title: Slither.io

text: According to game creator Steven Howse, he was inspired to create the game while he was experiencing financial problems. As a result of these financial issues, he had to move from Minneapolis to Michigan, where he realized the popularity of "Agar.io". He had long wanted to create an online multiplayer game, but the only option for the development at the time was in Adobe Flash, and not wanting to use this method, he gave up the idea for a while. Howse finally created the game when he realized that WebSocket, a low-latency protocol supported by most major browsers, was sufficient and stable enough to run an HTML game similar to other games such as "Agar.io". The most difficult part of the development was in making each server stable enough to handle 600 players at a time. Howse struggled to find space on servers with enough space in regions where there was more demand and tried to avoid cloud services like Amazon Web Services, owing to the high cost that these services would incur based on the amount of bandwidth used.


title: Slither.io

text: After six months of development, "Slither.io" was released for browsers and iOS on March 25, 2016, with servers supporting up to 500 players. Two days after the iOS/browser versions' release, an Android version was made available by Lowtech Studios. The only way Howse could make revenue was to display advertising in the app after the player's worm died; this option could be removed for US$3.99. He chose not to sell virtual currency or power-ups so that those who paid would not have an advantage over players who did not. As there was no money to advertise for the game, the only way to promote the game was the various "let's plays" by players on YouTube, including PewDiePie, who had more than 47 million subscribers at the time. The success of the game would cause Raw Thrills to develop an arcade version a few years later.


title: Slither.io

text: In the weeks following the release, Howse worked on updates to stabilize the game and provide a better experience for players. In addition, he plans to add new features, such as a "friendly mode" that allows people to set up teams, and a way for the player to choose a server to play on. Howse said that two major gaming companies had approached him to buy "Slither.io". He had considered the idea, since he felt that it was stressful to maintain the game.


title: Slither.io

text: Soon after release, "Slither.io" reached the top of the App Store sales charts in the free software category in several regions, including the United States and the United Kingdom. By the end of 2016, "Slither.io" had become Google's most searched video game of the year in the United States.


title: Slither.io

text: Patricia Hernandez of "Kotaku" said that the game's low barriers to entry and similarity to "Agar.io" explained "Slither.io"s popularity. She noted the game's fast pace. "Boing Boing" compared the game's core mechanic to that of the 2009 game "Osmos". Brandt Ran, writing for "Business Insider", said that "despite running into some technical hiccups—the game can lag heavily at times—I doubt "Slither.io" will be leaving my home screen anytime soon." Harry Slater, writing for "Pocket Gamer", defined the game as "interesting", the gameplay as a "compulsive experience", and the structure as simple and similar to "Agar.io", although it did not have a large replay value. "TechCrunch" Felicia Williams praised the designs, getting "pleasantly surprised" with the variety of skins for customization. Lian Amaris of "Gamezebo" found the game to be "far more interesting than "Agar.io"" because it involved "an ever-growing languid body rather than just a flat circle", and praised "the dark environment with neon worms," which gave the game a "retro arcade feel." Amaris also compared the concept of "Slither.io" to that of "Agar.io" and stated that "Slither.io" was reminiscent of the classic arcade game "Snake".


title: Slither.io

text: Shortly after the release of the mobile versions, the game was in first place in the ranking of games of the App Store. Despite "Slither.io"s popularity, it received mixed reviews. Scottie Rowland of "Android Guys" praised the gameplay and graphics but criticized the ads that pop up on the screen after the end of the game, calling them "extremely annoying", and finding the payment to remove them "a bit pricey".


title: Slither.io

text: By July 2016, the browser version website was ranked by Alexa as the 250th most visited site worldwide, but then experienced a decline in popularity, dropping below 1,000 by October 2016 before remaining mostly constant at approximately 1,700 by January 2017. In April 2017, "Slither.io"s global rank then started declining further, reaching 2,800 by September 2017. By that same period, the game had already been downloaded more than 68 million times in mobile applications and played more than 67 million times in browsers, generating a daily income of US$100,000 for Howse.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Chastity belts in BDSM may be used as part of a practice of orgasm control, to prevent the wearer from engaging principally in sexual intercourse without the permission of the dominant, who acts as "keyholder". A chastity belt will also prevent other sexual activity such as masturbation and oral sex involving the wearer's genitals. Chastity belts may be worn by both men and women as part of BDSM play. A chastity belt may be worn for the duration of a sex play, for a limited period or as a long-term arrangement. Users who choose to wear a chastity device often have a chastity fetish, and therefore enjoy the experience of being in chastity.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: The wearer of the belt is regarded as the submissive in a BDSM relationship. This is a part of the wider practice of orgasm denial. Some say that it increases submissiveness in men. It has often been reported that when worn, the chastity belt frequently evokes sexual frustration in the wearer.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: The putting on of a chastity belt, by a partner, is an indication of the dominance by the "keyholder" over the wearer's sexual activities. By accepting the chastity belt the wearer accepts surrender of control over their sexual behavior to a partner, who may grant permission to the wearer to engage in sexual activity by removing the belt. The dominant may decide when, where, how, how often, and even if, the submissive is allowed sexual release.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: In a dynamic between a female dominant and male submissive, the Femdom may wear the chastity key on a necklace as a symbol of her domination over her submissive. She may delay his gratification, play games centered on tease and denial, or give him ruined orgasms while he wears the chastity cage. Social media may be incorporated into the erotic games, for instance by using social media to ask to vote how much longer the submissive must remain in chastity. The loss of control over his sexual responses may arouse him and or give him mental pleasure.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Most modern belt designs cannot prevent wearers from physically touching their genitals but they do usually prevent masturbation. Penis cages (see below) may hold the penis firmly but they may also be loose and, although intercourse is rendered impossible, they may make manual stimulation, even to orgasm, a possibility. The most effective masturbation prevention requires design features that incorporate genital piercings or full tight encapsulation of the genital area.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Modern chastity belts for women generally follow the traditional "Florentine" pattern (named after the historical reference to chastity belts in Florence in the 15th century military manual "Bellifortis"), with a band around the waist or hips and a "shield" that runs between the legs to cover the genitals.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Modern belts usually are made with features and accessories to accommodate erotic fantasy and BDSM play. For example, a slot in the shield may hold a dildo inside the wearer's vagina, which cannot be removed except by the keyholder. Some have a perforated cover (sometimes called the "secondary shield") over this slot to prevent the wearer from being pinched when sitting. The cover may also prevent direct masturbation by preventing access to the labia. Anal shields which forcibly retain butt plugs inside the wearer are a common accessory. The shield can be designed to work with genital piercings for greater security.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Some female chastity devices are not practical for long term wear due to sanitary constraints. On belts intended for long-term wear, the shield must accommodate the wearer's hygienic needs:


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Chastity belts of the so-called Florentine type also exist for men. As in the standard Florentine design, a circular horizontal band encircles the waist and a shield is attached to the front of the waist belt. The shield extends downwards to cover the genital areas of the wearer and is attached to the back of the waist belt. For male belts, a penis tube is secured behind the front shield. In some designs, the testicles are covered by special cages. Most high-security chastity belts are made out of stainless steel, although fiberglass composite belts have also been made. Most belt designs are secured with padlocks. For travel a plastic device with a numbered plastic seal. The more secure designs have their padlocks' shackles hidden to make cutting the shackle difficult.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: A popular type of chastity device for men is commonly referred to as a chastity cage, penis cage, or chastity tube. They are almost exclusively used as a sex toy and in BDSM play, and may enclose a man's penis in order to make an erection uncomfortable or impossible if the man becomes sexually aroused, and prevent sexual intercourse, masturbation, oral sex involving the wearer's genitals and some other forms of sexual activity. A chastity cage may be combined with toys such as a shock collar or ball crusher.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Most chastity cages consist of a ring seated around the base of the penis behind the scrotum and a tube or penis cage that holds the penis, with the two parts mating together with a hinge or pin. The penis cage is designed so that the penis inside cannot be stimulated directly with hands and fingers. The tip of the penis cage is perforated to allow urine to pass and the design may incorporate vents to facilitate long-term wearing and cleaning. The flaccid penis is inserted into the cage and is held at a downwards angle so as to make an erection uncomfortable or impossible. Some designs have an extra short penis cage into which the penis may be squeezed to restrict it even more than in a regular penis cage. Other designs incorporate a tip covering the glans through which a catheter is fixed, and the tip is then secured by short straps which confine the penis and are fixed to the ring seated behind the scrotum.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: The ring and cage are usually secured together with a lock or with a tamper-evident plastic security seal. When the device is locked, the testicles are trapped in the gap between the ring and the penis cage which is narrow enough to prevent the testicles and penis from being pulled out. The testicles are usually held in a fixed position, exposed beneath the cage although some designs have an additional cup that prevents easy access to the entire genital area.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Chastity cages can be manufactured out of a strong plastic material such as polycarbonate, ABS, or they may be made from silicone which greatly reduces their cost and weight compared with stainless steel versions. New information implies that caution should be taken before using a device made from BPA containing plastics such as polycarbonate. A device made from ABS plastic is a safer alternative to polycarbonate plastic due to polycarbonate leaching BPA through long term contact with the skin. BPA can cause an estrogen response in men leading to hormone imbalances and possible shrinkage of the penis through the leaching of endocrine disrupting chemicals directly through the skin.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Most chastity cages are intended for long-term or indefinite wear and may include a lock with keys retained by a key-holder, or a plastic locking device which incorporates an identity number so that the wearer may be locked by a remote key-holder. When combined with such a tamper-evident plastic seal, plastic chastity cages permit easier access through airport security or other security restricted areas that require passage through metal detectors.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: There are remote controlled chastity cages which can be controlled by a keyholder via smartphone app. Most notable is Cellmate, a bluetooth enabled chastity cage designed by Qiui. When locked, the cage is held closed by a locking pin. In normal operation, the locking pin can only be released by a small electric motor that is controlled by an onboard micro-controller. It has received scrutiny for a security flaw in the API which could cause it to be hacked.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: A chastity cage must be properly sized, fitted and adjusted in order to be secure and not damage the genitals. Ring size and spacing are the two most important adjustments that can be made. A ring that is too tight will cut off blood flow while one that is too loose will not be secure. Metal chastity belts and chastity cages intended for long term wear should be made out of medical grade stainless steel or titanium, to reduce the risks of metal allergies and metal toxicity.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Penile strangulation, as a result of not being able to remove a device placed around the penis (not necessarily a chastity belt), has occurred in a wide spectrum of age groups, so care must be taken to avoid constriction with a chastity belt. In 2008, an incident was reported of a man having to be cut free from a titanium chastity device after losing the keys, due to pressure on the genitals.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: One of the most common misconceptions is that chastity cages prevent erections from occurring. While they do control erections, they do not prevent them as this would require dangerously cutting off the blood flow to the penis.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Most modern chastity belt designs are descended from Hal Higginbottom's designs from 1956. Sometimes modern Florentine-style belts are described as "Tollyboy-style" or "Tollyboy-type" belts as references to his company's original design.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Human anatomy varies very widely from person to person and steel belts intended for long-term use are bespoke (custom-made) items. The manufacture of such belts, being quite a specific niche, is necessarily a cottage industry. Many firms have come and gone over the years.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: In 1969, "Time" magazine and various newspapers in 1978 ran stories about David Renwick, a British chastity belt maker who claimed to have a thriving business making belts for a worldwide clientele.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: In 1971, the Hugessen firm of Halstead, Essex, that made chastity belts, applied for tax exempt status on the basis that their products were birth control devices. In 1974, a story was widely published in magazines and newspapers about the firm's bankruptcy.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: A.L. Enterprises, of Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, that sells the CB series of plastic chastity cages, was started by Doris and Frank Miller in the 2000. Doris and Frank Miller are considered pioneers in the modern chastity belt. They died in 2017. The company they founded was sold to investors in 2018. World Cage male chastity was founded in 2020 by the Miller's daughter Nikki Yates, the former CEO of A.L. Enterprises from 2007-2017.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Although no reliable statistics are available on the use of chastity belts, anecdotal reports from manufacturers suggest that most belts sold in Europe and the U.S. are for men, and that of the female belts ordered, relatively few are used as rape prevention devices.


