title: Discipline

text: For some Christian ethics, virtues directed by the beatitudes were formally replaced by ascetical theology and obedience-based discipline, which changed orientation from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to that of an authority, blessed but not possessing the same happiness which was given forth by adherence and observances. In the Medieval period, spirituality and morality were closely connected and even thought of as being practically the same. The beatitudes were made an organizational principle since Saint Augustine. However, Christian ethics didn't have its existence as a form of discipline until the late, middle Medieval period, and along with Lutheranism and post-Enlightenment obedience-based discipline has been the new form.


title: Discipline

text: The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines "The object, the intention, and the circumstances [as] the three "sources" of the morality of human acts" A good intention cannot justify the means; and some acts are always wrong to choose. The Holy Spirit remains vital to understanding, "the eternal Word of the living God, [and] must, through the Holy Spirit, open (our) minds to understand the Scriptures."


title: Discipline

text: Alexander Maclaren suggested the duty and discipline of grace and the hope born of this life and carried throughout life can be described as follows:


title: Discipline

text: 'grace' means the sum of the felicities [happiness] of a future life. That is clear from two considerations — that this grace is the object of our hope all through life, which only an object beyond the grave can be, and also that its advent is contemporaneous with the revelation of Jesus Christ. The expression, though unusual, is valuable because it brings out two things. It reminds us that whatever of [the] blessedness we may possess in the future it is all a gratuitous, unmerited gift of that loving God to whom we owe everything."


title: Discipline

text: Self-discipline is how our self-control is gained, and the way our hope is maintained. "Hope follows desire. The vigor of our hopes is affected by the warmth of our desires. The warmth of our desires towards the future depends largely on the turning away of our desires from the present."


title: Discipline

text: Self-control is a lack of impulsivity, eating disorders and addictive behaviors. The first steps of any individual seeking to better themselves is overriding these impulses. The ability to regulate one's emotions and behavior is a key components of our brains executive function, the skills we are born with or innate to us that help allow us to plan, monitor, and attain goals. Giving into impulses right away is what stuns our internal and external powers and our growth. Self-control is refraining from doing certain things while discipline is enacting routines or reforming ourself to better build good habits. Self-control is choosing successfully between competing behaviors to your preferred behavior or alternatives, while discipline is habits accumulating to build on what's succeeding thus they self-control and discipline may overlap. There is currently debates surrounding whether there is ego depletion (finite willpower) and whether self-control is innate individual difference v.s. a learned skill that anyone can benefit from. Willpower or self-control energy is really an waxing and waning energy, fluctuating resource that is comparable to our physical energy levels throughout the day. Anyone can still benefit form healthy habits and take counter-measures to control our behaviour (impulse control or refraining). This is a difficult measure but one we all take since everyone has domains of life in which they could use this greater willpower. The four strategies are as follows: Firstly, situation selection where we always avoid situations where you will be likely to confront temptations, secondly, situation modification as in do what you can effort wise to reduce the pull of the temptation in the situation that arises, thirdly, distraction is try to distract yourself with better alternatives, and fourth, reappraisal is change the way you think about the bad habit so you don't favor it as much as you once did.


title: Kool-Aid

text: Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack.


title: Kool-Aid

text: Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska. All of his experiments took place in his mother's kitchen. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder; this powder was named Kool-Aid. Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953. Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August in honor of their city's claim to fame. Kool-Aid is known as Nebraska's official soft drink.


title: Kool-Aid

text: An agreement between Kraft Foods and SodaStream in 2012 made Kool-Aid's various flavors available for consumer purchases and use with SodaStream's home soda maker machine.


title: Kool-Aid

text: There is an active scene of Kool-Aid collectors. A rare old Kool-Aid package can be traded for up to several hundred dollars on auction websites.


title: Kool-Aid

text: Kool-Aid is usually sold in powder form, in either packets or small tubs. The actual beverage is prepared by mixing the powder with sugar (the packets of powder are usually, though not always, unsweetened) and water, typically by the pitcherful. The drink is usually either served with ice or refrigerated and served chilled. Additionally, there are some sugar-free varieties.


title: Kool-Aid

text: Kool-Aid is also sold as single-serving packets designed to be poured into bottled water, as small plastic bottles with pre-mixed drink, or as such novelties as ice cream or fizzing tablets.


title: Kool-Aid

text: The colors in Kool-Aid will stain, and hence the substance can be used as a dye for either hair or wool.


title: Kool-Aid

text: The Kool-Aid Man, an anthropomorphic pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, is the mascot of Kool-Aid. The character was introduced shortly after General Foods acquired the brand in the 1950s. In television and print ads, the Kool-Aid Man was known for randomly bursting through walls of children's homes and proceeding to make a batch of Kool-Aid for them. His catchphrase is "Oh, yeah!"


title: Kool-Aid

text: Starting in 2011, Kraft began allocating the majority of the Kool-Aid marketing budget towards Latinos. According to the brand, almost 20 percent of Kool-Aid drinkers are Hispanic, and slightly more than 20 percent are African-American.


title: Kool-Aid

text: In 2013, Kraft decided to overhaul the Kool-Aid Man, reimagining him as a CGI character, "a celebrity trying to show that he's just an ordinary guy."


title: Kool-Aid

text: "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is a phrase suggesting that one has mindlessly adopted a dogma of a group or a (cult) leader without fully understanding the ramifications or implications. The backdrop of this are events culminating in the 1978 Jonestown Massacre. At Jonestown, Guyana, followers of Jim Jones' Temple drank from a metal vat containing a mixture of "Kool Aid", cyanide, and prescription drugs Valium, Phenergan, and chloral hydrate. Present-day descriptions of the event sometimes claim the beverage was not as Kool-Aid but Flavor Aid, a less-expensive product from Jel Sert reportedly found at the site. Kraft Foods, the maker of Kool-Aid, has stated the same. Implied by this accounting of events is that the reference to the Kool-Aid brand owes exclusively to its being better-known among Americans. Others are less categorical. Both brands are known to have been among the commune's supplies: Film footage shot inside the compound prior to the events of November shows Jones opening a large chest in which boxes of both Flavor Aid and Kool-Aid are visible. Criminal investigators testifying at the Jonestown inquest spoke of finding packets of "cool aid" ("sic"), and eyewitnesses to the incident are also recorded as speaking of "cool aid" or "Cool Aid." However, it is unclear whether they intended to refer to the actual Kool-Aid–brand drink or were using the name in a generic sense that might refer to any powdered flavored beverage.


title: Kool-Aid

text: "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe depicting the life of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. The book's title is a reference to an acid test in Watts, California, where the Pranksters spiked a batch of Kool-Aid with the psychedelic drug LSD in the 1960s.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (also known as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2) is a 1986 American black comedy slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper. It is a sequel to "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", also directed and co-written by Hooper. The film was written by L. M. Kit Carson and produced by Carson, Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan and Hooper. Starring Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Bill Johnson, Bill Moseley, and Jim Siedow, the plot follows a radio host victimized and captured by Leatherface and his cannibalistic family, while a former Texas Marshal hunts them down.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: During its theatrical release, the film grossed $8 million domestically against its $4.5 million budget and became popular on home video. The sequel received a mixed reception from critics and audiences alike. Positives and negatives referred to its emphasis on black comedy and gore, which departed from the first film's approach that used minimal gore, low-budget vérité style and atmosphere to build tension and fear. Director Tobe Hooper decided to focus on its black comedy as this was present in the first film, but was unacknowledged by viewers because of its gritty content. Despite the mixed reception, the film eventually gained a cult following. It was followed by "" in 1990.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Two high school seniors, Buzz and Rick, race along a desolate stretch of Texas highway, en route to the Texas-OU football game at the Dallas Cotton Bowl and harass a pickup truck along the way. Heavily intoxicated, they use their car phone to call and harass on-air radio DJ Vanita "Stretch" Brock. Unable to convince them to hang up, Stretch is forced to keep the line open. As the two pass the same pickup truck, Leatherface emerges from the back of the truck and rips up the roof using his chainsaw. Rick tries shooting Leatherface with his revolver, but Leatherface kills Buzz. The car crashes, killing Rick.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: The following morning, Lieutenant Boude "Lefty" Enright, former Texas Ranger, and uncle of Sally and Franklin Hardesty, who were victims of Leatherface and his family years earlier, arrives at the scene of the crime to help solve Buzz and Rick's murders. Lefty has spent the last thirteen years looking into his nephew's disappearance, investigating reports of mysterious chainsaw killings across Texas. He is contacted by Stretch, who brings him a copy of the audio tape that recorded the attack. He sends her away, leaving Stretch and L.G. to reluctantly get radio coverage of a Texas/Oklahoma Chili Cookoff. The winner happens to be Drayton Sawyer (current patriarch of the cannibalistic Sawyer family), who declares that his secret is having an eye for "prime meat."


