title: BYD Auto

text: In 2015, the company was planning to open factories in Brazil to produce electric cars and buses. In July 2015, exports to Russia were suspended, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War and the falling value of the Russian currency. BYD was the highest-selling brand of highway-legal light-duty plug-in electric vehicles (combined sales for plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars), with 61,772 passenger vehicles sold, mostly plug-in hybrids. BYD continued as the world's top-selling plug-in car manufacturer in 2016 with over 100,000 units sold, up 64% from 2015. BYD sold more than 100,000 new energy passenger cars in China in 2016. The BYD Tang crossover SUV was the top-selling plug-in car in China in 2016 with 31,405 units delivered.


title: BYD Auto

text: In September 2016, the company became the third-largest manufacturer of plug-in cars, with a total of 161,000 plug-in cars produced since 2008. Also, in September 2016, the company introduced a range of electric sanitation truck models, to be used in Beijing.


title: BYD Auto

text: Since 2017, BYD has been negatively impacted by a reduction of subsidies granted by the Chinese government.


title: BYD Auto

text: In May 2020, BYD announced that it would start expanding in Europe, starting with Norway. BYD's launch will consist of the BYD Tang and a range of commercial vehicles. However, Australia also announced that there will be 2,000 BYD electric vehicles in the fleet as part of the new taxi operator ETaxiCo. The fleet will be operated from three sites in the Northern Beaches Council area as part of a six-month trial, When the program launches – which is at this current time planned for following months depending on COVID-19 factors – it will be using 15 specially-fitted e6 electric compact SUVs that have been imported by Nexport, with plans to expand the fleet to 120 by August. It is expected to be reach the goal of up to 2,000 vehicles in the fleet by the end of 2021.


title: BYD Auto

text: BYD will deliver a total of 1,002 electric buses to Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, by mid-2022, after winning a contract for 406 electric buses in January 2021.


title: BYD Auto

text: On April 4, 2022, BYD announced that it had stopped the production of all automobiles powered only by gasoline engines, with the final gasoline model rolling off the assembly line in March 2022, and will turn its focus to manufacturing innovative high-tech battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars and trucks. It will continue to produce and supply the components for existing BYD internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles so as to continually provide comprehensive service and after-sales support to existing customers.


title: BYD Auto

text: In June 2022, BYD Auto announced that it had sold about 641,000 EV's in the first half of 2022, overtaking Tesla to become the largest EV manufacturer in the world.


title: BYD Auto

text: In July 2022, BYD announced that electric vehicles will be sold to Japan from 2023. On 5 December 2022, it was reported that the Atto 3 would be among the vehicles included in the lineup for the Japanese market.


title: BYD Auto

text: In August 2022, BYD x Rêver Automotive announced that electric vehicles will be sold to Thailand from 10 October 2022.


title: BYD Auto

text: In 2019, BYD launched its global design center, which is led by a team of industry veterans from Audi, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz. Leading the team is Wolfgang Egger. The carmaker unveiled its E-SEED GT, the first joint effort from the new design team, at the Auto Shanghai industry show in April 2019. The futuristic design concept reflects the sleek lines of the Chinese dragon, and the company plans to feature more Chinese cultural symbols in future models.At the present time, the Chinese corporation has over 190,000 individuals working for it all over the globe and generates approximately $9.1 billion in revenue. The production of mobile phone batteries was where the firm got its start, but they swiftly expanded their offerings to include original equipment manufacturer (OEM) phones for the information technology sector.


title: BYD Auto

text: The BYD DM hybrid technology was first introduced in the late 2000s, on vehicles such as the BYD F3DM and BYD M3 DM. It consisted of a conventional ICE engine and transmission as well as an electric motor and batteries. It has since been replaced by DM-i and DM-p technology.


title: BYD Auto

text: In 2020, BYD released DM-i and DM-p to replace DM technology, DM-i for front-wheel drive efficiency-oriented models and DM-p for all-wheel drive performance-oriented models. It is a series-parallel plug-in hybrid technology with a dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT). It consists of a high-efficiency ICE engine (Xiaoyun) (which can power an electrical generator) and a main electric motor (which can be powered by both batteries and an electrical generator). The Xiaoyun engine uses the Atkinson cycle, has an ultra-high compression ratio (CR) of 15.5, and has a Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) of 43%, the highest in the world for a production gasoline engine.


title: BYD Auto

text: Depending on the scenario, the hybrid drivetrain will use different components to provide driving power, including battery-only mode, battery + electrical generator mode, engine only mode (only available at high speeds due to lack of transmission), and battery + engine mode. The engine will also provide charge to the batteries via the generator when conditions permit. The design allows the engine RPM to always remain within its high efficiency zone.


title: BYD Auto

text: DM-i is currently available with three power levels, codenamed EHS132, EHS145, and EHS160, using 1.5L, 1.5L or 1.5T, 1.5T Xiaoyun engines respectively.


title: BYD Auto

text: The e-Platform 3.0 is a new modular car platform unveiled in 2021 said to be "the cradle for the next generation of EVs". It is a platform specialised for only battery electric vehicles (BEVs), unlike previous vehicle platforms which had to make design compromises for the hybrid vehicle drivetrains of its DM ("dual mode", i.e. plug-in hybrid) variants. Standard improvements include better integration of BYD's proprietary blade battery technology with an improved pure electric frame structure with doubled torsional stiffness, a newly upgraded 8-in-1 module for the drive system allowing the overall efficiency to exceed 89%, a direct cooling and heating system for the battery pack (utilising residual heat from surroundings, powertrain, passenger compartment, and even the battery itself) to increase thermal efficiency by up to 20%, and shorter front overhangs, lower body profile, and a longer wheelbase to improve aerodynamics (0.21 cd) and passenger space. Power consumption per 100 kilometers is reduced by 10%, and the cruising range is 10% longer in winter.


title: BYD Auto

text: The platform enables all-electric ranges exceeding , with 800-volt fast charging technology for a range up to after 5-minutes of charging and allows an all wheel drive (AWD) system with 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration of 2.9 seconds, though not all cars designed with this platform will reach this max performance. It also allows for the use of cell-to-body (CTB) battery integration. CTB replaces the previous cell-to-pack (CTP) technology which had been launched by Contemporary Amperex Technology and then dismissed by them in 2019.


title: BYD Auto

text: The first car designed using this platform was the Yuan Plus (also known as "Atto 3" in Singapore and Australia), followed by all electric cars in the new "Ocean Series" such as the Dolphin (also known as "Atto 2") and Seal (also known as "Atto 4").


title: BYD Auto

text: The Dynasty Series (王朝系列) started in August 2013 with the launch of the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant of the petrol-engined BYD Surui, the BYD Qin. The BYD Qin replaced the aging BYD F3DM, and quickly became the best-selling electric vehicle of early 2014. BYD followed the Qin with the launch of BYD Tang in 2015. This series marked the formal transition of BYD's focus into developing new energy vehicles.


title: BYD Auto

text: The Ocean Series (海洋系列) is a series of plug-in electric vehicles based on the Ocean-X, BYD's new mid-size performance car design concept. The series includes two vehicle lines, one being pure electric vehicles named after sea animals; the other being plug-in hybrid electric vehicles named after naval ships.


title: BYD Auto

text: Industrial facilities consist of two manufacturing plants in Xi'an, an R&D center and manufacturing plant in Shenzhen (the headquarters of BYD Co Ltd), a manufacturing plant in Changsha, a manufacturing plant in Shaoguan, and an R&D center and parts plant in Shanghai. Construction of a third manufacturing plant in Xi'an resumed in 2011, following the company being fined for illegal land use.


title: BYD Auto

text: Manufacturing plants for buses opened in Dalian, Liaoning province, in late 2014 and Lancaster, California, in May 2013. A factory was inaugurated in Brazil in 2015 for the production of electric buses. A bus plant was opened in 2019 in Newmarket, Ontario, to handle orders in Canada. BYD has an electric bus assembly facility in Europe in Komarom, Hungary.


title: BYD Auto

text: In May 2010, the "Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co., Ltd.", trading as "Denza" was established with Daimler AG to produce luxury electric vehicles. The Denza 500 model is based on the previous generation Mercedes-Benz B-Class.


title: BYD Auto

text: BYD and Toyota announced a partnership to jointly develop BEVs in July 2019. On April 2020, the partnership was formalized as a joint venture. The partnership was reportedly instigated after Toyota executives were impressed by the value, design, and quality of the BYD Tang hybrid.


title: BYD Auto

text: The joint venture is called BYD Toyota EV Technology Co., Ltd., with head offices in Shenzhen, China.


title: BYD Auto

text: In 2010, BYD sold a total of 519,800 vehicles, representing 2.9% of the market in China and the sixth largest manufacturer. In 2011, the BYD sales rank was outside the top ten. In 2012, the company became the 9th largest car manufacturer in China, producing over 600,000 vehicles.


title: BYD Auto

text: The majority of vehicles are sold within China; however export markets include Bahrain, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, and Moldova.


