title: T. D. Jakes

text: On the PBS program "African American Lives", Jakes had his DNA analyzed; his Y chromosome showed that he is descended from the Igbo people of Nigeria. According to his family history, it was suggested that he is also descended from them through his grandmother.


title: Megan Follows

text: Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows (born March 14, 1968) is a Canadian-American actress and director. She is known for her role as Anne Shirley in the 1985 Canadian television miniseries "Anne of Green Gables" and its two . From 2013 to 2017, she starred as Catherine de' Medici, Queen of France, in the television drama series "Reign".


title: Megan Follows

text: Follows was born in Toronto, Ontario, the youngest of four children, in an acting family. Her father was Canadian theatre actor and director Ted Follows and her mother is Canadian actress Dawn Greenhalgh. Her parents later divorced.


title: Megan Follows

text: Her three siblings are all in the entertainment industry. Her elder sister Edwina is a writer, while her brother Laurence and sister Samantha Follows (who is married to American actor Sean O'Bryan) are also actors.


title: Megan Follows

text: Her first acting job came at the age of nine, when she landed a spot in a commercial for Bell Canada. She was directed to make an impudent gesture out of a school bus window – like sticking out her tongue - but ended up making a rather obscene adult gesture instead. She found steady work in Canada, appearing in a few TV series such as "Matt and Jenny", "The Baxters", and "The Littlest Hobo", in which she guest-starred with her entire family in a three-part episode. She also starred in the short films "The Olden Days Coat" (1981) and "Boys and Girls" (1983), the latter of which won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject.


title: Megan Follows

text: Follows' breakthrough occurred when she was cast as Anne Shirley in the 1985 miniseries "Anne of Green Gables" (as well as its two sequels). The part of "Anne" was a coveted role that she won over 3,000 other young girls when director, producer, and writer Kevin Sullivan chose her despite early worries during the audition process that she might be too old for the part. The miniseries, wholly produced in Canada, became successful around the world, and remains to this day the highest-rated drama in Canadian television history.


title: Megan Follows

text: Her performances earned her two Gemini awards as best actress for the first two miniseries, "Anne of Green Gables" and "", and a Gemini nomination for the third Anne installment, "". She did not reprise the role for the fourth film, "", and Barbara Hershey took over the role.


title: Megan Follows

text: Follows has made a number of appearances on both Canadian and U.S. television. In 1989, she starred in an episode of "The Ray Bradbury Theater", "The Dwarf". In 1991 she starred with actors David Soul and David Morse in the made-for-television movie "Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann" in the titular role. The plot is based on the true story of the abduction of Peggy Ann Bradnick by an ex-convict and ex-mental patient William Diller Hollenbaugh which took place in Shade Gap, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1966. It aired on NBC on May 6, 1991. In 1995, as Megan Porter Follows (as she was then known, by her married name) starred in "The Outer Limits" episode "The Choice", along with Thora Birch. In Canada, she appeared in a popular made-for-TV movie, "Hockey Night", around the time she appeared in "Anne of Green Gables". She played Cathy, a young girl who played hockey on a previously all-male team. Other Canadian television appearances include leading roles in the period drama "Under the Piano" and police drama "Major Crime".


title: Megan Follows

text: In 2005, she guest-starred in the Canadian ensemble drama "Robson Arms" as one of the tenants of the Robson Arms apartment complex. She also appeared in the hospital drama "Open Heart" as a nurse fighting a physician of malpractice, and in "", as the mother of Canadian singer Shania Twain. Most recently, she starred as Booky's mother in the three movie adaptations of Bernice Thurman Hunter's "Booky" series: "Booky Makes Her Mark", "Booky and the Secret Santa", and "Booky's Crush".


title: Megan Follows

text: Among her earliest American television appearances were roles in "The Facts of Life" (as a cousin of Jo Polniaczek in Episode 23 of Season 3 that was intended as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off) in 1982, and in the short-lived series "Domestic Life" as Martin Mull's character's daughter in 1984. She appeared in two TV movies, "Sin of Innocence" and "Shattered ... If Your Kid's On Drugs" (both 1986). In 1993–94, she was part of the ensemble in the CBS television series "Second Chances". Since 2000, she has appeared on "Law & Order", "ER", "The X-Files", "", "", "Cold Case", and "Lie to Me", among others. She has appeared in the Canadian television series, "Heartland", for several episodes as Ty Borden's mother. She has also regularly directed "Heartland".


title: Megan Follows

text: In 2004, Follows was part of the ensemble cast of the Hallmark movie "Plainsong", which included Aidan Quinn, Rachel Griffiths, and America Ferrera. In 2009, she made a guest appearance on "Brothers and Sisters". In 2011, she had a guest role on "House". In 2012, she played Beth in "Hollywood Heights". Also in 2012 she appeared as Alice Stewart in one episode of "Longmire", and in the Starz series "World Without End", playing Lady Maud. In 2013, Follows was cast as Catherine de' Medici on "Reign", a historical drama series on The CW, based on the early life of Mary, Queen of Scots. The series ran for four seasons.


title: Megan Follows

text: In 2018, it was announced that Follows would be the lead director on "Held", a psychological web series produced by marblemedia. She also has a recurring role as the mother of the titular character on "Wynonna Earp".


title: Megan Follows

text: In 2020, it was announced that Follows will direct the psychological thriller film "Maternal", her debut as a film director. The film is slated to star Amybeth McNulty.


title: Megan Follows

text: Follows has appeared in a number of feature films. She co-starred with Corey Haim and Gary Busey in the 1985 film adaptation of Stephen King's novella, "Silver Bullet". In 1990, she was the voice of Clara from the cartoon Christmas film "The Nutcracker Prince". Her later film credits include "Christmas Child", "A Foreign Affair" (2003; released on DVD as "Two Brothers and a Bride"), and a cameo in Laurie Lynd's "Breakfast with Scot". She also had a brief uncredited cameo as a grocery store clerk in the movie "I Am Number Four" (2011).


title: Megan Follows

text: Even though the career of Follows' parents was anchored in the theatre, she did not appear in many stage productions until the 2000s. Her first stage credit was in "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds", in which she starred alongside her mother, Dawn, and her sister, Samantha, in 1988 in Toronto. In 1992, she was offered the role of Juliet in the Stratford Festival's production of "Romeo and Juliet", which she reprised the following year in Los Angeles. Other notable stage credits include "A Doll's House" (Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater), "Othello" (Edmonton's Citadel Theatre and Ottawa's National Arts Centre), "Uncle Vanya" (Atlantic Theatre Festival), and Noël Coward's "Hay Fever", in which she appeared with her siblings, and which was directed by her father.


title: Megan Follows

text: Recent years have seen the return of Follows on stage as a regular of the Toronto-based Soulpepper Theatre Company. In 2005, she had the leading role of May in their production of "Fool for Love" by Sam Shepard. The following year, she took on the role of Annie in Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing" which ran at Ottawa's National Arts Centre as a co-production between Soulpepper and NAC English Theatre. Following this run, the play also made its way to Toronto as part of Soulpepper's 2006 season at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. In 2007, she played the role of Marlene in the summer production of Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls", again with the Soulpepper Theatre Company.


title: Megan Follows

text: Soulpepper's 2008 season, marking the company's ten year anniversary, signaled the continuation of Megan's prolific theatre career. Just like the past season, she appeared in two productions. The first was Marsha Norman's "'night, Mother", in which she co-starred opposite her real-life mother, Canadian actress Dawn Greenhalgh. The second was Soulpepper's remount of its critically acclaimed 2007 production of Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls".


title: Megan Follows

text: She returned to the stage in 2010 in Mirvish Productions's revival of Churchill's "Cloud 9". In 2011, she returned to the stage to star in the Canadian premiere of Melissa James Gibson's "This" at the Vancouver Playhouse directed by Amiel Gladstone and, in 2012, she starred in the lead role of "Penelope" at the Nightwood Theatre's production of "The Penelopiad".


title: Megan Follows

text: In 1991, Follows married Christopher David Porter, a Canadian gaffer and photographer she met on the set of "Deep Sleep". They have two children, Lyla Anne Porter (born 1991) and Russell Porter (born 1994). The couple divorced in 1996. Follows was subsequently in a long-term relationship with actor Stuart Hughes; they broke up in about 2010.


title: Megan Follows

text: Follows has served as a spokeswoman for the relief organization World Vision Canada. She travelled to both Rwanda and Tanzania as a spokeswoman and a photographer. She also participated in the 2005 benefit concert "Canada for Asia" held to support the relief efforts for Asia after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.


title: Megan Follows

text: She travelled to Cambodia in 2007 with director Heather Connell to film "Small Voices: Stories of Cambodia's Children", a documentary about how the children of Cambodia living on the street and garbage dumps face their living conditions amid poverty and abuse and how they view their own future.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Lionel George Logue, (26 February 1880 – 12 April 1953) was an Australian speech and language therapist and amateur stage actor who helped King George VI manage his stammer.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Lionel George Logue was born in College Town, Adelaide, South Australia, the oldest of four children. His grandfather Edward Logue, originally from Dublin, in 1856 founded Logue's Brewery, a predecessor of the South Australian Brewing Company. His parents were George Edward Logue, an accountant at his grandfather's brewery who later managed the Burnside Hotel and the Elephant and Castle Hotel, and Lavinia Rankin. Although not a Catholic himself, he was reportedly related to Michael Cardinal Logue, a native of County Donegal, who was the Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


title: Lionel Logue

text: He attended Prince Alfred College between 1889 and 1896. Unable to decide what to study, Logue came across Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha":


title: Lionel Logue

text: The poem's rhythm inspired Logue to put his interest in voices to good use. After leaving school at sixteen, he received elocution training from Edward Reeves. Reeves had moved to Adelaide in 1878 and taught elocution to his pupils by day and gave popular recitals to audiences in Victoria Hall by night. Logue worked for Reeves as a secretary and assistant teacher from 1902, while studying music at the University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium. While working for Reeves, Logue began to give recitals of his own for which he was praised for his "clear, powerful voice."