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Meanwhile, Lefty shops for an arsenal of chainsaws at a local hardware store. He at first unnerves, then amuses the shop's owner with his brutal testing of the saws on a log. Lefty then drives to Stretch's radio station and asks her to play the tape on her nightly radio show so that the public, which had previously mocked his case, will have to listen to him.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Drayton, driving home from his chili cookoff victory, demands that his family go to the radio station, prompted by the nightly radio broadcast of the tape. While preparing to leave for the night, Stretch is confronted by Bobby "Chop Top" Sawyer before being attacked by Leatherface. Her coworker L.G. Peters is apparently killed by Chop Top. Leatherface corners Stretch and is about to kill her, but she charms him into sparing her. Leatherface returns to Chop Top and leads him to believe that he has killed Stretch. They then take L.G. to their home, followed by Stretch, who becomes trapped inside the Sawyer home, an abandoned carnival ground decorated with human bones, multi-colored lights, and carnival remnants.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Lefty, who has been following their car all along, arrives equipped with chainsaws and proceeds to trash the home before he finds Franklin's remains. Meanwhile, Stretch is found by Leatherface, who puts L.G.'s skinned face and hat on her before tying her arms and leaving. Later, L.G. is still alive and frees Stretch before dying. Drayton finds Stretch and the family capture her. Chop Top scolds Leatherface when he finds out that Stretch is still alive. They torture her at the dinner table, but Lefty arrives and saves her. Stretch flees the ground, but Chop Top chases her. Lefty wounds Drayton. Lefty and Leatherface get into a chainsaw fight, and Leatherface is fatally wounded. The dying Drayton, accepting that he and his family have lost, takes a grenade from Nubbins' corpse and blows up the ground, killing himself, Lefty, Leatherface and Grandpa.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Chop Top chases Stretch to the top of a rock tower. Stretch grabs a chainsaw held by the corpse of the family's grandmother in a shrine and fatally wounds Chop Top, causing him to fall off the tower to his death. Stretch shouts in triumph and swings the chainsaw in the air.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Kinky Friedman appears in a cameo as Sports Anchorman, as does Dan Jenkins as T.V. Commentator and Joe Bob Briggs as Gonzo Moviegoer.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Originally, Tobe Hooper was just going to produce the film but he could not find a director the film's budget would afford. According to the documentary "", the production company Cannon Films were expecting a horror film while Tobe Hooper wanted to make a black comedy. When Cannon viewed the film they were unhappy with the final product. The movie's climax was filmed at the closed Matterhorn amusement park in Prairie Dell, Texas. They shot in caves for the scenes inside the Sawyer home.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Gunnar Hansen was initially approached to reprise his role as Leatherface, but he claimed to have been offered "scale, plus ten percent" with the ten percent going to his agent. When he replied that he had no agent, they offered scale without the additional ten percent. Hansen found the offer too low. Unit publicist Scott Holton offered an alternate story claiming Hansen vacillated about the part and the offer was rescinded. Holton didn't believe the average viewer was even aware of who the original actors were, claiming "who "are" Neal, Hansen or Burns?"


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Bill Moseley created a short film parody entitled "The Texas Chainsaw Manicure", where he played a small role as the Hitchhiker and showed it to a screenwriter who was able to show it to Tobe Hooper. Hooper loved it and kept Moseley in mind for a part should he ever make a sequel. When the time came to cast "Chainsaw 2", Moseley was contacted for the role of Chop Top, the Hitchhiker's twin brother.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Several scenes were deleted by director Tobe Hooper due to pacing issues as mentioned on the 2000 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth" documentary. One lengthy scene that was cut from the film involves the Sawyer Clan heading out at night to collect prime meat for their chili by slaughtering movie patrons and a group of rowdy, rioting fans. The deleted slaughtering scene featured several elaborate Tom Savini special effects. Another deleted scene also includes the American film critic Joe Bob Briggs.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: The final poster design, featuring the family sitting together, was a parody of the poster for the 1985 teen comedy-drama film, "The Breakfast Club". The film was released theatrically in the United States by Cannon Films on August 22, 1986, unrated due to the MPAA refusing to give it anything less than an "X" rating. It grossed $8,025,872 at the domestic box office.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: On September 1, 1998, the film was released on VHS by MGM Home Entertainment as part of the MGM Movie Time collection (which was available exclusively through Warner Home Video). On August 1, 2000, the film was released on a region 1 DVD by MGM Home Entertainment. On October 10, 2006, the film received a second DVD treatment from MGM, entitled "The Gruesome Edition", which featured an audio commentary by director Tobe Hooper and David Gregory, director of "Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth", as well as an audio commentary by actors Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special effects makeup creator Tom Savini. The special features also included deleted scenes, a feature-length documentary entitled "It Runs in the Family", six still galleries and a trailer. A Blu-ray edition of the film was released on September 11, 2012 which featured all of the special features from the "Gruesome Edition" DVD.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: Critical reception to the film was mixed. Roger Ebert awarded the film one star out of four, lambasting the film because it "goes flat-out from one end to the other, never spending any time on pacing, on timing, on the anticipation of horror. It doesn't even pause to establish the characters; Dennis Hopper has the most thankless task, playing a man who spends the first half of the movie looking distracted and vague, and the second half screaming during chainsaw duels." He also commented that it "has a lot of blood and disembowelment, to be sure, but it doesn't have the terror of the original, the desire to be taken seriously. It's a geek show." "TV Guide"s review was similarly negative, stating that "the film feels as if Hooper himself has nothing but contempt for the original and went out of his way to tear it down." "The New York Times" criticized the film, saying, "Hooper's direction is a little sloppy," and that the film "is not first-grade chopped steak."


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: AllMovie's review was favorable, writing, "much-hated at the time of its release, Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" has aged remarkably well, now playing as a strangely effective if none-too-subtle satire of several facets of '80s excess."


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2" holds a 50% approval rating on film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 reviews with an average rating of 5.1/10. Its consensus reads, "Without the tense atmosphere of its predecessor, the stakes feel lower, but "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" still shocks with a gonzo blend of over-the-top humor and gore." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 42 out of 100 based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". It has since become a cult film.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: In a similar way to its predecessor, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" has had a checkered past in regard to its relationship with censors in various countries. As a result, the film was banned in Germany and Singapore, however the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft in Germany later gave the uncut version an 18 rating, and Singapore gave it an R21 (Restricted to under 21) rating after an appeal. When the film was submitted in the United Kingdom to the BBFC for a certificate, the BBFC notified Cannon, the distributor, that at least 20 to 25 minutes of footage would have to be trimmed in order for the film to be given an 18 rating. Cannon attempted to cut the film, but eventually gave up after numerous re-edited versions failed to pass the BBFC. The uncut version of the film was eventually given an 18 rating in 2001. When released in Ontario, Canada the film had had 11 minutes cut after being rejected three times by Ontario censors.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: The film was banned in Australia for 20 years. An uncut version was released on VHS by Warner Home Video in New Zealand in 1987, but could also be found (illegally, as the box proudly stated) in some Australian video stores at the time. The New Zealand VHS cassette has become very rare. In 2000, an unofficial VHS release was issued to retailers throughout Australia. This was done so illegally by a duplicating house, and without the knowledge of the OFLC. When news of the illegal copies leaked, a number of retailers were raided for possessing infringing copies. The duplicating house was similarly raided by Federal Customs. The film was finally passed for official release in Australia on November 30, 2006. The Uncut "Gruesome Edition" DVD was released on January 24 the next year.


title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

text: The official sequel to the film was "", though the events of this movie are retconned. In 1998, Tobe Hooper's son William Hooper, began work on "All American Massacre", a short film that would be both a sequel and a prequel to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Hooper ran out of funds for post-production in 2000 and the film was never completed and released although the trailer leaked online in the early 2000s.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinformationist" who aims to disorient his audience in a comedic fashion. He appeared on the IFC series "Comedy Bang! Bang!" and leads the house band for "The Late Late Show with James Corden".


title: Reggie Watts

text: Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts was born in Stuttgart on March 23, 1972, the son of French mother Christiane and African-American father Charles Alphonso Watts. His father was an officer in the Air Force, leading the family to live in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain before returning to the U.S. and settling in Great Falls, Montana, where Watts was raised; he graduated from Great Falls High School in 1990. He began piano and violin lessons at the age of five, with his love of music beginning as a young child when he saw Ray Charles play the piano on television. He moved to Seattle at the age of 18 to study music, attending the Art Institute of Seattle before studying jazz at Cornish College of the Arts.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 1996, Watts became the frontman for the band Maktub. While recording and touring from 1996 to 2000 with Wayne Horvitz's 4+1 Ensemble as a keyboardist, he was forced to downsize his effects pedal from a Roland Space Echo tape delay to a Line 6 DL4 delay modeler, a smaller device that makes it easy to travel. He began using the Line 6 in live shows with Maktub to replicate the duplicate harmonies from the recorded material. He experimented with improvising entire songs in solo acts with the Line 6, while trying to sound like Tom Waits, playing initial gigs at small Seattle venues and artist bungalows. While in Seattle, he composed musical scores for dance choreographers and dabbled in sketch comedy with longtime friend and future playwright Tommy Smith, who later ended their collaborative relationship when Watts failed to credit him for co-writing the lyrics of his viral hits "Fuck Shit Stack" and "What About Blowjobs?"


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2004, after recording five albums over eight years, Watts moved to the Lower East Side of New York City. In 2005, he recorded his first solo single, "So Beautiful". Inspired by "The State" and "Wet Hot American Summer", he began infusing spontaneous comedic material with the beat-box-driven musical compositions. He also shot comedic shorts for Superdeluxe, Vimeo, and CollegeHumor.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2007, Watts appeared on Plum TV's "Scott Bateman Presents Scott Bateman Presents" and starred in the CollegeHumor internet video "What About Blowjobs?" The video became a viral hit. The same year, he also wrote and performed the theme song for "Penelope Princess of Pets", a web comedy series featuring Kristen Schaal and H. Jon Benjamin.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2008, Watts recorded a new special entitled "Disinformation", which features his performance at the Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater. He also appeared in the independent film "Steel of Fire Warriors 2010 A.D." as a Mutantzoid Underling and on an episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", as well as making other various television appearances.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2009, Watts recorded his first solo EP, "Pot Cookies". He also began appearing on the PBS Kids' children's program "The Electric Company". He performed in his first solo short film "Watts Does London" and made a small appearance on Comedy Central's "Michael and Michael Have Issues". He then did voice work for an episode of Adult Swim UK's "The Venture Bros.", Australia's "Good News Week", and appeared in the U.S. documentary "The Yes Men Fix the World". He also toured in support of Devo in a fall 2009 tour.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2010, Waverly Films shot a one-hour special on Watts called "Why Shit So Crazy?" The special features Watts in live performance at New York venues Galapagos, The Bellhouse, and (Le) Poisson Rouge, bookended with brief sketches and a music video of Watts' "Fuck Shit Stack". Comedy Central aired "Why Shit So Crazy?" and released the film as a dual DVD/CD package. Afterwards, Watts made various public appearances, including during Conan O'Brien's The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Watts's second stand-up special, "A Live at Central Park", premiered on Comedy Central in the "Secret Stash" on May 12, 2012. It was completely uncensored and received positive reviews.


title: Reggie Watts

text: The film was made available as a CD/DVD through Watts' official website as well as Comedy Central's online store.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Soon afterwards, Watts performed a song with LCD Soundsystem on their farewell documentary movie, "Shut Up and Play the Hits".