title: BYD Auto

text: The North American headquarters opened in Los Angeles in 2011. As of 2013 BYD Auto sells the e6 and Electric Bus in the United States as fleet vehicles only. BYD has supplied the Los Angeles Metro system with buses since 2015. A 2018 investigation by the Los Angeles Times found reliability issues with the BYD buses.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: Meaghan Oppenheimer (born 1990) is an American television and movie screenwriter, producer, actress, and voice artist.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: Meaghan Oppenheimer grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was a former child actor, working in various regional theatre productions and television shows. She graduated from Holland Hall, and then New York University—Tisch School of the Arts in 2009. Afterward, she relocated to Los Angeles to begin a screenwriting career.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: In 2010, Oppenheimer wrote and starred in "Hot Mess", a film about two roommates that become friends-with-benefits. She has written screenplays for a number of projects, including "Fear the Walking Dead" She co-wrote the screenplay for 2015's "We Are Your Friends" with film maker Max Joseph.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: In December of that year, ABC announced that Reese Witherspoon would be producing a new drama series for TV written by Oppenheimer, with the working title "Please Don't Go", about the personal and professional life of a ruthless divorce attorney in Dallas whose past continues to haunt her. In March 2016, ABC announced that Penelope Ann Miller had been cast opposite T. R. Knight in the project that in 2016 was released as "Broken"—a series pilot that halted production after the first episode aired.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: In 2018, Oppenheimer penned the script for the Facebook Watch TV show, "Queen America". She is also notable for her distinctive voice.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: She adapted Carola Lovering's "Tell Me Lies" for Hulu that was filmed and released in 2022. She also served as co-executive producer and showrunner of the series, which starred Grace Van Patten and Jackson White.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: Oppenheimer has been married to Lucifer actor Tom Ellis since June 1, 2019. Oppenheimer is the stepmother to the three girls Ellis fathered from previous relationships: Nora, 14; Florence, 10; and Marnie, 6.


title: Meaghan Oppenheimer

text: Oppenheimer's un-filmed screenplay, "The Remains", was selected for the 2013 Black List—a yearly list of "...best Screenplays not yet made into films..." Dana Feldman of "Forbes" wrote while reviewing "Tell Me Lies": "...[the production] received a straight-to-series order, and we definitely need another season..." The "Her Voice" podcast hosts exclaimed: "From script to screen, she is clear in her purpose and powerful in her ability to manifest the right people and circumstances to be able to develop female driven stories about mental health, relationships, and generational trauma." Keely Weiss of "Elle Magazine" writes: "...showrunner Meaghan Oppenheimer pulled [the adaptation] off with aplomb, turning Lovering’s novel into a visually propulsive show populated by a rich cast of characters, all while preserving the core themes of the book.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Marvin Vettori (born September 20, 1993) is an Italian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Vettori is a former Venator FC Welterweight Champion. As of November 15, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC middleweight rankings.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: The eldest of three siblings, Vettori was born in Trento, Italy. He was interested in martial arts at a young age, and started practicing kickboxing as his first real martial art around the age of 13. He was inspired to train mixed martial arts after watching fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko in PRIDE on TV when he was sixteen.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: When he started out training MMA in Italy, Vettori went to six different gyms to get all the skills and training he needed, as in Italy, at that time, the sport was still growing and a proper MMA gym was hard to find. He moved to London in 2012 for two years to train MMA and later moved to the United States to train at Kings MMA.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori trains six days per week and his typical training day would split into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the evening. He starts out his training at 10 am to train on his striking technique with his coach, Rafael Cordeiro, for an hour, followed by wrestling drills and cage work with the help of Mark Muñoz. The second session would be in the evening to work on either conditioning or BJJ training which usually would end at 10 p.m.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori made his UFC debut on August 20, 2016 at UFC 202 against Alberto Emilliano Pereira. He tapped out Pereira via guillotine choke in round one.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori next faced Antônio Carlos Júnior at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016. Both Vettori and Carlos Júnior committed eyepokes and received a warning each from the referee but no point was deducted. The fight lasted three rounds and Vettori lost via unanimous decision, with 29–28 scores across the board.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori faced Omari Akhmedov on December 30 at UFC 219. The back-and-forth fight ended in a majority draw. One of the judges scored it 29–28 for Vettori, and the others viewed it as a 28–28 draw, with Akhmedov winning the first two rounds, but Vettori having a dominant 10–8 round in the third.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori's next fight was scheduled on April 14, 2018 against future champion Israel Adesanya at UFC on Fox 29. He lost the fight via a split decision, with two judges scoring the fight 29–28 for Adesanya, and the third judging it as 29–28 for Vettori.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: On April 23, 2019, it was reported that Vettori was suspended for 6 months as he tested positive for ostarine, a selective androgen receptor modulator, from an out-of-competition test conducted on August 24, 2018. The United States Anti-Doping Agency determined that the positive test was the result of a contaminated dietary supplement, and found no evidence of intentional use of the banned substance. He became eligible to fight again on February 24, 2019.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori faced Cezar Ferreira on July 13, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 155. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: After the fight with Ferreira, Vettori signed a new contract with the UFC and was scheduled to face Andrew Sanchez on September 14, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 158, replacing injured David Branch. However, it was reported that Sanchez was forced to pull from the event due to an eye infection, resulting in the cancellation of the bout. In turn, the pairing was left intact and eventually took place a month later at UFC Fight Night 161. Vettori won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori was scheduled to face Darren Stewart on March 21, 2020 at . However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the event was cancelled. Vettori was scheduled to meet Karl Roberson on April 25, 2020. However, on April 9, Dana White announced that this event was postponed. Instead Vettori was scheduled to face Karl Roberson on May 13, 2020 at . At the weigh-ins, Roberson weighed in at 187.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over the middleweight non-title weight limit of 186 pounds. However, Roberson was removed from the fight due to rhabdomyolysis. The pair met on June 13, 2020 at . At the weigh-ins on June 12, Roberson once again missed weight, this time coming in at 190.5 pounds, 4.5 pounds over the non-title middleweight limit. The bout proceeded as a catchweight and Roberson was fined 30% of his purse. Vettori won the bout via first round submission. This win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori was briefly linked to a rematch with Omari Akhmedov for UFC 256 on December 12, 2020, but it was later announced Vettori was expected to face Ronaldo Souza at the event. Vettori instead faced Jack Hermansson on 5 December 2020 at UFC on ESPN 19, after Hermannson's original opponent Kevin Holland tested positive for COVID-19. He won the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the "Fight of the Night" award.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori was scheduled to face Darren Till on April 10, 2021 at UFC on ABC 2. However, on March 30, Till announced that he was pulling out of the fight due to a broken collarbone. Till was replaced by Kevin Holland. Vettori won the fight against Holland by unanimous decision, after dominating him on the ground for the majority of the fight.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: A rematch between Vettori and Israel Adesanya for the UFC Middleweight Championship took place on June 12, 2021, headlining UFC 263. Vettori lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori faced Paulo Costa in a light heavyweight bout, after Costa could not make middleweight the week of the fight, on October 23, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 196. Vettori won the fight via unanimous decision. This win earned him "Performance of the Night" award.


title: Marvin Vettori

text: Vettori was scheduled to face former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on June 11, 2022 at UFC 275. However, Whittaker withdrew for unknown reasons. The pair was rescheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night 209 on September 3, 2022. Vettori lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Eric Clapton.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe was a pioneer in her guitar technique; she was among the first popular recording artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, presaging the rise of electric blues. Her guitar-playing technique had a profound influence on the development of British blues in the 1960s. Her European tour with Muddy Waters in 1964, with a stop in Manchester on May 7, is cited by British guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Willing to cross the line between sacred and secular by performing her music of "light" in the "darkness" of nightclubs and concert halls with big bands behind her, Tharpe pushed spiritual music into the mainstream and helped pioneer the rise of pop-gospel, beginning in 1938 with the recording "Rock Me" and with her 1939 hit "This Train". Her unique music left a lasting mark on more conventional gospel artists such as Ira Tucker Sr., of the Dixie Hummingbirds. While she offended some conservative churchgoers with her forays into the pop world, she never left gospel music.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe's 1944 release "Down by the Riverside" was selected for the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress in 2004, which noted that it "captures her spirited guitar playing and unique vocal style, demonstrating clearly her influence on early rhythm-and-blues performers" and cited her influence on "many gospel, jazz, and rock artists". ("Down by the Riverside" was recorded by Tharpe on December 2, 1948, in New York City, and issued as Decca single 48106.) Her 1945 hit "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in late 1944, featured Tharpe's vocals and resonator guitar, with Sammy Price (piano), bass and drums. It was the first gospel record to cross over, hitting no. 2 on the "Billboard" "race records" chart, the term then used for what later became the R&B chart, in April 1945. The recording has been cited as a precursor of rock and roll, and alternatively has been called the first rock and roll record. In May 2018, Tharpe was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe was born on March 20, 1915, as Rosetta Nubin in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, to Katie Bell Nubin and Willis Atkins, who were cotton pickers. However, researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc give her birth name as Rosether Atkins (or Atkinson), her mother's name being Katie Harper. Little is known of her father except that he was a singer. Tharpe's mother Katie was also a singer and a mandolin player, deaconess-missionary, and women's speaker for the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), which was founded in 1897 by Charles Harrison Mason, a black Pentecostal bishop, who encouraged rhythmic musical expression, dancing in praise and allowing women to sing and teach in church. Encouraged by her mother, Tharpe began singing and playing the guitar as Little Rosetta Nubin at the age of six and was cited as a musical prodigy.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: About 1921, at age six, Tharpe had joined her mother as a regular performer in a traveling evangelical troupe. Billed as a "singing and guitar playing miracle," she accompanied her mother in performances that were part sermon and part gospel concert before audiences across the American South. In the mid-1920s, Tharpe and her mother settled in Chicago, Illinois, where they performed religious concerts at the Roberts Temple COGIC on 40th Street, occasionally traveling to perform at church conventions throughout the country. Tharpe developed considerable fame as a musical prodigy, standing out in an era when prominent black female guitarists were rare. In 1934, at age 19, she married Thomas Thorpe, a COGIC preacher, who accompanied her and her mother on many of their tours. The marriage lasted only a few years, but she decided to adopt a version of her husband's surname as her stage name, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. In 1938, she left her husband and moved with her mother to New York City. Although she married several times, she performed as Rosetta Tharpe for the rest of her life.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: On October 31, 1938, aged 23, Tharpe recorded for the first time – four sides for Decca Records backed by Lucky Millinder's jazz orchestra. The first gospel songs recorded by Decca, "Rock Me", "That's All", "My Man and I" and "The Lonesome Road", were instant hits, establishing Tharpe as an overnight sensation and one of the first commercially successful gospel recording artists. "Rock Me" influenced many rock-and-roll singers, such as Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1942, the music critic Maurie Orodenker, describing Tharpe's "Rock Me", wrote "It's Sister Rosetta Tharpe for the rock & roll spiritual singing."


