title: Legionary

text: Though the legionary was first and foremost a soldier, he provided a variety of other critical functions. Lacking a professional police force, governors would use legionaries to keep the peace and protect critical facilities. As the Roman empire lacked a large civil administration, the army would often be given many administrative positions. High ranking soldiers often acted as judges in disputes among local populations and the army was an important component of tax collection. Legionaries also served to spread Roman culture throughout the provinces where they were stationed. As legionaries settled in the provinces, towns sprang up around them, often becoming large cities. In this way, as legionaries co-mingled and intermarried with the local populace, they helped Romanize the provinces they protect.


title: Legionary

text: Roman legionaries served as a source of labor and expertise as well. As such, much of the infrastructure which connected the empire was built by legionaries. Roads, canals, and bridges were built by legionaries as well as more defensive structures such as fortresses and walls. Hadrian's wall, a monumental example of Roman engineering, was built by the three legions stationed in the area. Legionaries were not just limited to building large-scale engineering projects. Surveyors, doctors, artisans, and engineers within the army would be used for a variety of different civil services along with their normal military role.


title: Legionary

text: Regular trained legionaries were known as "milites" and were the equivalent in rank of the modern private. Included in the ranks, aside from the "milites", were the "immunes", specialist soldiers with secondary roles such as engineer, artilleryman, drill and weapons instructor, carpenter and medic. These men were still fully trained legionaries, however, and would fight in the ranks if called upon. They were excused from some of the more arduous tasks such as drill and fatigues and received better pay than their comrades in arms.


title: Legionary

text: Though Roman legionaries were predominantly made up of volunteer citizens, conscription of recruits continued through Republic era and into the Principate, especially in times of crisis. This meant that levees remained a significant part of the Roman legions. With the state providing the equipment to the recruits and no property requirements, even the poorest Roman citizens were able to join the legions. However, the army was viewed as an honorable and valued profession. With a steady pay, good retirement benefits, and even certain legal advantages, a legionary had many perks that common citizens found desirable. As such, though poor citizens could join the military, members from across the "plebeian" class were found in the Roman legions. Indeed, the army served as one of the few avenues of upward mobility in the Roman world.


title: Legionary

text: The army actively sought out recruits with useful skills such as smiths, carpenters, and butchers. Though not required, literacy was useful since promotion to higher ranks such as "centurion" required a knowledge of writing. During the Later Republic, Roman legionaries predominantly came from the areas surrounding Rome. However, as Rome expanded, recruits began to come from other areas in Italy. Slowly, recruits came from the regions where the legions were stationed rather than from Italy itself. By the reign of Trajan, there were 4–5 legionaries originating from the provinces for every legionary originating from Italy.


title: Legionary

text: When on the march in hostile territory, the legionary would carry or wear full armour, supplies and equipment. This commonly consisted of "lorica hamata", "lorica squamata", or 1st–3rd century "lorica segmentata", shield ("scutum"), helmet ("galea"), two javelins (one heavy "pilum" and one light "verutum"), a short sword ("gladius"), a dagger ("pugio"), a belt ("balteus"), a pair of heavy sandals ("caligae"), a pair of greaves, a pair of manicas, a marching pack ("sarcina"), about fourteen days' worth of food, a waterskin (bladder for "posca"), cooking equipment, two stakes ("sudes murale") for the construction of palisades, and a shovel, and a wicker basket.


title: Legionary

text: After the military reforms of Emperor Claudius (circa 41 AD), each legion would also be requisitioned a certain number of artillery pieces. Each cohort (roughly 480 men) would receive one ballista and each "centuria" (roughly 100 men) would receive one carroballista. In a standard legionary formation of ten cohorts and sixty centuriae, a legion would be equipped with ten ballistae and sixty carroballistae.


title: Legionary

text: The Roman legionary fought first and foremost with his "contubernium", the basic eight man unit of the Roman army. The men of the same "contubernium" fought, slept, ate, and trained together. This strong sense of camaraderie gave Roman legionaries a sense of pride and kept them fighting on the battlefield. The standard bearers, "signiferi", were of great importance in keeping Roman soldiers in the battle. The loss of a standard was a disgrace to the "centuria" the standard belonged to. As such, standard bearers served as someone to rally around and as someone to exhort legionaries to battle.


title: Legionary

text: "Optiones", Roman officers at the rear of a formation, had many essential roles outside of battle. However, during battle, their task was to prevent legionaries from routing. Carrying a staff with a ball-end, an "optio" would force legionaries fleeing from battle back into formation. Leading at the front, "centurions" would fight alongside legionaries under their command, serving as a role model for his legionaries to remain in combat.


title: Legionary

text: Finally, there were the rewards and punishments, which served as both incentives and deterrents for legionaries in battle. For example, the highly coveted "corona civica" was given to legionaries who saved a comrade in battle. However, death was the punishment for a variety of different offenses. Those who committed cowardice and dereliction of duty were stoned to death by their comrades. On very rare occasions when a whole unit displayed cowardice, the unit might be decimated, in which one out of every ten soldiers were executed. Less extreme punishments included demotions, changing the wheat rations to barley, and the removal of some identifying military gear.


title: Legionary

text: Large armies would generally not begin battle immediately upon meeting. Rather, days or even weeks of redeployment and negotiation would take place before battle. Several days of maneuvering occurred before the Battle of Pharsalus began. Before battle, measures were taken to ensure legionaries were as effective as possible. These included giving legionaries their meals and resting them before the battle. Their commanders and general would also give speeches during this time. These speeches would heavily emphasize the amount of plunder and riches that winning the battle would give the legionaries, as this was a primary incentive for the legionaries to do battle. Light skirmishing would then take place, with cavalry and auxiliaries probing enemy lines before a pitched battle commenced.


title: Legionary

text: The Roman legionary's three principal weapons were the "pilum" (javelin), "scutum" (shield), and "gladius" (short sword). Ideally, the legionaries would throw their "pila" first as they approached the enemy army. These pila could often penetrate enemy shields and hit the soldiers behind them. Even if the pila failed to pierce the shields, the neck of the javelin would bend, making the shield useless. This then made the enemy vulnerable to missile fire and legionary attack. The disruption and damage wrought by pila would then be followed by the charge of Roman legionaries.


title: Legionary

text: Though Roman "scutum" had various different designs, they all shared a large metal boss in the center of the shield. This allowed the legionary to not only use the "scutum" as defensive equipment but also as an offensive weapon. Legionaries would have used this iron boss to punch and shove the enemy combatants. Accompanying this was the "gladius", a primarily stabbing weapon though it could also be used to cut. These fairly simple tools combined with impressive discipline made the Roman legionary an extremely effective soldier in the ancient world.


title: Legionary

text: Though there were many different formations that legionaries fought in, they tended toward close, ordered formations with gaps between formations. These gaps would allow for reserve units to enter battle or serve as avenues for skirmishing forces to retreat back behind the legionaries. During lulls in the battle, wounded soldiers could further be taken back behind battle lines through these gaps.


title: Legionary

text: During the Pax Romana, a rank-and-file Roman legionary would be paid 225 denarii per year. This was increased to 300 denarii during the reign of Domitian. However, during the third century crisis, inflation and chaos disrupted a legionary's pay, with emperors often letting legionaries seize goods from civilians. Their income was supplemented by donatives from emperors either to secure a legion's loyalty or to award them after a successful campaign. Plunder and loot also supplement a legionary's income and is used as a large incentive for soldiers to follow their emperor in campaigns. At the end of their years of service, Roman legionaries received a small allotment of land or a monetary equivalent.


title: Legionary

text: As the Roman empire solidified, permanent legionary fortresses were constructed and many grew into towns. These fortresses contained bathhouses, taverns, and even amphitheaters where festivals and animal displays were held. However, legionaries were not allowed to legally marry until the reign of Septimius Severus (though their spouses were often recognized), most likely because of the implicit necessity to care for the widow in the event of a legionary's death.


title: Legionary

text: When first enlisted, a fresh Roman recruit ("tiro") was not given real weapons to train with. Instead, he was given wooden swords and shields designed to be twice the weight of their counterparts in battle. This allowed the recruit to develop strength as he trained with these wooden weapons. Alongside battle training, the recruit was also taught other necessary skills such as swimming and setting up camp. Most of all, however, the recruit was taught discipline, and was drilled twice a day during his training period. After this period, which could last up to six months, the recruit would become a "milite" and sent to his respective legion.


title: Legionary

text: The Roman soldier underwent especially rigorous training throughout his military career; discipline was the base of the army's success, and the soldiers were relentlessly and constantly trained with weapons and especially with drill—forced marches with full load and in tight formation were frequent. As discipline was important, infractions were heavily punished by the centurions. Punishments could range from being obliged to spend the night outside the protective security of a fortified camp, through being beaten with clubs ("fustuarium"—a common punishment for 'slowpokes' during long marches), to the stoning of individuals or unit executions involving decimation. However, honors, rewards, and promotions were frequently awarded to legionaries who distinguished themselves in battle or through exemplary service.


title: Legionary

text: One of the goals for strong disciplinary training was to expel fear from a Roman soldier. Fear, and the panic that often follows, is a devastating force to an army on the battlefield. The Romans aimed to remove fear through strict physical and mental training. However, a different fear was used to motivate a soldier in spite of the fear of battle; that was the fear of harsh punishment by their commanding officers. In the words of Josephus "they are moreover hardened for war by fear; for their laws inflict capital punishments, not only for soldiers running away from the ranks, but for slothfulness and inactivity".