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2012, Watts began starring opposite Scott Aukerman on the IFC series "Comedy Bang! Bang!" based on the comedy podcast of the same name (formerly "Comedy Death-Ray Radio"). Also in 2012, Watts began collaborating with Michael Cera, Tim & Eric, and Sarah Silverman to create a comedy YouTube channel called Jash.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2013, On the Boards recorded a new Watts special entitled "Transition", which played at various arts festivals including the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater; it was winner of the MAP Fund Award and Creative Capital award. It is available on iTunes via TenduTV.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Watts was invited to perform at Yoko Ono's Meltdown 2013 on the South Bank in London where he was supported by Mac Lethal.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In 2014, Watts contributed the outro vocal on "Holy City" and beatbox on "The Classic" from the Joan As Police Woman album "The Classic". He also appeared as the last act in the season 4 premiere of "John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show" where he told some jokes and performed a song, hugging John Oliver at the end.


title: Reggie Watts

text: In December 2014, following CBS's announcement that Watts would lead "The Late Late Show" band, Aukerman announced that Watts would remain with "Comedy Bang! Bang!" through only the first half of 2015. Watts' final episode of "Comedy Bang! Bang!" was on June 5, 2015.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Watts currently serves as the bandleader and announcer for "The Late Late Show with James Corden". He has described his role on the show as "a mix of Paul Shaffer and Andy Richter". His band on the show was unofficially named Karen, but in response to the rise of that name being used as an insult, the band was renamed Melissa. Watts has a slot on the show to ask a guest a question about anything called Reggie's Question. The questions are a continuation of his time on "Comedy Bang! Bang!" and follow his preference for surreal comedy in his stand-up act.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Watts utilizes improvisation in his solo shows, which consist of him singing and rapping both with words and with sound poetry, accompanying himself by either beatboxing, performing vocal basslines into a loop machine, or simply by playing the keyboard. His act also showcases his trademark style of stand-up comedy, consisting of him rapidly alternating between topics of discussion in both rational and nonsensical manners, making random sounds and gibberish noises, and speaking in other accents and languages at unexpected times, all with the intent of playfully and comically disorienting his audiences. He has a four-and-a-half octave vocal range.


title: Reggie Watts

text: Watts is the winner of the 2005 Malcolm Hardee "Oy Oy" Award, the 2006 "Andy Kaufman Comedy Award", and the 2006 Seattle Mayor's Arts Award. He was also awarded the 2008 MAP Fund and the 2009 Creative Capitol Grant for the performing arts, and won the 2009 ECNY Award for Best Musical Comedy Act.


title: Krrish

text: Krrish () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed and produced by Rakesh Roshan. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra while Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha, Manini Mishra, Archana Puran Singh and Sharat Saxena feature in supporting roles. It is the second installment in the "Krrish" franchise, being the sequel to "Koi... Mil Gaya", and relates the story of Krishna, the son of the previous film's protagonists, who inherits his father's superhuman abilities. After falling in love with Priya, he follows her to Singapore, where he takes on the persona of "Krrish" to keep his identity secret while saving children from a burning circus. From that moment on, he is regarded as a superhero, and must later thwart the plans of the evil Dr. Arya, who has a connection to Krishna's father, Rohit, the protagonist of the previous film.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" was conceived to be a film of global significance and a trendsetter in Indian cinema, with visual effects on par with those from Hollywood. To that end, the effects team was aided by Hollywood's Marc Kolbe and Craig Mumma, and the stunts were choreographed by Chinese martial arts film expert Tony Ching. The music was composed by Rajesh Roshan, with the background score by Salim–Sulaiman. Filming was done to a large extent in Singapore as well as India.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" released worldwide on 23 June 2006 at a budget of 40 crore and on 1000 prints, both near-record amounts for an Indian film at the time. "Krrish" received positive reviews from critics in India, got a record opening week at the box office. A blockbuster, "Krrish" grossed a worldwide total of 126 crore, becoming the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2006.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" received 8 nominations at the 52nd Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Rakesh), Best Actor (Hrithik) and Best Supporting Actress (Rekha), and won 3 awards, including Best Special Effects. At the 8th IIFA Awards, the film received 9 nominations, and won 3 awards, including Best Actor (Hrithik). It also won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects. The third film in the series, "Krrish 3" was released in 2013.


title: Krrish

text: Five-year-old Krishna Mehra is the son of scientist, Rohit and his late wife Nisha. He lives in the town of Kasauli. He undergoes an intelligence quotient (IQ) test by his catholic school principal who suspects that Krishna has superpowers like his father, due to Krishna answering all the questions flawlessly. His grandmother, Sonia, takes the young Krishna to a remote mountain village to conceal his unique abilities. Years later, Krishna meets vacationing friends, Priya Kalyanan and Honey Arora, who both live in Singapore. Krishna's friend Bahadur takes the girls' camping crew, led by Komal Singh, near his home to camp. Krishna saves Priya from a hang glider accident and falls in love with her when spending time with her.


title: Krrish

text: After returning home to Singapore, Priya and Honey are fired by their boss, Nayantara, for taking a non-permitted extension of 5-days in their vacation. To keep their jobs, Honey suggests her boss making a television program about Krishna. Aware of Krishna's love towards her, Priya calls him to join her in Singapore to ask about her mother's permission to marry her. Sonia objects to this, saying that people will want to exploit his abilities. She then explains how Rohit got his superpowers. She also tells him that Rohit was called to Singapore and was hired by a scientist, Dr. Siddhant Arya, to design a computer that could see the future to prevent wars and help prepare against natural disasters. Rohit later discovered that the purpose of the computer was not for good, so he destroyed it and was later killed by Siddhant. Krishna's mother, Nisha, also died of trauma, just after giving birth to Krishna. Krishna promises Sonia that he will never reveal his powers, so she permits him to go. In Singapore, during the program's production, Krishna keeps his word and reveals nothing exceptional about himself; Honey and Priya are fired again.


title: Krrish

text: Krishna meets circus performer Kristian Li, who attempts to raise funds to pay for his young sister's leg surgery. He invites Krishna and Priya to his circus, where a fire breaks out during the performance. Several children remain trapped in the blaze. To save the children without revealing his abilities, Krishna wears a broken black mask lying over there and wears his jacket inside-out, creating the person "Krrish". Later, when Kristian sees Krrish fighting some goons and removing his mask, he discovers that his friend Krishna is Krrish. As Krrish is being offered a reward for his deeds, Krishna asks Kristian to assume the identity, so that he can pay for his sister's surgery.


title: Krrish

text: Meanwhile, Priya and Honey also discover that Krishna is the real Krrish upon seeing Priya's footage from her video camera on TV. They decide to release the footage on TV to make Krishna a star. Krishna arrives and overhears them talking about how Priya had lied to him, and how they will reveal his identity. Just before Priya confesses to Honey that she has genuinely fallen in love with Krishna, he leaves, dejected.


title: Krrish

text: After being confronted by Krishna at his apartment, they talked about what she said, Priya realises her mistake and stops her boss from revealing Krrish's identity. She then meets Dr. Vikram Sinha, who has been searching for Krishna for years. He tells them that Rohit is still alive; after completing the computer, he and Rohit tested it by starting it with Rohit's retina and heartbeat scan. They saw Siddhant holding Rohit at gunpoint. Rohit understood that Siddhant was going to kill him and then use the computer for his own selfish needs. He destroyed it and later, was being taken as a prisoner by Siddhant until he starts a new future computer.


title: Krrish

text: In the present, Siddhant has rebuilt the computer after 20 years. He starts it to see his future and sees Krrish holding him at gunpoint. Siddhant then kills Kristian, thinking that he is Krrish. Krishna later follows Siddhant to his remote hidden island lair. When Siddhant looks into the future again, he sees the same thing and is shocked to see Krrish still alive and on his island.


title: Krrish

text: When Krishna enters the compound, there is a vicious fight with Siddhant's thugs. Krishna eventually kills them with his superpowers, but Siddhant kills Vikram and holds Rohit and Priya at gunpoint. Eventually, Krishna saves Priya and Rohit, and wounds Siddhant fatally. Before Siddhant dies, Krishna reveals himself as the real Krrish to him and Rohit by removing his mask. After Siddhant dies, Krishna and Priya, then save Rohit and take him back to India, reuniting him with Sonia. Rohit then uses his late father's special computer to contact his alien friend Jadoo, whose spaceship is later seen coming from a distance. Rohit, Krishna, Priya and Sonia thank Jadoo and Krishna and Priya get married.


