title: DNA replication

text: The primase used in this process differs significantly between bacteria and archaea/eukaryotes. Bacteria use a primase belonging to the DnaG protein superfamily which contains a catalytic domain of the TOPRIM fold type. The TOPRIM fold contains an α/β core with four conserved strands in a Rossmann-like topology. This structure is also found in the catalytic domains of topoisomerase Ia, topoisomerase II, the OLD-family nucleases and DNA repair proteins related to the RecR protein.


title: DNA replication

text: The primase used by archaea and eukaryotes, in contrast, contains a highly derived version of the RNA recognition motif (RRM). This primase is structurally similar to many viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, reverse transcriptases, cyclic nucleotide generating cyclases and DNA polymerases of the A/B/Y families that are involved in DNA replication and repair. In eukaryotic replication, the primase forms a complex with Pol α.


title: DNA replication

text: Multiple DNA polymerases take on different roles in the DNA replication process. In "E. coli", DNA Pol III is the polymerase enzyme primarily responsible for DNA replication. It assembles into a replication complex at the replication fork that exhibits extremely high processivity, remaining intact for the entire replication cycle. In contrast, DNA Pol I is the enzyme responsible for replacing RNA primers with DNA. DNA Pol I has a 5′ to 3′ exonuclease activity in addition to its polymerase activity, and uses its exonuclease activity to degrade the RNA primers ahead of it as it extends the DNA strand behind it, in a process called nick translation. Pol I is much less processive than Pol III because its primary function in DNA replication is to create many short DNA regions rather than a few very long regions.


title: DNA replication

text: In eukaryotes, the low-processivity enzyme, Pol α, helps to initiate replication because it forms a complex with primase. In eukaryotes, leading strand synthesis is thought to be conducted by Pol ε; however, this view has recently been challenged, suggesting a role for Pol δ. Primer removal is completed Pol δ while repair of DNA during replication is completed by Pol ε.


title: DNA replication

text: As DNA synthesis continues, the original DNA strands continue to unwind on each side of the bubble, forming a replication fork with two prongs. In bacteria, which have a single origin of replication on their circular chromosome, this process creates a "theta structure" (resembling the Greek letter theta: θ). In contrast, eukaryotes have longer linear chromosomes and initiate replication at multiple origins within these.


title: DNA replication

text: The replication fork is a structure that forms within the long helical DNA during DNA replication. It is created by helicases, which break the hydrogen bonds holding the two DNA strands together in the helix. The resulting structure has two branching "prongs", each one made up of a single strand of DNA. These two strands serve as the template for the leading and lagging strands, which will be created as DNA polymerase matches complementary nucleotides to the templates; the templates may be properly referred to as the leading strand template and the lagging strand template.


title: DNA replication

text: DNA is read by DNA polymerase in the 3′ to 5′ direction, meaning the new strand is synthesized in the 5' to 3' direction. Since the leading and lagging strand templates are oriented in opposite directions at the replication fork, a major issue is how to achieve synthesis of new lagging strand DNA, whose direction of synthesis is opposite to the direction of the growing replication fork.


title: DNA replication

text: The leading strand is the strand of new DNA which is synthesized in the same direction as the growing replication fork. This sort of DNA replication is continuous.


title: DNA replication

text: The lagging strand is the strand of new DNA whose direction of synthesis is opposite to the direction of the growing replication fork. Because of its orientation, replication of the lagging strand is more complicated as compared to that of the leading strand. As a consequence, the DNA polymerase on this strand is seen to "lag behind" the other strand.


title: DNA replication

text: The lagging strand is synthesized in short, separated segments. On the lagging strand "template", a primase "reads" the template DNA and initiates synthesis of a short complementary RNA primer. A DNA polymerase extends the primed segments, forming Okazaki fragments. The RNA primers are then removed and replaced with DNA, and the fragments of DNA are joined by DNA ligase.


title: DNA replication

text: In all cases the helicase is composed of six polypeptides that wrap around only one strand of the DNA being replicated. The two polymerases are bound to the helicase heximer. In eukaryotes the helicase wraps around the leading strand, and in prokaryotes it wraps around the lagging strand.


title: DNA replication

text: As helicase unwinds DNA at the replication fork, the DNA ahead is forced to rotate. This process results in a build-up of twists in the DNA ahead. This build-up forms a torsional resistance that would eventually halt the progress of the replication fork. Topoisomerases are enzymes that temporarily break the strands of DNA, relieving the tension caused by unwinding the two strands of the DNA helix; topoisomerases (including DNA gyrase) achieve this by adding negative supercoils to the DNA helix.


title: DNA replication

text: Bare single-stranded DNA tends to fold back on itself forming secondary structures; these structures can interfere with the movement of DNA polymerase. To prevent this, single-strand binding proteins bind to the DNA until a second strand is synthesized, preventing secondary structure formation.


title: DNA replication

text: Double-stranded DNA is coiled around histones that play an important role in regulating gene expression so the replicated DNA must be coiled around histones at the same places as the original DNA. To ensure this, histone chaperones disassemble the chromatin before it is replicated and replace the histones in the correct place. Some steps in this reassembly are somewhat speculative.


title: DNA replication

text: Clamp proteins form a sliding clamp around DNA, helping the DNA polymerase maintain contact with its template, thereby assisting with processivity. The inner face of the clamp enables DNA to be threaded through it. Once the polymerase reaches the end of the template or detects double-stranded DNA, the sliding clamp undergoes a conformational change that releases the DNA polymerase. Clamp-loading proteins are used to initially load the clamp, recognizing the junction between template and RNA primers.


title: DNA replication

text: At the replication fork, many replication enzymes assemble on the DNA into a complex molecular machine called the replisome. The following is a list of major DNA replication enzymes that participate in the replisome:


title: DNA replication

text: Replication machineries consist of factors involved in DNA replication and appearing on template ssDNAs. Replication machineries include primosotors are replication enzymes; DNA polymerase, DNA helicases, DNA clamps and DNA topoisomerases, and replication proteins; e.g. single-stranded DNA binding proteins (SSB). In the replication machineries these components coordinate. In most of the bacteria, all of the factors involved in DNA replication are located on replication forks and the complexes stay on the forks during DNA replication. These replication machineries are called replisomes or DNA replicase systems. These terms are generic terms for proteins located on replication forks. In eukaryotic and some bacterial cells the replisomes are not formed.


title: DNA replication

text: Since replication machineries do not move relatively to template DNAs such as factories, they are called a replication factory. In an alternative figure, DNA factories are similar to projectors and DNAs are like as cinematic films passing constantly into the projectors. In the replication factory model, after both DNA helicases for leading strands and lagging strands are loaded on the template DNAs, the helicases run along the DNAs into each other. The helicases remain associated for the remainder of replication process. Peter Meister et al. observed directly replication sites in budding yeast by monitoring green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged DNA polymerases α. They detected DNA replication of pairs of the tagged loci spaced apart symmetrically from a replication origin and found that the distance between the pairs decreased markedly by time. This finding suggests that the mechanism of DNA replication goes with DNA factories. That is, couples of replication factories are loaded on replication origins and the factories associated with each other. Also, template DNAs move into the factories, which bring extrusion of the template ssDNAs and new DNAs. Meister's finding is the first direct evidence of replication factory model. Subsequent research has shown that DNA helicases form dimers in many eukaryotic cells and bacterial replication machineries stay in single intranuclear location during DNA synthesis.


title: DNA replication

text: The replication factories perform disentanglement of sister chromatids. The disentanglement is essential for distributing the chromatids into daughter cells after DNA replication. Because sister chromatids after DNA replication hold each other by Cohesin rings, there is the only chance for the disentanglement in DNA replication. Fixing of replication machineries as replication factories can improve the success rate of DNA replication. If replication forks move freely in chromosomes, catenation of nuclei is aggravated and impedes mitotic segregation.


title: DNA replication

text: Eukaryotes initiate DNA replication at multiple points in the chromosome, so replication forks meet and terminate at many points in the chromosome. Because eukaryotes have linear chromosomes, DNA replication is unable to reach the very end of the chromosomes. Due to this problem, DNA is lost in each replication cycle from the end of the chromosome. Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA close to the ends and help prevent loss of genes due to this shortening. Shortening of the telomeres is a normal process in somatic cells. This shortens the telomeres of the daughter DNA chromosome. As a result, cells can only divide a certain number of times before the DNA loss prevents further division. (This is known as the Hayflick limit.) Within the germ cell line, which passes DNA to the next generation, telomerase extends the repetitive sequences of the telomere region to prevent degradation. Telomerase can become mistakenly active in somatic cells, sometimes leading to cancer formation. Increased telomerase activity is one of the hallmarks of cancer.


title: DNA replication

text: Termination requires that the progress of the DNA replication fork must stop or be blocked. Termination at a specific locus, when it occurs, involves the interaction between two components: (1) a termination site sequence in the DNA, and (2) a protein which binds to this sequence to physically stop DNA replication. In various bacterial species, this is named the DNA replication terminus site-binding protein, or Ter protein.


title: DNA replication

text: Because bacteria have circular chromosomes, termination of replication occurs when the two replication forks meet each other on the opposite end of the parental chromosome. "E. coli" regulates this process through the use of termination sequences that, when bound by the Tus protein, enable only one direction of replication fork to pass through. As a result, the replication forks are constrained to always meet within the termination region of the chromosome.


title: DNA replication

text: Within eukaryotes, DNA replication is controlled within the context of the cell cycle. As the cell grows and divides, it progresses through stages in the cell cycle; DNA replication takes place during the S phase (synthesis phase). The progress of the eukaryotic cell through the cycle is controlled by cell cycle checkpoints. Progression through checkpoints is controlled through complex interactions between various proteins, including cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases. Unlike bacteria, eukaryotic DNA replicates in the confines of the nucleus.


title: DNA replication

text: The G1/S checkpoint (or restriction checkpoint) regulates whether eukaryotic cells enter the process of DNA replication and subsequent division. Cells that do not proceed through this checkpoint remain in the G0 stage and do not replicate their DNA.