title: Lionel Logue

text: After his father died on 17 November 1902, Logue set up his own practice as a teacher of elocution. By 1904, he had gained a good reputation and was receiving praise from the local newspapers. However, he decided to take a contract with an engineering firm some westward in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, installing an electricity supply at a gold mine.


title: Lionel Logue

text: His professional career began in Perth, where, in addition to teaching elocution, acting, and public speaking, he put on plays and recitations, and also founded a club for public speakers. He was also involved with YMCA Perth and schools such as Methodist Ladies' College, Loreto Convent, Scotch College, Perth Technical School, and Claremont Teachers College.


title: Lionel Logue

text: In 1911, Logue and his wife set out on a tour of the world to study methods of public speaking. Later he developed treatments for Australian First World War war veterans who had shell shock-induced impaired speech. In addition to physical exercises, which helped with patients' breathing, Logue's distinctive therapy emphasised humour, patience, and "superhuman sympathy".


title: Lionel Logue

text: took jobs teaching elocution at schools around London, and in 1926 he opened a speech-defect practice at 146 Harley Street. Logue used fees paid by wealthy clients to subsidise patients unable to pay. It was here that the Duke of Yorkthe future King George VIsought Logue's help. Logue became a founding fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 1944.


title: Lionel Logue

text: As a speech therapist, Logue was self-taught and was initially dismissed by the medical establishment as a quack, but he worked with the Duke from the late 1920s into the mid-1940s.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Before ascending the throne as George VI, the Duke of York dreaded public speaking because of a severe stammer; his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925 proved an ordeal for speaker and listeners alike. The Duke resolved to find some way to manage his stammer, and engaged Logue in 1926 after being introduced to him by Lord Stamfordham.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Diagnosing poor co-ordination between the Duke's larynx and thoracic diaphragm, Logue prescribed a daily hour of vocal exercises. Logue's treatment gave the Duke the confidence to relax and avoid tension-induced muscle spasms. As a result, he only occasionally stammered. By 1927, he was speaking confidently and managed his address at the opening of the Old Parliament House in Canberra without stammering.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Logue was often called over the years when the king was expected to make a speech, and was regularly invited to the Royal Family's Christmas dinner party in order to assist with the Christmas message. Their relationship was featured in a film, a play and .


title: Lionel Logue

text: In 1944, King George VI appointed Logue a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO), elevating him from Member of the Order (MVO), which had been conferred upon Logue at the time of George VI's Coronation.


title: Lionel Logue

text: King George VI died on 6 February 1952. On 26 February 1952, Logue wrote to the late king's wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother:


title: Lionel Logue

text: The Queen Mother replied: "I think that I know perhaps better than anyone just how much you helped the King, not only with his speech, but through that his whole life and outlook on life. I shall always be deeply grateful to you for all you did for him."


title: Lionel Logue

text: Logue married Myrtle Gruenert, a 21-year-old clerk, at St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth, on 20 March 1907. They had three sons, Valentine, Laurie, and Anthony. Valentine trained at King's College London and St George's Hospital and went on to become one of the most distinguished neurosurgeons of his generation.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Lionel Logue was a Freemason, initiated, passed, and raised in 1908, and became Worshipful Master in 1919; he was a member of St. George's Lodge (now J.D. Stevenson St. George's Lodge No.6, Western Australian Constitution).


title: Lionel Logue

text: He lived in a 25-room Victorian villa called Beechgrove in Sydenham from 1932 until 1947, now demolished and part of Sydenham Hill Wood.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Myrtle died suddenly from a heart attack in June 1945, and Logue died in London, on 12 April 1953. His funeral was held on 17 April in Holy Trinity Brompton before his body was cremated. Representatives of Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother attended the funeral.


title: Lionel Logue

text: With Peter Conradi, Logue's grandson Mark wrote a book, "", about his grandfather's relationship with the king. In the 2010 British film "The King's Speech", written by David Seidler, Logue was played by Geoffrey Rush, his wife by Jennifer Ehle, and his patient by Colin Firth. In the West End stage adaptation of "The King's Speech" at Wyndham's Theatre, Australian actor Jonathan Hyde played Lionel Logue, and in the US stage premiere, Logue was played by James Frain.


title: Lionel Logue

text: Welsh actor Michael Elwyn played Logue in the 2002 television film "Bertie and Elizabeth". Derek Lawson portrayed Logue in the 2015 comedy "A Royal Night Out".


title: Pankration

text: Pankration (; ) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC, which was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, such as kicking, holds, joint-locks, and chokes on the ground, making it similar to modern mixed martial arts. The term comes from the Greek , meaning 'all of power', from ("pan") 'all' and ("kratos") 'strength, might, power'.


title: Pankration

text: In Greek mythology, it was said that the heroes Heracles and Theseus invented pankration as a result of using both wrestling and boxing in their confrontations with opponents. Theseus was said to have used pankration to defeat the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Heracles too was often depicted in ancient artworks subduing the Nemean lion using pankration.


title: Pankration

text: In this context, pankration was also referred to as "pammachon" or "pammachion" (πάμμαχον or παμμάχιον), meaning "total combat," from πᾶν-, "pān-", "all-" or "total," and μάχη, "machē", "matter." The term pammachon was older, and would later become used less than the term pankration.


title: Pankration

text: The mainstream academic view has been that pankration developed in the archaic Greek society of the 7th century BC, whereby, as the need for expression in violent sport increased, pankration filled a niche of "total contest" that neither boxing nor wrestling could. However, some evidence suggests that pankration, in both its sporting form and its combative form, may have been practiced in Greece already from the second millennium BC.


title: Pankration

text: Pankration, as practiced in historical antiquity, was an athletic event that combined techniques of both boxing (pygmē/pygmachia – πυγμή/πυγμαχία) and wrestling (palē – πάλη), as well as additional elements, such as the use of strikes with the legs, to create a broad fighting sport similar to today's mixed martial arts competitions. There is evidence that, although knockouts were common, most pankration competitions were decided on the basis of submission (yielding to a submission or joint lock). Pankratiasts were highly skilled grapplers and were extremely effective in applying a variety of takedowns, chokes and joint locks. In extreme cases a pankration competition could even result in the death of one of the opponents, which was considered a win.


title: Pankration

text: However, pankration was more than just an event in the athletic competitions of the ancient Greek world; it was also part of the arsenal of Greek soldiers – including the famous Spartan hoplites and Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx. It is said that the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae fought with their bare hands and teeth once their swords and spears broke. Herodotus mentions that in the battle of Mycale between the Greeks and the Persians in 479 BC, those of the Greeks who fought best were the Athenians, and the Athenian who fought best was a distinguished pankratiast, Hermolycus, son of Euthynus. Polyaemus describes King Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, practicing with another pankratiast while his soldiers watched.


title: Pankration

text: The feats of the ancient pankratiasts became legendary in the annals of Greek athletics. Stories abound of past champions who were considered invincible beings. Arrhichion, Dioxippus, Polydamas of Skotoussa and Theogenes (often referred to as Theagenes of Thasos after the first century AD) are among the most highly recognized names. Their accomplishments defying the odds were some of the most inspiring of ancient Greek athletics and they served as inspiration to the Hellenic world for centuries, as Pausanias, the ancient traveller and writer indicates when he re-tells these stories in his narrative of his travels around Greece.


title: Pankration

text: Dioxippus was an Athenian who had won the Olympic Games in 336 BC, and was serving in Alexander the Great's army in its expedition into Asia. As an admired champion, he naturally became part of the circle of Alexander the Great. In that context, he accepted a challenge from one of Alexander's most skilled soldiers named Coragus to fight in front of Alexander and the troops in armed combat. While Coragus fought with weapons and full armour, Dioxippus showed up armed only with a club and defeated Coragus without killing him, making use of his pankration skills. Later, however, Dioxippus was framed for theft, which led him to commit suicide.


title: Pankration

text: In an odd turn of events, a pankration fighter named Arrhichion (Ἀρριχίων) of Phigalia won the pankration competition at the Olympic Games despite being dead. His opponent had locked him in a chokehold and Arrhichion, desperate to loosen it, broke his opponent's toe (some records say his ankle). The opponent nearly passed out from pain and submitted. As the referee raised Arrhichion's hand, it was discovered that he had died from the chokehold. His body was crowned with the olive wreath and returned to Phigaleia as a hero.


title: Pankration

text: By the Imperial Period, the Romans had adopted the Greek combat sport (spelled in Latin as "pancratium") into their Games. In 393 AD, the pankration, along with gladiatorial combat and all pagan festivals, was abolished by edict by the Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I.


title: Pankration

text: Pausanias mention the wrestler Leontiscus (Λεοντίσκος) from Messene. He wrote that his technique of wrestling was similar to the pankration of Sostratus the Sicyonian, because Leontiscus did not know how to throw his opponents, but won by bending their fingers.


title: Pankration

text: There were neither weight divisions nor time limits in pankration competitions. However, there were two or three age groups in the competitions of antiquity. In the Ancient Olympic Games specifically there were only two such age groups:. men (andres – ἄνδρες) and boys (paides – παῖδες). The pankration event for boys was established at the Olympic Games in 200 BC. In pankration competitions, referees were armed with stout rods or switches to enforce the rules. In fact, there were only two rules regarding combat: no eye gouging or biting. Sparta was the only place eye gouging and biting were allowed. The contest itself usually continued uninterrupted until one of the combatants submitted, which was often signalled by the submitting contestant raising his index finger. The judges appear, however, to have had the right to stop a contest under certain conditions and award the victory to one of the two athletes; they could also declare the contest a tie.


title: Pankration

text: Pankration competitions were held in tournaments, most being outside of the Olympics. Each tournament began with a ritual which would decide how the tournament would take place. Grecophone satirist Lucian describes the process in detail:A sacred silver urn is brought, in which they have put bean-size lots. On two lots an alpha is inscribed, on two a beta, and on another two a gamma, and so on. If there are more athletes, two lots always have the same letter. Each athlete comes forth, prays to Zeus, puts his hand into the urn and draws out a lot. Following him, the other athletes do the same. Whip bearers are standing next to the athletes, holding their hands and not allowing them to read the letter they have drawn. When everyone has drawn a lot, the alytarch, or one of the Hellanodikai walks around and looks at the lots of the athletes as they stand in a circle. He then joins the athlete holding the alpha to the other who has drawn the alpha for wrestling or pankration, the one who has the beta to the other with the beta, and the other matching inscribed lots in the same manner.This process was apparently repeated every round until the finals.