title: Krrish

text: In November 2004, the Roshans confirmed they would produce a sequel to "Koi... Mil Gaya" (2003). They announced that actors Hrithik Roshan and Rekha would return for the sequel, but that Preity Zinta would be replaced by Priyanka Chopra. Chopra also confirmed the same, adding, "The story will start where "Koi... Mil Gaya" ended." Rakesh Roshan hoped that the film would be remembered as the first to prove that the Indian film industry is equal to Hollywood. He decided to push the story forward by focusing on the son of the previous films's protagonist, who would inherit his father's special abilities. The story combined elements of Indian mythology (the main character's name Krishna alludes to the Hindu Lord Krishna), Chinese martial arts and Hollywood films to set itself up as a film of global significance.


title: Krrish

text: Rakesh Roshan wanted "Krrish" to be a trendsetter in Indian cinema, with visual effects on par with Hollywood films. He hired Hollywood special effects experts Marc Kolbe and Craig Mumma, who had both previously worked on such films as "Independence Day", "Godzilla" and "Sky Captain", to help create the visual effects for the film. Roshan also hired Hong Kong action director Tony Ching after admiring his work in "Hero". Before production began, Hrithik Roshan went to China to train with Ching for the cable work that would be needed to make his character "fly". A story board of the film was prepared and sent to Ching to help him develop the action sequences. Additional production credits include: Farah Khan – choreographer, Samir Chanda and Sham Kaushal – art directors, Baylon Fonesca and Nakul Kamte – sound, Nahush Pise – makeup artist, Sham Kaushal – assistant action director.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" was the first Indian film to be shot in Singapore under the Singapore Tourism Board's Film-in-Singapore subsidy scheme, and over 60% of the film was shot there. Shooting was accomplished on location over a span of 2 months, from September to November 2005. Locations featured included the Singapore Zoo, the Gateway building, and the Singapore National Library. Another major filming location was Robinson Road, where heavy rains caused production delays. The Singapore police were on location to block roads and protect the filming equipment, such as when the film's action scenes required two 250-foot high industrial cranes. Author Audrey Yue noted that the film shoot benefited Singapore by leading to domestic and Indian film-induced tourism.


title: Krrish

text: Filming also took place in Manali and Film City in Mumbai. During filming of a flying stunt, one of the wires that was tied to Hrithik Roshan broke, causing him to fall 50 feet, though he landed safely on a shop's canopy. Hrithik described the incident as a "freak accident", stating, "I was skydiving to my death till I fell on a six-feet-long canopy of a shop that was out because of the slight drizzle. The canopy had iron rods. But I missed those rods too. What do I say? I guess the right word to describe the situation would be "jadoo" (magic)." Roshan also suffered other injuries during the film's production. He tore the hamstring in his right leg during a circus scene, singed his hair while running through fire in another action scene, and broke his thumb and toe during strenuous training for the wirework.


title: Krrish

text: Indian firm Prasad EFX assigned a team of more than 100 VFX specialists to work with Marc Kolbe and Craig Mumma to create the visual effects for the film. Included were sophisticated 3D modelling and computer animation, including whole body scans, 3D replicas of vehicles, fire sequences, complicated wire removals and compositing work. They prepared over 1,200 VFX shots, accounting for approximately 90 minutes of screen time. Describing the effects, Rakesh Roshan stated, "If you liked the visual effects in "Koi... Mil Gaya", you will find them far better in "Krrish". I do not think audiences have seen anything like this in Hindi films."


title: Krrish

text: The film's soundtrack, composed by Rajesh Roshan, was released on 30 April 2006 by T-Series. Lyricists included Ibraheem Ashk, Nasir Faraaz, and Vijay Akela. Salim–Sulaiman provided the background score. It became the seventh best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year.


title: Krrish

text: Critical reviews of the soundtrack were generally favourable, though some in the media called it a disappointment. Joginder Tuteja of "Bollywood Hungama" gave the album a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying that it was "another good outing for Bollywood music lovers." He especially praised the songs "Chori Chori", "Koi Tumsa Nahi" and "Pyaar Ki Ek Kahaani." Sukanya Verma of "Rediff" gave a favourable review for the soundtrack's "catchy" songs. However, she felt that while the songs meshed with the film, "none of them bear the staying power of Rajesh Roshan's earlier soundtracks." Shruti Bhasin of "Planet Bollywood" enjoyed the original songs, giving 7.5 out of 10 stars, but was disappointed with the remixes. Dr. Mandar V. Bichu of "Gulf News" said that it did not live up to the pre-release expectations.


title: Krrish

text: As a part of the marketing, Merchandise were offered for sale prior to the film's release to maximize profits. These included action figures, masks, and other toys.


title: Krrish

text: The final budget of "Krrish" came to 40 crore, which at that time was considered a big-budget film by Hindi film standards. The film was released on 23 June 2006 with 1,000 prints. "Krrish" was simultaneously released along with dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu languages. It was the first Indian film to receive payments in advance for product placement, music, and international distribution rights.


title: Krrish

text: The film's DVD was released in Region 1 on 18 August 2006, by Adlabs. On 21 August 2006, it was released for all regions by Filmkraft. Adlabs also released a Blu-ray version.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" had a good opening week, and tickets were reportedly selling for many times the original cost at some locations. Total gross collections were an Indian record of 41.6 crore (29.7 crore nett) for its opening week. "Krrish" became the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2006, earning over 69 crore nett in India alone, and was classified as a "Blockbuster" by "Box Office India". It also grossed 31.68 crore in the overseas market, where it was declared a "hit". The final worldwide total gross was 126 crore. One week after "Krrish" was released, another superhero film, "Superman Returns" was released in India. Rakesh Roshan stated, "I was a little skeptical that Superman might hurt me, but fortunately it didn't." In fact, "Krrish" fared better at the box office in India than "Superman Returns" did.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" received positive reviews from critics in India. Taran Adarsh of "Bollywood Hungama" believed that the film surpassed expectations, but felt that there were issues with pacing in first hour. Overall, he deemed "Krrish" to be "a terrifically exciting and compelling experience", and awarded the film 4 of 5 stars. Nikhat Kazmi noted in "The Times of India" that while the superhero and action sequences were appealing, there were not enough of them. He was also not excited by the romantic parts, comparing them to a sightseeing tour, first in India and then in Singapore. He said that overall, this film lacks the fun of its predecessor. On the other hand, Raja Sen said that "Krrish" was infinitely better than "KMG", though ultimately it was all about Hrithik Roshan. Sen and Sukanya Verma, writing for "Rediff", both gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and both said that it was a good film for children. Sen summarised, "So, is it a good superhero movie? No, but it's well-intentioned. It's a full-on kiddie movie, and while a lot of us might be scornful of "Krrish", it's heartening to see fantasy officially entering mainstream Bollywood." Verma agreed with other critics that it took too long for the action to get started, and said that a lot of attention was spent showing off Roshan's muscles. He summarised, ""Krrish" neither has the sleek aura nor the deep-rooted ideology of superheroes. What it does have is a super spirited performance from Hrithik Roshan, which is likely to appeal to children. And that's worth a three-star cheer." Saibal Chatterjee wrote in the "Hindustan Times" that "Krrish" is a hackneyed, formulaic masala film, with special effects added on top, and hoped that this would not be the future of Bollywood. Rajeev Masand of "CNN-IBN" condemned the screenplay and thought that the only thing that made the film watchable was the acting of Hrithik Roshan. He gave the film only 2 out of 5 stars, saying ""Krrish" is only an average film that could have been so much better if the makers had concentrated as hard on its story as they did on its action and stunts."


title: Krrish

text: Overseas reviews were positive. The Rotten Tomatoes aggregate rating is 88% "Fresh", based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7 out of 10. Richard James Havis of "The Hollywood Reporter" stated, "This Bollywood epic crunches together romance, comedy, extraterrestrials, martial arts, dancing and action to tell an entertaining story about a reluctant Indian superhero" but said it may be "far too crazed for foreign viewers". David Chute of "LA Weekly" deemed it a "hearty pulp cinema that really sticks to your ribs". Likewise, Laura Kern of "The New York Times" said it was a blend of carefree romance, show-stopping action and sci-fi. Ronnie Scheib of "Variety" said that it was an "enjoyable, daffily improbable escapist romp". He praised the action sequences as ingeniously choreographed, but very family-friendly. Though Jaspreet Pandohar of "BBC" was critical of the script for being "low on originality", he praised Hrithik Roshan's performance and the action scenes. Dr. P.V. Vaidyanathan, in a review for "BBC Shropshire", said that the film's excellent special effects were as good as the best from Hollywood, praised Hrithik's acting, but called the music mundane.


title: Krrish

text: "Krrish" was one of India's possible nominations for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, but the country ultimately chose "Rang De Basanti" as its pick. Despite this, "Krrish" won numerous awards, including 3 Filmfare Awards—Best Special Effects, Best Action and Best Background Score—and was nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Villain at the 52nd Filmfare Awards. At the 2007 IIFA Awards, "Krrish" won Best Actor, Best Action, and Best Special Effects. Rakesh Roshan won the Creative Person of the Year title at the same ceremony. Additionally, the film was nominated in the following categories at the ceremony: Best Director, Best Music and Best Story.


title: Krrish

text: Hrithik Roshan won other acting awards that year, including the Star Screen Award Best Actor, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor – Male, BFJA – Best Actor Award (Hindi) and GIFA Best Actor. The film's special effects won the National Film Award for Best Special Effects. The film also took Best Picture honours at the Matri Shree Media Awards.


title: Krrish

text: In a showing of the film's popularity with children, "Krrish" swept the major film categories at the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards, which are voted on by children across India. Winners were: Hrithik Roshan (Most Amazing Actor — Male), Priyanka Chopra (Most Amazing Actor — Female), "Krrish" (Most Amazing Film), Special Effects in "Krrish" (Most Amazing Moment in a film).


