title: Dog Soldiers

text: The Dog Soldiers band took as its territory the headwaters country of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers in southern Nebraska, northern Kansas, and the northeast of Colorado Territory. They were allies of the Sioux-speaking Lakota and Brulé Lakota, who also frequented that area. The Cheyenne began to intermarry with the Lakota in that territory. Many Dog Soldiers were half-Lakota, including their leader Tall Bull. During the mid-1860s, Dog Soldier leaders, including Tall Bull and White Horse, frequently called on the great warrior Roman Nose, a Crooked Lance society member, to lead Dog Soldier strikes against white civilian and military assets. He led an attack on Fort Wallace in June 1867.


title: Dog Soldiers

text: Due to an increasing division between the Dog Soldiers and the council chiefs with respect to policy toward the whites, the Dog Soldiers became separated from the other Southern Cheyenne bands. They effectively became a third division of the Cheyenne people, between the Northern Cheyenne, who ranged north of the Platte River, and the Southern Cheyenne, who occupied the area north of the Arkansas River.


title: Dog Soldiers

text: A strong band numbering perhaps 100 lodges, the Dog Soldiers were hostile to the encroaching whites. By the 1860s, as conflict between Indigenous people and whites intensified, the militaristic Dog Soldiers increased their influence, together with that of the warrior societies of other Cheyenne bands. The warriors became a significant counter-influence to the leadership of the traditional Council of Forty-Four chiefs, who were likely to favor working for peace with the whites.


title: Dog Soldiers

text: In the late 1860s, the Dog Soldiers were crucial in Cheyenne resistance to the expansion into their territory. Dog Soldiers refused to sign treaties that limited their hunting grounds and restricted them to a reservation south of the Arkansas River. They attempted to hold their traditional lands at Smoky Hill, but the campaigns of General Philip Sheridan foiled these efforts. After the Battle of Beecher's Island, many Dog Soldiers were forced to retreat south of the Arkansas River.


title: Dog Soldiers

text: In the spring of 1867 they returned north with the intention of joining Red Cloud and his Oglala band in Powder River. Attacked by General Eugene Carr, the Dog Soldiers began raiding settlements on Smoky Hill River in revenge. Eventually, Chief Tall Bull led them west into Colorado. After raiding sites in Kansas, they were attacked by a force composed of Pawnee Scouts led by Major Frank North, and United States cavalry, who killed 23 of an estimated 450 Cheyenne warriors (5%), including Tall Bull, in the Battle of Summit Springs in June 1869.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: What's New Pussycat? is a 1965 screwball comedy film directed by Clive Donner, written by Woody Allen in his first produced screenplay, and starring Allen in his acting debut, along with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Romy Schneider, Capucine, Paula Prentiss, and Ursula Andress.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: The Oscar-nominated title song by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) is sung by Tom Jones. The film poster was painted by Frank Frazetta, and the animated title sequence was directed by Richard Williams.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: The expression "what's new pussycat?" arose in the beatnik generation and is a general query aimed by men at women. In the film, Michael (O'Toole) calls all women "Pussycat" to avoid having to remember their names.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Notorious womanizer Michael James (Peter O' Toole) wants to be faithful to his fiancée Carole Werner (Romy Schneider), but every woman he meets seems to fall in love with him, including neurotic exotic dancer Liz Bien (Paula Prentiss) and parachutist Rita (Ursula Andress), who accidentally lands in his car. His psychoanalyst, Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers), cannot help, since he is stalking patient Renée Lefebvre (Capucine), who in turn longs for Michael. Carole, meanwhile, decides to make Michael jealous by flirting with his nervous wreck of a friend, Victor Shakapopulis (Woody Allen). Victor struggles to be romantic but Carole nevertheless feigns interest.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Fassbender continues to have group meetings with his neurotics and obsessives and cannot understand why everyone falls for Michael. The group sessions get stranger—including an indoor cricket match. Michael dreams that all his sexual conquests simultaneously bombard him for attention, listing where they made love.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Fassbender goes to the River Seine and fills a rowing boat with kerosene and wraps himself in the Norwegian flag - preparing to commit suicide in the style of a Viking funeral. Victor appears and sets up a small dining table nearby and asks what he is doing. Distracted, Fassbender forgets his idea of suicide and starts giving Victor advice. Despite his attempts to womanise, Fassbender is revealed to be married with three children.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Meanwhile, Carole's plan seems to work and Michael asks to marry her. She agrees and they settle on marrying within the week. She moves in but Michael finds fidelity impossible.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: When a second "fiancee" arrives, she knows the worst. Simultaneously, a woman parachutes into Michael's open-top sports car and he ends up sleeping with her, also meeting other conquests at the bar. This takes place at a small country hotel, where all parties materialise in the format of a typical French farce. Some are checked in, but most just appear. This includes Carole's parents who wander the corridors, causing Michael to jump from room to room. A rumour has also started locally that an orgy is taking place so side characters such as the petrol station attendant also start to appear. Carole appears and wishes to see Michael's room. As they speak, all the other participants chase each other around in the background. Fassbender's wife tracks him down.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Everyone ends in Michael's room with most of the females half-naked. The police arrive and form a line. Anna—Dr. Fassbender's wife, played by Eddra Gale—charges in operatic Valkyrie costume, complete with a spear. They all escape to a go-kart circuit. They leave the circuit and go first to a farmyard then through narrow village streets still on the go-karts then back to the circuit.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: After a mayor marries Michael and Carole in a civil marriage ceremony, the couple are signing the marriage certificate when Michael calls the young female registrar "Pussycat", infuriating Carole. They leave and Fassbender attempts to court her instead.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Warren Beatty wanted to make a comedy film about male sex addiction and hoped Charles Feldman would produce it. The title "What's New Pussycat?" was taken from Beatty's phone salutation when speaking to his female friends. Beatty desired a role for his then girlfriend, the actress Leslie Caron, but Feldman wanted a different actress.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Beatty and Feldman sought a joke writer and, after seeing him perform in a New York club, Feldman offered Woody Allen $30,000. Allen accepted provided he could also appear in the film. As Allen worked on the script, his first screenplay, Beatty noticed that Allen's role was continually growing at the expense of his own.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Eventually, Beatty threatened to quit the production to stop this erosion, but the actor's status in Hollywood at that time had declined so severely that Feldman decided to let him leave and gave the part to Peter O'Toole. Beatty later said "I diva'ed my way out of the movie. I walked off of "What's New, Pussycat?" thinking they couldn't do it without me. I was wrong". According to Beatty, a new screenwriter was brought in and Allen's role was pared back to a minor character.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Groucho Marx was to have played Dr. Fassbender, but at O'Toole's insistence he was replaced by Peter Sellers. O'Toole, Sellers and director Clive Donner all made changes to the script, straining their relationship with Allen. Tension was also generated by Sellers' demanding top billing, but O'Toole described the atmosphere as stimulating.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Second unit director Richard Talmadge is credited with creating the "karting sequence". The film was shot in and around Paris between October 1964 and January 1965 and released in New York on 22 June 1965. It opened in Paris in January 1966 as "Quoi de neuf, Pussycat?" The total box office take was $18,820,000.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: In addition to the title theme, songs featured were "Here I Am" by Dionne Warwick and "My Little Red Book" performed by Manfred Mann.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: The scene by the River Seine in which the lovelorn Dr. Fassbender plans to commit suicide and Victor's intrusion inhibiting him from doing so pays tribute to the Charlie Chaplin film "City Lights" (1931), in which the Little Tramp saves a dipsomaniacal millionaire bent on self-destruction.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: The film received mixed reviews. Bosley Crowther in "The New York Times" gave the film a negative review. He criticised the script, the directing and the acting and described the film as "the most outrageously cluttered and campy, noisy and neurotic display of what is evidently intended as way-out slapstick". He praised the scenery and title song. On the other hand, Andrew Sarris in "The Village Voice" wrote: "I have now seen "What's New Pussycat?" four times, and each time I find new nuances in the direction, the writing, the playing, and, above all, the music. This is one movie that is not what it seems at first glance. It has been attacked for tastelessness, and yet I have never seen a more tasteful sex comedy."


