but killing five of his officials. During the 18th century, again, at Hyderabad (Sind), two envoys, sent by the Jodhpur chief in regard to a quarrel between the two states, stabbed the prince and twenty-six of his suite before they themselves fell.
In popular culture.
The Malaysian mythology surrounding "hantu belian" possessing humans and killing at random is a crucial plot point in "The Night Tiger" by Yangsze Choo.
In John Brunner's novel "Stand on Zanzibar" amok became the typical event due to the overpopulation. One of the characters describes the possible mechanism of such behavior.
Indonesia's descent into chaos following the 1965 coup attempt is the background for the third part of Christopher Koch's novel "The Year of Living Dangerously", entitled 'Patet Manjura: Amok.'
In music, German band Ledernacken released their first single "Amok!" based on the syndrome in 1983, which peaked at number 29 in US's Billboard Dance Chart in March of 1984.
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Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: "Symbolum Apostolorum" or "Symbolum Apostolicum"), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith".
The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Gaul as a development of the Old Roman Symbol: the old Latin creed of the 4th century. It has been used in the Latin liturgical rites since the 8th century and, by extension, in the various modern branches of Western Christianity, including the modern liturgy and catechesis of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Moravianism, Methodism, and Congregational churches.
It is shorter than the full Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed adopted in 381, but it is still explicitly trinitarian in structure, with sections affirming belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
It does not address some Christological issues defined in the Nicene Creed. It thus says nothing explicitly about the divinity of either Jesus or the Holy Spirit. For this reason, it was held to predate the Nicene Creed in medieval Latin tradition.
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The expression "Apostles' Creed" is first mentioned in a letter from the Synod of Milan dated AD 390, referring to a belief at the time that each of the Twelve Apostles contributed an article to the twelve articles of the creed.
History.
The ecclesiastical use of Latin for —in the sense of "a distinctive mark of Christians", from the sense of Greek σύμβολον, —first occurs around the middle of the 3rd century, in the correspondence of St. Cyprian and St. Firmilian, the latter in particular speaking of the trinitarian formula as the "Symbol of the Trinity", and recognizing it as an integral part of the rite of baptism.
The term appears for the first time in a letter, probably written by Ambrose, from a Council in Milan to Pope Siricius in about AD 390: "Let them give credit to the Symbol of the Apostles, which the Roman Church has always kept and preserved undefiled".
Ambrose's term is here referring to the Old Roman Creed, the immediate predecessor of what is now known as the Apostles' Creed.
The narrative of this creed having been jointly created by the Apostles, with each of the twelve contributing one of twelve articles, was already current at that time.
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The Old Roman Creed had evolved from simpler texts based on Matthew 28:19, part of the Great Commission, and it has been argued that this earlier text was already in written form by the late 2nd century (c. 180).
The earliest known formula is found within written between 150 and 180. This formula states: "[I believe] in the Father almighty, – and in Jesus Christ, our Savior; – and in the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, in the holy Church, and in the remission of sins." As can be seen, it lacks the Christological part of the Old Roman Creed.
While the individual statements of belief that are included in the Apostles' Creed – even those not found in the Old Roman Symbol – are found in various writings by Irenaeus, Tertullian, Novatian, Marcellus, Rufinus, Ambrose, Augustine, Nicetas, and Eusebius Gallus, the earliest appearance of what we know as the Apostles' Creed was in the () of St. Pirminius (Migne, "Patrologia Latina" 89, 1029 ff.), written between 710 and 714. Bettenson and Maunder state that it is first from (, excerpt), c. 750.
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The text of what is now known as the Apostles' Creed was most likely developed in southern Gaul around the midpoint of the 5th century. A creed that is virtually identical to the current one is recorded by Faustus of Riez. It is possible that Faustus had the identical text, as the original text written by Faustus cannot be reconstructed with certainty. A version that is identical to the current one with the single exception of in place of is recorded in the late 5th century. However, the Old Roman Creed remained the standard liturgical text of the Roman Church throughout the 4th to 7th centuries. It was replaced by the "Gallic" version of the Apostles' Creed only in the later 8th century, under Charlemagne, who imposed it throughout his dominions.
The phrase ('he descended into hell') is not found in the Nicene Creed. It echoes Ephesians 4:9, "" (). This phrase first appeared in one of the two versions of Rufinus (d. 411), the Creed of Aquileia, and then did not appear again in any version of the creed until AD 650.
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Similarly, the references to the communion of saints is found neither in the Old Roman Symbol nor in the Nicene Creed.
The reference to God as "creator of heaven and earth" likewise is not in the Nicene Creed of 325, but it is present in the extended version of the Nicene Creed (the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) of 381.