title: Krrish

text: After the success of "Krrish", Rakesh Roshan announced that he would be making a sequel, tentatively titled "Krrish 3". He confirmed that Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra would reprise their roles, and that the antagonists would be played by Vivek Oberoi and Kangana Ranaut.


title: Blimp

text: A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydrogen) inside the envelope and the strength of the envelope itself to maintain their shape.


title: Blimp

text: Since blimps keep their shape with internal overpressure, typically the only solid parts are the passenger car (gondola) and the tail fins. A non-rigid airship that uses heated air instead of a light gas (such as helium) as a lifting medium is called a hot-air airship (sometimes there are battens near the bow, which assist with higher forces there from a mooring attachment or from the greater aerodynamic pressures there).


title: Blimp

text: Volume changes of the lifting gas due to temperature changes or to changes of altitude are compensated for by pumping air into internal ballonets (air bags) to maintain the overpressure. Without sufficient overpressure, the blimp loses its ability to be steered and is slowed due to increased drag and distortion. The propeller air stream can be used to inflate the ballonets and so the hull. In some models, such as the Skyship 600, differential ballonet inflation can provide a measure of pitch trim control.


title: Blimp

text: The engines driving the propellers are usually directly attached to the gondola, and in some models are partly steerable.


title: Blimp

text: Blimps are the most commonly built airships because they are relatively easy to build and easy to transport once deflated. However, because of their unstable hull, their size is limited. A blimp with too long a hull may kink in the middle when the overpressure is insufficient or when maneuvered too fast (this has also happened with semi-rigid airships with weak keels). This led to the development of semi-rigids and rigid airships.


title: Blimp

text: Modern blimps are launched somewhat heavier than air (overweight), in contrast to historic blimps. The missing lift is provided by lifting the nose and using engine power, or by angling the engine thrust. Some types also use steerable propellers or ducted fans. Operating in a state heavier than air avoids the need to dump ballast at lift-off and also avoids the need to lose costly helium lifting gas on landing (most of the Zeppelins achieved lift with very inexpensive hydrogen, which could be vented without concern to decrease altitude).


title: Blimp

text: The origin of the word "blimp" has been the subject of some confusion. Lennart Ege notes two possible derivations:


title: Blimp

text: The onomatopoeic derivation, as the sound the airship makes when one taps the envelope (balloon) with a finger, was recorded in the "British Aeronautical Journal".


title: Blimp

text: A 1943 etymology, published in "The New York Times", supports a British origin during the First World War when the British were experimenting with lighter-than-air craft. The initial non-rigid aircraft was called the A-limp; and a second version called the B-limp was deemed more satisfactory.


title: Blimp

text: Dr. A. D. Topping researched the origins of the word and concluded that the British had never had a "Type B, limp" designation, and that Cunningham's coinage appeared to be the correct explanation.


title: Blimp

text: The "Oxford English Dictionary" notes its use in print in 1916: "Visited the Blimps..this afternoon at Capel". In 1918, the "Illustrated London News" said it was "an onomatopœic name invented by that genius for apposite nomenclature, the late Horace Short."


title: Blimp

text: The B-class blimps were patrol airships operated by the United States Navy during and shortly after World War I. The Navy learned a great deal from the DN-1 fiasco. The result was the very successful B-type airships. Dr. Jerome Hunsaker was asked to develop a theory of airship design. This was followed by then-Lieutenant John H. Towers, USN, returning from Europe having inspected British designs, and the U.S. Navy subsequently sought bids for 16 blimps from American manufacturers. On 4 February 1917 the Secretary of the Navy directed that 16 nonrigid airships of Class B be procured. Ultimately Goodyear built 9 envelopes, Goodrich built five and Curtiss built the gondolas for all of those 14 ships. Connecticut Aircraft contracted with U.S. Rubber for its two envelopes and with Pigeon Fraser for its gondolas. The Curtiss-built gondolas were modified JN-4 fuselages and were powered by OX-5 engines. The Connecticut Aircraft blimps were powered by Hall-Scott engines.


title: Blimp

text: In 1930, a former German airship officer, Captain Anton Heinen, working in the US for the US Navy on its dirigible fleet, attempted to design and build a four-place blimp called the "family air yacht" for private fliers which the inventor claimed would be priced below $10,000 and easier to fly than a fixed-wing aircraft if placed in production. It was unsuccessful.


title: Blimp

text: In 2021, "Reader's Digest" said that "consensus is that there are about 25 blimps still in existence and only about half of them are still in use for advertising purposes". The Airsign Airship Group is the owner and operator of 8 of these active ships, including the Hood Blimp, DirecTV blimp, and the MetLife blimp.


title: Blimp

text: A surveillance blimp is a type of airborne early warning and control aircraft, typically as the active part of a system which includes a mooring platform, communications and information processing. Example systems include the U.S. JLENS and Israeli Aeronautics Defense Skystar 300.