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: She had signed a ten year contract with Millinder. Her records caused an immediate furor: many churchgoers were shocked by the mixture of gospel-based lyrics and secular-sounding music, but secular audiences loved them. Tharpe played on several occasions with the white singing group the Jordanaires.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe's appearances with Cab Calloway at Harlem's Cotton Club in October 1938 and in John Hammond's "Spirituals to Swing" concert at Carnegie Hall on December 23, 1938, gained her more fame, along with notoriety. Performing gospel music for secular nightclub audiences and alongside blues and jazz musicians and dancers was unusual, and in conservative religious circles a woman playing the guitar in such settings was frowned upon. Tharpe fell out of favor with segments of the gospel community.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: By 1943 she considered rebuilding a strictly gospel act, but she was contractually required to perform more worldly material. Her nightclub performances, in which she would sometimes sing gospel songs amid scantily clad showgirls, caused her to be shunned by some in the gospel community.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: During this time masculinity was directly linked to guitar skills. Tharpe was often offered the compliment that she could "play like a man", demonstrating her skills at guitar battles at the Apollo.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe continued recording during World War II, one of only two gospel artists able to record V-discs for troops overseas.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Her song "Strange Things Happening Every Day", recorded in 1944 with Sammy Price, Decca's house boogie woogie pianist, showcased her virtuosity as a guitarist and her witty lyrics and delivery. It was the first gospel song to appear on the "Billboard" magazine Harlem Hit Parade. This 1944 record has been called the first rock and roll record. Tharpe toured throughout the 1940s, backed by various gospel quartets, including the Dixie Hummingbirds.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: In 1946, Tharpe saw Marie Knight perform at a Mahalia Jackson concert in New York. Tharpe recognized a special talent in Knight. Two weeks later, Tharpe showed up at Knight's doorstep, inviting her to go on the road. They toured the gospel circuit for a number of years, during which they recorded hits such as "Up Above My Head" and "Gospel Train". Though dismissed by both artists as gossip, several in the Gospel community speculated that Knight and Tharpe maintained a romantic and sexual relationship.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Starting in 1949, their popularity took a sudden downturn. Mahalia Jackson was starting to eclipse Tharpe in popularity, and Knight harbored a desire to break free as a solo act into popular music. Furthermore, around this time, Knight lost her children and mother in a house-fire. That same year, to commemorate Tharpe's first anniversary of being a homeowner in Richmond, Virginia, Tharpe put on a concert at what is now the Altria Theater. Supporting her for that concert were the Twilight Singers, whom Rosetta adopted as her background singers for future concerts, renaming them The Rosettes.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe attracted 25,000 paying customers to her wedding to her manager, Russell Morrison (her third marriage), followed by a vocal performance at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., in 1951. In 1952, Tharpe and Red Foley recorded the B-side "Have a Little Talk with Jesus", which is likely the first interracial duet recorded in the US. It was not until 1968 that Billy Vera and Judy Clay had a hit with an interracial duet, "Storybook Children".


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: In 1956, Tharpe recorded an album with the gospel quartet The Harmonizing Four, titled "Gospel Train". In 1957, Tharpe was booked for a month-long tour of the UK by British trombonist Chris Barber.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: In April and May 1964, Tharpe toured Europe as part of the Blues and Gospel Caravan, alongside Muddy Waters and Otis Spann, Ransom Knowling and Little Willie Smith, Reverend Gary Davis, Cousin Joe, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Tharpe was introduced on stage and accompanied on piano by Cousin Joe Pleasant. Under the auspices of George Wein, the Caravan was stage-managed by Joe Boyd. A concert, in the rain, was recorded by Granada Television at the disused railway station at Wilbraham Road, Manchester, in May 1964. The band performed on one platform while the audience was seated on the opposite platform.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe's biographer said in 2018 that "she influenced Elvis Presley, she influenced Johnny Cash, she influenced Little Richard". When asked about her music and about rock and roll, Tharpe is reported to have said, "Oh, these kids and rock and roll — this is just sped up rhythm and blues. I've been doing that forever".


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe's performances were curtailed by a stroke in 1970, after which one of her legs was amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. On October 9, 1973, the eve of a scheduled recording session, she died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a result of another stroke. She was buried at Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Tharpe's guitar style blended melody-driven urban blues with traditional folk arrangements and incorporated a pulsating swing that was a precursor of rock and roll.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: A National Public Radio article commented in 2017 that "Rock 'n' roll was bred between the church and the nightclubs in the soul of a queer black woman in the 1940s named Sister Rosetta Tharpe".


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Little Richard referred to the stomping, shouting, gospel music performer as his favorite singer when he was a child. In 1947, she heard Richard sing before her concert at the Macon City Auditorium and later invited him on stage to sing with her; it was Richard's first public performance outside of the church. Following the show, she paid him for his performance, which inspired him to become a performer. When Johnny Cash gave his induction speech at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, he referred to Tharpe as his favorite singer when he was a child. His daughter Rosanne Cash stated in an interview with Larry King that Tharpe was her father's favorite singer. Tharpe began recording with electric guitar in the 1940s, with "That's All", which has been cited as an influence on Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. Other musicians, including Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Isaac Hayes, have identified her singing, guitar playing, and showmanship as an important influence on them. She was held in particularly high esteem by UK jazz/blues singer George Melly. Tina Turner credits Tharpe, along with Mahalia Jackson, as an early musical influence. Such diverse performers as Meat Loaf, Neil Sedaka and Karen Carpenter have attested to the influence of Tharpe in the rhythmic energy she emanated in her performances (Carpenter's drum fills are especially reminiscent of Tharpe's "Chorlton Chug").


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: In 2018 singer Frank Turner wrote and performed the song "Sister Rosetta" about her influence and how she deserved to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The single was released on July 3, 2019.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: According to Cleveland.com, Tharpe "plugged into an electric guitar in the late 1930s and became a rock star before the men considered the pioneers of rock and roll had dreamt of doing so. She's the "Godmother of rock and roll" who influenced every musician traditionally identified with helping launch the genre during the 1950s".


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: A resurgence of interest in Tharpe's work led to a biography, several NPR segments, scholarly articles, and honors. The United States Postal Service issued a 32-cent commemorative stamp to honor Tharpe on July 15, 1998. In 2007, she was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2008, a concert was held to raise funds for a marker for her grave, and January 11 was declared Sister Rosetta Tharpe Day in Pennsylvania. A gravestone was put in place later that year, and a Pennsylvania historical marker was approved for placement at her home in the Yorktown neighborhood of Philadelphia.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: In 2011 BBC Four aired a one-hour documentary, "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll", written and directed by UK filmmaker Mick Csaky. In 2013 the film was shown in the US as part of the PBS series "American Masters". The film has been repeated numerous times in the UK and US, most recently in March 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of Tharpe's birth. On March 20, 2015, the UK newspaper "The Guardian" published a 100th-birthday tribute by Richard Williams. On September 12, 2016, the musical play "Marie And Rosetta", based on the relationship between Tharpe and Marie Knight, opened at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: On October 5, 2017, Tharpe was listed as a nominee for the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions. On December 13, 2017, she was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence.


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: In 2017, National Public Radio wrote about the artist's career and concluded with these comments: Tharpe "was a gospel singer at heart who became a celebrity by forging a new path musically... Through her unforgettable voice and gospel swing crossover style, Tharpe influenced a generation of musicians including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry and countless others... She was, and is, an unmatched artist."


title: Sister Rosetta Tharpe

text: Her complete works up to 1961 were issued as seven double-CD box sets by the French label Frémeaux & Associés.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 – May 25, 2007) was an American actor, comedian, director, and drama teacher known for his comedic roles on stage, film, and television. Reilly performed in the original Broadway casts of "Bye Bye Birdie", "Hello, Dolly!", and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His television credits include "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" and "Match Game". A recording of his autobiographical one-man play "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly" was adapted into a 2006 independent film.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly was born January 13, 1931, in New York City in the Bronx, to an Irish-Catholic father and a Swedish Lutheran mother. When young, he would amuse himself by creating puppet theater, and his mother often told him to "save it for the stage".