title: Legionary

text: A Roman legionary had two or three meals per day: The "prandium" (breakfast) and the "cena" (dinner). For these meals, the soldiers were issued regular rations consisting mainly of wheat, which composed roughly 60–70% of a soldier's total rations. This would be consumed in the form of either bread or porridge. However, while on campaign, the soldiers would cook their wheat rations into hardtack, a long-lasting biscuit.


title: Legionary

text: Supplementing the soldier's wheat rations was the "cibaria", rations other than grain. This included a variety of foodstuffs but mainly wine, vinegar, vegetables (largely beans or lentils), salt, salt-pork, cheese, and olive oil. However, this did not include fruit. Through foraging, trade with merchants, requisitioning, or raiding during campaigns, the Roman legionary could obtain other foodstuffs not included in his rations. In combination, the average soldier's diet was generally nutritious and filling.


title: Legionary

text: Permanent Roman forts would contain hospitals, where doctors ("medici") operated on wounded, injured, or sick legionaries. These medical personnel also isolated sick soldiers, thereby reducing the chance of a possibly infectious disease spreading through the army. Roman forts and camps were also planned in such a way as to minimize the spread of water-borne illnesses, which ravaged many ancient armies. Engineers took special care in piping fresh water to the camps and carrying sewage downstream of any watering places. Those legionaries who were seriously and permanently wounded or injured would be granted "missio causaria", or a medical discharge. This discharge would come with many benefits including exemption from some taxes and some civic duties.


title: Legionary

text: "Legionary" is also a term used for members of various military forces which have been accorded the title of "legion", although bearing no resemblance to the heavy infantry of ancient Rome. In the 18th and early 19th century this designation was sometimes accorded to units which comprised both mounted and foot components. More recently the title has been used by the French Foreign Legion, the Spanish Foreign Legion and the Polish Legions. Members of these modern legions are often called "légionnaires", the French term for legionary.


title: Legionary

text: The term was also used by the Romanian far right paramilitary group known in English as the Iron Guard.


title: 4AD

text: 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after ) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.


title: 4AD

text: The label gained prominence in the 1980s for releasing albums from alternative rock, post-punk, gothic rock, and dream pop artists, such as Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, Pixies, Throwing Muses, Belly and Watts-Russell's own musical project This Mortal Coil. In 1987, the label scored an international hit with the dance music single "Pump Up the Volume" by the one-off project MARRS. 4AD continued to have success in the 1990s and 2000s, with releases from The Breeders, Lush, Red House Painters, Camera Obscura, TV on the Radio, St. Vincent, and Bon Iver. , the label's current roster includes acts such as Dry Cleaning, The National, Daughter, Deerhunter, Big Thief, Aldous Harding, U.S. Girls, Erika de Casier, and Future Islands.


title: 4AD

text: In 1999, Watts-Russell sold 4AD back to the Beggars Group. The label's history was detailed by Martin Aston in the book "Facing The Other Way", released in 2013.


title: 4AD

text: Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, employees of the Beggars Banquet record store and label, founded Axis Records in late 1979 as a property of Beggars Banquet, that was run by the two of them. After the first four Axis singles in early 1980, it became apparent that the name Axis was already being used by another music company and the name was changed to 4AD, an abbreviation of the word forward. Other names which they had considered included 1980AD, 4WD and 1984.


title: 4AD

text: An initial idea for the label was that it would be a "testing ground" for Beggars Banquet; successful acts would graduate up to Beggars Banquet after a year at 4AD. The only band to follow this path would be Bauhaus, who were signed to Beggars Banquet in late 1980, before Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label outright.


title: 4AD

text: The two were the sole owners for about a year. Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell at the end of 1981, and started a new Beggars Banquet subsidiary, Situation Two Records. Watts-Russell would maintain ownership of the label, and act as its president, until the late 1990s.


title: 4AD

text: Watts-Russell invited the graphic designer Vaughan Oliver and the photographer Nigel Grierson to create sleeve art for the label, and as a result, 4AD acquired a visually distinctive identity. Its artists, such as Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance, developed cult followings in the mid-1980s, but 4AD continued to evolve, and, after signing Throwing Muses and Pixies, the label increasingly concentrated on underground American rock music. In 1983, 4AD had a minor hit in America with the Modern English single "I Melt With You". In 1987, 4AD had a UK number-one hit with the collaged "Pump up the Volume" by MARRS (licensed to 4th & B'Way/Island Records in the US).


title: 4AD

text: In the 1990s, 4AD established an office in Los Angeles and had success with bands such as The Breeders, Belly, Red House Painters, Unrest and His Name Is Alive, as well as solo material by Frank Black and Kristin Hersh.


title: 4AD

text: The label's deal with Warner Bros. Records in the United States in 1992 would start the beginning of a new phase in 4AD history. New signings that year included American underground acts Kendra Smith, Tarnation, Air Miami and The Amps. The following year Watts-Russell started a sub-label, Guernica, who would release records by Unrest, That Dog, and Bettie Serveert.


title: 4AD

text: In 1999, Watts-Russell sold his share in 4AD back to the Beggars Group (as it had by then become), but the label continued to release music and add new artists to its roster. Simon Halliday took control of the label at the end of 2007. Immediate successes were Bon Iver's critically lauded debut "For Emma, Forever Ago" (CAD 2809) and "Dear Science" by Brooklyn's TV on the Radio (CAD 2821). In 2008, the Beggars Group re-aligned itself so that several labels, including Beggars Banquet itself, were folded up on to the 4AD label. Bands including The National were moved to 4AD as a part of this merger. In 2009, the label released, amongst others, St. Vincent's second record "Actor" (CAD 2919) and Camera Obscura's "My Maudlin Career." The following year, 4AD saw the release of The National's "High Violet" and acclaimed albums from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Blonde Redhead and Deerhunter.


title: 4AD

text: In the next three years, 4AD oversaw new releases from Scott Walker, Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, and Tune-Yards, whilst also expanded its roster with a number of beats and electronic acts in the shape of acts including Purity Ring and Grimes, with the latter releasing one of the best received albums of 2012. Additional signings to the label include bEEdEEgEE, of Gang Gang Dance, Lo-Fang, and British producer SOHN. At the start of 2014, the label also announced the additions of Future Islands and Merchandise, followed by D.D Dumbo.


title: 4AD

text: In 2015, the label released critically lauded albums by Deerhunter and Grimes, amongst others. The following year, the label and The National landed their first UK No. 1 record with "Sleep Well Beast". Latest signings to the roster include Aldous Harding and British band Dry Cleaning.


title: 4AD

text: In April 2021, the label released "Bills & Aches & Blues", a compilation album featuring bands from 4AD covering songs the label had released over its 40 years.


title: 4AD

text: While 4AD did not handle any distribution outside the United Kingdom for many years, it had many willing distributors in many countries; Virgin Records for France, Nippon Columbia distributed much of the label in Japan, while PolyGram subsidiary Vertigo Records released many of the label's records in Canada. The USA had always been a tough market for 4AD, even though its records sold well there as imports. Only a few of the label's acts had deals to license their recordings in the US, among various labels.


title: 4AD

text: In 1992, Watts-Russell signed a five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records so that nearly all 4AD releases would be released in the United States. When the deal ended, he offered to sell the label back to Beggars Banquet. Dead Can Dance's output, however, stayed with Warner Bros. until the sale back to Beggars Group.


title: 4AD

text: The deal with Beggars Banquet was completed by early 1999, and since then it has owned 4AD and its distribution worldwide. This led to many negotiations for the label's back catalogue, like getting back American distribution rights for Pixies, Dead Can Dance and Cocteau Twins.


title: 4AD

text: For the most part, 4AD's official UK releases follow a standard scheme for designating catalog numbers. Although there have been some variations over the years, some general rules can be devised to easily determine the format (LP, CD, etc.) and year of release by looking at a 4AD catalog number.


title: 4AD

text: The first part of a catalog number is a prefix that contains a variation of "AD," based on the 4AD name. Some standards are:


title: 4AD

text: Some other "AD" variations have been used less frequently over the years, including (but not limited to):


title: 4AD

text: 4AD only released one LP on DAT format, Cocteau Twins' "Blue Bell Knoll", which was designated CADT 807.


title: 4AD

text: The second part of the catalog number is a number that represents the year of release (via the number of years since 1980, following the '1980 Forward' theme), and the order of release in the particular year. For example, This Mortal Coil's LP "It'll End in Tears" is CAD 411. The "CAD" represents that the release is an LP, the "4" in 411 represents 1984, and 11 marks the 11th release of that year. This is the vinyl LP release; cassette versions have "C" added to the prefix (CADC 411 in this example); CD versions have "CD" added at the end (CAD 411CD).


title: 4AD

text: A side effect of this scheme is that it made it seem like 4AD had hundreds of releases early on. Again using CAD411 as an example, a causal observer might assume this was the 411th release in the label's catalog, when 4AD actually had less than 100 total releases in their catalog at the time. In the 1990s, 4AD changed the first part of the number from "100s" to "1000s," temporarily making the number not correspond with the number of years since 1980. Releases in 1990 used "00" directly after the prefix (e.g., the Pixies' "Bossanova", CAD0010, released in the fall of 1990); 1991 used "10" directly after the prefix (e.g., This Mortal Coil's "Blood", DAD 1005, released early in 1991), 1992 used "20," and so on for the rest of the 1990s.