title: Blimp

text: Surveillance blimps known as aerostats have been used extensively in the Middle East by the United States military, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large locus on vertebrate DNA containing a set of closely linked polymorphic genes that code for cell surface proteins essential for the adaptive immune system. These cell surface proteins are called MHC molecules.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: This locus got its name because it was discovered via the study of transplanted tissue compatibility. Later studies revealed that tissue rejection due to incompatibility is only a facet of the full function of MHC molecules: binding an antigen derived from self-proteins, or from pathogens, and bringing the antigen presentation to the cell surface for recognition by the appropriate T-cells. MHC molecules mediate the interactions of leukocytes, also called white blood cells (WBCs), with other leukocytes or with body cells. The MHC determines donor compatibility for organ transplant, as well as one's susceptibility to autoimmune diseases.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: In a cell, protein molecules of the host's own phenotype or of other biologic entities are continually synthesized and degraded. Each MHC molecule on the cell surface displays a small peptide (a molecular fraction of a protein) called an epitope. The presented self-antigens prevent an organism's immune system from targeting its own cells. The presentation of pathogen-derived proteins results in the elimination of the infected cell by the immune system.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Diversity of an individual's self-antigen presentation, mediated by MHC self-antigens, is attained in at least three ways: (1) an organism's MHC repertoire is polygenic (via multiple, interacting genes); (2) MHC expression is codominant (from both sets of inherited alleles); (3) MHC gene variants are highly polymorphic (diversely varying from organism to organism within a species). Sexual selection has been observed in male mice choosing to mate with females with different MHCs. Also, at least for MHC I presentation, there has been evidence of antigenic peptide splicing, which can combine peptides from different proteins, vastly increasing antigen diversity.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The first descriptions of the MHC were made by British immunologist Peter Gorer in 1936. MHC genes were first identified in inbred mice strains. Clarence Little transplanted tumors across different strains and found rejection of transplanted tumors according to strains of host versus donor. George Snell selectively bred two mouse strains, attained a new strain nearly identical to one of the progenitor strains, but differing crucially in histocompatibility—that is, tissue compatibility upon transplantation—and thereupon identified an MHC locus. Later Jean Dausset demonstrated the existence of MHC genes in humans and described the first human leucocyte antigen, the protein which we call now HLA-A2. Some years later Baruj Benacerraf showed that polymorphic MHC genes not only determine an individual’s unique constitution of antigens but also regulate the interaction among the various cells of the immunological system. These three scientists have been awarded the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning “genetically determined structures on the cell surface that regulate immunological reactions”.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The first fully sequenced and annotated MHC was published for humans in 1999 by a consortium of sequencing centers from the UK, USA and Japan in "Nature". It was a "virtual MHC" since it was a mosaic from different individuals. A much shorter MHC locus from chickens was published in the same issue of "Nature". Many other species have been sequenced and the evolution of the MHC was studied, e.g. in the gray short-tailed opossum ("Monodelphis domestica"), a marsupial, MHC spans 3.95 Mb, yielding 114 genes, 87 shared with humans. Marsupial MHC genotypic variation lies between eutherian mammals and birds, taken as the minimal MHC encoding, but is closer in organization to that of nonmammals. The IPD-MHC Database was created which provides a centralised repository for sequences of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) from a number of different species. The database contains 77 species for the release from 2019-12-19.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The MHC locus is present in all jawed vertebrates, it is assumed to have arisen about 450 million years ago. Despite the difference in the number of genes included in the MHC of different species, the overall organization of the locus is rather similar. Usual MHC contains about a hundred genes and pseudogenes, not all of them are involved in immunity. In humans, the MHC region occurs on chromosome 6, between the flanking genetic markers "MOG" and "COL11A2" (from 6p22.1 to 6p21.3 about 29Mb to 33Mb on the hg38 assembly), and contains 224 genes spanning 3.6 megabase pairs (3 600 000 bases). About half have known immune functions. The human MHC is also called the HLA (human leukocyte antigen) complex (often just the HLA). Similarly, there is SLA (Swine leukocyte antigens), BoLA (Bovine leukocyte antigens), DLA for dogs, etc. However, historically, the MHC in mice is called the Histocompatibility system 2 or just the H-2, in rats - RT1, and in chicken - B-locus.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The MHC gene family is divided into three subgroups: MHC class I, MHC class II, and MHC class III. Among all those genes present in MHC, there are two types of genes coding for the proteins MHC class I molecules and MHC class II molecules that are directly involved in the antigen presentation. These genes are highly polymorphic, 19031 alleles of class I HLA, and 7183 of class II HLA are deposited for human in the IMGT database.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC class I molecules are expressed in some nucleated cells and also in platelets—in essence all cells but red blood cells. It presents epitopes to killer T cells, also called cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). A CTL expresses CD8 receptors, in addition to T-cell receptors (TCR)s. When a CTL's CD8 receptor docks to a MHC class I molecule, if the CTL's TCR fits the epitope within the MHC class I molecule, the CTL triggers the cell to undergo programmed cell death by apoptosis. Thus, MHC class I helps mediate cellular immunity, a primary means to address intracellular pathogens, such as viruses and some bacteria, including bacterial L forms, bacterial genus "Mycoplasma", and bacterial genus "Rickettsia". In humans, MHC class I comprises HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-C molecules.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The first crystal structure of Class I MHC molecule, human HLA-A2, was published in 1989. The structure revealed that MHC-I molecules are heterodimers, they have polymorphic heavy α-subunit whose gene occurs inside the MHC locus and small invariant β microglobulin subunit whose gene is located usually outside of it. Polymorphic heavy chain of MHC-I molecule contains N-terminal extra-cellular region composed by three domains, α1, α2, and α3, transmembrane helix to hold MHC-I molecule on the cell surface and short cytoplasmic tail. Two domains, α1 and α2 form deep peptide-binding groove between two long α-helices and the floor of the groove formed by eight β-strands. Immunoglobulin-like domain α3 involved in the interaction with CD8 co-receptor. β microglobulin provides stability of the complex and participates in the recognition of peptide-MHC class I complex by CD8 co-receptor. The peptide is non-covalently bound to MHC-I, it is held by the several pockets on the floor of the peptide-binding groove. Amino acid side-chains that are most polymorphic in human alleles fill up the central and widest portion of the binding groove, while conserved side-chains are clustered at the narrower ends of the groove.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Classical MHC molecules present epitopes to the TCRs of CD8+ T lymphocytes. Nonclassical molecules (MHC class IB) exhibit limited polymorphism, expression patterns, and presented antigens; this group is subdivided into a group encoded within MHC loci (e.g., HLA-E, -F, -G), as well as those not (e.g., stress ligands such as ULBPs, Rae1, and H60); the antigen/ligand for many of these molecules remain unknown, but they can interact with each of CD8+ T cells, NKT cells, and NK cells. The evolutionary oldest nonclassical MHC class I lineage in human was deduced to be the lineage that includes the CD1 and PROCR (alias EPCR) molecules and this lineage may have been established before the origin of tetrapod species. However, the only nonclassical MHC class I lineage for which evidence exists that it was established before the evolutionary separation of Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) and Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish plus tetrapods) is lineage Z of which members are found, together in each species with classical MHC class I, in lungfish and throughout ray-finned fishes; why the Z lineage was well conserved in ray-finned fish but lost in tetrapods is not understood.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC class II can be conditionally expressed by all cell types, but normally occurs only on "professional" antigen-presenting cells (APCs): macrophages, B cells, and especially dendritic cells (DCs). An APC takes up an antigenic protein, performs antigen processing, and returns a molecular fraction of it—a fraction termed the epitope—and displays it on the APC's surface coupled within an MHC class II molecule (antigen presentation). On the cell's surface, the epitope can be recognized by immunologic structures like T-cell receptors (TCRs). The molecular region which binds to the epitope is the paratope.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: On surfaces of helper T cells are CD4 receptors, as well as TCRs. When a naive helper T cell's CD4 molecule docks to an APC's MHC class II molecule, its TCR can meet and bind the epitope coupled within the MHC class II. This event primes the naive T cell. According to the local milieu, that is, the balance of cytokines secreted by APCs in the microenvironment, the naive helper T cell (Th) polarizes into either a memory Th cell or an effector Th cell of phenotype either type 1 (Th), type 2 (Th), type 17 (Th), or regulatory/suppressor (T), as so far identified, the Th cell's terminal differentiation.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC class II thus mediates immunization to—or, if APCs polarize Th cells principally to T cells, immune tolerance of—an antigen. The polarization during primary exposure to an antigen is key in determining a number of chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases and asthma, by skewing the immune response that memory Th cells coordinate when their memory recall is triggered upon secondary exposure to similar antigens. B cells express MHC class II to present antigens to Th, but when their B cell receptors bind matching epitopes, interactions which are not mediated by MHC, these activated B cells secrete soluble immunoglobulins: antibody molecules mediating humoral immunity.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Class II MHC molecules are also heterodimers, genes for both α and β subunits are polymorphic and located within MHC class II subregion. Peptide-binding groove of MHC-II molecules is forms by N-terminal domains of both subunits of the heterodimer, α1 and β1, unlike MHC-I molecules, where two domains of the same chain are involved. In addition, both subunits of MHC-II contain transmembrane helix and immunoglobulin domains α2 or β2 that can be recognized by CD4 co-receptors. In this way MHC molecules chaperone which type of lymphocytes may bind to the given antigen with high affinity, since different lymphocytes express different T-Cell Receptor (TCR) co-receptors.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC class II molecules in humans have five to six isotypes. Classical molecules present peptides to CD4+ lymphocytes. Nonclassical molecules, accessories, with intracellular functions, are not exposed on cell membranes, but in internal membranes, assisting with the loading of antigenic peptides onto classic MHC class II molecules. The important nonclassical MHC class II molecule DM is only found from the evolutionary level of lungfish, although also in more primitive fishes both classical and nonclassical MHC class II are found.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Class III molecules have physiologic roles unlike classes I and II, but are encoded between them in the short arm of human chromosome 6. Class III molecules include several secreted proteins with immune functions: components of the complement system (such as C2, C4, and B factor), cytokines (such as TNF-α, LTA, and LTB), and heat shock proteins.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC is the tissue-antigen that allows the immune system (more specifically T cells) to bind to, recognize, and tolerate itself (autorecognition). MHC is also the chaperone for intracellular peptides that are complexed with MHCs and presented to T cell receptors (TCRs) as potential foreign antigens. MHC interacts with TCR and its co-receptors to optimize binding conditions for the TCR-antigen interaction, in terms of antigen binding affinity and specificity, and signal transduction effectiveness.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Essentially, the MHC-peptide complex is a complex of auto-antigen/allo-antigen. Upon binding, T cells should in principle tolerate the auto-antigen, but activate when exposed to the allo-antigen. Disease states occur when this principle is disrupted.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Antigen presentation: MHC molecules bind to both T cell receptor and CD4/CD8 co-receptors on T lymphocytes, and the antigen epitope held in the peptide-binding groove of the MHC molecule interacts with the variable Ig-Like domain of the TCR to trigger T-cell activation


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Autoimmune reaction: Having some MHC molecules increases the risk of autoimmune diseases more than having others. HLA-B27 is an example. It is unclear how exactly having the HLA-B27 tissue type increases the risk of ankylosing spondylitis and other associated inflammatory diseases, but mechanisms involving aberrant antigen presentation or T cell activation have been hypothesized.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Tissue allorecognition: MHC molecules in complex with peptide epitopes are essentially ligands for TCRs. T cells become activated by binding to the peptide-binding grooves of any MHC molecule that they were not trained to recognize during positive selection in the thymus.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: In their development in the thymus, T lymphocytes are selected to recognize MHC molecules of the host, but not recognize other self antigens. Following selection, each T lymphocyte shows dual specificity: The TCR recognizes self MHC, but only non-self antigens.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC restriction occurs during lymphocyte development in the thymus through a process known as positive selection. T cells that do not receive a positive survival signal — mediated mainly by thymic epithelial cells presenting self peptides bound to MHC molecules — to their TCR undergo apoptosis. Positive selection ensures that mature T cells can functionally recognize MHC molecules in the periphery (i.e. elsewhere in the body).


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The TCRs of T lymphocytes recognise only sequential epitopes, also called linear epitopes, of only peptides and only if coupled within an MHC molecule. (Antibody molecules secreted by activated B cells, though, recognize diverse epitopes—peptide, lipid, carbohydrate, and nucleic acid—and recognize conformational epitopes, which have three-dimensional structure.)


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC molecules enable immune system surveillance of the population of protein molecules in a host cell, and greater MHC diversity permits greater diversity of antigen presentation. In 1976, Yamazaki "et al" demonstrated a sexual selection mate choice by male mice for females of a different MHC. Similar results have been obtained with fish. Some data find lower rates of early pregnancy loss in human couples of dissimilar MHC genes.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC may be related to mate choice in some human populations, a theory that found support by studies by Ober and colleagues in 1997, as well as by Chaix and colleagues in 2008. However, the latter findings have been controversial. If it exists, the phenomenon might be mediated by olfaction, as MHC phenotype appears strongly involved in the strength and pleasantness of perceived odour of compounds from sweat. Fatty acid esters—such as methyl undecanoate, methyl decanoate, methyl nonanoate, methyl octanoate, and methyl hexanoate—show strong connection to MHC.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: In 1995, Claus Wedekind found that in a group of female college students who smelled T-shirts worn by male students for two nights (without deodorant, cologne, or scented soaps), by far most women chose shirts worn by men of dissimilar MHCs, a preference reversed if the women were on oral contraceptives. In 2005 in a group of 58 subjects, women were more indecisive when presented with MHCs like their own, although with oral contraceptives, the women showed no particular preference. No studies show the extent to which odor preference determines mate selection (or vice versa).