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: At age 13, he survived the 1944 Hartford circus fire which killed 167 people in Connecticut, and he was afraid to sit in an audience ever again after that. Because of the event's trauma, he rarely attended theater, stating that the large crowds reminded him of what happened that day. As he often stated on "The Tonight Show" and other such venues, that even as the director of a play or stage production he preferred to sit at the back of the house or the back of a balcony near the exits to preview his work, including one time where his leading lady's costume caught fire (but on recounting this episode to Johnny, Reilly assured him "but you know, these things always work out okay").


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly developed a love of opera and wanted to become an opera singer. He entered the Hartt School of Music as a voice major, but abandoned this pursuit when he realized that he lacked the natural vocal talent to have a major career. However, opera remained a lifelong passion, and he was a frequent guest on opera-themed radio programs, including the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. He directed opera productions for the Chicago Opera Theater, Dallas Opera, Portland Opera, San Diego Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. He was good friends with opera singers Renée Fleming, Rod Gilfry, Roberta Peters, and Eileen Farrell.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly made his film debut with an uncredited role in "A Face in the Crowd" (1957), directed by Elia Kazan, although most of his early career was spent on the stage. He was a regular performer in comic roles for several summer seasons in the 1950s at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. Reilly appeared in many Off Broadway productions. His big break came in 1960 with the enormously successful original Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie". In the groundbreaking musical, Reilly had a small onstage part, and was Dick Van Dyke's understudy/replacement for the leading role.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: In 1961, Reilly was in the original cast of another Broadway show, the Pulitzer prize-winning musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". For his memorable origination of the role of Bud Frump, Reilly earned a 1962 Tony Award for featured actor in a musical.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: In 1964, Reilly was in the original cast of "Hello, Dolly!", another successful Broadway show. For originating the role of Cornelius Hackl, Reilly received a second nomination for a Tony Award for performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly kept active in Broadway shows but he became better known for his TV work, appearing regularly on television in the 1960s. He appeared as a Mystery Guest and was a panelist on the "What's My Line?" quiz show. In 1965 he appeared several times on "The Steve Lawrence Show", which aired for a single season. Television commercials that he made throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s included Excedrin, Bic Banana Ink Crayons and Purina Mills Dog Food.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: From 1968 to 1970, he appeared as the bumbler Claymore Gregg on the television series "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir", for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also appeared as a regular on "The Dean Martin Show" and had guest appearances on various television series, including "McMillan & Wife", "The Patty Duke Show", "Here's Lucy", "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", "The Love Boat", and "Love, American Style". In 1971, he appeared as the evil magician Hoodoo in "Lidsville", a children's program on ABC.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly was a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", appearing more than 100 times. He was a lively and reliable talk-show guest and lived within blocks of the Burbank studios where "The Tonight Show" was taped, so he was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who did not make it to the studio in time.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly was a fixture on game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular panelist on "Match Game". He was one of the longest-running guests, and often engaged in playful banter with fellow regular Brett Somers (the two generally sat next to each other on the show—Somers in the upper middle seat and Reilly in the upper right seat). He typically offered sardonic commentary and peppered his answers with homosexuality-themed double entendres which pushed the boundaries of 1970s television standards.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: During the taping of "Match Game '74", Reilly left for a short time to film "Hamburgers" (1974) and to star in the Neil Simon play "God's Favorite". From 1975 to 1976, he starred in another live-action children's program titled "Uncle Croc's Block", with Jonathan Harris. He was often a guest celebrity on the 1984 game show "Body Language", including one week with Lucille Ball and another week with Audrey Landers.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: From 1976, Reilly primarily taught acting and directing for television and theater, including directing Julie Harris (with whom he had acted in "Skyscraper" in 1965–66), who was portraying Emily Dickinson in her one-woman Broadway play "The Belle of Amherst", by William Luce. In 1979, he directed Ira Levin's play "Break a Leg" on Broadway. Despite the previous year's success of Levin's "Deathtrap," "Break a Leg" closed after one performance. Within days, Reilly appeared on "The Tonight Show", joking and speaking at length about the show's failure, saying, "So [a play] can open and last six years, eight years... or two hours and five minutes." Reilly earned a 1997 Tony Award nomination as Best Director of a Play for the revival of "The Gin Game", starring Julie Harris.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: In 1990, he directed episodes of "Evening Shade". Reilly also made guest appearances in the 1990s on "The Drew Carey Show", "The Larry Sanders Show", "Family Matters", "Second Noah", and as eccentric writer Jose Chung in the television series "The X-Files" ("Jose Chung's "From Outer Space""), "Millennium" ("Jose Chung's "Doomsday Defense""), and occasionally as the voice of the Dirty Bubble in the animated series "SpongeBob SquarePants" before he was replaced by Tom Kenny. Reilly was nominated for Emmy Awards in 1998 and 1999 for his performances in "The Drew Carey Show" and "Millennium", respectively.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly was a longtime teacher of acting at HB Studio, the acting studio founded by Herbert Berghof and made famous by Berghof and his wife, the renowned stage actress Uta Hagen. His acting students included Lily Tomlin, Bette Midler, and Gary Burghoff.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly had a voice role in three films by Don Bluth: "All Dogs Go to Heaven" as Killer in 1989, "Rock-a-Doodle" as Hunch in 1991, and "A Troll in Central Park" as King Llort in 1994. In each one, he played the villain's dim-witted sidekick who reformed at the end.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Magazine and newspaper profiles of Reilly throughout the 1970s and 1980s did not mention his personal life or sexuality. Years after the cancellation of "Match Game", he revealed his homosexuality in his theatrical one-man show "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly".


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Much like fellow actor and game-show regular Paul Lynde of the same era, despite Reilly's off-camera silence, he gave signals on-camera of a campy persona. In many episodes of "Match Game", he lampooned himself by briefly affecting "YO!" in a deep voice, using the nickname "Chuck," and self-consciously describing how "butch" he was. Many years after his game show career ended, he mentioned in a 2002 interview with "Entertainment Tonight" that he felt no need to explain his jokes about Chuck and that he never purposely hid his homosexuality from anyone. Patrick Hughes, a set decorator and dresser, was Reilly's domestic partner; the two met backstage while Reilly appeared on the game show "Battlestars", although their partnership was not revealed publicly. They lived together in Beverly Hills.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly did appear on several episodes of the game show "Tattletales" with actress Elizabeth Allen as a couple, though their "relationship" was never discussed on the air.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly was associated with the United States Coast Guard and made at least two films in conjunction with the Coast Guard. He regularly advertised National Safe Boating Week as a panelist on "Match Game". Reilly died on May 25, 2007; the last day of 2007's National Safe Boating Week.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Despite sporting what appeared to be a full head of hair for most of the prime of his television career, Reilly was in fact bald, wearing a toupée throughout most of his appearances in the 1970s and 1980s. During the taping of "Match Game '74", his toupée became a joke when Reilly had to go to New York City to have his toupée adjusted. During the taping of several episodes, Reilly was seen wearing different hats because his toupée was back in New York waiting for him to be fitted. This was the start of the long-running jokes on "Match Game" about his hair. He abandoned the toupée in the late 1990s and appeared bald in all of his subsequent public events. He dramatized the experience in his stage show "The Life of Reilly". In one episode of "Match Game '78", he took off his toupée and gave it to a bald contestant by putting it on his head. One can briefly see Reilly's bald head before he covers it up with a hat.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly spent his later life primarily touring the U.S. directing theater and opera, and offering audiences a glimpse into his background and personal life with a critically acclaimed one-man play chronicling his life, titled "Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly". In 2004, his final two performances of his play in North Hollywood, California, were recorded as the basis of an autobiographical independent film titled "The Life of Reilly".


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: Reilly was stricken with respiratory problems while filming "The Life of Reilly", and retired from directing and performing immediately after the final day of shooting in 2004. The movie premiered in March 2006 at the South by Southwest film festival, and Reilly's film performance was acclaimed. He canceled his personal appearance at South by Southwest due to his illness, and by the time the film premiered, he had been hospitalized. Reilly died of complications from pneumonia at the UCLA Medical Center on May 25, 2007, and his body was cremated. That weekend, the Game Show Network dedicated its programming to Reilly, airing some of his funniest episodes of "Match Game". His death was marked by tributes from Reilly's funerals many celebrities including Michael Gambon and Luke Wilson.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: For "Big Lizard in My Backyard", their 1985 debut album, Philadelphia punk band The Dead Milkmen recorded a song titled "Serrated Edge" that features numerous absurd references to Reilly as a Jesus figure and orgy centerpiece.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: In 2001, Reilly was the subject of a sketch on "Saturday Night Live", spoofing "Inside the Actors Studio", and was portrayed by Alec Baldwin. A later Baldwin character, the Generalissimo from "30 Rock", mentions both Julie Harris and "The Belle of Amherst", which Reilly had directed. A 2008 parody of "Match Game" on "Saturday Night Live" included Fred Armisen playing a Reilly-like character. In the sketch, the host is found murdered moments before the show's taping; the subsequent on-air police investigation reveals that he had been having a clandestine homosexual affair with the Reilly character. Baldwin briefly reprised his portrayal of Reilly in the "30 Rock" episode "Live from Studio 6H" (West Coast airing), appearing on the "joke wall" in a parody of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In".