title: Chastity belt (BDSM)

text: Chastity belts have made appearances in erotica. Esar Levine's 1931 "Chastity Belts: An Illustrated History of the Bridling of Women" compiled erotica of women in chastity belts, with commentary. Contemporary websites such as Literotica snd SmutMD have hundreds of eroticas written by amateur writers about both male and female chastity.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: The Fundamentals of Caring is a 2016 American road comedy-drama film written and directed by Rob Burnett, based on the 2012 novel "The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving" by Jonathan Evison. Starring Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, and Selena Gomez, the film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2016, and was released on Netflix on June 24, 2016.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Ben is an out-of-work writer in Seattle, avoiding his estranged wife’s attempts to serve him with divorce papers. He takes a six-week course to become a registered caregiver and is hired by Elsa, a bank office manager from England, to care for her 18-year-old son Trevor, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Ben adjusts to Trevor’s routine and bonds with the sardonic, sexually frustrated teenager. Trevor reveals that his father left when he was diagnosed at age 3, and sends Trevor letters which he ignores. Elsa and Trevor know Ben is coping with the death of his young son. Elsa warns Ben not to become too close to Trevor, fearing Trevor will be hurt when Ben inevitably moves on.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Trevor is fascinated with American roadside attractions, and Ben convinces Elsa to let them take a road trip. He and Trevor embark on a journey to see the world's deepest pit. Additionally, Trevor asks to visit his father, who owns a car dealership in Salt Lake City. At a gas station, Trevor develops a crush on a hitchhiker his age named Dot. When he and Ben see her again outside a diner, Ben invites her to join them on the road. Dot explains that she is heading to Denver to restart her life. Stopping at a motel, Ben suspects they are being followed by someone sent by his wife.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Traveling down the highway, they find a pregnant woman, Peaches, whose car has broken down and they offer her a ride. When they stop for the night, Trevor asks Dot on a date to the diner across the street, and she accepts. The next day, the four confront Trevor's father at his dealership. He admits although Elsa asked him to write to Trevor, he never did. Elsa wrote all the letters herself. Uninterested in connecting with his son, Trevor’s father offers him money instead, but Trevor and his companions leave. Lashing out at each other, Trevor and Ben prepare to drive home, but Dot insists they complete their journey.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Arriving at the world’s deepest pit, Trevor, Dot, and Peaches head to the bottom, while Ben waits at the top, saying he forgot his mobile. He confronts the driver who has been following them and discovers he is Dot's father, who wants to make sure she safely reaches Denver. Suddenly, Ben receives a frantic call from Dot, and he races to the bottom of the pit, fearing something has happened to Trevor. He discovers Peaches has gone into labor. He helps her deliver her baby, overcoming his guilt of his son's death, when his car, with the parking brake accidentally not fully engaged, ran over his son while Ben was unloading groceries.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Peaches and her newborn son are taken to the hospital. Dot reconciles with her father, who agrees to take her the rest of the way to Denver. She kisses Trevor before she leaves, promising to keep in touch. With a borrowed spinal board, Ben helps Trevor fulfill his wish of urinating standing up, over the rail, into the pit. Ben and Trevor return home, and Ben finalizes his divorce. He begins writing his next novel about Trevor, indicating he has remained close friends with him.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: On October 11, 2012, Worldwide Pants' Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman acquired the film rights to Jonathan Evison's novel "The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving". Burnett adapted and directed the film, and Donna Gigliotti and James Spies produced. On January 7, 2015, Paul Rudd was cast to play the male lead, and on January 13, Selena Gomez also joined the film.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: On December 7, it was announced that the original title, "The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving", had been changed to "The Fundamentals of Caring." It was later revealed Bobby Cannavale and Frederick Weller had been cast in the film as well, with Craig Roberts also added to star opposite Rudd.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: Principal photography began on January 22, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. In early February filming took place in Cartersville, Georgia. The shoot concluded on February 26, 2015, after 26 days of filming.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: The film had its world premiere on January 29 at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival as the Closing Night Film. In January 2016, prior to its festival premiere, Netflix acquired the film's global distribution rights, and began streaming it on June 24, 2016.


title: The Fundamentals of Caring

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 77%, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's consensus reads: ""The Fundamentals Of Caring" gets maximum mileage out of the chemistry between its well-matched leads as it follows a fairly well-worn coming-of-age road trip route". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."


title: Phosphene

text: A phosphene is the phenomenon of seeing light without light entering the eye. The word "phosphene" comes from the Greek words "phos" (light) and "phainein" (to show). Phosphenes that are induced by movement or sound may be associated with optic neuritis.


title: Phosphene

text: Phosphenes can be induced by mechanical, electrical, or magnetic stimulation of the retina or visual cortex, or by random firing of cells in the visual system. Phosphenes have also been reported by meditators (called "nimitta"), people who endure long periods without visual stimulation (the prisoner's cinema), or those who ingest psychedelic drugs.


title: Phosphene

text: The most common phosphenes are pressure phosphenes, caused by rubbing or applying pressure on or near the closed eyes. They have been known since antiquity, and described by the Greeks. The pressure mechanically stimulates the cells of the retina. Experiences include a darkening of the visual field that moves against the rubbing, a diffuse colored patch that also moves against the rubbing, well defined shapes such as bright circles that exist near or opposite to where pressure is being applied, a scintillating and ever-changing and deforming light grid with occasional dark spots (like a crumpling fly-spotted flyscreen), and a sparse field of intense blue points of light. Pressure phosphenes can persist briefly after the rubbing stops and the eyes are opened, allowing the phosphenes to be seen on the visual scene. Hermann von Helmholtz and others have published drawings of their pressure phosphenes. One example of a pressure phosphene is demonstrated by gently pressing the side of one's eye and observing a colored ring of light on the opposite side, as detailed by Isaac Newton.


title: Phosphene

text: Another common phosphene is "seeing stars" from a sneeze, laughter, a heavy and deep cough, blowing of the nose, a blow on the head or low blood pressure (such as on standing up too quickly or prior to fainting). It is possible these involve some mechanical stimulation of the retina, but they may also involve mechanical and metabolic (such as from low oxygenation or lack of glucose) stimulation of neurons of the visual cortex or of other parts of the visual system.


title: Phosphene

text: Less commonly, phosphenes can also be caused by some diseases of the retina and nerves, such as multiple sclerosis. The British National Formulary lists phosphenes as an occasional side effect of at least one anti-anginal medication.


title: Phosphene

text: The name "phosphene" was coined by J. B. H. Savigny, better known as the ship's surgeon of the wrecked French frigate "Méduse". It was first employed by Serre d'Uzes to test retinal function prior to cataract surgery.


title: Phosphene

text: Phosphenes have been created by electrical stimulation of the brain, reported by neurologist Otfrid Foerster as early as 1929. Brindley and Lewin (1968) inserted a matrix of stimulating electrodes directly into the visual cortex of a 52-year-old blind female, using small pulses of electricity to create phosphenes. These phosphenes were points, spots, and bars of colorless or colored light. Brindley and Rushton (1974) used the phosphenes to create a visual prosthesis, in this case by using the phosphenes to depict Braille spots.