title: DNA replication

text: After passing through the G1/S checkpoint, DNA must be replicated only once in each cell cycle. When the Mcm complex moves away from the origin, the pre-replication complex is dismantled. Because a new Mcm complex cannot be loaded at an origin until the pre-replication subunits are reactivated, one origin of replication can not be used twice in the same cell cycle.


title: DNA replication

text: Activation of S-Cdks in early S phase promotes the destruction or inhibition of individual pre-replication complex components, preventing immediate reassembly. S and M-Cdks continue to block pre-replication complex assembly even after S phase is complete, ensuring that assembly cannot occur again until all Cdk activity is reduced in late mitosis.


title: DNA replication

text: In budding yeast, inhibition of assembly is caused by Cdk-dependent phosphorylation of pre-replication complex components. At the onset of S phase, phosphorylation of Cdc6 by Cdk1 causes the binding of Cdc6 to the SCF ubiquitin protein ligase, which causes proteolytic destruction of Cdc6. Cdk-dependent phosphorylation of Mcm proteins promotes their export out of the nucleus along with Cdt1 during S phase, preventing the loading of new Mcm complexes at origins during a single cell cycle. Cdk phosphorylation of the origin replication complex also inhibits pre-replication complex assembly. The individual presence of any of these three mechanisms is sufficient to inhibit pre-replication complex assembly. However, mutations of all three proteins in the same cell does trigger reinitiation at many origins of replication within one cell cycle.


title: DNA replication

text: In animal cells, the protein geminin is a key inhibitor of pre-replication complex assembly. Geminin binds Cdt1, preventing its binding to the origin recognition complex. In G1, levels of geminin are kept low by the APC, which ubiquitinates geminin to target it for degradation. When geminin is destroyed, Cdt1 is released, allowing it to function in pre-replication complex assembly. At the end of G1, the APC is inactivated, allowing geminin to accumulate and bind Cdt1.


title: DNA replication

text: Replication of chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes occurs independently of the cell cycle, through the process of D-loop replication.


title: DNA replication

text: In vertebrate cells, replication sites concentrate into positions called replication foci. Replication sites can be detected by immunostaining daughter strands and replication enzymes and monitoring GFP-tagged replication factors. By these methods it is found that replication foci of varying size and positions appear in S phase of cell division and their number per nucleus is far smaller than the number of genomic replication forks.


title: DNA replication

text: P. Heun et al.,(2001) tracked GFP-tagged replication foci in budding yeast cells and revealed that replication origins move constantly in G1 and S phase and the dynamics decreased significantly in S phase. Traditionally, replication sites were fixed on spatial structure of chromosomes by nuclear matrix or lamins. The Heun's results denied the traditional concepts, budding yeasts do not have lamins, and support that replication origins self-assemble and form replication foci.


title: DNA replication

text: By firing of replication origins, controlled spatially and temporally, the formation of replication foci is regulated. D. A. Jackson et al.(1998) revealed that neighboring origins fire simultaneously in mammalian cells. Spatial juxtaposition of replication sites brings clustering of replication forks. The clustering do rescue of stalled replication forks and favors normal progress of replication forks. Progress of replication forks is inhibited by many factors; collision with proteins or with complexes binding strongly on DNA, deficiency of dNTPs, nicks on template DNAs and so on. If replication forks stall and the remaining sequences from the stalled forks are not replicated, the daughter strands have nick obtained un-replicated sites. The un-replicated sites on one parent's strand hold the other strand together but not daughter strands. Therefore, the resulting sister chromatids cannot separate from each other and cannot divide into 2 daughter cells. When neighboring origins fire and a fork from one origin is stalled, fork from other origin access on an opposite direction of the stalled fork and duplicate the un-replicated sites. As other mechanism of the rescue there is application of dormant replication origins that excess origins do not fire in normal DNA replication.


title: DNA replication

text: Most bacteria do not go through a well-defined cell cycle but instead continuously copy their DNA; during rapid growth, this can result in the concurrent occurrence of multiple rounds of replication. In "E. coli", the best-characterized bacteria, DNA replication is regulated through several mechanisms, including: the hemimethylation and sequestering of the origin sequence, the ratio of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and the levels of protein DnaA. All these control the binding of initiator proteins to the origin sequences.


title: DNA replication

text: Because "E. coli" methylates GATC DNA sequences, DNA synthesis results in hemimethylated sequences. This hemimethylated DNA is recognized by the protein SeqA, which binds and sequesters the origin sequence; in addition, DnaA (required for initiation of replication) binds less well to hemimethylated DNA. As a result, newly replicated origins are prevented from immediately initiating another round of DNA replication.


title: DNA replication

text: ATP builds up when the cell is in a rich medium, triggering DNA replication once the cell has reached a specific size. ATP competes with ADP to bind to DnaA, and the DnaA-ATP complex is able to initiate replication. A certain number of DnaA proteins are also required for DNA replication — each time the origin is copied, the number of binding sites for DnaA doubles, requiring the synthesis of more DnaA to enable another initiation of replication.


title: DNA replication

text: In fast-growing bacteria, such as "E. coli", chromosome replication takes more time than dividing the cell. The bacteria solve this by initiating a new round of replication before the previous one has been terminated. The new round of replication will form the chromosome of the cell that is born two generations after the dividing cell. This mechanism creates overlapping replication cycles.


title: DNA replication

text: Researchers commonly replicate DNA "in vitro" using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR uses a pair of primers to span a target region in template DNA, and then polymerizes partner strands in each direction from these primers using a thermostable DNA polymerase. Repeating this process through multiple cycles amplifies the targeted DNA region. At the start of each cycle, the mixture of template and primers is heated, separating the newly synthesized molecule and template. Then, as the mixture cools, both of these become templates for annealing of new primers, and the polymerase extends from these. As a result, the number of copies of the target region doubles each round, increasing exponentially.


title: Commodores

text: Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for the Jackson 5 while on tour.


title: Commodores

text: The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The band's biggest hit singles are ballads such as "Easy", "Three Times a Lady", and "Nightshift"; and funk-influenced dance songs; including "Brick House", "Fancy Dancer", "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", and "Too Hot ta Trot".


title: Commodores

text: Commodores were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The band has also won one Grammy Award out of nine nominations. The Commodores have sold over 70 million albums worldwide.


title: Commodores

text: Commodores were formed from two former student groups, the Mystics and the Jays. Richie described some members of the Mystics as "jazz buffs".


title: Commodores

text: The new six-man band featured Lionel Richie, Thomas McClary, and William King from the Mystics, and Andre Callahan, Michael Gilbert, and Milan Williams from the Jays. To choose their name, William King opened a dictionary and randomly picked a word. "We lucked in," he remarked with a laugh when telling this story to "People" magazine. "We almost became 'The Commodes.'"


title: Commodores

text: The bandmembers attended Tuskegee University in Alabama. After winning the university's annual freshman talent contest, they played at fraternity parties as well as a weekend gig at the Black Forest Inn, one of a few clubs in Tuskegee that catered to college students. They performed cover tunes and some original songs with their first singer, James Ingram (not the famous solo artist). Ingram, older than the rest of the band, left to serve in Vietnam, and was later replaced by drummer Walter "Clyde" Orange, who wrote or co-wrote many of their hits. Lionel Richie and Orange alternated as lead singers. Orange was the lead singer on the Top 10 hits "Brick House" (1977) and "Nightshift" (1985).


title: Commodores

text: The early band was managed by Benny Ashburn, who brought them to his family's vacation lodge on Martha's Vineyard in 1971 and 1972. There, Ashburn test-marketed the group by having them play in parking lots and summer festivals.


title: Commodores

text: "Machine Gun" (1974), the instrumental title track from the band's debut album, became a staple at American sporting events, and is also heard in many films, including "Boogie Nights" and "Looking for Mr. Goodbar". It reached No. 22 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in 1974. Another 1974 song "I Feel Sanctified" has been called a "prototype" of Wild Cherry's 1976 big hit "Play That Funky Music". Three albums released in 1975 and 1976, "Caught in the Act" was funk album, but "Movin' On" and "Hot on the Tracks" were pop albums. After those recordings the group developed the mellower sound hinted at in their 1976 top-ten hits, "Sweet Love" and "Just to Be Close to You". In 1977, the Commodores released "Easy", which became the group's biggest hit yet, reaching No. 4 in the US, followed by funky single "Brick House", also top 5, both from their album "Commodores", as was "Zoom". The group reached No. 1 in 1978 with "Three Times a Lady". In 1979, the Commodores scored another top-five ballad, "Sail On", before reaching the top of the charts once again with another ballad, "Still". In 1981 they released two top-ten hits with "Oh No" (No. 4) and their first upbeat single in almost five years, "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" (No. 8).


title: Commodores

text: Commodores made a brief appearance in the 1978 film, "Thank God It's Friday". They performed the song "Too Hot ta Trot" during the dance contest; the songs "Brick House" and "Easy" were also played in the movie


title: Commodores

text: In 1982, Lionel Richie left to pursue a solo career, and Skyler Jett replaced him as co-lead singer. Also in 1982, their manager Benjamin Ashburn died of a heart attack at the age of 54.


title: Commodores

text: Founding member McClary left in 1984 (shortly after Richie) to pursue a solo career, and to develop a gospel music company. McClary was replaced by guitarist-vocalist Sheldon Reynolds. Then LaPread left in 1986 and moved to Auckland, New Zealand. Reynolds departed for Earth, Wind & Fire in 1987, which prompted trumpeter William "WAK" King to take over primary guitar duties for live performances. Keyboardist Milan Williams exited the band in 1989 after allegedly refusing to tour South Africa.


title: Commodores

text: The group gradually abandoned its funk roots and moved into the more commercial pop arena. In 1984, former Heatwave singer James Dean "J.D." Nicholas assumed co-lead vocal duties with drummer Walter Orange. That line-up was hitless until 1985 when their final Motown album "Nightshift", produced by Dennis Lambert (prior albums were produced by James Anthony Carmichael), delivered the title track "Nightshift", a loving tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, both of whom had died the previous year. "Nightshift" hit no. 3 in the US and won the Commodores their first Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals in 1985.