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote and recorded a tribute song titled "CNR", jokingly caricaturing Reilly with parodies of the internet phenomenon Chuck Norris Facts, with absurdities like winning the Tour de France "with two flat tires and a missing chain", or how "every day he'd make the host of "Match Game" give him a piggyback ride". This was part of Yankovic's digital "Internet Leaks" EP, and was included on the 2011 CD release "Alpocalypse". The music video was released by JibJab on August 4, 2009. Yankovic again referenced Reilly within a sight gag present in the end credits of his 2022 spoof biopic "" which implies that Reilly engaged in career-long stalking of the fictionalized Yankovic.


title: Charles Nelson Reilly

text: In season two, episode one of "The Life and Times of Tim", one character observes another acting a line from their play and says, "I saw Charles Nelson Reilly do that, and you did it better."


title: Title IX

text: Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government. This is Public Law No. 92‑318, 86 Stat. 235 (June 23, 1972), codified at 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1688.


title: Title IX

text: Senator Birch Bayh wrote the 37 words of Title IX. Bayh first introduced an amendment to the Higher Education Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sex on August 6, 1971 and again on February 28, 1972, when it passed the Senate. Representative Edith Green, chair of the Subcommittee on Education, had held hearings on discrimination against women, and introduced legislation in the House on May 11, 1972. The full Congress passed Title IX on June 8, 1972. Representative Patsy Mink emerged in the House to lead efforts to protect Title IX against attempts to weaken it, and it was later renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act following Mink's death in 2002. When Title IX was passed in 1972, only 42 percent of the students enrolled in American colleges were female.


title: Title IX

text: The purpose of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 was to update Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned several forms of discrimination in employment, but did not address or mention discrimination in education.


title: Title IX

text: The following is the original text as written and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972:


title: Title IX

text: Title IX was enacted as a follow-up to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 1964 Act was passed to end discrimination in various fields based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the areas of employment and public accommodation. The 1964 Act did not prohibit sex discrimination against people employed at educational institutions. A parallel law, Title VI, had also been enacted in 1964 to prohibit discrimination in federally funded private and public entities. It covered race, color, and national origin but excluded sex. Feminists during the early 1970s lobbied Congress to add sex as a protected class category. Title IX was enacted to fill this gap and prohibit discrimination in all federally funded education programs. Congressman John Tower then proposed an amendment to Title IX that would have exempted athletics departments from Title IX.


title: Title IX

text: The Tower amendment was rejected, but it led to widespread misunderstanding of Title IX as a sports-equity law, rather than an anti-discrimination, civil rights law. While Title IX is best known for its impact on high school and collegiate athletics, the original statute made no explicit mention of sports. The United States Supreme Court also issued decisions in the 1980s and 1990s, making clear that sexual harassment and assault is a form of sex discrimination. In 2011, President Barack Obama issued guidance reminding schools of their obligation to redress sexual assaults as civil rights matters under Title IX. Obama also issued guidance clarifying Title IX protections for LGBT students through Dear Colleague letters.


title: Title IX

text: The precursor to Title IX was an executive order, issued in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson, forbidding discrimination in federal contracts. Before these orders were issued, the National Organization for Women (NOW) had persuaded him to include the addition of women. Executive Order 11375 required all entities receiving federal contracts to end discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring and employment. In 1969, a notable example of its success was Bernice Sandler who used the executive order to retain her job and tenure at the University of Maryland. She utilized university statistics to show how female employment at the university had plummeted as qualified women were replaced by men. Sandler then brought her complaints to the Department of Labor's Office for Federal Fair Contracts Compliance, where she was encouraged to file a formal complaint; later citing inequalities in pay, rank, and admissions, among others.


title: Title IX

text: Sandler soon began to file complaints against the University of Maryland and other colleges while working with NOW and the Women's Equity Action League (WEAL). Sandler later filed 269 complaints against colleges and universities, which led to the events of 1970. In 1970, Sandler joined U.S. House Representative Edith Green's Subcommittee on Higher Education of the Education and Labor Committee, and observed corresponding congressional hearings relating to women's issues on employment and equal opportunity. In these hearings, Green and Sandler initially proposed the idea of Title IX. An early legislative draft aimed at amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was then authored by Representative Green. At the hearing, there were mentions of athletics. The idea behind the draft was a progressive one in instituting an affirmative action for women in all aspects of American education.


title: Title IX

text: Title IX was formally introduced in Congress by Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana in 1971 who then was its chief Senate sponsor for congressional debate. At the time, Bayh was working on numerous constitutional issues related to women's employment and sex discrimination—including but not limited to the revised draft of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA attempted to build "a powerful constitutional base from which to move forward in abolishing discriminatory differential treatment based on sex". As he was having partisan difficulty in later getting the ERA Amendment out of committee, the Higher Education Act of 1965 was on the Senate Floor for re-authorization; and on February 28, 1972, Bayh re-introduced a provision found in the original/revised ERA bill as an amendment which would become Title IX. In his remarks on the Senate Floor, Bayh stated, "we are all familiar with the stereotype [that] women [are] pretty things who go to college to find a husband, [and who] go on to graduate school because they want a more interesting husband, and finally marry, have children, and never work again. The desire of many schools not to waste a 'man's place' on a woman stems from such stereotyped notions. But the facts contradict these myths about the 'weaker sex' and it is time to change our operating assumptions." He continued: "While the impact of this amendment would be far-reaching, it is not a panacea. It is, however, an important first step in the effort to provide for the women of America something that is rightfully theirs—an equal chance to attend the schools of their choice, to develop the skills they want, and to apply those skills with the knowledge that they will have a fair chance to secure the jobs of their choice with equal pay for equal work". Title IX became public law on June 23, 1972. When U.S. President Nixon signed the bill, he spoke mostly about desegregation busing, and did not mention the expansion of educational access for women he had enacted.


title: Title IX

text: Each institution or organization that receives federal funding must designate at least one employee as Title IX coordinator. Their duty is to oversee that Title IX is not being violated and to answer all questions pertaining to Title IX. Everyone must have access to the Title IX coordinator's name, address, and telephone number. In order to ensure compliance with Title IX, programs of both male and females must display no discrimination. This applies to athletics participation numbers, scholarships, program budgets, expenditures, and coaching salaries by gender.


title: Title IX

text: Title IX's statutory language is brief. U.S. President Nixon therefore directed the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to publish regulations clarifying the law's application. In 1974, U.S. Senator John Tower introduced the Tower Amendment which would have exempted revenue-producing sports from Title IX compliance. Later that year, Congress rejected the Tower Amendment and passed an amendment proposed by U.S. Senator Jacob Javits directing HEW to include "reasonable provisions considering the nature of particular sports" adopted in its place. In June 1975, HEW published the final regulations detailing how Title IX would be enforced. These regulations were codified in the Federal Register in the Code of Federal Regulations Volume 34, Part 106 (). Since 1975, the federal government has issued guidance clarifying how it interprets and enforces those regulations.


title: Title IX

text: The Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 is tied to Title IX which was passed in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 1984 ruling "Grove City College v. Bell." The Court held that Title IX applied only to those programs receiving direct federal aid. This case was initially reached by the Supreme Court when Grove City College disagreed with the Department of Education's assertion that it was required to comply with Title IX. Grove City College was not a federally funded institution; however, they did accept students who were receiving Basic Educational Opportunity Grants through a Department of Education program. The Department of Education's stance was that because some of its students were receiving federal grants, the school was thus receiving federal assistance and Title  IX applied to it. The Court decided that since Grove City College was only receiving federal funding through the grant program that only this program had to comply. This ruling was a major victory for those opposed to Title IX as it then made many athletic programs outside the purview of Title IX, and thus reduced its scope.


title: Title IX

text: Grove City's court victory, however, was short-lived. The Civil Rights Restoration Act passed in 1988, which extended Title IX coverage to all programs of any educational institution that receives "any" federal assistance, both direct and indirect. In 1994, the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Cardiss Collins required that federally-assisted educational institutions disclose information on roster sizes for men's and women's athletic teams; as well as budgets for recruiting, scholarships, coaches' salaries, and other expenses, annually. In 1992, the Supreme Court decided monetary relief was available under Title IX in the case Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools. In October 2002, less than a month after the death of U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution to rename Title IX the "Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act," which President George W. Bush signed into law. On November 24, 2006, Title IX regulations were amended to provide greater flexibility in the operation of single-sex classes or extracurricular activities at the primary or secondary school level; this was largely to introduce federal abstinence-only programs, which may have been a partial basis for the support of President Bush.


title: Title IX

text: On May 15, 2020, the Department of Education issued a letter stating that the policy of the state of Connecticut which allows transgender girls to compete in high school sports as girls was a violation of the civil rights of female student-athletes and a violation of Title IX. It stated that Connecticut's policy "denied female student-athletes athletic benefits and opportunities, including advancing to the finals in events, higher-level competitions, awards, medals, recognition, and the possibility of greater visibility to colleges and other benefits."


title: Title IX

text: On March 8, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14021 entitled "Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free From Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity," reversing changes made by the Trump administration to limit the scope of Title IX to biological sex only, excluding gender identity and sexual orientation. The executive order also provided a timeline for the Secretary of Education and Attorney General to "review all existing regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions (collectively, agency actions) that are or may be inconsistent with the policy set forth" in the order.