The Eastern Orthodox Church does not use the Apostles' Creed, not because of an objection to any of its articles, but because of its omissions necessary for the definition of Nicene Christianity. The Orthodox delegates at the Council of Florence (1431–1449) explicitly challenged the western tradition that attributed the Apostles' Creed to the Twelve Apostles. This tradition was also shown to be historically untenable by Lorenzo Valla. The Roman Church does not state that text dates back to the Apostles themselves, the Roman catechism instead explaining that "the Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith."
Text.
The following gives the original Latin text, with the traditional division into twelve articles, alongside an English translation. Underlined passages are those not present in the Old Roman Symbol as recorded by Tyrannius Rufinus.
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There is also a received Greek text, which alongside the Latin is found in the ,
erroneously ascribed to Pope Gregory the Great. It was first edited by Archbishop Ussher in 1647, based on a manuscript preserved in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
The Latin text agrees with the "Creed of Pirminius" edited by Charles Abel Heurtley (, 1900, p. 71). Four other Greek translations with slight variations were discovered by Carl Paul Caspari, and published
in 1879 (, vol. 3, pp. 11 sqq.).
The tradition of assigning each article to one of the apostles specifically can be traced to the 6th century. In Western sacral art, refers to the figurative representation of the twelve apostles each alongside one of the articles.
This artistic tradition extends from the high medieval to the Baroque period.
The precise division of the text and the sequence of attribution to the apostles has never been entirely fixed.
For example, Pelbartus Ladislaus of Temesvár, writing in the late 15th century, divides article 5 in two but combines articles 11 and 12 into one, with the following attributions:
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Liturgical use in Western Christianity.
The Apostles' Creed is used in its direct form or in interrogative forms by Western Christian communities in several of their liturgical rites, in particular those of baptism and the Eucharist.
Rite of baptism.
The Apostles' Creed, whose present form is similar to the baptismal creed used in Rome in the third and fourth centuries, actually developed from questions addressed to those seeking baptism. The Catholic Church still today uses an interrogative form of it in the Rite of Baptism (for both children and adults). In the official English translation (ICEL, 1974) the minister of baptism asks:
To each question, the catechumen, or, in the case of an infant, the parents and sponsor(s) (godparent(s)) in his or her place, answers "I do." Then the celebrant says:
And all respond: Amen.
The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand uses the Apostles' Creed in its baptism rite in spite of the reservations of some of its members regarding the phrase "born of the virgin Mary".
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The Episcopal Church in the United States of America uses the Apostles' Creed as part of a Baptismal Covenant for those who are to receive the Rite of Baptism. The Apostles' Creed is recited by candidates, sponsors and congregation, each section of the Creed being an answer to the celebrant's question, "Do you believe in God the Father (God the Son, God the Holy Spirit)?" It is also used in an interrogative form at the Easter Vigil in The Renewal of Baptismal Vows.
The Church of England likewise asks the candidates, sponsors and congregation to recite the Apostles' Creed in answer to similar interrogations, in which it avoids using the word "God" of the Son and the Holy Spirit, asking instead: "Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ?", and "Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit?" Moreover, "where there are strong pastoral reasons", it allows use of an alternative formula in which the interrogations, while speaking of "God the Son" and "God the Holy Spirit", are more elaborate but are not based on the Apostles' Creed, and the response in each case is: "I believe and trust in him." The "Book of Common Prayer" may also be used, which in its rite of baptism has the minister recite the Apostles' Creed in interrogative form. Asking the godparents or, in the case "of such as are of Riper Years", the candidate: "Dost thou believe in God the Father ..." The response is: "All this I believe."
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Lutherans following the "Lutheran Service Book" (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church–Canada), like Catholics and Anglicans, use the Apostles' Creed during the Sacrament of Baptism:
Following each question, the candidate answers: "Yes, I believe". If the candidates are unable to answer for themselves, the sponsors are to answer the questions.
For ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Lutherans who use the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book, the Apostles' Creed appears during the Sacrament of Holy Baptism Rite on p. 229 of the hardcover pew edition.
The United Methodist Church in the United States uses the Apostles' Creed as part of their baptismal rites in the form of an interrogatory addressed to the candidate(s) for baptism and the whole congregation as a way of professing the faith within the context of the Church's sacramental act. For infants, it is the professing of the faith by the parents, sponsors, and congregation on behalf of the candidate(s); for confirmands, it is the professing of the faith before and among the congregation. For the congregation, it is a reaffirmation of their professed faith.
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Eucharistic rite.
Since the 2002 edition, the Apostles' Creed is included in the Roman Missal as an alternative, with the indication, "Instead of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, especially during Lent and Easter time, the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church, known as the Apostles' Creed, may be used." Previously the Nicene Creed was the only profession of faith that the Missal gave for use at Mass, except in Masses for children; but in some countries use of the Apostles' Creed was already permitted.