title: Commodores

text: In 2010 a new version was recorded, dedicated to Michael Jackson. The Commodores were on a European tour performing at Wembley Arena, London, on June 25, 2009, when they walked off the stage after they were told that Michael Jackson had died. Initially the band thought it was a hoax. However, back in their dressing rooms they received confirmation and broke down in tears. The next night at Birmingham's NIA Arena, J.D. Nicholas added Jackson's name to the lyrics of the song, and henceforth the Commodores have mentioned Jackson and other deceased R&B singers. Thus came the inspiration upon the one-year anniversary of Jackson's death to re-record, with new lyrics, the hit song "Nightshift" as a tribute.


title: Commodores

text: In 1990, they formed Commodores Records and re-recorded their 20 greatest hits as "Commodores Hits Vol. I & II". They have recorded a live album, "Commodores Live", along with a DVD of the same name, and a Christmas album titled "Commodores Christmas". In 2012, the band was working on new material, with some contributions written by current and former members.


title: Commodores

text: Commodores as of 2020 consist of Walter "Clyde" Orange, James Dean "J.D." Nicholas, and William "WAK" King, along with their five-piece band The Mean Machine. They continue to perform, playing at arenas, theaters, and festivals around the world.


title: FK Partizan

text: Fudbalski klub Partizan (, ; ), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade. It forms a major part of the Partizan multi-sport club. The club plays in the Serbian SuperLiga and has spent its entire history in the top tier of Yugoslav and Serbian football having won a total of 45 official trophies, finishing in the Yugoslav league all-time table as second. Their home ground is the Partizan Stadium in Belgrade, where they have played since 1949. Partizan holds records such as playing in the first European Champions Cup match on 4 September, 1955, as well as becoming the first Balkan and Eastern European football club to reach the European Champions Cup final, when it did so in 1966. Partizan was the first Yugoslavian club to compete in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.


title: FK Partizan

text: The club has a long-standing rivalry with Red Star Belgrade. Matches between these two clubs are known as the Eternal Derby ("Večiti derbi") and rate as one of the greatest cross-town clashes in the world. Partizan also has many supporters in many of the former-Yugoslav republics and in the Serbian diaspora.


title: FK Partizan

text: Their popular nickname 'The Steamroller' (Parni valjak) was originally used in the press report after the 7–1 hammering of Red Star at the 13th Eternal Derby on 6 December 1953. This nickname was later embedded in the lyrics of the club anthem.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan Youth Academy is one of the most renowned and export-oriented in Europe. CIES (University of Neuchâtel International Centre for Sports Studies) Football Observatory report of November 2015 ranks Partizan at the top place of training clubs out of the 31 European leagues surveyed. CIES report of 2019 confirmed Partizan as the most productive training club in Europe, with 75 of their academy graduates currently playing across 31 European top divisions.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan was founded on 4 October 1945 in Belgrade, as a football section of the Central House of the Yugoslav Army "Partizan", and was named in honour of the Partisans, the communist military formation who fought against fascism during World War II in Yugoslavia. The club was formed and initially managed by the group of young high officers of the Yugoslav People's Army and veterans of the Spanish Civil War. Among them were Koča Popović, Peko Dapčević, Bogdan Vujošević, Mijalko Todorović, Otmar Kreačić, Božo Švarc and Ratko "Čoče" Vujović - elected the first president of the club. Two days after its establishment, Partizan made its first step on the football scene, with the friendly match against selection of Zemun that ended 4–2. Silvester Šereš entered the record books as the first goal scorer in the history of Partizan, while goalkeeper Franjo Glaser was simultaneously the first club manager. Just three weeks later, Partizan went on the first of many international tours, travelling to Czechoslovakia where they beat the selection of Slovak Army with 3–1. At the time, just months after the World War II in Yugoslavia ended, no organized football competition was yet restored, so Partizan played only friendly games and tournaments both home and abroad. The club's first international engagement was a meeting against another army side, CSKA Moscow from what was then Soviet Union, on 6 December 1945 in Belgrade.


title: FK Partizan

text: By the mid-1950s, the first big Partizan generation was well over its peak. Only two titles and four cups in its first 15 years of existence were not enough for a club of Partizan's stature, ambition and popularity. In 1958, the club left way behind 13 years of playing in blue-red kits and adopted the now famous black and white colors. The change in the club's image and appearance was followed by radical changes in the playing squad. The number of young players, offspring of Partizan's own youth ranks known as "Partizanove bebe" (The Partizan's babies), soon emerged into one of the best generations Europe's ever seen. The rise of the generation began with Milutin Šoškić, Fahrudin Jusufi, Jovan Miladinović, Velibor Vasović, Milan Galić, Ilija Mitić, Zvezdan Čebinac and Vladica Kovačević. Very soon, they were joined by Lazar Radović, Velimir Sombolac, Ljubomir Mihajlović and Mustafa Hasanagić, and finally Ivan Ćurković, Josip Pirmajer, Branko Rašović and Radoslav Bečejac. Managers Illés Spitz, Florijan Matekalo and Stjepan Bobek monitored and guided their development. The decision to rely mostly on talented youngsters scouted from all over the country quickly gave results – Partizan took three consecutive championship titles, in 1961, 1962 and 1963, the first title hat-trick in the Yugoslav First League. Efficient and attractive performances earned the club its popular nickname ""Parni valjak"" ("The Steamroller"). In 1964–65, the team added the fourth title in five years (interrupted by city rival Red Star during the 1963–64 season). As early as the 1960s, a fierce and intense rivalry grew up between Partizan and Red Star.


title: FK Partizan

text: The 1965–66 European Cup campaign was the crown of this generation's career. After eliminating French Nantes (2–0, 2–2) and German champion Werder Bremen (3–0, 1–0) in the first two rounds, Partizan were drawn against Sparta Prague in the quarter-finals. In the first leg, held in Prague, Partizan suffered a hard 4–1 defeat. Although they were not given any chances in the return leg in Belgrade, Partizan pulled off a convincing 5–0 win in front of 50,000 spectators, and with aggregate score 6–4 qualified for the semifinals. The semi-finals would see Partizan taking part in an emotional tie that would bring Manchester United, in their first season back in the European Cup after the Munich air disaster, returning to the scene of their final game, at the JNA Stadium, before embarking on that fateful journey home (on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star, which was played at JNA Stadium, the aircraft carrying the Manchester United players, officials and journalists crashed while attempting to take off after refuelling in Munich).Manchester United, led by George Best and Bobby Charlton, awaited finally them on the last step to the finals. Partizan won the first leg at JNA Stadium 2–0, and resisted the heavy pressure on Old Trafford, conceding only once; with a 2–1 aggregate scoreline, they eliminated the English giants. Partizan's babies achieved the greatest success in history of Partizan, a place in the 1966 European Cup Final against Real Madrid. The final game was played on 11 May at Heysel Stadium, Brussels. Until the 70th minute, Partizan was 1–0 up through a goal by Velibor Vasović, but ultimately lost to the Spaniards 2–1. Partizan may have come close to a famous victory, but they had now missed their chance as the side was immediately broken up with their star players heading west. Still, Partizan became the first club from the Balkans and Eastern Europe to have played in a European Cup final.


title: FK Partizan

text: On 11 July 1976, in Ljubljana, Partizan played the last game of the season against Olimpija and needed a win to clinch the title ahead of rivals Hajduk Split. In the last second before the final whistle, Nenad Bjeković scored the winning goal and Partizan won 0–1. The seventh championship trophy was finally won, after full decade of waiting, by the new generation of players, such as Momčilo Vukotić, Bjeković, Rešad Kunovac, Ilija Zavišić, Refik Kozić, Ivan Golac, Radmilo Ivančević, Boško Đorđević, Nenad Stojković. Partizan then won its eighth title in 1977–78, enforced with Nikica Klinčarski, Petar Borota, Slobodan Santrač, Aleksandar Trifunović, Xhevat Prekazi and Pavle Grubješić. That same year, Partizan won its first European trophy, the Mitropa Cup. The "Black & Whites" finished first in Group A, ahead of Perugia and Zbrojovka Brno and defeated Hungarian side Honvéd in the finals, 1–0. Its manager was Ante Mladinić. Unexpectedly, the following 1978–79 season turned out to be the worst in Partizan history: they finished 15th in the league, barely avoiding relegation with a 4–2 victory against Budućnost in the last fixture. The new crisis was serious, which reflected in the results next season, when Partizan finished 13th. It took a two more seasons, but Partizan eventually recovered.


title: FK Partizan

text: When Momčilo Vukotić, Nenad Stojković and Nikica Klinčarski were joined by Ljubomir Radanović, Zvonko Živković, Zoran Dimitrijević and Dragan Mance, another great generation was formed. Partizan became champion for 1982–83 season, in large part due to extraordinary performances of a young Dragan Mance. He helped Partizan win the league by scoring 15 goals, and immediately became a fan favourite. He also led the club in their 1984–85 UEFA Cup second round tie against Queens Park Rangers, one of the most memorable matches in the club's history. QPR won the first leg 6–2, but Partizan advanced after a 4–0 return victory. A goal which Mance scored against the English side is considered one of the most remarkable goals in the history of Partizan. That match was voted 70th among the Top 100 greatest matches in the history of football in a poll organized by Eurosport in September 2009. On 3 September 1985, the players tragically lost their teammate and the fans lost their idol – Mance died in a car crash on Novi Sad-Belgrade highway. He was only 22 years old, and at the peak of his popularity. Even today, Mance is considered to be the greatest club legend by the fans of Partizan. In his honour, the street next to the club's stadium in Belgrade has carried his name since 2011.