title: Title IX

text: On June 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued a Notice of Interpretation explaining that it will "enforce Title IX's prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex to include: (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination based on gender identity." The review set out in E.O. 14021 is still ongoing as of April 2022.


title: Title IX

text: The introduction of Title IX was followed by a considerable increase in the number of females participating in organized sports within American academic institutions followed by growing interest in initiating and developing programs which would pursue feminist principles in relationship to concerns surrounding issues dealing with girls and women's equality and equity in sport.


title: Title IX

text: Athletic equality requirements were later set by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. In order to meet the requirements, schools must pass at least one of three tests measuring gender equality among athletics the school offers. These tests consist of proportional numbers of males and females participating, whether or not the school is making an effort to increase the number of the unrepresented sex, if the school has a certain history of one specific sex dominating the numbers of athletes in a given sport, and whether or not the school is showing an effort to expand the program to the other sex.


title: Title IX

text: There have been different interpretations regarding Title IX's application to high school athletics. The American Sports Council sued the Department of Education in 2011 seeking a declaratory judgment that its policy interpreting Title IX's requirement for equity in participation opportunities is limited to colleges and universities. The American Sports Council argued that "The three-part test and its encouragement of quotas, has no relevance to high schools or high-school sports, and no federal regulation or interpretation has ever said that high schools must abide by the three-part test". On the other hand, the Department of Education insists that Title IX is a "valuable tool" for ensuring a level playing field for all students" and "plays a critical role in ensuring a fundamental level of fairness in America's schools and universities".


title: Title IX

text: Although Title IX has helped increase the participation rate of female student athletes, several challenges remain for girls and women, including for females who aspire to become involved in professional roles within sport. The growing exposure of female sports has led to an increasingly dominant representation of males in coaching positions and roles involving the governance of female athletics.


title: Title IX

text: In regards to coaching roles, in spite of the fact that the legislation has helped create more and better opportunities for women, the number of women coaches has surprisingly decreased while the number of male coaches have subsequently increased. Men have also gained a larger role in directing female athletics. For example, the male-dominated National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which had been content to let the female-dominated Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) run female championships, decided to offer female championships themselves, leading to the eventual demise of the AIAW. The NCAA later tried to claim that Congress had not intended to include athletics under Title IX's coverage, but the record lacks any sustained discussion of the matter.


title: Title IX

text: Advocates of Title IX's current interpretation cite increases in female athletic participation, and attribute those increases to Title IX. One study, completed in 2006, pointed to a large increase in the number of women participating in athletics at both the high school and college level. The number of women in high school sports had increased by a factor of nine, while the number of women in college sports had increased by more than 450%. A 2008 study of intercollegiate athletics showed that women's collegiate sports have grown to 9,101 teams, or 8.65 per school. The five most frequently offered college sports for women are in order: (1) Basketball, 98.8% of schools have a team; (2) Volleyball, 95.7%; (3) Soccer, 92.0%; (4) Cross Country; 90.8%, and (5) Softball; 89.2%. The lowest rank for female sports teams is bowling. The exact percentage is not known, however there are only around 600 students on women's bowling teams in all three divisions in the NCAA.


title: Title IX

text: There have been concerns and claims that the current interpretation of Title IX by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has resulted in the dismantling of men's programs, despite strong participation in those sports. Some believe that the increase in athletic opportunity for girls in high school has come at the expense of boys' athletics. Because teams vary widely in size, it is more common to compare the number of total participation opportunities between the sexes. Additionally, the total number of college participation opportunities has increased for both sexes in the Title IX era, though solely for women when increased enrollment is accounted for, as men's participation has remained static relative to university enrollment, and men's opportunities outnumber women's by a wide margin.


title: Title IX

text: Between 1981 and 1999, university athletic departments cut 171 men's wrestling teams, 84 men's tennis teams, 56 men's gymnastics teams, 27 men's track teams, and 25 men's swimming teams. While some teams—both men's and women's—have been eliminated in the Title IX era, both sexes have seen a net increase in the number of athletic teams over that same period. When total enrollment (which had likewise increased) is controlled for however, only women had an increase in participation.


title: Title IX

text: Though interest in the sport of wrestling has consistently increased at the high school level since 1990, scores of colleges have dropped their wrestling programs during that same period. The OCR's three-prong test for compliance with Title IX often is cited as the reason for these cuts. Wrestling historically was the most frequently dropped sport, but other men's sports later overtook the lead, such that according to the NCAA, the most-dropped men's sports between 1987 and 2002 were as follows:


title: Title IX

text: Additionally, eight NCAA sports—all men's sports—were sponsored by fewer Division I schools in 2020 than in 1990, despite the D-I membership having increased by nearly 60 schools during that period.


title: Title IX

text: In 2011, the American Sports Council (formerly called the College Sports Council) stated, "Nationwide, there are currently 1.3 million more boys participating in high school sports than girls. Using a gender quota to enforce Title IX in high school sports would put those young athletes at risk of losing their opportunity to play." High school participation rates from the National Federation of High School associations report that in 2010–11, there were 4,494,406 boys and 3,173,549 girls participating in high school athletics.


title: Title IX

text: In a 2007 study of athletic opportunities at NCAA institutions the Women's Sports Foundation reported that over 150,000 female athletic opportunities would need to be added to reach participation levels proportional to the female undergraduate population. The same study found that men's athletics also receives the lion's share of athletic department budgets for operating expenses, recruiting, scholarships, and coaches salaries.


title: Title IX

text: Title IX applies to all educational programs and all aspects of a school's educational system. In the late 1970s, a group of students and one faculty member sued Yale University for its failure to curtail sexual harassment on campus, especially by male faculty. This case, Alexander v. Yale, was the first to use Title IX to argue and establish that the sexual harassment of female students can be considered illegal sex discrimination. The plaintiffs in the case alleged rape, fondling, and offers of higher grades for sex by several Yale faculty. Some of the cases were based on a 1977 report authored by plaintiff Ann Olivarius, now a feminist attorney known for fighting sexual harassment, "A report to the Yale Corporation from the Yale Undergraduate Women's Caucus." Several of the plaintiffs and lawyers have written accounts of the case.


title: Title IX

text: Advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) likewise maintain that "when students suffer sexual assault and harassment, they are deprived of equal and free access to an education." Further, according to an April 2011 letter issued by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, "The sexual harassment of students, including sexual violence, interferes with students' right to receive an education free from discrimination and, in the case of sexual violence, is a crime."


title: Title IX

text: The letter, referred to as the "Dear Colleague Letter", states that it is the responsibility of institutions of higher education "to take immediate and effective steps to end sexual harassment and sexual violence." The letter illustrates multiple examples of Title IX requirements as they relate to sexual violence and makes clear that, should an institution fail to fulfill its responsibilities under Title IX, the Department of Education can impose a fine and potentially deny further institutional access to federal funds. However, critics and later the Department of Education noted that this change was adopted without a rulemaking process to provide public notice and comment.


title: Title IX

text: On March 15, 2011, Yale undergraduate student and alleged sexual violence survivor Alexandra Brodsky filed a Title IX complaint along with fifteen fellow students alleging Yale "has a sexually hostile environment and has failed to adequately respond to sexual harassment concerns."


title: Title IX

text: In October 2012, an Amherst College student, Angie Epifano, wrote an explicit, personal account of her alleged sexual assault and the ensuing "appalling treatment" she received when coming forward to seek support from the college's administration. In the narrative, Epifano alleged that she was raped by a fellow Amherst student and described how her life was affected by the experience; she stated that the perpetrator harassed her at the only dining hall, that her academic performance was negatively affected, and that, when she sought support, the administration coerced her into taking the blame for her experience and ultimately institutionalized her and pressured her to drop out.


title: Title IX

text: The fact that such a prestigious institution could have such a noxious interior fills me with intense remorse mixed with sour distaste. I am sickened by the Administration's attempts to cover up survivors' stories, cook their books to discount rapes, pretend that withdrawals never occur, quell attempts at change, and sweep sexual assaults under a rug. When politicians cover up affairs or scandals the masses often rise in angry protestations and call for a more transparent government. What is the difference between a government and the Amherst College campus? Why can't we know what is happening on campus? Why should we be quiet about sexual assault?"


title: Title IX

text: When the Amherst case reached national attention, Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino, two women who were allegedly sexually assaulted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill connected with Epifano, Brodsky, and Yale Law School student Dana Bolger to address the parallel concerns of hostility at their institution, filing Title IX and Clery Act complaints against the university in January 2013, both leading to investigations by the U.S. Department of Education.


title: Title IX

text: Following the national prominence of the UNC Chapel Hill case, organizers Pino and Clark went on to coordinate with students at other schools; in 2013, complaints citing violations of Title IX were filed against Occidental College (on April 18), Swarthmore College and the University of Southern California (on May 22). These complaints, the resulting campaigns against sexual violence on college campuses, and the organizing of Bolger, Brodsky, Clark, Pino and other activists led to the formation of an informal national network of activists. Bolger and Brodsky also started Know Your IX, an organization of student activists focused on legal education and federal and state policy change.