title: Pankration

text: There would be a bye (ἔφεδρος – ephedros "reserve") in every round containing an odd number of athletes, which could potentially be in every round until the final (but also potentially in none of the rounds, if the number of competitors was a power of 2 and none of the winners quit before fighting their next round, or any other irregularities). The same athlete could be an ephedros more than once, and this could of course be of great advantage to him as the ephedros would be spared the wear and tear of the rounds imposed on his opponent(s). To win a tournament without being an ephedros in any of the rounds (ἀνέφεδρος – anephedros "non-reserve") was thus an honorable distinction.


title: Pankration

text: There is evidence that the major Games in Greek antiquity easily had four tournament rounds, that is, a field of sixteen athletes. Xanthos mentions the largest number—nine tournament rounds. If these tournament rounds were held in one competition, up to 512 contestants would participate in the tournament, which is difficult to believe for a single contest. Therefore, one can hypothesize that the nine rounds included those in which the athlete participated during regional qualification competitions that were held before the major games. Such preliminary contests were held prior to the major games to determine who would participate in the main event. This makes sense, as the 15–20 athletes competing in the major games could not have been the only available contestants. There is clear evidence of this in Plato, who refers to competitors in the Panhellenic Games, with opponents numbering in the thousands. Moreover, in the first century A.D., the Greco-Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria—who was himself probably a practitioner of pankration—makes a statement that could be an allusion to preliminary contests in which an athlete would participate and then collect his strength before coming forward fresh in the major competition.


title: Pankration

text: The athletes engaged in a pankration competition – i.e., the pankratiasts (sg. παγκρατιαστής, pl. παγκρατιασταί – employed a variety of techniques in order to strike their opponent as well as take him to the ground in order to use a submission technique. When the pankratiasts fought standing, the combat was called Anō Pankration" ("ἄνω παγκράτιον", "upper Pankration"); and when they took the fight to the ground, that stage of pankration competition was called Katō pankration" ("κάτω παγκράτιον", "lower Pankration").


title: Pankration

text: Some of the techniques that would be applied in anō pankration and katō pankration, respectively, are known to us through depictions on ancient pottery and sculptures, as well as in descriptions in ancient literature. There were also strategies documented in ancient literature that were meant to be used to obtain an advantage over the competitor.


title: Pankration

text: The pankratiast faces his opponent with a nearly frontal stance—only slightly turned sideways. This is an intermediate directional positioning, between the wrestler's more frontal positioning and the boxer's more sideways stance and is consistent with the need to preserve both the option of using striking and protecting the center line of the body and the option of applying grappling techniques. Thus, the left side of the body is slightly forward of the right side of the body and the left hand is more forward than the right one. Both hands are held high so that the tips of the fingers are at the level of the hairline or just below the top of the head. The hands are partially open, the fingers are relaxed, and the palms are facing naturally forward, down, and slightly towards each other. The front arm is nearly fully extended but not entirely so; the rear arm is more cambered than the front arm, but more extended than a modern-day boxer's rear arm. The back of the athlete is somewhat rounded, but not as much as a wrestler's would be. The body is only slightly leaning forward.


title: Pankration

text: The weight is virtually all on the back (right) foot with the front (left) foot touching the ground with the ball of the foot. It is a stance in which the athlete is ready at the same time to give a kick with the front leg as well as defend against the opponent's low level kicks by lifting the front knee and blocking. The back leg is bent for stability and power and is facing slightly to the side, to go with the slightly sideways body position. The head and torso are behind the protecting two upper limbs and front leg.


title: Pankration

text: Strikes delivered with the legs were an integral part of pankration and one of its most characteristic features. Kicking well was a great advantage to the pankratiast. Epiktētos is making a derogatory reference to a compliment one may give another: "μεγάλα λακτίζεις" ("you kick great"). Moreover, in an accolade to the fighting prowess of the pankratiast Glykon from Pergamo, the athlete is described as "wide foot." The characterization comes actually before the reference to his "unbeatable hands," implying at least as crucial a role for strikes with the feet as with the hands in pankration. That proficiency in kicking could carry the pankratiast to victory is indicated in a sarcastic passage of Galen, where he awards the winning prize in pankration to a donkey because of its excellence in kicking.


title: Pankration

text: The straight kick with the bottom of the foot to the stomach (γαστρίζειν/λάκτισμα εἰς γαστέραν – "gastrizein" or "laktisma eis gasteran", "kicking in the stomach") was apparently a common technique, given the number of depictions of such kicks on vases. This type of kick is mentioned by Lucian.


title: Pankration

text: "Counter": The athlete sidesteps the oncoming kick to the inside of the opponent's leg. He catches and lifts the heel/foot of the planted leg with his rear hand and with the front arm goes under the knee of the kicking leg, hooks it with the nook of his elbow, and lifts while advancing to throw the opponent backward. The athlete executing the counter has to lean forward to avoid hand strikes by the opponent. This counter is shown on a Panathenaic amphora now in Leiden. In another counter, the athlete sidesteps, but now to the outside of the oncoming kick and grasps the inside of the kicking leg from behind the knee with his front hand (overhand grip) and pulls up, which tends to unbalance the opponent so that he falls backward as the athlete advances. The back hand can be used for striking the opponent while he is preoccupied maintaining his balance.


title: Pankration

text: The athlete is behind the opponent and has him leaning down, with the right knee of the opponent on the ground. The athlete has the opponent's right arm straightened out and extended maximally backward at the shoulder joint. With the opponent's right arm across his own torso, the athlete uses his left hand to keep the pressure on the opponent's right arm by grabbing and pressing down on it just above the wrist. The right hand of the athlete is pressing down at the (side of) the head of the opponent, thus not permitting him to rotate to his right to relieve the pressure on his shoulder. As the opponent could escape by lowering himself closer to the ground and rolling, the athlete steps with his left leg over the left leg of the opponent and wraps his foot around the ankle of the opponent stepping on his instep, while pushing his body weight on the back of the opponent.


title: Pankration

text: In this technique, the position of the bodies is very similar to the one described just above. The athlete executing the technique is standing over his opponent's back, while the latter is down on his right knee. The left leg of the athlete is straddling the left thigh of the opponent—the left knee of the opponent is not on the floor—and is trapping the left foot of the opponent by stepping on it. The athlete uses his left hand to push down on the side/back of the head of the opponent while with his right hand he pulls the opponent's right arm back, against his midsection. This creates an arm bar on the right arm with the pressure now being mostly on the elbow. The fallen opponent cannot relieve it, because his head is being shoved the opposite way by the left hand of the athlete executing the technique.


title: Pankration

text: In this technique, the athlete is again behind his opponent, has the left arm of his opponent trapped, and is pulling back on his right arm. The trapped left arm is bent, with the fingers and palm trapped inside the armpit of the athlete. To trap the left arm, the athlete has pushed (from outside) his own left arm underneath the left elbow of the opponent. The athlete's left hand ends up pressing down on the scapula region of his opponent's back. This position does not permit the opponent to pull out his hand from the athlete's armpit and puts pressure on the left shoulder. The right arm of the athlete is pulling back at the opponent's right wrist (or forearm). In this way, the athlete keeps the right arm of his opponent straightened and tightly pulled against his right hip/lower abdomen area, which results in an arm bar putting pressure on the right elbow. The athlete is in full contact on top of the opponent, with his right leg in front of the right leg of the opponent to block him from escaping by rolling forward.


title: Pankration

text: Pankratiasts would refer to two different kinds of athletes; ""the one who wrestles with the heel"" and ""the one who wrestles with the ankle"" which indicates early knowledge of what is now known as the Straight Ankle-Lock, and the Heel Hook.


title: Pankration

text: In executing this choking technique (ἄγχειν – anchein), the athlete grabs the tracheal area (windpipe and "Adam's apple") between his thumb and his four fingers and squeezes. This type of choke can be applied with the athlete being in front or behind his opponent. Regarding the hand grip to be used with this choke, the web area between the thumb and the index finger is to be quite high up the neck and the thumb is bent inward and downward, "reaching" behind the Adam's apple of the opponent. The main fingers which do much of the squeezing, is the thumb, index and middle finger, with the ring finger putting minimal force and, the pinky having no impact. It is unclear if such a grip would have been considered gouging and thus illegal in the Panhellenic Games.


title: Pankration

text: The athlete grabs the throat of the opponent with the four fingers on the outside of the throat and the tip of the thumb pressing in and down the hollow of the throat, putting pressure on the trachea.


title: Pankration

text: The Rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases. The term rear naked choke likely originated from the technique in Jujutsu and Judo known as the "Hadaka Jime," or "Naked Strangle." The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in Jujutsu/Judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ("gi") or training uniform.


title: Pankration

text: The choke has two variations:[1] in one version, the attacker's arm encircles the opponent's neck and then grabs his own biceps on the other arm (see below for details); in the second version, the attacker clasps his hands together instead after encircling the opponent's neck. These are deadly moves.


title: Pankration

text: A counter to the choke from behind involves the twisting of one of the fingers of the choking arm. This counter is mentioned by Philostratus. In case the choke was set together with a grapevine body lock, another counter was the one applied against that lock; by causing enough pain to the ankle of the opponent, the latter could give up his choke.


title: Pankration

text: From a reverse waist lock set from the front, and staying with hips close to the opponent, the athlete lifts and rotates his opponent using the strength of his hips and legs (ἀναβαστάσαι εἰς ὕψος – "anabastasai eis hypsos", "high lifting"). Depending on the torque the athlete imparts, the opponent becomes more or less vertically inverted, facing the body of the athlete. If however the reverse waist lock is set from the back of the opponent, then the latter would face away from the athlete in the inverted position.


