title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The best-known and most visible sign of Catholic traditionalism is an attachment to the form that the Roman Rite liturgy of the Mass had before the liturgical reform of 1969–1970, in the various editions of the Roman Missal published between 1570 and 1962. This form is generally known as the Tridentine Mass, though traditionalists usually prefer to call it the "Traditional Mass". Many refer to it as the "Latin Mass", though Latin is the language also of the official text of the post-Vatican II Mass, to which vernacular translations are obliged to conform, and canon law states that "the eucharistic celebration is to be carried out "in the Latin language" or in another language provided that the liturgical texts have been legitimately approved." In his 2007 motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" Pope Benedict XVI relaxed the regulations on use of the 1962 Missal, designating it "an" extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, as opposed to "the" ordinary or normal form, as revised successively by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. In 2021, Pope Francis promulgated "Traditionis custodes", amending and abrogating parts of "Summorum Pontificum".


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Different traditionalist priests use different editions of the Roman Missal to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. Most, not only those in good standing with the Holy See but also such as those in the SSPX, use the 1962 edition, the only one that the Holy See authorises. A series of modifications to the 1962 liturgy introduced in 1965 are used by some traditionalists in good standing with Rome. This version of the liturgy is sometimes referred to as that of the "1965 Missal", though no new edition of the Roman Missal was in fact published in that year. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, in an effort to get around the 1955 Holy Week reforms of Pius XII, which are part of the 1962 edition, has requested special permission from the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" for provisional use of the older Holy Week rites ""ad experimentum"," beginning in 2018 and running through Holy Week 2020, at which point it will be determined whether the Holy See will grant a broader permission.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Since sedevacantists consider John XXIII not to have been a Pope, they reject the 1962 typical edition of the Roman Missal, which he promulgated. They generally use the 1920 typical edition, updated to some date previous to 1962. The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen follows the Missal as in 1955, accepting the changes introduced by Pius XII, but others reject his alteration of the calendar of saints and his revision of the rites of Holy Week. Thus these others reject John XXIII's 1962 edition, which most notably featured the addition of St. Joseph to the enumeration of saints in the Roman Canon, and Pius XII's changes, seeing these changes as steps that led to the post-Vatican II Mass. There are no reports of priests regularly using any typical edition of the Missal earlier than that of 1920, which incorporated the rubrical and calendar changes made by Pope Pius X in 1910.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Linked with the celebration of the Tridentine Mass is the observance of the liturgical calendar of saints' days as it existed before the revision of 1969 (see General Roman Calendar of 1960). Some also ignore the revisions of 1960 by Pope John XXIII, and of 1955 by Pope Pius XII, and use instead the General Roman Calendar of 1954.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Many traditionalist Catholics lay stress on following customs prevailing immediately before the Second Vatican Council, such as the following:


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: These practices are not confined to traditionalists: many mainstream Catholics also follow them. Likewise, they are not all followed by all traditionalist Catholics at all times.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Traditional Catholics, with respect to male and female gender roles, adhere to the doctrine of complementarianism.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The standards of clothing among Traditional Catholics, based on instructions given by Pope Pius XI and consequently promoted by the Purity Crusade of Mary Immaculate, is referred to as "Mary-like Modesty", which includes for women, wearing sleeves "extending at least to the elbows" and "skirts reaching below the knees", as well as having a neckline no more than two inches with the rest of the bodice fully covered.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Richard Williamson, then a bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X, stated that "women's trousers, as worn today, short or long, modest or immodest, tight or loose, open or disguised (like the "culottes”), are an assault upon woman's womanhood and so they represent a deep-lying revolt against the order willed by God."


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: It is commonplace for women who identify as traditionalist Catholics to wear a head covering (veil) while praying at home and attending celebrations of the Mass.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) opposes the presence of television in the household, teaching that it is an occasion of sin.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Since the Second Vatican Council, various Eastern Catholic Churches have removed some practices and emphases that were derived from those of the Latin Church. Opposition to this has been given relatively high publicity with regard to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC).


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Even before the Second Vatican Council the Holy See declared it important to guard and preserve whole and entire forever the customs and distinct forms for administering the sacraments in use in the Eastern Catholic Churches (Pope Leo XIII, encyclical "Orientalium Dignitas"). Leo's successor Pope Pius X said that the priests of the newly created Russian Catholic Church should offer the Divine Liturgy "Nec Plus, Nec Minus, Nec Aliter" ("No more, No Less, No Different") than priests of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Old Believers.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: In the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, liturgical de-latinization began with the 1930s corrections of the liturgical books by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. According to his biographer Cyril Korolevsky, Metropolitan Andrey opposed use of coercion against those who remained attached to Latin liturgical practices, fearing that any attempt to do so would lead to a Greek-Catholic equivalent of the 1666 Schism within the Russian Orthodox Church.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: De-latinization in the UGCC gained further momentum with the 1964 decree "Orientalium Ecclesiarum" of the Second Vatican Council) and several subsequent documents. Latinisations were discarded within the Ukrainian diaspora, while among Byzantine Catholics in Western Ukraine, forced into a clandestine existence following the Soviet ban on the UGCC, the latinizations remained, "an important component of their underground practices", in illegal parishes, seminaries, and religious communities. After proscription of the UGCC was lifted in 1989, priests and hierarchs arrived from the diaspora and began to enforce a liturgical conformity that met with opposition.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: In response, many priests, nuns, and candidates for the priesthood found themselves, "forced towards the periphery of the church since 1989 because of their wish to 'keep the tradition'." In some eparchies, particularly those of Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil-Zboriv, the bishops would immediately suspend any priest who, "displayed his inclination toward 'traditionalist' practices".


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Vlad Naumescu reports that an article in the February 2003 issue of "Patriayarkhat", the official journal of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, written by a student of the Ukrainian Catholic University, which since its 1994 foundation has been, "the strongest progressive voice within the Church". The article named priests and parishes in every eparchy in Ukraine as being involved in "a well-organized movement" and who described themselves as "traditionalists". According to the article, they constituted "a parallel structure" with connections with the Society of St. Pius X and with a charismatic leader in Fr. Basil Kovpak, the Pastor of St. Peter and Paul's Church in the suburb of Lviv-Riasne.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: According to Vlad Naumescu, "Religious life in a traditionalist parish followed the model of the 'underground church.' Devotions were more intense, with each priest promoting his parish as a 'place of pilgrimage' for the neighboring areas, thus drawing larger crowds on Sunday than his local parish could provide. On Sundays and feast days, religious services took place three times a day (in Riasne), and the Sunday liturgy lasted for two and a half to three hours. The main religious celebrations took place outside the church in the middle of the neighborhood, and on every occasion traditionalists organized long processions through the entire locality. The community was strongly united by its common opponent, re-enacting the model of the 'defender of faith' common to times of repression. This model, which presupposes clear-cut attitudes and a firm moral stance, mobilized the community and reproduced the former determination of the 'underground' believers."


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat (SSJK), which operates a seminary, Basilian convent, and numerous parishes, receives priestly orders from the bishops of the SSPX. Its superior, Father Basil Kovpak, has accused the UGCC hierarchy of using intense psychological pressure against priests who are reluctant or unwilling to de-Latinise. He alleges that numerous laity, attached to the Latinisations since the Soviet persecution of the UGCC, would prefer to stay home on Sunday rather than attend a de-Latinised liturgy.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The SSJK opposes removal of the stations of the cross, the rosary and the monstrance from the liturgy and parishes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. They also reject replacement of the UGCC's liturgical language, Old Church Slavonic, with the vernacular Ukrainian language. In his memoir "Persecuted Tradition", Kovpak also mentions many examples of the UGCC turning away Orthodox clergy and laity who wish to convert to Eastern Catholicism. In many cases, he alleges, this is because the converts are not ethnically Ukrainian. Fr. Kovpak called this a betrayal of the efforts by Pope Pius X, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, and Exarch Leonid Feodorov to create the Russian Greek Catholic Church and to convert the Russian people.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: In 2004, the year after the publication of Fr. Kovpak's book, Cardinal Lubomyr excommunicated Kovpak from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Kovpak appealed this punishment at the papal Sacra Rota Romana in Vatican City and the excommunication was declared null and void for lack of canonical form.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: In 2006, the SSJK got Latin Bishop Richard Williamson, at that time a member of the SSPX, to ordain two priests and seven deacons in Warsaw, Poland, an action that violated canons 1015 §2, 1021 and 1331 §2 of the Code of Canon Law and the corresponding canons of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Fr. John Jenkins, an SSPX priest who was present, later remarked, "We were all very edified by their piety, and I myself was astonished by the resemblance of the atmosphere amongst the seminarians with that which I knew in the seminary – this in spite of the difference of language, nationality and even rite."


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Archeparch Ihor Vozniak of Lviv, the Archeparchy in which the PSSJ is most active, denounced the ordinations as a "criminal act", and condemned Fr. Kovpak's participation in the ceremony. He stressed that the two priests whom Bishop Williamson had ordained would not receive faculties within the Archeparchy. Officials of the Lviv archdiocese said that Kovpak could face excommunication, and that ""'he deceives the church by declaring that he is a Greek (Byzantine) Catholic priest,' while supporting a group "[SSPX]" that uses the old Latin liturgy exclusively, eschewing the Byzantine tradition, and does not maintain allegiance to the Holy See.""