title: FK Partizan

text: In 1985–86, Partizan won the title with a 4–0 win over Željezničar due to better goal difference than second-placed Red Star. However, Yugoslav FA President Slavko Šajber decided that the entire last round of fixtures had to be replayed after accusations that certain results had been fixed. Partizan refused to replay its match, after which the game was awarded 3–0 to Željezničar, and the title was given to Red Star, who thus got to play in 1986–87 European Cup. Because of these events, 12 clubs started the next 1986–87 season with a deduction of six points, Partizan among them. Vardar, who had not been deducted six points, won the title and subsequently participated in 1987–88 European Cup. However, after a sequence of appeals and lawsuits which eventually led to Yugoslav Constitutional Court, the original final table of 1985–86, with Partizan as champions, was officially recognized in mid-1987. Also, the points deduction from 1986–87 season was annulled and the title was given to Partizan, who headed the table without the deduction. These controversial events prevented the generation of Milko Đurovski, Fahrudin Omerović, Zvonko Varga, Vladimir Vermezović, Admir Smajić, Goran Stevanović, Nebojša Vučićević, Miloš Đelmaš, Srečko Katanec, Fadil Vokrri and Bajro Župić from showing their full potential in Europe.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan spent the final years in Yugoslavia undergoing significant organizational changes. In 1989, former goalkeeper Ivan Ćurković became club president while Mirko Marjanović became the president of Partizan's executive board. Most important, Partizan players in these final years were Predrag Mijatović, Slaviša Jokanović, Predrag Spasić, Dragoljub and Branko Brnović, Budimir Vujačić, Vujadin Stanojković, Darko Milanič and Džoni Novak. However, this great generation was overshadowed by their crosstown rival Red Star and its rampage through domestic league, Europe and the world. Partizan only won the 1989 national cup, 32 years after the last victory in that competition. The last trophy won before the breakup of Yugoslavia was the 1989 Yugoslav Super Cup, the first and the only one organized. Also in the same season 1988/89, Partizan won the prestigious international tournament Uhrencup, which is played every year in Switzerland and to this day. That year, Partizan took three trophies which is a club record in one season. In 1987, Partizan signed Chinese national team players Jia Xiuquan and Liu Haiguang and they entered history as they, along Xie Yuxin and Gu Guangming, were the first Chinese footballers ever to have played in Europe.


title: FK Partizan

text: After the death of President Josip Broz Tito in 1980, ethnic tension grew in Yugoslavia, with the follow, that in the early 1990s the Yugoslav state began to fall apart, and the civil war broke out. At the end of May in 1992, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions against the country, which led to political isolation, economic decline and hyperinflation of the Yugoslav dinar, and finally dislodged Yugoslav football from the international scene. The disintegration of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav wars from 1991 to 1995, the resulting difficulties, as well as the sanctions had hit all Yugoslav clubs hard. After the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia in 1991, a new Yugoslavia was formed out from Serbia and Montenegro and was named FR Yugoslavia. Notwithstanding, Partizan won during the war two titles in a row, in 1993 and 1994. The next two championships Partizan won came in 1996 and 1997, but after only few years of peace, the Yugoslav clubs stood again before difficult times. Between 1998 and 1999, peace was broken again because the situation in Kosovo worsened with continued clashes between Yugoslav security forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army. The confrontations led to the Kosovo War and finally to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, which started four days after the 112th Red Star–Partizan derby, and this without a UN Mandate. The bombing campaign was criticized, especially for the number of civilian casualties that resulted from the bombing. By this time, Partizan won in 1999 a further championship title, again during a war.


title: FK Partizan

text: During these turbulent 1990s, the club won also several national cups, this in 1992, 1994 and 1998. The key man for these trophies was Ljubiša Tumbaković, who became the most successful manager in Partizan's history. In 1997, Partizan was reintroduced to European competitions following the lift of the UEFA ban on clubs from FR Yugoslavia, but while the national team continued where they had stopped in the spring of 1992, the clubs had all their results erased and were treated as the beginners in the European competitions. The decision met with incomprehension among the club officials of the Yugoslav clubs. That decision will have long-term catastrophic consequences for Partizan – instead of enjoying the merits of its own many-year work, they would get harder opponents from the start and the competition would start already in July. This decade has been marked by numerous team changes and the circle of selling the best players to richer European clubs after just a couple of seasons of first-team football and replacing them with fresh young talents. Many players are credited with the successes of the nineties, such as Predrag Mijatović, Slaviša Jokanović, Savo Milošević, Albert Nađ, Dragan Ćirić, Zoran Mirković, Saša Ćurčić, Branko Brnović, Goran Pandurović, Dražen Bolić, Niša Saveljić, Damir Čakar, Budimir Vujačić, Ivan Tomić, Gjorgji Hristov, Đorđe Tomić, Ivica Kralj, Mateja Kežman and many others.


title: FK Partizan

text: The new millennium has arrived, but the goals remain the same. In the last 12 years, Partizan has won eight national championships, four cups and managed to qualify two times for the UEFA Champions League and five times for the UEFA Europa League. Led by Ljubiša Tumbaković, the club won two championship titles in a row, in 2001–02 and 2002–03. In Europe, Partizan did not have much success in those seasons, though the next one would become its best season in Europe after 1965–66, where it reached the 1966 European Cup final.


title: FK Partizan

text: The club's management took the 2003 season very seriously, appointing as its new coach the former World Player of the Year Lothar Matthäus, and brought some top and experienced players like Taribo West from 1.FC Kaiserslautern, Ljubinko Drulović from Benfica and Tomasz Rząsa from Feyenoord. For the first time in its history, the club played in the UEFA Champions League after eliminating Bobby Robson's Newcastle United. In Belgrade, Partizan lost by 0–1, but in rematch at St James' Park, they won by Ivica Iliev's goal in regular time and reached the group stages after a penalty shoot-out. Later on, Partizan was drawn in a tough group with Real Madrid (the previous year's Champions League semi-finalist), Porto (the winner of the 2002–03 UEFA Cup and the eventual winner of the competition) and Marseille (the eventual runners-up of the 2003–04 UEFA Cup). The Partizan Stadium was a tough ground for the opposition and the team did not lost a home game, playing out a 0–0 draw with Real Madrid's famous "Galácticos", which included players such as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luís Figo, Roberto Carlos, Raúl and David Beckham; a 1–1 draw with Porto, led by coach José Mourinho; and Marseille, with its superstars Fabien Barthez and Didier Drogba, while playing some inspired football in the away match in Madrid (0–1), Marseille (0–3) and Porto (1–2). They are the first Serbian team to qualify for the main draw of this elite European club competition since its inception in 1992.


title: FK Partizan

text: Playing in Europe was reflected in the championship, and Partizan lost the title. New coach Vladimir Vermezović taken the charge of a team and he superiority won the championship in 2005. Also, he became the only coach who has managed to take the team to the knockout stage of a European competition since new format. That happened in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, where Partizan reached the round-of-16. Later on, he was eliminated by CSKA Moscow, the eventual winner of the competition. Poor results in domestic and international competitions in 2006 prompted the club's officials to look for a new head coach. First, Jürgen Röber was brought in, then later Miodrag Ješić, though neither succeeded in winning the domestic title. Although Partizan has managed to qualify for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup group stage, that season was viewed as a failure.


title: FK Partizan

text: Former Partizan player Slaviša Jokanović were appointed as Partizan's new head coach, with the club also adding a new sport director in Ivan Tomić. The club strengthened its squad with some foreigners like Juca, Almami Moreira and Lamine Diarra. The 2007–08 and 2008–09 season will remain as one of the most successful in club's domestic history. In 2008–09, the club successfully defended their league and cup double from the 2007–08 season, the first time this occurred its history. But in Europe, Partizan suffered a real shock: UEFA expelled Partizan from the 2007–08 UEFA Cup season and fined the club €30,056 due to crowd trouble at their away qualifying match against Zrinjski Mostar, which forced the match to be interrupted for ten minutes. UEFA judged travelling Partizan fans to have been the culprits of the trouble, but Partizan were allowed to play the return leg while the appeal was being processed. Partizan's appeal, however, was rejected and Zrinjski Mostar qualified for the next round, although Partizan beat them by an aggregate score of 11–1. Next season, the club enforced its squad with Brazilian striker Cléo; Partizan demolished Welsh champions Rhyl with a score of 8–0 (12–0 on aggregate) on 21 July 2009. This score is their largest ever winning margin in European competitions. After relegation from the Champions League, Partizan qualified two times in a row for the second tier of UEFA competition. The "Black & Whites" played in the 2008 UEFA Cup and 2009 Europa League group stage but as the same in 2007, the club did not advance any further.


title: FK Partizan

text: Unfortunately, even though a good European season was behind them, the club ended the season trophyless.


title: FK Partizan

text: After Jokanović, the club decided to give a chance to the young coach and former Partizan footballer Aleksandar Stanojević. He became the youngest head coach in the history of Partizan. Stanojević took over the club in very difficult period and managed to win the championship in 2010, although Partizan was 10 points behind from the 1st placed Red Star Belgrade. In the 2011, the club won the double. In UEFA competitions, Partizan qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League after beating Anderlecht for the second time. At the Partizan Stadium the result was 2–2. In Brussels at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium result was also 2–2. The key man was Cléo, who scored two goals against the Belgians. After penalty drama, Partizan reached again the UEFA Champions League group stage. Now, the draw for the group phase decided that Partizan will play in group H, alongside Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk (the winner of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup) and Sporting Braga (the eventual runner-up of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League). On the matchday 1, Partizan lost against Shakhtar on Donbass Arena in Donetsk (0–1). Next game Partizan played against Arsenal at Partizan Stadium and lost 1–3 after they played inspired football with a 10-man team in the last 30 minutes of the match. In two matches against Sporting Braga, Partizan failed to score and they lost both games (0–2 in Braga; 0–1 in Belgrade). The last two rounds in the group have also brought inspired football, but unfortunately it wasn't enough so Shakhtar Donetsk and "The Gunners" defeated Partizan once again, 0–3 in Belgrade and 1–3 at the Emirates Stadium.


title: FK Partizan

text: In the following season, the elimination during the 2012 Europa League qualifying stage, didn't affect the club in national championship, but after the half-season, Stanojević was released. Partizan then signed former Chelsea manager Avram Grant, who was able to preserve the lead from the half-season. He led Partizan to their fifth consecutive league title but lost three times against fierce rivals Red Star. Grant resigned and former Partizan manager Vladimir Vermezović returned to Belgrade in May 2012. Partizan did not qualify for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, but did gain a place in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage. Because of poor results in the second part of national championship, Vermezović was dismissed and replaced by Vuk Rašović. Following the victory in the eternal derby and in pre-last round, Rašović secured a sixth consecutive title, a total of 25th in history of the club. As a champion of the Serbian SuperLiga for 2012–13 season, Partizan managed to equalize a national record by the number of championship titles won.