title: Phosphene

text: In recent years, researchers have successfully developed experimental brain–computer interfaces or neuroprostheses that stimulate phosphenes to restore vision to people blinded through accidents. Notable successes include the human experiments by William H. Dobelle and Mark Humayun and animal research by Dick Normann.


title: Phosphene

text: A noninvasive technique that uses electrodes on the scalp, transcranial magnetic stimulation, has also been shown to produce phosphenes.


title: Phosphene

text: Experiments with humans have shown that when the visual cortex is stimulated above the calcarine fissure, phosphenes are produced in the lower part of the visual field, and vice versa.


title: Phosphene

text: Phosphenes have been produced by intense, changing magnetic fields, such as with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). These fields can be positioned on different parts of the head to stimulate cells in different parts of the visual system. They also can be induced by alternating currents that entrain neural oscillation as with transcranial alternating current stimulation. In this case they appear in the peripheral visual field. This claim has been disputed. The alternative hypothesis is that current spread from the occipital electrode evokes phosphenes in the retina. Phosphenes created by magnetic fields are known as magnetophosphenes.


title: Phosphene

text: Astronauts exposed to radiation in space have reported seeing phosphenes. Patients undergoing radiotherapy have reported seeing blue flashes of light during treatment; the underlying phenomenon has been shown to resemble Cherenkov radiation.


title: Phosphene

text: Most vision researchers believe that phosphenes result from the normal activity of the visual system after stimulation of one of its parts from some stimulus other than light. For example, Grüsser et al. showed that pressure on the eye results in activation of retinal ganglion cells in a similar way to activation by light. An ancient, discredited theory is that light is generated in the eye. A version of this theory has been revived, except, according to its author, that "phosphene lights are [supposed to be] due to the intrinsic perception of induced or spontaneous increased biophoton emission of cells in various parts of the visual system (from retina to cortex)"


title: Phosphene

text: In 1988, David Lewis-Williams and T. A. Dowson published an article about phosphenes and other entoptic phenomena. They argued that non-figurative art of the Upper Paleolithic depicts visions of phosphenes and neurological "form constants", probably enhanced by hallucinogenic drugs.


title: Chup Chup Ke

text: Chup Chup Ke () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Priyadarshan. Originally titled "Khatta Meetha", it is adapted from Malayalam film "Punjabi House" (1998). The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Shakti Kapoor, Om Puri and Anupam Kher.


title: Chup Chup Ke

text: Jeetu, the son of a retired teacher named Jaidev Prasad, is debt-ridden due to many failed businesses. Jeetu breaks off his engagement with his promised fiancé, Pooja and decides to commit suicide by throwing himself into the sea for insurance money that his father would pay off his debts. However, Jeetu is found tangled in the fishing nets by a pair of fishermen, Gundya and Bandya who rescue him and mistake him to be mute and deaf.


title: Chup Chup Ke

text: Gundya owes money to a Gujarati businessman, Prabhat Singh Chauhan, who takes away Gundya's boat. Gundya cunningly makes Prabhat believe that Jeetu is his loving nephew and leaves both Jeetu and Bandya in Prabhat's house as the guarantee until he returns the money. Prabhat's niece Shruti is mute too, but not deaf. Her overprotective brother Mangal wants her to get married, however, her muteness makes her an undesirable match. One night, Shruti and her cousin Meenakshi learn Jeetu's secret and makes him break off Shruti's undesirable marriage match to keep his secret.


title: Chup Chup Ke

text: Shruti and Meenakshi send money to Jeetu's village through Bandya to repay his debts. Bandya returns from the village and tells Jeetu that Pooja is married now. Unaware that Pooja believes herself to be Jeetu's widow, is living with Jeetu's family. At the same time, Shruti confesses her love for Jeetu. Mangal approves their marriage after Jeetu reveals he is not deaf and mute. Later, Mangal sends Gundya and Bandya to deliver a suitcase of money to Jeetu's family to secure their financial well-being. However, while delivering the money they inadvertently reveal that Jeetu is alive. Shocked, Jaidev demands that they take him to Jeetu. Jaidev arrives at Prabhat's house during Jeetu and Shruti's engagement ceremony and sees him alive.


title: Chup Chup Ke

text: Jaidev reveals to Jeetu that Pooja is living as his widow and implores him to return home and marry Pooja. Jeetu later goes back home to speak to his family but they demand he marry Pooja, and Gundya and Bandya bring him back. On the day of the wedding, Jeetu's family intrude on the marriage, wanting for him to return and marry Pooja instead. However, when Pooja learns that Shruti is mute, she has a change of heart and tells Jeetu to marry Shruti. Jeetu and Shruti get married and live happily ever after.


title: Chup Chup Ke

text: The film was released on 9 June 2006 in India. "Chup Chup Ke" received generally mixed reviews. Rediff.com critic Sukanya Verma praised the cinematography and Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav's comedic performances. She also commented that the romance between Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor lacked chemistry. "The Times of India" reviewer also thought that the romance between Shahid and Kareena was not believable and also criticised the lack of humour. The film grossed ₹25.5 crore at the box office worldwide. Chup Chup Ke's television premiere occurred on Star Gold.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: The Bardo Thodol (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the "Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones", revealed by Karma Lingpa (1326–1386). It is the best-known work of Nyingma literature. In 1927 the text was one of the first examples of both Tibetan and Vajrayana literature to be translated into a European language and arguably continues to this day to be the best known.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: The Tibetan text describes, and is intended to guide one through, the experiences that the consciousness has after death, in the bardo, the interval between death and the next rebirth. The text also includes chapters on the signs of death and rituals to undertake when death is closing in or has taken place. The text can be used as either an advanced practice for trained meditators or to support the uninitiated during the death experience.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: "Bar do thos grol" () translates as: “Liberation (grol) through Hearing (thos) in the Intermediate State (bardo)”


title: Bardo Thodol

text: According to Tibetan tradition, the "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State" was composed in the 8th century by Padmasambhava, written down by his primary student, Yeshe Tsogyal, buried in the Gampo hills in central Tibet and subsequently discovered by a Tibetan terton, Karma Lingpa, in the 14th century.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: The Tibetan title is "bar do thos grol", "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State". It consists of two comparatively long texts:


title: Bardo Thodol

text: Within the texts themselves, the two combined are referred to as "Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo", "Great Liberation through Hearing", or just "Liberation through Hearing".


title: Bardo Thodol

text: It is part of a larger terma cycle, "Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones" ("zab-chos zhi khro dgongs pa rang grol", also known as "kar-gling zhi-khro)", popularly known as "Karma Lingpa's Peaceful and Wrathful Ones."


title: Bardo Thodol

text: The "Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation" is known in several versions, containing varying numbers of sections and subsections, and arranged in different orders, ranging from around ten to thirty-eight titles. The individual texts cover a wide range of subjects, including meditation instructions, visualizations of deities, liturgies and prayers, lists of mantras, descriptions of the signs of death, indications of future rebirth, and texts such as the "bar do thos grol" that are concerned with the bardo-state.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: Together these "six bardos" form a classification of states of consciousness into six broad types. Any state of consciousness can form a type of "intermediate state", intermediate between other states of consciousness. Indeed, one can consider any momentary state of consciousness a bardo, since it lies between our past and future existences; it provides us with the opportunity to experience reality, which is always present but obscured by the projections and confusions that are due to our previous unskillful actions.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: The "bar do thos grol" has become known in the English speaking world as "The Tibetan Book of the Dead", a title popularized by Walter Evans-Wentz's edition, after the Egyptian Book of the Dead, though the English title bears no relationship with the Tibetan, as outlined above. The Evans-Wentz edition was first published in 1927 by Oxford University Press.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: According to John Myrdhin Reynolds, Evans-Wentz's edition of the "Tibetan Book of the Dead" introduced a number of misunderstandings about Dzogchen. In fact, Evans-Wentz collected seven texts about visualization of the after-death experiences and he introduced this work collection as "The Tibetan Book of Death." Evans-Wentz was well acquainted with Theosophy and used this framework to interpret the translation of "The Tibetan Book of the Dead", which was largely provided by two Tibetan lamas who spoke English, Lama Sumdhon Paul and Lama Lobzang Mingnur Dorje. Evans-Wentz was not familiar with Tibetan Buddhism, and his view of Tibetan Buddhism was "fundamentally neither Tibetan nor Buddhist, but Theosophical and Vedantist." He introduced a terminology into the translation which was largely derived from Hinduism, as well as from his Theosophical beliefs.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: The third revised and expanded Evans-Wentz edition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead contains a psychological commentary by Carl Jung in an English translation by R. F. C. Hull. The same analysis appears in Jung’s Collected Works. Jung applied his extensive knowledge of eastern religions to craft a commentary specifically aimed at a western audience unfamiliar with eastern religious tradition in general and Tibetan Buddhism specifically. He does not attempt to directly correlate the content of the Bardo Thodol with rituals or dogma found in occidental religions, but rather highlights karmic phenomena described on the Bardo plane and shows how they parallel unconscious contents (both personal and collective) encountered in the West, particularly in the context of analytical psychology. Jung’s comments should be taken strictly within the realm of psychology, and not that of theology or metaphysics. Indeed, he warns repeatedly of the dangers for western man in the wholesale adoption of eastern religious traditions such as yoga.