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Father Kovpak's excommunication process was restarted by the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and was confirmed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 23 November 2007.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: On 3 March 2008 a group of Basilian priests stationed in Pidhirtsi, Ukraine, informed Pope Benedict XVI that four of them had been consecrated as bishops in order to save the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) from heresy and apostasy. On 11 August 2009, they announced the formation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church as a "new Church structure for the orthodox faithful of the UGCC", professing the Catholic faith, including the primacy of the Roman Pontiff, and disassociating themselves from "contemporary heresies which destroy both the Eastern and the Western Church". Having elected Czech Basilian priest Fr. Anthony Elias Dohnal as "Patriarch Elijah", they declared on 1 May 2011 that both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were excommunicated and that the Holy See was vacant (Sedevacantism). They added: "The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate is now commissioned by God to protect the orthodox doctrine of the Catholic Church, including the Latin Church. Only after an orthodox Catholic hierarchy and an orthodox successor to the Papacy is elected, will the Patriarchate be relieved of this God-given duty."


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: On 29 September 2019, Patriarch Elijah of the UOGCC issued "an anathema [...] on 26 cardinals, 134 bishops and 99 priests, participants in the [...] Amazon Synod"


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: On 14 October 2019, the UOGCC broke with their former policy of Sedevacantism and embraced Conclavism. They announced they had elected Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, as their Pope.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: In a 2014 article in "The New York Times" about the UOGCC, Patriarch Elijah and his followers were alleged to be Pro-Russian, anti-Ukrainian, and violently opposed to the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution. In the same article, Kyr Ihor Vozniak, UGCC Archeparch of Lviv, was quoted as saying that the UOGCC is financed and secretly led by the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation in order to introduce anarchy and chaos into the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: According to the Lviv-based newspaper "Ekspres", Fr. Dohnal, alias Patriarch Elijah, was a KGB informer inside the Roman Catholic Diocese of Litoměřice before the Fall of Communism in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In support of their claims, "Ekspres" published a document identifying Fr. Dohnal as a KGB mole with the code name “Tonek.” The UOGCC denies the accusation.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The Holy See recognises as fully legitimate the preference that many Catholics have for the earlier forms of worship. This was apparent in Pope John Paul II's 1988 apostolic letter "Ecclesia Dei" and Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum". Naturally, however, the Holy See does not extend its approval to those who take a stand against the present-day Church leadership, which is reiterated in "Traditionis Custodes".


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei was founded in July 1988 in the wake of Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter "Ecclesia Dei". Pope Benedict XVI was a member of the Commission during his tenure as Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Speaking on 16 May 2007 to the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Cardinal Castrillón, the current head of the Commission, stated that his department had been founded for the care of those "traditionalist Catholics" who, while discontented with the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, had broken with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, "because they disagreed with his schismatic action in ordaining Bishops without the required papal mandate". He added that at present the Commission's activity is not limited to the service of those Catholics, nor to "the efforts undertaken to end the regrettable schismatic situation and secure the return of those brethren belonging to the Fraternity of Saint Pius X to full communion." It extends also, he said, to "satisfying the just aspirations of people, unrelated to the two aforementioned groups, who, because of their specific sensitiveness, wish to keep alive the earlier Latin liturgy in the celebration of the Eucharist and the other sacraments."


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: In the same speech Cardinal Castrillón indicated that it was intended to make the Commission an organ of the Holy See for the purpose of preserving and maintaining the traditional liturgy; at the same time he stated that this was not with the purpose of "going backward, of returning to the times before the 1970 reform... The Holy Father wishes to preserve the immense spiritual, cultural and aesthetic treasure linked with the old liturgy. Recovery of these riches goes together with the no less precious riches of the Church's present liturgy." In 2019, Pope Francis suppressed this commission and transferred its responsibilities directly to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Following months of rumour and speculation, Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" in July 2007. The Pope ruled that priests of the Latin Church can freely choose between the 1962 Roman Missal and the later edition "in Masses celebrated without the people". Such celebrations may be attended by those who spontaneously ask to be allowed. Priests in charge of churches can permit stable groups of laypeople attached to the earlier form to have Mass celebrated for them in that form, provided that the celebrating priest is "qualified to [celebrate] and not juridically impeded" (this would exclude traditionalist priests not in good standing with Rome). In 2021, Pope Francis issued "Traditionis custodes", which severely restricted the use of the Extraordinary Form for those not addressed by "Ecclesia Dei".


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The document, as well as being welcomed by the traditionalist groups that have been in good relations with Rome, has been considered by groups such as the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, which have been in dispute with Rome, to be sufficient grounds for seeking an agreement. The Society of Saint Pius X welcomed the document, but referred to "difficulties that still remain", including "disputed doctrinal issues" and the notice of excommunication that still affected its bishops. Sedevacantists of course consider all documents issued by Benedict XVI to be devoid of canonical force.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The conferring of holy orders may be valid but illicit. The Catholic Church obviously considers the orders of traditionalist clergy who are in good standing with the Holy See, such as the clergy of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, to be both valid and licit. It sees as valid but illicit the orders of the bishops and priests of the Society of Saint Pius X, and accordingly considers them to be forbidden by law to exercise priestly offices, but still technically priests. As for the "independent" traditionalists, whether bishops or priests, it certainly sees their ordination as illicit, but its judgement on the validity is less clear. The Holy See declared devoid of canonical effect the consecration ceremony conducted by Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục for the Carmelite Order of the Holy Face group at midnight of 31 December 1975, while expressly refraining from pronouncing on its validity. It made the same statement with regard also to any later ordinations that those bishops might confer, saying that, "as for those who have already thus unlawfully received ordination or any who may yet accept ordination from these, whatever may be the validity of the orders ("quidquid sit de ordinum validitate"), the Church does not and will not recognise their ordination ("ipsorum ordinationem"), and will consider them, for all legal effects, as still in the state in which they were before, except that the ... penalties remain until they repent."


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Traditionalists themselves are divided on the question of the validity of the orders conferred using the rite promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1968. Those who deny or put in doubt the validity of the sacramental liturgies as revised after the Second Vatican Council pass the same negative judgement on all such ordinations. The Society of Saint Pius V split from that of Saint Pius X for reasons that included Archbishop Lefebvre's acceptance of priests ordained according to the revised sacramental rites as members of the traditionalist Society that he founded.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: Estimates of the number of traditionalist Catholics vary. Catholic World News reported that "the Vatican" estimated the number of those served by the Fraternity of St Peter, the Society of St Pius X and similar groups at "close to 1 million". Various sources estimate the adherents of the Society of St Pius X alone at 1 million. No major religious survey has ever made an attempt to sample and enumerate subsets of Catholics by their position on a liberal to mainstream conservative to traditionalist and sedevacantist continuum, so any figures on the numbers of traditionalist Catholics must by necessity be more or less educated guesses.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: The SSPX had priests resident in 37 countries and priests on mission in 35 more in 2018. The next largest, the FSSP, served 129 dioceses in the previous year and were in charge of 40 personal parishes. A large share of their members in each case are stationed in France. Two smaller societies, the SSPV and CMRI, are based in the United States.


title: Traditionalist Catholicism

text: This is a list of notable traditionalist Catholic groups. Some are in full communion with the Holy See, and some have irregular status, according to doctrines and disciplines of the Catholic Church.


title: Lilly Krug

text: Lilly Krug (born 5 June 2001 in Munich) is a German-American film and television actress and social media personality.


title: Lilly Krug

text: Lilly Krug was born in Munich, Germany to actress Veronica Ferres and marketing manager Martin Krug. After her parents had divorced and her mother remarried, the entrepreneur Carsten Maschmeyer became her stepfather.


title: Lilly Krug

text: Krug, who currently resides in Los Angeles, followed her mother's footsteps and began working as an actress. She has been featured in movies alongside Michael Shannon, Casey Affleck and Gael García Bernaland is currently studying psychology and acting.


title: Nekomata

text: Nekomata (original form: , later forms: , , ) are a kind of cat "yōkai" described in Japanese folklore, classical kaidan, essays, etc. There are two very different types: those that live in the mountains and domestic cats that have grown old and transformed into "yōkai". "Nekomata" are often confused with "bakeneko".


title: Nekomata

text: "Nekomata" appear in stories even earlier than in Japan. In the Sui dynasty, the words and described mysterious cats. In Japanese literature, the "nekomata" first appeared in the Meigetsuki by Fujiwara no Teika in the early Kamakura period: in the beginning of Tenpuku (1233), August 2, in Nanto (now Nara Prefecture), a nekomata () was said to have killed and eaten several people in one night. The nekomata was described as a mountain beast: according to the Meigetsuki, "They have eyes like a cat, and have a large body like a dog." The essay Tsurezuregusa from the late Kamakura period (circa 1331) asserts, "." However, many people question whether the "nekomata" really is a cat monster. Since people are said to suffer an illness called "", some interpret the "nekomata" to be a beast that has caught rabies.


title: Nekomata

text: Even in the kaidan collections, the "" and the "," "nekomata" conceal themselves in mountain recesses; and there are stories that deep in the mountains they shapeshift into humans. In folk religion there are many stories of mountainous "nekomata". In later literature, the mountain "nekomata" tend to be larger. In the "" "nekomata" captured in the mountains of Kii Province are as large as a wild boar; in the "" of 1775 (Anei 4), their roaring echos throughout the mountain, and they can be seen as big as a lion or leopard. In the "" of 1809 (Bunka 6), a "nekomata" that held a dog in its mouth was described as having a span of 9 shaku and 5 sun (about 2.8 meters).