title: Pankration

text: To finish the attack, the athlete has the option of either dropping his opponent head-first to the ground, or driving him into the ground while retaining the hold. To execute the latter option, the athlete bends one of his legs and goes down on that knee while the other leg remains only partially bent; this is presumably to allow for greater mobility in case the "pile driver" does not work. Another approach emphasizes less putting the opponent in an inverted vertical position and more the throw; it is shown in a sculpture in the metōpē (μετώπη) of the Hephaisteion in Athens, where Theseus is depicted heaving Kerkyōn.


title: Pankration

text: The opponents are facing in opposite directions with the athlete at a higher level, over the back of his opponent. The athlete can get in this position after making a shallow sprawl to counter a tackle attempt. From here the athlete sets a waist lock by encircling, from the back, the torso of the opponent with his arms and securing a "handshake" grip close to the abdomen of the opponent. He then heaves the opponent back and up, using the muscles of his legs and his back, so that the opponent's feet rise in the air and he ends up inverted, perpendicular to the ground, and facing away from the athlete. The throw finishes with a "pile driver" or, alternatively, with a simple release of the opponent so that he falls to the ground.


title: Pankration

text: The athlete passes to the back of his opponent, secures a regular waist lock, lifts and throws/ drops the opponent backwards and sideways. As a result of these moves, the opponent would tend to land on his side or face down. The athlete can follow the opponent to the ground and place himself on his back, where he could strike him or choke him from behind while holding him in the "grapevine" body lock (see above), stretching him face down on the ground. This technique is described by the Roman poet Statius in his account of a match between the hero Tydeus of Thebes and an opponent in the Thebaid. Tydeus is described to have followed this takedown with a choke while applying the "grapevine" body lock on the prone opponent.


title: Pankration

text: As the pankration competitions were held outside and in the afternoon, appropriately positioning one's face "vis-a-vis" the low sun was a major tactical objective. The pankratiast, as well as the boxer, did not want to have to face the sun, as this would partly blind him to the blows of the opponent and make accurate delivery of strikes to specific targets difficult. Theocritus, in his narration of the (boxing) match between Polydeukēs and Amykos, noted that the two opponents struggled a lot, vying to see who would get the sun's rays on his back. In the end, with skill and cunning, Polydeukēs managed so that Amykos' face was struck with sunlight while his own was in the shade.


title: Pankration

text: While this positioning was of paramount importance in boxing, which involved only upright striking (with the eyes facing straight), it was also important in pankration, especially in the beginning of the competition and as long as the athletes remained standing.


title: Pankration

text: The decision to remain standing or go to the ground obviously depended on the relative strengths of the athlete, and differed between "anō" and "katō" pankration. However, there are indications that staying on one's feet was generally considered a positive thing, while touching the knee(s) to the ground or being put to the ground was overall considered disadvantageous. It has been suggested that in antiquity, as today, falling to one's knee(s) was a metaphor for coming to a disadvantage and putting oneself at risk of losing the fight.


title: Pankration

text: Regarding the choice of attacking into the attack of the opponent versus defending and retreating, there are indications, e.g. from boxing, that it was preferable to attack. Dio Chrysostom notes that retreat under fear tends to result in even greater injuries, while attacking before the opponent strikes is less injurious and could very well end in victory.


title: Pankration

text: As indicated by Plato in his "Laws", an important element of strategy was to understand if the opponent had a weak or untrained side and to force him to operate on that side and generally take advantage of that weakness. For example, if the athlete recognizes that the opponent is strictly right-handed, he could circle away from the right hand of the opponent and towards the left side of the opponent. Moreover, if the opponent is weak in his left-side throws, the athlete could aim to position himself accordingly. Training in ambidexterity was instrumental in both applying this strategy and not falling victim to it.


title: Pankration

text: The basic instruction of pankration techniques was conducted by the paedotribae (παιδοτρίβαι, "physical trainers"), who were in charge of boys' physical education. High level athletes were also trained by special trainers who were called gymnastae (γυμνασταί), some of whom had been successful pankration competitors themselves. There are indications that the methods and techniques used by different athletes varied, i.e., there were different styles. While specific styles taught by different teachers, in the mode of Asian martial arts, cannot be excluded, it is very clear (including in Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics") that the objective of a teacher of combat sports was to help each of his athletes to develop his personal style that would fit his strengths and weaknesses.


title: Pankration

text: The preparation of pankratiasts included a very wide variety of methods, most of which would be immediately recognizable by the trainers of modern high level athletes, including competitors in modern mixed martial arts competitions. These methods included among others the periodization of training; a wealth of regimens for the development of strength, speed-strength, speed, stamina, and endurance; specialized training for the different stages of competition (i.e., for anō pankration and katō pankration), and methods for learning and engraining techniques. Among the multitude of the latter were also training tools that appear to be very similar to Asian martial arts Forms or "kata", and were known as "cheironomia" (χειρονομία) and "anapale" (ἀναπάλη). Punching bags ("kōrykos" κώρυκος "leather sack") of different sizes and dummies were used for striking practice as well as for the hardening of the body and limbs. Nutrition, massage, and other recovery techniques were used very actively by pankratiasts.


title: Pankration

text: At the time of the revival of the Olympic Games (1896), pankration was not reinstated as an Olympic event.


title: Pankration

text: "Neo-pankration" (modern pankration) was first introduced to the martial arts community by Greek-American combat athlete Jim Arvanitis in 1969 and later exposed worldwide in 1973 when he was featured on the cover of "Black Belt". Arvanitis continually refined his reconstruction with reference to original sources. His efforts are also considered pioneering in what became mixed martial arts (MMA).


title: Pankration

text: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not list pankration among Olympic sports, but the efforts of Savvidis E. A. Lazaros, founder of modern Pankration Athlima, the technical examination programma, the endyma, the shape of the Palaestra and the terminology of Pankration Athlima, in 2010 the sport was accepted by FILA, known today as United World Wrestling (UWW), which governs the Olympic wrestling codes, as an associated discipline and a "form of modern Mixed Martial Art." Pankration was first contested at the World Combat Games in 2010.


title: Pankration

text: Soccer kicks, hammer fists, elbows in the head, body slams, leglocks, spine locks and any kind of striking while groundfighting are banned in both styles. Targeting any of the following areas of the body is also disallowed: neck, back of the head, throat, knees, elbows, joints, kidneys, groin and along the spine.


title: Pankration

text: Fighters wear protective gear (MMA gloves, shin pads, headgear) and fight in a standard wrestling mat.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: Episodes is a British-American television sitcom created by David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik and produced by Hat Trick Productions. It premiered on Showtime in the United States on January 9, 2011 and on BBC Two in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2011. The show is about a British husband-and-wife comedy writing team who travel to Hollywood to remake their successful British TV series, with unexpected results. It stars Matt LeBlanc portraying a satirical version of himself. LeBlanc made his regular return to television for the first time since he was on NBC's "Joey".


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: On June 10, 2015, it was announced that Showtime had renewed "Episodes" for a fifth season, which was due to begin filming in London in 2016. On April 11, 2016, Season 5 was confirmed to be the show's last; it consists of seven episodes and premiered on August 20, 2017. The series finale, Season 5's "Episode Seven", aired on October 8, 2017.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: "Episodes" has received positive reviews by critics, with specific praise being given to the performances of stars Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig, and Matt LeBlanc. For his performance in the series, Matt LeBlanc won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy and has been nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: After married couple Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Greig) Lincoln win yet another BAFTA Award for their successful British sitcom, "Lyman's Boys", they are persuaded to move to Hollywood and remake their series for an American audience. Unfortunately, the network starts to make changes (including the title, now "Pucks!"), and pressures the couple into casting Matt LeBlanc in the lead role, a part that Matt is largely unsuited for.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: Sean becomes friends with Matt, while Beverly is less impressed. Continuing changes to the scripts threaten to damage the show and other pressures result in difficulties in Sean and Beverly's marriage.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: In May 2010, the BBC announced that seven episodes had been ordered and that filming had begun, with James Griffiths directing. Sean and Beverly Lincoln were played by Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig, who previously co-starred in the British sitcom "Green Wing" (2004–2007).


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: Beverly was originally to be portrayed by Claire Forlani, but she left the cast in April 2010 when the series was in pre-production. LeBlanc was to play a "larger than life version of himself" as character Matt LeBlanc. Thomas Haden Church was also to have a role in the series as Merc Lapidus, the American television executive who commissions the remake, but he left due to scheduling conflicts, and was replaced by John Pankow.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: Although the majority of the show was set in Los Angeles, the first season was mainly filmed in the UK, including the 103-room mansion Updown Court that Sean and Beverly Lincoln briefly stayed in. Inserts were shot on location in LA. LeBlanc's Malibu mansion was also UK-based. Seasons 2–5 were shot primarily in Los Angeles.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: The response of American critics was positive. Robert Bianco of "USA Today" called the show "easily the best new sitcom of the season" and "The Boston Globe"s Matthew Gilbert said that "Each of the season's seven half-hours is a little sliver of pleasure." A "Boston Herald" review by Mark A. Perigard was lukewarm; he said he feared that the show would never achieve a broad audience, and David Wiegand from the "San Francisco Chronicle" praised the performances of the actors but felt that the series simply was not funny. Alan Sepinwall of "HitFix" went further declaring the show to be one of the worst TV moments of 2011. The UK critics' response to the first episode was broadly lukewarm while remaining optimistic. More screentime for Matt LeBlanc was eagerly anticipated by some, with "The Independent"s Brian Viner believing that this might improve the series.


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: The second season received positive reviews from critics. Henry Goldblatt of "Entertainment Weekly" called the second season "a terrific second season of this industry-set sitcom." "USA Today" said of the show: "As smartly written as it is played, "Episodes" offers the comic pleasures, not just of clashing cultures, but of contrasting comic styles. On one side you have LeBlanc, who handles the big laughs and the broader humor, and does it so well, it serves as a reminder that he was under-appreciated during his years on "Friends."" Ed Bark of "Uncle Barky" praised the season saying it was "a thoroughly entertaining romp, with the television industry as a combination Tilt-A-Whirl/merry-go-round." On the Firewall & Iceberg podcast Alan Sepinwall and Dan Fienberg commented on the second season, saying that the "self-congratulatory, obvious" show that is "oddly tone-deaf about the business that it was trying to satirize" is "not about anything" and "as a result is better for it," but is still "groaningly unfunny".