title: 4AD

text: Wanting to return to numbering with the years since 1980, 4AD had to provide a workaround for releases in the year 2000. Since the "20" numerical designation had been used in 1992, all releases in 2000 used "2K" (e.g., Mojave 3's "Excuses for Travellers", CAD 2K05, released in early 2000). Between 2001 and 2009, the catalog numbering scheme returned to the original format, with the first two digits of the number representing the years since 1980 (e.g., Blonde Redhead's "23", CAD 2717, released in 2007 – the 27th year since 1980). Things have not been too consistent since, and there have been several gaps. 2010 releases feature the numerical designation 3X, as "30" had already been used in 1993. This process appears to have come to an end with the few "x"AD37"nn" releases of the early months of 2017. The catalogue numbers of all releases since April 2017 (beginning with "The Far Field" by Future Islands, 4AD0001CD/4AD0001LP) have begun with 4AD00"nn" and ended with letters indicating the release format. No indication of release year is given.


title: 4AD

text: The 4AD Sessions are an ongoing series of video recordings with various acts from the label's roster. Following on from the Deerhunter session at the Studio Plateaux on Platts Eyott island in 2008, the recordings see 4AD artists performing back-catalogue covers and alternative versions of their own material. They are housed on the label's website.


title: Railroad tie

text: A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper (Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge.


title: Railroad tie

text: Railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but prestressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK; plastic composite ties are also employed, although far less than wood or concrete. As of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91.5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé (red ironwood) and plastic composite.


title: Railroad tie

text: Tie spacing may depend on the type of tie, traffic loads and other requirements, for example 2640 concrete ties per mile on North American mainline railroads to 2112 timber ties per mile on LMS jointed track.


title: Railroad tie

text: Rails in the US may be fastened to the tie by a railroad spike; iron/steel baseplates screwed to the tie and secured to the rail by a proprietary fastening system such as a Vossloh or Pandrol which are commonly used in Europe.


title: Railroad tie

text: The type of railroad tie used on the predecessors of the first true railway (Liverpool and Manchester Railway) consisted of a pair of stone blocks laid into the ground, with the chairs holding the rails fixed to those blocks. One advantage of this method of construction was that it allowed horses to tread the middle path without the risk of tripping. In railway use with ever heavier locomotives, it was found that it was hard to maintain the correct gauge. The stone blocks were in any case unsuitable on soft ground, such as at Chat Moss, where timber ties had to be used. Bi-block ties with a tie rod are somewhat similar.


title: Railroad tie

text: Historically wooden rail ties were made by hewing with an axe, called axe ties, or sawn to achieve at least two flat sides.


title: Railroad tie

text: A variety of softwood and hardwood timbers are used as ties, oak, jarrah and karri being popular hardwoods, although increasingly difficult to obtain, especially from sustainable sources. Some lines use softwoods, including Douglas fir; while they have the advantage of accepting treatment more readily, they are more susceptible to wear but are cheaper, lighter (and therefore easier to handle) and more readily available. Softwood is treated, while creosote is the most common preservative for railway ties, preservatives are also sometimes used such as pentachlorophenol, chromated copper arsenate and a few other preservatives. Sometimes non-toxic preservatives are used, such as copper azole or micronized copper. New boron-based wood preserving technology is being employed by major US railroads in a dual treatment process in order to extend the life of wood ties in wet areas. Some timbers (such as sal, mora, jarrah or azobé) are durable enough that they can be used untreated.


title: Railroad tie

text: Problems with wooden ties include rot, splitting, insect infestation, plate-cutting, also known as chair shuffle in the UK (abrasive damage to the tie caused by lateral motion of the tie plate) and spike-pull (where the spike is gradually loosened from the tie). Wooden ties can catch fire; as they age they develop cracks that allow sparks to lodge and more easily start fires.


title: Railroad tie

text: Concrete ties are cheaper and easier to obtain than timber and better able to carry higher axle-weights and sustain higher speeds. Their greater weight ensures improved retention of track geometry, especially when installed with continuous-welded rail. Concrete ties have a longer service life and require less maintenance than timber due to their greater weight, which helps them remain in the correct position longer. Concrete ties need to be installed on a well-prepared subgrade with an adequate depth on free-draining ballast to perform well. It is a common misconception that concrete ties amplify wheel noise. A study done as part of Euronoise 2018 proved this false, showing concrete sleepers to be an average of 2dB(A) quieter than wooden ones, however with a greater acoustic sharpness on straight stretches of track. Concrete ties were however shown to be quieter than wooden ties almost universal across the audible frequency band on curves. This causes train noise when over concrete ties to potentially be subjectively perceived as louder than train noise over wooden ties.


title: Railroad tie

text: On the highest categories of line in the UK (those with the highest speeds and tonnages), pre-stressed concrete ties are the only ones permitted by Network Rail standards.


title: Railroad tie

text: Most European railways also now use concrete bearers in switches and crossing layouts due to the longer life and lower cost of concrete bearers compared to timber, which is increasingly difficult and expensive to source in sufficient quantities and quality.


title: Railroad tie

text: Steel ties are formed from pressed steel and are trough-shaped in section. The ends of the tie are shaped to form a "spade" which increases the lateral resistance of the tie. Housings to accommodate the fastening system are welded to the upper surface of the tie. Steel ties are now in widespread use on secondary or lower-speed lines in the UK where they have been found to be economical to install due their ability to be installed on the existing ballast bed. Steel ties are lighter in weight than concrete and able to stack in compact bundles unlike timber. Steel ties can be installed onto the existing ballast, unlike concrete ties which require a full depth of new ballast. Steel ties are 100% recyclable and require up to 60% less ballast than concrete ties and up to 45% less than wood ties.


title: Railroad tie

text: Historically, steel ties have suffered from poor design and increased traffic loads over their normally long service life. These aged and often obsolete designs limited load and speed capacity but can still be found in many locations globally and performing adequately despite decades of service. There are great numbers of steel ties with over 50 years of service and in some cases they can and have been rehabilitated and continue to perform well. Steel ties were also used in specialty situations, such as the Hejaz Railway in the Arabian Peninsula, which had an ongoing problem with Bedouins who would steal wooden ties for campfires.


title: Railroad tie

text: Modern steel ties handle heavy loads, have a proven record of performance in signalized track, and handle adverse track conditions. Of high importance to railroad companies is the fact that steel ties are more economical to install in new construction than creosote-treated wood ties and concrete ties. Steel ties are utilized in nearly all sectors of the worldwide railroad systems including heavy-haul, class 1s, regional, shortlines, mining, electrified passenger lines (OHLE) and all manner of industries. Notably, steel ties (bearers) have proven themselves over the last few decades to be advantageous in turnouts (switches/points) and provide the solution to the ever-growing problem of long timber ties for such use.


title: Railroad tie

text: When insulated to prevent conduction through the ties, steel ties may be used with track circuit based train detection and track integrity systems. Without insulation, steel ties may only be used on lines without block signaling and level crossings or on lines that use other forms of train detection such as axle counters.


title: Railroad tie

text: In more recent times, a number of companies are selling composite railroad ties manufactured from recycled plastic resins and recycled rubber. Manufacturers claim a service life longer than wooden ties with an expected lifetime in the range of 30–80 years, that the ties are impervious to rot and insect attack, and that they can be modified with a special relief on the bottom to provide additional lateral stability. In some main track applications the hybrid plastic tie has a recessed design to be completely surrounded by ballast.


title: Railroad tie

text: Aside from the environmental benefits of using recycled material, plastic ties usually replace timber ties soaked in creosote, the latter being a toxic chemical, and are theoretically recyclable. However, plastics may shed microplastics and leach other possibly toxic chemicals such as ultraviolet inhibitors.


title: Railroad tie

text: Hybrid plastic railroad ties and composite ties are used in other rail applications such as underground mining operations, industrial zones, humid environments and densely populated areas. Hybrid railroad ties are also used to be partly exchanged with rotten wooden ties, which will result in continuous track stiffness. Hybrid plastic ties and composite ties also offer benefits on bridges and viaducts, because they lead to better distribution of forces and reduction of vibrations into respectively bridge girders or the ballast. This is due to better damping properties of hybrid plastic ties and composite ties, which will decrease the intensity of vibrations as well as the sound production. In 2009, Network Rail announced that it would begin replacing wooden ties with recycled plastic. but I-Plas became insolvent in October 2012.


title: Railroad tie

text: In 2012, New Zealand ordered a trial batch of "EcoTrax" brand recycled composite ties from Axion for use on turnouts and bridges, and a further 3-year order in 2015, but then Axion filed for bankruptcy in December 2015, though it continues to trade. These ties are developed by Dr. Nosker at Rutgers University.


title: Railroad tie

text: Composite sleepers, manufactured from various recycled plastics, were introduced in Wiltshire, United Kingdom in 2021. They were installed as an alternative to wooden sleepers, on a bridge where concrete sleepers would have been too heavy. Although it was the first instance of plastic sleepers being installed on mainline track in the country, they have previously been used on narrow-gauge railways.


title: Railroad tie

text: An unusual form of tie is the Y-shaped tie, first developed in 1983. Compared to conventional ties the volume of ballast required is reduced due to the load-spreading characteristics of the Y-tie. Noise levels are high but the resistance to track movement is very good. For curves the three-point contact of a Y steel tie means that an exact geometric fit cannot be observed with a fixed attachment point.


title: Railroad tie

text: The ZSX Twin tie is manufactured by Leonhard Moll Betonwerke GmbH & Co KG and is a pair of two pre-stressed concrete ties longitudinally connected by four steel rods. The design is said to be suitable for track with sharp curves, track subject to temperature stress such as that operated by trains with eddy brakes, and bridges, and as transition track between traditional track and slab track or bridges.