title: Nekomata

text: In Etchū Province (now Toyama Prefecture), in Aizu, at Nekomatayama said to be where "nekomata" would devour humans (now Fukushima Prefecture), "nekomata" that shapeshift into humans and deceive people, like Mount Nekomadake, the legends sometimes are named after the name of the associated mountain. Regarding Nekomatayama and altogether disregarding folklore, there are in fact large cats that attack humans.


title: Nekomata

text: At the same time, in the Kokon Chomonjū of the Kamakura period, in the story "", an old cat raised in a villa on a mountain precipice held a secret treasure, a protective sword, in its mouth and ran away. People chased the cat, but it disguised itself and left behind the thought of the cat becoming a monster. In the aforementioned "Tsurezuregusa", in addition to "nekomata" that conceal themselves in the mountains, there are descriptions of pet cats that grow old, transform, and eat and abduct people.


title: Nekomata

text: Since the Edo period, it has become generally believed that domestic cats turn into "nekomata" as they grow old, and mountainous "nekomata" have come to be interpreted as cats that have run away to live in the mountains. As a result, throughout Japan a folk belief developed that cats should not be kept for long periods.


title: Nekomata

text: In the "" the courtier Sadatake Ise stated, "A cat that is several years of age will come to have two tails, and become the "yōkai" called nekomata." The mid-Edo period scholar Arai Hakuseki stated, "Old cats become 'nekomata' and bewilder people." and indicated that at that time it was common to believe that cats become "nekomata". Even the Edo-period Kawaraban reported this strange phenomenon.


title: Nekomata

text: In the book "Yamato Kaiiki" (, engl. "Mysterious stories from Japan"), written by an unknown author in 1708, one story speaks of a rich samurai's haunted house where the inhabitants witnessed several poltergeist activities. Attempting to end those events, the samurai called upon countless shamans, priests and evokers; but none of them could locate the source of the terror. One day, one of the most loyal servants saw his master's aged cat carrying in its mouth a "shikigami" with the samurai's name imprinted on it. Immediately shooting a sacred arrow, the servant hit the cat in its head; and as it lay dead on the floor, everyone could see that the cat had two tails and therefore had become a "nekomata". With its death, the poltergeist activities ended. Similar eerie stories about encounters with "nekomata" appear in books such as "Taihei Hyakumonogatari" (, engl. "Collection of 100 fairy tales"), written by Yusuke (, or Yūsa) in 1723 and in "Rōō Chabanashi" (, "Tea-time gossip of old ladies"), by Misaka Daiyata (), 1742.


title: Nekomata

text: It is generally said that the "mata" () of "nekomata" refers to their having two tails; but from the perspective of folkloristics, this appears questionable. Since "nekomata" transform as they age, "mata" meaning "repetition" is postulated. Alternatively, since they were once thought to be mountain beasts, there is a theory that "mata" () refers to monkeys, since "nekomata" can come and go freely among the mountain trees. There is also a theory that the term derives from the way in which cats that grow old shed the skin off their backs and hang downwards, making it appear that they have two tails.


title: Nekomata

text: In Japan cats are often associated with death, and this particular spirit is often blamed. Far darker and more malevolent than most "bakeneko", the "nekomata" is said to have powers of necromancy, and upon raising the dead, will control them with ritualistic dances, gesturing with paw and tail. These "yōkai" are associated with strange fires and other inexplicable occurrences. The older and more abused a cat is prior to its transformation, the more power the "nekomata" is said to have. To gain revenge against those who wronged it, the spirit may haunt humans with visitations from their deceased relatives. Some tales state that these demons, like "bakeneko", assume human appearances, usually appearing as older women, behaving badly in public, and bringing gloom and malevolence wherever they travel. Due to these beliefs, sometimes kittens' tails were cut off based on the assumption that if the tails could not fork, the cats could not become "nekomata".


title: Nekomata

text: From this discernment and strange characteristics, "nekomata" have been considered devilish from time immemorial. Due to fears and folk beliefs such as the dead resurrecting at a funeral, or that seven generations would be cursed as a result of killing a cat, it is thought that the legend of the "nekomata" was born. Also, in folk beliefs cats and the dead are related. As carnivores, cats have a keen sense of detecting the smell of rot, so it was believed that they had a habit of approaching corpses; with this folk belief sometimes the kasha, a "yōkai" that steals corpses are seen to be the same as the "nekomata".


title: Nekomata

text: Also in Japan there are cat "yōkai" called "bakeneko"; and since "nekomata" are the "yōkai" of transformed cats, sometimes "nekomata" are confused with "bakeneko".


title: Nekomata

text: In the Edo period many books illustrating and describing "yōkai" were published (yōkai emaki), with "nekomata" frequently depicted. The Hyakkai Zukan published in 1737 (Gembun 2) includes an illustration of a "nekomata" assuming the appearance of a woman playing a shamisen. (See the first image on this page.) Since Edo-period shamisen frequently were made using cat skins, that particular nekomata sang a sad song about its species as it plucked the strings. Understandably, the image has been interpreted as ironic. As for the "nekomata"s wearing geisha clothing, sometimes "nekomata" and geisha are considered related since geisha were once called "cats (neko)"


title: Nekomata

text: Also shown at the right, the "Gazu Hyakki Yagyō" of 1776 (An'ei 5) depicts a cat with its head protruding from a shōji screen, a cat with a handkerchief on its head and its forepaw on the veranda, and a cat wearing a handkerchief and standing upright. The less experienced cat has difficulty standing on its hind legs while the older cat is able to do so: we are viewing the process by which a normal cat ages and transforms into a "nekomata". In the Bigelow ukiyo-e collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the "Hyakki Yagyō Emaki" includes a similar composition, leading some scholars to see a relationship between the books.


title: Nekomata

text: In Chinese lore there is a cat "yōkai" called "senri ()" (where means "leopard cat"). In this telling, leopard cats that grow old gain a divine spiritual power, shapeshift into a beautiful man or woman, and suck the spirit out of humans.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The BMW E28 is the second generation of BMW 5 Series executive cars, which was produced from 1981 to 1988 and replaced the E12 5 Series. Pre-series production began in April 1981 and the car was introduced in the autumn that year.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The E28 was initially produced with straight-four and straight-six petrol engines until 1983, when the 524td model became the first BMW car to be powered by a diesel engine. It was also the first 5 Series with the centre console angled towards the driver and to be available with anti-lock brakes (ABS).


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The first BMW M5 was produced during the E28 generation. It was powered by the M88/3 and S38 straight-six engines. The E24 6 Series coupés were built on the E28 platform from 1982 to 1989.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The E28 has a self-supporting body that is welded to the body platform. The passenger cell is a safety passenger cell with deformation elements both in the front and rear of the vehicle. Unlike its E12 predecessor and E34 successor, the E28 has a rear-hinged bonnet. The boot has a volume of . Most models have a fuel tank capacity of , with some models having a smaller tank of . The kerb weight is .


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Cruise control, an 'on-board computer' (to display trip information) and a "check control" panel (to alert the driver about fluid levels and lighting faults) were introduced to the 5 Series on the E28. The glazing is made of single-pane safety glass, the windscreen has laminated glass. As part of developing the air-conditioning system for the E28, several of the BMW engineers in charge of this program drove a previous generation E12 5 Series during the middle of summer in Texas. The E12 528i was painted black with a black interior, and driven in one day.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The styling was developed under BMW's chief designer Claus Luthe, with development of the E28 beginning in 1975. At the time that BMW was designing the E28, the company had only one computer, which was used for payroll management and spare parts logistics. Wolfgang Matschinsky and his team borrowed that computer to perform the calculations necessary to develop the new drivetrain and chassis. This was due to the fact that the addition of an ABS system necessitated a redesign from the previous model due to excessive vibrations under heavy braking.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The E28 was the first 5 Series produced with diesel engines (the 524d and 524td models) and with a petrol engined model specifically aimed at increased fuel economy (525e/528e model).


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The four models available at the launch of the E28 were the 518, 520i, 525i and 528i, with the 518 using a straight-four petrol engine and the other three models using a straight-six petrol engine. Over the course of the E28 model, the following models were added: the 524d and 524td using diesel engines, the 518i (a fuel-injected version of the 518), the 525e/528e as fuel-economy models, and the upper-specification 533i, 535i, M535i, and M5 models.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 518: Sold only in some European markets where it suited local tax categories, the 518 was the lowest specification model which used a four-cylinder engine with a carburetor. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 14.0 seconds.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 518i: The base model in Japan and some European countries, the 518i used a fuel-injected four-cylinder engine. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 12.6 seconds. This version was not sold in Germany until the 1984 facelift, when it replaced the carburetted 518.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 520i: A mid-range model with the smallest of the available six-cylinder engines. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 11.4 seconds.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 525e / 528e: The 525e (called 528e in North America and Japan) uses a 2.7-litre 6-cylinder M20 petrol engine which is optimised for fuel economy and torque at low engine speed, rather than the traditional high revving characteristics of BMW straight-six engines. The "e" stands for the Greek letter "eta", for economy. According to BMW, the 525e is more fuel efficient than the 520i, which has the same rated power of 92 kW. Since many markets tax cars based on engine displacement, the eta's larger engine meant that it was not suitable everywhere. The model was expressly developed with the American market in mind. BMW's corporate average fuel economy was at risk of not meeting requirements by 1984, primarily due to higher sales of their bigger, more expensive cars in the early 1980s. In Austria, the 525e was detuned to .