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: "What's New Pussycat?" was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on June 7, 2005, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD, on May 22, 2007, as part of "The Peter Sellers Collection" (film number two in a four-disc set) and to Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on August 26, 2014, as a Region 1 widescreen Blu-ray.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: Slightly in advance of the film's release, as was the custom of the era, a paperback novelization of the film was published by Dell Books. The author was renowned crime and western novelist Marvin H. Albert, who also made something of a cottage industry out of movie tie-ins. A fecund writer, he seems also to have been the most prolific American screenplay novelizer of the late '50s through mid '60s, and, during that time, the preeminent specialist at light comedy.


title: What's New Pussycat?

text: The 1970 American movie "Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You" was intended as a sequel to this film, and includes much of the same premise of a young man (played by Ian McShane) visiting his psychiatrist to discuss his love-life.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: The 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the third year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 7 January 2013, with Lionel Messi winning a record fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: The gala ceremony was hosted by former Ballon d'Or winner Ruud Gullit and broadcast journalist Kay Murray of Real Madrid TV and Fox Soccer.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: A shortlist of 23 male players was compiled by members of FIFA's Football Committee as well as a group of experts from "France Football". It was announced on 29 October 2012.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: There were three voters per FIFA member federation, one journalist and the coaches and captain of the national men's team. Each picked a first (5 points), second (3 points) and third choice (1 point), with their choices made public by FIFA. This was cut to a set of three "finalists" – Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo – on 29 November 2012.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: The odds-on favourite Lionel Messi won the award. Messi won all three FIFA Ballons d'Or since its inception in 2010 and also won both predecessor awards (the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year) in 2009.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: On 25 October 2012, a ten-player shortlist was unveiled for the FIFA's Women's Player of the Year, which was chosen by experts from FIFA's Committee for Women's Football and the FIFA Women's World Cup and a group of experts from France Football.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: The voting system used was the same as that of the men's award (see above), with coaches and captains of women's national teams and persons from the media making public top-three selections.


title: 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or

text: This was the first occasion that all 11 FIFPro World XI players were players from the same league (La Liga).


title: Dave Legeno

text: Legeno's first major film role was in Guy Ritchie's "Snatch". He had roles in "Batman Begins", "", "Centurion", and "Last Knights". Most notably, Legeno played the werewolf Fenrir Greyback in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1", and "Part 2".


title: Dave Legeno

text: Legeno voiced and motion-captured for the videogame "" as a protagonist, Eddie O'Connor. He was trained in various combat styles, including boxing, wrestling, judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai.


title: Dave Legeno

text: Legeno's body was found by a pair of hikers on 6 July 2014 in Death Valley, California, United States. Due to the remote area, a helicopter was called in to retrieve his remains. Legeno died of heat-related health problems and may have been dead for three to four days before his body was discovered. No foul play is suspected.


title: Dave Legeno

text: A memorial evening took place in London on 12 October 2014, which would have been Legeno's 51st birthday. It was held at Camden Underworld, the venue where Legeno had held his album launch in 2004. The memorial was attended by fellow cast members of "Harry Potter" and "Snatch", as well as by friends from the mixed martial arts community and music industry. Actors Tom Felton and Nick Moran and Cage Rage founder, Dave O'Donnell, spoke about Legeno, and his favourite songs were performed live.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Whipple's disease is a rare systemic infectious disease caused by the bacterium "Tropheryma whipplei". First described by George Hoyt Whipple in 1907 and commonly considered as a gastrointestinal disorder, Whipple's disease primarily causes malabsorption, but may affect any part of the human body, including the heart, brain, joints, skin, lungs and the eyes. Weight loss, diarrhea, joint pain, and arthritis are common presenting symptoms, but the presentation can be highly variable in certain individuals, and about 15% of patients do not have the standard signs and symptoms.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Whipple's disease is significantly more common in men, with 87% of patients diagnosed being male. When recognized and treated, Whipple's disease can usually be cured with long-term antibiotic therapy, but if the disease is left undiagnosed or untreated, it can ultimately be fatal.


title: Whipple's disease

text: The most common symptoms are diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and joint pains. The joint pains may be due to migratory nondeforming arthritis, which may occur many years before any digestive-tract symptoms develop; they tend to involve the large joints, but can occur in any pattern and tend not to damage the joint surface to the point that the joint becomes deformed. Fever and chills occur in a small proportion of people.


title: Whipple's disease

text: In its more advanced form, malabsorption (insufficient absorption of nutrients from the diet) leads to wasting and the enlargement of lymph nodes in the abdomen. Neurological symptoms (discussed below) are more common in those with the severe form of the abdominal disease. Chronic malabsorptive diarrhea leads to the poor absorption of fat, causing steatorrhea (fatty, offensive-smelling stool), flatulence, and abdominal distension. Protein-losing enteropathy may also occur, causing depletion of albumin, a blood protein, which may lead to peripheral edema caused by the lowered oncotic pressures.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Hyperpigmentation of the skin occurs in almost half; some also have skin nodules. Various eye problems, such as uveitis, may occur; this is typically associated with deteriorating vision and pain in the affected eye. Endocarditis (infection of the heart valve) has been reported in a small number of cases, sometimes in people with no other symptoms of Whipple's disease; this is typically noticed as breathlessness and leg swelling due to fluid accumulation as the heart is unable to pump fluid through the body.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Of those affected by Whipple's disease, 10–40% have problems related to the involvement of the brain; the symptoms relate to the part of the brain that is affected. The most common problems are dementia, memory loss, confusion, and decreased level of consciousness. Eye-movement disturbances and myorhythmia (rapidly repetitive movements of the muscles) of the face, together referred to as oculomasticatory myorhythmia, are highly characteristic for Whipple's disease. Weakness and poor coordination of part of the body, headaches, seizures, and a number of more uncommon neurological features are present in some cases.


