title: White wine

text: Packaging wine has historically varied. In one early method, wine merchants kept their stock in barrels or casks and the client would fill their pitcher or bottle. Glass bottles revolutionized the wine industry. The absence of transfer and thus contact with the oxygen in the air has made a significant improvement to the quality of the product. Other containers have emerged: aluminum cans, Tetra Pak cartons, plastic bottles, and the bag-in-box. Their quality is in their chemical inertness in relation to wine and their hermetic character against oxygen.


title: White wine

text: The wine bottle has been given certain shapes dedicated to wine. The most emblematic is the bottle of sparkling wine: because of the pressure inside it is a fairly thick glass. Many countries have adopted this shape for bottles of white wine – a more streamlined form than red wine bottles.


title: White wine

text: The colour of white wine is as varied as the types of wines. The term most commonly cited is yellow. However, the richness of vocabulary leaves free space for visual analysis between the actual colour and the hue (the range of colour is often different at the joint between the wine and the glass).


title: White wine

text: At the end of the 20th century the components of the wine which made the colour were still not clearly identified. Over the ages the "flavones" in the grapes were considered responsible for the yellow colour but their very low dissolution in wine, due to short maceration, led to a search for other molecules. A thesis by Biau in 1995 alluded to the influence of polysaccharides, proteins, and some phenolic acids.


title: White wine

text: Léglise specified that: "the term "gold" is used if the appearance is very bright and full of reflections, in the definition of the various nuances specific to the metal (...) If, with proper clarity, the wine does not shed light and does not radiate reflection, we will give only the term yellow". On a colour scale white wine can be almost colourless white. When young it usually takes on a pale greenish or pale yellow tint. Its yellow colour darkens with age and maturing becoming gold, then copper, and finally amber. One of the darkest wines in the world is achieved with a white grape: the "Pedro Ximenez". The ratio of sugar also affects the colour of the wine making the colour more sustained, depending on the nature of the grape varietal: a Bordeaux Sauvignon blanc or a Muscadet Melon have a greenish tint while Chardonnay or Traminer grown and vinified under comparable conditions will be yellow.


title: White wine

text: The fruity aromas include citrus fruit such as lemon and grapefruit, white fruit such as apple, quince, peach and apricot, and nuts such as walnut and hazelnut. Exotic fruits are also present: pineapple, mango, and lychee. Obviously the aromatic palette includes these cooked flavours: apple, jam, candied fruit, etc. White wines may also convey floral aromas of acacia, honeysuckle, verbena, violet, etc.. (Scents of honey can also be assimilated).


title: White wine

text: Ageing also brings other flavours to the wine. Barrel ageing creates scents of vanilla, butter, brioche, toast, caramel, etc. The long maturing wines like yellow wine or sherry have typical aromas of fresh walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts.


title: White wine

text: Finally the soil can impart a flavour characteristic of a region. Thus, the mineral aromas of flint (odour of flint or of light stone) well expressed in Chardonnay B and sauvignon B, and the scent of oil is typical of old Alsatian Rieslings B.


title: White wine

text: Same aromas that may be thought to be confined to red wines are found in white wines. This is the case especially in some white champagne wines partly made from black grapes and reminiscent of red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, gooseberry, etc.).


title: White wine

text: When placed in the mouth white wine has a balance different from red wine from which the tannic structure is removed. The balance is no longer based only on alcohol and acidity: this is the factor that explains the difficulty of making a white wine.


title: White wine

text: For sweet and fortified white wines the presence of sugar adds a parameter to balance the alcohol and acidity.


title: White wine

text: Maturing in the barrel gives wine a wooded touch and tannins from the oak give it structure. The strongest wines, as in some grand crus of Sauternes (Château d'Yquem for example) even support ageing in new wood.


title: White wine

text: Ever since glass containers have existed, specialised glasses for each type of wine were created. Many glasses specific to white wine exist in many wine-producing regions. The glass must be perfectly clear and colourless to properly appreciate the colour of the wine. However, designers and manufacturers of tableware have created white wine glasses with green or blue feet. These colours flatter the wine – they give an artificial colour in the shade (a reflection barrier which emphasizes the separation between the glass and the wine) – rejuvenating the perceived impression.


title: White wine

text: Sparkling wines are served in particular glasses such as the flute and the coupe. The flute is the preferred glass for professional tasters: the shape concentrates the aromas to the nose of the taster and its height allows appreciation of the fine bubbles that rise to the surface. The coupe is not recommended because of its too flared shape: it does not preserve the layer of foam, and the gas and aromas escape too fast. According to legend, this type of glass was developed based on the shape of the Breast of the Marquise de Pompadour. The coupe dates from a time when the wines were mostly sweeter and less aromatic. Since the 1930s and with the habit to consume drier sparkling wines, the flute has taken the place of the coupe. The coupe is also used in mixtures which have an olive in a bubbly cocktail and in the spectacular pyramids of glasses that crown festivities.


title: White wine

text: Besides this range of glasses, the work of a team of tasters, including Jules Chauvet of the INAO in France, led to the creation in 1970 of the "INAO glass". This glass has a thin glass wall and curve calculated to be able to taste all wines. This glass is used, among others, during the approval tastings – the gateway for the wines to be entitled to bear the name of an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). This simple but elegant glass can also be used to serve wine at the table.


title: White wine

text: The dry white wine is a wine without sugar (the sugar ratio is generally less than 4 grams per litre). It is a wine very difficult to develop because the balance of the wine is based on only two parameters: acidity and alcohol.


title: White wine

text: Before the 1950s, the traditional European wine was made in small containers where the temperature did not rise high enough to interfere with the fermentation but this method of vinification gave wine structure and roundness but was not aromatic. In California and Australia the need to cool the grapes and wine during fermentation led winemakers to equip their cellars with adequate equipment: refrigeration units, circuits of pipes to carry the liquid refrigerant, and vats temperature-regulated by coils in the walls of the vessel or flag (a thin welded coil shaped like a flat plate with a high heat exchange capability). This mode of production happened in Europe at the same time as new techniques of treatment of the must (accelerated settling, use of selected yeasts, addition of glues and yeast enzymes, the practice of maceration). In wine jargon, all of these practices give a "technological wine". This is very fragrant, crisp on the palate, and does not require ageing. The "old" type of European white wines were well suited to this type of wine – it was the Sauvignon B grape varietal that was first used in this manner which allowed it to be blended with Semillon B. There has also been a decrease in growing areas in the last thirty years. In Burgundy these practices may face the phenomenon of premature oxidation. Chardonnay is the archetype of the great wine that can be produced with old-fashioned methods.


title: White wine

text: The photo below compares the colours of two Chenins B and illustrates the visual difference between a South African "technologic" wine and a "classic" French wine from the Loire Valley.


title: White wine

text: There is a wide variety of sweet wines, from slightly sweet all the way to Fortified wine with the consistency of syrup.


title: White wine

text: The origin of the sugar is from the grape, the fermentation is stopped before it ends, although the practice of chaptalization has changed the practice in certain wine regions. Many techniques exist to concentrate the sugar:


title: White wine

text: Festive Wines par excellence is the prestigious image conveyed by champagne but sparkling wine can come from very different practices. In contrast to sparkling wines, wines without foam are called "still wines".


title: White wine

text: Sparkling wine is mostly white and contains fermentation gases (carbon dioxide). The first sparkling wine dates back to the very first winemaking. During alcoholic fermentation of all wines yeast produces carbon dioxide so during fermentation all wines are sparkling. For most of them the gas escapes and does not remain dissolved. Methods of production of sparkling wines are therefore intended to maintain the CO dissolved in the wine which is responsible for the bubbles:


title: White wine

text: Made famous by the champagne used to christen large ships at launch, sparkling white wine is produced in almost all wine-producing countries and has become a benchmark for providing a festive and commemorative spirit to an event. This unique side is found in the labelling of the bottle. Firstly the gas pressure requires a heavier bottle, then the plug with its mushroom shape must be retained by a Muselet, and finally the top of the bottle is covered with a metallic foil shell gold or silver coloured.


title: White wine

text: A fortified wine is a wine in which there has been an addition of alcohol. This category includes three types of wine products depending on the fermentation stage where the fortification took place:


title: White wine

text: The temperature of service is a criterion to put wine in the best condition for drinking. The wine must be chilled but not be served with ice. Between 8 and 9 °C, the chill will accentuate the liveliness of the bubbles and reduce the sweetness of a sweet or Fortified wine. For an aromatic dry wine service between 10 and 12 °C stimulates vivacity and gives freshness to the flavours. Finally, the great white wines are best at a temperature between 12 and 14 °C which allows the flavours and the structure to be revealed.


title: White wine

text: The acidity of dry white wine is reduced by slightly salty or sweet dishes while the wine accentuates the salty side of food and tempers heavy fatty foods. Sweet wine goes well with sweet and savoury dishes to mitigate the heavy sugar and stimulate the fruitiness.


title: White wine

text: For an aperitif, flavoured dry wine or sparkling wine goes with all meals. Specialists in tasting consider that the sugar or alcohol in some wines has a saturating effect on the taste buds, by contrast the fruity liveliness awakens them to the meal to come.


title: White wine

text: At mealtimes very dry wines with little minerals are recommended with oysters and seafood: their acidity reveals the salinity of the shellfish. The most fragrant wines go well with shellfish, fish, or poached white meat. For stews the acidity of white wine counterbalances the weight of fat. If the sauce is well balanced with an intense ingredient (lemon juice or mustard) a more opulent wine can be recommended: sweet or dry wine aged in barrels. Sweet wines, either just sweet or fortified, are a good option for exotic dishes with sweet spices (dishes with cinnamon, vanilla etc.). Fortified white wines are recommended with foie gras. Sparkling wines can be taken at any time during the meal, their diversity allows this. A choice of sparkling wine also allows the retention of the same wine from the beginning to the end of the meal.