title: Title IX

text: Title IX has been interpreted as allowing private lawsuits against educational institutions as well as formal complaints submitted to the Department of Education. In 2006, a federal court found that there was sufficient evidence that the University of Colorado acted with "deliberate indifference" toward students Lisa Simpson and Anne Gilmore, who were sexually assaulted by student football players. The university settled the case by promising to change its policies and to pay $2.5 million in damages. In 2008, Arizona State University was the subject of a lawsuit that alleged violations of rights guaranteed by Title IX: the university expelled a football player for multiple instances of severe sexual harassment, but readmitted him; he went on to rape a fellow student in her dorm room. Despite its claim that it bore no responsibility, the school settled the lawsuit, agreeing to revise and improve its official response to sexual misconduct and to pay the plaintiff $850,000 in damages and fees.


title: Title IX

text: The Trump administration made changes to guidelines that were implemented during the Obama administration. These changes shifted the standard of evidence used in Title IX investigations from "preponderance of the evidence" to a "clear and convincing" evidence standard, which is typically used for civil cases in which serious allegations are made (as opposed to the standard of beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases). On September 22, 2017, US Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos rescinded the Obama-era guidelines which had prodded colleges and universities to more aggressively investigate campus sexual assaults. On May 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education released final regulations governing campus sexual assault under Title IX, the first Title IX guidance published by the Office of Civil Rights to go through a formal notice-and-comment process since 1997. Some of the new regulations made in May 2020 involve defining sexual harassment to include “sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking,” as discrimination, as well as require schools to offer attainable options for anyone to report a sexual harassment case. Unlike guidance issued by the Obama administration in 2011 and 2014, they will have the force of law behind them. Colleges and universities will be required to comply with the regulations by Aug. 14.


title: Title IX

text: On June 23, 2022, the Biden Administration issued a proposed rule to reverse the changes made by the final rule and to expand coverage regarding gender identity and pregnancy.


title: Title IX

text: Between 2010 and 2016, under the Obama administration the U.S. Department of Education-issued guidance—which was not part of the original amendment passed by Congress—explained that transgender students are protected from sex-based discrimination under Title IX. In particular, Title IX of its Education Amendments of 1972 bars schools that receive financial aid assistance from sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities. It instructed public schools to treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity in academic life. A student who identifies as a transgender boy, for instance, is allowed entry to a boys-only class, and a student who identifies as a transgender girl is allowed entry to a girls-only class. This also applies to academic records if that student is over the age of eighteen at a university. The memo states in part that "[a]ll students, including transgender students, or students who do not conform to sex stereotypes, are protected from sex-based discrimination under Title IX. Under Title IX, a recipient generally must treat transgender, or gender non-conforming, consistent with their gender identity in all aspects of the planning, implementation, enrollment, operation, and evaluation of single-sex classes."


title: Title IX

text: However, starting in 2017 with the Trump administration, several of these policies have been rolled back. In February 2017, the Departments of Justice and Education (headed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, respectively) withdrew the guidance on gender identity. The Education Department announced on February 12, 2018 that Title IX did not allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their gender identities.


title: Title IX

text: Dwayne Bensing, a lawyer for the Office of Civil Rights within the United States Department of Education and who was in its LGBTQ affinity group, had unsuccessfully asked DeVos not to withdraw the Obama administration guidance. Two years later, in the summer of 2019, Bensing discovered that the Education Department was fast-tracking the Alliance Defending Freedom's complaint against transgender student-athletes, even though the Department's attorneys did not understand the legal basis for doing so and the Department had to pressure other employees. Bensing leaked this information to the "Washington Blade" and was forced to resign in December 2019. Bensing did not qualify as a whistleblower under the Whistleblower Protection Act, since the act only protects federal employees if they disclose suspected crimes and abuses to their supervisor during normal business hours, among other requirements.


title: Title IX

text: In October 2018, "The New York Times" obtained a memo issued by the Department of Health and Human Services that would propose a strict definition of gender for Title IX, using the person's sex as determined at birth and could not be changed, effectively limiting recognition of transgender students and potentially others. The memo stated that the government needed to define gender "on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable". The news brought immediate protests in several locations as well as online social media under the "#WontBeErased" hashtag.


title: Title IX

text: In May 2020, the Trump administration's Department of Education contended that the rights of cisgender (biological) women are infringed upon by transgender women. The Education Department started to withhold federal funding to schools which affirm the identities of transgender athletes.


title: Title IX

text: In August 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a 2018 lower court ruling in Adams v. The School Board of St. Johns County, Florida that discrimination on the basis of gender identity is discrimination "on the basis of sex" and is prohibited under Title IX (federal civil rights law) and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.


title: Title IX

text: In December 2020, the "Protect Women in Sports" Act was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives. It would block schools from receiving federal funding if transgender girls and nonbinary people are allowed to compete on girls' sports teams at those schools. It was sponsored by Representatives Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, and Markwayne Mullin, a Republican.


title: Title IX

text: Title IX has been a source of controversy in part due to claims that the OCR's current interpretation of Title IX, and specifically its three-prong test of compliance, is no longer faithful to the anti-discrimination language in Title IX's text, and instead discriminates against men and has contributed to the reduction of programs for male athletes.


title: Title IX

text: Critics of the three-prong test contend that it operates as a "quota" in that it places undue emphasis on the first prong (known as the "proportionality" prong), which fails to take into account any differences in the genders' respective levels of interest in participating in athletics (despite the third prong, which focuses on any differences in the genders' respective levels of interest in participation). Instead, it requires that the genders' athletic participation be substantially proportionate to their enrollment, without regard to interest. Prong two is viewed as only a temporary fix for universities, as universities may only point to the past expansion of opportunities for female students for a limited time before compliance with another prong is necessary. Critics say that prong three likewise fails to consider male athletic interest despite its gender-neutral language, as it requires that the university fully and effectively accommodate the athletic interests of the "underrepresented sex", even though ED regulations expressly require that the OCR consider whether the institution "effectively accommodate[s] the interests and abilities of members of both sexes". As such, with a focus on increasing female athletic opportunities without any counterbalance to consider male athletic interest, critics maintain that the OCR's three-prong test operates to discriminate against men.


title: Title IX

text: Defenders of the three-prong test counter that the genders' differing athletic interest levels are merely a product of past discrimination, and that Title IX should be interpreted to maximize female participation in athletics regardless of any existing disparity in interest. Thus while defenders argue that the three-prong test embodies the maxim that "opportunity drives interest", critics argue that the three-prong test goes beyond Title IX original purpose of preventing discrimination, and instead amounts to an exercise in which athletic opportunities are taken away from male students and given to female students, despite the comparatively lower interest levels of those female students. Author and self-described women's rights advocate John Irving opined in a "New York Times" column that on this topic, women's advocates were being "purely vindictive" in insisting that the current OCR interpretation of Title IX be maintained.


title: Title IX

text: On March 17, 2005, OCR announced a clarification of prong three of the three-part test of Title IX compliance. The guidance concerned the use of web-based surveys to determine the level of interest in varsity athletics among the underrepresented sex. Opponents of the clarification – including the NCAA Executive Committee, which issued a resolution soon afterward asking Association members not to use the survey – claimed the survey was flawed in part because of the way it counted non-responses. On April 20, 2010, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights abandoned the 2005 clarification that allowed institutions to use only Internet or e‑mail surveys to meet the interests and abilities (third prong) option of the three-part test for Title IX compliance.


title: Title IX

text: In February 2010, the United States Commission on Civil Rights weighed in on the OCR's three-prong test, offering several recommendations on Title IX policy to address what it termed "unnecessary reduction of men's athletic opportunities". The commission advocated use of surveys to measure interest, and specifically recommended that the Department of Education's regulations on interest and abilities be revised "to explicitly take into account the interest of both sexes rather than just the interest of the underrepresented sex", almost always females.


title: Title IX

text: On the twenty-fifth anniversary of Title IX the National Women's Law Center lodged twenty-five complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.


title: Title IX

text: After Title IX was implemented, there was controversy about the amount of athletic integration, especially among female education leaders who worried about girls being injured or bullied by rough boys in coeducational activities. These gym teachers who worried about losing their job as programs were combined, a valid fear, as it turned out. While there were always some parents and administrators who did not like the idea of coed gym classes, that has in fact become the norm as a result of Title IX.


title: Title IX

text: There were several events praising the 40th anniversary of Title IX in June 2012. For example, the White House Council on Women and Girls hosted a panel to discuss the life-altering nature of sports. Panelists included Billie Jean King, All‑American NCAA point guard Shoni Schimmel of the University of Louisville, and Aimee Mullins, the first double-amputee sprinter to compete in NCAA track and field for Georgetown University.


title: Title IX

text: On June 21, 2012, espnW projected a digital mosaic featuring the largest-ever collection of women and girls' sports images (all of which were submitted by the athletes themselves) onto the First Amendment tablet of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The mosaic also included photos of espnW's Top 40 Athletes of the Past 40 Years.


title: Title IX

text: "ESPN The Magazine" produced its first "Women in Sports" issue in June 2012, and in the same month ESPN Classic first showed the documentary "Sporting Chance: The Lasting Legacy of Title IX", narrated by Holly Hunter. It also showed the documentary "On the Basis of Sex: The Battle for Title IX in Sports", and other programming related to women's sports.


title: Title IX

text: In 2013 ESPN Films broadcast "Nine for IX", a series of documentaries about women in sports. "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts and Tribeca Productions co founder Jane Rosenthal are executive producers of the series.