Canonical hours.
The Apostles' Creed is used in Anglican services of Matins and Evening Prayer (Evensong). It is invoked after the recitation or singing of the Canticles, and is the only part of the services in which the congregation traditionally turns to face the altar, if they are seated transversely in the quire.
The Episcopal Church (United States) uses the Apostles' Creed in Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.
Before the 1955 simplification of the rubrics of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius XII, the Apostles' Creed was recited at the beginning of matins and prime, at the end of compline, and in some "preces" (a series of versicles and responses preceded by, eleison ("Lord, have mercy") and the Our Father) of prime and compline on certain days during Advent and Lent.
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Indulgence.
Recitation of the "Apostles' Creed" or the "Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed" is required to obtain a partial indulgence.
Liturgical English translations.
Ecumenical (interdenominational) versions.
International Consultation on English Texts.
The International Consultation on English Texts (ICET), a first inter-church ecumenical group that undertook the writing of texts for use by English-speaking Christians in common, published "Prayers We Have in Common" (Fortress Press, 1970, 1971, 1975). Its version of the Apostles' Creed was adopted by several churches.
English Language Liturgical Consultation.
The English Language Liturgical Consultation (ELLC), a successor body to the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET), published in 1988 a revised translation of the Apostles' Creed. It avoided the word "his" in relation to God and spoke of Jesus Christ as "God's only Son" instead of "his only Son". In the fourth line, it replaced the personal pronoun "he" with the relative "who", and changed the punctuation, so as no longer to present the Creed as a series of separate statements. In the same line it removed the words "the power of". It explained its rationale for making these changes and for preserving other controverted expressions in the 1988 publication "Praying Together", with which it presented its new version:
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Catholic Church.
The initial (1970) English official translation of the Roman Missal of the Roman Catholic Church adopted the ICET version, as did catechetical texts such as the "Catechism of the Catholic Church".
In 2008, the Catholic Church published a new English translation of the texts of the Mass of the Roman Rite, the use of which came into force at the end of 2011. It included the following translation of the Apostles' Creed:
Church of England.
In the Church of England there are currently two authorized forms of the creed: that of the "Book of Common Prayer" (1662) and that of "Common Worship" (2000).
Book of Common Prayer, 1662
<poem>
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried:
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
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From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost;
The holy Church;
The Communion of Saints;
The Forgiveness of sins;
The Resurrection of the body,
And the Life everlasting.
Amen.
</poem>
Common Worship
<poem>
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
</poem>
Lutheran Church.
In Luther's preface to his 'Small Catechism' which makes up part of the Book of Concord that contains the symbolical documents of the Lutheran Church, it is suggested to commit the Creed, along with the Decalogue and Lord's Prayer to memory.
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"Evangelical Lutheran Worship".
The publication "Evangelical Lutheran Worship" published by Augsburg Fortress, is the primary worship resource for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It presents the official ELCA version, footnoting the phrase "he descended to the dead" to indicate an alternative reading: "or 'he descended into hell', another translation of this text in widespread use". Another alternative reading is "Christian church" instead of "catholic" since there is a Christian group called Catholics.
The text is as follows:
Church of Denmark.
The Church of Denmark started using the phrase, from the baptismal vows "We renounce the devil and all his doings and all his beings" as the beginning of this creed, before the line "We believe in God etc." This is mostly due to the influence of the Danish pastor Grundtvig. See "".
United Methodist Church.
The United Methodists in the USA commonly incorporate the Apostles' Creed into their worship services. The version which is most often used is located at No. 881 in the "United Methodist Hymnal", one of their most popular hymnals and one with a heritage to brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley, founders of Methodism. It is notable for omitting the line "he descended into hell", but is otherwise very similar to the Book of Common Prayer version. The 1989 Hymnal has both the traditional version and the 1988 ecumenical version, which includes "he descended to the dead".
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The Apostles' Creed as found in "The Methodist Hymnal" of 1939 also omits the line "he descended..." "The Methodist Hymnal" of 1966 has the same version of the creed, but with a note at the bottom of the page stating, "Traditional use of this creed includes these words: 'He descended into hell.
However, when the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the United States in 1784, John Wesley sent the new American Church a Sunday Service which included the phrase "he descended into hell" in the text of the Apostles' Creed. It is clear that Wesley intended American Methodists to use the phrase in the recitation of the Creed.