title: Railroad tie

text: Concrete monoblock ties have also been produced in a wider form (e.g. ) such that there is no ballast between the ties; this wide tie increases lateral resistance and reduces ballast pressure. The system has been used in Germany where wide ties have also been used in conjunction with the GETRAC A3 ballastless track systems.


title: Railroad tie

text: Bi-block (or twinblock) ties consist of two concrete rail supports joined by a steel bar. Advantages include increased lateral resistance and lower weight than monobloc concrete ties, as well as elimination of damage from torsional forces on the ties center due to the more flexible steel connections. This tie type is in common use in France, and are used on the high-speed TGV lines. Bi-block ties are also used in ballastless track systems.


title: Railroad tie

text: They are gauge-convertible by cutting and welding the steel bar to the dimension that suits the new gauge.


title: Railroad tie

text: Frame ties (German: "Rahmenschwelle") comprise both lateral and longitudinal members in a single monolithic concrete casting. This system is in use in Austria; in the Austrian system the track is fastened at the four corners of the frame, and is also supported midway along the frame. Adjacent frame ties are butted close to each other. Advantages of this system over conventional cross increased support of track. In addition, construction methods used for this type of track are similar to those used for conventional track.


title: Railroad tie

text: In ladder track the ties are laid parallel to the rails and are several meters long. The structure is similar to Brunel's baulk track; these longitudinal ties can be used with ballast, or with elastomer supports on a solid non-ballasted support.


title: Railroad tie

text: The crosstie spacing of mainline railroad is approximately for wood ties or for concrete ties. The number of ties is 3,250 wooden crossties per mile (2019 ties/km, or 40 ties per 65 feet) for wood ties or 2640 ties per mile for concrete ties.


title: Railroad tie

text: The London, Midland and Scottish Railway specified 18 sleepers per rail and 24 sleepers per rail, both of which correspond to 2112 sleepers per mile.


title: Railroad tie

text: Sleepers are long, wide and deep. The 2 sleepers adjacent to a joint may be wide where the formation is soft or the traffic is heavy and fast. Sleepers are mostly spaced apart (centre-to-centre) but are closer adjacent to fishplated rail joints where the spacing sequences are as follows with the spacing at .


title: Railroad tie

text: The fractional inch spacing at the fishplate corresponds to the thermal expansion gap allowed between the rail ends.


title: Railroad tie

text: Various methods exist for fixing the rail to the railroad ties. Historically spikes gave way to cast iron chairs fixed to the tie, more recently springs (such as Pandrol clips) are used to fix the rail to the tie chair.


title: Railroad tie

text: In recent years, wooden railroad ties have also become popular for gardening and landscaping, both in creating retaining walls and raised-bed gardens, and sometimes for building steps as well. Traditionally, the ties sold for this purpose are decommissioned ties taken from rail lines when replaced with new ties, and their lifespan is often limited due to rot. Some entrepreneurs sell new ties. Due to the presence of wood preservatives such as coal tar, creosote or salts of heavy metals, railroad ties introduce an extra element of soil pollution into gardens and are avoided by many property owners. In the UK, new oak or pine beams of the same length (2.4m) as standard railway sleepers, but not treated with dangerous chemicals, are now available specifically for garden construction. They are about twice the price of the recycled product. In some places, railroad ties have been used in the construction of homes, particularly among those with lower incomes, especially near railroad tracks, including railroad employees. They are also used as cribbing for docks and boathouses.


title: Railroad tie

text: In Germany, use of wooden railroad ties as building material (namely in gardens, houses and in all places where regular contact to human skin would be likely, in all areas frequented by children and in all areas associated with the production or handling of food in any way) has been prohibited by law since 1991 because they pose a significant risk to health and environment. From 1991 to 2002, this was regulated by the "Teerölverordnung" (Carbolineum By-law), and since 2002 has been regulated by the "" (Chemicals Prohibition By-law), §1 and Annex, Parts 10 and 17.


title: Hell Girl

text: , also known as Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell, is a Japanese anime series conceptualized by Hiroshi Watanabe and produced by SKY Perfect Well Think, Tokyo MX, Wakasa Seikatsu, Fujishoji, Aniplex and Studio Deen. It is directed by Watanabe and Takahiro Omori, with Kenichi Kanemaki handling series composition, Mariko Oka designing the characters and Yasuharu Takanashi, Hiromi Mizutani and Kenji Fujisawa composing the music. The series focuses on the existence of a supernatural system that allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of the mysterious title character and her assistants who implement this system. Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series.


title: Hell Girl

text: It was broadcast across Japan on numerous television stations, including Animax, Tokyo MX, MBS and others, between October 2005 and April 2006. A second season, titled "Hell Girl: Two Mirrors", was broadcast from October 2006 to April 2007. A third season, titled "Hell Girl: Three Vessels", was broadcast from October 2008 to April 2009. A fourth season, "Hell Girl: The Fourth Twilight", was broadcast from July to September 2017.


title: Hell Girl

text: Each episode typically follows the format of a self-contained short story where a person has been suffering torment from an acquaintance to the point that he or she accesses the Hell Correspondence website and submits a request to get rid of the person. Ai Enma, the Hell Girl, appears, and presents a doll with a red string on its neck that can send the named antagonist to Hell. When the string is pulled, Ai and her companions then torment the antagonist, offering a last chance to repent (which is usually refused), and ferries them to Hell. The price of the contract is that the person making the request will also have to go to Hell after his or her life is over.


title: Hell Girl

text: Starting with the eighth episode, Hajime Shibata, a former journalist who has resorted to taking scandal photos to blackmail people, begins investigating the rumors surrounding the Hell Correspondence website, and discovers that people are literally being dragged to Hell. His daughter, Tsugumi, is somehow able to see Enma. As the series progresses, they become conflicted on whether they should intervene to save the people involved. In the second season, a mysterious young girl from Hell, named Kikuri, is introduced. Kikuri is able to travel freely between Earth and the Twilight realm where Enma resides. Later, the plot centers around Takuma Kurebayashi, a boy who is blamed by his townsfolk for causing disappearances around the town that are, in reality, caused by the townsfolk using the "Hell Correspondence" website. In the third season, Kikuri returns to recruit Enma's assistants along with a yōkai named Yamawaro, who accepts an old offer from Enma to become her fourth assistant. The story follows Enma's mysterious possession of a young schoolgirl, Yuzuki Mikage. In the fourth season, the story introduces a new character named Michiru, whom Ai helps realise her fate as a successor to the Hell Girl title.


title: Hell Girl

text: The medium through which a client contacts Ai Enma has changed over the centuries, however nowadays a website is used. Initially clients would write the names of whom they hated on an ema, which later changed to sending a letter to the address appearing in a three-column newspaper advertisement only visible to those with enough hatred. Once the internet became available, people could access the "Hell Correspondence" website, otherwise known as the "Hotline to Hell". Soon after, the site was adapted into a mobile version that could be accessed from cell phones.


title: Hell Girl

text: Each medium can only be used at midnight by one who harbors a desire for revenge against their object of hatred. Should someone submit the name of someone against whom they bear a grudge or immense hatred, and their request is accepted, Ai Enma will take them to a realm of perpetual twilight where she offers them a straw doll, which is one of her companions, with a red string wound around its neck and describe to the client the details of their contract. Should the client pull the string tied around the doll's neck, Ai Enma will ferry the target of the revenge straightaway to Hell. However, once the client's life has ended, they will also go to Hell, and a black crest-shaped mark appears on the client's chest to serve as a permanent reminder of their decision to send someone to Hell. However, this mark is no guarantee that the person themselves will not be sent to Hell by another client.


title: Hell Girl

text: The "Hell Girl" anime series is produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. The series was created by Hiroshi Watanabe and directed by Takahiro Omori, with scripts by Kenichi Kanemaki. The first season spanned 26 episodes and premiered across Japan on Animax between October 4, 2005, and April 4, 2006. The second season, , also spanned 26 episodes and aired from October 7, 2006, to April 6, 2007 across Japan on Animax. The third season, , spanning 26 episodes aired from October 4, 2008, to April 4, 2009, on Animax, MBS and Tokyo MX. A fourth season, , spanning 12 episodes, of which the later 6 are rebroadcasts of episodes from previous seasons, aired from July 14 to September 29, 2017, on MBS and Tokyo MX, with the main cast reprising their roles.


title: Hell Girl

text: The first season was also licensed for North American distribution by Funimation. The U.S. cable/satellite channel IFC announced in September 2007 that it acquired "Hell Girl" from FUNimation, which then premiered on July 9, 2008. Section23 Films announced that Sentai Filmworks has licensed the second season, with the first DVD set shipping on May 25, 2010, and the second set on July 27. On June 24, 2010, Section23 Films announced that Sentai has also the third season of "Hell Girl," under the subtitle "Three Vessels". The first set was released on September 28, 2010, followed by the second set released on November 30, 2010. Funimation later dropped the series from internet streaming and home media distribution after reaching the end of the license term in early 2013. The fourth season is licensed by Aniplex of America and is set to be streamed on Amazon Prime Video and Crunchyroll.


title: Hell Girl

text: A total of six soundtracks were released by Sony Music Entertainment. Two original soundtrack albums were released for "Hell Girl". The first album contains twenty-four tracks and was released on January 25, 2006. The second album contains twenty-six tracks and was released on April 19, 2006. Two original soundtrack albums were released for "Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori". The first album contains twenty-three tracks and was released on January 24, 2007. The second album contains twenty-three tracks and was released on March 21, 2007. Two original soundtrack albums were released for "Jigoku Shōjo: Mitsuganae". The first album contained twenty-eight tracks and was released on December 17, 2008. The second album contained twenty-seven tracks and was released on March 4, 2009.