title: Bardo Thodol

text: "The Psychedelic Experience", published in 1964, is a guide for LSD trips, written by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert (later known as Ram Dass), loosely based on Evan-Wentz's translation of the "Tibetan Book of the Dead". Aldous Huxley introduced the "Tibetan Book of the Dead" to Timothy Leary. According to Leary, Metzner and Alpert, the "Tibetan Book of the Dead" is


title: Bardo Thodol

text: They construed the effect of LSD as a "stripping away" of ego-defenses, finding parallels between the stages of death and rebirth in the "Tibetan Book of the Dead", and the stages of psychological "death" and "rebirth" which Leary had identified during his research. According to Leary, Metzner and Alpert it is:


title: Bioplastic

text: Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural biopolymers including polysaccharides (e.g. starch, cellulose, chitosan and alginate) and proteins (e.g. soy protein, gluten and gelatin), while others are chemically synthesised from sugar derivatives (e.g. lactic acid) and lipids (oils and fats) from either plants or animals, or biologically generated by fermentation of sugars or lipids. In contrast, common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics (also called petro-based polymers) are derived from petroleum or natural gas.


title: Bioplastic

text: One advantage of bioplastics is their independence from fossil fuel as a raw material, which is a finite and globally unevenly distributed resource linked to petroleum politics and environmental impacts. Life cycle analysis studies show that some bioplastics can be made with a lower carbon footprint than their fossil counterparts, for example when biomass is used as raw material and also for energy production. However, other bioplastics' processes are less efficient and result in a higher carbon footprint than fossil plastics.


title: Bioplastic

text: The distinction between non-fossil-based (bio)plastic and fossil-based plastic is of limited relevance since materials such as petroleum are themselves merely "fossilized" biomass. As such, whether any kind of plastic is degradable or non-degradable (durable) depends on its molecular structure, not on whether or not the biomass constituting the raw material is fossilized. Both durable bioplastics, such as Bio-PET or biopolyethylene (bio-based analogs of fossil-based polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene), and degradable bioplastics, such as polylactic acid, polybutylene succinate, or polyhydroxyalkanoates, exist. Bioplastics must be recycled similar to fossil-based plastics to avoid plastic pollution; "drop-in" bioplastics (such as biopolyethylene) fit into existing recycling streams. Biodegradability may offer an end-of-life pathway in certain applications, such as agricultural mulch, but the concept of biodegradation is not as straightforward as many believe. Susceptibility to biodegradation is highly dependent on the chemical backbone structure of the polymer, and different bioplastics have different structures, thus it cannot be assumed that bioplastic in the environment will readily disintegrate. Conversely, biodegradable plastics can also be synthesized from fossil fuels.


title: Bioplastic

text: As of 2018, bioplastics represented approximately 2% of the global plastics output (>380 million tons). With continued research on bioplastics, investment in bioplastic companies and rising scrutiny on fossil-based plastics, bioplastics are becoming more dominant in some markets, while the output of fossil plastics also steadily increases.


title: Bioplastic

text: Few commercial applications exist for bioplastics. Cost and performance remain problematic. Typical is the example of Italy, where biodegradable plastic bags are compulsory for shoppers since 2011 with the introduction of a specific law. Beyond structural materials, electroactive bioplastics are being developed that promise to carry electric current.


title: Bioplastic

text: Bioplastics are used for disposable items, such as packaging, crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls, and straws.


title: Bioplastic

text: Bioplastics called drop-in bioplastics are chemically identical to their fossil-fuel counterparts but made from renewable resources. Examples include bio-PE, bio-PET, bio-propylene, bio-PP, and biobased nylons. Drop-in bioplastics are easy to implement technically, as existing infrastructure can be used. A dedicated bio-based pathway allows to produce products that can not be obtained through traditional chemical reactions and can create products which have unique and superior properties, compared to fossil-based alternatives.


title: Bioplastic

text: Thermoplastic starch represents the most widely used bioplastic, constituting about 50 percent of the bioplastics market. Simple starch bioplastic film can be made at home by gelatinizing starch and solution casting. Pure starch is able to absorb humidity, and is thus a suitable material for the production of drug capsules by the pharmaceutical sector. However, pure starch-based bioplastic is brittle. Plasticizer such as glycerol, glycol, and sorbitol can also be added so that the starch can also be processed thermo-plastically. The characteristics of the resulting bioplastic (also called "thermoplastic starch") can be tailored to specific needs by adjusting the amounts of these additives. Conventional polymer processing techniques can be used to process starch into bioplastic, such as extrusion, injection molding, compression molding and solution casting. The properties of starch bioplastic is largely influenced by amylose/amylopectin ratio. Generally, high-amylose starch results in superior mechanical properties. However, high-amylose starch has less processability because of its higher gelatinization temperature and higher melt viscosity.


title: Bioplastic

text: Starch-based bioplastics are often blended with biodegradable polyesters to produce starch/polylactic acid, starch/polycaprolactone or starch/Ecoflex (polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate produced by BASF) blends. These blends are used for industrial applications and are also compostable. Other producers, such as Roquette, have developed other starch/polyolefin blends. These blends are not biodegradable, but have a lower carbon footprint than petroleum-based plastics used for the same applications.


title: Bioplastic

text: Starch-based films (mostly used for packaging purposes) are made mainly from starch blended with thermoplastic polyesters to form biodegradable and compostable products. These films are seen specifically in consumer goods packaging of magazine wrappings and bubble films. In food packaging, these films are seen as bakery or fruit and vegetable bags. Composting bags with this films are used in selective collecting of organic waste. Further, starch-based films can be used as a paper.


title: Bioplastic

text: Starch-based nanocomposites have been widely studied, showing improved mechanical properties, thermal stability, moisture resistance, and gas barrier properties.


title: Bioplastic

text: Cellulose bioplastics are mainly the cellulose esters (including cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose) and their derivatives, including celluloid.


title: Bioplastic

text: Cellulose can become thermoplastic when extensively modified. An example of this is cellulose acetate, which is expensive and therefore rarely used for packaging. However, cellulosic fibers added to starches can improve mechanical properties, permeability to gas, and water resistance due to being less hydrophilic than starch.


title: Bioplastic

text: A group at Shanghai University was able to construct a novel green plastic based on cellulose through a method called hot pressing.


title: Bioplastic

text: Other polysaccharides such as chitosan and alginate can also be processed into plastic forms. Chitosan is dissolvable in mild acidic conditions and thus can be easily processed into films by solution casting. Chitosan has an excellent film forming ability. Besides, chitosan, mixed with a limited amount of acid, can also be thermomechanically processed into a plasticised form using an internal batch mixer and compression molder. This high-viscosity condition during thermomechanical processing allows chitosan to be easily blended with plasticizers, nanoparticles, or other biopolymers. Under solution conditions, the production of blended materials based on chitosan, which is positively charged, with other negatively charged biopolymers such as carboxymethyl cellulose, alginate and proteins is challenging as the electrostatic interaction between the two biopolymers will usually lead to coacervates. However, bulk chitosan blends can be produced by high-viscosity thermomechanical processing, which may also display much better mechanical properties and hydrolytic stability. Alginate (usually sodium alginate or calcium alginate) is dissolvable in water so alginate solutions can be cast into films. Blended with limited amounts of water and plasticizers, alginate can also be thermomechanically processed into plasticised films. Plasticisers typically as glycerol can make the processed chitosan or alginate films flexible.


title: Bioplastic

text: Chitosan is a studied biopolymer that can be used as a packaging alternative that increases shelf life and reduces the use of synthetic plastics. Chitosan is a polysaccharide that is obtained through the deacetylation of chitin, the second most abundant polysaccharide on Earth derived from the non-edible portions of marine invertebrates. The increased use of chitosan has the possibility to reduce food waste and the waste from food packaging. Chitosan is compiled of antimicrobial activities and film forming properties which make it biodegradable and deter growth of spoilage. In comparison to degrading synthetic plastics, that may take years, biopolymers such as chitosan can degrade in weeks. Antimicrobial packaging includes techniques such as modified atmospheric packaging that reduce activities of microbes and bacterial growth. Chitosan as an alternative promotes less food waste and less reliance on non-degradable plastic materials.


title: Bioplastic

text: Bioplastics can be made from proteins from different sources. For example, wheat gluten and casein show promising properties as a raw material for different biodegradable polymers.


title: Bioplastic

text: Additionally, soy protein is being considered as another source of bioplastic. Soy proteins have been used in plastic production for over one hundred years. For example, body panels of an original Ford automobile were made of soy-based plastic.


title: Bioplastic

text: There are difficulties with using soy protein-based plastics due to their water sensitivity and relatively high cost. Therefore, producing blends of soy protein with some already-available biodegradable polyesters improves the water sensitivity and cost.


title: Bioplastic

text: The aliphatic biopolyesters are mainly polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) like the poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH).


title: Bioplastic

text: Polylactic acid (PLA) is a transparent plastic produced from maize or dextrose. Superficially, it is similar to conventional petrochemical-based mass plastics like PS. Its advantages are that it is derived from plants and it biodegrades readily. Unfortunately, it exhibits inferior impact strength, thermal robustness, and barrier properties (blocking air transport across the membrane). PLA and PLA blends generally come in the form of granulates PLA is used on a limited scale for the production of films, fibers, plastic containers, cups, and bottles.


title: Bioplastic

text: The biopolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a polyester produced by certain bacteria processing glucose, corn starch or wastewater. Its characteristics are similar to those of the petroplastic polypropylene. PHB production is increasing. The South American sugar industry, for example, has decided to expand PHB production to an industrial scale. PHB is distinguished primarily by its physical characteristics. It can be processed into a transparent film with a melting point higher than 130 degrees Celsius, and is biodegradable without residue.