The "United Methodist Hymnal" of 1989 also contains (at #882) what it terms the "Ecumenical Version" of this creed which is the ecumenically accepted modern translation of the International Committee on English Texts (1975) as amended by the subsequent successor body, the English Language Liturgical Consultation (1987). This form of the Apostles' Creed can be found incorporated into the Eucharistic and Baptismal Liturgies in the Hymnal and in "The United Methodist Book of Worship", and hence it is growing in popularity and use. The word "catholic" is intentionally left lowercase in the sense that the word "catholic" applies to the universal and ecumenical Christian church.
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Musical settings.
Musical settings of the Symbolum Apostolorum as a motet are rare. English composer Robert Wylkynson (d. ca. 1515) composed a thirteen-voice canon, , included in the Eton Choirbook, which features the text of the Creed. The French composer Le Brung published one Latin setting in 1540, and the Spanish composer Fernando de las Infantas published two in 1578.
Martin Luther wrote the hymn (translated into English as "We all believe in one God") in 1524 as a paraphrase of the Apostles' Creed.
In 1957, William P. Latham wrote "Credo (Metrical Version of the Apostle’s Creed)" in an SATB arrangement suitable for boys' and men's voices.
In 1979 John Michael Talbot, a Third Order Franciscan, composed and recorded "Creed" on his album, "The Lord's Supper".
In 1986 Graham Kendrick published the popular "We believe in God the Father", closely based on the Apostles' Creed.
The song "Creed" on Petra's 1990 album "Beyond Belief" is loosely based on the Apostles' Creed.
GIA Publications published a hymn text in 1991 directly based on the Apostles' Creed, called "I Believe in God Almighty". It has been sung to hymn tunes from Wales, the Netherlands, and Ireland.
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Rich Mullins and Beaker also composed a musical setting titled "Creed", released on Mullins' 1993 album "A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band". Notably, Mullins' version replaces "one holy catholic church" with "one holy church".
Integrity Music under the Hosanna! Music series, produced a live worship acoustic album in 1993, "Be Magnified", which featured Randy Rothwell as worship leader, had an upbeat enthusiastic hymn called "The Apostle’s Creed", written by Randy Rothwell Burbank.
Newsboys released "We Believe" in 2013 on their album "Restart". It was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Christian Song.
In 2014 Hillsong released a version of the Apostles' Creed under the title "This I Believe (The Creed)" on their album "No Other Name".
Keith & Kristyn Getty released an expression of the Apostles' Creed under the title "We Believe (Apostle's Creed)" on their 2016 album "Facing a Task Unfinished".
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Amicable numbers
In mathematics, the amicable numbers are two different natural numbers related in such a way that the sum of the proper divisors of each is equal to the other number. That is, "s"("a")="b" and "s"("b")="a", where "s"("n")=σ("n")-"n" is equal to the sum of positive divisors of "n" except "n" itself (see also divisor function).
The smallest pair of amicable numbers is (220, 284). They are amicable because the proper divisors of 220 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20, 22, 44, 55 and 110, of which the sum is 284; and the proper divisors of 284 are 1, 2, 4, 71 and 142, of which the sum is 220.
The first ten amicable pairs are: (220, 284), (1184, 1210), (2620, 2924), (5020, 5564), (6232, 6368), (10744, 10856), (12285, 14595), (17296, 18416), (63020, 76084), and (66928, 66992) . It is unknown if there are infinitely many pairs of amicable numbers.
A pair of amicable numbers constitutes an aliquot sequence of period 2. A related concept is that of a perfect number, which is a number that equals the sum of "its own" proper divisors, in other words a number which forms an aliquot sequence of period 1. Numbers that are members of an aliquot sequence with period greater than 2 are known as sociable numbers.
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History.
Amicable numbers were known to the Pythagoreans, who credited them with many mystical properties. A general formula by which some of these numbers could be derived was invented circa 850 by the Iraqi mathematician Thābit ibn Qurra (826–901). Other Arab mathematicians who studied amicable numbers are al-Majriti (died 1007), al-Baghdadi (980–1037), and al-Fārisī (1260–1320). The Iranian mathematician Muhammad Baqir Yazdi (16th century) discovered the pair (9363584, 9437056), though this has often been attributed to Descartes. Much of the work of Eastern mathematicians in this area has been forgotten.
Thābit ibn Qurra's formula was rediscovered by Fermat (1601–1665) and Descartes (1596–1650), to whom it is sometimes ascribed, and extended by Euler (1707–1783). It was extended further by Borho in 1972. Fermat and Descartes also rediscovered pairs of amicable numbers known to Arab mathematicians. Euler also discovered dozens of new pairs. The second smallest pair, (1184, 1210), was discovered in 1867 by 16-year-old B. Nicolò I. Paganini (not to be confused with the composer and violinist), having been overlooked by earlier mathematicians.