title: Whipple's disease

text: "T. whipplei" is one of the Actinomycetes, and is a distant relative of the "Mycobacterium avium complex", explaining in part why Whipple's disease is similar to the diseases caused by MAC bacteria. The disease is common in farmers and those exposed to soil and animals, suggesting that the infection is acquired from these sources.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Individuals who are most susceptible to the disease are those with decreased ability to perform intracellular degradation of ingested pathogens or particles, particularly within macrophages. Several studies indicate that defective T-lymphocyte (particularly TH1 population) function may be an important predisposing factor for the disease. In particular, circulating cells which are CD11b (also known as integrin alpha) expressive are reduced in susceptible individuals. CD11b has a vital role in activation of macrophages to destroy intracellularly ingested "T. whipplei" bacteria.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Common clinical signs and symptoms of Whipple's disease include diarrhea, steatorrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, migratory arthropathy, fever, and neurological symptoms. Weight loss and diarrhea are the most common symptoms that lead to identification of the process, but may be preceded by chronic, unexplained, relapsing episodes of nondestructive seronegative arthritis, often of large joints.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Endoscopy of the duodenum and jejunum can reveal pale yellow shaggy mucosa with erythematous eroded patches in patients with classic intestinal Whipple's disease, and small bowel X-rays may show some thickened folds. Other pathological findings may include enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes, hypercellularity of lamina propria with "foamy macrophages", and a concurrent decreased number of lymphocytes and plasma cells, per high power field view of the biopsy.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Diagnosis is made by biopsy, usually by duodenal endoscopy, which reveals PAS-positive macrophages in the lamina propria containing nonacid-fast, Gram-positive bacilli. Immunohistochemical staining for antibodies against "T. whipplei" has been used to detect the organism in a variety of tissues, and a polymerase chain reaction-based assay is also available, which can be confirmatory if performed on blood, vitreous fluid, synovial fluid, heart valves, or cerebrospinal fluid. PCR of saliva, gastric or intestinal fluid, and stool specimens is highly sensitive, but not specific enough, indicating that healthy individuals can also harbor the causative bacterium without the manifestation of Whipple's disease, but that a negative PCR is most likely indicative of a healthy individual.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Treatment is with penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, or co-trimoxazole for one to two years. Any treatment lasting less than a year has a relapse rate around 40%. Expert opinion as of 2007 is that Whipple's disease should be treated with doxycycline with hydroxychloroquine for 12 to 18 months. Hydroxychloroquine increases antibiotic and bactericides activity against the replication of the bacteria in acidic vacuoles of macrophages by increasing the macrophage intraphagosomal pH. Sulfonamides (sulfadiazine or sulfamethoxazole) may be added for treatment of neurological symptoms.


title: Whipple's disease

text: The disease is regarded as extremely rare, with an incidence (new number of cases per year) of one case per million people. The patients are predominantly male (86% in a survey of American patients), although in some countries, the rate of women receiving a diagnosis of Whipple's disease has increased in recent years. It occurs predominantly in those of Caucasian ethnicity, suggesting a genetic predisposition in that population. "T. whipplei" appears to be an environmental organism that is commonly present in the gastrointestinal tract, but remains asymptomatic. Several lines of evidence suggest that some defect—inherited or acquired—in immunity is required for it to become pathogenic. The possible immunological defect may be specific for "T. whipplei", since the disease is not associated with a substantially increased risk of other infections. The disease is usually diagnosed in middle age (median 49 years). Studies from Germany have shown that age at diagnosis has been rising since the 1960s.


title: Whipple's disease

text: Whipple described the disease in 1907 in a paper in the now-defunct "Bulletin of Johns Hopkins Hospital". The patient was a 36-year-old medical missionary. Whipple referred to the disease as "intestinal lipodystrophy". It was long presumed to be an infectious disease, but the causative organism was only fully identified in 1992. In 2003, doctors from Johns Hopkins Hospital, together with the French microbiologist Didier Raoult applied novel diagnostic methods to stored tissue samples from Whipple's original patient, and demonstrated "T. whipplei" in these tissues.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Man on Fire (, ) is a 1987 action thriller film directed by Élie Chouraqui and starring Scott Glenn and Jade Malle. It is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by A. J. Quinnell, with a screenplay by Chouraqui, Sergio Donati, and Fabrice Ziolkowski. The rest of the cast includes Joe Pesci, Jonathan Pryce, Brooke Adams, Danny Aiello, and Paul Shenar.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Another film based on the same novel, also called "Man on Fire", was released in 2004, directed by Tony Scott.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: In Italy, wealthy families often hire bodyguards to protect family members from the threat of kidnapping. A wealthy family that needs a bodyguard hires Christian Creasy, a burned-out ex-CIA agent turned mercenary, to protect their daughter, Samantha "Sam" Balletto. Creasy has been broken down from all of the death and horror of combat he witnessed in the Vietnam War and in Beirut, Lebanon. Although Creasy is not interested in being a bodyguard, especially to a twelve-year-old youngster, he accepts the assignment because he has no better job offers.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Creasy barely tolerates the precocious child and her pestering questions about him and his life. But slowly, she chips away at his seemingly impenetrable exterior, his defenses drop, and he opens up to her. They become friends and he replaces her parents in their absences, giving her advice, guidance, and help with track. Creasy's life is shattered when Sam is kidnapped by the mafia. Despite being seriously wounded during the kidnapping, Creasy halts his recovery to get weapons from his former partner, David. Creasy vows Sam's safe return, as well as vengeance on the kidnappers.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Tony Scott was originally slated to direct, but, the studio balked because at the time they felt he was not accomplished enough to pull off the project. He would go on to direct the remake 2004 version with Denzel Washington as Creasy.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Producer Arnon Milchan wanted Sergio Leone to direct Robert De Niro, while Tony Scott wanted either Marlon Brando or Robert Duvall as his leading man when he was slated to direct. The screenplay underwent several revisions.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: The film was screened at the 13th Deauville American Film Festival in Deauville, France. It was one of 40 films screened during the festival. The 13th Deauville film festival ran from 4 to 14 September 1987.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: The film was released in 1987 on VHS. It had originally been released on DVD overseas, but not in the United States, save for bootlegs. However, on 15 November 2016, Kino Lorber released the first official Blu-ray Disc and DVD.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Leonard Klady of the "Los Angeles Times" said that the film's script "limps along as badly as its protagonist" and that the film "is simply cold-comfort movie-going." Michael Spies of the "Houston Chronicle" said that the film "not only lacks emotion, it lacks wit and cool. It just has lots of atmosphere." Caryn James of "The New York Times" said that the film "always seems about to slip into unconsciousness." Lloyd Sachs of the "Chicago Sun-Times" said, "Unfortunately, when it's required to make sense, 'Man on Fire' doesn't. Which is too bad, because Glenn's strong physical and emotional presence deserves better. All things considered, it's one of the best things he's done." Eleanor Ringel of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" said that the film "burns itself out well before it's done" even though Scott Glenn "manages to strike a few sparks along the way." John H. Richardson of the "Los Angeles Daily News" called "Man on Fire" "a pretentious revenge picture." He argued that since the film is "basically just another "Death Wish", [...] directed with the crawling elegiac pace and visual luxury of a big-budget European art film," it demonstrates "the worst of both worlds." Desmond Ryan of "The Philadelphia Inquirer", who gave the film two stars, said "Man on Fire" is an extremely empty film" and "For all the movie's handsome gloss, I doubt if we are missing much."