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars without a catalytic converter are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 10.7 seconds. With a catalytic converter, the figures are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 11.3 seconds


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 525i: This mid-range model is powered by a 2.5-litre 6-cylinder engine. The 525i was only sold in Europe. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 9.8 seconds.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 528i: Initially the highest specification available, the 6-cylinder 528i became a mid-range model following the release of the 533i and 535i models. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 8.4 seconds.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Only sold in Japan and North America, the 6-cylinder 533i was the highest specification model during its production years of 1983–1984. It was replaced by the 535i.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 535i/is: Released in 1984, the 535i replaced the 533i and uses the same 6-cylinder drivetrain as the M535i. In the US there was also a 535is model, which included sport seats and spoilers at the front and rear. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars without a catalytic converter are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 7.2 seconds. With a catalytic converter, the figures are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 7.9 seconds


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: M535i: The top of the regular production model range, the M535i uses the drivetrain from the 535i plus M-Technic suspension, and wheels and body panels not found on any other E28. The M535i was assembled on the standard E28 assembly lines in Dingolfing and Rosslyn. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars without a catalytic converter are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 7.2 seconds. With a catalytic converter, the figures are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 7.9 seconds


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 524d: At the 1986 Geneva Motor Show, four years after the introduction of the more powerful 524td model, the naturally-aspirated 524d model was introduced. It was only sold in some markets.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: 524td: This turbodiesel model was the first diesel car produced by BMW. It entered production in late 1982, when 100 pre-series cars were built. Factory performance figures for the manual transmission cars are a top speed of and 0–100 km/h acceleration in 12.9 seconds.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: BMW offered the E28 with both manual and automatic gearboxes. The torque is transmitted from the engine with a single-disc dry clutch with a torsional damper in the models with a manual gearbox, the automatic models have a torque converter with built in lockup-clutch.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Independent front and rear suspension is used, with Macpherson struts at the front and a semi-trailing arm design for the rear.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The front suspension was upgraded to use dual links at the bottom of the strut, as first seen on the E23 7 Series. This increases steering offset while cornering, to improve steering feel. Double-acting shock absorbers, coil springs and a front anti-roll bar are used.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The rear suspension is mounted on a delta beam that is connected to the body with three screws in rubber bearings, that have longitudinal play. Some models have a rear anti-roll bar.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The steering on most models is a speed-dependent recirculating ball power steering system made by ZF Friedrichshafen. The 518i has a Gemmer steering system with a double enveloping worm gear, also made by ZF.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Wheel sizes are 14-inch (16-inch for the M5 model) or 390 mm Michelin TRX. All rims have 22 mm positive rim offset.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The brakes use a hydraulic dual-circuit brake system with power assistance. The front wheels have disc brakes, that are – except for the 518i – internally ventilated. All models with 2.5 L or more displacement have rear disc brakes (non-vented), while the lesser powered models have rear drum brakes. To prevent the wheels from locking, BMW equipped the E28 after 1984 with an anti-lock braking system, although it was an option in some markets.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The North American line-up consisted of the 528e (1982-1988, known as the 525e in Europe), 533i (1983-1984), 535i (1985-1988), 524td (1985-1986), M5 (1986-1987) and 535is (1987-1988).


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The launch model was the 528e in 1982, followed by the 533i. The optional automatic transmission was initially a 3-speed (a 4-speed automatic was available in Europe at the time), with a 4-speed automatic transmission becoming optional in 1983. From 1985, all North American models had ABS Brakes as standard.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The North American E28 models had larger bumpers (designed to withstand a collision without body damage), which increased the overall length by .


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Instead of importing the M535i, BMW of North America created the 535is. This model is based on a 535i, plus front and rear spoilers, sport suspension and sport seats.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: Production of North American market M5 models began in late 1986 (two years after M5 production began for European markets), and it was only produced for twelve months as 1988 model year car. North American M5 models use the S38 engine instead of the M88/3. All North American M5 cars were painted Jet Black and most interiors were tan ("Natur") coloured leather.


title: BMW 5 Series (E28)

text: The E28 was still sold in North America as a 1988 Model Year car after its E34 successor had been released in Europe in early 1988. A limited edition model was also sold in South Africa from mid-1987 to the end of 1988.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator (; ), also known as the Yangtze alligator (), China alligator, or historically the muddy dragon, is a crocodilian endemic to China. It and the American alligator ("A. mississippiensis") are the only living species in the genus "Alligator" of the family Alligatoridae. Dark gray or black in color with a fully armored body, the Chinese alligator grows to in length and weighs as an adult. It brumates in burrows in winter and is nocturnal in summer. Mating occurs in early summer, with females most commonly producing 20–30 eggs, which are smaller than those of any other crocodilian. The species is an opportunistic feeder, primarily eating fish and invertebrates. A vocal species, adults bellow during the mating season and young vocalize to communicate with their parents and other juveniles. Captive specimens have reached age 70, and wild specimens can live past 50.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Living in bodies of fresh water, the Chinese alligator's range is restricted to six regions in the province of Anhui, as well as possibly the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Originally living as far away from its current range as Japan, the species previously had a wide range and population, but beginning in 5000 BC, multiple threats, such as habitat destruction, caused the species' population and range to decline. The population in the wild was about 1000 in the 1970s, decreased to below 130 in 2001, and grew after 2003, with its population being about 300 as of 2017. Listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, multiple conservation actions have been taking place for this species.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator has been a part of Chinese literature since the third century. In the late 1200s, Marco Polo became the first person outside of China to write about it. In some writings, the Chinese alligator has been associated with the Chinese dragon. Many pieces of evidence suggest that the Chinese alligator was an inspiration for the Chinese dragon.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Chinese alligators were mentioned in Chinese literature very early; for example, in the Classic of Poetry, whose poems were composed between the 11th and 7th centuries BCE. Marco Polo was the first person outside of China to write about the alligator, when he came to China and saw it in the late 1200s. He said that the alligator lived in "caverns" in the day and hunted at night, and that humans targeted its meat and skin, with its gall bladder having multiple medical purposes. He stated that it was found in lakes, rivers, and springs in the province "Karazan". In 1656, Martino Martini, a priest, wrote that the Chinese alligator lived in the river Yangtze and was "much feared by the local residents". Unlike Polo, Martini wrote his description using information from Chinese literature. Chinese alligators were later thought to give Buddhist priests merit if the priests were to buy alligators held in captivity and release them. In 1869, Robert Swinhoe saw a Chinese alligator in an exhibit in Shanghai and wrote the following year:


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator was described by French naturalist Albert-Auguste Fauvel in 1879 as "Alligator sinensis"; though Fauvel only noticed mentions of them in Chinese literature since about 222–227 CE. The genus "Alligator" had previously contained only the American alligator since its creation in 1807. Fauvel wrote a detailed description of the species in a book titled "Alligators in China: Their History, Description & Identification", including information about its historical account. In 1947, it was suggested to group the Chinese alligator in a separate genus from its American relative, due to the Chinese alligator's bony plate on its upper eyelid. This bony plate is present in caimans, but is rarely present in the American alligator. At the time, the plate was thought to not appear in the American alligator at all. This produced the belief that the Chinese alligator's relationship with other crocodilians was between caimans and American alligators. Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala described the genus "Caigator" the same year, which only contained the Chinese alligator, making its scientific name "Caigator sinensis". However, paleontology has shown that the Chinese alligator has evolved from other now-extinct members of the genus "Alligator". This and the fact that the American alligator does infrequently have a bony plate on its eyelid have caused "Caigator sinensis" to now be classified as a synonym of "Alligator sinensis". There is still not a consensus among biologists that the American and Chinese alligators belong to the same genus, despite multiple studies comparing the biochemistry, histology, and various other aspects of the two crocodilians.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The genus, "Alligator", is based on the Spanish word . The specific name, "sinensis", is from the Latin plural possessive , meaning "belonging to China".


title: Chinese alligator

text: The oldest definitive record of the Chinese alligator is from the late Pliocene of Japan, around 3 million years old. Pleistocene fossils show that its range was once much more extensive, extending northwards to Shandong and southwards to the Taiwan Strait.


title: Chinese alligator

text: One of the smallest species of crocodilians, the Chinese alligator attains a length of and weight of as an adult. Females are roughly three-quarters the length of males. It is less than half the size of the American alligator, which typically grows to a length of for males and for females. Reports are known of alligators in China reaching in past centuries, but these are no longer thought to be accurate.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator is almost completely black or dark gray in color as an adult. It has a short and broad snout, which points slightly upwards and narrows at the end. Its head is robust, more so than that of the American alligator, with a bony septum dividing its nostrils. It has 72–76 teeth, of which 13–14 are maxillary, five premaxillary, and 18–19 mandibular. Unlike the American alligator, the Chinese alligator is fully armored, including its belly. It contains up to 17 rows of scales across its body, which are soft on its belly and side and rougher on its back. Its upper eyelids have bony plates on them, a feature usually not present in the American alligator. Its tail is wider than that of the American alligator. It does not have webbed feet, in contrast to the American alligator, which has extensive webbing on its toes.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator brumates in burrows during winter. After this period of dormancy, it frequently spends time in the sun before summer begins. It is nocturnal throughout summer, feeding at night and sheltering in the daytime, to avoid both humans and the summer heat. This behavior gives it the ability to live in areas where humans are common. A docile species, it generally does not intentionally hurt humans.