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There are over 1 billion known amicable pairs.
Rules for generation.
While these rules do generate some pairs of amicable numbers, many other pairs are known, so these rules are by no means comprehensive.
In particular, the two rules below produce only even amicable pairs, so they are of no interest for the open problem of finding amicable pairs coprime to 210 = 2·3·5·7, while over 1000 pairs coprime to 30 = 2·3·5 are known [García, Pedersen & te Riele (2003), Sándor & Crstici (2004)].
Thābit ibn Qurrah theorem.
The Thābit ibn Qurrah theorem is a method for discovering amicable numbers invented in the 9th century by the Arab mathematician Thābit ibn Qurrah.
It states that if
formula_1
where is an integer and are prime numbers, then and are a pair of amicable numbers. This formula gives the pairs for , for , and for , but no other such pairs are known. Numbers of the form are known as Thabit numbers. In order for Ibn Qurrah's formula to produce an amicable pair, two consecutive Thabit numbers must be prime; this severely restricts the possible values of .
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To establish the theorem, Thâbit ibn Qurra proved nine lemmas divided into two groups. The first three lemmas deal with the determination of the aliquot parts of a natural integer. The second group of lemmas deals more specifically with the formation of perfect, abundant and deficient numbers.
Euler's rule.
"Euler's rule" is a generalization of the Thâbit ibn Qurra theorem. It states that if
formula_2
where are integers and are prime numbers, then and are a pair of amicable numbers. Thābit ibn Qurra's theorem corresponds to the case . Euler's rule creates additional amicable pairs for with no others being known. Euler (1747 & 1750) overall found 58 new pairs increasing the number of pairs that were then known to 61.
Regular pairs.
Let (, ) be a pair of amicable numbers with , and write and where is the greatest common divisor of and . If and are both coprime to and square free then the pair (, ) is said to be regular ; otherwise, it is called irregular or exotic. If (, ) is regular and and have and prime factors respectively, then is said to be of type .
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For example, with , the greatest common divisor is and so and . Therefore, is regular of type .
Twin amicable pairs.
An amicable pair is twin if there are no integers between and belonging to any other amicable pair .
Other results.
In every known case, the numbers of a pair are either both even or both odd. It is not known whether an even-odd pair of amicable numbers exists, but if it does, the even number must either be a square number or twice one, and the odd number must be a square number. However, amicable numbers where the two members have different smallest prime factors do exist: there are seven such pairs known. Also, every known pair shares at least one common prime factor. It is not known whether a pair of coprime amicable numbers exists, though if any does, the product of the two must be greater than 1065. Also, a pair of co-prime amicable numbers cannot be generated by Thabit's formula (above), nor by any similar formula.
In 1955 Paul Erdős showed that the density of amicable numbers, relative to the positive integers, was 0.
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In 1968 Martin Gardner noted that most even amicable pairs sumsdivisible by 9, and that a rule for characterizing the exceptions was obtained.
According to the sum of amicable pairs conjecture, as the number of the numbers approaches infinity, the percentage of the sums of the amicable pairs divisible by ten approaches 100% . Although all amicable pairs up to 10,000 are even pairs, the proportion of odd amicable pairs increases steadily towards higher numbers, and presumably there are more of them than of the even amicable pairs ( in ).
Gaussian integer amicable pairs exist, e.g.
s(8008+3960i) = 4232-8280i and s(4232-8280i) = 8008+3960i.
Generalizations.
Amicable tuples.
Amicable numbers formula_3 satisfy formula_4 and formula_5 which can be written together as formula_6. This can be generalized to larger tuples, say formula_7, where we require
For example, (1980, 2016, 2556) is an amicable triple , and (3270960, 3361680, 3461040, 3834000) is an amicable quadruple .
Amicable multisets are defined analogously and generalizes this a bit further .
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Sociable numbers.
Sociable numbers are the numbers in cyclic lists of numbers (with a length greater than 2) where each number is the sum of the proper divisors of the preceding number. For example, formula_9 are sociable numbers of order 4.
Searching for sociable numbers.
The aliquot sequence can be represented as a directed graph, formula_10, for a given integer formula_11, where formula_12 denotes the
sum of the proper divisors of formula_13.
Cycles in formula_10 represent sociable numbers within the interval formula_15. Two special cases are loops that represent perfect numbers and cycles of length two that represent amicable pairs.
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Agar
Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from "ogonori" and "tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, the linear polysaccharide agarose and a heterogeneous mixture of smaller molecules called agaropectin. It forms the supporting structure in the cell walls of certain species of algae and is released on boiling. These algae are known as agarophytes, belonging to the Rhodophyta (red algae) phylum. The processing of food-grade agar removes the agaropectin, and the commercial product is essentially pure agarose.