title: Bioplastic

text: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar or lipids. They are produced by the bacteria to store carbon and energy. In industrial production, the polyester is extracted and purified from the bacteria by optimizing the conditions for the fermentation of sugar. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this family to give materials with extremely different properties. PHA is more ductile and less elastic than other plastics, and it is also biodegradable. These plastics are being widely used in the medical industry.


title: Bioplastic

text: PA 11 is a biopolymer derived from natural oil. It is also known under the tradename Rilsan B, commercialized by Arkema. PA 11 belongs to the technical polymers family and is not biodegradable. Its properties are similar to those of PA 12, although emissions of greenhouse gases and consumption of nonrenewable resources are reduced during its production. Its thermal resistance is also superior to that of PA 12. It is used in high-performance applications like automotive fuel lines, pneumatic airbrake tubing, electrical cable antitermite sheathing, flexible oil and gas pipes, control fluid umbilicals, sports shoes, electronic device components, and catheters.


title: Bioplastic

text: A similar plastic is Polyamide 410 (PA 410), derived 70% from castor oil, under the trade name EcoPaXX, commercialized by DSM.


title: Bioplastic

text: PA 410 is a high-performance polyamide that combines the benefits of a high melting point (approx. 250 °C), low moisture absorption and excellent resistance to various chemical substances.


title: Bioplastic

text: The basic building block (monomer) of polyethylene is ethylene. Ethylene is chemically similar to, and can be derived from ethanol, which can be produced by fermentation of agricultural feedstocks such as sugar cane or corn. Bio-derived polyethylene is chemically and physically identical to traditional polyethylene – it does not biodegrade but can be recycled. The Brazilian chemicals group Braskem claims that using its method of producing polyethylene from sugar cane ethanol captures (removes from the environment) 2.15 tonnes of per tonne of Green Polyethylene produced.


title: Bioplastic

text: Under the bioplastics manufacturing technologies there is the "plant factory" model, which uses genetically modified crops or genetically modified bacteria to optimise efficiency.


title: Bioplastic

text: The condensation of polyamines and cyclic carbonates produces polyhydroxyurethanes. Unlike traditional cross-linked polyurethanes, cross-linked polyhydroxyurethanes are in principle amenable to recycling and reprocessing through dynamic transcarbamoylation reactions.


title: Bioplastic

text: A number bioplastic classes have been synthesized from plant and animal derived fats and oils. Polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxy resins and a number of other types of polymers have been developed with comparable properties to crude oil based materials. The recent development of olefin metathesis has opened a wide variety of feedstocks to economical conversion into biomonomers and polymers. With the growing production of traditional vegetable oils as well as low cost microalgae derived oils, there is huge potential for growth in this area.


title: Bioplastic

text: Materials such as starch, cellulose, wood, sugar and biomass are used as a substitute for fossil fuel resources to produce bioplastics; this makes the production of bioplastics a more sustainable activity compared to conventional plastic production. The environmental impact of bioplastics is often debated, as there are many different metrics for "greenness" (e.g., water use, energy use, deforestation, biodegradation, etc.). Hence bioplastic environmental impacts are categorized into nonrenewable energy use, climate change, eutrophication and acidification. Bioplastic production significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and decreases non-renewable energy consumption. Firms worldwide would also be able to increase the environmental sustainability of their products by using bioplastics


title: Bioplastic

text: Although bioplastics save more nonrenewable energy than conventional plastics and emit less green house gasses compared to conventional plastics, bioplastics also have negative environmental impacts such as eutrophication and acidification. Bioplastics induce higher eutrophication potentials than conventional plastics. Biomass production during industrial farming practices causes nitrate and phosphate to filtrate into water bodies; this causes eutrophication, the process in which a body of water gains excessive richness of nutrients. Eutrophication is a threat to water resources around the world since it causes harmful algal blooms that create oxygen dead zones, killing aquatic animals. Bioplastics also increase acidification. The high increase in eutrophication and acidification caused by bioplastics is also caused by using chemical fertilizer in the cultivation of renewable raw materials to produce bioplastics.


title: Bioplastic

text: Other environmental impacts of bioplastics include exerting lower human and terrestrial ecotoxicity and carcinogenic potentials compared to conventional plastics. However, bioplastics exert higher aquatic ecotoxicity than conventional materials. Bioplastics and other bio-based materials increase stratospheric ozone depletion compared to conventional plastics; this is a result of nitrous oxide emissions during fertilizer application during industrial farming for biomass production. Artificial fertilizers increase nitrous oxide emissions especially when the crop does not need all the nitrogen. Minor environmental impacts of bioplastics include toxicity through using pesticides on the crops used to make bioplastics. Bioplastics also cause carbon dioxide emissions from harvesting vehicles. Other minor environmental impacts include high water consumption for biomass cultivation, soil erosion, soil carbon losses and loss of biodiversity, and they are mainly are a result of land use associated with bioplastics. Land use for bioplastics production leads to lost carbon sequestration and increases the carbon costs while diverting land from its existing uses


title: Bioplastic

text: Although bioplastics are extremely advantageous because they reduce non-renewable consumption and GHG emissions, they also negatively affect the environment through land and water consumption, using pesticide and fertilizer, eutrophication and acidification; hence one's preference for either bioplastics or conventional plastics depends on what one considers the most important environmental impact.


title: Bioplastic

text: This makes the bioplastics compete with food production because the crops that produce bioplastics can also be used to feed people. These bioplastics are called "1st generation feedstock bioplastics".


title: Bioplastic

text: 2nd generation feedstock bioplastics use non-food crops (cellulosic feedstock) or waste materials from 1st generation feedstock (e.g. waste vegetable oil). Third generation feedstock bioplastics use algae as the feedstock.


title: Bioplastic

text: Biodegradation of any plastic is a process that happens at solid/liquid interface whereby the enzymes in the liquid phase depolymerize the solid phase. Certain types of bioplastics as well as conventional plastics containing additives are able to biodegrade. Bioplastics are able to biodegrade in different environments hence they are more acceptable than conventional plastics. Biodegradability of bioplastics occurs under various environmental conditions including soil, aquatic environments and compost. Both the structure and composition of biopolymer or bio-composite have an effect on the biodegradation process, hence changing the composition and structure might increase biodegradability. Soil and compost as environment conditions are more efficient in biodegradation due to their high microbial diversity. Composting not only biodegrades bioplastics efficiently but it also significantly reduces the emission of greenhouse gases. Biodegradability of bioplastics in compost environments can be upgraded by adding more soluble sugar and increasing temperature. Soil environments on the other hand have high diversity of microorganisms making it easier for biodegradation of bioplastics to occur. However, bioplastics in soil environments need higher temperatures and a longer time to biodegrade. Some bioplastics biodegrade more efficiently in water bodies and marine systems; however, this causes danger to marine ecosystems and freshwater. Hence it is accurate to conclude that biodegradation of bioplastics in water bodies which leads to the death of aquatic organisms and unhealthy water can be noted as one of the negative environmental impacts of bioplastics.


title: Bioplastic

text: While plastics based on organic materials were manufactured by chemical companies throughout the 20th century, the first company solely focused on bioplastics—Marlborough Biopolymers—was founded in 1983. However, Marlborough and other ventures that followed failed to find commercial success, with the first such company to secure long-term financial success being the Italian company Novamont, founded in 1989.


title: Bioplastic

text: Bioplastics remain less than one percent of all plastics manufactured worldwide. Most bioplastics do not yet save more carbon emissions than are required to manufacture them. It is estimated that replacing 250 million tons of the plastic manufactured each year with bio-based plastics would require 100 million hectares of land, or 7 percent of the arable land on Earth. And when bioplastics reach the end of their life cycle, those designed to be compostable and marketed as biodegradable are often sent to landfills due to the lack of proper composting facilities or waste sorting, where they then release methane as they break down anaerobically.


title: Bioplastic

text: COPA (Committee of Agricultural Organisation in the European Union) and COGEGA (General Committee for the Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union) have made an assessment of the potential of bioplastics in different sectors of the European economy:


title: Bioplastic

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki>This is not a comprehensive list. These inventions show the versatility of bioplastics and important breakthroughs. New applications and bioplastics inventions continue to occur.


title: Bioplastic

text: The EN 13432 industrial standard must be met in order to claim that a plastic product is compostable in the European marketplace. In summary, it requires multiple tests and sets pass/fail criteria, including disintegration (physical and visual break down) of the finished item within 12 weeks, biodegradation (conversion of organic carbon into ) of polymeric ingredients within 180 days, plant toxicity and heavy metals. The ASTM 6400 standard is the regulatory framework for the United States and has similar requirements.


title: Bioplastic

text: Many starch-based plastics, PLA-based plastics and certain aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester compounds, such as succinates and adipates, have obtained these certificates. Additive-based bioplastics sold as photodegradable or Oxo Biodegradable do not comply with these standards in their current form.


title: Bioplastic

text: The ASTM D 6002 method for determining the compostability of a plastic defined the word "compostable" as follows:


title: Bioplastic

text: that which is capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site such that the material is not visually distinguishable and breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds and biomass at a rate consistent with known compostable materials.


title: Bioplastic

text: This definition drew much criticism because, contrary to the way the word is traditionally defined, it completely divorces the process of "composting" from the necessity of it leading to humus/compost as the end product. The only criterion this standard "does" describe is that a compostable plastic must look to be going away as fast as something else one has already established to be compostable under the "traditional" definition.