title: Chinese alligator

text: This alligator brumates from late October to mid-April, emerging in early May. It constructs its burrows next to ponds and other small bodies of water, using its head and front legs to dig into the ground. They can be large and complex, containing multiple rooms, water pools, and entrances. Most of them are long, with each room having enough space for alligators to turn around after entering. Outside of winter, the burrows serve as retreat sites for the alligators and in summer are where they take shelter in the daytime. The temperature inside them is never colder than . The burrows can be problematic for farmers, as they cause destruction of farm dykes.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The breeding season of the Chinese alligator is early summer, with the rate of mating being highest in mid-June. The alligator breeds earlier in the year if temperatures are higher. During the time of mating, males commonly search around ponds to find a mate and both male and female specimens are often aggressive to each other. The species exhibits polygamy, with single males mating with multiple females and/or a single female mating with several males. A study of 50 clutches showed multiple paternity in 60% of them, with up to three males contributing. Nests are typically built about 2–3 weeks after mating, from July to late August. Constructed by the females, they are composed of rotting plants, such as leaves, and are high. Females prefer to assemble them in areas that have a thick canopy and are far from human disturbance. Because islands frequently satisfy both of these conditions, they are often used as nesting sites. Nests are always near water sources. Individuals often return to the same nesting site yearly, although intraspecific competition and environmental changes can force them to change nesting sites.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Generally laid at night, mating typically produces 20–30 eggs, although according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), clutch size ranges between 10 and 40 eggs. After the eggs are laid, the females sometimes leave the nest, but other times stay to protect the eggs. The eggs are about in length, in diameter, and in weight, making them smaller than the eggs of any other crocodilian. They are typically incubated for about 70 days. On average, the temperature of incubation is , including the day and night. This temperature controls whether a young alligator will be male or female (temperature-dependent sex determination), a feature present in many other reptiles. A higher incubation temperature also increases the hatching rate. Young hatch in September, assisted by their mothers.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Newborn alligators, like their eggs, are the smallest of any crocodilian, with a length of and weight of . Unlike adults, they have light speckles on their bodies and heads. Mothers help them leave the nest and bring them to the water after hatching. They grow very little in their first year, due to being able to feed for only about 2 months after hatching before the winter. A 2002 study showed that the Chinese alligator is two-thirds the length of the American alligator and one-half its weight at birth, but is one-half its length and one-tenth its weight after one year. Young depend on their mothers to protect them during their first winter, as their small size makes them an easy prey target.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The alligator grows quickly in its first few years, with its growth rate slowing at age five. According to the National Zoological Park, females reach maturity roughly four to five years after birth, although other sources estimate that they mature at age six to seven. It can live to over 50 years, and has been known to reach age 70 in captivity. It cannot breed past its 50s.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator is an opportunistic feeder, meaning that it can prey on a variety of different animals depending on what is available. It is a carnivore, mostly eating fish and invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects, mussels, and snails. When possible, it eats rodents and aquatic birds as well. It has dull teeth, which allow it to eat prey with shells more easily. A study of the alligator in 1985 showed that snails were the most common animal in its diet at 63%, with 65% of that being river snails and 35% spiral-shelled snails. According to the survey, its diet also contained 16% rabbits, 8.3% mollusks, and 4.1% shrimp, with the remaining 6.8% being frogs, fish, and insects.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator is a vocal species, making many different sounds in multiple situations. When communicating with nearby alligators, it produces sounds such as head slapping, hissing, and whining, which have a low sound pressure level (SPL). To communicate long-distance, it produces bellows, which have a high SPL. All of these sounds have a low frequency of less than 500 hertz, due to the alligator's densely vegetated habitat, which allow the sounds to spread across a greater area.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Both sexes participate in bellowing choruses during the mating season as adults. Lasting an average of 10 minutes, the alligators remain still for the entirety of the chorus, with both sexes responding equally in rough unison. The main purpose of these bellows is to call out to alligator specimens to collect at a specific pond, where individuals choose mates and engage in copulation. Alligators may also bellow to publicize their size, a behavior which occurs in multiple other vertebrates. The size of a specimen is a significant factor for mating; females only mate with males larger than themselves. Bellowing is most common at 6:00–7:00 am and 11:00–12:00 am CST. Although these bellows occur most frequently during the mating season, adults also bellow throughout the rest of the year.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Young Chinese alligators often communicate with each other and their parents using vocal signals to "maintain group cohesion". Young also make sounds when in danger, which alert adults to help and caution nearby young of the threat. Embryos produce distinctive sounds inside their eggs, which alert the adult female that the nest is ready to be opened. These vocalizations are high-pitched, while their danger calls are louder.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The range of the Chinese alligator is extremely restricted; as of 2015, the only places it is confirmed to live in the wild are Xuancheng, Nanling County, Jing County, Wuhu, Langxi County, and Guangde County – six counties and cities in the province of Anhui, occupying a total area of about . It has been reported to rarely occur in the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but it is unknown whether it still lives there. It is the only species in the family Alligatoridae that lives on a continent other than North or South America.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The habitat of the Chinese alligator is bodies of fresh water, particularly wetlands and ponds, in areas transitioning between subtropical and temperate climates. It lives at the base of mountains, in areas where grass and shrubs are common. Habitat loss has also forced it to live at higher elevations than it prefers, where the weather is colder and the soil is unfit for burrow digging. Crocodilian conservationist John Thorbjarnarson observed a female who had to build her nest of pine needles rather than the usual plants; the eggs died due to the pine needles not being able to warm them properly.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The oldest record of the Chinese alligator is a skeleton fragment found in western Japan. The fossil is estimated to be from the late Pliocene period, 3 million years ago (Mya). The skeleton showed that the species was larger at the time than it is currently, with a total length of at least . Alligators are believed to have moved into various parts of Japan either before 25 Mya or after 10 Mya and were extirpated from there during the Plio-Pleistocene period, due to Japan's increased isolation from the continent and harsh climate conditions.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The population of the Chinese alligator began to decline in 5000 BC, when human civilization started to grow in China, after having been very abundant in the lower Yangtze area. This area was one of the first places in the world to farm rice, causing much of the alligator's habitat to be destroyed in favor of rice farms. In the 1700s, much of the Chinese alligator's habitat was replaced with farming fields after a large number of people had moved into the area. By the 20th century, its range was reduced to a few small areas around the Yangtze. In the 1950s, the alligator was in three distinct areas: the southern area of the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) from Pengze to the western shore of Lake Tai (Tai Hu), the mountainous regions of southern Anhui, and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, primarily in lakes, streams, and marshes. By the 1970s, it was restricted to small parts of southern Anhui and Zhejiang, at which time the population was about 1,000.


title: Chinese alligator

text: In 1998, the population of the Chinese alligator was the lowest it had ever been; the largest area it lived in was a small pond along the Yangtze surrounded by farmland, which held 11 alligators. In 1999, the Wildlife Conservation Society estimated that 130–150 individuals were left in the wild. According to "The New York Times", the population was less than 130 in 2001; at this time, alligators sometimes wandered around to look for a suitable habitat, but were unsuccessful due to their habitat having been turned into rice fields. In 2003, the population began to gradually increase after having been roughly stable between 1998 and 2003. A survey of the population by the Anhui National Nature Reserve for Chinese Alligator (ANNRCA) in 2005 deduced that between 92 and 114 adults and 66 young remained in the wild. The survey reasoned that the species' population was growing in four sites, but stable in the rest of the alligator's range. A 2012 journal article estimated the population at the time to be 120–150. A 2015 survey observed 64 individuals, of which 32 were adults, estimating that the total number of adults was 68–86 and the total population 136–173. Wang Renping, the head of the ANNRCA, stated in 2017 that about 300 specimens existed in the wild, some of which had been born captive and reintroduced to the wild. As of 2018 the population is not considered to be further declining.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Considered to be one of the most endangered crocodilians in the world, the Chinese alligator's biggest threats in the late 20th century were human killing and habitat loss. A majority of the species' wetland habitats were destroyed to construct rice paddies and dams. During the 1970s and 1980s, humans sometimes killed the alligators, because they believed they were pests, out of fear, or for their meat. Their meat was thought to have the ability to cure colds and prevent cancer and their organs were sold for medicinal purposes. In several restaurants and food centers in China's more prosperous areas, young alligators were allowed to roam free with their mouths taped shut, and were subsequently killed for human consumption, served as a dish of rice, vegetables, and chopped up alligator flesh. In the late 20th century, people living in the range of the Chinese alligator ate its meat due to believing that it was dragon meat.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Yangtze was flooded in the winter of 1957, which is believed to have caused many Chinese alligators to drown. Rats, which this species eat, have been poisoned by farmers, so were also a cause for the diminishing of the species. The organochlorine compound sodium pentachlorophenate was used to kill snails in agricultural fields starting in 1958, which incidentally poisoned the alligators as well. Other factors that led to the endangerment of the alligator include natural disasters and geographic separation.


title: Chinese alligator

text: In its native country, the Chinese alligator has been listed as a Class I endangered species since 1972, which gives it the highest possible degree of legal protection and makes killing or capturing the species in the wild forbidden. It is listed as a CITES Appendix I species and an endangered species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Following six assessments as endangered from 1982 to 1994, it is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List as of 2017. In 1982, the Anhui National Nature Reserve for Chinese Alligator (ANNRCA) was created, a reserve spanning across the entire range of the Chinese alligator, now covering an area of .