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Most mammals have MHC variants similar to those of humans, who bear great allelic diversity, especially among the nine classical genes—seemingly due largely to gene duplication—though human MHC regions have many pseudogenes. The most diverse loci, namely HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-C, have roughly 6000, 7200, and 5800 known alleles, respectively. Many HLA alleles are ancient, sometimes of closer homology to a chimpanzee MHC alleles than to some other human alleles of the same gene.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC allelic diversity has challenged evolutionary biologists for explanation. Most posit balancing selection (see polymorphism (biology)), which is any natural selection process whereby no single allele is absolutely most fit, such as frequency-dependent selection and heterozygote advantage. Pathogenic coevolution, as a type of balancing selection, posits that common alleles are under greatest pathogenic pressure, driving positive selection of uncommon alleles—moving targets, so to say, for pathogens. As pathogenic pressure on the previously common alleles decreases, their frequency in the population stabilizes, and remain circulating in a large population. Genetic drift is also a major driving force in some species. It is possible that the combined effects of some or all of these factors cause the genetic diversity.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC diversity has also been suggested as a possible indicator for conservation, because large, stable populations tend to display greater MHC diversity, than smaller, isolated populations. Small, fragmented populations that have experienced a population bottleneck typically have lower MHC diversity. For example, relatively low MHC diversity has been observed in the cheetah ("Acinonyx jubatus"), Eurasian beaver ("Castor fiber"), and giant panda ("Ailuropoda melanoleuca"). In 2007 low MHC diversity was attributed a role in disease susceptibility in the Tasmanian devil ("Sarcophilus harrisii"), native to the isolated island of Tasmania, such that an antigen of a transmissible tumor, involved in devil facial tumour disease, appears to be recognized as a "self antigen". To offset inbreeding, efforts to sustain genetic diversity in populations of endangered species and of captive animals have been suggested.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: In ray-finned fish like rainbow trout, allelic polymorphism in MHC class II is reminiscent of that in mammals and predominantly maps to the peptide binding groove. However, in MHC class I of many teleost fishes, the allelic polymorphism is much more extreme than in mammals in the sense that the sequence identity levels between alleles can be very low and the variation extends far beyond the peptide binding groove. It has been speculated that this type of MHC class I allelic variation contributes to allograft rejection, which may be especially important in fish to avoid grafting of cancer cells through their mucosal skin.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The MHC locus (6p21.3) has 3 other paralogous loci in the human genome, namely 19pl3.1, 9q33-q34, and 1q21-q25. It is believed that the loci arouse from the two-round duplications in vertebrates of a single ProtoMHC locus, and the new domain organizations of the MHC genes were a result of later cis-duplication and exon shuffling in a process termed "the MHC Big Bang." Genes in this locus are apparently linked to intracellular intrinsic immunity in the basal Metazoan "Trichoplax adhaerens".


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: In a transplant procedure, as of an organ or stem cells, MHC molecules themselves act as antigens and can provoke immune response in the recipient, thus causing transplant rejection. MHC molecules were identified and named after their role in transplant rejection between mice of different strains, though it took over 20 years to clarify MHC's role in presenting peptide antigens to cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs).


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Each human cell expresses six MHC class I alleles (one HLA-A, -B, and -C allele from each parent) and six to eight MHC class II alleles (one HLA-DP and -DQ, and one or two HLA-DR from each parent, and combinations of these). The MHC variation in the human population is high, at least 350 alleles for HLA-A genes, 620 alleles for HLA-B, 400 alleles for DR, and 90 alleles for DQ. Any two individuals who are not identical twins will express differing MHC molecules. All MHC molecules can mediate transplant rejection, but HLA-C and HLA-DP, showing low polymorphism, seem least important.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: When maturing in the thymus, T lymphocytes are selected for their TCR incapacity to recognize self antigens, yet T lymphocytes can react against the donor MHC's peptide-binding groove, the variable region of MHC holding the presented antigen's epitope for recognition by TCR, the matching paratope. T lymphocytes of the recipient take the incompatible peptide-binding groove as nonself antigen.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: In all of the above situations, immunity is directed at the transplanted organ, sustaining lesions. A cross-reaction test between potential donor cells and recipient serum seeks to detect presence of preformed anti-HLA antibodies in the potential recipient that recognize donor HLA molecules, so as to prevent hyperacute rejection. In normal circumstances, compatibility between HLA-A, -B, and -DR molecules is assessed. The higher the number of incompatibilities, the lower the five-year survival rate. Global databases of donor information enhance the search for compatible donors.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The involvement in allogeneic transplant rejection appears to be an ancient feature of MHC molecules, because also in fish associations between transplant rejections and (mis-)matching of MHC class I and MHC class II were observed.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Human MHC class I and II are also called human leukocyte antigen (HLA). To clarify the usage, some of the biomedical literature uses HLA to refer specifically to the HLA protein molecules and reserves MHC for the region of the genome that encodes for this molecule, but this is not a consistent convention.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The most studied HLA genes are the nine classical MHC genes: "HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DPA1, HLA-DPB1, HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DRA", and "HLA-DRB1". In humans, the MHC gene cluster is divided into three regions: classes I, II, and III. The A, B and C genes belong to MHC class I, whereas the six D genes belong to class II.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: MHC alleles are expressed in codominant fashion. This means the alleles (variants) inherited from both parents are expressed equally:


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The set of alleles that is present in each chromosome is called the MHC haplotype. In humans, each HLA allele is named with a number. For instance, for a given individual, his haplotype might be HLA-A2, HLA-B5, HLA-DR3, etc... Each heterozygous individual will have two MHC haplotypes, one each from the paternal and maternal chromosomes.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The MHC genes are highly polymorphic; many different alleles exist in the different individuals inside a population. The polymorphism is so high, in a mixed population (nonendogamic), no two individuals have exactly the same set of MHC molecules, with the exception of identical twins.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: The polymorphic regions in each allele are located in the region for peptide contact. Of all the peptides that could be displayed by MHC, only a subset will bind strongly enough to any given HLA allele, so by carrying two alleles for each gene, each encoding specificity for unique antigens, a much larger set of peptides can be presented.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: On the other hand, inside a population, the presence of many different alleles ensures there will always be an individual with a specific MHC molecule able to load the correct peptide to recognize a specific microbe. The evolution of the MHC polymorphism ensures that a population will not succumb to a new pathogen or a mutated one, because at least some individuals will be able to develop an adequate immune response to win over the pathogen. The variations in the MHC molecules (responsible for the polymorphism) are the result of the inheritance of different MHC molecules, and they are not induced by recombination, as it is the case for the antigen receptors.


title: Major histocompatibility complex

text: Because of the high levels of allelic diversity found within its genes, MHC has also attracted the attention of many evolutionary biologists.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes. To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: As a sweetener, HFCS is often compared to granulated sugar, but manufacturing advantages of HFCS over sugar include that it is easier to handle and cheaper. "HFCS 42" and "HFCS 55" refer to dry weight fructose compositions of 42% and 55% respectively, the rest being glucose. HFCS 42 is mainly used for processed foods and breakfast cereals, whereas HFCS 55 is used mostly for production of soft drinks.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: The United States Food and Drug Administration states that it is not aware of evidence showing that HFCS is less safe than traditional sweeteners such as sucrose and honey. Uses and exports of HFCS from American producers have grown steadily during the early 21st century.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In the U.S., HFCS is among the sweeteners that mostly replaced sucrose (table sugar) in the food industry. Factors contributing to the rise of HFCS include production quotas of domestic sugar, import tariffs on foreign sugar, and subsidies of U.S. corn, raising the price of sucrose and lowering that of HFCS, making it cheapest for many sweetener applications. In spite of having a 10% greater fructose content, the relative sweetness of HFCS 55, used most commonly in soft drinks, is comparable to that of sucrose. HFCS (and/or standard corn syrup) is the primary ingredient in most brands of commercial "pancake syrup", as a less expensive substitute for maple syrup.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Because of its similar sugar profile and lower price, HFCS is often added to adulterate honey. Assays to detect adulteration with HFCS use differential scanning calorimetry and other advanced testing methods.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In the contemporary process, corn is milled to extract corn starch and an "acid-enzyme" process is used, in which the corn-starch solution is acidified to begin breaking up the existing carbohydrates. High-temperature enzymes are added to further metabolize the starch and convert the resulting sugars to fructose. The first enzyme added is alpha-amylase, which breaks the long chains down into shorter sugar chains – oligosaccharides. Glucoamylase is mixed in and converts them to glucose. The resulting solution is filtered to remove protein, then using activated carbon, and then demineralized using ion-exchange resins. The purified solution is then run over immobilized xylose isomerase, which turns the sugars to ~50–52% glucose with some unconverted oligosaccharides and 42% fructose (HFCS 42), and again demineralized and again purified using activated carbon. Some is processed into HFCS 90 by liquid chromatography, and then mixed with HFCS 42 to form HFCS 55. The enzymes used in the process are made by microbial fermentation.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: HFCS is 24% water, the rest being mainly fructose and glucose with 0–5% unprocessed glucose oligomers.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: The most common forms of HFCS used for food and beverage manufacturing contain fructose in either 42% ("HFCS 42") or 55% ("HFCS 55") by dry weight, as described in the US Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR 184.1866).