title: White wine

text: Gourmets generally prefer white wine to red to accompany cheese as its acidity agrees well with the fat in dairy products. Dry wines with mineral aromas such as chardonnay or sauvignon blanc bring out the milky taste of goat cheese. Aromatic wines, such as Gewurztraminer and some sparkling wines support the strong taste of Washed-rind cheeses (Maroilles, Epoisses, Munster, etc.). Neutral white wines (Castilla-La Mancha, Italian Trebbiano) are well suited to sheep cheese and there are also Manchego and pecorino romano for a little spicy. The cooked pressed cheeses require a bold wine, woodland. There is perfect agreement between the Comté cheese and the yellow wine of the Jura. Fortified wines are recommended with veined cheeses (Blue or Roquefort). In this case, the cheese mould (Penicillium roqueforti) and the wine (noble rot) form a harmonious whole.


title: White wine

text: White wine is also a dessert wine. All choices are allowed even if the sweet and fortified wines are more suitable for this. Perfumed wines (Gewurztraminer, Muscat), sparkling, and sweet wines accord well with fruit desserts (salad, tart). The fortified and sparkling wines support rich desserts made with cream or butter. Crèmes brûlées or caramel which combine sugar and cream can be eaten with a sweet and lively wine such as Jurançon or a late harvest wine. Chocolate requires a very powerful wine so white wine selection is quite limited: a natural amber sweet wine is the best compromise.


title: White wine

text: More than other wines, white wine is a wine that can be consumed between meals. The habits of the Anglo-Saxons and Germans require a sweet wine or a dry and fruity wine.


title: White wine

text: White wine is regularly used as an ingredient. Its acidity balances well with fat, taking away excess heaviness. This acidity also refines the meat or fish and it helps to break down the fibres of the meat to make it tender. The role of white wine is similar to that of lemon juice used under the same conditions: once verjuice also fulfilled this function. The vinegar combines acidity with a burning sensation that gives recipes where it is used a bittersweet side characteristic.


title: White wine

text: As a means to balance the fat, white wine is involved in the preparation of sauces such as ravigote sauce, béarnaise sauce, marinara sauce, etc. The drippings of cooking juices is also a role that white wine can be used in; made with a sweet white wine and giving a sour-sweet or sweet-salt sauce. In cheese fondue the liveliness of dry white wine is balanced with the fat of the cheese. The freshness of the wine as a table drink contrasts the heat of the fondue.


title: White wine

text: In marinades its power to soften the protein fibre is used. Sometimes it can even happen in cooking such as in Italian-style tuna carpaccio.


title: White wine

text: White wine is also used as a wetting agent for slow cooking. In this type of dish it combines the flexibility of the meat and balances the fat from the sauce. It plays this role in the case of cabbage, baeckeoffe or risotto, and in the gravy in the preparation of white meat as in osso buco or blanquette de veau (veal stew), Chicken with morels and its variants, Chicken à la comtoise and Yellow coq au vin, rabbit or with charcuterie such as diots and tripe. It can also be used to prepare fish and seafood dishes such as "pôchouse" with Burgundy wine, monkfish stew, Flounder stew, mussels in white wine, or a Seafood Pot-au-feu.


title: White wine

text: Since the Middle Ages white wine has inspired many painters to include it in still lifes or for the representation of the everyday life, party life, or life to excess. An abundance of English, Dutch and German paintings from the 17th century depicted a high consumption of white wine at that time replacing the consumption of beer in the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie.


title: White wine

text: Adèle Blanc-Sec, heroine of comics winked at the beverage. She also has cinematic posterity with "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec".


title: White wine

text: A number of authors, poets, and philosophers have celebrated wine in general but the quotes are become much more rare when it comes to include colour. Authors in all eras have spoken using white wine to illustrate their point. Serious or tinged with humour white wine is present in all kinds of works, novels, poetry, and philosophy itself. The white wine most commonly cited in literature is French champagne.


title: White wine

text: François Rabelais, an angevin "bon vivant", repeatedly celebrated the white wine of Anjou that he liked and it was appreciated by his literary heroes.


title: White wine

text: "Jumping, dancing, touring – and drinking white wine and rose – and do nothing every day – What counts as crowns of the sun" - François Rabelais


title: White wine

text: "Every guest had at his right a bottle that could be white wine or mead. I know I drank ... of the excellent white burgundy" - Casanova


title: White wine

text: White wine is also used in humour, in a drama with Marcel Pagnol or in a gossip radio show for Pierre Desproges.


title: White wine

text: - If it is fresh? Touch me there! Looks like it comes from the vineyards of the North Pole!" - Marcel Pagnol


title: White wine

text: "In June at the fish market, one does not loiter anymore: one strolls. Behind the port, the cherry tomato is nowhere to be seen at the farmers market stall. One munches them with salt on the sand with a basil branch and a glass of Brem iced white wine" - Pierre Desproges


title: White wine

text: Michel Onfray has written a book based on the Sauternes. Partly on wine and its land, its philosophical reflection outweighs the viticultural theme.


title: White wine

text: White wine celebrated by poets was sometimes set to music. The most famous white wine in relation to a song is probably: "Ah! the white wine" by Jean Dréjac and Charles Borel-Clerc.


title: White wine

text: "I am Drunk", sung by Louis Byrec and written by Yvette Guilbert in 1895 gave the best part to knowledge of sparkling wines:


title: White wine

text: Even some varieties are mentioned in song such as the song entitled "Sauvignon" by Hubert Lapaire in 1926:


title: White wine

text: Closer to home Boris Vian celebrated "Muscadet in green glasses, a fresh wine, What cheers" in his song "Mechanical Music". Jacques Higelin wrote the song "Champagne" on his album "Champagne for everyone":


title: White wine

text: "Seek me without delay the friend who treats and cures the madness with me and has never betrayed me. Champagne!!"


title: White wine

text: Because of its shorter maceration, white wine contains very little tannin and therefore little antioxidants that make red wine so interesting medically speaking. However, a team of researchers from Montpellier has developed a white wine enriched with polyphenols.


title: White wine

text: The sulphur dioxide additive commonly used in wine is not harmful in the amounts used but its effects are feared among asthmatics: it can cause the onset of a crisis (Difficulty breathing). Symptoms such as difficulty breathing, migraine, or stomach heat sensation may indicate an intolerance. A reaction caused by a deficiency of sulphite oxidase (the enzyme that breaks down Sulphur Dioxide) is very rare. Studies are underway to investigate whether some of the symptoms attributed to Sulphur Dioxide could not come from another molecule present in the wine.


title: White wine

text: White wine is an acidic beverage with a pH ranging from 2.8 to 3.6. This acidity is an aggressive element to tooth enamel.


title: White wine

text: In addition it contains alcohol which is expressed in degrees or percentage. This alcohol can be responsible for cirrhosis. This disease can occur from a regular consumption of 20 grams per day for women and 40 grams per day for men. However, some studies in California may indicate beneficial effect of wine at a low daily dose for non-alcoholic cirrhosis.


title: White wine

text: In recent studies white wine was indicated to have some cardiovascular benefits. As well, white wine contains antioxidants, although red wine contains higher levels of antioxidants. Both white and red wines are effective in preventing LDL oxidation.


title: White wine

text: Having been lost in a shipwreck; a case of 1907 Heidsieck was discovered in 1997 . At auction each bottle made $275,000 making them the most expensive bottles of white wine ever sold.


title: Sister Boniface Mysteries

text: Sister Boniface Mysteries is a British detective period television series, created by Jude Tindall, which is produced by BBC Studios and BritBox. It is a spin-off of "Father Brown", as the Sister Boniface character was introduced in a "Father Brown" episode (Series 1, Episode 6: "The Bride of Christ"). A 10-episode first series premiered on 8 February 2022, on the BritBox streaming service, and released in the UK on the UKTV Drama channel later in 2022. "Sister Boniface Mysteries" has been renewed for a second series.


title: Sister Boniface Mysteries

text: The series is set in England during the 1960s. Sister Boniface is a Catholic nun at St. Vincent's Convent in the fictional town of Great Slaughter in the Cotswolds. In addition to her religious duties at the convent, she makes wine and has a PhD in forensic science, allowing her to serve as a scientific adviser to the local police on investigations.


title: Sister Boniface Mysteries

text: The three regularly featured police officers are Detective Inspector Sam Gillespie (revealed in episode 9 to be a former army officer), Detective Sergeant Felix Livingstone (on secondment from the police force of the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda), and Constable (WPC) Peggy Button.


title: Sister Boniface Mysteries

text: "Father Brown" executive producer Will Trotter anticipated developing a Sister Boniface spin-off as soon as "Father Brown" had ended. He eventually pitched the concept to Britbox. The series share several writers and directors, such as John Maidens, Paul Gibson, Kit Lambert, Tahsin Guner and Ian Barber.


title: Sister Boniface Mysteries

text: The location for St Vincent's Convent is Princethorpe College, a Catholic independent day school located in Princethorpe, near Rugby, Warwickshire, England.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The flag of Peru was adopted by the government of Peru in 1824, and modified in 1950. According to the article 49 of the Constitution of Peru, it is a vertical triband with red outer bands and a single white middle band. Depending on its use, it may be defaced with different emblems, and has different names. Flag day in Peru is celebrated on 7 June, the anniversary of the Battle of Arica.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The current colors of the Peruvian flag were taken of the design of San Martín and Torre Tagle. The reasons why red and white were chosen are unknown.