title: Chinese alligator

text: As of 2016, at least 20,000 Chinese alligators are living in captivity due to captive-breeding programs, the first initiated in the 1970s. Captive-born Chinese alligators have been reintroduced into their native range, boosting the wild population. Six specimens were released from captivity in 2007, followed by six more in June 2015. As of June 2016, the largest group of Chinese alligators to have been released in the wild was when 18 specimens were reintroduced to Langxi County, part of the species' native habitat, on May 22, 2016. These releases have proven successful, with individuals adapting well to a life in the wild and breeding. A year after the 2007 release, 16 young alligators were found living in the wild. 60 alligator eggs were observed in 2016, distributed in three nests at a wetland park. Although a typhoon in September the same year flooded and eliminated two of the nests, three hatchlings were found in the same area several days after.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The two largest breeding centers for the Chinese alligator are in, or near, the areas where Chinese alligators are still found in the wild. The Anhui Research Center for Chinese Alligator Reproduction (ARCCAR) is the largest of them, housing roughly 15,000 Chinese alligators as of 2016. The center is from the city of Xuancheng, where it makes use of a series of ponds in a small valley. Founded in 1979, the ARCCAR was stocked with 212 alligators collected from the wild over the first decade after its establishment, and received alligator eggs collected by the area's residents and the ARCCAR's own staff from the nests of wild alligators as well. In 1988, the first eggs by human-bred alligators were laid. The reserve decided to reintroduce some of its alligators in the wild in 2001, which was carried out in 2003 when three alligators were released. The alligator breeding was so successful that the ARCCAR began to use the alligators for local meat consumption and live animals for the European pet market, with the profits from these activities continuing to fund the breeding centers.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The other major breeding center for the species is the Changxing Chinese Alligator Nature Reserve (CCANR) or Changxing Nature Reserve and Breeding Center for Chinese Alligators (CNRBRCCA), in Changxing County, Zhejiang, about east of the ARCCAR. Originally known as the Yinjiabian Alligator Conservation Area (尹家边扬子鳄保护区), the breeding center was established in 1982. Unlike the ARCCAR, where alligator eggs are collected by the center's staff for incubation in controlled condition, the CCANR allows eggs to hatch naturally. According to a 2013 official report, the CCANR housed almost 4,000 alligators, including 2,089 young (1–3 years old), 1,598 juveniles (4–12 years old), and 248 adults (13+ years old). By 2016, 5,500 specimens were housed at the center.


title: Chinese alligator

text: In 2003, the ARCCAR received a donation of $1.2 million from the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China (SFGA) and $740,000 from the government of Anhui. This allowed the organization to create two new breeding areas to hold the alligators, each, as well as heighten the existing fence. The same year, the CCANR received a donation of $600,000 from the SFGA and $800,000 from the government of Changxing, enabling it to reinstate wetlands for the alligators and enhance its facilities. Both the ARCCAR and the CCANR position themselves as tourist attractions, where paying visitors can view alligators and learn about them.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Multiple other breeding facilities that house the Chinese alligator exist in various provinces of China, as well as private breeding farms and museums.


title: Chinese alligator

text: The Chinese alligator is also kept and bred at many zoos and aquariums in North America and Europe. Some individuals bred there have been returned to China for reintroduction to the wild. The first time the alligators were ever transported internationally is believed to have been when several were taken from China to the United States in the 1950s. In November 2017, four Chinese alligators were transported from their natural habitat in China to Shizuoka, Japan.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Among the North American zoos and aquariums keeping this species are the Bronx Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Great Plains Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Santa Barbara Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, and St. Louis Zoo. In Europe, about 25 zoos and aquariums keep the species, such as the Barcelona Zoo (Spain), Parque de las Ciencias (Granada) (Spain), Bioparco di Roma (Italy), Crocodile Zoo (Denmark), Moscow Zoo (Russia), Pairi Daiza (Belgium), Paradise Wildlife Park (England), Parken Zoo (Sweden), Prague Zoo (Czech Republic), Tallinn Zoo (Estonia) and Tierpark Berlin (Germany).


title: Chinese alligator

text: Some writers have suggested that the Chinese alligator was the inspiration for the Chinese dragon. This theory was widespread in the early 1900s, and the idea was later revisited by John Thorbjarnarson and Xiaoming Wang. According to "The New York Times", the association with the "beneficent" mythological creature is an advantage for the species.


title: Chinese alligator

text: Unlike dragons in myths of the Western Hemisphere, the Chinese dragon is portrayed as a symbol of "royal power and good fortune", frequently helping and saving people. It is able to swim in water or air. The relatively harmless nature of the Chinese alligator is believed to have been an influence for the helpful nature of the dragon. The fact that the alligator ends its brumation when the rainy season begins and returns to its burrows when the rainwater in rivers recedes, as well as the fact that it lives in bodies of water, may be the reason for the dragon's portrayal as a water-related mythological creature. Alligator drums may have been used to simulate the species' vocalizations during the mating season, which humans associated with the dragon's "power of summoning rainclouds".


title: Bye, Felicia

text: In American English, the phrase "Bye, Felicia" (actually spelled "Felisha" in the cast listing) is an informal phrase intended as a dismissive send-off, where the recipient is rendered so unimportant their name is reduced to "Felicia." The phrase originally comes from a scene from Angela Means' character Felicia in the American comedy film "Friday" (1995). According to Ice Cube, who starred in the film and co-wrote its script, "Bye, Felicia" is "the phrase 'to get anyone out of your face'".


title: Bye, Felicia

text: In 2009, the phrase entered the lexicon of "RuPaul's Drag Race", an American reality competition television series. However, "People" wrote: "[E]ven that wouldn't necessarily account for the phrase extending beyond the cultures that would watch either "Friday", "Drag Race" or both." Furthermore, the magazine said of the phrase: "So when your square friend uses it, take a little bit of pleasure in knowing they're referencing a stoner comedy – or a drag reality show referencing a stoner comedy – even if they have no idea."


title: Bye, Felicia

text: In 2014, VH1 began airing a television show called "Bye Felicia", and American R&B-pop singer Jordin Sparks released a mixtape titled "#ByeFelicia". According to Google Trends, the phrase reached its highest usage in mid-2015.


title: Bye, Felicia

text: In the movie "Straight Outta Compton" (2015), Ice Cube (played by his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr.) said, "Bye, Felicia!", when throwing a girl named Felicia out of his hotel room. Naming the girl Felicia was not an intentional reference to "Friday", but when Jackson ad-libbed the line as a "coincidental joke", the filmmakers decided to keep it in the film.


title: Bye, Felicia

text: On December 14, 2017, one of ABC TV's "Good Morning America" hosts, Robin Roberts, used the phrase to conclude a segment about Omarosa Manigault Newman's departure from the Trump administration staff.


title: Bye, Felicia

text: On December 19, 2018, former First Lady Michelle Obama used the phrase on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" when describing leaving the White House.


title: A minor

text: A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major.


title: A minor

text: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The A harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:


title: Shepherd

text: A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. "Shepherd" derives from Old English "sceaphierde ("sceap" 'sheep' + "hierde" 'herder'). "Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, it exists in all parts of the globe, and it is an important part of pastoralist animal husbandry.


title: Shepherd

text: Because of the ubiquity of the profession, many religions and cultures have symbolic or metaphorical references to the shepherd profession. For example, Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd, and ancient Greek mythologies highlighted shepherds such as Endymion and Daphnis. This symbolism and shepherds as characters are at the center of pastoral literature and art.


title: Shepherd

text: Shepherding is among the oldest occupations, beginning some 5,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool. Over the next thousand years, sheep and shepherding spread throughout Eurasia. Henri Fleisch tentatively suggested the Shepherd Neolithic industry of Lebanon may date to the Epipaleolithic and that it may have been used by one of the first cultures of nomadic shepherds in the Beqaa Valley.


title: Shepherd

text: Some sheep were integrated in the family farm along with other animals such as chickens and pigs. To maintain a large flock, the sheep must be able to move from pasture to another pasture. This required the development of an occupation separate from that of the farmer. The duty of shepherds was to keep their flock intact, protect it from predators and guide it to market areas in time for shearing. In ancient times, shepherds also commonly milked their sheep, and made cheese from this milk; few shepherds still do this today.


title: Shepherd

text: In many societies, shepherds were an important part of the economy. Unlike farmers, shepherds were often wage earners, being paid to watch the sheep of others. Shepherds also lived apart from society, being largely nomadic. It was mainly a job of solitary males without children, and new shepherds thus needed to be recruited externally. Shepherds were most often the younger sons of farming peasants who did not inherit any land. In other societies, each family would have a family member to shepherd its flock, often a child, youth or an elder who couldn't help much with harder work; these shepherds were fully integrated in society.


title: Shepherd

text: Shepherds would normally work in groups either looking after one large flock, or each bringing their own and merging their responsibilities. They would live in small cabins, often shared with their sheep, and would buy food from local communities. Less often shepherds lived in covered wagons that traveled with their flocks.


title: Shepherd

text: Shepherding developed only in certain areas. In the lowlands and river valleys, it was far more efficient to grow grain and cereals than to allow sheep to graze, thus the raising of sheep was confined to rugged and mountainous areas. In pre-modern times shepherding was thus centered on regions such as the Middle East, Greece, the Pyrenees, the Carpathian Mountains, Scotland and Northern England.