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: The global market for HFCS is expected to grow from $5.9 billion in 2019 to a projected $7.6 billion in 2024.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: HFCS in China makes up about 20% of sweetener demand. HFCS has gained popularity due to rising prices of sucrose, while selling for a third the price. Production was estimated to reach 4,150,000 tonnes in 2017. About half of total produced HFCS is exported to the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In the European Union (EU), HFCS is known as isoglucose or glucose-fructose syrup (GFS) which has 20–30% fructose content compared to 42% (HFCS 42) and 55% (HFCS 55) in the United States. While HFCS is produced exclusively with corn in the US, manufacturers in the EU use corn and wheat to produce GFS. GFS was once subject to a sugar production quota, which was abolished on 1 October 2017, removing the previous production cap of 720,000 tonnes, and allowing production and export without restriction. Use of GFS in soft drinks is limited in the EU because manufacturers do not have a sufficient supply of GFS containing at least 42% fructose content. As a result, soft drinks are primarily sweetened by sucrose which has a 50% fructose content.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In Japan, HFCS is also referred to as isomerized sugar. HFCS production arose in Japan after government policies created a rise in the price of sugar. Japanese HFCS is manufactured mostly from imported U.S. corn, and the output is regulated by the government. For the period from 2007 to 2012, HFCS had a 27–30% share of the Japanese sweetener market. Japan consumed approximately 800,000 tonnes of HFCS in 2016. The United States Department of Agriculture states that corn from the United States is what Japan uses to produce their HFCS. Japan imports at a level of 3 million tonnes per year, leading 20 percent of corn imports to be for HFCS production.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Mexico is the largest importer of U.S. HFCS. HFCS accounts for about 27 percent of total sweetener consumption, with Mexico importing 983,069 tonnes of HFCS in 2018. Mexico's soft drink industry is shifting from sugar to HFCS which is expected to boost U.S. HFCS exports to Mexico according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service report.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: On 1 January 2002, Mexico imposed a 20% beverage tax on soft drinks and syrups not sweetened with cane sugar. The United States challenged the tax, appealing to the World Trade Organization (WTO). On 3 March 2006, the WTO ruled in favor of the U.S. citing the tax as discriminatory against U.S. imports of HFCS without being justified under WTO rules.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: The Philippines was the largest importer of Chinese HFCS. Imports of HFCS would peak at 373,137 tonnes in 2016. Complaints from domestic sugar producers would result in a crackdown on Chinese exports. On 1 January 2018, the Philippine government imposed a tax of 12 pesos ($.24) on drinks sweetened with HFCS versus 6 pesos ($.12) for drinks sweetened with other sugars.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In the United States, HFCS was widely used in food manufacturing from the 1970s through the early 21st century, primarily as a replacement for sucrose because its sweetness was similar to sucrose, it improved manufacturing quality, was easier to use, and was cheaper. Domestic production of HFCS increased from 2.2 million tons in 1980 to a peak of 9.5 million tons in 1999. Although HFCS use is about the same as sucrose use in the United States, more than 90% of sweeteners used in global manufacturing is sucrose.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Production of HFCS in the United States was 8.3 million tons in 2017. HFCS is easier to handle than granulated sucrose, although some sucrose is transported as solution. Unlike sucrose, HFCS cannot be hydrolyzed, but the free fructose in HFCS may produce hydroxymethylfurfural when stored at high temperatures; these differences are most prominent in acidic beverages. Soft drink makers such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi continue to use sugar in other nations but transitioned to HFCS for U.S. markets in 1980 before completely switching over in 1984. Large corporations, such as Archer Daniels Midland, lobby for the continuation of government corn subsidies.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Consumption of HFCS in the U.S. has declined since it peaked at per person in 1999. The average American consumed approximately of HFCS in 2018, versus of refined cane and beet sugar. This decrease in domestic consumption of HFCS resulted in a push in exporting of the product. In 2014, exports of HFCS were valued at $436 million, a decrease of 21% in one year, with Mexico receiving about 75% of the export volume.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In 2010, the Corn Refiners Association petitioned the FDA to call HFCS "corn sugar", but the petition was denied.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: 90% of Vietnam's HFCS import comes from China and South Korea. Imports would total 89,343 tonnes in 2017. One ton of HFCS was priced at $398 in 2017, while one ton of sugar would cost $702. HFCS has a zero cent import tax and no quota, while sugarcane under quota has a 5% tax, and white and raw sugar not under quota have an 85% and 80% tax. In 2018, the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA) called for government intervention on current tax policies. According to the VSSA, sugar companies face tighter lending policies which cause the association's member companies with increased risk of bankruptcy.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: HFCS is 76% carbohydrates and 24% water, containing no fat, protein, or micronutrients in significant amounts (table). In a 100-gram reference amount, it supplies 281 calories, while in one tablespoon of 19 grams, it supplies 53 calories (table link).


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: The role of fructose in metabolic syndrome has been the subject of controversy, but , there is no scientific evidence that fructose or HFCS has any impact on cardiometabolic markers when substituted for sucrose. A 2014 systematic review found little evidence for an association between HFCS consumption and liver diseases, enzyme levels or fat content.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: A 2018 review found that lowering consumption of sugary beverages and fructose products may reduce hepatic fat accumulation, which is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In 2018, the American Heart Association recommended that people limit total added sugar (including maltose, sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, raw sugar, syrup, honey, or fruit juice concentrates) in their diets to 150 calories per day for men and 100 for women.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Since 2014, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that HFCS is safe as an ingredient for food and beverage manufacturing, and there is no evidence that retail HFCS products differ in safety from those containing alternative nutritive sweeteners. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that added sugars should be limited in the diet.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: One consumer concern about HFCS is that processing of corn is more complex than used for common sugar sources, such as fruit juice concentrates or agave nectar, but all sweetener products derived from raw materials involve similar processing steps of pulping, hydrolysis, enzyme treatment, and filtration, among other common steps of sweetener manufacturing from natural sources. In the contemporary process to make HFCS, an "acid-enzyme" step is used in which the corn starch solution is acidified to digest the existing carbohydrates, then enzymes are added to further metabolize the corn starch and convert the resulting sugars to their constituents of fructose and glucose. Analyses published in 2014 showed that HFCS content of fructose was consistent across samples from 80 randomly selected carbonated beverages sweetened with HFCS.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: One prior concern in manufacturing was whether HFCS contains reactive carbonyl compounds or advanced glycation end-products evolved during processing. This concern was dismissed, however, with evidence that HFCS poses no dietary risk from these compounds.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Through the early 21st Century, some factories manufacturing HFCS had used a chlor-alkali corn processing method which, in cases of applying mercury cell technology for digesting corn raw material, left trace residues of mercury in some batches of HFCS. In a 2009 release, The Corn Refiners Association stated that all factories in the American industry for manufacturing HFCS had used mercury-free processing over several previous years, making the prior report outdated.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Most countries, including Mexico, use sucrose, or table sugar, in soft drinks. In the U.S., soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola, are typically made with HFCS 55. HFCS has a sweeter taste than sucrose. Some Americans seek out drinks such as Mexican Coca-Cola in ethnic groceries because they prefer the taste over that of HFCS-sweetened Coca-Cola. Kosher Coca-Cola, sold in the U.S. around the Jewish holiday of Passover, also uses sucrose rather than HFCS and is highly sought after by people who prefer the original taste.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In apiculture in the United States, HFCS is a honey substitute for some managed honey bee colonies during times when nectar is in low supply. However, when HFCS is heated to about , hydroxymethylfurfural, which is toxic to bees, can form from the breakdown of fructose. Although some researchers cite honey substitution with HFCS as one factor among many for colony collapse disorder, there is no evidence that HFCS is the only cause. Compared to hive honey, both HFCS and sucrose caused signs of malnutrition in bees fed with them, apparent in the expression of genes involved in protein metabolism and other processes affecting honey bee health.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: There are various public relations concerns with HFCS, including how HFCS products are advertised and labeled as "natural". As a consequence, several companies reverted to manufacturing with sucrose (table sugar) from products that had previously been made with HFCS. In 2010, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) applied to allow HFCS to be renamed "corn sugar", but that petition was rejected by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2012.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: In August 2016 in a move to please consumers with health concerns, McDonald's announced they would be replacing all HFCS in their buns with sucrose (table sugar) and would cut out preservatives and other artificial additives from their menu items. Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald's stated, "We know that they [consumers] don't feel good about high-fructose corn syrup so we're giving them what they're looking for instead." Over the early 21st century, other companies such as Yoplait, Gatorade, and Hershey's also phased out HFCS, replacing it with conventional sugar because consumers perceived sugar to be healthier. Companies such as PepsiCo and Heinz have also released products that use sugar in lieu of HFCS, although they still sell HFCS-sweetened products.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Commercial production of corn syrup began in 1964. In the late 1950s, scientists at Clinton Corn Processing Company of Clinton, Iowa, tried to turn glucose from corn starch into fructose, but the process was not scalable. In 1965–1970 Yoshiyuki Takasaki, at the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) developed a heat-stable xylose isomerase enzyme from yeast. In 1967, the Clinton Corn Processing Company obtained an exclusive license to manufacture glucose isomerase derived from "Streptomyces" bacteria and began shipping an early version of HFCS in February 1967. In 1983, the FDA approved HFCS as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), and that decision was reaffirmed in 1996.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Prior to the development of the worldwide sugar industry, dietary fructose was limited to only a few items. Milk, meats, and most vegetables, the staples of many early diets, have no fructose, and only 5–10% fructose by weight is found in fruits such as grapes, apples, and blueberries. Most traditional dried fruits, however, contain about 50% fructose. From 1970 to 2000, there was a 25% increase in "added sugars" in the U.S. When recognized as a cheaper, more versatile sweetener, HFCS replaced sucrose as the main sweetener of soft drinks in the United States.


title: High-fructose corn syrup

text: Since 1789, the U.S. sugar industry has had trade protection in the form of tariffs on foreign-produced sugar, while subsidies to corn growers cheapen the primary ingredient in HFCS, corn. Accordingly, industrial users looking for cheaper sugar replacements rapidly adopted HFCS in the 1970s.


title: Unitary matrix

text: In linear algebra, a complex square matrix is unitary if its conjugate transpose is also its inverse, that is, if


title: Unitary matrix

text: In physics, especially in quantum mechanics, the conjugate transpose is referred to as the Hermitian adjoint of a matrix and is denoted by a dagger (†), so the equation above is written


title: Unitary matrix

text: The real analogue of a unitary matrix is an orthogonal matrix. Unitary matrices have significant importance in quantum mechanics because they preserve norms, and thus, probability amplitudes.


title: Unitary matrix

text: For any nonnegative integer , the set of all unitary matrices with matrix multiplication forms a group, called the unitary group .


title: Unitary matrix

text: which depends on 4 real parameters (the phase of , the phase of , the relative magnitude between and , and the angle ). The determinant of such a matrix is