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: The third season received mixed reviews from critics. Emily Nussbaum of "The New Yorker" gave the season a positive review, saying "It seemed doubtful that the show’s creators could keep those plates spinning for another round, but the third season introduces a fantastic new contrivance: a psychotic new network head, played by Chris Diamantopoulos." Brian Lowry of "Variety" gave the season a lukewarm review, praising Matt LeBlanc's performance, writing: "Episodes remains distinguished, mostly, by Matt LeBlanc's gameness in playing a jaundiced, utterly self-absorbed version of himself, the classic stereotype of a sitcom star with an oversized ego.". Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the season a "C+" grade and a mixed review, writing: "It's turned out to be a fairly tired satire of Hollywood, one that's stayed yoked to its dubious premise."


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: In the UK, episode one of the series premiered with an audience of 1.86 million, an audience share of 8.5%. Episode Two received 1.53 million viewers (7.4%) – and by Episode Four, viewing numbers were down to 1.09 million (5.3%). Episode Five saw a slight rise in viewers to 1.33 million (6.6%), but numbers once again fell for Episode Six to 1.12 million (5.5%) and the season ended with the lowest number of viewers, 1.06 million (5.1%), tuning in for the final episode. The second series in the UK began with 1.34 million, audience share of 6.8%, but by episode seven had steadily declined to 0.68 million viewers and an audience share of 3.3%. As in the US, the UK's reception to the second series was positive with "The Arts Desk" saying "There were some very funny industry-related gags, not least network boss Merc (John Pankow) and his PA-cum-mistress Carol (Kathleen Rose Perkins) having sex on his desk while roaring the ratings figures back at one another. The cast are excellent value but at the moment only Greig seems to be playing for genuine emotional stakes. Portraying an exaggerated version of his on-screen persona, LeBlanc’s sweet, sex-obsessed shallowness is all that's required, but Mangan – a terrific comic actor – seems constantly to be toying with a smirk, devaluing some of the emotional currency you sense Episodes is striving for. Together, they've proved they can make us laugh."


title: Episodes (TV series)

text: The series premiered in Australia on Nine on July 3, 2012, with season two returning on September 4, 2012. The first two seasons were replayed by subscription television network BBC UKTV (as opposed to Nine which is a free-to-air network), premiering January 28, 2014. Unlike the first two seasons which premiered in Australia on Nine, season three premiered on pay TV. Although originally set to air on BBC UKTV, the series premiered on BBC First on September 12, 2014, and returned for season four on September 7, 2015. On November 14, 2016, it was reported that the fifth and final season would have its premiere on streaming provider Stan in 2017. This move is believed to be the result of BBC no longer being a co-producer of the series and that Stan has an output agreement with Showtime.


title: VTEC

text: VTEC (Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control) is a system developed by Honda to improve the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke internal combustion engine, resulting in higher performance at high RPM, and lower fuel consumption at low RPM. The VTEC system uses two (or occasionally three) camshaft profiles and hydraulically selects between profiles. It was invented by Honda engineer Ikuo Kajitani. It is distinctly different from standard VVT (variable valve timing) systems which change only the valve timings and do not change the camshaft profile or valve lift in any way.


title: VTEC

text: Japan levies a tax based on engine displacement, and Japanese auto manufacturers have correspondingly focused their research and development efforts toward improving the performance of their smaller engine designs. One method for increasing performance into a static displacement includes forced induction, as with models such as the Toyota Supra and Nissan 300ZX which used turbocharger applications and the Toyota MR2 which used a supercharger for some model years. Another approach is the rotary engine used in the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8. A third option is to change the cam timing profile, of which Honda VTEC was the first successful commercial design for altering the profile in real-time.


title: VTEC

text: The VTEC system provides the engine with valve timing optimized for both low and high RPM operations. In basic form, the single cam lobe and follower/rocker arm of a conventional engine is replaced with a locking multi-part rocker arm and two cam profiles: one optimized for low-RPM stability and fuel efficiency, and the other designed to maximize high-RPM power output. The switching operation between the two cam lobes is controlled by the ECU which takes account of engine oil pressure, engine temperature, vehicle speed, engine speed and throttle position. Using these inputs, the ECU is programmed to switch from the low lift to the high lift cam lobes when certain conditions are met. At the switch point a solenoid is actuated that allows oil pressure from a spool valve to operate a locking pin which binds the high RPM rocker arm to the low RPM ones. From this point on, the valves open and close according to the high-lift profile, which opens the valve further and for a longer time. The switch-over point is variable, between a minimum and maximum point, and is determined by engine load. The switch-down back from high to low RPM cams is set to occur at a lower engine speed than the switch-up (representing a hysteretic cycle) to avoid a situation in which the engine is asked to operate continuously at or around the switch-over point.


title: VTEC

text: The older approach to timing adjustments is to produce a camshaft with a valve timing profile that is better suited to low-RPM operation. The improvements in low-RPM performance, which is where most street-driven automobiles operate a majority of the time, occur in trade for a power and efficiency loss at higher RPM ranges. Correspondingly, VTEC attempts to combine low-RPM fuel efficiency and stability with high-RPM performance.


title: VTEC

text: VTEC, the original Honda variable valve control system, originated from REV (Revolution-Modulated Valve Control) introduced on the CBR400 in 1983 known as HYPER VTEC. In the regular four-stroke automobile engine, the intake and exhaust valves are actuated by lobes on a camshaft. The shape of the lobes determines the timing, lift and duration of each valve. Timing refers to an angle measurement of when a valve is opened or closed with respect to the piston position (BTDC or ATDC). Lift refers to how much the valve is opened. Duration refers to how long the valve is kept open. Due to the behavior of the working fluid (air and fuel mixture) before and after combustion, which have physical limitations on their flow, as well as their interaction with the ignition spark, the optimal valve timing, lift and duration settings under low RPM engine operations are very different from those under high RPM. Optimal low RPM valve timing lift and duration settings would result in insufficient filling of the cylinder with fuel and air at high RPM, thus greatly limiting engine power output. Conversely, optimal high RPM valve timing lift and duration settings would result in very rough low RPM operation and difficult idling. The ideal engine would have fully variable valve timing, lift and duration, in which the valves would always open at exactly the right point, lift high enough and stay open just the right amount of time for the engine speed and load in use.


title: VTEC

text: VTEC was introduced as a DOHC (dual overhead camshaft) system in Japan in the 1989 Honda Integra XSi, which used the B16A engine. The same year, Europe saw the arrival of VTEC in the Honda Civic and Honda CRX 1.6i-VT, using a B16A1 variant. The United States market saw its first VTEC system with the introduction of the 1991 Acura NSX, which used a 3-litre DOHC C30A V6 with . DOHC VTEC engines soon appeared in other vehicles, such as the 1992 Acura Integra GS-R (B17A1), and later in the 1993 Honda Prelude VTEC ( H22A) and Honda Del Sol VTEC ( B16A3). The Integra Type R (1995–2000) available in the Japanese market produces using a B18C 1.8-litre engine, producing more horsepower per litre than most super-cars at the time. Honda has also continued to develop other varieties and today offers several varieties of VTEC, such as i-VTEC and i-VTEC Hybrid.


title: VTEC

text: Honda also applied the system to SOHC (single overhead camshaft) engines such as the D-Series and J-Series Engines, which share a common camshaft for both intake and exhaust valves. The trade-off was that Honda's SOHC engines benefited from the VTEC mechanism only on the intake valves. This is because VTEC requires a third center rocker arm and cam lobe (for each intake and exhaust side), and, in the SOHC engine, the spark plugs are situated between the two exhaust rocker arms, leaving no room for the VTEC rocker arm. Additionally, the center lobe on the camshaft cannot be utilized by both the intake and the exhaust, limiting the VTEC feature to one side.


title: VTEC

text: However, beginning with the J37A2 3.7L SOHC V6 engine introduced on all 2009-2012 Acura RL SH-AWD models, SOHC VTEC was incorporated for use with intake and exhaust valves, using a total of six cam lobes and six rocker arms per cylinder. The intake and exhaust rocker shafts contain primary and secondary intake and exhaust rocker arms, respectively. The primary rocker arm contains the VTEC switching piston, while the secondary rocker arm contains the return spring. The term "primary" does not refer to which rocker arm forces the valve down during low-RPM engine operation. Rather, it refers to the rocker arm which contains the VTEC switching piston and receives oil from the rocker shaft.


title: VTEC

text: The primary exhaust rocker arm contacts a low-profile camshaft lobe during low-RPM engine operation. Once VTEC engagement occurs, the oil pressure flowing from the exhaust rocker shaft into the primary exhaust rocker arm forces the VTEC switching piston into the secondary exhaust rocker arm, thereby locking both exhaust rocker arms together. The high-profile camshaft lobe which normally contacts the secondary exhaust rocker arm alone during low-RPM engine operation is able to move both exhaust rocker arms together which are locked as a unit. The same occurs for the intake rocker shaft, except that the high-profile camshaft lobe operates the primary rocker arm.


title: VTEC

text: The J37A2 is able to use both intake and exhaust VTEC by use of a novel design of the intake rocker arm. Each exhaust valve on the J37A2 corresponds to one primary and one secondary exhaust rocker arm. Therefore, there are a total of twelve primary exhaust rocker arms and twelve secondary exhaust rocker arms. However, each secondary intake rocker arm is shaped similar to a "Y" which allows it to contact two intake valves at once. One primary intake rocker arm corresponds to each secondary intake rocker arm. As a result of this design, there are only six primary intake rocker arms and six secondary intake rocker arms.