title: Shepherd

text: In modern times, shepherding has changed dramatically. The destruction of common lands in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth-century shifted shepherds from independent nomads to employees of massive estates. Some families in Africa and Asia have their wealth in sheep, so a young son is sent out to guard them while the rest of the family tends to other chores. In the US, many sheep herds are flocked over public Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.


title: Shepherd

text: Wages are higher than was the case in the past. Keeping a shepherd in constant attendance can be costly. Also, the eradication of sheep predators in parts of the world has lessened the need for shepherds. In places like Britain, hardy breeds of sheep have frequently been left alone without a shepherd for long periods. More productive breeds of sheep can be left in fields and moved periodically to fresh pasture when necessary. Hardier breeds of sheep can be left on hillsides. The sheep farmer will attend to the sheep when necessary at times like lambing or shearing.


title: Shepherd

text: The first Shepherd's Fair was announced to take place in the Cyprus Village of Pachna, on August 31, 2014, in the printed editions of "Cyprus Weekly" and in the Greek-language daily, "Phileleftheros".


title: Shepherd

text: European exploration led to the spread of sheep around the world, and shepherding became especially important in Australia and New Zealand where there was great pastoral expansion. In Australia squatters spread beyond the Nineteen Counties of New South Wales to elsewhere, taking over vast holdings called properties and now stations.


title: Shepherd

text: Once driven overland to these properties, sheep were pastured in large unfenced runs. There, they required constant supervision. Shepherds were employed to keep the sheep from straying too far, to keep the mobs as healthy as possible and to prevent attacks from dingoes and introduced predators such as feral dogs and foxes. Lambing time further increased the shepherd's responsibilities.


title: Shepherd

text: Shepherding was an isolated, lonely job that was firstly given to assigned convict servants. The accommodation was usually poor and the food was lacking in nutrition, leading to dysentery and scurvy. When free labour was more readily available others took up this occupation. Some shepherds were additionally brought to Australia on the ships that carried sheep and were contracted to caring for them on their arrival in the colony. Sheep owners complained about the inefficiency of shepherds and the shepherds' fears of getting lost in the bush.


title: Shepherd

text: Typically sheep were watched by shepherds during the day, and by a hut-keeper during the night. Shepherds took the sheep out to graze before sunrise and returned them to brush-timber yards at sunset. The hut-keeper usually slept in a movable shepherd's watch box placed near the yard in order to deter attacks on the sheep. Dogs were also often chained close by to warn of any impending danger to the sheep or shepherd by dingoes or natives.


title: Shepherd

text: In 1839 the usual wage for a shepherd was about AU£50 per year, plus weekly rations of meat, flour, sugar and tea. The wage during the depression of the 1840s dropped to £20 a year.


title: Shepherd

text: During the 1850s many shepherds left to try their luck on the goldfields causing acute labour shortages in the pastoral industry. This labour shortage leads to the widespread practice of fencing properties, which in turn reduced the demand for shepherds. Over 95% of New South Wales sheep were grazing in paddocks by the mid-1880s. An 1890s census of fencing in New South Wales recorded that 2.6 million kilometres of fencing had been erected there with a contemporary cost of A$3 billion. Boundary riders and stockmen replaced shepherds working on foot, who have not been employed in Australia and New Zealand since the start of the 20th century.


title: Shepherd

text: Dumuzid, later known as Tammuz, was an important rural deity in ancient Mesopotamian religion, who was revered as the patron god of shepherds. In his role as "Dumuzid sipad" ("Dumuzid the Shepherd"), he was believed to be the provider of milk, which was a rare, seasonal commodity in ancient Sumer due to the fact that it could not easily be stored without spoiling. Under this same title, Dumuzid was thought to have been the fifth antediluvian king of the Sumerian city-state of Bad-tibira. In the Sumerian poem "Inanna Prefers the Farmer", Dumuzid competes with the farmer Enkidu for the affection of the goddess Inanna and ultimately wins her favor. Ancient Near Eastern peoples associated Dumuzid with the springtime, when the land was fertile and abundant, but, during the summer months, when the land was dry and barren, it was thought that Dumuzid had "died".


title: Shepherd

text: Metaphorically, the term "shepherd" is used for God, especially in the Judeo-Christian tradition (e.g. Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34), and in Christianity especially for Jesus, who called himself the Good Shepherd. The Ancient Israelites were a pastoral people and there were many shepherds among them. It may also be worth noting that many biblical figures were shepherds, among them the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, the twelve tribes, the prophet Moses, King David, and the Old Testament prophet Amos, who was a shepherd in the rugged area around Tekoa. In the New Testament, angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds.


title: Shepherd

text: The same metaphor is also applied to priests, with Roman Catholic, Church of Sweden and other Lutheran, and Anglican bishops having the shepherd's crook among their insignia (see also "Lycidas"). In both cases, the implication is that the faithful are the "flock" who have to be tended. This is in part inspired by Jesus's injunctions to Peter, "Feed my sheep", which is the source of the pastoral image in "Lycidas". The term "Pastor", originally the Latin word for "shepherd", is now used solely to denote the clergy of most Christian denominations.


title: Shepherd

text: According to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, every messenger of God had the occupation of being a shepherd at one point in their lives, as he himself was as a young man. Narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah: We were with Allah’s Apostle picking the fruits of the Arak trees, and Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, "Pick the black fruit, for it is the best." The companions asked, "Were you a shepherd?" He replied, "There was no prophet who was not a shepherd." (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter ‘Prophets’, Volume 4, Book 55, Hadith 618) This includes Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and all other prophets according to Islam. Also, 'shepherd' used as a metaphor of leadership and responsibilities that comes with it. A hadith narrated from Ibn Umar says that Muhammad says, "All of you are shepherds and every one of you is responsible for his herd. A leader is a shepherd, a man is the shepherd over his family, and a woman is the shepherd over her husband’s house and his children. So all of you are shepherds, and every one of you is responsible for his herd."


title: Shepherd

text: Sikhism also has many mentions of shepherd tales. There are many relevant quotations, such as "We are the cattle, God almighty is our shepherd."


title: Shepherd

text: This concept has also been used frequently by critics of organized religion to present an unflattering portrayal.


title: Shepherd

text: The shepherd, with other such figures as the goatherd, is the inhabitant of idealized Arcadia, which is an idyllic and natural countryside. These works are, indeed, called pastoral, after the term for herding. The first surviving instances are the "Idylls" of Theocritus, and the "Eclogues" of Virgil, both of which inspired many imitators such as Edmund Spenser's "The Shepheardes Calender". The shepherds of the pastoral are often heavily conventional and bear little relation to the actual work of shepherds.


title: Shepherd

text: In the poem "The passionate shepherd to his love", by Christopher Marlowe, a shepherd is depicted as a partaker of rural paradise, and capable of giving things worth more than that a town resident could give.


title: Shepherd

text: Many tales involving foundlings portray them being rescued by shepherds: Oedipus, Romulus and Remus, the title characters of Longus's "Daphnis and Chloe", and "The Winter's Tale" by William Shakespeare. These characters are often of much higher social status than the characters who save and raise them, the shepherds themselves being secondary characters. Similarly, the heroes and heroines of fairy tales written by the "précieuses" often appeared as shepherds and shepherdesses in pastoral settings, but these figures were royal or noble, and their simple setting does not cloud their innate nobility.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: Talen Jalee Horton-Tucker (; born November 25, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Horton-Tucker played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: Born in Chicago, Horton–Tucker was raised on the Northside of Chicago in the Uptown neighborhood. Horton–Tucker is the son of Shirley Horton and Marlin Tucker. For elementary school, Horton–Tucker attended St. Matthias Elementary School in Chicago, where he had his No. 5 jersey retired.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: Horton–Tucker played at Simeon Career Academy where he helped the Wolverines to three straight City Championships. A four-star recruit in ESPN's ranking, he committed to Iowa State in October 2017, choosing the Cyclones over schools such as Illinois and Xavier.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: On November 20, 2018, Horton–Tucker scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in a win against Illinois. As a freshman, Horton–Tucker averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 27 minutes per game. Horton–Tucker declared for the 2019 NBA draft after his freshman season.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: On June 20, 2019, Horton-Tucker was selected as the 46th overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. He was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a 2020 second round draft pick and cash considerations. On July 13, 2019, Horton-Tucker signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was assigned to the Lakers’ NBA G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, for the opening of the G League season. He made his NBA debut on December 8, 2019, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He received a larger role during the NBA Bubble as the Lakers had clinched the best record in the Western Conference and even started in the regular season finale.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: On September 12, 2020, Horton-Tucker scored 9 points in 10 minutes off the bench in Game 5 of Western Conference semifinals, helping the Lakers secure a 119–96 victory against the Houston Rockets and advance into the next round. Horton-Tucker won an NBA championship when the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals in 6 games. He became the second-youngest player in NBA history to win a championship, at 19 years and 322 days.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: After a strong preseason, Horton-Tucker became a regular rotational player in the 2020–21 regular season. On January 10, 2021, he scored a career-high 17 points off the bench in the team's 120–102 win over the Houston Rockets. On February 4, he scored 17 points off the bench in the team's 114–93 win over the Denver Nuggets. On March 15, he scored a new career-high 18 points and recorded a career-high 10 assists in the team's 128–97 win over the Golden State Warriors. On April 8, Horton-Tucker was suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an altercation between the Lakers and the Toronto Raptors. On May 11, he scored the go-ahead three-pointer in the team's 101–99 overtime win against the New York Knicks.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: On October 11, 2021, it was announced that Horton-Tucker would undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb, ruling him out for at least four weeks. At the 2022 trade deadline Horton-Tucker was nearly dealt to the Toronto Raptors in a three team trade involving the New York Knicks. On April 7, 2022, he scored a career-high 40 points in a 112–128 loss to the Golden State Warriors. In an disappointing 2021–22 season for the Lakers, Horton-Tucker averaged 10 points and 2.7 assists.