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Bill Kaufman of "Newsday" said that the film was "suspenseful, with some exciting moments despite the choppy direction." Kaufman argued that the film "plods along for its first half-hour or so, dwelling too long" on the relationship between Creasy and Sam, but "things pick up, and the movie's tempo changes dramatically" when Sam's kidnapping occurs, and "only then does the picture come into its own as a suspense film with some taut moments." Kaufman said that people who like action films would find "Man on Fire" entertaining.


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: According to the "Times of Malta" obituary of A. J. Quinnell, he and the cinema-going public were not satisfied with the film. Quinnell said that the film "was so bad it became a cult movie in a European country. The director had never read the book and when I travelled to Paris to see the finished product I couldn't recognise anything I wrote." Quinnell was much happier with the 2004 version of film, which was a major box office success. Sachs said that he consulted a young expert of A. J. Quinnell books about the film, and that the individual said, "About all they kept was the title. What garbage!" except that the individual did not use the word "garbage."


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Ringel said that the film "is actually two movies rather clumsily stitched together"; she believed the first part was "a likable character study" that was the superior portion of the film while the remainder was "a routine vigilante flick" that had the "most distracting production design". Ringel added that "Man on Fire" is part artsy European, part shoot-'em-up American, and the parts are so self-consciously constructed that they refuse to have anything to do with one another." The "Lexington Herald-Leader" said that the film "veers erratically between existential meditation and conventional vengeance drama."


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Eleanor Ringel of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" says that Creasy "introduces himself to us in a "Sunset Boulevard"–style opening."


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Desmond Ryan of "The Philadelphia Inquirer" said that the director "has invested a great deal of care in making "Man on Fire" visually interesting". John H. Richardson of the "Los Angeles Daily News" said "One thing you have to say for "Man on Fire": If they gave an Oscar for best location scouting, this film should win it. From a palazzo on Lake Como to a huge sun-lit industrial loft to a cavernous underground boat dock, this film has some of the best-looking backgrounds of the year." Caryn James of "The New York Times" said that the film "is so full of rain it looks like monsoon season on Lake Como, but that makes as much sense as anything else the director and co-writer Elie Chouraqui has imagined." Ryan said that "[t]he settings and camera-work owe much to Ridley Scott and his disciples, but Chouraqui has forgotten that what you hear matters as much as what you see." Ryan added that "[t]he connections from scene to scene are always arbitrary and occasionally incomprehensible, giving "Man on Fire" the feel of a movie that was drastically edited".


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Eleanor Ringel of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" said that the director "obviously has an excellent eye for actors but no idea how to use them once he's cast them." Ringel said that the characters Jane Balletto and Michael, played respectively by Brooke Adams and Jonathan Pryce, each are in two scenes and have about four lines of dialog. Michael Spies of the "Houston Chronicle" said, "As often happens in these international productions, actors make hello-goodbye appearances, including Brooke Adams, who has perhaps one line as the girl's mother, and Jonathan Pryce, who has maybe a couple more as a representative of the family business." James said, "Blink a few times and you'll miss Brooke Adams as Sam's mother, and Danny Aiello as the American ringleader of the Italian terrorists." Sachs said that Adams and Pryce, who were two of the production's top-billed actors, "have approximately five lines between them", and that is "[a] sure giveaway" that the production "has not enjoyed a trouble-free transition." Ryan speculated that the movie may have been severely edited and "what Pryce and his likewise-underutilized co-stars contributed ended up on the cutting-room floor."


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Sachs said that Aiello, as Conti, "sounds Italian when he's demanding dough and American when he's begging for his life." In the entire film, Conti has one scene where he speaks. Kaufman said that Aiello, as Conti, "is suitably sinister".


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Samantha compares Creasy and herself to the main characters of "Of Mice and Men", George Milton and Lenny Small. In regards to Samantha, James stated that "this literary child breaks through Creasy's tough-guy defenses." Sachs said that Samantha is "a survivor in her own right - of a troubled marriage, having no friends, etc." but that she is "too smart and adorable to resist." Richardson said "[t]hey talk about the works of John Steinbeck and the fine points of jogging, and before you can say "Lolita", the pair are involved in a kind of romance." Kaufman said that Malle portrays Sam "with appealing, moppet-like charm".


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Ryan said "How - or why - anyone would recruit an actor of the caliber of [Pryce] and then give him just a few lines on the telephone is anyone's guess."


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Bill Kaufman of "Newsday" said that the "sullen and taciturn" Creasy appears "a bit shaggy" and "doesn't seem much like a tough guy." John H. Richardson of the "Los Angeles Daily News" said that in the beginning of the film, Creasy is "a morbid guy" who has an appearance "like a thinner Chuck Norris, but he has these huge bags under his eyes and a twitch in his cheek, and he tends to stare off into the distance with the cosmic gloom of someone who has Seen the Darkness in the Human Soul." Kaufman added that the actor, as Creasy, "is a bit reminiscent of Chuck Norris." Eleanor Ringel of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" said that the actor as Creasy, "with his scruffy beard and melancholy eyes", "calls to mind Max von Sydow as Christ in "The Greatest Story Ever Told".


title: Man on Fire (1987 film)

text: Caryn James of "The New York Times" said that compared to other films he starred in, Scott "has less presence than usual here." Ringel concluded that "[e]xcellent actor that he is, he lends power and authority to this disjointed work, but even he can't pull together a script that's heading off in opposite directions. After a while, you figure he took the part because the idea of a paid vacation in Italy was too appealing to pass up." Desmond Ryan of "The Philadelphia Inquirer" said that while "Glenn is quite capable of livening up humbler movie genres [...] the muddle of pretension and largely incoherent action here is beyond his redemptive powers" and "[a]t least Glenn has been asked to do something, which is more than can be claimed by anyone else in the cast." Kaufman said that Glenn "turns in a creditable performance as the driven man."


title: Honda Magna

text: The Honda Magna is a cruiser motorcycle made from 1982 to 1988 and 1994 to 2003 and was the second Honda to use their new V4 engine shared with the VF750S Sabre and a few years later a related engine was fitted to the VF750F 'Intercepter', the later models used a retuned engine from the VFR750F with fins added to the outside of the engine. The engine technology and layout was a descendant of Honda's racing V4 machines, such as the NS750 and NR750. The introduction of this engine on the Magna and the Sabre in 1982, was a milestone in the evolution of motorcycles that would culminate in 1983 with the introduction of the Interceptor V4. The V45's performance is comparable to that of Valkyries and Honda's 1800 cc V-twin cruisers. However, its mix of performance, reliability, and refinement was overshadowed by the more powerful 1,098 cc "V65" Magna in 1983.