title: FK Partizan

text: In summer of 2013, Partizan eliminated Shirak (1–1, away goal) and lost against Ludogorets Razgrad (1–3 on aggregate). In play-off round for 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, Partizan played with Thun. Partizan beat Thun 1–0 in Belgrade, but lost 0–3 in Thun and failed to get in Europa League. Without a single trophy and group stage of some European competition, the season was the worst in last ten years.


title: FK Partizan

text: After a year of absence from the European scene, Partizan entered at the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League by beating Neftchi total score 5–3 (3–2 at home and 1–2 away). Partizan is after the draw, placed in Group C with Tottenham Hotspur, Beşiktaş and Asteras Tripoli. Partizan began the Europa League in excellent form and remained undefeated against the English giant Tottenham, but in the next four games, the club were defeated. The 2014–15 season was a successful for Partizan, winning the Serbian championship and securing passage to the group stage of the Europa League.


title: FK Partizan

text: After falling out of the play–off for the Champions League in the summer of 2015, Partizan has directly entered the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. The club was placed in Group L alongside Athletic Bilbao, AZ Alkmaar and FC Augsburg. Partizan made three victories in group stage (3–2 at home and 2–1 in away against AZ and 3–1 in Augsburg against same team), but he failed to get in Round of 32. Partizan failed to defend the title, but won Serbian Cup after five years, without conceding goal. Partizan is first team who managed to win the Serbian Cup without conceding goal in history.


title: FK Partizan

text: A few days after the sixth double in club history (on the 2016–17 season), coach Nikolić left the club and signed with Hungarian club Videoton. A couple days after Nikolić's departure, Miroslav Đukić returned to Partizan. In the second qualifying round for the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League, Partizan eliminated Budućnost Podgorica (2–0 on aggregate), but in the third round they were eliminated by Olympiacos (3–5 on aggregate). In the play-off round for 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, Partizan played against Videoton and ex coach Marko Nikolić. After a 0–0 draw in Belgrade, Partizan defeated Videoton 4–0 in Felcsút and reached the group stage, where they were drawn in UEFA Europa League's Group B alongside Dynamo Kyiv, Young Boys and Skënderbeu Korçë. Partizan drawn 1–1 with Young Boys in the first match of Group B. Partizan later played against Dynamo Kyiv; after leading 2–0 at half-time, they lost 3–2. The next two Partizan matches were against Skënderbeu Korçë; in Korçë, they drew 0–0, and then won 2–0 in Belgrade. Partizan then beat Young Boys 2–1 at home, and secured a place on the knock-out stage. In the last match of the group, Partizan lost 4–1 to Dynamo Kyiv in Kyiv, although they were already qualified. Partizan ranked second in the group with eight points (two more than Young Boys and five less than Dynamo Kyiv). In the round of 32, Partizan played against Viktoria Plzeň; in Belgrade, they took the lead, but then conceded a late goal, which came from an offside position, thus ending the match with a 1–1 draw. In Plzeň, Viktoria won 2–0, and Partizan were eliminated from UEFA Europa League at the round of 32. The result was 3–1 for Viktoria on aggregate.


title: FK Partizan

text: In July and August 2019, Partizan secured their ninth participation in the group stage of UEFA Europa League. Under Savo Milošević's leadership, Partizan knocked out Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. (1–0 and 3–0), Yeni Malatyaspor (3–1 and 0–1) and Molde FK(2–1 and 1–1) in the qualifiers. On 30 August, Partizan was drawn on Group L of the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League alongside Manchester United, FC Astana and AZ Alkmaar. On 19 September, Partizan opened the group stage campaign with a 2–2 home draw against AZ. Due to UEFA sanctions, this game was played behind closed doors with only U15s allowed to attend – official attendance at the game was 22,564. Partizan beat Astana (2–1 away) on matchday 2, but lost the two following games against Manchester United (0–1 in Belgrade and 3–0 in Manchester). They still managed to draw in Alkmaar against AZ (2–2) and beat Astana 4–1 at home on the last two games of the group. However, this was not enough to get through as they finished third in the group just one point behind AZ. In the SuperLiga, Partizan won second place with 14 points less than Red Star. In the Serbian Cup, Partizan defeated Red Star in the semi-finals with a score of 1–0 after the 58-th minute goal by Bibras Natcho. In the final at the Čair Stadium in Niš, they met Vojvodina. After the regular time, it was 2–2, as Partizan equalized in the last moments of the match with a spectacular goal by Strahinja Pavlović. However, Vojvodina was better after the penalty shootout with 4–2, so after a long time, Partizan finished the season without a trophy.


title: FK Partizan

text: The third decade, a new challenge Partizan debuted in the inaugural season of the newly formed competition UEFA Europa Conference League 2021–22. In Second qualifying round Partizan knocked out DAC Dunajská Streda (1–0 and 2–0). The draw for the third qualifying round decided that Partizan would face Sochi. In the first leg played on Fisht Olympic Stadium result was 1–1, in the return leg in Belgrade the two sides once more played a draw this time it was 2–2. Because of the new rule that away goals no longer count after


title: FK Partizan

text: thirty minutes of extra time the match went into penalties which Partizan won 4–2. The last opponent in the qualifying Play-off round was Portuguese Santa Clara, Partizan lost 2–1 in the first game in Ponta Delgada but won 2–0 at home and thus advanced to Group stage. Partizan was placed in Group B together with Gent, Anorthosis Famagusta and Flora. The Serbian team finished second in the group with eight points and secured a place in knockout phase. After the draws in Nyon, Sparta Prague was chosen as Partizan's next opponent, this is the first meeting between the two clubs since 1966. In the first game played on February 17, 2022, Partizan won 1–0 at Stadion Letná with a goal by Queensy Menig. Fantastic ball by Saša Zdjelar. He employed Menig, who escaped the defense and brilliantly lobbed Holec for the lead. In the second leg a week later, Partizan won 2–1 with two goals by Ricardo. And after seventeen years, Partizan reached the Round of 16 in some UEFA competition.


title: FK Partizan

text: In October 1945, Partizan adopted as their first crest a blue disc with a yellow bordered red five-pointed star in the middle, which symbolized communism, and contained the abbreviation "JA" ("Jugoslovenska Armija", The Yugoslav Army) inside it. Later on, the central circle became white with a red five-pointed star in it. It was surrounded by a larger blue circle in which the words "the Yugoslav Army" were written, while both circles were bordered by a yellow circle with a green wreath over it. At the bottom of the emblem was a shield with red and white lines, and on the top were five torches, each representing one of the five nations of Yugoslavia (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians and Montenegrins). This was a clear reference to the National Emblem of Yugoslavia.


title: FK Partizan

text: In the early 1950s, Partizan was separated from the Yugoslav Army and for the first time the team's name was written in the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The inscription of the Yugoslav Army was removed from the crest, along with the green wreath, and was replaced by the words "Sportsko Društvo" (Sports association). Partizan used this emblem until 1958, although it changed its equipment colors of blue and red to black and white a year before. The crest was also changed to be completely black and white, and "Sportsko Društvo" was amended into "Jugoslovensko Sportsko Društvo" (Yugoslav Sports Association), while the five red torches and the five-pointed star remained. It was slightly redesigned after 1963 by adding a sixth torch to reflect the change of the official state emblem, which now included six torches representing six Yugoslav republics, instead of the previous five representing the nations. The crest remained unchanged until the breakup of Yugoslavia.


title: FK Partizan

text: By 1992, with Yugoslavia fragmenting, instead of ""Jugoslovensko Sportsko Društvo"", the word ""Fudbalski klub"" ("football club") were inserted and this crest remains in use too this day. The author of the crest was academic painter Branko Šotra. In the 2007–08 season, Partizan won its 20th national championship and added two stars above their crest, symbolizing the 20 titles won. However, there is an alternative crest, which Partizan supporters call the ""shovel"" but it is never used in official matches.


title: FK Partizan

text: For most of its history, Partizan has played in black and white striped jerseys, but during its earliest days it used entirely dark red, blue or white jerseys. In 1950, Partizan briefly had an all-white shirt with a blue diagonal stripe, besides an all blue shirt. From 1952, the first red-blue striped and quartered jerseys appeared. In 1957, the club was on tour in South America and after a friendly game with Juventus, a president of the Italian club, Umberto Agnelli, donated the club two sets of black and white jerseys. Since then, Partizan has played mainly in black and white striped shirts, with black or white shorts and socks. But there were exceptions, like in 1974, when they wore a black and white hooped shirt, and 1982, when they have played in a plain white jerseys with a thick black stripe across them. In 1990, the red and blue jersey returned after more than 30 years, in an away match against Hibernians during the UEFA Cup campaign. All this time, the away shirts have been mostly either all white or occasionally red-blue striped, but in recent years an all-black strip is usually used.


title: FK Partizan

text: The stadium's name is Partizan Stadium, although it was known as JNA Stadium (, "Stadium of the Yugoslav People's Army") for most of its history, and even today, a lot of football fans in all countries of the former-Yugoslavia call it by its old name. Partizan supporters sometimes call it ""Fudbalski hram"" (The Temple of Football).


title: FK Partizan

text: The stadium is situated in the Savski Venac municipality, in central Belgrade. Designed by architect Mihailo Janković, the ground was built on the site of BSK Stadium. It was officially opened on Day of Yugoslav People's Army on 22 December 1951. The first match ever played was between Yugoslavia and France on 9 October 1949. The stadium had a capacity of 55,000 until it was renovated in 1998 following UEFA security regulations. This led to the conversion of the stadium into an all-seater reducing the capacity to 32.710, currently the second largest stadium in Serbia, behind the Red Star Stadium.


title: FK Partizan

text: The ground has also been used for a variety of other sport events since 1949. It was used from the mid-fifties until 1987 as the final point of yearly festivities called the Youth Day. Also, it was the host of the 1962 European Athletics Championships, a place for various concerts and it hosted many times the Yugoslav Cup and Serbian Cup final.