title: Flag of Peru

text: Official tones determined by Peruvian laws do not exist. However, there are some particular initiatives in approximated equivalents in multiple color models, some in tones close to crimson.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The civil flag or ensign () is used by citizens. It has no additions to the common form. It was changed several times; before 1950 it looked like the current national flag and was used as both the civil and the state flag, when General removed the coat of arms from the flag and created the state and war flags. The Civil flag lacks coat of arms.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The state flag (), used by state institutions, is marked with the coat of arms (). It is used during ceremonies in which the National Flag is hoisted in the presence of spectators (as opposed to a static, permanent flag). A form of this flag, the national standard () is used indoors by official and private institutions. It is used for the Government Palace, the United Nations, etc. It is also used by the Peru national football team.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The war flag (), similar to the state flag, is marked with the national shield (). It is flown by the Peruvian military and national police, and is typically inscribed with the service, name and number of the unit flying it.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The naval jack () is not based on the triband; it is a square flag, consisting of a white square with the coat of arms () on a red field. It is used on warships, usually with the ensign of the highest ranking officer on board above it.


title: Flag of Peru

text: During the Viceroyalty of Peru, the colonial-era Spanish flag flew over Peru. In 1820, during the struggle for independence, British-born General William Miller hoisted in Tacna the first flag that represented the emerging country. Though the original flag itself is now lost, it was described as navy blue, defaced with a golden sun representing Inti.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The first flag of the Republic of Peru was created by General José de San Martín, and officially decreed on 21 October 1820. It is diagonally quartered, with white upper and lower fields, and the others red. The flag was defaced with an oval-shaped laurel crown in the center, surrounding a sun rising behind mountains by the sea. The symbolism of the flag's colors is uncertain, but according to Peruvian author Abraham Valdelomar, San Martín, having arrived on the coast of southern Pisco, was inspired by the colors of "parihuanas", red-and-white flamingos. Historians of the early Peruvian Republic, such as Leguía y Martínez and Pareja Paz Soldán, give a different explanation, suggesting that San Martín took the red from the flag of Chile and the white from the flag of Argentina, recognizing the provenance of the men of the liberation army. Historian Jorge Fernández Stoll thinks in 1820 San Martin was in favor of a constitutional monarchy, and he chose to use monarchical symbols and colors: Castile used the red and white colors for many years, the old flag of the viceroyalty the cross of Burgundy was red and white and the flag's diagonal lines mimicked the cross shape, the red color was the royal symbol of the mascaipacha of Inca kings and of the ensign of the Spanish king at that time. The flag proved difficult to adopt due to its complex construction; without standardized measurements in place at the time, a triangular flag proved difficult to build.


title: Flag of Peru

text: In March 1822, José Bernardo de Tagle, Marquis of Torre Tagle and Supreme Delegate of the Republic, who replaced San Martín provisionally when the latter traveled to Guayaquil, decreed a new design for the flag. This consisted of a horizontal triband, with a white band between two red ones, and a golden Inti at the center, similar to the flag of Argentina. This modification was justified, according to Torre Tagle, by the inconvenience in the construction of the previous version, among other issues.


title: Flag of Peru

text: A problem came up on the battlefields: the resemblance with the Spanish flag, especially from far away, made the distinction between the armies difficult, which led to a new change to the flag.


title: Flag of Peru

text: On 31 May 1822, Torre Tagle changed the flag's design again. The new version was a vertical triband, with red outer bands and a white middle band, with a golden sun representing Inti at the center.


title: Flag of Peru

text: On 25 February 1825, during Simón Bolívar's administration, the Constituent Congress changed the design of the flag by promulgating the law of national symbols. The fundamental change was the image of the sun for the brand new coat of arms, designed by José Gregorio Paredes and Francisco Javier Cortés.


title: Flag of Peru

text: In this way, the flag was definitely constituted by two vertical bands of red at the ends and white at the center, with the coat of arms at the center of the middle band.


title: Flag of Peru

text: From 1836 to 1839, Peru was temporarily dissolved into the Republics of South Peru and North Peru, which joined Bolivia to form the Peru–Bolivian Confederation.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The South was formed first, thus adopting a new flag: a red vertical band on the left, with a golden sun and four small stars above (representing Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cuzco and Puno, the four groups of the republic), and the right side divided into an upper green band and a lower white one. The North kept the currency and all of the dissolved Peru, including its flag.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The flag of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation showed the coats of arms of Bolivia, South and North Peru, from left to right and slanted at different angles, on a red field, adorned by a laurel crown.


title: Flag of Peru

text: After the dissolution of the Confederation, the old Republic of Peru was restored to its 1836 composition, as were its national symbols.


title: Flag of Peru

text: In 1950, President Odría modified the national flag to its current form, removing the coat of arms from the civil flag, since it was used "de facto", being easier to make. The national ensign and war flag were created for exclusive uses, each with a variant of the coat of arms, which was also changed slightly. These remain as the official flags today.


title: Flag of Peru

text: The "Marcha de Banderas" (Spanish: March of Flags) is a military march sung during the flag raising. It was created in 1897 by SM Jose Sabas Libornio Ibarra who said President Nicolás de Piérola, he disagreed with the indiscriminate interpretation of the National Anthem at all official events that were derived from civic events. In December of that year was officially recognized to be executed in any official act.


title: Flag of Peru

text: In all occasions today the song is sung in its entirety, formerly during the presidency of Alan Garcia only the first 3 were sung.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Book of the Marvels of the World (Italian: ', lit. 'The Million', deriving from Polo's nickname "Emilione"), in English commonly called The Travels of Marco Polo""', is a 13th-century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pisa from stories told by Italian explorer Marco Polo. It describes Polo's travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The book was written by romance writer Rustichello da Pisa, who worked from accounts which he had heard from Marco Polo when they were imprisoned together in Genoa. Rustichello wrote it in Franco-Venetian, a cultural language widespread in northern Italy between the subalpine belt and the lower Po between the 13th and 15th centuries. It was originally known as or ("Description of the World"). The book was translated into many European languages in Marco Polo's own lifetime, but the original manuscripts are now lost, and their reconstruction is a matter of textual criticism. A total of about 150 copies in various languages are known to exist, including in French, Tuscan, two versions in Venetian, and two different versions in Latin.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: From the beginning, there has been incredulity over Polo's sometimes fabulous stories, as well as a scholarly debate in recent times. Some have questioned whether Marco had actually travelled to China or was just repeating stories that he had heard from other travellers. Economic historian Mark Elvin concludes that recent work "demonstrates by specific example the ultimately overwhelming probability of the broad authenticity" of Polo's account, and that the book is, "in essence, authentic, and, when used with care, in broad terms to be trusted as a serious though obviously not always final, witness."


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The source of the title is debated. One view is it comes from the Polo family's use of the name "Emilione" to distinguish themselves from the numerous other Venetian families bearing the name Polo. A more common view is that the name refers to medieval reception of the travelog, namely that it was full of "a million" lies.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Modern assessments of the text usually consider it to be the record of an observant rather than imaginative or analytical traveller. Marco Polo emerges as being curious and tolerant, and devoted to Kublai Khan and the dynasty that he served for two decades. The book is Polo's account of his travels to China, which he calls Cathay (north China) and Manji (south China). The Polo party left Venice in 1271. The journey took three years after which they arrived in Cathay as it was then called and met the grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan. They left China in late 1290 or early 1291 and were back in Venice in 1295. The tradition is that Polo dictated the book to a romance writer, Rustichello da Pisa, while in prison in Genoa between 1298 and 1299. Rustichello may have worked up his first Franco-Italian version from Marco's notes. The book was then named and in French, and in Latin.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The British scholar Ronald Latham has pointed out that "The Book of Marvels" was in fact a collaboration written in 1298–1299 between Polo and a professional writer of romances, Rustichello of Pisa. It is believed that Polo related his memoirs orally to Rustichello da Pisa while both were prisoners of the Genova Republic. Rustichello wrote "Devisement du Monde" in Franco-Venetian language.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Latham also argued that Rustichello may have glamorised Polo's accounts, and added fantastic and romantic elements that made the book a bestseller. The Italian scholar Luigi Foscolo Benedetto had previously demonstrated that the book was written in the same "leisurely, conversational style" that characterised Rustichello's other works, and that some passages in the book were taken verbatim or with minimal modifications from other writings by Rustichello. For example, the opening introduction in "The Book of Marvels" to "emperors and kings, dukes and marquises" was lifted straight out of an Arthurian romance Rustichello had written several years earlier, and the account of the second meeting between Polo and Kublai Khan at the latter's court is almost the same as that of the arrival of Tristan at the court of King Arthur at Camelot in that same book. Latham believed that many elements of the book, such as legends of the Middle East and mentions of exotic marvels, may have been the work of Rustichello who was giving what medieval European readers expected to find in a travel book.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Apparently, from the very beginning Marco's story aroused contrasting reactions, as it was received by some with a certain disbelief. The Dominican father was the author of a translation into Latin, in 1302, just a few years after Marco's return to Venice. Francesco Pipino solemnly affirmed the truthfulness of the book and defined Marco as a "prudent, honoured and faithful man".


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: In his writings, the Dominican brother Jacopo d'Acqui explains why his contemporaries were skeptical about the content of the book. He also relates that before dying, Marco Polo insisted that "he had told only a half of the things he had seen".