title: Bioplastic

text: In January 2011, the ASTM withdrew standard ASTM D 6002, which had provided plastic manufacturers with the legal credibility to label a plastic as compostable. Its description is as follows:


title: Bioplastic

text: This guide covered suggested criteria, procedures, and a general approach to establish the compostability of environmentally degradable plastics.


title: Bioplastic

text: The ASTM D6866 method has been developed to certify the biologically derived content of bioplastics. Cosmic rays colliding with the atmosphere mean that some of the carbon is the radioactive isotope carbon-14. CO from the atmosphere is used by plants in photosynthesis, so new plant material will contain both carbon-14 and carbon-12. Under the right conditions, and over geological timescales, the remains of living organisms can be transformed into fossil fuels. After ~100,000 years all the carbon-14 present in the original organic material will have undergone radioactive decay leaving only carbon-12. A product made from biomass will have a relatively high level of carbon-14, while a product made from petrochemicals will have no carbon-14. The percentage of renewable carbon in a material (solid or liquid) can be measured with an accelerator mass spectrometer.


title: Bioplastic

text: There is an important difference between biodegradability and biobased content. A bioplastic such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) can be 100% biobased (i.e. contain 100% renewable carbon), yet be non-biodegradable. These bioplastics such as HDPE nonetheless play an important role in greenhouse gas abatement, particularly when they are combusted for energy production. The biobased component of these bioplastics is considered carbon-neutral since their origin is from biomass.


title: Bioplastic

text: The ASTM D5511-12 and ASTM D5526-12 are testing methods that comply with international standards such as the ISO DIS 15985 for the biodegradability of plastic.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central European culture in fields such as architecture, dance, painting, sculpture and cinema. This article deals primarily with developments in German Expressionist cinema before and immediately after World War I, approximately from 1910 to the 1930s.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: The German Expressionist movement was initially confined to Germany due to the country's isolation during World War I. In 1916, the government banned foreign films, creating a sharp increase in the demand for domestic film production: from 24 films in 1914, to 130 films in 1918. With inflation also on the rise, Germans were attending films more freely because they knew that their money's value was constantly diminishing.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: International audiences and appreciation for German cinema began to grow as anti-German sentiment decreased following the end of World War I. By the time its 1916 ban on imports on foreign film was lifted, Germany had become a part of the international film industry.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Among the first Expressionist films, "The Student of Prague" (1913), "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920), "From Morn to Midnight" (1920), "" (1920), "Genuine" (1920), "Destiny" (1921), "Nosferatu" (1922), "Phantom" (1922), and "Schatten" (1923) were highly symbolic and stylized.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: European societies of the 1920s embraced an ethic of change and a willingness to look to the future by experimenting with bold, new ideas and artistic styles. The first Expressionist films, which lacked a generous budget, used set designs with wildly non-realistic, geometrically absurd angles, along with designs painted on walls and floors to represent lights, shadows, and objects. The plots and stories of the Expressionist films often dealt with madness, insanity, betrayal and other "intellectual" topics triggered by the experiences of World War I (as opposed to standard action-adventure and romantic films). Later films often categorized as part of the brief history of German Expressionism include "Metropolis" (1927) and "M" (1931), both directed by Fritz Lang. This trend was a reaction against realism. Its practitioners used extreme distortions in expression to show an inner emotional reality rather than what was on the surface.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: The extreme anti-realism of Expressionism was short-lived, fading away after only a few years. The themes of Expressionism were integrated into later films of the 1920s and 1930s, resulting in an artistic control over the placement of scenery, light, etc. to enhance the mood of a film. This dark, moody school of film making was brought to the United States when the Nazis gained power and many German film makers emigrated to Hollywood. Several German directors and cameramen flourished in Hollywood, producing a repertoire of films that had a profound effect. Nazi film theorist Fritz Hippler was a supporter of expressionism. Two further films produced in Nazi Germany using the expressionist style were "The Animal of Steel" ("Das Stahltier", 1935) by Willy Zielke and "Michelangelo. The Life of a Titan" ("Das Leben eines Titanen", 1940) by Curt Oertel.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Two genres that were especially influenced by Expressionism are horror film and film noir. Carl Laemmle and Universal Studios had produced horror films of the silent era, such as Lon Chaney's "The Phantom of the Opera". German film makers such as Karl Freund (the cinematographer for "Dracula" in 1931) set the style and mood of the Universal monster movies of the 1930s with their dark and artistically designed sets, providing a model for later generations of horror films. Directors such as Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Carol Reed and Michael Curtiz introduced the Expressionist style to crime dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, expanding Expressionism's influence on modern film making.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: German silent cinema was arguably far ahead of Hollywood during the same period. Cinema outside Germany benefited both from the emigration of German film makers and from German expressionist developments in style and technique that were apparent on the screen. The new look and techniques impressed other contemporary film makers, artists and cinematographers, and they began to incorporate the new style into their work.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: In 1924, Alfred Hitchcock was sent by Gainsborough Pictures to work as an assistant director and art director at the UFA owned Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam near Berlin on the film "The Blackguard". The immediate effect of the working environment in Germany can be seen in his expressionistic set designs for that film. Hitchcock later said he "acquired a strong German influence by working at the UFA studios".


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: German Expressionism would continue to influence Hitchcock throughout his career. In his third film, "", Hitchcock introduced expressionist set designs, lighting techniques, and trick camera work to the British public against the wishes of his studio. His visual experimentation included the use of an image of a man walking across a glass floor shot from below, a concept representing someone pacing upstairs.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Werner Herzog's 1979 film "Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht" was a tribute to F. W. Murnau's 1922 film. The film uses expressionist techniques of highly symbolic acting and symbolic events to tell its story. The 1998 film "Dark City" used stark contrast, rigid movements, and fantastic elements.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Stylistic elements taken from German Expressionism are common today in films that need not reference contemporary realism, such as science fiction films (for example, Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner", which was itself influenced by "Metropolis"). Woody Allen's 1991 film "Shadows and Fog" is an homage to German and Austrian Expressionist filmmakers Fritz Lang, Georg Wilhelm Pabst and F. W. Murnau. The extreme angles of set decor and associated lighting were parodied by Ken Hughes in his Berlin spy school segment for the 1967 spoof version of "Casino Royale."


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Many critics see a direct tie between cinema and architecture of the time, stating that the sets and scene artwork of Expressionist films often reveal buildings of sharp angles, great heights, and crowded environments, such as the frequently shown Tower of Babel in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis".


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Strong elements of monumentalism and Modernism appear throughout the canon of German Expressionism. An excellent example of this is "Metropolis", as evidenced by the enormous power plant and glimpses of the massive yet pristine "upper" city.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: German Expressionist painters rejected the naturalistic depiction of objective reality, often portraying distorted figures, buildings, and landscapes in a disorienting manner that disregarded the conventions of perspective and proportion. This approach, combined with jagged, stylized shapes and harsh, unnatural colors, were used to convey subjective emotions.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: A number of artists and craftsmen working in the Berlin theater brought the Expressionist visual style to the design of stage sets. This, in turn, had an eventual influence on films dealing with fantasy and horror.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: The prime example is Robert Wiene's dream-like film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920) which is universally recognized as an early classic of Expressionist cinema. Hermann Warm, the film's art director, worked with painters and stage designers Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig to create fantastic, nightmarish sets with twisted structures and landscapes with sharp-pointed forms and oblique, curving lines. Some of these designs were constructions, others were painted directly onto canvases.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: German Expressionist films produced in the Weimar Republic immediately following the First World War not only encapsulate the sociopolitical contexts in which they were created, but also rework the intrinsically modern problems of self-reflexivity, spectacle and identity.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: According to Siegfried Kracauer and Lotte Eisner, German Expressionist cinema operates as a kind of collective consciousness and a symptomatic manifestation of what they polemically claim to be inherent cultural tendencies of the German nation. Expressionism has also been described as focusing on the “power of spectacles” and offering audiences “a kind of metonymic image of their own situation”.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: This film movement paralleled Expressionist painting and theater in rejecting realism. The creators in the Weimar Period sought to convey inner, subjective experience through external, objective means. Their films were characterized by highly stylized sets and acting; they used a new visual style which embodied high contrast and simple editing. The films were shot in studios where they could employ deliberately exaggerated and dramatic lighting and camera angles to emphasize some particular affect – fear, horror, pain. Aspects of Expressionist techniques were later adapted by such directors as Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles and were incorporated into many American gangster and horror films.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: Some of the major filmmakers of this time were F. W. Murnau, Erich Pommer, and Fritz Lang. The movement ended after the currency stabilized, making it cheaper to buy movies abroad. The UFA financially collapsed and German studios began to deal with Italian studios which led to their influence in style of horror and films noirs. The American influence on the film industry would also lead some film makers to continue their career in the US. The UFA's last film was "Der blaue Engel" (1930), considered a masterpiece of German Expressionism.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: The two most comprehensive studies of German Expressionist film are Lotte Eisner's "The Haunted Screen" and Siegfried Kracauer's "From Caligari to Hitler". Kracauer examines German cinema from the Silent/Golden Era to support the (controversial) conclusion that German films made prior to Hitler's takeover and the rise of the Third Reich all hint at the inevitability of Nazi Germany. For Eisner, similarly, German Expressionist cinema is a visual manifestation of Romantic ideals turned to dark and proto-totalitarian ends. More recent German Expressionist scholars examine historical elements influencing German Expressionism, such as the Weimar economy, UFA, Erich Pommer, Nordisk, and Hollywood.


title: German Expressionism (cinema)

text: For more on German Expressionism's most singularly important producer and director, see Leopold Jessner (1878–1945). For more on the period's most important production company and distributor, see "Universum Film AG", popularly known as "UFA".