title: Hell Girl

text: A manga adaptation has featured art by . It has been serialized in Kodansha's "Nakayoshi" "shōjo" manga magazine since October 2005. The manga was published into three different titles. The first shares the same name of the anime and a total of three volumes were released from January 25, 2006 to October 6, 2008. The manga was originally licensed by Del Rey Manga, and the first volume was released January 2008. The last three volumes have been released as an omnibus in October 2010.


title: Hell Girl

text: The second manga, titled , released a total of three volumes from March 19, 2009 to November 6, 2009. The third, titled , released a total of eleven volumes from March 19, 2010 to July 15, 2013. A single manga volume, titled was released on April 30, 2014.


title: Hell Girl

text: "Hell Girl" was adapted into a single live-action television drama series that premiered on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006 spanning 12 half-hour episodes. The series was directed by Makoto Naganuma. The theme song for the series is "Dream Catcher". The live action adaptation features Sayuri Iwata as Enma Ai, Kazuki Kato as Ichimoku Ren, Aya Sugimoto as Onna Hone, Saaya Irie as Shibata Tsugumi, and Kazuhiko Nishimura as Shibata Hajime.


title: Hell Girl

text: A live-action film adaptation, directed by Kōji Shiraishi and distributed by GAGA Pictures and Constantin Film was released on November 15, 2019.


title: Hell Girl

text: "Hell Girl" has been adapted into a video game for the Nintendo DS entitled , which was developed by Compile Heart and released in Japan on September 27, 2007. Compile Heart made a PlayStation 2 version entitled released on September 17, 2009. A puzzle game has also been released on the Konami Net DX service for i-mode-compatible mobile phones.


title: Jim Abrahams

text: James S. Abrahams (born May 10, 1944) is an American movie director and writer, best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.


title: Jim Abrahams

text: Abrahams was born to a Jewish family in Shorewood, Wisconsin, the son of Louise M. (née Ogens), an educational researcher, and Norman S. Abrahams, a lawyer. He attended Shorewood High School. He has a home in Eagle River, Wisconsin where he has spent summers since he was a child.


title: Jim Abrahams

text: He may be best known for the spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers Jerry Zucker and David Zucker, such as "Airplane!" (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) and "The Naked Gun" series. The team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (also referred to as "ZAZ") really began when the three men grew up together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He directed movies on his own, such as "Big Business", and further honed his skills in parody with "Hot Shots!" and its 1993 sequel, "Hot Shots! Part Deux".