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: According to some recent research of the Italian scholar Antonio Montefusco, the very close relationship that Marco Polo cultivated with members of the Dominican Order in Venice suggests that local fathers collaborated with him for a Latin version of the book, which means that Rustichello's text was translated into Latin for a precise will of the Order.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Since Dominican fathers had among their missions that of evangelizing foreign peoples (cf. the role of Dominican missionaries in China and in the Indies), it is reasonable to think that they considered Marco's book as a trustworthy piece of information for missions in the East. The diplomatic communications between Pope Innocent IV and Pope Gregory X with the Mongols were probably another reason for this endorsement. At the time, there was open discussion of a possible Christian-Mongol alliance with an anti-Islamic function. In fact, a Mongol delegate was solemnly baptised at the Second Council of Lyon. At the council, Pope Gregory X promulgated a new Crusade to start in 1278 in liaison with the Mongols.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: "The Travels" is divided into four books. Book One describes the lands of the Middle East and Central Asia that Marco encountered on his way to China. Book Two describes China and the court of Kublai Khan. Book Three describes some of the coastal regions of the East: Japan, India, Sri Lanka, South-East Asia, and the east coast of Africa. Book Four describes some of the then-recent wars among the Mongols and some of the regions of the far north, like Russia. Polo's writings included descriptions of cannibals and spice-growers.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The impact of Polo's book on cartography was delayed: the first map in which some names mentioned by Polo appear was in the "Catalan Atlas of Charles V" (1375), which included thirty names in China and a number of other Asian toponyms. In the mid-fifteenth century the cartographer of Murano, Fra Mauro, meticulously included all of Polo's toponyms in his 1450 map of the world.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Marco Polo was accompanied on his trips by his father and uncle (both of whom had been to China previously), though neither of them published any known works about their journeys. The book was translated into many European languages in Marco Polo's own lifetime, but the original manuscripts are now lost. A total of about 150 copies in various languages are known to exist. During copying and translating many errors were made, so there are many differences between the various copies.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: According to the French philologist Philippe Ménard, there are six main versions of the book: the version closest to the original, in Franco-Venetian; a version in Old French; a version in Tuscan; two versions in Venetian; two different versions in Latin.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The oldest surviving Polo manuscript is in Franco-Venetian, which was a variety of Old French heavily flavoured with Venetian dialect, spread in Northern Italy in the 13th century; for Luigi Foscolo Benedetto, this "F" text is the basic original text, which he corrected by comparing it with the somewhat more detailed Italian of Ramusio, together with a Latin manuscript in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: A version in Tuscan (Italian language) titled was written in Florence by Michele Ormanni. It is found in the Italian National Library in Florence.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Other early important sources are the manuscript "R" (Ramusio's Italian translation first printed in 1559).


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The first attempt to collate manuscripts and provide a critical edition was in a volume of collected travel narratives printed at Venice in 1559.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The editor, Giovan Battista Ramusio, collated manuscripts from the first part of the fourteenth century, which he considered to be "" ("perfectly correct").


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The edition of Benedetto, , under the patronage of the (Florence: Olschki, 1928), collated sixty additional manuscript sources, in addition to some eighty that had been collected by Henry Yule, for his 1871 edition. It was Benedetto who identified Rustichello da Pisa, as the original compiler or amanuensis, and his established text has provided the basis for many modern translations: his own in Italian (1932), and Aldo Ricci's "The Travels of Marco Polo" (London, 1931).


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The first English translation is the Elizabethan version by John Frampton published in 1579, "The most noble and famous travels of Marco Polo", based on Santaella's Castilian translation of 1503 (the first version in that language).


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: A. C. Moule and Paul Pelliot published a translation under the title "Description of the World" that uses manuscript F as its base and attempts to combine the several versions of the text into one continuous narrative while at the same time indicating the source for each section (London, 1938).


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: An introduction to Marco Polo is Leonard Olschki, "Marco Polo's Asia: An Introduction to His "Description of the World" Called "Il Milione"", translated by John A. Scott (Berkeley: University of California) 1960; it had its origins in the celebrations of the seven hundredth anniversary of Marco Polo's birth.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Since its publication, many have viewed the book with skepticism. Some in the Middle Ages viewed the book simply as a romance or fable, largely because of the sharp difference of its descriptions of a sophisticated civilisation in China to other early accounts by Giovanni da Pian del Carpine and William of Rubruck who portrayed the Mongols as "barbarians" who appeared to belong to "some other world". Doubts have also been raised in later centuries about Marco Polo's narrative of his travels in China, for example for his failure to mention a number of things and practices commonly associated with China, such as the Chinese characters, tea, chopsticks, and footbinding. In particular, his failure to mention the Great Wall of China had been noted as early as the middle of the seventeenth century. In addition, the difficulties in identifying many of the place names he used also raised suspicion about Polo's accounts. Many have questioned whether or not he had visited the places he mentioned in his itinerary, or he had appropriated the accounts of his father and uncle or other travelers, or doubted that he even reached China and that, if he did, perhaps never went beyond Khanbaliq (Beijing).


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Historian Stephen G. Haw however argued that many of the "omissions" could be explained. For example, none of the other Western travelers to Yuan dynasty China at that time, such as Giovanni de' Marignolli and Odoric of Pordenone, mentioned the Great Wall, and that while remnants of the Wall would have existed at that time, it would not have been significant or noteworthy as it had not been maintained for a long time. The Great Walls were built to keep out northern invaders, whereas the ruling dynasty during Marco Polo's visit were those very northern invaders. The Mongol rulers whom Polo served also controlled territories both north and south of today's wall, and would have no reasons to maintain any fortifications that may have remained there from the earlier dynasties. He noted the Great Wall familiar to us today is a Ming structure built some two centuries after Marco Polo's travels. The Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta did mention the Great Wall, but when he asked about the wall while in China during the Yuan dynasty, he could find no one who had either seen it or knew of anyone who had seen it. Haw also argued that practices such as footbinding were not common even among Chinese during Polo's time and almost unknown among the Mongols. While the Italian missionary Odoric of Pordenone who visited Yuan China mentioned footbinding (it is however unclear whether he was only relaying something he heard as his description is inaccurate), no other foreign visitors to Yuan China mentioned the practice, perhaps an indication that the footbinding was not widespread or was not practiced in an extreme form at that time. Marco Polo himself noted (in the Toledo manuscript) the dainty walk of Chinese women who took very short steps.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: It has also been pointed out that Polo's accounts are more accurate and detailed than other accounts of the periods. Polo had at times denied the "marvelous" fables and legends given in other European accounts, and also omitted descriptions of strange races of people then believed to inhabit eastern Asia and given in such accounts. For example, Odoric of Pordenone said that the Yangtze river flows through the land of pygmies only three spans high and gave other fanciful tales, while Giovanni da Pian del Carpine spoke of "wild men, who do not speak at all and have no joints in their legs", monsters who looked like women but whose menfolk were dogs, and other equally fantastic accounts. Despite a few exaggerations and errors, Polo's accounts are relatively free of the descriptions of irrational marvels, and in many cases where present (mostly given in the first part before he reached China), he made a clear distinction that they are what he had heard rather than what he had seen. It is also largely free of the gross errors in other accounts such as those given by the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta who had confused the Yellow River with the Grand Canal and other waterways, and believed that porcelain was made from coal.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Many of the details in Polo's accounts have been verified. For example, when visiting Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, China, Marco Polo noted that a large number of Christian churches had been built there. His claim is confirmed by a Chinese text of the 14th century explaining how a Sogdian named Mar-Sargis from Samarkand founded six Nestorian Christian churches there in addition to one in Hangzhou during the second half of the 13th century. Nestorian Christianity had existed in China since the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) when a Persian monk named Alopen came to the capital Chang'an in 653 to proselytize, as described in a dual Chinese and Syriac language inscription from Chang'an (modern Xi'an) dated to the year 781.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: In 2012, the University of Tübingen sinologist and historian Hans Ulrich Vogel released a detailed analysis of Polo's description of currencies, salt production and revenues, and argued that the evidence supports his presence in China because he included details which he could not have otherwise known. Vogel noted that no other Western, Arab, or Persian sources have given such accurate and unique details about the currencies of China, for example, the shape and size of the paper, the use of seals, the various denominations of paper money as well as variations in currency usage in different regions of China, such as the use of cowry shells in Yunnan, details supported by archaeological evidence and Chinese sources compiled long after Polo's had left China. His accounts of salt production and revenues from the salt monopoly are also accurate, and accord with Chinese documents of the Yuan era. Economic historian Mark Elvin, in his preface to Vogel's 2013 monograph, concludes that Vogel "demonstrates by specific example after specific example the ultimately overwhelming probability of the broad authenticity" of Polo's account. Many problems were caused by the oral transmission of the original text and the proliferation of significantly different hand-copied manuscripts. For instance, did Polo exert "political authority" () in Yangzhou or merely "sojourn" () there? Elvin concludes that "those who doubted, although mistaken, were not always being casual or foolish", but "the case as a whole had now been closed": the book is, "in essence, authentic, and, when used with care, in broad terms to be trusted as a serious though obviously not always final, witness".


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: Although Marco Polo was certainly the most famous, he was not the only nor the first European traveller to the Mongol Empire who subsequently wrote an account of his experiences. Earlier thirteenth-century European travellers who journeyed to the court of the Great Khan were André de Longjumeau, William of Rubruck and Giovanni da Pian del Carpine with Benedykt Polak. None of them however reached China itself. Later travelers such as Odoric of Pordenone and Giovanni de' Marignolli reached China during the Yuan dynasty and wrote accounts of their travels.


title: The Travels of Marco Polo

text: The Moroccan merchant Ibn Battuta travelled through the Golden Horde and China subsequently in the early-to-mid-14th century. The 14th-century author John Mandeville wrote an account of journeys in the East, but this was probably based on second-hand information and contains much apocryphal information.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone, also known as norethindrone and sold under many brand names, is a progestin medication used in birth control pills, menopausal hormone therapy, and for the treatment of gynecological disorders. The medication is available in both low-dose and high-dose formulations and both alone and in combination with an estrogen. It is used by mouth or, as norethisterone enanthate, by injection into muscle.


title: Norethisterone

text: Side effects of norethisterone include menstrual irregularities, headaches, nausea, breast tenderness, mood changes, acne, increased hair growth. Norethisterone is a progestin, or a synthetic progestogen, and hence is an agonist of the progesterone receptor, the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. It has weak androgenic and estrogenic activity, mostly at high dosages, and no other important hormonal activity.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone was discovered in 1951 and was one of the first progestins to be developed. It was first introduced for medical use on its own in 1957 and was introduced in combination with an estrogen for use as a birth control pill in 1963. It is sometimes referred to as a "first-generation" progestin. Along with desogestrel, it is one of the only progestins that is widely available as a progestogen-only "mini pill" for birth control. Norethisterone is marketed widely throughout the world. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the 137th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 4million prescriptions. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is used as a hormonal contraceptive in combination with an estrogen – usually ethinylestradiol (EE) – in combined oral contraceptive pills and alone in progestogen-only pills.