Agar has been used as an ingredient in desserts throughout Asia and also as a solid substrate to contain culture media for microbiological work. Agar can be used as a laxative; an appetite suppressant; a vegan substitute for gelatin; a thickener for soups; in fruit preserves, ice cream, and other desserts; as a clarifying agent in brewing; and for sizing paper and fabrics.
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Etymology.
The word "agar" comes from agar-agar, the Malay name for red algae ("Gigartina", "Eucheuma", "Gracilaria") from which the jelly is produced. It is also known as Kanten () (from the phrase kan-zarashi tokoroten () or "cold-exposed agar"), Japanese isinglass, China grass, Ceylon moss or Jaffna moss. "Gracilaria edulis" or its synonym "G. lichenoides" is specifically referred to as agal-agal or Ceylon agar.
History.
Macroalgae have been used widely as food by coastal cultures, especially in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, "Gracilaria", known as "gulaman" (also "guraman", "gar-garao", or "gulaman dagat", among other names) in Tagalog, have been harvested and used as food for centuries, eaten both fresh or sun-dried and turned into jellies. The earliest historical attestation is from the "Vocabulario de la lengua tagala" (1754) by the Jesuit priests Juan de Noceda and Pedro de Sanlucar, where "golaman" or "gulaman" was defined as "una yerva, de que se haze conserva a modo de Halea, naze en la mar" ("a herb, from which a jam-like preserve is made, grows in the sea"), with an additional entry for "guinolaman" to refer to food made with the jelly.
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Carrageenan, derived from gusô ("Eucheuma" spp.), which also congeals into a gel-like texture is also used similarly among the Visayan peoples and have been recorded in the even earlier "Diccionario De La Lengua Bisaya, Hiligueina y Haraia de la isla de Panay y Sugbu y para las demas islas" (c.1637) of the Augustinian missionary . In the book, Méntrida describes gusô as being cooked until it melts, and then allowed to congeal into a sour dish.
In Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, agar is extracted from "Graciliaria" and eaten as a type of pickle or a sauce. Jelly seaweeds were also favoured and foraged by Malay communities living on the coasts of the Riau Archipelago and Singapore in Southeast Asia for centuries. 19th century records indicate that dried "Graciliaria" were one of the bulk exports of British Malaya to China. Poultices made from agar were also used for swollen knee joints and sores in Johore and Singapore.
The application of agar as a food additive in Japan is alleged to have been discovered in 1658 by Mino Tarōzaemon (), an innkeeper in current Fushimi-ku, Kyoto who, according to legend, was said to have discarded surplus seaweed soup (Tokoroten) and noticed that it gelled later after a winter night's freezing.
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Agar was first subjected to chemical analysis in 1859 by the French chemist Anselme Payen, who had obtained agar from the marine algae "Gelidium corneum".
Beginning in the late 19th century, agar began to be used as a solid medium for growing various microbes. Agar was first described for use in microbiology in 1882 by the German microbiologist Walther Hesse, an assistant working in Robert Koch's laboratory, on the suggestion of his wife Fanny Hesse. Agar quickly supplanted gelatin as the base of microbiological media, due to its higher melting temperature, allowing microbes to be grown at higher temperatures without the media liquefying.
With its newfound use in microbiology, agar production quickly increased. This production centered on Japan, which produced most of the world's agar until World War II. However, with the outbreak of World War II, many nations were forced to establish domestic agar industries in order to continue microbiological research. Around the time of World War II, approximately 2,500 tons of agar were produced annually. By the mid-1970s, production worldwide had increased dramatically to approximately 10,000 tons each year. Since then, production of agar has fluctuated due to unstable and sometimes over-utilized seaweed populations.
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Chemical composition.
Agar consists of a mixture of two polysaccharides: agarose and agaropectin, with agarose making up about 70% of the mixture, while agaropectin makes about 30% of it. Agarose is a linear polymer, made up of repeating units of agarobiose, a disaccharide made up of D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactopyranose. Agaropectin is a heterogeneous mixture of smaller molecules that occur in lesser amounts, and is made up of alternating units of D-galactose and L-galactose heavily modified with acidic side-groups, such as sulfate, glucuronate, and pyruvate.
Physical properties.
Agar exhibits a phenomenon known as hysteresis whereby, when mixed with water, it solidifies and forms a gel below about , which is called the gel point, and melts above , which is the melting point. Hysteresis is the property of having a difference between the gel point and melting point temperatures. This property lends a suitable balance between easy melting and good gel stability at relatively high temperatures. Since many scientific applications require incubation at temperatures close to human body temperature (37 °C), agar is more appropriate than other solidifying agents that melt at this temperature, such as gelatin.