title: David Glen Eisley

text: Eisley was born in Los Angeles, California and is the son of actor Anthony Eisley and Judith Tubbs Eisley. While in high school, he played drums for the band Mammoth, an Iron Butterfly cover band. Before settling into music, Eisley spent much of his early days playing baseball. He eventually reached Double-A for the San Francisco Giants, commuting back and forth between games and club gigs.


title: David Glen Eisley

text: He is married to actress Olivia Hussey with whom he has one daughter, India Eisley. He is the older brother of actor and stuntman Jonathan Erickson Eisley.


title: David Glen Eisley

text: He is most well known for being the lead singer for the AOR bands Sorcery (1980–1983), Giuffria (1983–1988), Dirty White Boy (1988–1991), with Craig Goldy's "Ritual" he released "Hidden In Plain Sight" (1991) and Stream (1998). His biggest success came with the band Giuffria, when their hit single "Call to the Heart" reached number 15 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in early 1985. Eisley has also appeared in the television shows "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "7th Heaven", the movie "Action Jackson" and has acted in various commercials.


title: David Glen Eisley

text: In 1997, Eisley co-wrote the rock ballad "Sweet Victory" with Bob Kulick under the label of Arista Records, and in the following year, APM Music released the track on their Bruton Music Library album "American Games". They had previously worked together in the short-lived band Murderer's Row, releasing a self-titled album in 1996. The song was featured in the 2001 "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode "Band Geeks" which sharply increased its popularity, with it reaching number 23 on the Hot Rock Songs chart in February 2019 after Super Bowl LIII.


title: David Glen Eisley

text: He has released four solo albums, "War Dogs" in 1999, "Stranger from the Past" in 2000, a compilation album of previously unreleased songs, "The Lost Tapes", in 2003, and "Tattered Torn & Worn..." in 2019.


title: David Glen Eisley

text: In 2017, Eisley was featured as lead vocalist on three songs on Bob Kulick's album "Skeletons in the Closet". On December 1, 2017 he released an album with Craig Goldy, under the band name "Eisley/Goldy", titled "Blood, Guts and Games".


title: Conifer cone

text: A conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. It is usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers and cycads. The cone of Pinophyta (conifer clade) contains the reproductive structures. The woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cone, which produces pollen, is usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity. The name "cone" derives from Greek "konos" (pine cone), which also gave name to the geometric cone. The individual plates of a cone are known as "scales". The "umbo" of a conifer cone refers to the first year's growth of a seed scale on the cone, showing up as a protuberance at the end of the two-year-old scale.


title: Conifer cone

text: The male cone (microstrobilus or pollen cone) is structurally similar across all conifers, differing only in small ways (mostly in scale arrangement) from species to species. Extending out from a central axis are microsporophylls (modified leaves). Under each microsporophyll is one or several microsporangia (pollen sacs).


title: Conifer cone

text: The female cone (megastrobilus, seed cone, or ovulate cone) contains ovules which, when fertilized by pollen, become seeds. The female cone structure varies more markedly between the different conifer families, and is often crucial for the identification of many species of conifers.


title: Conifer cone

text: The members of the pine family (pines, spruces, firs, cedars, larches, etc.) have cones that are imbricate (that is, with scales overlapping each other like fish scales). These pine cones, especially the woody female cones, are considered the "archetypal" tree cones.


title: Conifer cone

text: The female cone has two types of scale: the bract scales, and the seed scales (or ovuliferous scales), one subtended by each bract scale, derived from a highly modified branchlet. On the upper-side base of each seed scale are two ovules that develop into seeds after fertilization by pollen grains. The bract scales develop first, and are conspicuous at the time of pollination; the seed scales develop later to enclose and protect the seeds, with the bract scales often not growing further. The scales open temporarily to receive pollen, then close during fertilization and maturation, and then re-open again at maturity to allow the seed to escape. Maturation takes 6–8 months from pollination in most Pinaceae genera, but 12 months in cedars and 18–24 months (rarely more) in most pines. The cones open either by the seed scales flexing back when they dry out, or (in firs, cedars and golden larch) by the cones disintegrating with the seed scales falling off. The cones are conic, cylindrical or ovoid (egg-shaped), and small to very large, from 2–60 cm long and 1–20 cm broad.


title: Conifer cone

text: After ripening, the opening of non-serotinous pine cones is associated with their moisture content—cones are open when dry and closed when wet. This assures that the small, windborne seeds will be dispersed during relatively dry weather, and thus, the distance traveled from the parent tree will be enhanced. A pine cone will go through many cycles of opening and closing during its life span, even after seed dispersal is complete. This process occurs with older cones while attached to branches and even after the older cones have fallen to the forest floor. The condition of fallen pine cones is a crude indication of the forest floor's moisture content, which is an important indication of wildfire risk. Closed cones indicate damp conditions while open cones indicate the forest floor is dry.


title: Conifer cone

text: As a result of this, pine cones have often been used by people in temperate climates to predict dry and wet weather, usually hanging a harvested pine cone from some string outside to measure the humidity of the air.


title: Conifer cone

text: Members of the Araucariaceae ("Araucaria", "Agathis", "Wollemia") have the bract and seed scales fully fused, and have only one ovule on each scale. The cones are spherical or nearly so, and large to very large, 5–30 cm diameter, and mature in 18 months; at maturity, they disintegrate to release the seeds. In "Agathis", the seeds are winged and separate readily from the seed scale, but in the other two genera, the seed is wingless and fused to the scale.


title: Conifer cone

text: The cones of the Podocarpaceae are similar in function, though not in development, to those of the Taxaceae (q.v. below), being berry-like with the scales highly modified, evolved to attract birds into dispersing the seeds. In most of the genera, two to ten or more scales are fused together into a usually swollen, brightly coloured, soft, edible fleshy aril. Usually only one or two scales at the apex of the cone are fertile, each bearing a single wingless seed, but in "Saxegothaea" several scales may be fertile. The fleshy scale complex is 0.5–3 cm long, and the seeds 4–10 mm long. In some genera (e.g. "Prumnopitys"), the scales are minute and not fleshy, but the seed coat develops a fleshy layer instead, the cone having the appearance of one to three small plums on a central stem. The seeds have a hard coat evolved to resist digestion in the bird's stomach.


title: Conifer cone

text: Members of the cypress family (cypresses, arborvitae, junipers, redwoods, etc.) differ in that the bract and seed scales are fully fused, with the bract visible as no more than a small lump or spine on the scale. The botanical term galbulus (plural galbuli; from the Latin for a cypress cone) is sometimes used instead of strobilus for members of this family. The female cones have one to 20 ovules on each scale. They often have peltate scales, as opposed to the imbricate cones described above, though some have imbricate scales. The cones are usually small, long, and often spherical or nearly so, like those of Nootka cypress, while others, such as western redcedar and California incense-cedar, are narrow. The scales are arranged either spirally, or in decussate whorls of two (opposite pairs) or three, rarely four. The genera with spiral scale arrangement were often treated in a separate family (Taxodiaceae) in the past. In most of the genera, the cones are woody and the seeds have two narrow wings (one along each side of the seed), but in three genera ("Platycladus, Microbiota" and "Juniperus"), the seeds are wingless, and in "Juniperus", the cones are fleshy and berry-like (known as ).


title: Conifer cone

text: The cones and seeds of "Sciadopitys" (the only member of the family) are similar to those of some Cupressaceae, but larger, 6–11 cm long; the scales are imbricate and spirally arranged, and have 5-9 ovules on each scale.


title: Conifer cone

text: Members of the yew family and the closely related Cephalotaxaceae have the most highly modified cones of any conifer. There is only one scale in the female cone, with a single poisonous ovule. The scale develops into a soft, brightly coloured sweet, juicy, berry-like aril which partly encloses the deadly seed. The seed alone is poisonous. The whole 'berry' with the seed is eaten by birds, which digest the sugar-rich scale and pass the hard seed undamaged in their droppings, so dispersing the seed far from the parent plant.


title: Conifer cone

text: Though not included under the conifers, this group of cone-bearing plants retains some types of 'primitive' characteristics. Its leaves unfurl, much like ferns. There are three extant families of Cycads of about 305 species. It reproduces with large cones, and is related to the other conifers in that regard, but it does not have a woody trunk like most cone-bearing families.


title: Conifer cone

text: Like the Cycads, this unique cone-bearing plant is not considered a conifer, but belongs in the Order Welwitschiales. "Welwitschia mirabilis" is often called a living fossil and is the only species in its genus, which is the only genus in its family, which is the only family in its Order. The male cones are on male plants, and female cones on female plants. After emergence of the two cotyledons, it sets only two more leaves. Those two leaves then continue to grow longer from their base, much like fingernails. This allows it great drought tolerance, which is likely why it has survived in the desert of Namibia, while all other representatives from its order are now extinct.


title: Conifer cone

text: For most species found in Australia, male and female cones occur on the same plant (tree or shrub), with female usually on the higher branches towards the top of the plant. This distribution is thought to improve chances of cross-fertilization, as pollen is unlikely to be blown vertically upward within the crown of one plant, but can drift slowly upward in the wind, blowing from low on one plant to higher on another plant. In some conifers, male cones additionally often grow clustered in large numbers together, while female cones are more often produced singly or in only small clusters.


title: Conifer cone

text: A further characteristic arrangement of pines is that the male cones are located at the base of the branch, while the female at the tip (of the same or a different branchlet). However, in larches and cedars, both types of cones are always at the tips of short shoots, while both sexes of fir cones are always from side buds, never terminal. There's also some diversity in bearing in Cupressaceae. Some, "Cupressus" for instance, has little or no differentiation in the positions of male and female cones.