title: VTEC

text: The earliest VTEC-E implementation is a variation of SOHC VTEC which is used to increase combustion efficiency at low RPM while maintaining the mid range performance of non-vtec engines. VTEC-E is the first version of VTEC to employ the use of roller rocker arms and because of that, it forgoes the need for having 3 intake lobes for actuating the two valves—two lobes for non-VTEC operation (one small and one medium-sized lobe) and one lobe for VTEC operation (the biggest lobe). Instead, there are two different intake cam profiles per cylinder: a very mild cam lobe with little lift and a normal cam lobe with moderate lift. Because of this, at low RPM, when VTEC is not engaged, one of the two intake valves is allowed to open only a very small amount due to the mild cam lobe, forcing most of the intake charge through the other open intake valve with the normal cam lobe. This induces swirl of the intake charge which improves air/fuel atomization in the cylinder and allows for a leaner fuel mixture to be used. As the engine's speed and load increase, both valves are needed to supply a sufficient mixture. When engaging VTEC mode, a pre-defined threshold for MPH (must be moving), RPM and load must be met before the computer actuates a solenoid which directs pressurized oil into a sliding pin, just like with the original VTEC. This sliding pin connects the intake rocker arm followers together so that, now, both intake valves are following the "normal" camshaft lobe instead of just one of them. When in VTEC, since the "normal" cam lobe has the same timing and lift as the intake cam lobes of the SOHC non-VTEC engines, both engines have identical performance in the upper powerband assuming everything else is the same. This variant of the VTEC-E is used in some D-series engines.


title: VTEC

text: With the later VTEC-E implementations, the only difference it has with the earlier VTEC-E is that the second normal cam profile has been replaced with a more aggressive cam profile which is identical to the original VTEC high-speed cam profile. This in essence supersedes VTEC and the earlier VTEC-E implementations since the fuel and low RPM torque benefits of the earlier VTEC-E are combined with the high performance of the original VTEC.


title: VTEC

text: There are 3 intake cam lobes: 2 for the low-RPM mode (1 for almost closed valve, 1 for normally opened) and 1 for the powerful mode when the VTEC solenoid is activated. The lowest RPM for activating the VTEC is 2500, or it may be higher if the load is weak - ECM dependant. With the VTEC solenoid is on the 3-rd biggest lobe begins to push all the intake valves with the more aggressively profile. This variant of the VTEC-E is used in the F23A, F22B and JDM F20B SOHC VTEC engines.


title: VTEC

text: 3-Stage VTEC is a version that employs three different cam profiles to control intake valve timing and lift. Due to this version of VTEC being designed around a SOHC valve head, space was limited; so VTEC can modify only the opening and closing of the intake valves. The low-end fuel economy improvements of VTEC-E and the performance of conventional VTEC are combined in this application. From idle to 2500-3000 RPM, depending on load conditions, one intake valve fully opens while the other opens just slightly, enough to prevent pooling of fuel behind the valve, also called 12-valve mode. This 12 Valve mode results in swirl of the intake charge which increases combustion efficiency, resulting in improved low end torque and better fuel economy. At 3000-5400 RPM, depending on load, one of the VTEC solenoids engages, which causes the second valve to lock onto the first valve's camshaft lobe. Also called 16-valve mode, this method resembles a normal engine operating mode and improves the mid-range power curve. At 5500-7000 RPM, the second VTEC solenoid engages (both solenoids now engaged) so that both intake valves are using a middle, third camshaft lobe. The third lobe is tuned for high-performance and provides peak power at the top end of the RPM range.


title: VTEC

text: In newer version of 3-Stage i-VTEC combined VTC and PGM-FI to allow ECU to control full range of mode to archive greater fuel economy improvements and performance. Honda CR-Z able to switch between low-end mode and standard mode from 1000 rpm to 2250 rpm uninterrupted and engage to high cam mode from 2250 rpm upward on SOHC.


title: VTEC

text: Honda i-VTEC (intelligent-VTEC) is a system that combines VTEC with Honda's VTC (Variable Timing Control), a continuously variable camshaft phasing system used on the exhaust camshaft of DOHC VTEC engines. The technology first appeared on Honda's K-series four-cylinder engine family in 2001. Most Honda or Acura four-cylinder powered vehicles sold in the United States used i-VTEC by the 2002 model year with the exception being the 2002 Honda Accord.


title: VTEC

text: VTEC controls of valve lift and valve duration are still limited to distinct low- and high-RPM profiles, but the exhaust camshaft is now capable of advancing between 25 and 50 degrees, depending upon engine configuration. Phasing is implemented by a computer-controlled, oil-driven adjustable cam sprocket. Both engine load and RPM affect VTEC. The exhaust phase varies from fully retarded at idle to somewhat advanced at full throttle and low RPM. The effect is further optimization of torque output, especially at low and midrange RPM. There are two types of i-VTEC K series engines which are explained in the next section.


title: VTEC

text: Honda's J-Series SOHC engines use an entirely different system also, confusingly, marketed as i-VTEC. Honda J-Series Engines using i-VTEC combine SOHC VTEC operation with Honda VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) variable displacement technology to improve fuel economy under light loads.


title: VTEC

text: The K-Series engines have two different types of i-VTEC system implementations. The first type is for performance engines like the K20A2 or K20Z3 used in the 2002-2006 RSX Type S or the 2006-2011 Civic Si and the second type is for economy engines like the K20A3 or K24A4 used in the 2002-2005 Civic Si or 2003-2007 Accord. The performance i-VTEC system is basically the same as the DOHC VTEC system of the B16A's. Both intake and exhaust cams have three cam lobes per cylinder. However, the valvetrain has the added benefit of roller rockers and VTC continuously variable intake cam timing. Performance i-VTEC is a combination of conventional DOHC VTEC with VTC (which operates for intake valves only). The VTC is available in the economy and performance i-VTEC engines.


title: VTEC

text: The economy i-VTEC used in K20A3/K24A4 engines is more like the SOHC VTEC-E in that the intake cam has only two lobes, one very small and one larger, as well as no VTEC on the exhaust cam. At low RPM only one valve on the intake opens fully, promoting combustion chamber swirl and improved fuel atomization. This allows a leaner air/fuel mixture to be used, improving fuel economy. At higher RPM, both intake valves run off the larger intake cam lobe, improving total air flow and top-end power.


title: VTEC

text: The two types of engines are easily distinguishable by the factory rated power output: the performance engines make around or more in stock form, while the economy engines do not make much more than .


title: VTEC

text: The i-VTEC system in the R-Series engine uses a modified SOHC VTEC system consisting of one small and two large lobes. The large lobes operate the intake valves directly while the small lobe is engaged during VTEC. Unlike typical VTEC systems, the system in the R-Series engine operates in a 'reverse' fashion engaging only at low to mid RPMs. At low RPMs, the small lobe locks onto one of the larger lobes and keeps one of the intake valves partially open during the compression cycle, similar to the Atkinson Cycle. The ability for Honda to switch between Atkinson cycle and normal cycle allows excellent fuel efficiency without sacrificing too much performance.


title: VTEC

text: In 2003, Honda introduced an i-VTEC V6 (an update of the J-series) that includes Honda's cylinder deactivation technology which closes the valves on one bank of (3) cylinders during light load and low speed (below ) operation. According to Honda,


title: VTEC

text: VCM technology works on the principle that a vehicle only requires a fraction of its power output at cruising speeds. The system electronically deactivates cylinders to reduce fuel consumption. The engine is able to run on 3, 4, or all 6 cylinders based on the power requirement, essentially getting the best of both worlds. V6 power when accelerating or climbing, as well as the efficiency of a smaller engine when cruising.


title: VTEC

text: The technology was originally introduced to the US on the 2005 Honda Odyssey minivan, and can now be found on the Honda Accord Hybrid, the 2006 Honda Pilot, and the 2008 Honda Accord. Example: EPA estimates for the 2011 (271 hp SOHC 3.5L) V6 Accord are 24 mpg combined vs. 27 in the two 4-cylinder-equipped models.


title: VTEC

text: The AVTEC (Advanced VTEC) engine was first announced in 2006. It combines continuously variable valve lift and timing control with continuously variable phase control. Honda originally planned to produce vehicles with AVTEC engines within next 3 years. Although it was speculated that it would first be used in 2008 Honda Accord, the vehicle instead utilizes the existing i-VTEC system. As of late 2017, no Honda vehicles use the AVTEC system.


title: VTEC

text: Honda's advanced VTEC technology departs greatly from its previous incarnations by no longer relying on switching between two sets of lobes on a given camshaft. It instead uses a single cam lobe per valve, and two rocker arms per valve whereby the second rocker arm has a movable pivot point, thereby providing the varying cam lift. Advanced VTEC motors still use the now standard oil pressure controlled variable cam gear angle mechanism. With these two technologies combined Honda has developed an infinitely variable valve timing and lift system ("VVTL"). Previous versions of VTEC included only staged VVTL i.e. High-Low. With the introduction of i-VTEC the systems gained infinitely variable valve timing but still only staged lift i.e. High-Low. The "infinitely variable" portion of the A-VTEC is what makes it stand out as a serious evolutionary step in the world of VTEC.


title: VTEC

text: Advanced VTEC has a standard camshaft and rocker arms, attached as they normally are with camshaft overhead, and rocker arms pushing down on the poppet valves. The camshaft is surrounded by a partially open drum which has secondary rocker arms attached to it via a pivoting point. These secondary rocker arms, which have a varying depth profile (similar to cams), are directly actuated by the camshaft, in a scissor-like manner. The primary rocker arms are actuated by the secondary (drum attached) rocker arms. The drum will only rotate to advance or retard the position of the secondary rocker arms, to take advantage of their varying profiles. Thus, through varying the position of the drum about its axis, each cam profile is changed to an optimal height for maximum engine performance without sacrificing fuel efficiency at lower speeds.


title: VTEC

text: The VTEC TURBO engine series were introduced in 2013 as part of the Earth Dreams Technology range and include new features such as gasoline direct injection, turbochargers, Dual Cam VTC and VTEC on the exhaust profile instead of the intake, marking the end of the 'traditional sound' of VTEC in this engine. VTEC implementation on the exhaust rocker arms causes the turbo to be spooled quicker, eliminating turbo lag. VTEC Turbo engines come in three displacement capacities: a 1.0 liter 3-cylinder, a 1.5 liter 4-cylinder, and a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder.


title: VTEC

text: Initial implementation for European vehicles included 2-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged engine used from 2015 Honda Civic Type R until present, which included Euro 6 emissions compliance.