title: Honda Magna

text: While Honda's release of their V4 technology in the Magna (and other bikes like the Sabre and Interceptor) was certainly a bold move, it was somewhat overshadowed by at least one problem. One was the decline of motorcycle sales after the boom in the 1970s. While Honda quality was a given and the number of features provided in these bikes was great, they were still relatively expensive bikes at the time. An expensive, complex bike was difficult to sell in a down market. The second was the manufacturing and engineering problems encountered after the release in 1982.


title: Honda Magna

text: Though criticized for its long-distance comfort and lauded mainly for its raw acceleration, the Magna was the bike of choice for Doris Maron, a Canadian grandmother and accountant-turned-traveler who toured the world solo by motorcycle. She made the trek without the benefit of the support crew that usually accompanies riders in adventures depicted in such films as Long Way Round.


title: Honda Magna

text: The Honda Magna of years 1982–1988 incorporated a number of unique features into a cruiser market dominated by V-twin engines. The V4 engine configuration provided a balance between torque for good acceleration and high horsepower. The 90-degree layout produced less primary vibration, and the four cylinders provided a much smoother delivery of power than a V-twin. Good engine balance, plus short stroke and large piston diameter allowed for a high redline and potential top speed.


title: Honda Magna

text: Besides the engine configuration, the bike had water-cooling, a six-speed transmission for good economy at highway speed, and common on other middleweight bikes for Honda in the early 1980s, shaft drive. While the shaft drive is very convenient with virtually no maintenance required (and no oil getting slung around), it also robbed some power from where it was more evidently lacking on in town or lower speed riding. It also had features like twin horns, hydraulic clutch, and an engine temperature gauge. A coil sprung, oil bath, air preload front fork with anti-dive valving was an improvement, although the Magna did not benefit from the linkage based single shock that was on the Sabre and Interceptor.


title: Honda Magna

text: The V-65 Magna and other large-displacement Hondas were assembled in the Marysville Motorcycle Plant in Ohio for US delivery and in Japan for other markets. In 2008, Honda announced plans to close the plant, their oldest in North America, in 2009, which had been still making Gold Wings and VTX cruisers.


title: Honda Magna

text: The 1982 V45 Magna has a round chrome headlight and fenders. The headlight is a sealed beam type. The front disc brakes have straight grooves, dual piston calipers, and TRAC anti-dive. The speedometer reads 80 mph and the tachometer indicates a 10,000 rpm redline. The engine is a DOHC 16-valve liquid-cooled 90-degree V-4 linked to a six-speed transmission with a hydraulically actuated wet-plate clutch and shaft drive. The compression is 10.5:1. The 1982 V45 covered 1/4 mile in 12.08 seconds at 108.82 MPH.


title: Honda Magna

text: The 1983 V45 Magna is the same as the 1982 model with few differences. Early in the model year, the headlight was changed to a non-sealed beam unit with a replaceable halogen bulb. The front disc brake grooves are curved. The speedometer reads to but the redline on the tachometer is unchanged. (1983 starting SN JH2RC071*DM100011)


title: Honda Magna

text: The US government imposed tariff rate hikes for foreign-built motorcycles over 700 cc in order to combat their rise in sales in North America, and to aid the domestic motorcycle manufacturers, namely Harley-Davidson. So for 1984 Honda responded by reducing the engine size for the VF750s to 698 cc by decreasing stroke on all of their 750cc engines, so the Magna became the VF700C in the USA. A side effect of this change was a higher-revving engine (redline now 10,500rpm) with similar power figures as the 750s. In 1984 rev limiters within the CDI units were added as well to help prevent over-revving that was fairly common with the earlier 750 models. The headlight changed from round chrome to a rectangular chrome housing. The seats were changed to a wider & lower 2 piece design in an attempt to improve rider comfort. The rear shocks also changed to eliminate the extra fluid reservoir. The wheels were different as well now being an "open" 5-spoke wheel like Honda's VT500s but with chrome the way around the rim's lip but were the same size. Honda only made the VF700 for 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987, then back to the VF750 after that. In the first part of 1984, some Magnas were still VF750s though 1984 750s were more common with Interceptors (VF750F).


title: Honda Magna

text: Models from 1982 to 1984 were unique in their use of a larger primary fuel tank and smaller sub-tank. The sub-tank is located directly behind the left side cover, well below the level of the carburetor banks and has a low-fuel sensor incorporated into the body. Owing to the low seat height (much lower than in a standard street bike) and cruiser styling of the bike, the main tank is relatively small. Because the bottom end of the sub-tank is so low, all bikes in this family have a fuel pump to get the fuel up into the carburetors. In practice, the fuel pump adds more complexity to a carbureted bike which otherwise doesn't need pressure-fed fuel.


title: Honda Magna

text: For the 1985 and 1986 models, the sub-tank was dropped in favor of a slightly larger and wider main tank. Again because the reserve level of the tank was below the carburetors, the requisite fuel pump and series of fuel lines – although changed – were kept. Also for 1985 and 1986 the previously chrome, round rear fender became a painted single-piece unit much wider and taller like more classic cruisers which allowed for a wider rear tire. 1985 and 1986 saw new wheels too. Some of the trim around the Magna was changed as well, like the addition of a passenger back rest, smaller side covers, slightly lower seat and footpeg positions, brighter instrument cluster, slightly larger airbox covers, lighter front brake rotors, an improved radiator (now with a shut-off valve to greatly ease servicing), new exhaust, and the engine had silver case covers instead of the black prior years had. These engines also had silver aluminum covers over the engine's shaft-drive output while prior years used black plastic covers, the engines were otherwise the same VF700 as 1984 with identical gear ratios and all.


title: Honda Magna

text: In 1986 some of the parts around the Magna now had the "Magna Bird" emblem present on the airbox covers, the driver seat, and the passenger backrest. For only 1986 the engines had unique cylinder heads, the rear heads now featured a new cosmetic bolt-on piece and while all previous VF700s/VF750s used head bolts and more square valve covers 1986s were revised with line-bored camshaft journals thus taking different camshafts and valve covers. The new valve covers allowed for easier valve-rocker adjustment which would normally be a difficult procedure, but because of the shape head bolts had to be replaced with head studs so 1986 models have chrome acorn nuts where zinc-plated headbolts once were. These were the only changes from 1985 to 1986, the following years of Magnas would be quite different.