title: Norethisterone

text: Another medical use of norethisterone is to alleviate endometriosis related pain. In fact, 50% of patients who received medical or surgical treatment for endometriosis-related pelvic pain have benefited from progestin therapy. This could be due to the fact that norethisterone induces endometrial proliferation during secretory phase, which has been shown to alleviate endometrial pain complaints. Another way in which norethisterone may be acting to reduce endometrial pain is via inhibition of ovulation. Endometriosis pain and discomfort is worse during ovulation.


title: Norethisterone

text: High-dose (10 mg/day) norethisterone has been associated with hepatic veno-occlusive disease, and because of this adverse effect, norethisterone should not be given to patients undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, as it has been associated with substantially lower one-year survival post-transplantation.


title: Norethisterone

text: At contraceptive and hormone replacement dosages (0.35 to 1 mg/day), norethisterone has essentially progestogenic side effects only. In most clinical studies of norethisterone for contraception or menopausal hormone therapy, the drug has been combined with an estrogen, and for this reason, it is difficult to determine which of the side effects were caused by norethisterone and which of them were caused by estrogen in such research. However, NETE, an intramuscularly administered prodrug of norethisterone which is used as a long-acting contraceptive, is used without an estrogen, and hence can be employed as a surrogate for norethisterone in terms of understanding its effects and tolerability. In clinical studies, the most common side effect with NETE has been menstrual disturbances, including prolonged bleeding or spotting and amenorrhea. Other side effects have included periodic abdominal bloating and breast tenderness, both of which are thought to be due to water retention and can be relieved with diuretics. There has been no association with weight gain, and blood pressure, blood clotting, and glucose tolerance have all remained normal. However, a decrease in cholesterol has been observed.


title: Norethisterone

text: At high doses (5 to 60 mg/day), for instance those used in the treatment of gynecological disorders, norethisterone can cause hypogonadism due to its antigonadotropic effects and can have estrogenic and weak androgenic side effects.


title: Norethisterone

text: High doses of NETA (10 mg/day) have been associated with abnormal liver function tests, including significant elevations in liver enzymes. These liver enzymes included lactate dehydrogenase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase. Although they were described as having no clinical relevance, the elevated liver enzymes associated with NETA may have precluded its further development for male hormonal contraception.


title: Norethisterone

text: Due to its weak androgenic activity, norethisterone can produce androgenic side effects such as acne, hirsutism, and voice changes of slight severity in some women at high dosages (e.g., 10 to 40 mg/day). This is notably not the case with combined oral contraceptives that contain norethisterone and EE, however. Such formulations contain low dosages of norethisterone (0.35 to 1 mg/day) in combination with estrogen and are actually associated with improvement in acne symptoms. In accordance, they are in fact approved by the for the treatment of acne in women in the United States. The improvement in acne symptoms is believed to be due to a 2- to 3-fold increase in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels and a consequent decrease in free testosterone levels caused by EE, which results in an overall decrease in androgenic signaling in the body.


title: Norethisterone

text: The sebaceous glands are highly androgen-sensitive and their size and activity are potential markers of androgenic effect. A high dosage of 20 mg/day norethisterone or NETA has been found to significantly stimulate the sebaceous glands, whereas lower dosages of 5 mg/day and 2.5 mg/day norethisterone and NETA, respectively, did not significantly stimulate sebum production and were consequently regarded as devoid of significant androgenicity. Conversely, dosages of norethisterone of 0.5 to 3 mg/day have been found to dose-dependently decrease SHBG levels (and hence to suppress hepatic SHBG production), which is another highly sensitive marker of androgenicity.


title: Norethisterone

text: A large clinical study of high to very high oral dosages of norethisterone (10 to 40 mg/day) administered for prolonged periods of time (4 to 35 weeks) to prevent miscarriage in pregnant women found that 5.5% of the women experienced mild androgenic side effects such as mild voice changes (hoarseness), acne, and hirsutism and that 18.3% of female infants born to the mothers showed, in most cases only slight, virilization of the genitals. Maternal androgenic symptoms occurred most often in women who received a dosage of norethisterone of 30 mg/day or more for a period of 15 weeks or longer. In the female infants who experienced virilization of the genitals, the sole manifestation in 86.7% of the cases was varied but almost always slight enlargement of the clitoris. In the remaining 13.3% of the affected cases, marked clitoral enlargement and partial fusion of the labioscrotal folds occurred. The dosages used in these cases were 20 to 40 mg/day.


title: Norethisterone

text: In a letter to the editor on the topic of virilization caused by high dosages of NETA in women, a physician expressed that they had not observed the "slightest evidence of virilization" and that there had "certainly been no hirsutism nor any voice changes" in 55 women with advanced breast cancer that they had treated with 30 to 60 mg/day norethisterone for up to six months.


title: Norethisterone

text: High-dosage norethisterone has been used to suppress menstruation in women with severe intellectual disability who were incapable of handling their own menses. A study of 118 nulliparous women treated with 5 mg/day norethisterone for a period of 2 to 30 months found that the drug was effective in producing amenorrhea in 86% of the women, with breakthrough bleeding occurring in the remaining 14%. Side effects including weight gain, hirsutism, acne, headache, nausea, and vomiting all did not appear to increase in incidence and no "disturbing side effects" were noted in any of the women. Another study of 5 mg/day norethisterone in 132 women also made no mention of androgenic side effects. These findings suggest little to no risk of androgenic side effects with norethisterone at a dosage of 5 mg/day. A study of 194 women treated with 5 to 15 mg/day NETA for a median duration of 13 months of therapy to suppress symptoms of endometriosis observed no side effects in 55.2% of patients, weight gain in 16.1%, acne in 9.9%, mood lability in 8.9%, hot flashes in 8.3%, and voice deepening in two women (1.0%).


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is weakly estrogenic (via conversion into its metabolite EE), and for this reason, it has been found at high dosages to be associated with high rates of estrogenic side effects such as breast enlargement in women and gynecomastia in men, but also with improvement of menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women. It has been suggested that very high dosages (e.g., 40 mg/day, which are sometimes used in clinical practice for various indications) of NETA (and by extension norethisterone) may result in an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) analogously to high dosages (above 50 μg/day) of EE, and that even doses of NETA of 10 to 20 mg, which correspond to EE doses of approximately 20 to 30 μg/day, may in certain women be associated with increased risk. A study also found that ethinylestradiol and norethisterone had a greater influence on coagulation factors when the dose of norethisterone was 3 or 4 mg than when it was 1 mg. This might have been due to additional ethinylestradiol generated by higher doses of norethisterone.


title: Norethisterone

text: There have been no reports of serious side effects with overdose of norethisterone, even in small children. As such, overdose usually does not require treatment. High dosages of as much as 60 mg/day norethisterone have been studied for extended treatment durations without serious adverse effects described.


title: Norethisterone

text: 5α-Reductase plays an important role in the metabolism of norethisterone, and 5α-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride and dutasteride can inhibit its metabolism. Norethisterone is partially metabolized via hydroxylation by CYP3A4, and inhibitors and inducers of CYP3A4 can significantly alter circulating levels of norethisterone. For instance, the CYP3A4 inducers rifampicin and bosentan have been found to decrease norethisterone exposure by 42% and 23%, respectively, and the CYP3A4 inducers carbamazepine and St. John's wort have also been found to accelerate norethisterone clearance.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is a potent progestogen and a weak androgen and estrogen. That is, it is a potent agonist of the progesterone receptor (PR) and a weak agonist of the androgen receptor (AR) and the estrogen receptor (ER). Norethisterone itself has insignificant affinity for the ER; its estrogenic activity is from an active metabolite that is formed in very small amounts, ethinylestradiol (EE), which is a very potent estrogen. Norethisterone and its metabolites have negligible affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and hence have no glucocorticoid, antiglucocorticoid, mineralocorticoid, or antimineralocorticoid activity.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is a potent progestogen and binds to the PR with approximately 150% of the affinity of progesterone. In contrast, its parent compounds, testosterone, nandrolone (19-nortestosterone), and ethisterone (17α-ethynyltestosterone), have 2%, 22%, and 44% of the relative binding affinity of progesterone for the PR. Unlike norethisterone, its major active metabolite 5α-dihydronorethisterone (5α-DHNET), which is formed by transformation via 5α-reductase, has been found to possess both progestogenic and marked antiprogestogenic activity, although its affinity for the PR is greatly reduced relative to norethisterone at only 25% of that of progesterone. Norethisterone produces similar changes in the endometrium and vagina, such as endometrial transformation, and is similarly antigonadotropic, ovulation-inhibiting, and thermogenic in women compared to progesterone, which is in accordance with its progestogenic activity.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone has approximately 15% of the affinity of the anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) metribolone (R-1881) for the AR, and in accordance, is weakly androgenic. In contrast to norethisterone, 5α-DHNET, the major metabolite of norethisterone, shows higher affinity for the AR, with approximately 27% of the affinity of metribolone. However, although 5α-DHNET has higher affinity for the AR than norethisterone, it has significantly diminished and in fact almost abolished androgenic potency in comparison to norethisterone in rodent bioassays. Similar findings were observed for ethisterone (17α-ethynyltestosterone) and its 5α-reduced metabolite, whereas 5α-reduction enhanced both the AR affinity and androgenic potency of testosterone and nandrolone (19-nortestosterone) in rodent bioassays. As such, it appears that the ethynyl group of norethisterone at the C17α position is responsible for its loss of androgenicity upon 5α-reduction.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone (0.5 to 3 mg/day) has been found to dose-dependently decrease circulating SHBG levels, which is a common property of androgens and is due to AR-mediated suppression of hepatic SHBG production. The drug also has estrogenic activity, and estrogens are known to increase SHBG hepatic production and circulating levels, so it would appear that the androgenic activity of norethisterone overpowers its estrogenic activity in this regard.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is bound to a considerable extent (36%) to SHBG in circulation. Although it has lower affinity for SHBG than endogenous androgens and estrogens, Norethisterone may displace testosterone from SHBG and thereby increase free testosterone levels, and this action may contribute to its weak androgenic effects.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone binds to the ERs, the ERα and the ERβ, with 0.07% and 0.01% of the relative binding affinity of estradiol. Due to these very low relative affinities, it is essentially inactive itself as a ligand of the ERs at clinical concentrations. However, norethisterone has been found to be a substrate for aromatase and is converted in the liver to a small extent (0.35%) to the highly potent estrogen ethinylestradiol (EE), and for this reason, unlike most other progestins, norethisterone has some estrogenic activity. However, with typical dosages of norethisterone used in oral contraceptives (0.5 to 1 mg), the levels of EE produced are low, and it has been said that they are probably without clinical relevance. Conversely, doses of 5 and 10 mg of norethisterone, which are used in the treatment of gynecological disorders, are converted at rates of 0.7% and 1.0% and produce levels of EE that correspond to those produced by 30 and 60 μg dosages of EE, respectively. The levels of EE formed by 0.5 and 1 mg of norethisterone have been estimated based on higher dosages as corresponding to 2 and 10 μg dosages of EE, respectively. At high doses, norethisterone may increase the risk of venous thromboembolism due to metabolism into EE.