title: FK Partizan

text: The Partizan youth school, called "Youth School Belin – Lazarević – Nadoveza", was founded in the 1950s and named after former Partizan players Bruno Belin, Čedomir Lazarević and Branko Nadoveza. The club is well known for its dedicated work with youngsters. Its training philosophy is not only the development of football players, but also to care of their growth and personality forming, while also teaching the sporting spirit. There are around 400 youngsters classified by age categories. There are six age groups, four compete at the level of the Football Association of Serbia, the U17, U16, U15 and U14, while the U13 and U12 compete at the level of the Football Association of Belgrade. Below U12 level there are no official competitions, but players do play in tournaments and friendly matches.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan is the club with the most league titles and cup wins in youth competition in Serbia. The youth teams also participate in numerous tournaments around Europe and also organize an U17 international tournament with participation of some of the top European clubs. Partizan also organizes football camps for children in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Australia and the United States. Many of the best youth-academy players move directly to the Partizan senior side, or to the affiliate club Teleoptik Zemun.


title: FK Partizan

text: All of Partizan's youth categories train at the Partizan sports complex named SC Partizan-Teleoptik, along with Partizan's seniors and the players of Teleoptik.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan has won several awards for its youth work, including "Best European Youth Work" in 2006, and the club's youth school has been declared the second-best in Europe after that of Ajax. Partizan's academy has produced numerous professional football players or Yugoslav and Serbian internationals. Notable players from the recent past include Saša Ilić, Savo Milošević, Danko Lazović, Stefan Babović, Miralem Sulejmani, Stevan Jovetić, Adem Ljajić, Matija Nastasić, Lazar Marković, Miloš Jojić, Andrija Živković, Nikola Milenković, Aleksandar Mitrović, Strahinja Pavlović and Dušan Vlahović.


title: FK Partizan

text: Two Partizan youth academy graduates (Dušan Vlahović and Strahinja Pavlović) are featured in UEFA.com 'Fifty for the Future' selection in 2020.


title: FK Partizan

text: Recently, players born after year 2000 like Nemanja Jović, Marko Milovanović, Nikola Terzić and Samed Baždar (who made it into the Guardian's 'Next Generation 2021' shortlist') are showing class for their age and having great potential.


title: FK Partizan

text: According to a 2008 domestic poll, Partizan is the second popular football club in Serbia, behind Red Star Belgrade. Although fewer, focus groups show that Partizan fans are considered to be more devoted to their club. The club has a large fanbase in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina (especially in the Serb entity of Republika Srpska). They also have many supporters in all other former-Yugoslav republics like North Macedonia, Slovenia, and among the Serbian diaspora, especially in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Malta, the United States and Australia.


title: FK Partizan

text: The organized supporters of Partizan are called "Grobari" ("The Gravediggers" or "Undertakers"), which were formed in 1970 and situated mainly on the south stand of the Partizan Stadium; therefore, they are also known as "Grobari Jug" ("The Undertakers South"). Even some ordinary Partizan fans often refer to themselves as "Grobari". The nickname itself was given by their sporting rivals Delije of Red Star, referring to the club's mostly black colours which were similar to the official uniforms of cemetery undertakers. The other theory is that the name comes from a misinterpretation of the name of the street on which Partizan's stadium is located – ""Humska"" (""humka"" roughly translates as "grave" or "entombment"), when actually the street was named after Serbian medieval land of Hum, nowadays part of Herzegovina and South Dalmatia. The "Grobari" support all clubs in the Partizan Sports Association and in the course of time they have become recognizable by their noisy and constant cheering as well as their devotion and loyalty to the club. The basis of their cheering is referred in the Serbian fan scene as the principle of ""srce, ruke, glas"" (heart, hands, voice) or ""glas i dlan"" (voice and palms), along with songs in distinctive style. The "Grobari" as a whole maintain a close friendship with the organized supporters of PAOK, CSKA Moscow and CSKA Sofia, which started originally because of the two supporters' common Orthodox faith and similar founding backgrounds. It has been suggested that "many ultras took part in the armed conflicts and carry their scars today, translating the tribal nature of the Yugoslav wars to their clubs and ultras groups".


title: FK Partizan

text: Grobari have also a traditional friendship with Juventude Leonina, the main ultras group of Portuguese side Sporting Clube de Portugal. The direction boards of both clubs have also good relations which was kept ever since the 1955–56 European Cup edition, which on 4 September 1955, in Lisbon's Estádio Nacional, put head-a-head the two teams in what was considered the opening whistle of the UEFA European club competitions. The game finished with a 3–3 draw, with Sporting later losing in Belgrade in the second hand by 5–2, however the club boards of both teams regularly meet from time to time to mark the occasion of this historic event.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan's biggest rivalry is with Red Star Belgrade. The matches between these rivals have been labeled as the Eternal derby (Serbian: Вечити дерби, Večiti derbi) or Belgrade derby. The rivalry started immediately after the creation of the two clubs. Red Star was founded for Yugoslav youth and Partizan as the football section of the Yugoslav People's Army. The rivalry is also intensified by the fact that both clubs have their stadiums situated only a few hundred metres apart. The Eternal derby is particularly noted for the passion of both supporters groups. The stands of both teams feature fireworks, coloured confetti, flags, rolls of paper, torches, smoke, drums, giant posters and choreographies, used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on the visiting teams, hence the slogan, "Welcome to Hellgrade". Some fans also use trumpets, similar to the supporters in South America. This creates for the region a typical and distinctive Balkan Brass Band atmosphere. Both sets of supporters sing passionate songs against their rivals, and the stadiums are known to bounce with the simultaneous jumping of the fans.


title: FK Partizan

text: The duel is regarded by "Bleacher Report" as one of the greatest football rivalries in the world. Along with the Old Firm, the Rome derby and the Istanbul derby, the Belgrade derby is known as one of the most intense rivalries in European football. The largest attendance at a derby match was about 100,000 spectators (90,142 with paid tickets) on 7 November 1976 at the Red Star Stadium. The biggest win was 7–1 for Partizan on 6 December 1953 at the Partizan Stadium but the club with the most victories is Red Star.


title: FK Partizan

text: During the Yugoslav era between 1945 and 1991, Partizan maintained a rivalry with other members of the so called "big four". Along with Partizan and Red Star, the "big four" included Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split. Results in the table include domestic championship and cup games Partizan played against other members of the Yugoslav "big four" up to and including the season 1990–91:


title: FK Partizan

text: Other rivalries include regional rivalry with Vojvodina with whom they contest the Derby of Serbia, minor derby with neighbouring Zemun, and Belgrade derbies with Rad and OFK Belgrade.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan's best European performance was in the 1965–66 season, when they reached the Final of the European Cup/Champions League.


title: FK Partizan

text: Overall, Partizan have won 45 official titles including 27 national championships, 16 national cups, 1 national supercup and 1 Mitropa Cup.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan's record-holder by number of appearances is player Saša Ilić. He played 874 games in two turns, from 1996 and 2005 and from 2010 till 2019. The goal-scoring record-holder is striker Stjepan Bobek, with 425 goals. Over 150 footballers from Partizan have played for the Yugoslav and Serbian national football teams. Stjepan Bobek held the Yugoslavian national team record with 38 goals, with second place being shared by Savo Milošević, Milan Galić and Blagoje Marjanović, who scored 37 goals each. Aleksandar Mitrović holds the Serbian national team record with 52 goals as of late 2021, this means four out of five national team top goalscorers have been Partizan players.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan are record-holders of the Yugoslav First League in terms of points acquired during a campaign, with 107, and are the only league-winning team to have gone undefeated during one season (in 2005 and 2010). Partizan became the first champion of Yugoslavia in 1947, the first Yugoslav Cup winner, also in 1947, and therefore also the first double winner in the country. They won three consecutive championship titles, in 1961, 1962 and 1963, the first title hat-trick in the history of the Yugoslav First League. Partizan won the most national championships since the dissolution of Yugoslavia, becoming champions 13 times. They are the only Serbian club ever, since the first nationwide domestic football competition in 1923, to win six consecutive national titles, a feat they achieved between 2007 and 2013.


title: FK Partizan

text: The club holds records such as playing in the first European Champions Cup match in 1955, becoming the first Balkan and Eastern European club to play in the European Champions Cup final in 1966, and becoming the first club from Serbia to take part in the UEFA Champions League group stages in 2003. The club's greatest victory in European competitions was 8–0 against Welsh champions Rhyl in qualifying for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League.


title: FK Partizan

text: To appear in this section a player must have played at least 80 matches for the club or made at least one international appearance.


title: FK Partizan

text: Flags indicate the national teams the players played for. Players that played for two different national teams have the flags of both national teams.


title: FK Partizan

text: To appear in this section a player must have played at least 30 matches for the club or made at least one international appearance.


title: FK Partizan

text: Partizan operates as a sports association, as part of Partizan Sports Association, which includes 28 clubs in different sports, but it has complete independence regarding organisation, management, finances, material goods and facilities. In 2010, the club's non-consolidated operating revenues amounted to €21.2 million and EBITDA amounted to €3.5 million.


title: Human skeleton

text: The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones get fused together. The bone mass in the skeleton makes up about 14% of the total body weight (ca. 10–11 kg for an average person) and reaches maximum density around age 21. The human skeleton can be divided into the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton is formed by the vertebral column, the rib cage, the skull and other associated bones. The appendicular skeleton, which is attached to the axial skeleton, is formed by the shoulder girdle, the pelvic girdle and the bones of the upper and lower limbs.


title: Human skeleton

text: The human skeleton performs six major functions: support, movement, protection, production of blood cells, storage of minerals, and endocrine regulation.


title: Human skeleton

text: The human skeleton is not as sexually dimorphic as that of many other primate species, but subtle differences between sexes in the morphology of the skull, dentition, long bones, and pelvis exist. In general, female skeletal elements tend to be smaller and less robust than corresponding male elements within a given population. The human female pelvis is also different from that of males in order to facilitate childbirth. Unlike most primates, human males do not have penile bones.