title: Honda Magna

text: The large displacement V65 Magna attracted attention as Honda's entry in the 1/4 mile wars between manufacturers at the time, causing Suzuki to respond with the 1200 Madura (which had a 1/4 mile time of 11.66 s at 115.7 mph), and going up against such competition as the Suzuki GS1150E (10.47 s at 128 mph). The V65 lay somewhere between these two in performance, posting a quarter mile time of 11.29 s at .


title: Honda Magna

text: The 1983 V65 Magna was tested at a top speed of . In a 1983 "Popular Mechanics" achieved a top speed of , ranking it third of four motorcycles tested, less than slower than the Kawasaki GPZ1100 and Suzuki GS1100s.


title: Honda Magna

text: In spite of this, the V65 Magna appeared from 1986 to 1989 in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the fastest production motorcycle with a "design speed" of . During this period the production motorcycle with the fastest tested speed was the Kawasaki GPZ900R.


title: Honda Magna

text: The Honda VF500 is one of Honda's second generation V4 motorcycle engines produced in a series of motorcycles designated with VF and VFR initials. For 1984–1986, Honda produced the 498 cc, V4 DOHC VF500 for the VF500C Magna V30 (1984/85) and its sister bike, the VF500F (1984–86). This engine is an evolution of Honda's original domestic market 400 cc engine, originally deemed too small and underpowered for certain markets - notably the United States and Europe. Focusing on adding power and versatility to its motorcycle offerings, Honda bored the original 400 cc motor and improved its power and performance. The engine is almost entirely identical to the version in the Interceptor VF500F sport bike, and while Honda sold the VF500C Magna in the United States, it advertised it as the "most powerful midsize custom in the world".


title: Honda Magna

text: This standard motorcycle was introduced as a balanced bike that was just as enjoyable yet easier to ride in town than its larger Magna siblings, with good power and a broad torque band. Thanks to its V4 design, power in the "500" engine is not peaky and ample torque can be found throughout the rev band, and the six-speed transmission ratio was unique to this bike versus the ratio on the VF500F. The engine produced between 64 and 68 horsepower, and combined with its low weight and low center of gravity, the bike was lauded by critics as an easy to ride and entertaining motorcycle.


title: Honda Magna

text: Various mechanical and cosmetic changes were introduced over the years, but the basic core of the Magna remained the same. The second generation Magna of 1987–1988 was dubbed the Super Magna by aficionados of the bike, though it was not an official Honda name. In 1987, the 699 cc engine produced @ 9,500 rpm, with torque being @ 7,500 rpm. In 1988, the Magna grew back to its original size of 748 cc.


title: Honda Magna

text: In countries other than the US, the Magna continued as a 750. The Magna V-four has endured through the first and second generations of the VF and VFR Interceptors - both come and gone by 1988. Like the original 750 Sabre and VF 750, this 750 Magna engine uses a 360-degree crankshaft and chain-driven double-overhead camshafts. Thus, the VF750C unit is technologically quite different from Honda's last V-four sport bike engine, the VFR750 Interceptor, which had gear-driven overhead cams and a 180-degree crankshaft.


title: Honda Magna

text: The Super's cams are also line-bored (a feature first seen in the Euro 1985 VF1000F & F-II, and 85/86 VF1000R, 1986 VF500F, 1986 VF700C Magna), which greatly reduced the premature cam wear that plagued the earlier models, together with changed oil ducts.


title: Honda Magna

text: The 1987 V45 Magna was available in either Candy Wave Blue or Candy Bourgogne Red (1988 dropped Blue in favor of Black). For 1987, the fake airbox covers were wrinkle black with a "Magna" emblem. The fake airbox emblem changes to "V45" for the 1988 model.


title: Honda Magna

text: The 1987 Super Magna had a silver, grey and black Honda "wing" tank decal, while the 1988 model had a silver "MAGNA" tank decal.


title: Honda Magna

text: The exhaust system was now an upswept 4-into-4 set of pipes, truly unique in the cruiser world. Although the exhaust pipes were a beautiful sight, they were not friendly to the use of saddlebags as they were too high. The rear wheel was a solid aluminum disc. The chin fairing was unfinished black plastic for the 87, and color-matched for the 88. The second generation was also the first to have the lower seat height of a mere , more than lower than its predecessor. The production numbers of 1987 and 1988 Magnas have never been released by Honda.


title: Honda Magna

text: The Magna 750 was launched in 1993 as an early release 1994 model. Honda sought to capture the market for powerful cruisers by lifting the engine from the VFR750 and slotting it in a cruiser chassis. The engine itself was beautified by the addition of chrome and some extra fins, and by the chromed 4 into 4 exhaust. The seat was kept very low, at 28 inches, with the passenger seat being detachable. The all new frame was complemented by 41 mm forks, dual shocks, and a single disc on the front. A drum brake was used on the rear. A few internal changes were made to the VFR engine for use in the Magna, including a different crankshaft, a 5-speed transmission and chain driven cams. Smaller carbs were also utilized. The changes resulted in a stronger mid-range pull, and a very broad band of power.


title: Honda Magna

text: The design of the 3rd-generation Magna remained relatively unchanged over its lifetime. The tank decal was changed in 1995, and a miniature fairing was available on 1995 and 1996 Deluxe models.


title: Honda Magna

text: 2004 saw the demise of the Magna, along with other Honda stablemates such as the V-Twin Shadow ACE and Shadow Spirit, as well as the 6-cylinder Valkyrie.


title: Rajat Bedi

text: Rajat Narendra Bedi is an Indo-Canadian actor, who primarily appears in Hindi cinema. He is best known for portraying Raj Saxena in the film "Koi... Mil Gaya" (2003).


title: Rajat Bedi

text: Bedi has worked over 40 films, including "Rakht" (2004), "Khamoshh... Khauff Ki Raat" (2005) and "Rocky - The Rebel" (2006).


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: Ever Decreasing Circles is a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 between 1984 and 1989, consisting of four series and one feature-length special. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and it reunited them with Richard Briers, who had starred in their previous hit show, "The Good Life".


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: with "the Guardian" describing it as having "a quiet, unacknowledged and deep-running despair to it that in retrospect seems quite daring".