title: Norethisterone

text: Like progesterone and testosterone, norethisterone is metabolized into 3,5-tetrahydro metabolites. Whether these metabolites of norethisterone interact with the GABA receptor similarly to the 3,5-tetrahydro metabolites of progesterone and testosterone like allopregnanolone and 3α-androstanediol, respectively, is a topic that does not appear to have been studied and hence requires clarification.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is a substrate for and is known to be an inhibitor of 5α-reductase, with 4.4% and 20.1% inhibition at 0.1 and 1 μM, respectively. However, therapeutic concentrations of norethisterone are in the low nanomolar range, so this action may not be clinically relevant at typical dosages.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone and its major active metabolite 5α-DHNET have been found to act as irreversible aromatase inhibitors (K = 1.7 μM and 9.0 μM, respectively). However, like the case of 5α-reductase, the concentrations required are probably too high to be clinically relevant at typical dosages. 5α-DHNET specifically has been assessed and found to be selective in its inhibition of aromatase, and does not affect cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc), 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase, 21-hydroxylase, or 11β-hydroxylase. Since it is not aromatized (and hence cannot be transformed into an estrogenic metabolite), unlike norethisterone, 5α-DHNET has been proposed as a potential therapeutic agent in the treatment of ER-positive breast cancer.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is a very weak inhibitor of CYP2C9 and CYP3A4 (IC = 46 μM and 51 μM, respectively), but these actions require very high concentrations of norethisterone that are far above therapeutic circulating levels (which are in the nanomolar range) and hence are probably not clinically relevant.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone and some of its 5α-reduced metabolites have been found to produce vasodilating effects in animals that are independent of sex steroid receptors and hence appear to be non-genomic in mechanism.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone stimulates the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells "in vitro", an action that is independent of the classical PRs and is instead mediated via the progesterone receptor membrane component-1 (PGRMC1). Certain other progestins act similarly in this assay, whereas progesterone acts neutrally. It is unclear if these findings may explain the different risks of breast cancer observed with progesterone and progestins in clinical studies.


title: Norethisterone

text: Due to its progestogenic activity, norethisterone suppresses the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (HPG axis) and hence has antigonadotropic effects. The estrogenic activity of norethisterone at high doses would also be expected to contribute to its antigonadotropic effects. Due to its antigonadotropic effects, norethisterone suppresses gonadal sex hormone production, inhibits ovulation in women, and suppresses spermatogenesis in men.


title: Norethisterone

text: The ovulation-inhibiting dosage of both oral norethisterone and oral NETA is about 0.5 mg/day in women. However, some conflicting data exist, suggesting that higher doses might be necessary for full inhibition of ovulation. An intramuscular injection of 200 mg NETE has been found to prevent ovulation and suppress levels of estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in women.


title: Norethisterone

text: Early studies of oral norethisterone in men employing doses of 20 to 50 mg/day observed suppression of 17-ketosteroid excretion, increased estrogen excretion (due to conversion into ethinylestradiol), suppression of spermatogenesis, libido, and erectile function, and incidence of gynecomastia. A dosage of oral norethisterone of 25 mg/day for 3 weeks in men has been reported to suppress testosterone levels by about 70%, to 100 to 200 ng/dL, within 4 or 5 days, as well as to suppress sperm count and to have no effect on libido or erectile function over this short time period. In healthy young men, NETA alone at a dose of 5 to 10 mg/day orally for 2 weeks suppressed testosterone levels from ~527 ng/dL to ~231 ng/dL (–56%).


title: Norethisterone

text: A single 200 mg intramuscular injection of NETE alone or in combination with 2 mg estradiol valerate has been found to produce a rapid, strong, and sustained decrease in gonadotropin and testosterone levels for up to one month in men. Intramuscular injections of 200 mg NETE once every 3 weeks have also been found to suppress spermatogenesis in men. Similarly, a single intramuscular injection of 50 mg NETE in combination with 5 mg estradiol valerate has been found to strongly suppress testosterone levels in men. Levels of testosterone decreased from ~503 ng/dL at baseline to ~30 ng/dL at the lowest point (–94%) which occurred at day 7 post-injection.


title: Norethisterone

text: The oral bioavailability of norethisterone is between 47 and 73%, with a mean oral bioavailability of 64%. Micronization has been found to significantly improve the oral bioavailability of norethisterone by increasing intestinal absorption and reducing intestinal metabolism. A single 2 mg oral dose of norethisterone has been found to result in peak circulating levels of the drug of 12 ng/mL (40 nmol/L), whereas a single 1 mg oral dose of norethisterone in combination with 2 mg estradiol resulted in peak levels of norethisterone of 8.5 ng/mL (29 nmol/L) one-hour post-administration.


title: Norethisterone

text: The plasma protein binding of norethisterone is 97%. It is bound 61% bound to albumin and 36% bound to SHBG.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone has an elimination half-life of 5.2 to 12.8 hours, with a mean elimination half-life of 8.0 hours. The metabolism of norethisterone is very similar to that of testosterone (and nandrolone) and is mainly via reduction of the Δ double bond to 5α- and 5β-dihydronorethisterone, which is followed by the reduction of the C3 keto group to the four isomers of 3,5-tetrahydronorethisterone. These transformations are catalyzed by 5α- and 5β-reductase and 3α- and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase both in the liver and in extrahepatic tissues such as the pituitary gland, uterus, prostate gland, vagina, and breast. With the exception of 3α,5α- and 3β,5α-tetrahydronorethisterone, which have significant affinity for the ER and are estrogenic to some degree, the 3,5-tetrahydro metabolites of norethisterone are inactive in terms of affinity for sex steroid receptors (specifically, the PR, AR, and ER). A small amount of norethisterone is also converted by aromatase into EE. Norethisterone is metabolized in the liver via hydroxylation as well, mainly by CYP3A4. Some conjugation (including glucuronidation and sulfation) of norethisterone and its metabolites occurs in spite of steric hindrance by the ethynyl group at C17α. The ethynyl group of norethisterone is preserved in approximately 90% of all of its metabolites.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is used in birth control pills, opposed to progesterone itself, because it is not metabolized as rapidly as progesterone when consumed orally. When progesterone is consumed orally it is rapidly metabolized in the gastrointestinal tract and the liver, and broken down into many different metabolites. Whereas, norethisterone is not as rapidly metabolized allowing norethisterone to be present in higher quantities allowing it to more effectively compete for progesterone receptor binding sites.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone, also known as 17α-ethynyl-19-nortestosterone or as 17α-ethynylestra-4-en-17β-ol-3-one, is a synthetic estrane steroid and a derivative of testosterone. It is specifically a derivative of testosterone in which an ethynyl group has been added at the C17α position and the methyl group at the C19 position has been removed; hence, it is a combined derivative of ethisterone (17α-ethynyltestosterone) and nandrolone (19-nortestosterone). These modifications result in increased progestogenic activity and oral bioavailability as well as decreased androgenic/anabolic activity.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone (NET) is the parent compound of a large group of progestins that includes most of the progestins known as the 19-nortestosterone derivatives. This group is divided by chemical structure into the estranes (derivatives of norethisterone) and the gonanes (18-methylgonanes or 13β-ethylestranes; derivatives of levonorgestrel) and includes the following marketed medications:


title: Norethisterone

text: Several of these act as prodrugs of norethisterone, including NETA, NETE, etynodiol diacetate, lynestrenol, and quingestanol acetate. Noretynodrel may also be a prodrug of norethisterone. NETA is taken by mouth similarly to norethisterone, while NETE is given by injection into muscle.


title: Norethisterone

text: 19-Nortestosterone (19-NT) progestins which are technically not derivatives of norethisterone (as they do not have a C17α ethynyl group) but are still closely related (with other substitutions at the C17α and/or C16β positions) include the following marketed medications:


title: Norethisterone

text: Many anabolic steroids of the 19-nortestosterone family, like norethandrolone and ethylestrenol, are also potent progestogens, but were never marketed as such.