title: Conifer cone

text: Cone crop potential can be predicted in various ways. An early indication of a potential crop can be a period of abnormally hot, dry weather at the time of bud differentiation, particularly if the current and preceding cone crops have been poor (Nienstaedt and Zasada 1990). Estimates of cone crop potential can be made by counting female reproductive buds in fall or winter, and an experienced observer can detect the subtle morphological differences and distinguish between reproductive buds and vegetative buds (Eis 1967b).


title: Conifer cone

text: White spruce seed collection is expensive, and collection from cone caches of red squirrels is probably the cheapest method. The viability of seed from cached cones does not vary during current caching, but viability drops essentially to zero after being in caches for 1 or 2 years (Wagg 1964).


title: Conifer cone

text: Collection of cones in seed orchards has been facilitated by the counter-intuitive technique of “topping” and collection of cones from the severed crown tops at one-third the cost of collection from untopped trees and without decreasing cone production (Slayton 1969, Nienstaedt 1981).


title: Conifer cone

text: Norway and Sitka spruce are prone to the formation of Pineapple gall pseudocones caused by the woolly aphid, "Adelges abietis". These are not cones, although they closely resemble them.


title: Conifer cone

text: Because of their widespread occurrence, conifer cones have been a traditional part of the arts and crafts of cultures where conifers are common. Examples of their use includes seasonal wreaths and decorations, fire starters, bird feeders, toys, etc. An intriguing derivation of the impossible bottle mechanical puzzle takes advantage of the fact that pine cones open and close based on their level of dryness. In constructing "the pine cone in the bottle" display, a closed, damp cone of suitable size is inserted into a narrow-mouthed bottle and allowed to open upon drying.


title: Conifer cone

text: "Cone cows" are traditional homemade toys, made by children using material found in nature. The most common design is a spruce or pine cone with sticks or matches for legs, which can easily be attached by forcing them between the cone scales. Playing with cone cows often includes building an animal enclosure from sticks. For the most part, cone cows have been displaced by manufactured toys, at least in affluent countries, but the creation of cone cows still enjoys some popularity as an outdoor activity for children.


title: Conifer cone

text: Cone cows are a part of children's culture in Finland where they are known as "Käpylehmä" (plural: "Käpylehmät") and Sweden where they are known as "kottkor" or "kottdjur" (cone animals). Schools and other institutions teach children how to make cone cows as part of outdoors education on nature and history.


title: Conifer cone

text: In Finland there is a fairground with cone cow sculptures large enough for children to ride on. In Sweden, a video game was released in which the player may build virtual cone cows. Swedish artist Lasse Åberg has created artwork with cone cows, which has been included in an alphabet book and featured on a Swedish postage stamp among other classic toys.


title: Conifer cone

text: In some parts of Russia and Georgia, immature pine cones are harvested in late spring and boiled to make sweet preserves.


title: Conifer cone

text: The pineal gland is named after the pine cone. Pine cones were also used as symbols of fertility in ancient Assyrian art. In Christian symbolism, they are closely related to the tree of life.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: The Southern Transitional Council (STC; "al-Majlis al-Intiqālī l-Janūbiyy") is a secessionist organization in South Yemen. The 26 members of the STC include the governors of five southern governorates and two government ministers. It was formed by a faction of the Southern Movement, also known as "al-Hirak al-Janoubi". The Southern Movement was established in 2007, during the term of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and it has called for and worked toward the separation of southern Yemen from the rest of the nation (as it previously was until 1990).


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: Declared on 11 May 2017, the council is headed by the former Governor of Aden, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, as president, with former minister of state Hani Bin Breik as vice-president. The formation of the council was authorized a week earlier by the Historic Aden Declaration, announced at a rally protesting the dismissal of al-Zoubaidi from his post as governor. The STC, a major party to the Yemeni Civil War, claims to rule most of the territory in southern Yemen.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: On 27 April 2017, a presidential decree was given by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi dismissing Aidarus al-Zoubaidi from his post as governor of Aden, due to his close ties with the UAE whom President Hadi described as "acting like occupiers" in the city. This was met with large demonstrations in the city in support of the deposed but popular Zoubaidi.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: With the help and support of the UAE, the STC was formed on 11 May 2017 with Aidarus al-Zoubaidi as its leader. Immediately, President Hadi called the council illegitimate.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: Beginning on 28 January 2018, separatists loyal to the STC seized control of the Yemeni government headquarters in Aden in a coup d'état against the Hadi government.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: In January 2018, as the head of the STC, Aidarus al-Zoubaidi announced a state of emergency in Aden and that "the STC has begun the process of overthrowing Hadi’s rule over the South".


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: On 27 August 2019, tensions continued to escalate in southern Yemen after the UAE-backed Security Belt Forces (SBF) lost territories to troops loyal to the Saudi-backed government of President Hadi. The troops advanced on the capital Aden and instead of engaging in street fighting, took positions outside of the city in order to prevent civilian casualties.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: On 29 August 2019, to stop government forces from advancing and reclaiming the capital, the UAE carried out airstrikes on government positions outside of Aden, which killed and injured over 300 government soldiers.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: Despite membership in the coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, the UAE fell out with Hadi's government after the former accused Hadi of aligning with the Islah party, a powerful party, which it viewed as ideologically close to the Muslim Brotherhood.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: The STC declared self-governance on 26 April 2020. The government said local and security authorities in the provinces of Hadramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, al-Mahra, and the island of Socotra dismissed the move as a "clear and definite coup". In Aden, the movement's attempt was successful, as it occupied all governmental institutions.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: In order to deal with the infighting between the Yemeni government forces and those of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, a new cabinet was formed with the backing of neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The formation of the new unity government in December 2020, which includes equal numbers of representatives from each region of Yemen's northern and southern areas, was the result of over a year's worth of intense negotiations mediated by the Saudis, and was meant to end the infighting so that the two sides could fight together against the Houthi rebels in the ongoing civil war.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: The Aden Historic Declaration in () is a speech delivered in Aden's famous Freedom Square (), formerly known as Exhibition Square in Khormaksar district on 4 May 2017 by Aidraus al-Zoubaidi, the former Governor of Aden. The speech which was prepared by a committee headed by him contained a direct delegation for him to declare political national leadership under his presidency to administrate and represent the South and take all necessary measures to achieve the southern people's obviatives and aspirations fully empowered by the will of the people who gathered in a historic demonstration. The declaration reasserted the deep strong partnership between Southern people and Arab Coalition States led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in achieving and fulfilling the mutual goals of averting Iranian expansion, fighting terrorism, and guaranteeing the security and stability in the region, while maintaining the people ultimate goal to restore their sovereignty as a decisive element of region’s security. This document which was named by its first article the Aden Historic declaration is considered along with the significantly large masses who were present as a legal authorization from the people of the south to the later formed political body , the Southern transitional council, and for that, all announcements and orders issued by the STC begins with the statement "After reviewing the (Aden Historic Declaration) issued in the capital, Aden, on May 4, 2017".


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: The UAE helped create the SBF in southern Yemen. Since its formation, the SBF has played a crucial role in the Saudi-led coalition before the recent escalation.


title: Southern Transitional Council

text: Its successes came in part due to being militarily backed by the UAE. The backing included training of SBF fighters in Abu Dhabi and the supply of military equipment. Emirati backing was crucial in helping the STC gain Aden, which has been under its control since 2018.


title: Kevin Guthrie

text: Kevin Guthrie (born 21 March 1988) is a Scottish actor. His best known roles are Ally in "Sunshine on Leith" (2013) and Ewan Tavendale in Terence Davies's 2015 film "Sunset Song". He also performed the lead role in "Peter Pan" at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, in 2011.


title: Kevin Guthrie

text: On 16 April 2021, Guthrie was convicted of a sexual assault that occurred in 2017 for which he was sentenced to three years in prison and placed on the Sexual Offenders Register indefinitely. He was freed in May 2022 after his sentence was reduced to 2 years on appeal.


title: Kevin Guthrie

text: Guthrie attended the PACE Youth Theatre in Paisley and appeared in small roles in television and film. He studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (then the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama). He left after receiving the title role in the National Theatre of Scotland's production of "Peter Pan" in 2010, graduating later in 2011 with a BA in Acting.


title: Kevin Guthrie

text: Alongside theatre work, including a role in 2013's "Macbeth" starring James McAvoy at Trafalgar Studios, Guthrie had a starring role in 2013's musical drama "Sunshine on Leith". He appeared in the pilots of the British sitcoms "Two Doors Down" (2013) and "Miller's Mountain" (2014), but both roles were recast when these series were commissioned for a full series. In 2015 he acted in Robert Carlyle's directorial debut "The Legend of Barney Thomson" and in the role of Ewan Tavendale in Terence Davies's adaptation of the novel "Sunset Song", opposite Agyness Deyn.


title: Kevin Guthrie

text: In 2016 Guthrie appeared in Gillies MacKinnon's remake of the 1949 Ealing Studios classic "Whisky Galore!". The film was widely released in the UK in May 2017. Later in the year, he appeared in Christopher Nolan's war epic "Dunkirk". In 2020 he portrayed Fergus Suter in the Netflix historical sports drama TV miniseries "The English Game".


title: Kevin Guthrie

text: Following his conviction for sexual assault in April 2021, Guthrie was dropped by BBC Scotland from his role on "Inside Central Station", of which he narrated the first two seasons. Shows featuring Guthrie were also removed from the BBC iPlayer.