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Uses.
Culinary.
Agar-agar is a natural vegetable gelatin counterpart. It is white and semi-translucent when sold in packages as washed and dried strips or in powdered form. It can be used to make jellies, puddings, and custards. When making jelly, it is boiled in water until the solids dissolve. Sweetener, flavoring, coloring, fruits and or vegetables are then added, and the liquid is poured into molds to be served as desserts and vegetable aspics or incorporated with other desserts such as a layer of jelly in a cake.
Agar-agar is approximately 80% dietary fiber, so it can serve as an intestinal regulator. Its bulking quality has been behind fad diets in Asia, for example the "kanten" (the Japanese word for agar-agar) diet. Once ingested, "kanten" triples in size and absorbs water. This results in the consumers feeling fuller.
Asian culinary.
One use of agar in Japanese cuisine is in "anmitsu", a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly and served in a bowl with various fruits or other ingredients. It is also the main ingredient in "mizu yōkan", another popular Japanese food. In Philippine cuisine, it is used to make the jelly bars in the various gulaman refreshments like "sago't gulaman", "samalamig", or desserts such as "buko pandan", "agar flan", "halo-halo", "fruit cocktail jelly", and the black and red "gulaman" used in various fruit salads. In Vietnamese cuisine, jellies made of flavored layers of agar-agar, called "thạch", are a popular dessert, and are often made in ornate molds for special occasions. In Indian cuisine, agar is used for making desserts. In Burmese cuisine, a sweet jelly known as "kyauk kyaw" is made from agar. Agar jelly is widely used in Taiwanese bubble tea.
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Other culinary.
It can be used as addition to (or as a replacement for) pectin in jelly, jam, or marmalade, as a substitute to gelatin for its superior gelling properties, and as a strengthening ingredient in souffles and custards. Another use of agar-agar is in a Russian dish "ptich'ye moloko" (bird's milk), a rich jellified custard (or soft meringue) used as a cake filling or chocolate-glazed as individual sweets.
Agar-agar may also be used as the gelling agent in gel clarification, a culinary technique used to clarify stocks, sauces, and other liquids. Mexico has traditional candies made out of Agar gelatin, most of them in colorful, half-circle shapes that resemble a melon or watermelon fruit slice, and commonly covered with sugar. They are known in Spanish as "Dulce de Agar" (Agar sweets)
Agar-agar is an allowed nonorganic/nonsynthetic additive used as a thickener, gelling agent, texturizer, moisturizer, emulsifier, flavor enhancer, and absorbent in certified organic foods.
Microbiology.
Agar plate.
An agar plate or Petri dish is used to provide a growth medium using a mix of agar and other nutrients in which microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, can be cultured and observed under the microscope. Agar is indigestible for many organisms so that microbial growth does not affect the gel used and it remains stable. Agar is typically sold commercially as a powder that can be mixed with water and prepared similarly to gelatin before use as a growth medium. Nutrients are typically added to meet the nutritional needs of the microbes organism, the formulations of which may be "undefined" where the precise composition is unknown, or "defined" where the exact chemical composition is known. Agar is often dispensed using a sterile media dispenser.
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Different algae produce various types of agar. Each agar has unique properties that suit different purposes. Because of the agarose component, the agar solidifies. When heated, agarose has the potential to melt and then solidify. Because of this property, they are referred to as "physical gels". In contrast, polyacrylamide polymerization is an irreversible process, and the resulting products are known as chemical gels.
There are a variety of different types of agar that support the growth of different microorganisms. A nutrient agar may be permissive, allowing for the cultivation of any non-fastidious microorganisms; a commonly-used nutrient agar for bacteria is the Luria Bertani (LB) agar which contains lysogeny broth, a nutrient-rich medium used for bacterial growth. Additionally, 2216 Marine Broth (MB) agar, with high salt content, is optimized for growing heterotrophic marine bacteria like those of the Vibrio genus, while Terrific Broth (TB) agar is used to non-selectively culture high yields of the bacterium "E. coli". More generally, enriched media is an agar variety that is infused with the necessary nutrients required by fastidious organisms to grow. Despite the large diversity of agar mediums, yeast extract is a common ingredient across all varieties as it is a macronutrient that provides a nitrogen source for all bacterial cell types.