title: Norethisterone

text: Estradiol 3-methyl ether (1, EME) is partially reduced to the 1,5-diene (2) as also occurs for the first step in the synthesis of nandrolone. Oppenauer oxidation then transforms the C17β hydroxyl group into a ketone functionality (3). This is then reacted with metal acetylide into the corresponding C17α ethynyl compound (4). Hydrolysis of the enol ether under mild conditions leads directly to (5), which appears to be noretynodrel (although Lednicer states that it is "etynodrel" in his book (which may be a synonym etynodiol); etynodrel is with a chlorine atom attached), an orally active progestin. This is the progestogen component of the first oral contraceptive to be offered for sale (i.e., Enovid). Treatment of the ethynyl enol ether with strong acid leads to norethisterone (6).


title: Norethisterone

text: In practice, these and all other combined oral contraceptives are mixtures of 1 to 2% EE or mestranol and an oral progestin. It has been speculated that the discovery of the necessity of estrogen in addition to progestin for contraceptive efficacy is due to the presence of a small amount of unreduced EME (1) in early batches of 2. This when subjected to oxidation and ethynylation, would of course lead to mestranol (3). In any event, the need for the presence of estrogen in the mixture is now well established experimentally.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone is made from estr-4-ene-3,17-dione (bolandione), which in turn is synthesized by partial reduction of the aromatic region of the 3-O-methyl ether of estrone with lithium in liquid ammonia, and simultaneously of the keto group at C17α to a hydroxyl group, which is then oxidized back to a keto group by chromium trioxide in acetic acid. The conjugated C4-C5 olefin and the carbonyl group at C3 is then transformed to dienol ethyl ether using ethyl orthoformate. The obtained product is ethynylated by acetylene in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide. After hydrochloride hydrolysis of the formed O-potassium derivative, during which the enol ether is also hydrolyzed, and the remaining double bond is shifted, the desired norethisterone is obtained.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone was synthesized for the first time by chemists Luis Miramontes, Carl Djerassi, and George Rosenkranz at Syntex in Mexico City in 1951. It was derived from ethisterone, and was found to possess about 20-fold greater potency as a progestogen in comparison. Norethisterone was the first highly active oral progestogen to be synthesized, and was preceded (as a progestogen) by progesterone (1934), ethisterone (1938), 19-norprogesterone (1944), and 17α-methylprogesterone (1949) as well as by nandrolone (1950), whereas noretynodrel (1952) and norethandrolone (1953) followed the synthesis of norethisterone. The drug was introduced as "Norlutin" in the United States in 1957. Norethisterone was subsequently combined with mestranol and marketed as "Ortho-Novum" in the United States in 1963. It was the second progestin, after noretynodrel in 1960, to be used in an oral contraceptive. In 1964, additional contraceptive preparations containing norethisterone in combination with mestranol or EE, such as "Norlestrin" and "Norinyl", were marketed in the United States.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone (NET), including as NETA and NETE, has been marketed under many brand names throughout the world.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone was previously available alone in 5 mg tablets under the brand names Norlutin in the United States, but this formulation has since been discontinued in this country. However, NETA remains available alone in 5 mg tablets under the brand name Aygestin in the United States. It is one of the only non-contraceptive progestogen-only drug formulations that remains available in the United States. The others include progesterone, medroxyprogesterone acetate, megestrol acetate, and hydroxyprogesterone caproate, as well as the atypical agent danazol.


title: Norethisterone

text: Both norethisterone and NETA are also available in the United States as contraceptives. Norethisterone is available both alone (brand names Camila, Errin, Heather, Micronor, Nor-QD, others) and in combination with EE (Norinyl, Ortho-Novum, others) or mestranol (Norinyl, Ortho-Novum, others), while NETA is available only in combination with EE (Norlestrin, others). NETE is not available in the United States in any form.


title: Norethisterone

text: Norethisterone, as NETA and NETE, has been studied for use as a potential male hormonal contraceptive in combination with testosterone in men.


title: Norethisterone

text: Long-acting norethisterone microspheres for intramuscular injection have been studied for potential use in birth control.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: The game was originally released in Japan on April 27, 1990. The original Famicom version sold 1.4 million copies in Japan. It had not been released outside Japan until a remake, also called "Final Fantasy III", was developed by Matrix Software for the Nintendo DS on August 24, 2006. At that time, it was the only "Final Fantasy" game not previously released in North America or Europe. There had been earlier plans to remake the game for Bandai's WonderSwan Color handheld, as had been done with the first, second, and fourth installments of the series, but the game faced several delays and was eventually canceled after the premature cancellation of the platform. The Nintendo DS version of the game was positively received, selling nearly 2 million copies worldwide.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: It was also released for many other systems: the Japanese Famicom version via the Virtual Console on July 21, 2009 (Wii) and January 8, 2014 (Wii U), an iOS port of the Nintendo DS remake on March 24, 2011, an Android port on March 12, 2012, a PlayStation Portable port in late September 2012 (downloadable-only format outside Japan via PlayStation Network) and a Microsoft Windows port via Steam in 2014. An updated release based on the Famicom version of "Final Fantasy III" was released on Android, iOS, and Steam in 2021 as part of the "Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster" collection, marking the first time the original version of "Final Fantasy III" was released outside of Japan.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: The gameplay of "Final Fantasy III" combines elements of the first two "Final Fantasy" games with new features. The turn-based combat system remains in place from the first two games, but hit points are now shown above the target following attacks or healing actions, rather than captioned as in the previous two games. Auto-targeting for physical attacks after a friendly or enemy unit is killed is also featured for the first time. Unlike subsequent games in the series, magical attacks are not auto-targeted in the same fashion.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: The experience point system featured in "Final Fantasy" makes a return following its absence from "Final Fantasy II". The character class system featured in the first game also reappears, with some modifications. Whereas in the original game the player chooses each character's class alignment at the start of the game and is then locked into that class for the duration of the game, "Final Fantasy III" introduces the "job system" for which the series would later become famous. Jobs are presented as interchangeable classes: in the Famicom version of the game, all four characters begin as "Onion Knights", with a variety of additional jobs becoming available as the game progresses. Any playable character has access to every currently available job and can change from job to job at will. Switching jobs consumes "capacity points" which are awarded to the entire party following every battle, much like gil. Different weapons, pieces of armor, and magic spells are utilized by each job. A character's level of proficiency at a particular job increases the longer the character remains with that job. Higher job levels increase the battle statistics of the character and reduce the cost in capacity points to switch to that job.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: "Final Fantasy III" is the first game in the series to feature special battle commands such as "Steal" or "Jump", each of which is associated with a particular job ("Steal" is the Thief's specialty, while "Jump" is the Dragoon's forte). Certain jobs also feature innate, non-battle abilities, such as the Thief's ability to open passages that would otherwise require a special key item. "Final Fantasy III" is also the first game in the series to feature summoned creatures, which are called forth with the "Summon" skill.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: One thousand years before the events in the game, on a floating continent hovering high above the surface of an unnamed planet, a technologically advanced civilization sought to harness the power of the four elemental crystals of light. They did not realize that they could not control such fundamental forces of nature. This power of light would have consumed the world itself had the light crystals not had their natural counterparts: the four dark elemental crystals. Disturbed by the sudden interruption of the careful balance between light and dark, four warriors were granted the power of the dark crystals to recapture the power of the light crystals. These so-called Dark Warriors succeeded in their quest, and restored harmony to the world. But their victory came too late to save the doomed civilization, whose culture was reduced to ruin, though their floating continent remained. On that continent, the circle of Gulgans, a race of blind soothsayers and fortune-tellers, predicted that these events will ultimately repeat.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: "Final Fantasy III" focuses around four orphans from the remote village of Ur (while in the remakes players only begin as Luneth, slowly picking up the other 3 characters as they progress; a change from the original and from other early "Final Fantasy" titles), each starting off as an Onion Knight in the original game.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: An earthquake opens up a previously hidden cavern in Altar Cave near the village of Ur on the floating continent. Four young orphans under the care of Topapa, the village elder, explore the earthquake's impact and come across a crystal of light. The crystal grants them a portion of its power, and instructs them to go forth and restore balance to the world. Not knowing what to make of the crystal's pronouncements, but nonetheless recognizing the importance of its words, the four inform their adoptive family of their mission and set out to explore an overworld outside the area in which they were brought up, in order to bring balance back to the world.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Their adventures lead them to discover that there lies a whole world beyond the boundaries of the floating continent upon which they were living. In the world below, they discover a warlock named Xande, one of three apprentices to the legendary Archmage Noah, is trying to possess the crystals of light, so as to bring forth chaos and disorder. The four warriors eventually arrive at the Crystal Tower where they discover that the Cloud of Darkness is the source of the recent events. The Cloud attempts to create a similar situation to the Flood of Light a millennium earlier so that the world is pulled into the void. The Light Warriors traverse into the domain of the dark crystals to free the imprisoned Dark Warriors and defeat the Cloud of Darkness, thereby restoring the crystals and balance to the world. In the DS remake, there are several "side quests" that can also be completed.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: The story is virtually the same in the remakes, but with some major differences in the introductory sequence. In the remakes, Luneth goes to the Altar Cave alone, but while exploring he trips and falls into a hole created by the earthquake. He is then beset by goblins, and while he is frantically searching for a way out, he comes upon a room, where he is ambushed by a Land Turtle. After defeating it, he finds the Wind Crystal, which tells him that he has been chosen as a Warrior of Light, destined to restore balance to the world, and there are three others like him, but before Luneth can ask it to elaborate, he is teleported to the surface. He returns to Ur, but Elder Topapa does not elucidate much on the matter besides stating that someone had brought him to Topapa. Going to a corner of town, Luneth finds his friend Arc being bullied by some of the kids. When Luneth intervenes, the kids run away, with Arc running away to Kazus, proving that he is not scared of ghosts.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Luneth chases Arc to Kazus and, upon reuniting with Arc, discovers that the rumors of a curse on Kazus are not false. The people there are see-through, and one such person, Cid of Canaan, instructs the two boys to take his airship and look for Refia, the mythril smith Takka's adoptive daughter. They find her on the airship, and accompany her to Castle Sasune as per her suggestion. There, they meet Ingus, a soldier of Sasune who had been away during the curse's happening. He joins the trio after an audience with the king, who instructs them to find his daughter, Sara. They catch up to her in the Sealed Cave behind a wall that could only be accessible by interacting with 'the skeleton key.' So, with her accompanying them, they battle the monster who cast the curse: the Djinn. Just as Sara seals the Djinn away, however, Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus all disappear before her eyes. As it transpires, the wind crystal had summoned the four youths in order to grant them a portion of its power which allows you access to the jobs Thief, Warrior, Black Mage, White Mage, and Red Mage. After this, Luneth and company reunite with Sara at Castle Sasune. She completes the process of dispelling the Djinn's curse by tossing the ring into a fountain of water underneath the castle, but becomes depressed when Luneth reveals that he and his companions must leave at once. After Sara stops crying long enough to see them off, they go back to Kazus, where Takka drags Refia home. The three boys consult with Cid, then with Takka, who builds a mythril ram on the ship. Refia is not with Takka when the boys return to ask for a mythril ram, and when the party once more finds her aboard Cid's airship, the player would be able to piece together why she wasn't with him. She had told Takka that she is a Warrior of Light like the boys, and therefore has to leave. The new introductory sequence ends with the airship being used to demolish the boulder in Nelv Valley along with the ship.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Director and story writer Hironobu Sakaguchi, designer Hiromichi Tanaka, character designer Yoshitaka Amano, scenario writer Kenji Terada, and music composer Nobuo Uematsu returned from the two previous "Final Fantasy" games to contribute to the development of "Final Fantasy III". As with the previous two installments of the series, "Final Fantasy III" was programmed for the Famicom by Nasir Gebelli. It was the last original "Final Fantasy" title on which Gebelli worked. Midway through the development of the game, Gebelli was forced to return to Sacramento, California from Japan due to an expired work visa. The rest of the development staff followed him to Sacramento with necessary materials and equipment and finished production of the game there. The completed game was one of the largest ever released for the Famicom, published on a 512KB cartridge, the second-highest capacity available for the console. Like many console role-playing games of the era, "Final Fantasy III" is noted for its difficulty.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Square developed and released "Final Fantasy III" during the same period that Nintendo released its 16-bit Super Famicom console, intended as the successor to the original 8-bit Famicom. Designer Hiromichi Tanaka said that the original game was never released outside Japan because Square was focused on developing for Nintendo's new console.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Square planned to localize and release the game outside Japan, but the game's localization's plans were scrapped.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: The music of the "Final Fantasy III" was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. "Final Fantasy III Original Sound Version", a compilation album of almost all of the music in the game, was released by Square/NTT Publishing in 1991, and subsequently re-released by NTT Publishing in 1994 and 2004. A vocal arrangement album entitled "Final Fantasy III Yūkyū no Kaze Densetsu", or literally "Final Fantasy III Legend of the Eternal Wind", contains a selection of musical tracks from the game, performed by Nobuo Uematsu and Dido, a duo composed of Michiaki Kato and Shizuru Ohtaka. The album was released by Data M in 1990 and by Polystar in 1994.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Selected tracks the game were featured in various "Final Fantasy" arranged music compilation albums, including "" and "" (with lyrical renditions performed by singer Risa Ohki), and the and albums from Uematsu's progressive metal group, The Black Mages. Several tracks from the game were subsequently remixed and featured in later Square or Square Enix titles, including "Chocobo Racing" and "". Several pieces from the soundtrack remain popular today, and have been performed numerous times in "Final Fantasy" orchestral concert series such as the "Tour de Japon: Music from Final Fantasy" concert series and the "Distant Worlds - Music from Final Fantasy" series.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Bandai unveiled their WonderSwan Color handheld system in 2000 and had immediately headed up a deal with Square to release enhanced remakes of their first three "Final Fantasy" titles on the new console. Although "Final Fantasy" and "Final Fantasy II" were both released within a year of the announcement, "Final Fantasy III" was ultimately delayed from its late 2001 release date, even after Bandai picked up the game's publishing rights. While a port of "Final Fantasy IV" was eventually released for the WonderSwan Color, Square remained silent regarding "Final Fantasy III". Although the game was never formally cancelled, the official website was taken offline once production of the WonderSwan Color consoles ceased in 2002.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: In 2007, Hiromichi Tanaka explained in an interview that the WonderSwan Color remake had been abandoned because the size and structure of the coding of the original Famicom game was too difficult to recreate on the WonderSwan Color:


title: Final Fantasy III

text: There are two distinct "Final Fantasy III" versions: the original 2D Famicom version, and a completely remade 3D version.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: Upon release, "Famicom Tsūshin" (now "Famitsu") gave the Famicom version a score of 36 out of 40, based on a panel of four reviewers giving it ratings of 9, 9, 10 and 8 out of 10. This made it one of their three highest-rated games of 1990, along with "" and "F-Zero", both of which scored 37 out of 40. It was also one of the magazine's six highest-rated games up until 1990, along with "Dragon Quest II", "Dragon Quest III" and "".


title: Final Fantasy III

text: In "Famicom Tsūshin"s 1990 Game of the Year awards, "Final Fantasy III" was voted the runner-up for the Grand Prize, with 37,101 points, behind "Dragon Quest IV". In 2006, readers of the Japanese gaming magazine "Famitsu" voted the original "Final Fantasy III" the eighth best video game of all-time, above "Dragon Quest IV". As of March 31, 2003, the original Famicom game had shipped 1.4 million copies in Japan.


title: Final Fantasy III

text: From 1991 to 1992, Kadokawa Shoten's Famicom gaming magazine, published , a manga serialization of "Final Fantasy III" illustrated by Yu Kinutani. Based on the original story by Kenji Terada, the manga chronicles the events that take place throughout the course of the game. It was subsequently collected into three tankōbon under Kadokawa Shoten's Dragon Comics imprint: "Legend of the Eternal Wind 1", "2", and "3".


title: Final Fantasy III

text: The Onion Knight and the Cloud of Darkness are the respective hero and villainess representing "Final Fantasy III" in "Dissidia Final Fantasy", where they are voiced by Jun Fukuyama and Masako Ikeda, respectively, in the Japanese version, and by Aaron Spann and Laura Bailey, respectively, in English. The characters reprise their roles in the sequels, "Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy" and "Dissidia Final Fantasy NT".


title: Toya Johnson

text: Antonia "Toya" Rushing ( Johnson; born October 26, 1983) is an American reality television personality.


title: Toya Johnson

text: Johnson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the second child of Anita Johnson and Walter Andrews.


title: Toya Johnson

text: In 2009, Johnson and Tameka "Tiny" Harris from the R&B group Xscape (also wife of rapper T.I.) starred on a reality show on BET called "Tiny and Toya".


title: Toya Johnson

text: She wrote a book called "Priceless Inspirations", as well a memoir titled "In My Own Words..My Real Reality", "How to Lose a Husband", and "You Just Don't Get It" with her daughter, Reginae Carter. She owns a boutique called "G.A.R.B." in New Orleans, Louisiana, and GARB Shoetique in Smyrna, Georgia. Johnson starred in her own reality show on BET called "Toya: A Family Affair" which consisted of 16 episodes of one season in 2011.


title: Toya Johnson

text: At age 14, Johnson and rapper Lil Wayne met when she was at a corner store and Wayne was standing outside in New Orleans, Louisiana. She became pregnant with their daughter at the


title: Toya Johnson

text: age of 15. Lil Wayne was already signed to Cash Money Records as a burgeoning rapper. He ultimately chose to fully pursue his rap career with Cash Money Records in order to support his child. When she was 15 and Lil Wayne was 16, Johnson gave birth to their daughter, Reginae Carter on November 29, 1998. Years later, upon Lil Wayne achieving stardom, they were married on February 14, 2004. In January 2006, however, after almost two years of marriage, the couple separated, citing her inability to cope with his lifestyle, most specifically his career keeping him away from home for long periods of time. Despite being divorced, the two have remained good friends and continue to raise their daughter together.


title: Toya Johnson

text: On June 18, 2011, Johnson and Memphitz were married in Atlanta. The wedding guest list included rapper Rasheeda, Tameka Harris, Kandi Burruss, Nivea, Lauren London, Monica Brown, and Tamar Braxton. In February 2015, Johnson confirmed that she and Wright had separated after almost four years of marriage.


title: Toya Johnson

text: On July 31, 2016, Johnson's brothers Josh and Rudy were shot in New Orleans while inside of their car.


title: Toya Johnson

text: On February 8, 2018, Johnson gave birth to baby girl, Reign, with her now husband, Robert" Red" Rushing.


title: Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

text: The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour () is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the third tallest Orthodox Christian church building in the world, after the People's Salvation Cathedral in Bucharest, Romania and Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia.


title: Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

text: The current church is the second to stand on this site. The original church, built during the 19th century, took more than 40 years to build, and was the scene of the 1882 world premiere of the "1812 Overture" composed by Tchaikovsky. It was destroyed in 1931 on the order of the Soviet Politburo. The demolition was supposed to make way for a colossal Palace of the Soviets to house the country's legislature, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Construction started in 1937 but was halted in 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. Its steel frame was disassembled the following year, and the palace was never built. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the current church was rebuilt on the site between 1995 and 2000.


title: Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

text: When Napoleon Bonaparte retreated from Moscow, Tsar Alexander I signed a manifesto on 25 December 1812 declaring his intention to build a cathedral in honor of Christ the Saviour "to signify Our gratitude to Divine Providence for saving Russia from the doom that overshadowed Her" and as a memorial to the sacrifices of the Russian people. It took some time for work on the projected cathedral to get started. The first finished architectural project, by Aleksandr Lavrentyevich Vitberg, was endorsed by the Tsar in 1817. It was a flamboyant Neoclassical design full of Masonic symbolism.