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: Richard Briers plays Martin Bryce, an obsessive, middle-aged man at the centre of his local suburban community in Mole Valley, East Surrey. This relatively unsympathetic character was the antithesis of Tom Good. Briers said that it was his favourite sitcom role. The show's signature running gag (which appeared in almost every episode) was Martin walking past the telephone in his hallway and turning the receiver around.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: Martin is married to the domesticated and patient Ann (Penelope Wilton) and has a settled, orderly lifestyle until he encounters their new next-door neighbour, ex-British Army officer and Cambridge Blue Paul Ryman (Peter Egan). Paul is everything Martin is not – adventurous, "laissez-faire", flippant, witty, handsome and charming; in the words of Martin, a "couldn't care less, come on life ... amuse me, merchant". He attempts to join in with the activities of Martin and his friends, but his fresh thinking causes Martin to see him as a rival who might want to "take over" Martin's self-appointed role as organiser. Martin's obsession with order and stability also leads him to get upset at Paul's minor changes to routine, such as sitting at a different table in the local pub. Paul runs his own business, a hair salon, and later, a health studio. Martin, by contrast, has a humdrum white-collar job at Mole Valley Valves, a company named after an area of Surrey.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: The other regular characters were Howard and Hilda Hughes (Stanley Lebor and Geraldine Newman), another married couple who generally add lighter humour to the plots. They are long-standing friends and neighbours of Martin's, who share some of his obsessiveness whilst having plenty of quirks of their own (such as often wearing "his and hers" matching outfits), but are also attracted by Paul's personality. Although Howard and Hilda are often seen as being rather timid, they have strong moral values and can be very forthright in chastising other characters (usually Martin or Paul) when they believe them to have done something wrong.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: An undercurrent running throughout the series is the unresolved sexual tension and flirting between Paul and Ann. Martin sometimes seems oblivious to the attraction between Ann and Paul but in one episode, he wrongly believes that they have run off together. Martin leaves home, leaving Ann a note wishing her happiness and stating that he will always love her. Graham Rinaldi notes that "Briers' performance is poignant and genuinely moving as he wrestles with the character's inner turmoil." Martin's relationship with Paul is double-edged. Paul is always friendly to Martin, who veers between thinly disguised hatred and grudging admiration. Paul also solves a marital crisis in one episode when Martin is tricked by a colleague into believing he had had a drunken one-night stand while away on business and admitting to Ann his infidelity. Paul cons the colleague into an admission of the trick in front of Ann, restoring her faith in Martin.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: Central to the show is Martin's envy of Paul. Paul is shown to be significantly better than Martin at many things, notably cricket, where Paul joins the local team and promptly smashes all the records that Martin proudly holds. The two later play in a snooker tournament, where Martin is delighted to find that Paul is useless (the tournament coincides with Howard's anger at being seen as "a loser", causing him to defeat Martin in the final). A parallel is drawn with an incident from Martin's childhood in which his own "gang" was taken over by a new boy.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: The show also featured guest appearances by Peter Blake, Ronnie Stevens, Victoria Burgoyne,Ray Winstone, Pamela Salem, and Suzan Crowley.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: After four series, "Ever Decreasing Circles" ended on Christmas Eve 1989 with an 80-minute finale entitled "Moving On" ("New Horizons", on the DVD release) in which Martin's employer, Mole Valley Valves, merges with another company (Lee Valley Valves) and moves to Oswestry. Ann discovers she is pregnant, and, despite Martin initially resenting the unborn child for forcing him to move away from The Close, the story ends with the couple bidding farewell to their neighbours. The final scene sees Martin standing in his empty hallway, going over to the telephone (the only thing left from the Bryces' ownership), and turning the receiver around, suggesting that Martin's obsessiveness will live on.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: The series originated in John Esmonde and Bob Larbey's 1984 stage play "Hiccups", which featured versions of the characters as they would later appear in the television series. Martin was played by Sam Kelly.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: The series title supposedly originated in a meeting to brainstorm possible titles, when after other titles had been rejected somebody commented that "we're going round in ever decreasing circles".


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: The show was voted number 52 in the BBC's "Britain's Best Sitcom" poll in 2003. At its peak, it attracted television audiences of around 12 million.


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: Reappraising the series, Andy Dawson in "the Daily Mirror" notes that ""Ever Decreasing Circles" strayed far from the well-worn path that other Britcoms trudged along in the 70s and 80s. There was a very real darkness at the heart of it, with Martin existing in what was almost certainly a state of permanent mental anguish."


title: Ever Decreasing Circles

text: Ricky Gervais has cited the series as one of his key influences, and following Briers' death said he would waive the repeat fees on "The Office" if "Ever Decreasing Circles" were repeated on BBC One.


title: Microtome

text: A microtome (from the Greek "mikros", meaning "small", and "temnein", meaning "to cut") is a cutting tool used to produce extremely thin slices of material known as "sections". Important in science, microtomes are used in microscopy, allowing for the preparation of samples for observation under transmitted light or electron radiation.


title: Microtome

text: Microtomes use steel, glass or diamond blades depending upon the specimen being sliced and the desired thickness of the sections being cut. Steel blades are used to prepare histological sections of animal or plant tissues for light microscopy. Glass knives are used to slice sections for light microscopy and to slice very thin sections for electron microscopy. Industrial grade diamond knives are used to slice hard materials such as bone, teeth and tough plant matter for both light microscopy and for electron microscopy. Gem-quality diamond knives are also used for slicing thin sections for electron microscopy.


title: Microtome

text: Microtomy is a method for the preparation of thin sections for materials such as bones, minerals and teeth, and an alternative to electropolishing and ion milling. Microtome sections can be made thin enough to section a human hair across its breadth, with section thickness between 50 nm and 100 μm.


title: Microtome

text: In the beginnings of light microscope development, sections from plants and animals were manually prepared using razor blades. It was found that to observe the structure of the specimen under observation it was important to make clean reproducible cuts on the order of 100 μm, through which light can be transmitted. This allowed for the observation of samples using light microscopes in a transmission mode.


title: Microtome

text: One of the first devices for the preparation of such cuts was invented in 1770 by George Adams, Jr. (1750–1795) and further developed by Alexander Cummings. The device was hand operated, and the sample held in a cylinder and sections created from the top of the sample using a hand crank.


title: Microtome

text: In 1835, Andrew Prichard developed a table based model which allowed for the vibration to be isolated by affixing the device to the table, separating the operator from the knife.


title: Microtome

text: Occasionally, attribution for the invention of the microtome is given to the anatomist Wilhelm His, Sr. (1865),


title: Microtome

text: The obscurities in the origins of the microtome are due to the fact that the first microtomes were simply cutting apparatuses, and the developmental phase of early devices is widely undocumented.


title: Microtome

text: At the end of the 1800s, the development of very thin and consistently thin samples by microtomy, together with the selective staining of important cell components or molecules allowed for the visualisation of microscope details.


title: Microtome

text: Today, the majority of microtomes are a knife-block design with a changeable knife, a specimen holder and an advancement mechanism. In most devices the cutting of the sample begins by moving the sample over the knife, where the advancement mechanism automatically moves forward such that the next cut for a chosen thickness can be made. The section thickness is controlled by an adjustment mechanism, allowing for precise control.


title: Microtome

text: A recent development is the laser microtome, which cuts the target specimen with a femtosecond laser instead of a mechanical knife. This method is contact-free and does not require sample preparation techniques. The laser microtome has the ability to slice almost every tissue in its native state. Depending on the material being processed, slice thicknesses of 10 to 100 μm are feasible.


title: Microtome

text: A sledge microtome is a device where the sample is placed into a fixed holder (shuttle), which then moves backwards and forwards across a knife. Modern sled microtomes have the sled placed upon a linear bearing, a design that allows the microtome to readily cut many coarse sections. By adjusting the angles between the sample and the microtome knife, the pressure applied to the sample during the cut can be reduced. Typical applications for this design of microtome are of the preparation of large samples, such as those embedded in paraffin for biological preparations. Typical cut thickness achievable on a sledge microtome is between 1 and 60 μm.