title: VTEC

text: Apart from the Japanese market-only Honda CB400SF Super Four HYPER VTEC, introduced in 1999, the first worldwide implementation of VTEC technology in a motorcycle occurred with the introduction of Honda's VFR800 sportbike in 2002. Similar to the SOHC VTEC-E style, one intake valve remains closed until a threshold of 6800 (6600 after 2006) RPM is reached, then the second valve is opened by an oil-pressure actuated pin. The dwell of the valves remains unchanged, as in the automobile VTEC-E, and little extra power is produced, but with a smoothing-out of the torque curve. Critics maintain that VTEC adds little to the VFR experience, while increasing the engine's complexity. Honda seemed to agree, as their VFR1200, a model announced in October 2009, came to replace the VFR800, which abandons the VTEC concept in favor of a large capacity narrow-vee "unicam", i.e., SOHC, engine. However, the 2014 VFR800 reintroduced the VTEC system from the 2002-2009 VFR motorcycle.


title: VTEC

text: Honda incorporated the technology into the NC700 series, including the NC700D Integra, released in 2012, using a single camshaft to provide two timing routines for the intake valves.


title: Life in a Year

text: Life in a Year is a 2020 American romantic drama film directed by Mitja Okorn, from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. The film stars Jaden Smith, Cara Delevingne, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Nia Long. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith serve as executive producers under their Overbrook Entertainment banner.


title: Life in a Year

text: Daryn, who is being groomed to get into Harvard by his father Xavier, meets Isabelle one night while trying to sneak into a rapper’s concert and is instantly drawn to her. He courts and eventually falls in love with her but when Daryn confesses his love, Isabelle reveals that she has cancer and hasn't got much time left.


title: Life in a Year

text: So, Daryn makes a plan to live a life in a year. Isabelle recognises his potential as a rapper and helps him to make his first demo CD. When Daryn takes her to meet his parents. Xavier, disliking Isabelle, uses the moment to fire questions at her. He concludes by saying it is his responsibility to protect his son from distractions, such as girls; especially those like Isabelle. Feeling offended and rejected, Isabelle and her drag queen, parental figure Phil leave and Daryn is left alone and depressed.


title: Life in a Year

text: A few days later, Daryn is shortlisted at Harvard and he attends his interview with his father. When asked what skills and abilities he has, he loses himself to memories of Isabelle. To his father's disappointment, he ends up saying worthless things and excuses himself.


title: Life in a Year

text: Later at home, Daryn quarrels with his father and is almost punched by him but his mother intervenes and stops the fight. Daryn goes to Isabelle and apologizes, deciding to abandon his family and leave town with Isabelle.


title: Life in a Year

text: The two spend days together, and one day Daryn tries to surprise her by drives her to her mother's. He convinces her to talk with her, but when she does, her mother recognizes her but tells her to leave. Feeling rejected, Isabelle asks Daryn to drive away.


title: Life in a Year

text: While driving, an upset Isabelle starts yelling and shouting at Daryn, distracting him so he crashes into a bush near the beach. When Isabelle gets out, she goes unconscious. Daryn calls for help, and manages to get Isabelle to the hospital.


title: Life in a Year

text: A few days after Isabelle is discharged, her mother comes to visit but soon leaves. Daryn's mother discovers that he is back in town and decides to see them. Isabelle suggests that Daryn take a break from taking care of her just for the day, as his mother is around. Daryn uses the opportunity to record his second song.


title: Life in a Year

text: When Daryn gets back, he finds his mother panicking and Isabelle on the floor, unconscious and bleeding through her mouth. They get her to the hospital and there, they discover that Isabelle's cancer has spread and her organs are shutting down. The nurse concludes by saying that Isabelle's got only a few weeks left.


title: Life in a Year

text: Soon after Isabelle is discharged, she surprises Daryn with a wedding. They get married and consummate their love, Isabelle passes away a short time later. Daryn reconciles with his father and moves to New York City to pursue a career in music after graduating.


title: Life in a Year

text: In March 2017, it was announced Cara Delevingne and Jaden Smith had joined the cast of the film, with Mitja Okorn directing from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith will serve as executive producers via their Overbrook Entertainment banner. In April 2017, Terrence Howard, Stony Blyden, Nia Long, RZA and JT Neal joined the cast of the film. In May 2017, Chris D'Elia and Cuba Gooding Jr. joined the cast of the film, with Gooding Jr. replacing Howard.


title: Flatliners

text: Flatliners is a 1990 American psychological horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Michael Douglas and Rick Bieber, and written by Peter Filardi. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliver Platt, and Kevin Bacon. The film is about five medical students who attempt to find out what lies beyond death by conducting clandestine experiments that produce near-death experiences. The film was shot on the campus of Loyola University (Chicago) between October 1989 and January 1990, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing in 1990 (Charles L. Campbell and Richard C. Franklin). The film was theatrically released on August 10, 1990, by Columbia Pictures. It grossed $61 million at the box office.


title: Flatliners

text: A follow-up film directed by Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev was released in September 2017, also featuring Sutherland in a starring role.


title: Flatliners

text: Medical student Nelson Wright walks onto a beach one day and proclaims “today is a good day to die”. He later convinces four of his classmates—Joe Hurley, David Labraccio, Rachel Manus, and Randy Steckle—to help him discover what lies beyond death. Nelson flatlines for one minute before his classmates resuscitate him. While "dead", he experiences a sort of afterlife. He sees a vision of a boy he bullied as a child, Billy Mahoney. He merely tells his friends that he cannot describe what he saw, but something is there. The others follow Nelson's daring feat.


title: Flatliners

text: Joe flatlines next, and he experiences an erotic afterlife sequence linked to his sexually promiscuous lifestyle. He agrees with Nelson's claim that something indeed exists. After arguing with Rachel and out-bidding her on the length of time that they are willing to remain “dead”, David is third to flatline on Halloween, and he sees a vision of a girl, Winnie Hicks, whom he bullied in grade school. The three men start to experience hallucinations related to their afterlife visions. Nelson gets physically assaulted by Billy Mahoney twice. Joe, engaged to be married, is haunted by the women that he surreptitiously videotaped during his sexual dalliances, the women taunting Joe with the same come-ons, lines and false promises he used on them. David is confronted by the 8-year-old Winnie Hicks on a train, and she verbally taunts him the way he taunted her.


title: Flatliners

text: Rachel decides to flatline next. David rushes in, intending to stop the others from giving Rachel their same fate, but she is already "dead" when he arrives. Rachel nearly dies permanently when the power goes out and the men are unable to shock her with the defibrillator paddles. She survives, but she too is haunted by the memory of her father committing suicide when she was young.


title: Flatliners

text: The three men finally reveal their harrowing experiences to one another, and David decides to put his visions to a stop. Meanwhile, Joe's fiancée, Anne, comes to his apartment and, having discovered his collection of videos, ends their relationship. Joe's visions cease after Anne leaves him.


title: Flatliners

text: David goes to visit a now adult Winnie Hicks and apologizes to her. Winnie accepts his apology and thanks him. David immediately feels a weight lifted off his shoulders. David then finds Nelson, who accompanied David to visit Winnie, beating himself with a climbing axe. In Nelson's mind, however, Billy is again attempting to beat him to death. David stops him, and they return to town. David later instructs Joe and Randy to help Nelson find Billy and that under no uncertain terms is Nelson to be left alone.


title: Flatliners

text: Having an idea of what Rachel has experienced, David offers to stay with Rachel and they make love. While Rachel and David are together, Nelson takes Randy and Joe to a graveyard. He reveals that he killed Billy as a kid by throwing rocks at him until he fell out of a tree. The two try to tell Nelson that what he did was not intentional, but Nelson makes a cryptic choice about making amends. Confused and worried they ask but Nelson in his furor storms off in Joe's Mustang, leaving him and Randy stranded.


title: Flatliners

text: David leaves Rachel alone in order to rescue Joe and Randy at the cemetery. While alone, Rachel goes to the bathroom and finds her father. He apologizes to his daughter and her guilt over his death is lifted when she discovers that he was addicted to morphine and that his suicide was related to post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his service in the Vietnam War. Nelson calls Rachel, and he tells her that he needs to flatline again in order to make amends. He apologizes for involving her and their friends in his reckless plan. Rachel tries to tell Nelson that it doesn't matter, but Nelson counters with the belief that everything that they say and do matters.


title: Flatliners

text: The three men realize to their shock what he intends and race to stop Nelson, who has been dead for an estimated nine minutes already. Rachel soon finds them, and the four friends work feverishly to save Nelson. In the afterlife, Nelson is experiencing himself as a young boy being stoned by Billy from the tree. Nelson dies in the afterlife from the fall, and his friends cannot revive him. When they are about to give up, Billy forgives Nelson, and David gives Nelson one last shock. This brings him back, and Nelson tells them, "It wasn't such a good day to die."


title: Flatliners

text: Columbia Pictures released "Flatliners" theatrically on August 10, 1990. The film debuted at number 1 at the US box office, grossing $10 million on its opening weekend. It grossed $61.5 million total in the United States.


title: Flatliners

text: The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 50% of critics give the film a positive review based on 54 reviews, with the critical consensus "While it boasts an impressive cast, striking visuals, and an effective mood, "Flatliners" never quite jolts its story to life." On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, the film has a score 55 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Flatliners

text: In her review for "The New York Times", Caryn James wrote, "when taken on its own stylish terms, "Flatliners" is greatly entertaining. Viewers are likely to go along with this film instantly or else ridicule it to death. Its atmospheric approach doesn't admit much middle ground." Critic Roger Ebert praised the film as "an original, intelligent thriller, well-directed by Joel Schumacher" and called the cast "talented young actors, [who] inhabit the shadows with the right mixture of intensity, fear and cockiness". But Ebert criticized "Flatliners" for "plot manipulation that is unworthy of the brilliance of its theme. I only wish it had been restructured so we didn't need to go through the same crisis so many times." Similarly, Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" magazine praised the film's young stars, but complained that "by dodging the questions it raises about life after death, "Flatliners" ends up tripping on timidity. It's a movie about daring that dares nothing."