title: Jim Abrahams

text: Abrahams and his wife, Nancy (née Cocuzzo) co-founded The Charlie Foundation To Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Red Bull Arena is a soccer-specific stadium in Harrison, New Jersey that is home to the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer and NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Featuring a transparent partial roof, it is located on the waterfront in the Riverbend District of Harrison across the Passaic River from Newark and approximately 7 miles (12 km) west of Lower Manhattan, New York City. With a seating capacity of 25,000, it is the sixth-largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and in Major League Soccer.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The original plan, announced on July 1, 2004, was to move the MetroStars (as the New York Red Bulls were known at the time) from their home at Giants Stadium by the beginning of the 2006 season. Negotiations between MLS and the state of New Jersey dragged on until an agreement was announced on August 5, 2005, for the MetroStars to build and complete construction of a new dedicated soccer facility for the 2007 season. Concerns about environmental clean-up at the selected site forced another delay. Additionally, though the groundbreaking took place September 19, 2006 and construction was set for November 2007, that was delayed by one month when Red Bull GmbH bought the MetroStars from Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), changing the club's name in the process. After projections of opening during the 2008, and then the 2009 season, on January 23, 2009, it was announced that the arena opening would be delayed until 2010.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: According to Erik Stover, Red Bulls managing director at the time, Harrison Redevelopment Agency chairman Peter B. Higgins was "quite simply the reason that the New York Red Bulls have a new home in Harrison. His vision and leadership guided us through numerous difficulties." The Higgins' contribution is memorialized by the naming of the street at the main gates along the west side of the stadium as Pete Higgins Boulevard.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In addition to purchasing the team, Red Bull bought out AEG's $100 million share of the stadium, an after-effect of lasting disagreements between the two corporations regarding their plans for the facility. Their differences prompted a significant delay in the early stages of the stadium's construction. After the naming rights of the soccer team were acquired, leading to the name "Red Bull Park", Red Bull instituted a number of changes to the stadium's original design, which sparked tension between the Austrian-based energy drink company and AEG. Red Bull opted out of AEG's plan to construct a stage in the stadium for performances, one that would have increased profit margins for the group.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The updated design was completed by Rossetti architects from Detroit and was built by New Jersey-based Hunter Roberts Construction Group, LLC. The stadium's unique roofing system was engineered, fabricated, and installed by the projects specialty roofing contractor Birdair of Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: A tension-fabric curved exterior shell of PTFE fiberglass wraps around the entire two-tiered stadium, creating the distinguishing roof feature of Red Bull Arena. The roof extends from the last row of seats to just past the field's touchlines with of the roof being translucent to allow for natural light and at is the largest roof canopy of all Major League Soccer stadiums covering all 25,000 seats. The low and enclosed roof design is known for providing superior acoustics by holding, amplifying and reflecting crowd noise back onto the field. Dual light-emitting diode (LED) HD Panasonic video boards were suspended from the north and south ends of the roof. In early 2019, both video boards were replaced with two new LED Daktronics displays as part of stadium wide upgrades.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The seats of Red Bull Arena are of the tip-up variety, without arm rests (except for a few sections near the player benches which feature small arm rests and cup holders), similar to those of European soccer stadiums with the first row of seating approximately from the touchlines. The stadium's seating is raked at 33-degrees for optimal sight-lines. Included in the 25,000 seats are 30 luxury suites and 1,000 premium seats. The Red Bull logo is patterned in red and yellow lower level seats directly opposite the team benches and field entrance tunnel.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Sections 133, 101 & 102 collectively make up the 1,500 seat home supporters section known as the "South Ward". Among the blue seats in the South Ward was the "Red Seat" located at Section 101, Row 11, Seat 20. The Red Seat signifies the Red Bulls first goal scored at Red Bull Arena; Section 101 represents the Arena's first game, Row 11 marks the minute of the game in which the goal was scored and Seat 20 remembers the goal scorer, No. 20 Joel Lindpere. Following the passing of Empire Supporters Club member Mike Vallo, the Red Seat's No. 20 was replaced by the initials "MV" to honor him. Ahead of the 2020 season, the Red Bulls converted the South Ward into a safe standing section with a rail seating system, similar to the system in place at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. This system allows supporters to watch matches while standing but also contain unlock-able individual red fold-down seats to convert the section to standard seating for international matches and other events. The rails also contain cup holders. The Red Seat was removed and given to the Vallo Family and a new location in Section 101 will be selected to commemorate Mike Vallo. An open standing area was created directly behind the South Ward for supporters to gather while maintaining a view of the field. Red Bull Arena is the third soccer-specific stadium in North America to have a safe standing with rail seating system.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On the west side of Red Bull Arena is the "Red Ring of Honor". Established in 2015, the club's 20th season in Major League Soccer, the ring honors the 20 best players in the first 20 seasons of the club as voted by fans. Above the Red Ring of Honor is the retired jersey number "99" of striker Bradley Wright-Phillips; the first to be retired by the Red Bulls. Also above the Red Ring of Honor are listed the years honoring the teams that won the Supporters' Shield in 2013, 2015, and 2018.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The lower bowl of the stadium is constructed of concrete, while the upper bowl is constructed of galvanized-metal. The Red Bulls intentionally chose galvanized-metal for the upper bowl so fans could create more noise by stomping their feet. In addition, the main concourse is elevated high, eliminating a majority of field-level entryways. On the North side of the main concourse are 13 "Red Beams"; each one memorializing a special moment in the club's history.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In 2017, the Red Bulls opened MLS's first permanent sensory room for individuals and families affected by autism. The space was formerly used as executive offices by the club's general manager Marc de Grandpre, whose daughter is on the autism spectrum. The sensory room overlooks mid-field and features dimmed lighting and lightly-colored walls to offer a soothing environment, along with visual aids, fidget toys and other activities. There is no special ticket or any charge required for use of the room.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Construction commenced on Red Bull Park on January 3, 2008, on the site of a former Remco factory service building, including the first of 3,000 timber piles driven into the ground to support the new stadium. On January 11, 2008, Erik Stover was announced as the new general manager of Red Bull Arena during construction and then on after. He had served as GM of Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego since 2005. On February 20, 2008, a CAN$28–$30 million contract was announced with Structal-Heavy Steel Construction to assist in the fabrication and construction of steel components. Fabrication began offsite in the second quarter of 2008, and erection in Fall, 2008. Total project size is estimated at 9,000 tons of structural steel.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The first steel girder was put in place on August 19, 2008. The arena was reported by "The New York Times" to be 55% complete on March 27, 2009. The last major beam for the roof was topped out on April 14, 2009. Enclosure panels started going up on May 7, 2009. The first section of the Red Bull Arena roof was completed in August 2009. The underground drainage and turf-heating system installation began on August 18, 2009.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In 2010, the Red Bulls refused to pay a $1.4 million property tax levy to the town of Harrison, claiming that the stadium was exempt from paying taxes. The team also refused to pay a $1.3 million for 2011. While the team did eventually pay the back taxes, it subsequently filed a lawsuit to have the payments reimbursed by the town, claiming the stadium was exempt from local taxes.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On June 30, 2012, the Tax Court of New Jersey ruled that Harrison did have the right to tax both Red Bull Arena and the land underneath it and denied the team's claim for reimbursement. This decision was upheld by an appellate court in May 2014. The Red Bulls appealed to the state Supreme Court, who in October 2014 agreed to hear the case. The Supreme Court referred the parties to mediation.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: A settlement was proposed in which the Hudson County Improvement Authority would take over ownership of the land and stadium and enter into a lease agreement with the team, using the lease payments to give Harrison an annual PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) tied to the Consumer Price Index. The settlement was approved by the Harrison Town Council and mayor on March 16, 2016.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 14, 2016, the Red Bulls and town agreed to a revised settlement, in which the stadium and land will be turned over to the Hudson County Improvement Authority. The Red Bulls will pay an annual rent of $1.3 million, escalated annually based on the Consumer Price Index, of which $1.115 million will go to the town of Harrison. The lease agreement will be in place through 2038, with team options through 2058. At the end of the lease term, ownership of the stadium will revert to the town. This agreement must be finalized by the end of 2016.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: A soft opening of the stadium, a match between the Red Bulls Under-18 Academy team and the United States U-17 men's national soccer team scheduled for March 13, 2010, was postponed due to heavy rain and high wind. The facility instead opened on March 20, 2010 as the Red Bulls played a friendly match against Brazilian club Santos FC winning before a sold-out crowd 3–1.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The first official match, the MLS season opener against the Chicago Fire, took place March 27, 2010 with the Red Bulls winning 1–0 in front of a sold-out crowd. Joel Lindpere became the first player to score a goal at Red Bull Arena.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Red Bull Arena hosted its first-ever international soccer game in May 2010, when Turkey beat the Czech Republic in front of a crowd of 16,371. The stadium also hosted an exhibition between Ecuador and Colombia in October 2010. The game drew a sellout crowd of 25,000.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On October 8, 2011, Red Bull Arena hosted its first New Jersey high school soccer game when the Harrison Blue Tide hosted the Kearny Kardinals in both boys' and girls' soccer matches.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On October 11, 2011 Red Bull Arena hosted its first United States men's national soccer team match, as the US squad lost 1–0 to the Ecuador national football team in an international friendly.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On November 13, 2011, Red Bull Arena hosted the semifinals and championship match of the 2011 Big East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, a college soccer tournament. The 2012 Big East Men's Soccer Tournament was also held at Red Bull Arena.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 28, 2012, Red Bull Arena hosted the Trophée des champions, a soccer game between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France: Montpellier HSC vs Olympique Lyonnais. Lyon won on penalties after the match ended 2–2. The match was organized by Ligue de Football Professionnel.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On June 20, 2013, the United States women's national soccer team played an international friendly against the South Korea women's national football team. It was in Red Bull Arena that United States forward Abby Wambach scored four goals, beating Mia Hamm's record for most international goals scored ever, male or female.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On October 27, 2013, the New York Red Bulls won their first ever Supporters' Shield championship by beating the Chicago Fire 5–2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,219.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 26, 2014, the New York Red Bulls defeated reigning FA Cup champions Arsenal F.C. 1–0 in the 2014 New York Cup in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,219.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 22, 2015, the New York Red Bulls defeated reigning Premier League champions Chelsea F.C. 4–2 as part of the 2015 International Champions Cup in front of a crowd of 24,076.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The New York Red Bulls II of the United Soccer League played their home games at Red Bull Arena from 2015 to 2016, then moved to Montclair State University's MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field for the 2017 Season.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On August 12, 2016, Major League Soccer, in collaboration with the United Soccer League and oversight by the International Football Association Board, made history by becoming the first soccer league ever to use video assistant referee (VAR) in a live match. The match was between New York Red Bulls II and Orlando City B at Red Bull Arena. During the match, referee Ismail Elfath reviewed two fouls and after consultation with video assistant referee Allen Chapman, issued a red card and a yellow card in the respective incidents. New York Red Bulls II won the match 5–1.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On October 23, 2016, Red Bull Arena hosted the 2016 United Soccer League Final with New York Red Bulls II beating the Swope Park Rangers 5–1 winning their first United Soccer League Championship. New York Red Bulls II became the first Major League Soccer-owned team to win the United Soccer League title.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 25, 2017, Red Bull Arena hosted Tottenham Hotspur and A.S. Roma as part of the 2017 International Champions Cup. A.S. Roma defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 26,192.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On September 1, 2017, Red Bull Arena hosted its first ever World Cup Qualifier Match between the United States and Costa Rica as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fifth Round. The United States lost to Costa Rica 2–0 in front of a sold-out crowd of 26,500.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On September 24, 2017, the Danone Nations Cup World Final was held at Red Bull Arena. It marked the first time the international youth soccer tournament was held in the United States in its 18-year history.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 28, 2018, Red Bull Arena hosted S.L. Benfica and Juventus F.C. as part of the 2018 International Champions Cup. Juventus beat Benfica in a penalty shootout 4–2 in front of a crowd of 24,194.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 24, 2019, Red Bull Arena hosted Fiorentina and S.L. Benfica as part of the 2019 International Champions Cup. Benfica defeated Fiorentina 2–1.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Red Bull Arena gained a new tenant with the November 18, 2019 joint announcement by the Red Bulls and NJ/NY Gotham FC that the stadium would host the latter team for its home games in the National Women's Soccer League in 2020. Gotham had used Red Bull Arena for two home matches in its 2019 season, both of which drew crowds well beyond the capacity of that team's former home of Yurcak Field at Rutgers University.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In late 2020, Red Bull Arena hosted home matches for the Montreal Impact (later known as CF Montréal) due to cross-border travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The stadium also hosted cross-town rivals New York City FC from August to September due to scheduling conflicts at Yankee Stadium, which were resolved by October. The team had also played two 2020 CONCACAF Champions League fixtures at the stadium in February and March due to Yankee Stadium undergoing winterization procedures.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In 2021, New York City FC played seven matches at Red Bull Arena due to other scheduling conflicts. In addition to NYCFC playing in Red Bull Arena, CF Montréal announced on June 21, 2021 that they would play a game against NYCFC on July 7 due to scheduling conflicts at DRV PNK Stadium with the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On July 30, 2022, the New York Red Bulls played a club friendly against FC Barcelona in front of a sold-out crowd with Barcelona winning 2–0.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On November 13, 2022, the United States women's national soccer team played the Germany women's national football team in an international friendly with the US team winning 2–1 in front of a crowd of 26,317.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In addition to soccer, the arena has also been the host of several rugby union matches. All three finals of the 2010 Churchill Cup were held at The Red Bull Arena. London Irish played their home game against Saracens in Premiership Rugby at the Red Bull Arena on March 12, 2016. This marked the first time an English premiership rugby match had been played overseas. The timing and location were selected to coincide with St. Patrick's Day festivities in an area were there is a large Irish influence. The game was televised live across the US on NBCSN. London Irish did not return the following season due to their relegation to the RFU Championship. The USA faced Ireland on June 10, 2017. This was the Eagles' first test of the 2017 summer internationals. The Eagles lost 55–19 in front of 22,370 spectators.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On June 25, 2022, the arena hosted the 2022 Major League Rugby Final between Rugby New York and the Seattle Seawolves with Rugby New York winning the MLR Shield by a score of 30-15.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The Premier Lacrosse League held five matches over the course of two weekends at Red Bull Arena. Three regular season matches were held on June 8 and June 9, 2019 and drew a total 10,773 fans. Two second round playoff matches were held on September 14, 2019 and drew a total of 10,572 fans, which was the highest single day total attendance for the PLL. This was the first time that Red Bull Arena hosted lacrosse matches.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Red Bull Arena hosted its first-ever concert, with Dispatch on June 18, 2011. Following the concert the stadium was highly praised by the sold-out crowd and media for its sight-lines, sound, and acoustics.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On October 10, 2016, Red Bull Arena announced plans to regularly host concerts and live entertainment events beginning in 2017.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On September 24, 2017, as part of the festivities for the Danone Nations Cup World Final, DNCE closed out the tournament with a concert.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Covenant House – New Jersey, in conjunction with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and the New York Red Bulls, have staged two "Sleep Outs" at Red Bull Arena in order to raise awareness and funds for New Jersey's homeless youth. The first was on October 17, 2014 and the second was on October 16, 2015.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On April 10, 2016, Red Bull Arena hosted thousands of Peruvian Americans from New Jersey and Pennsylvania to vote in the 2016 Peruvian general election. Citizens of Peru are entitled to vote in Peru's national elections regardless of where they reside.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On January 24, 2021, a drive-through COVID-19 testing site, with the capacity to test 2,400 people a day, opened in front of Red Bull Arena.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: On May 26, 2022, Hudson County Community College held the commencement ceremonies for the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The ceremonies were the first held for the school since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In December 2010, the stadium was named "Project of the Year (Sports/Recreation)" by Engineering News-Record – New York.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In January 2016, Red Bull Arena was awarded Major League Soccer – "Security Staff of the Year" for 2015. The security staff was particularly recognized for its security plan for the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Final during a heightened state of security worldwide following the November 2015 Paris attacks.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In August 2016, Red Bull Arena was awarded the first annual J.D. Power – "Best In Fan Experience" for 2016. The stadium was selected from all the pro sports and entertainment venues in the New York metropolitan area. Red Bull Arena scored highest for overall satisfaction, security and ushers, seating area and game experience, ticket purchase, food and beverage, and leaving the game.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Also in August 2016, Red Bull Arena and the Red Bull Training Facility were awarded the Sports Turf Managers Association's (STMA) Certification for Environmentally Responsible Management. The training facility is the first facility to earn the 80% or higher ratings on the 10-part written assessment.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In August 2017, Red Bull Arena and the Red Bulls were awarded their second consecutive J.D. Power – "Best in Fan Experience" award for the New York metropolitan area. The stadium scored highest for ticket purchase, security and ushers, seating area and game experience, food and beverage and game arrival.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In November 2018, Red Bull Arena and Director of Grounds, Dan Shemesh, were honored with the "Field of the Year" award by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) for the professional soccer division.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: In April 2021, Red Bull Arena received Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accreditation ahead of the 2021 home opener. GBAC STAR is recognized as the gold standard of safe venues and provides third-party validation to ensure the implementation of rigorous protocols in response to biorisk situations such as COVID-19. Upgrades made to receive the accreditation include an ionized air filtration system, making all restrooms contactless, quarterly antimicrobial treatments, and implementing contact free food order and payment systems.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The stadium can be reached via the Harrison station by the Newark-World Trade Center train of the PATH rapid transit system. A $256 million reconstruction and expansion, to accommodate the burgeoning economic growth and development in the area and the increasing number of fans taking the PATH on game days, was completed on June 15, 2019. A complementary New York Red Bulls shuttle bus service is available on game days from nearby Newark Penn Station and New Jersey Transit's Newark Broad Street Station to transport fans to and from Red Bull Arena. The stadium is also served by the 40 New Jersey Transit Bus route.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: The nearby Jackson Street Bridge crosses the Passaic River to the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark and is a popular pedestrian route to and from the stadium.