title: Human skeleton

text: The axial skeleton (80 bones) is formed by the vertebral column (32–34 bones; the number of the vertebrae differs from human to human as the lower 2 parts, sacral and coccygeal bone may vary in length), a part of the rib cage (12 pairs of ribs and the sternum), and the skull (22 bones and 7 associated bones).


title: Human skeleton

text: The upright posture of humans is maintained by the axial skeleton, which transmits the weight from the head, the trunk, and the upper extremities down to the lower extremities at the hip joints. The bones of the spine are supported by many ligaments. The erector spinae muscles are also supporting and are useful for balance.


title: Human skeleton

text: The appendicular skeleton (126 bones) is formed by the pectoral girdles, the upper limbs, the pelvic girdle or pelvis, and the lower limbs. Their functions are to make locomotion possible and to protect the major organs of digestion, excretion and reproduction.


title: Human skeleton

text: The skeleton serves six major functions: support, movement, protection, production of blood cells, storage of minerals and endocrine regulation.


title: Human skeleton

text: The skeleton provides the framework which supports the body and maintains its shape. The pelvis, associated ligaments and muscles provide a floor for the pelvic structures. Without the rib cages, costal cartilages, and intercostal muscles, the lungs would collapse.


title: Human skeleton

text: The joints between bones allow movement, some allowing a wider range of movement than others, e.g. the ball and socket joint allows a greater range of movement than the pivot joint at the neck. Movement is powered by skeletal muscles, which are attached to the skeleton at various sites on bones. Muscles, bones, and joints provide the principal mechanics for movement, all coordinated by the nervous system.


title: Human skeleton

text: It is believed that the reduction of human bone density in prehistoric times reduced the agility and dexterity of human movement. Shifting from hunting to agriculture has caused human bone density to reduce significantly.


title: Human skeleton

text: The skeleton is the site of haematopoiesis, the development of blood cells that takes place in the bone marrow. In children, haematopoiesis occurs primarily in the marrow of the long bones such as the femur and tibia. In adults, it occurs mainly in the pelvis, cranium, vertebrae, and sternum.


title: Human skeleton

text: The bone matrix can store calcium and is involved in calcium metabolism, and bone marrow can store iron in ferritin and is involved in iron metabolism. However, bones are not entirely made of calcium, but a mixture of chondroitin sulfate and hydroxyapatite, the latter making up 70% of a bone. Hydroxyapatite is in turn composed of 39.8% of calcium, 41.4% of oxygen, 18.5% of phosphorus, and 0.2% of hydrogen by mass. Chondroitin sulfate is a sugar made up primarily of oxygen and carbon.


title: Human skeleton

text: Bone cells release a hormone called osteocalcin, which contributes to the regulation of blood sugar (glucose) and fat deposition. Osteocalcin increases both the insulin secretion and sensitivity, in addition to boosting the number of insulin-producing cells and reducing stores of fat.


title: Human skeleton

text: Anatomical differences between human males and females are highly pronounced in some soft tissue areas, but tend to be limited in the skeleton. The human skeleton is not as sexually dimorphic as that of many other primate species, but subtle differences between sexes in the morphology of the skull, dentition, long bones, and pelvis are exhibited across human populations. In general, female skeletal elements tend to be smaller and less robust than corresponding male elements within a given population. It is not known whether or to what extent those differences are genetic or environmental.


title: Human skeleton

text: A variety of gross morphological traits of the human skull demonstrate sexual dimorphism, such as the median nuchal line, mastoid processes, supraorbital margin, supraorbital ridge, and the chin.


title: Human skeleton

text: Human inter-sex dental dimorphism centers on the canine teeth, but it is not nearly as pronounced as in the other great apes.


title: Human skeleton

text: Long bones are generally larger in males than in females within a given population. Muscle attachment sites on long bones are often more robust in males than in females, reflecting a difference in overall muscle mass and development between sexes. Sexual dimorphism in the long bones is commonly characterized by morphometric or gross morphological analyses.


title: Human skeleton

text: The human pelvis exhibits greater sexual dimorphism than other bones, specifically in the size and shape of the pelvic cavity, ilia, greater sciatic notches, and the sub-pubic angle. The Phenice method is commonly used to determine the sex of an unidentified human skeleton by anthropologists with 96% to 100% accuracy in some populations.


title: Human skeleton

text: Women's pelvises are wider in the pelvic inlet and are wider throughout the pelvis to allow for child birth. The sacrum in the women's pelvis is curved inwards to allow the child to have a "funnel" to assist in the child's pathway from the uterus to the birth canal.


title: Human skeleton

text: There are many classified skeletal disorders. One of the most common is osteoporosis. Also common is scoliosis, a side-to-side curve in the back or spine, often creating a pronounced "C" or "S" shape when viewed on an x-ray of the spine. This condition is most apparent during adolescence, and is most common with females.


title: Human skeleton

text: Arthritis is a disorder of the joints. It involves inflammation of one or more joints. When affected by arthritis, the joint or joints affected may be painful to move, may move in unusual directions or may be immobile completely. The symptoms of arthritis will vary differently between types of arthritis. The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, can affect both the larger and smaller joints of the human skeleton. The cartilage in the affected joints will degrade, soften and wear away. This decreases the mobility of the joints and decreases the space between bones where cartilage should be.


title: Human skeleton

text: Osteoporosis is a disease of bone where there is reduced bone mineral density, increasing the likelihood of fractures. Osteoporosis is defined by the World Health Organization in women as a bone mineral density 2.5 standard deviations below peak bone mass, relative to the age and sex-matched average, as measured by Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, with the term "established osteoporosis" including the presence of a fragility fracture. Osteoporosis is most common in women after menopause, when it is called "postmenopausal osteoporosis", but may develop in men and premenopausal women in the presence of particular hormonal disorders and other chronic diseases or as a result of smoking and medications, specifically glucocorticoids. Osteoporosis usually has no symptoms until a fracture occurs. For this reason, DEXA scans are often done in people with one or more risk factors, who have developed osteoporosis and be at risk of fracture.


title: Human skeleton

text: Osteoporosis treatment includes advice to stop smoking, decrease alcohol consumption, exercise regularly, and have a healthy diet. Calcium supplements may also be advised, as may Vitamin D. When medication is used, it may include bisphosphonates, Strontium ranelate, and osteoporosis may be one factor considered when commencing Hormone replacement therapy.


title: Human skeleton

text: Suśruta-saṃhitā, composed between 6th century BCE and 5th century CE speaks of 360 bones. Books on "Salya-Shastra" (surgical science) know of only 300. The text then lists the total of 300 as follows: 120 in the extremities (e.g. hands, legs), 117 in the pelvic area, sides, back, abdomen and breast, and 63 in the neck and upwards. The text then explains how these subtotals were empirically verified. The discussion shows that the Indian tradition nurtured diversity of thought, with Sushruta school reaching its own conclusions and differing from the Atreya-Caraka tradition. The differences in the count of bones in the two schools is partly because Charaka Samhita includes thirty two teeth sockets in its count, and their difference of opinions on how and when to count a cartilage as bone (both count cartilages as bones, unlike current medical practice).


title: Human skeleton

text: The study of bones in ancient Greece started under Ptolemaic kings due to their link to Egypt. Herophilos, through his work by studying dissected human corpses in Alexandria, is credited to be the pioneer of the field. His works are lost but are often cited by notable persons in the field such as Galen and Rufus of Ephesus. Galen himself did little dissection though and relied on the work of others like Marinus of Alexandria, as well as his own observations of gladiator cadavers and animals. According to Katherine Park, in medieval Europe dissection continued to be practiced, contrary to the popular understanding that such practices were taboo and thus completely banned. The practice of "holy autopsy", such as in the case of Clare of Montefalco further supports the claim. Alexandria continued as a center of anatomy under Islamic rule, with Ibn Zuhr a notable figure. Chinese understandings are divergent, as the closest corresponding concept in the medicinal system seems to be the meridians, although given that Hua Tuo regularly performed surgery, there may be some distance between medical theory and actual understanding.


title: Human skeleton

text: Leonardo da Vinci made studies of the skeleton, albeit unpublished in his time. Many artists, Antonio del Pollaiuolo being the first, performed dissections for better understanding of the body, although they concentrated mostly on the muscles. Vesalius, regarded as the founder of modern anatomy, authored the book "De humani corporis fabrica", which contained many illustrations of the skeleton and other body parts, correcting some theories dating from Galen, such as the lower jaw being a single bone instead of two. Various other figures like Alessandro Achillini also contributed to the further understanding of the skeleton.


title: Human skeleton

text: As early as 1797, the death goddess or folk saint known as Santa Muerte has been represented as a skeleton.


title: Kitten

text: A kitten is a juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are totally dependent on their mothers for survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. After about two weeks, kittens develop quickly and begin to explore the world outside their nest. After a further three to four weeks, they begin to eat solid food and grow baby teeth. Domestic kittens are highly social animals and usually enjoy human companionship.


title: Kitten

text: The word "kitten" derives from the Middle English word , which in turn came from the Old French or . Juvenile big cats are called "cubs" rather than kittens; either term (but usually more commonly "kitten") may be used for the young of smaller wild felids, such as ocelots, caracals, and lynxes.


title: Kitten

text: A feline litter usually consists of two to five kittens, but litters with one to more than ten are known. Kittens are typically born after a gestation lasting between 64 and 67 days, with an average length of 66 days. When they are born, kittens emerge in a sac called the amnion, which is bitten off and eaten by the mother cat.


title: Kitten

text: For the first several weeks, kittens cannot urinate or defecate without being stimulated by their mother. They also cannot regulate their body temperature for the first three weeks, so kittens born in temperatures less than can die from hypothermia if their mother does not keep them warm. The mother's milk is very important for the kittens' nutrition and proper growth. This milk transfers antibodies to the kittens, which helps protect them against infectious disease. As mentioned above, they cannot urinate, so they have a very high requirement for fluids. Kittens open their eyes about seven to ten days after birth. At first, the retina is poorly developed and vision is poor. Kittens cannot see as well as adult cats until about ten weeks after birth.