title: Talen Horton-Tucker

text: On August 25, 2022, Horton-Tucker was traded, alongside Stanley Johnson, to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Patrick Beverley.


title: Liver disease

text: Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common.


title: Liver disease

text: One general mechanism, increased DNA damage, is shared by some of the major liver diseases, including infection by "hepatitis B virus" or "hepatitis C virus", heavy alcohol consumption, and obesity.<ref name="urlChronic Liver Disease/Cirrhosis | Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Library"></ref>


title: Liver disease

text: Viral infection by hepatitis B virus, or hepatitis C virus causes an increase of reactive oxygen species. The increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species is about 10,000-fold with chronic hepatitis B virus infection and 100,000-fold following hepatitis C virus infection. This increase in reactive oxygen species causes inflammation and more than 20 types of DNA damage. Oxidative DNA damage is mutagenic and also causes epigenetic alterations at the sites of DNA repair. Epigenetic alterations and mutations affect the cellular machinery that may cause the cell to replicate at a higher rate or result in the cell avoiding apoptosis, and thus contribute to liver disease. By the time accumulating epigenetic and mutational changes eventually cause hepatocellular carcinoma, epigenetic alterations appear to have an even larger role in carcinogenesis than mutations. Only one gene, TP53, is mutated in more than 20% of liver cancers while 41 genes each have hypermethylated promoters (repressing gene expression) in more than 20% of liver cancers.


title: Liver disease

text: Alcohol consumption in excess causes a build-up of acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde and free radicals generated by metabolizing alcohol induce DNA damage and oxidative stress. In addition, activation of neutrophils in alcoholic liver disease contributes to the pathogenesis of hepatocellular damage by releasing reactive oxygen species (which can damage DNA). The level of oxidative stress and acetaldehyde-induced DNA adducts due to alcohol consumption does not appear sufficient to cause increased mutagenesis. However, as reviewed by Nishida et al., alcohol exposure, causing oxidative DNA damage (which is repairable), can result in epigenetic alterations at the sites of DNA repair. Alcohol-induced epigenetic alterations of gene expression appear to lead to liver injury and ultimately carcinoma.


title: Liver disease

text: Obesity is associated with a higher risk of primary liver cancer. As shown with mice, obese mice are prone to liver cancer, likely due to two factors. Obese mice have increased pro-inflammatory cytokines. Obese mice also have higher levels of deoxycholic acid, a product of bile acid alteration by certain gut microbes, and these microbes are increased with obesity. The excess deoxycholic acid causes DNA damage and inflammation in the liver, which, in turn, can lead to liver cancer.


title: Liver disease

text: Several liver diseases are due to viral infection. Viral hepatitides such as Hepatitis B virus and Hepatitis C virus can be vertically transmitted during birth via contact with infected blood. According to a 2012 NICE publication, "about 85% of hepatitis B infections in newborns become chronic". In occult cases, Hepatitis B virus is present by hepatitis B virus DNA, but testing for HBsAg is negative. High consumption of alcohol can lead to several forms of liver disease including alcoholic hepatitis, alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. In the earlier stages of alcoholic liver disease, fat builds up in the liver's cells due to increased creation of triglycerides and fatty acids and a decreased ability to break down fatty acids. Progression of the disease can lead to liver inflammation from the excess fat in the liver. Scarring in the liver often occurs as the body attempts to heal and extensive scarring can lead to the development of cirrhosis in more advanced stages of the disease. Approximately 3–10% of individuals with cirrhosis develop a form of liver cancer known as hepatocellular carcinoma. According to Tilg, et al., gut microbiome could very well have an effect, be involved in the pathophysiology, on the various types of liver disease which an individual may encounter. Insight into the exact causes and mechanisms mediating pathophysiology of the liver is quickly progressing due to the introduction new technological approaches like Single cell sequencing and kinome profiling


title: Liver disease

text: Particulate matter or carbon black are common pollutants. They have a direct toxic effect on the liver; cause inflammation of liver caused by and thereby impact lipid metabolism and fatty liver disease; and can translocate from the lungs to the liver.


title: Liver disease

text: Because particulate matter and carbon black are very diverse and each has different toxicodynamics, detailed mechanisms of translocation are not clear. Water-soluble fractions of particulate matter are the most important part of translocation to the liver, through extrapulmonary circulation. When particulate matter gets into the bloodstream, it combines with immune cells and stimulates innate immune responses. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are released and cause disease progression.


title: Liver disease

text: A number of liver function tests are available to test the proper function of the liver. These test for the presence of enzymes in blood that are normally most abundant in liver tissue, metabolites or products. serum proteins, serum albumin, serum globulin, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time.


title: Liver disease

text: Imaging tests such as transient elastography, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging can be used to show the liver tissue and the bile ducts. Liver biopsy can be performed to examine liver tissue to distinguish between various conditions; tests such as elastography may reduce the need for biopsy in some situations.


title: Liver disease

text: In liver disease, prothrombin time is longer than usual. In addition, the amounts of both coagulation factors and anticoagulation factors are reduced as a diseased liver cannot productively synthesize them as it did when healthy. Nonetheless, there are two exceptions in this falling tendency: coagulation factor VIII and von Willebrand factor, a platelet adhesive protein. Both inversely rise in the setting of hepatic insufficiency, thanks to the drop of hepatic clearance and compensatory productions from other sites of the body. Fibrinolysis generally proceeds faster with acute liver failure and advanced stage liver disease, unlike chronic liver disease in which concentration of fibrinogen remains unchanged.


title: Liver disease

text: A previously undiagnosed liver disease may become evident first after autopsy. Following are gross pathology images:


title: Liver disease

text: Anti-viral medications are available to treat infections such as hepatitis B. Other conditions may be managed by slowing down disease progression, for example:


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport () is a joint civil-military international airport located in suburban Carolina, Puerto Rico, southeast of San Juan. It is named for Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rico's first democratically elected governor, and was known as Isla Verde International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Isla Verde) until it was renamed in February 1985. It is the busiest airport in the Caribbean region by passenger traffic. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to the Federal Aviation Administration, making it the 48th busiest airport overseen by said federal agency.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The airport is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and managed by Aerostar Airport Holdings, a public–private partnership which was awarded a lease by the government of Puerto Rico to operate and manage the airport for 40 years beginning in 2013. SJU is the second international airport to be privatized in the United States or its territories, and, as of 2013, is the only currently privatized airport in the nation. Taxis and rental cars can transport travelers to and from the airport. The airport serves as a gateway to the Caribbean islands. SJU covers 1,600 acres (647 ha) of land.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In 1945, aware of the importance of aviation for the development of the economy of Puerto Rico, the island government had pointed out the need to build a newer international airport capable of handling the growing air traffic of San Juan International Airport, in Isla Grande, that had been operating since 1929; as well as responding to the needs of the future. Until then Isla Grande had been the main airport of Puerto Rico. As airlines began switching from propeller aircraft to jets, the Isla Grande airstrip did not have the necessary distance for modern aircraft to land and take off. (The Isla Grande Airport, now named in honor of Maj. Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci, pilot of the US Air Force F-111, who was killed in action in Libya in 1986, currently has a runway of in length.)


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: On the other hand, the government had also decided that it should direct the air operations, relying these powers in the Puerto Rico Transportation Authority, created in 1942, which later became the Ports Authority. The Committee of Airports of the Planning Board began to study the feasibility of the new airport, submitting in 1944 its plans and studies to the Federal Civil Aeronautics Administration, to determine the most appropriate place.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: In 1945, it was determined that the place would be Isla Verde (Carolina), to make the airport a metropolitan facility. Construction was approved by the Puerto Rico Planning Board in 1946, and the project began in 1947. During that same year, the Port Authority of Puerto Rico assumed title to and ownership of the Isla Grande Airport and other regional airports, which had been military installations during World War II.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The design of the new airport was carried out by the firm of Toro-Ferrer, founded by the architects Miguel Ferrer (1914–2004), and architect Osvaldo Toro (1914–1995), which were also known for their designs of the Caribe Hilton Hotel and the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: During 1949, the first phase of construction of the Isla Verde Airport was completed: cleaning, filling, leveling and drainage of soils. The second phase also began: paving the runway, taxiways, and platforms.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: The certified airlines operating in Puerto Rico in 1950 were Pan American World Airways, Eastern Air Lines, Caribbean Atlantic Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Dominicana Airlines and Flying Tigers Airline. The latter contracted the movement of migrant workers to the United States, with the Insular Department of Labor, transferring some 5,706 workers to different points of that nation, at a cost of $55 per passage.


title: Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport

text: On May 22, 1955, the Puerto Rico International Airport was inaugurated, built on a land lot. The facilities, estimated at a cost of $22 million, had a six-story passenger terminal, control tower, long runway (8–26), cargo building, fire and police stations, and a hotel.