title: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey)

text: Red Bull Arena is accessible by car via I-280, with connections to the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), Garden State Parkway, McCarter Highway (NJ-21), and other highways and roads. There are several designated lots and the Harrison Parking Center garage available for parking in the immediate vicinity.


title: 2D Entertainment

text: 2D Entertainment is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Suriya. Other key people involved are Rajsekar Pandian, Suriya wife Jyothika and Suriya brother Karthi. The company was named by the starting letter of Suriya children Diya and Dev. The company was established in 2013.


title: Spirometer

text: A spirometer is an apparatus for measuring the volume of air inspired and expired by the lungs. A spirometer measures ventilation, the movement of air into and out of the lungs. The spirogram will identify two different types of abnormal ventilation patterns, obstructive and restrictive. There are various types of spirometers that use a number of different methods for measurement (pressure transducers, ultrasonic, water gauge).


title: Spirometer

text: A spirometer is the main piece of equipment used for basic Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs). Lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema may be ruled out from the tests. In addition, a spirometer often is used for finding the cause of shortness of breath, assessing the effect of contaminants on lung function, the effect of medication, and evaluating progress for disease treatment.


title: Spirometer

text: The earliest attempt to measure lung volume can be dated back to the period A.D. 129–200. Claudius Galen, a Roman physician and philosopher, did a volumetric experiment on human ventilation. He had a child breathe in and out of a bladder and found that the volume did not change. The experiment proved inconclusive.


title: Spirometer

text: Even with the numerical precision that a spirometer can provide, determining pulmonary function relies on differentiating the abnormal from the normal. Measurements of lung function can vary both within and among groups of people, individuals, and spirometer devices. Lung capacity, for instance, may vary temporally, increasing and then decreasing in one person's lifetime. As a result, ideas about what constitutes "normal" are based on one's understanding about the sources of variabilities and can be left to interpretation.


title: Spirometer

text: Traditionally, sources of variation have been understood in discrete categories, such as age, height, weight, gender, geographical region (altitude), and race or ethnicity. Global efforts were made in the early twentieth century to standardize these sources to enable proper diagnosis and accurate evaluation of pulmonary function. However, rather than further aiming to understand the causes of such variations, the primary approach for dealing with observed differences in lung capacity has been to "correct for" them. Using results from comparative population studies, attributes are empirically factored together into a "correction factor". This number is then used to form a personalized 'reference value' that defines what is considered normal for one individual. Practitioners may thereby find the percent deviation from this predicted value, known as 'percent of predicted,’ and determine whether someone’s lung function is abnormally poor or excellent.


title: Spirometer

text: In particular, 'race correction' or 'ethnic adjustment' effectively has been computer-programmed into the modern-day spirometer. Preconceived notions that 'white' people have greater pulmonary function are embedded in spirometer measurement interpretation and have only been reinforced through this medical stereotyping. In the United States, spirometers use correction factors of 10-15% for those identified as 'black' and 4-6% for those identified as 'Asian.'


title: Spirometer

text: In 1960, the European Community for Coal and Steel (ECCS) first recommended guidelines for spirometry. The organization then published predicted values for parameters such as spirometric indices, residual volume, total lung capacity, and functional residual capacity in 1971. The American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society also recommends race-specific reference values when available. Even today, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Spirometry Training Guide that is linked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website notes the use of race correction and a race-specific reference value in step four of "normal" spirometry.


title: Spirometer

text: The use of reference values and discrete categorizations of sources of variability has been motivated by ideas of anthropometry and vital capacity. Studies have looked specifically at the relationship between anthropometric variables and lung function parameters.


title: Spirometer

text: The use of reference values has thus far not accounted for the social labelling of race and ethnicity. Often, determinations are subjective or silently ascribed by a practitioner. Another concern of using reference values is misdiagnosis. This was an important factor in the management and control of compensation for miners in Britain in the interwar period. In this politically loaded context, in which new X-ray technology could not be fully trusted, the spirometer represented secure evidence of respiratory disease in numerical terms that could be used in the complex compensation network.


title: Spirometer

text: Evaluation of vital capacity has influenced other sectors of life other than medicine as well, including evaluation of life insurance applicants and diagnosis of tuberculosis.


title: Spirometer

text: Regarding gender, some population studies have indicated no difference based on gender. Notably, spirometers have been used to evaluate vital capacity in India since 1929, recording a statistically significant difference between males (21.8 mL/cm) and females (18 mL/cm). Additionally, by 1990, around half of pulmonary training programs in both the United States and Canada adjusted for race and ethnicity.


title: Spirometer

text: The spirometer popularized notions of 'race corrections' and 'ethnic adjustments,' which suggested that black individuals have weaker lungs than white individuals. For example, Thomas Jefferson noted physical distinctions between different races such as a 'difference in the structure of the pulmonary apparatus,' which made black individuals 'more tolerant of heat and less so of cold, than the whites.' Jefferson's theories encouraged speculation on the natural conditioning of blacks for agricultural labor on southern plantations in the U.S. Samuel Cartwright, a slavery apologist and plantation owner, used the spirometer to make the claim that black people consumed less oxygen than white people in addition to racial 'peculiarities' he laid out in the "New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal" that described racial differences in the respiratory system and the implication of them on labor.


title: Spirometer

text: South African studies also used the spirometer to address racial and class differences. Eustace H. Cluver conducted vital capacity measurement research at the University of Witwatersrand and found that poor white people had physical unfitness but that it was attributable to environmental issues rather than genetics. Using these studies, Cluver argued to the South African Association for the Advancement of Science during World War Two that improving both nutrition and physical training programs could help produce wealth and win the war by increasing the working capacity of individuals across all races as their labor was necessary to achieve these ends. Racism and the spirometer intersected again in these studies when further research was conducted on the effects of physical training on poor white recruits; vital capacity studies showed that 'the poor-white is biologically sound and can be turned into a valuable citizen' but no comment was made on the outcome of black South Africans.


title: Spirometer

text: Beyond the United States and South Africa, the spirometer was used in racial studies in India in the 1920s. Researchers found that the vital capacity of Indians was smaller than that of Westerners.


title: Spirometer

text: Many have questioned whether the current standards are sufficient and accurate. As a multiethnic society develops, racial and ethnic origin as a factor becomes more and more problematic to utilize. Ideas connecting ethnicity to lack of nutrition and birthplace in a poor country become invalid as people immigrate to or may be born in richer nations.


title: Spirometer

text: This type of spirometer gives a more accurate measurement for the components of lung volumes as compared to other conventional spirometers. A person is enclosed in a small space when the measurement is taken.


title: Spirometer

text: This spirometer measures the flow rate of gases by detecting pressure differences across fine mesh. One advantage of this spirometer is that the subject can breathe fresh air during the experiment.


title: Spirometer

text: Electronic spirometers have been developed that compute airflow rates in a channel without the need for fine meshes or moving parts. They operate by measuring the speed of the airflow with techniques such as ultrasonic transducers, or by measuring pressure difference in the channel. These spirometers have greater accuracy by eliminating the momentum and resistance errors associated with moving parts such as windmills or flow valves for flow measurement. They also allow improved hygiene by allowing fully disposable air flow channels.


title: Spirometer

text: This type of spirometer is used especially for measuring forced vital capacity without using water; it has broad measurements ranging from 1000 ml to 7000 ml. It is more portable and lighter than traditional water-tank type spirometers. This spirometer should be held horizontally while taking measurements because of the presence of a rotating disc.