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Other fastidious organisms may require the addition of different biological fluids such as horse or sheep blood, serum, egg yolk, and so on. Agar plates can also be selective, and can be used to promote the growth of bacteria of interest while inhibiting others. A variety of chemicals may be added to create an environment favourable for specific types of bacteria or bacteria with certain properties, but not conducive for growth of others. For example, antibiotics may be added in cloning experiments whereby bacteria with antibiotic-resistant plasmid are selected. In addition to antibiotic treated agar, other selective and indicator agar plates include TCBS agar and MacConkey agar. Thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose (TCBS) agar is used to differentiate Vibrio species based on their sucrose metabolism, since only some will metabolize the sucrose in the plate and change its pH. Indicator dyes included in the gel will display a visual change of the pH by changing the gel color from green to yellow. MacConkey agar contains bile salts and crystal violet to selectively grow gram-negative bacteria and differentiate between species using pH-indicator dyes that demonstrate lactose metabolism properties.
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Motility assays.
As a gel, an agar or agarose medium is porous and therefore can be used to measure microorganism motility and mobility. The gel's porosity is directly related to the concentration of agarose in the medium, so various levels of effective viscosity (from the cell's "point of view") can be selected, depending on the experimental objectives.
A common identification assay involves culturing a sample of the organism deep within a block of nutrient agar. Cells will attempt to grow within the gel structure. Motile species will be able to migrate, albeit slowly, throughout the gel, and infiltration rates can then be visualized, whereas non-motile species will show growth only along the now-empty path introduced by the invasive initial sample deposition.
Another setup commonly used for measuring chemotaxis and chemokinesis utilizes the under-agarose cell migration assay, whereby a layer of agarose gel is placed between a cell population and a chemoattractant. As a concentration gradient develops from the diffusion of the chemoattractant into the gel, various cell populations requiring different stimulation levels to migrate can then be visualized over time using microphotography as they tunnel upward through the gel against gravity along the gradient.
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Plant biology.
Research grade agar is used extensively in plant biology as it is optionally supplemented with a nutrient and/or vitamin mixture that allows for seedling germination in Petri dishes under sterile conditions (given that the seeds are sterilized as well). Nutrient and/or vitamin supplementation for "Arabidopsis thaliana" is standard across most experimental conditions. Murashige & Skoog (MS) nutrient mix and Gamborg's B5 vitamin mix in general are used. A 1.0% agar/0.44% MS+vitamin dH2O solution is suitable for growth media between normal growth temps.
When using agar, within any growth medium, it is important to know that the solidification of the agar is pH-dependent. The optimal range for solidification is between 5.4 and 5.7. Usually, the application of potassium hydroxide is needed to increase the pH to this range. A general guideline is about 600 μl 0.1M KOH per 250 ml GM. This entire mixture can be sterilized using the liquid cycle of an autoclave.
This medium nicely lends itself to the application of specific concentrations of phytohormones etc. to induce specific growth patterns in that one can easily prepare a solution containing the desired amount of hormone, add it to the known volume of GM, and autoclave to both sterilize and evaporate off any solvent that may have been used to dissolve the often-polar hormones. This hormone/GM solution can be spread across the surface of Petri dishes sown with germinated and/or etiolated seedlings.
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Experiments with the moss "Physcomitrella patens", however, have shown that choice of the gelling agent – agar or Gelrite – does influence phytohormone sensitivity of the plant cell culture.
Other uses.
Agar is used:
Gelidium agar is used primarily for bacteriological plates. Gracilaria agar is used mainly in food applications.
In 2016, AMAM, a Japanese company, developed a prototype for Agar-based commercial packaging system called Agar Plasticity, intended as a replacement for oil-based plastic packaging.
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Acid rain
Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average. The more acidic the acid rain is, the lower its pH is. Acid rain can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.
Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters, soils, microbes, insects and aquatic life-forms. In ecosystems, persistent acid rain reduces tree bark durability, leaving flora more susceptible to environmental stressors such as drought, heat/cold and pest infestation. Acid rain is also capable of detrimenting soil composition by stripping it of nutrients such as calcium and magnesium which play a role in plant growth and maintaining healthy soil. In terms of human infrastructure, acid rain also causes paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and weathering of stone buildings and statues as well as having impacts on human health.
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Some governments, including those in Europe and North America, have made efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere through air pollution regulations. These efforts have had positive results due to the widespread research on acid rain starting in the 1960s and the publicized information on its harmful effects. The main source of sulfur and nitrogen compounds that result in acid rain are anthropogenic, but nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning strikes and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions.
Definition.
"Acid rain" is rain with a pH less than 5. "Clean" or unpolluted rain has a pH greater than 5 but still less than pH = 7 owing to the acidity caused by carbon dioxide acid according to the following reactions:
A variety of natural and human-made sources contribute to the acidity. For example nitric acid produced by electric discharge in the atmosphere such as lightning. The usual anthropogenic sources are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. They react with water (as does carbon dioxide) to give solutions with pH < 5. Occasional pH readings in rain and fog water of well below 2.4 have been reported in industrialized areas.
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