title: Flatliners

text: "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a "D" rating and Owen Gleiberman wrote, "What isn't in evidence is the sort of overheated lunacy that made the William Hurt speed-freak trip movie "Altered States" (1980) such delectable trash. "Flatliners" is camp, but of a very low order. Schumacher is too intent on pandering to the youth market to take the mad risks and plunges that make for a scintillating bad movie." In contrast, "The Washington Post"s Rita Kempley loved the film, calling it: "a heart-stopping, breathtakingly sumptuous haunted house of a movie". The film has become a cult film.


title: Flatliners

text: On October 5, 2015, a follow-up starring Elliot Page and Diego Luna was announced, following the casting of Nina Dobrev, James Norton and Kiersey Clemons. Kiefer Sutherland also appears in the remake. Sutherland had originally announced that he was reprising his role as Nelson Wright, revealing that the new film would actually be a sequel rather than a remake. However, upon release, Sutherland's character is identified as Barry Wolfson; a deleted scene indicates Sutherland is in fact playing the same character, living under a new identity. Directed by Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev, it was released on September 29, 2017.


title: Allele

text: An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος "állos", "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution.


title: Allele

text: The simplest alleles are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). but they can also be insertions and deletions of up to several thousand base pairs.


title: Allele

text: Popular definitions of 'allele' typically refer only to different alleles within genes. For example, the ABO blood grouping is controlled by the ABO gene, which has six common alleles (variants). In population genetics, nearly every living human's phenotype for the ABO gene is some combination of just these six alleles.


title: Allele

text: Most alleles observed result in little or no change in the function of the gene product it codes for. However, sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation. A notable example of this is Gregor Mendel's discovery that the white and purple flower colors in pea plants were the result of a single gene with two alleles.


title: Allele

text: Nearly all multicellular organisms have two sets of chromosomes at some point in their biological life cycle; that is, they are diploid. In this case, the chromosomes can be paired. Each chromosome in the pair contains the same genes in the same order, and place, along the length of the chromosome. For a given gene, if the two chromosomes contain the same allele, they, and the organism, are homozygous with respect to that gene. If the alleles are different, they, and the organism, are heterozygous with respect to that gene.


title: Allele

text: The word "allele" is a short form of allelomorph ("other form", a word coined by British geneticists William Bateson and Edith Rebecca Saunders), which was used in the early days of genetics to describe variant forms of a gene detected as different phenotypes. It derives from the Greek prefix ἀλληλο-, "allelo-", meaning "mutual", "reciprocal", or "each other", which itself is related to the Greek adjective ἄλλος, "allos" (cognate with Latin "alius"), meaning "other".


title: Allele

text: In many cases, genotypic interactions between the two alleles at a locus can be described as dominant or recessive, according to which of the two homozygous phenotypes the heterozygote most resembles. Where the heterozygote is indistinguishable from one of the homozygotes, the allele expressed is the one that leads to the "dominant" phenotype, and the other allele is said to be "recessive". The degree and pattern of dominance varies among loci. This type of interaction was first formally-described by Gregor Mendel. However, many traits defy this simple categorization and the phenotypes are modeled by co-dominance and polygenic inheritance


title: Allele

text: The term "wild type" allele is sometimes used to describe an allele that is thought to contribute to the typical phenotypic character as seen in "wild" populations of organisms, such as fruit flies ("Drosophila melanogaster"). Such a "wild type" allele was historically regarded as leading to a dominant (overpowering – always expressed), common, and normal phenotype, in contrast to "mutant" alleles that lead to recessive, rare, and frequently deleterious phenotypes. It was formerly thought that most individuals were homozygous for the "wild type" allele at most gene loci, and that any alternative "mutant" allele was found in homozygous form in a small minority of "affected" individuals, often as genetic diseases, and more frequently in heterozygous form in "carriers" for the mutant allele. It is now appreciated that most or all gene loci are highly polymorphic, with multiple alleles, whose frequencies vary from population to population, and that a great deal of genetic variation is hidden in the form of alleles that do not produce obvious phenotypic differences.


title: Allele

text: A population or species of organisms typically includes multiple alleles at each locus among various individuals. Allelic variation at a locus is measurable as the number of alleles (polymorphism) present, or the proportion of heterozygotes in the population. A null allele is a gene variant that lacks the gene's normal function because it either is not expressed, or the expressed protein is inactive.


title: Allele

text: For example, at the gene locus for the ABO blood type carbohydrate antigens in humans, classical genetics recognizes three alleles, I, I, and i, which determine compatibility of blood transfusions. Any individual has one of six possible genotypes (II, Ii, II, Ii, II, and ii) which produce one of four possible phenotypes: "Type A" (produced by II homozygous and Ii heterozygous genotypes), "Type B" (produced by II homozygous and Ii heterozygous genotypes), "Type AB" produced by II heterozygous genotype, and "Type O" produced by ii homozygous genotype. (It is now known that each of the A, B, and O alleles is actually a class of multiple alleles with different DNA sequences that produce proteins with identical properties: more than 70 alleles are known at the ABO locus. Hence an individual with "Type A" blood may be an AO heterozygote, an AA homozygote, or an AA heterozygote with two different "A" alleles.)


title: Allele

text: The frequency of alleles in a diploid population can be used to predict the frequencies of the corresponding genotypes (see Hardy–Weinberg principle). For a simple model, with two alleles;


title: Allele

text: where "p" is the frequency of one allele and "q" is the frequency of the alternative allele, which necessarily sum to unity. Then, "p" is the fraction of the population homozygous for the first allele, 2"pq" is the fraction of heterozygotes, and "q" is the fraction homozygous for the alternative allele. If the first allele is dominant to the second then the fraction of the population that will show the dominant phenotype is "p" + 2"pq", and the fraction with the recessive phenotype is "q".


title: Allele

text: In the case of multiple alleles at a diploid locus, the number of possible genotypes (G) with a number of alleles (a) is given by the expression:


title: Allele

text: A number of genetic disorders are caused when an individual inherits two recessive alleles for a single-gene trait. Recessive genetic disorders include albinism, cystic fibrosis, galactosemia, phenylketonuria (PKU), and Tay–Sachs disease. Other disorders are also due to recessive alleles, but because the gene locus is located on the X chromosome, so that males have only one copy (that is, they are hemizygous), they are more frequent in males than in females. Examples include red-green color blindness and fragile X syndrome.


title: Allele

text: Other disorders, such as Huntington's disease, occur when an individual inherits only one dominant allele.


title: Allele

text: While heritable traits are typically studied in terms of genetic alleles, epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation can be inherited at specific genomic regions in certain species, a process termed transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. The term "epiallele" is used to distinguish these heritable marks from traditional alleles, which are defined by nucleotide sequence. A specific class of epiallele, the metastable epialleles, has been discovered in mice and in humans which is characterized by stochastic (probabilistic) establishment of epigenetic state that can be mitotically inherited.


title: Allele

text: The term “idiomorph”, from Greek ‘morphos’ (form) and ‘idio’ (singular, unique), was introduced in 1990 in place of “allele” to denote sequences at the same locus in different strains that have no sequence similarity and probably do not share a common phylogenetic relationship. It is used mainly in the genetic research of mycology.


title: Kalanchoe

text: Kalanchoe , also written "Kalanchöe" or "Kalanchoë", is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. A "Kalanchoe" species was one of the first plants to be sent into space, sent on a resupply to the Soviet Salyut 1 space station in 1979. The majority of kalanchoes require around 6-8 hours of sunlight a day; a few cannot tolerate this, and survive with bright, indirect sunlight to bright shade.


title: Kalanchoe

text: Most are shrubs or perennial herbaceous plants, but a few are annual or biennial. The largest, "Kalanchoe beharensis" from Madagascar, can reach tall, but most species are less than tall.


title: Kalanchoe

text: Kalanchoes open their flowers by growing new cells on the inner surface of the petals to force them outwards, and on the outside of the petals to close them. Kalanchoe flowers are divided into 4 sections with 8 stamens. The petals are fused into a tube, in a similar way to some related genera such as "Cotyledon".


title: Kalanchoe

text: The genus Bryophyllum was described by Salisbury in 1806 and the genus Kitchingia was created by Baker in 1881. "Kitchingia" is now regarded as a synonym for "Kalanchoe", while "Bryophyllum" has also been treated as a separate genus, since species of "Bryophyllum" appear to be nested within Kalanchoe on molecular phylogenetic analysis, "Bryophyllum" is considered as a section of the former, dividing the genus into three sections, "Kitchingia", "Bryophyllum", and "Eukalanchoe". these were formalised as subgenera by Smith and Figueiredo (2018).


title: Kalanchoe

text: Adanson cited Georg Joseph Kamel (Camellus) as his source for the name. The name came from the Cantonese name 伽藍菜 (Jyutping: gaa laam coi).


title: Kalanchoe

text: "Kalanchoe ceratophylla" and "Kalanchoe laciniata" are both called (apparently "Buddhist monastery "[samghārāma]" herb") in China. In Mandarin Chinese, it does not seem very close in pronunciation ("qiélán cài", but possibly "jiālán cài" or "gālán cài" as the character has multiple pronunciations), but the Cantonese "gālàahm choi" is closer.


title: Kalanchoe

text: The genus is predominantly native to the Old World. Only one species originates from the Americas. 56 are from southern and eastern Africa and 60 species on the island of Madagascar. It is also found in south-eastern Asia and China.


title: Kalanchoe

text: These plants are food plants for caterpillars of the Red Pierrot butterfly. The butterfly lays its eggs on phylloclades, and after hatching, caterpillars burrow into the phylloclades and eat their inside cells.


title: Kalanchoe

text: These plants are cultivated as ornamental houseplants and rock or succulent garden plants. They are popular because of their ease of propagation, low water requirements, and wide variety of flower colors typically borne in clusters well above the phylloclades. The section "Bryophyllum"—formerly an independent genus—contains species such as the "air-plant" "Kalanchoe pinnata". In these plants, new individuals develop vegetatively as plantlets, also known as bulbils or gemmae, at indentations in phylloclade margins. These young plants eventually drop off and take root. No males have been found of one species of this genus which does flower and produce seeds, and it is commonly called the mother of thousands: "Kalanchoe daigremontiana" is thus an example of asexual reproduction.


title: Kalanchoe

text: The cultivars ‘Tessa’ and ‘Wendy’ have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.