The 2012 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 general election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Florida voters chose 29 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.


title: 2012 United States presidential election in Florida

text: By November 8, the vote counting had still not concluded. However, with much of the remaining vote still coming in was from heavily Democratic areas, Romney's Florida campaign acknowledged that he had lost the state to Obama. In order to certify the election in Florida, the ballots continued to be counted. Both Miami -Dade and Broward County completed their ballot counts on November 8, leaving Palm Beach and Duval counties as the only two that did not have a final count at the end of the day.


text: Florida required all counties to finish counting by noon Saturday but would not announce an official winner until the votes were certified on November 20. A recount is not done unless the difference is less than 0.5%. At 11 PM EST on November 9, the margin for Obama was 0.86%, with all but one county finished with their counting. On November 10, most major news sources projected Obama to be the winner of Florida's 29 electoral votes. It was the last state to be called in the 2012 presidential election and also the closest.


text: Despite Tampa having been the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention, Obama ultimately carried Florida with 50.01% of the vote, to Romney's 49.13%, a margin of 0.88%. Having also won the state in 2008, Obama's 2012 victory made him the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to carry Florida for the Democrats in two consecutive presidential elections, and this election also was the first since 1948 where the state voted Democratic in consecutive elections. However, his margin of victory decreased from 2.81% in 2008, and his percentage of the vote decreased from 50.91%. He also lost Flagler and Volusia Counties, which he had won in 2008; he thus became the first Democrat to win the White House without carrying the former since Harry S. Truman in 1948 and the first to do so without carrying the latter since John F. Kennedy in 1960.


text: , this is the last time that a Democratic presidential nominee has carried Florida, or the following counties: Jefferson, St. Lucie, and Monroe. This is also the last time that Florida has voted more Republican than Ohio, and remains the second closest presidential result in the state ever, behind only the infamous 2000 election.


text: The Republican primary was held on January 31, 2012. Fifty delegates were at stake, none of them RNC (or super) delegates; it is unclear whether these delegates will be allocated proportionally or winner-take-all. Originally awarded 99 delegates, the Republican National Committee removed half of Florida's delegates because the state committee moved its Republican primary before March 6; the Republican National Committee rules also set the delegate allocation to be proportional because the contest was held before April 1. It is a closed primary. There were 4,063,853 registered Republican voters as of January 3, 2012.


text: In an effort to increase the political importance of their state's primary and receive added media exposure often directed to the early contests, Florida decided to plan its primary ahead of the early contests, a move that violated Republican Party rules and forced early states to move up their contests. Florida announced that their primary would occur on January 31 instead of the expected March; Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina were expected to have their primaries in February but were forced to push their primaries into January, thereby shortening the overall amount of time that each person could campaign. Florida made this move in 2008.


text: As a result of this calendar violation, Florida was stripped of half of its delegates, awarding only 50 delegates instead of the original 100 delegates.


text: Dean Cannon, the Republican speaker of the Florida House of Representatives: "My goal all along is for Florida to preserve her place as the fifth spot on the nominating calendar and not to move ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire."


text: According to a Gingrich campaign memo, he planned to challenge the results based on an interpretation of the Republican National Committee's rules that state that no contest can be winner-take-all prior to April 1, 2012. Gingrich would have requested that delegates be divided proportionally, corresponding to the percentage of votes each candidate received. It is not known what result a successful challenge might have had.


text: The final vote count was unknown at noon Friday, November 9, 2012. The delay in the final count was caused by a combination of an extremely long ballot (with eleven state amendment questions) and a high number of absentee ballots. There were 240,000 absentee ballots in Miami-Dade County alone, with 54,000 of these cast on election day. Four urban counties, Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Duval, all experienced problems with counting their large number of absentee ballots. Each ballot had to be hand certified page by page, and then the pages had to be hand fed into the counting machine one by one. At noon Friday, Dade and Broward had finished counting, but Palm Beach and Duval were still counting.


text: Obama won the state and its 29 electoral votes on Election Day by a margin of 0.88%, down from the 2.82% margin in 2008. Florida was the closest race in the country at the presidential level. Throughout the night, Obama and Romney exchanged the lead, but the networks avoided calling the state for Obama until November 10 because long lines in the larger urban areas of the state meant that the vote count was delayed.


text: According to exit polling, Obama won 95% of the African-American vote (13% of voters), 60% of Latino voters (up 3 points from 2008 and 17% of all voters), and 50% among Independents (who accounted for 33% of all voters). Mitt Romney won white voters by 24 percent. In addition, both Democratic and Republican strategists agreed that the President's ground game and early voting leads played a huge role in such a tight race. Despite laws that curbed early voting, more than 4 million Floridians cast a ballot before Election Day (almost 50% of all voters), and reports showed that Obama was leading by about 104,000 among those voters.


text: The political geography of Florida is largely divided in thirds: South Florida (around the Miami metropolitan area) is heavily Democratic, North Florida (the Florida Panhandle, and the Jacksonville metropolitan area) is heavily Republican outside of Tallahassee and Gainesville, while Central Florida is a "swing" area of the state, where Democrats have made inroads in recent years.


text: Mirroring the results of the 2008 presidential election in Florida, Obama dominated South Florida, winning Miami -Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties by comfortable margins, and actually increased his vote share in Miami-Dade and Broward counties from 2008. However, Romney's performance in Palm Beach County was notable considering he is the first Republican presidential candidate in over a decade to receive over 40% of the county's vote. Obama's gains in South Florida have been attributed to increasing his vote share among Cuban Americans, a large demographic in and around Miami who have reliably voted Republican, from 35% in 2008 to 48% against Romney's 52% in 2012. Combined with his large margins of victory among non-Cuban Hispanics in the state, Arian Campo-Flores at "The Wall Street Journal" noted that, "Together, both trends are accelerating a realignment of the state's Latino vote, from once solidly Republican to now reliably Democratic."


text: Although Obama lost large swaths of North Florida, he was able to keep the margins relatively close along the Eastern Seaboard. He lost to Romney in Duval County, anchored by Florida's largest city, Jacksonville, by only 3%, and Volusia County, home to Daytona Beach, by less than 2%.


text: Where the state tipped into the Obama column was in Central Florida, the site of enormous growth in the last two decades. Obama was able to deliver big wins in the Orlando and Tampa Bay areas, where George W. Bush won in 2004. In the former, Obama carried Orange County (which includes Orlando) by 19 points and Osceola County near Orlando by a 24-point margin (Bush won it in 2004 52%-47%). In both counties, he was able to tap into a growing Puerto Rican community, which overwhelmingly broke his way.


text: In the Tampa Bay region, Obama once again carried Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, by a 6-point margin, receiving over 13,000 more votes than he won in 2008. Obama also won Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, by a 52%-46.5% margin. Bush had narrowly carried the county by about 0.1% in 2004. In all, Obama won the three largest counties in Central Florida – Hillsborough, Orange, and Pinellas – while keeping his losing margins low in other populous counties – Polk, Seminole, and Manatee County.


text: Contrary to the 2010 elections where Democrats lost four seats from Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats picked up four seats from Florida this time around, as the state's congressional delegation increased by 2 members. Patrick Murphy defeated incumbent Republican Allen West in Florida's 18th congressional district and Joe Garcia defeated incumbent Republican David Rivera in Florida's 26th congressional district. Democrat Alan Grayson won a new seat in Florida's 9th congressional district while former West Palm Beach mayor, Lois Frankel, won the newly created seat in Florida's 22nd congressional district for the Democrats. At the state level, Democrats picked up two seats in the Florida State Senate and five seats in the Florida House of Representatives as well.


title: Wight

text: In its original use the word "wight" described a living human being, but has come to be used in fictional works in the fantasy genre to describe certain immortal beings. An example of this use occurs in William Morris's translation of the "Grettis Saga", where "haugbui" is translated as "barrow-wight". Wights also feature in J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, especially in "The Lord of the Rings", and in George R. R. Martin's novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" and HBO television series "Game of Thrones". Since its 1974 inclusion in the RPG "Dungeons & Dragons" (D&D), it has become a recurring form of undead in other fantasy games and mods, such as "".


title: Wight

text: A similar change of meaning can be seen in the German cognate "Wicht", meaning a living human being, generally rather small, poor or miserable man (not woman). The word is somewhat old-fashioned in today's language, but it is still used and readily recognized in everyday speech.


title: Wight

text: The diminutive "Wichtel" refers to beings in folklore and fantasy, generally small, and often helpful, dwelling in or near human settlements, secretly doing work and helping the humans, somewhat similar to the more specific "Heinzelmännchen. Wichtel" in this sense is recorded since the Middle Ages. Today, "Wichtel" is more often used than "Wicht".


title: Wight

text: The word "wicht" can be used to refer, in a neutral way, to any woman. It is not used to refer to men.


title: Ecoregion

text: An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation (largely undefined at this point).


title: Ecoregion

text: Three caveats are appropriate for all bio-geographic mapping approaches. Firstly, no single bio-geographic framework is optimal for all taxa. Ecoregions reflect the best compromise for as many taxa as possible. Secondly, ecoregion boundaries rarely form abrupt edges; rather, ecotones and mosaic habitats bound them. Thirdly, most ecoregions contain habitats that differ from their assigned biome. Biogeographic provinces may originate due to various barriers, including physical (plate tectonics, topographic highs), climatic (latitudinal variation, seasonal range) and ocean chemical related (salinity, oxygen levels).


title: Ecoregion

text: The history of the term is somewhat vague, and it had been used in many contexts: forest classifications (Loucks, 1962), biome classifications (Bailey, 1976, 2014), biogeographic classifications (WWF/Global 200 scheme of Olson & Dinerstein, 1998), etc.


title: Ecoregion

text: The concept of ecoregion applied by Bailey gives more importance to ecological criteria and climate, while the WWF concept gives more importance to biogeography, that is, the distribution of distinct species assemblages.