title: Title IX

text: The NCAA announced in April 2019 that it would hold its 2023 Division II and Division III women's basketball championship games at American Airlines Center in Dallas, which had previously been announced as the site for that season's Division I women's Final Four. In its announcement, the NCAA explicitly called the joint championship event "a 50th-year celebration of Title IX" (as that particular basketball season will begin in calendar 2022).


title: Title IX

text: Concern has been expressed that colleges have been overly aggressive in enforcing Title IX regulations, particularly about sexual matters. The author Laura Kipnis, author of "How to Become a Scandal: Adventures in Bad Behavior" (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2010), and others have argued that Title IX regulations have empowered investigators who routinely endanger academic freedom and fair process, presume the guilt of suspects, assign the man full responsibility for the outcome of any social interaction, and minutely regulate personal relationships.


title: Title IX

text: Writing in "The Atlantic", Emily Yoffe has criticized the Title IX process for being unfair to the accused, based on faulty science, and racially biased against students of color.


title: Vitamin A

text: Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably beta-carotene [β-carotene]). Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is essential for embryo development and growth, for maintenance of the immune system, and for vision, where it combines with the protein opsin to form rhodopsin the light-absorbing molecule necessary for both low-light (scotopic vision) and color vision.


title: Vitamin A

text: Vitamin A occurs as two principal forms in foods: A) retinol, found in animal-sourced foods, either as retinol or bound to a fatty acid to become a retinyl ester, and B) the carotenoids alpha-carotene, β-carotene, gamma-carotene, and the xanthophyll beta-cryptoxanthin (all of which contain β-ionone rings) that function as provitamin A in herbivore and omnivore animals which possess the enzymes that cleave and convert provitamin carotenoids to retinal and then to retinol. Some carnivore species lack this enzyme. The other carotenoids have no vitamin activity.


title: Vitamin A

text: Dietary retinol is absorbed from the digestive tract via passive diffusion. Unlike retinol, β-carotene is taken up by enterocytes by the membrane transporter protein scavenger receptor B1 (SCARB1), which is upregulated in times of vitamin A deficiency. Storage of retinol is in lipid droplets in the liver. A high capacity for long-term storage of retinol means that well-nourished humans can go months on a vitamin A- and β-carotene-deficient diet, while maintaining blood levels in the normal range. Only when the liver stores are nearly depleted will signs and symptoms of deficiency show. Retinol is reversibly converted to retinal, then irreversibly to retinoic acid, which activates hundreds of genes.


title: Vitamin A

text: Vitamin A deficiency is common in developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Deficiency can occur at any age but is most common in pre-school-age children and pregnant women, the latter due to a need to transfer retinol to the fetus. Vitamin A deficiency is estimated to affect approximately one-third of children under the age of five around the world, resulting in hundreds of thousands of cases of blindness and deaths from childhood diseases because of immune system failure. Reversible night blindness is an early indicator of low vitamin A status. Plasma retinol is used as a biomarker to confirm vitamin A deficiency. Breast milk retinol can indicate a deficiency in nursing mothers. Neither of these measures indicates the status of liver reserves.


title: Vitamin A

text: The European Union and various countries have set recommendations for dietary intake, and upper limits for safe intake. Vitamin A toxicity also referred to as hypervitaminosis A, occurs when there is too much vitamin A accumulating in the body. Symptoms may include nervous system effects, liver abnormalities, fatigue, muscle weakness, bone, and skin changes, and others. The adverse effects of both acute and chronic toxicity are reversed after consumption of high dose supplements is stopped.


title: Vitamin A

text: Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, a category that also includes vitamins D, E and K. The vitamin encompasses several chemically related naturally occurring compounds or metabolites, i.e., vitamers, that all contain a β-ionone ring. The primary dietary form is retinol, which may have a fatty acid molecule attached, creating a retinyl ester, when stored in the liver. Retinol the transport and storage form of vitamin A is interconvertible with retinal, catalyzed to retinal by retinol dehydrogenases and back to retinol by retinaldehyde reductases.


title: Vitamin A

text: Retinal, (also known as retinaldehyde) can be irreversibly converted to "all-trans"-retinoic acid by the action of retinal dehydrogenase


title: Vitamin A

text: Retinoic acid diffuses into the cell nucleus where it regulates more than 500 genes by binding directly to gene targets via retinoic acid receptors.


title: Vitamin A

text: In addition to retinol, retinal and retinoic acid, there are plant-, fungi- or bacteria-sourced carotenoids which can be metabolized to retinol, and are thus vitamin A vitamers.


title: Vitamin A

text: There are also what are referred to as 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation retinoids which are not considered vitamin A vitamers because they cannot be converted to retinol, retinal or "all-trans"-retinoic acid. Some are prescription drugs, oral or topical, for various indications. Examples are etretinate, acitretin, adapalene, bexarotene, tazarotene and trifarotene.


title: Vitamin A

text: Retinyl esters from animal-sourced foods (or synthesized for dietary supplements for humans and domesticated animals) are acted upon by retinyl ester hydrolases in the lumen of the small intestine to release free retinol. Retinol enters intestinal absorptive cells by passive diffusion. Absorption efficiency is in the range of 70 to 90%. Humans are at risk for acute or chronic vitamin A toxicity because there are no mechanisms to suppress absorption or excrete the excess in urine. Within the cell, retinol is there bound to retinol binding protein 2 (RBP2). It is then enzymatically reesterified by the action of lecithin retinol acyltransferase and incorporated into chylomicrons that are secreted into the lymphatic system.


title: Vitamin A

text: Unlike retinol, β-carotene is taken up by enterocytes by the membrane transporter protein scavenger receptor B1 (SCARB1). The protein is upregulated in times of vitamin A deficiency. If vitamin A status is in the normal range, SCARB1 is downregulated, reducing absorption. Also downregulated is the enzyme beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase, coded for by the BCMO1 gene, responsible for symmetrically cleaving β-carotene into retinal. Absorbed β-carotene is either incorporated as such into chylomicrons or first converted to retinal and then retinol, bound to RBP2. After a meal, roughly two-thirds of the chylomicrons are taken up by the liver with the remainder delivered to peripheral tissues. Peripheral tissues also can convert chylomicron β-carotene to retinol.


title: Vitamin A

text: The capacity to store retinol in the liver means that well-nourished humans can go months on a vitamin A deficient diet without manifesting signs and symptoms of deficiency. Two liver cell types are responsible for storage and release: hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Hepatocytes take up the lipid-rich chylomicrons, bind retinol to retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), and transfer the retinol-RBP4 to HSCs for storage in lipid droplets as retinyl esters. Mobilization reverses the process: retinyl ester hydrolase releases free retinol which is transferred to hepatocytes, bound to RBP4, and put into blood circulation. Other than either after a meal or when consumption of large amounts exceeds liver storage capacity, more than 95% of retinol in circulation is bound to RBP4.


title: Vitamin A

text: Strict carnivores manage vitamin A differently than omnivores and herbivores. Carnivores are more tolerant of high intakes of retinol because those species have the ability to excrete retinol and retinyl esters in urine. Carnivores also have the ability to store more in the liver, due to a higher ratio of liver HSCs to hepatocytes compared to omnivores and herbivores. For humans, liver content can range from 20 to 30 μg/gram wet weight. Notoriously, polar bear liver is acutely toxic to humans because content has been reported in range of 2,215 to 10,400 μg/g wet weight. As noted, in humans, retinol circulates bound to RBP4. Carnivores maintain R-RBP4 within a tight range while also having retinyl esters in circulation. Bound retinol is delivered to cells while the esters are excreted in the urine. In general, carnivore species are poor converters of ionone-containing carotenoids, and pure carnivores such as felidae (cats) lack the cleaving enzyme entirely. They must have retinol or retinyl esters in their diet.


title: Vitamin A

text: Herbivores consume ionone-containing carotenoids and convert those to retinal. Some species, including cattle and horses, have measurable amounts of beta-carotene circulating in the blood, and stored in body fat, creating yellow fat cells. Most species have white fat and no beta-carotene in circulation.


title: Vitamin A

text: In the liver and peripheral tissues of humans, retinol is reversibly converted to retinal by the action of alcohol dehydrogenases, which are also responsible for the conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Retinal is irreversibly oxidized to retinoic acid (RA) by the action of aldehyde dehydrogenases. RA regulates the activation or deactivation of genes. The oxidative degradation of RA is induced by RA - its presence triggers its removal, making for a short-acting gene transcription signal. This deactivation is mediated by a cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme system, specifically enzymes CYP26A1, CYP26B1 and CYP26C1. CYP26A1 is the predominant form in the human liver; all other human adult tissues contained higher levels of CYP26B1. CYP26C1 is expressed mainly during embryonic development. All three convert retinoic acid into 4-oxo-RA, 4-OH-RA and 18-OH-RA. Glucuronic acid forms water-soluble glucuronide conjugates with the oxidized metabolites, which are then excreted in urine and feces.


title: Vitamin A

text: Other than for vision, the metabolic functions of vitamin A are mediated by "all-trans"-retinoic acid (RA). The formation of RA from retinal is irreversible. To prevent accumulation of RA it is oxidized and eliminated fairly quickly, i.e., has a short half-life. Three cytochromes catalyze the oxidation of retinoic acid. The genes for Cyp26A1, Cyp26B1 and Cyp26C1 are induced by high levels of RA, providing a self-regulating feedback loop.