title: Kitten

text: Kittens develop very quickly from about two weeks of age until their seventh week. Their coordination and strength improve, and they play-fight with their litter-mates and begin to explore the world outside the nest or den. They learn to wash themselves and others as well as play hunting and stalking games, showing their inborn ability as predators. These innate skills are developed by the kittens' mother or other adult cats, who bring live prey to the nest. Later, the mother demonstrates hunting techniques for the kittens to emulate. As they reach three to four weeks old, the kittens are gradually weaned and begin to eat solid food, with weaning usually complete by six to eight weeks. Kittens generally begin to lose their baby teeth around three months of age, and they have a complete set of adult teeth by nine months. Kittens live primarily on solid food after weaning, but usually continue to suckle from time to time until separated from their mothers. Some mother cats will scatter their kittens as early as three months of age, while others continue to look after them until they approach sexual maturity.


title: Kitten

text: The sex of kittens is usually easy to determine at birth. By six to eight weeks this becomes harder because of the growth of fur in the genital region. The male's urethral opening is round, whereas the female's urethral opening is a slit. Another marked difference is the distance between anus and urethral opening, which is greater in males than in females.


title: Kitten

text: Kittens are highly social animals and spend most of their waking hours interacting with available animals and playing on their own. Play with other kittens peaks in the third or fourth month after birth, with more solitary hunting and stalking play peaking later, at about five months.


title: Kitten

text: Kittens are vulnerable because they like to find dark places to hide, sometimes with fatal results if they are not watched carefully. Cats have a habit of seeking refuge under or inside cars or on top of car tires during stormy or cold weather. This often leads to broken bones, burns, heat stroke, damaged internal organs or death.


title: Kitten

text: Domestic kittens are commonly sent to new homes at six to eight weeks of age, but it has been suggested that being with their mother and litter-mates from six to twelve weeks is important for a kitten's social and behavioural development. Usually, breeders and foster/rescue homes will not sell or adopt out a kitten that is younger than twelve weeks. In many jurisdictions, it is illegal to give away kittens younger than eight weeks of age. Kittens generally reach sexual maturity at around seven months old. A cat reaches full "adulthood" around one year of age.


title: Kitten

text: Domestic kittens in developed societies are usually vaccinated against common illnesses from two to three months of age. The usual combination vaccination protects against feline viral rhinotracheitis (FVR), feline calicivirus (C), and feline panleukopenia (P). This FVRCP inoculation is usually given at eight, twelve, and sixteen weeks, and an inoculation against rabies may be given at sixteen weeks. Kittens are usually spayed or neutered at seven months of age, but kittens may be neutered as young as seven weeks (if large enough), especially in animal shelters. Such early neutering does not appear to have any long-term health risks to cats, and may even be beneficial in male cats. Kittens are commonly given deworming treatments for roundworms from about four weeks.


title: Kitten

text: Felines are carnivores and have adapted to animal-based diets and low carbohydrate inclusion. Kittens are categorized in a growth life stage, and have high energy and protein requirements. When feeding a kitten, it is often recommended to use highly digestible ingredients and various components to aid in development in order to produce a healthy adult. In North America, diets certified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) are accepted as adequate nutrition, thus kitten diets should be AAFCO approved to ensure full supplementation. Key components of the diet are high fat content to meet caloric requirements of growth, high protein to meet requirements for muscle growth as well as supplementation of certain nutrients such as docosahexaenoic acid to benefit the development of the brain and optimization of cognition.


title: Kitten

text: Part of the kitten's immune system is the mucosal immune system, which is within the gastrointestinal tract. The mucosal immune system is largely responsible for coordinating proper immune responses by tolerating innocuous antigens and attacking foreign pathogens. In order to optimize kitten health and increase chances of survival, it is important to optimize the link between the gut-associated lymphoid tissue and the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. Lasting health and longevity can be accomplished partly through proper nutrition and establishing a healthy gut from birth through utilizing colostrum.Within the first 2 days after birth, kittens acquire passive immunity from their mother's milk. Milk within the first few days of parturition is called colostrum, and contains high concentrations of immunoglobulins. These include immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G which cross the intestinal barrier of the neonate. The immunoglobulins and growth factors found in the colostrum begin to establish and strengthen the weak immune system of the offspring. Kittens are able to chew solid food around 5–6 weeks after birth, and it is recommended that 30% of their diet should consist of solid food at this time. The kitten remains on the mother's milk until around eight weeks of age when weaning is complete and a diet of solid food is the primary food source.


title: Kitten

text: Until approximately one year of age, the kitten is undergoing a growth phase where energy requirements are up to 2.5 times higher than maintenance. Pet nutritionists often suggest that a commercial cat food designed specifically for kittens should be offered beginning at 4 weeks of age. Fat has a higher caloric value than carbohydrates and protein, supplying 9 kcal/g. The growing kitten requires arachidonic and linoleic acid which can be provided in omega-3 fatty acids. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is another vital nutrient that can be supplied through omega 3 fatty acid. Addition of DHA to the diet benefits the cognition, brain and visual development of kittens.


title: Kitten

text: Cats are natural carnivores and require high amounts of protein in the diet. Kittens are undergoing growth and require high amounts of protein to provide essential amino acids that enable the growth of tissues and muscles. It is recommended that kittens consume a diet containing approximately 30% protein, on a dry matter basis, for proper growth.


title: Kitten

text: Taurine is an essential amino acid found only in animal tissue; the mother cat cannot produce enough of it for her kittens. As it is an indispensable amino acid, it must be provided exogenously through the diet at 10mg per kg of bodyweight, each day. Kittens deprived of taurine can experience poor growth and can result in retinal degeneration in cats.


title: Kitten

text: Felines are natural carnivores and do not intentionally consume large quantities of carbohydrates. The domestic cat's liver has adapted to the lack of carbohydrates in the diet by using amino acids to produce glucose to fuel the brain and other tissues. Studies have shown that carbohydrate digestion in young kittens is much less effective than that of a mature feline with a developed gastrointestinal tract. Highly digestible carbohydrates can be found in commercial kitten food as a source of additional energy as well as a source of fiber to stimulate the immature gut tissue. Soluble fibre such as beet pulp is a common ingredient used as a fibrous stool hardener and has been proven to strengthen intestinal muscles and to thicken the gut mucosal layer to prevent diarrhea.


title: Kitten

text: The lack of readily available glucose from the limited carbohydrates in the diet has resulted to the adaptation of the liver to produce glucose from the breakdown components of protein—amino acids. The enzymes that breakdown amino acids are constantly active in cats. Thus, cats need a constant source of protein in their diet. Kittens require an increased amount of protein to supply readily available amino acids for daily maintenance and for building new body components because they are constantly growing. There are many required amino acids for kittens. Histidine is required at no greater than 30% in kitten diets, since consuming histidine-free diets causes weight loss. Tryptophan is required at 0.15%, seeing as it maximizes performance at this level. Kittens also need the following amino acids supplemented in their diet: arginine to avoid an excess of ammonia in the blood, otherwise known as hyperammonemia, isoleucine, leucine, valine, lysine, methionine as a sulfur-containing amino acid, asparagine for maximal growth in the early post-weaning kitten, threonine and taurine to prevent central retinal degeneration.


title: Kitten

text: Vitamin A is required in kitten diets because cats cannot convert carotenes to retinol in the intestinal mucosa because they lack the necessary enzyme; this vitamin must be supplemented in the diet. Vitamin E is another required vitamin in kitten diets; deficiency leads to steatitis, causing the depot fat to become firm and yellow-orange in colour, which is painful and leads to death. Also, vitamin D is an essential vitamin because cats cannot convert it from precursors in the skin.


title: Kitten

text: Cats can synthesize niacin, but their breakdown exceeds the rate that it can be synthesized and thus, have a higher need for it, which can be fulfilled through an animal-based diet. Pyridoxine (vitamin B) is required in increased amounts because it is needed to produce amino acids. Vitamin B is an AAFCO-recommended vitamin that is essential in the metabolism of carbohydrates and protein and maintains a healthy nervous system, healthy mucous membranes, healthy muscle and heart function, and, in general, promotes normal growth and development. Choline is also a AAFCO recommended ingredient for kittens, which is important for neurotransmission in the brain and as a component of membrane phospholipids. Biotin is another AAFCO-recommended vitamin to support thyroid and adrenal glands and the reproductive and nervous systems. Kittens also require riboflavin (vitamin B) for heart health, pantothenic acid (vitamin B), and folacin.


title: Kitten

text: Since kitten diets are very high in calories, ingredients must be implemented to ensure adequate digestion and utilization of these calories. Choline chloride is an ingredient that maintains fat metabolism. Biotin and niacin are also active in the metabolism of fats, carbs and protein. Riboflavin is also necessary for the digestion of fats and carbohydrates. These are the main metabolism aids incorporated into kitten diets to ensure nutrient usage is maximized.


title: Kitten

text: A combination of required nutrients is used to satisfy the overall growth and development of the kitten body; there are many ingredients that kittens do not require, but are included in diet formulation to encourage healthy growth and development. These ingredients include: dried egg as a source of high quality protein and fatty acids, flaxseed, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acid and aids in digestion, calcium carbonate as a source of calcium, and calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5) that acts as a coenzyme in the conversion of amino acids and is important for healthy skin.


title: Kitten

text: Antioxidants help support the development of a healthy immune system through inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules, which are essential for a growing kitten. Antioxidants can be derived from ingredients, such as: carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, vitamin E and vitamin E supplement, and zinc proteinate.


title: Kitten

text: Kittens require a high-calorie diet that contains more protein than the diet of adult cats. Young orphaned kittens require cat milk every two to four hours, and they need physical stimulation to defecate and urinate. Cat milk replacement is manufactured to feed to young kittens, because cow's milk does not provide all the necessary nutrients. Human-reared kittens tend to be very affectionate with humans as adults and sometimes more dependent on them than kittens reared by their mothers, but they can also show volatile mood swings and aggression. Depending on the age at which they were orphaned and how long they were without their mothers, these kittens may be severely underweight and can have health problems later in life, such as heart conditions. The compromised immune system of orphaned kittens (from lack of antibodies found naturally in the mother's milk) can make them especially susceptible to infections, making antibiotics a necessity.