title: Microtome

text: This instrument is a common microtome design. This device operates with a staged rotary action such that the actual cutting is part of the rotary motion. In a rotary microtome, the knife is typically fixed in a vertical position.


title: Microtome

text: In the figure to the left, the principle of the cut is explained. Through the motion of the sample holder, the sample is cut by the knife position 1 to position 2, at which point the fresh section remains on the knife. At the highest point of the rotary motion, the sample holder is advanced by the same thickness as the section that is to be made, allowing the next section to be made.


title: Microtome

text: The flywheel in many microtomes can be operated by hand. This has the advantage that a clean cut can be made, as the relatively large mass of the flywheel prevents the sample from being stopped during the sample cut. The flywheel in newer models is often integrated inside the microtome casing. The typical cut thickness for a rotary microtome is between 1 and 60 μm. For hard materials, such as a sample embedded in a synthetic resin, this design of microtome can allow good "semi-thin" sections with a thickness of as low as 0.5 μm.


title: Microtome

text: For the cutting of frozen samples, many rotary microtomes can be adapted to cut in a liquid-nitrogen chamber, in a so-called cryomicrotome setup. The reduced temperature allows the hardness of the sample to be increased, such as by undergoing a glass transition, which allows the preparation of semi-thin samples. However the sample temperature and the knife temperature must be controlled in order to optimise the resultant sample thickness.


title: Microtome

text: An ultramicrotome is a main tool of ultramicrotomy. It allows the preparation of extremely thin sections, with the device functioning in the same manner as a rotational microtome, but with very tight tolerances on the mechanical construction. As a result of the careful mechanical construction, the linear thermal expansion of the mounting is used to provide very fine control of the thickness.


title: Microtome

text: These extremely thin cuts are important for use with transmission electron microscope (TEM) and serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBFSEM), and are sometimes also important for light-optical microscopy. The typical thickness of these cuts is between 40 and 100 nm for transmission electron microscopy and often between 30 and 50 nm for SBFSEM. Thicker sections up to 500 nm thick are also taken for specialized TEM applications or for light-microscopy survey sections to select an area for the final thin sections. Diamond knives (preferably) and glass knives are used with ultramicrotomes. To collect the sections, they are floated on top of a liquid as they are cut and are carefully picked up onto grids suitable for TEM specimen viewing. The thickness of the section can be estimated by the thin-film interference colors of reflected light that are seen as a result of the extremely low sample thickness.


title: Microtome

text: The vibrating microtome operates by cutting using a vibrating blade, allowing the resultant cut to be made with less pressure than would be required for a stationary blade. The vibrating microtome is usually used for difficult biological samples. The cut thickness is usually around 30–500 μm for live tissue and 10–500 μm for fixed tissue.


title: Microtome

text: A variation on the vibrating microtome is the Compresstome microtome. The Compresstome uses a specimen syringe or "lipstick-like" tube to hold the tissue. The tissue specimen is completely embedded in agarose (a polysaccharide), and the tissue is slowly and gently pressed out of the tube for the vibrating blade to cut. The device operates in the following way: the end of the specimen tube where the tissue emerges is slightly narrower than the loading end, which allows gentle "compression" of the tissue as it comes out of the tube. The slight compression prevents shearing, uneven cutting, and vibration artifacts from forming. Note that the compression technology does not damage or affect the tissue being sectioned.


title: Microtome

text: There are several advantages of the Compresstome microtome: 1) the agarose embedding provides stability to the entire specimen on all sides, which prevents uneven slicing or shearing of tissue; 2) the compression technology gently compresses tissue for even cutting, so that the blade doesn't push against the tissue; 3) faster sectioning than most vibrating microtomes; and 4) it cuts tissue from older or more mature animals well to provide healthier tissues.


title: Microtome

text: The saw microtome is especially for hard materials such as teeth or bones. The microtome of this type has a recessed rotating saw, which slices through the sample. The minimal cut thickness is approximately 30 μm and can be made for comparatively large samples.


title: Microtome

text: The laser microtome is an instrument for contact-free slicing. Prior preparation of the sample through embedding, freezing or chemical fixation is not required, thereby minimizing the artifacts from preparation methods. Alternately this design of microtome can also be used for very hard materials, such as bones or teeth, as well as some ceramics. Dependent upon the properties of the sample material, the thickness achievable is between 10 and 100 μm.


title: Microtome

text: The device operates using a cutting action of an infrared laser. As the laser emits a radiation in the near infrared, in this wavelength regime the laser can interact with biological materials. Through sharp focusing of the probe within the sample, a focal point of very high intensity, up to TW/cm, can be achieved. Through the non-linear interaction of the optical penetration in the focal region a material separation in a process known as photo-disruption is introduced. By limiting the laser pulse durations to the femtoseconds range, the energy expended at the target region is precisely controlled, thereby limiting the interaction zone of the cut to under a micrometre. External to this zone the ultra-short beam application time introduces minimal to no thermal damage to the remainder of the sample.


title: Microtome

text: The laser radiation is directed onto a fast scanning mirror-based optical system, which allows three-dimensional positioning of the beam crossover, whilst allowing beam traversal to the desired region of interest. The combination of high power with a high raster rate allows the scanner to cut large areas of sample in a short time. In the laser microtome the laser-microdissection of internal areas in tissues, cellular structures, and other types of small features is also possible.


title: Microtome

text: The selection of microtome knife blade profile depends upon the material and preparation of the samples, as well as the final sample requirements (e.g. cut thickness and quality).


title: Microtome

text: Generally, knives are characterized by the profile of the knife blade, which falls under the categories of planar concave, wedge shaped or chisel shaped designs.


title: Microtome

text: Planar concave microtome knives are extremely sharp, but are also very delicate and are therefore only used with very soft samples. The wedge profile knives are somewhat more stable and find use in moderately hard materials, such as in epoxy or cryogenic sample cutting. Finally, the chisel profile with its blunt edge, raises the stability of the knife, whilst requiring significantly more force to achieve the cut.


title: Microtome

text: For ultramicrotomes, glass and diamond knives are required, the cut breadth of the blade is therefore on the order of a few millimetres and is therefore significantly smaller than for classical microtome knives. Glass knives are usually manufactured by the fracture of glass bars using special "knife-maker" fracturing devices. Glass knives may be used for initial sample preparations even where diamond knives may be used for final sectioning. Glass knives usually have small troughs, made with plastic tape, which are filled with water to allow the sample to float for later collection. Diamond blades may be built into such an existing trough, allowing for the same collection method.


title: Microtome

text: Prior to cutting by microtome, biological materials are usually placed in a more rigid fixative, in a process known as embedding. This is achieved by the inflow of a liquid substance around the sample, such as paraffin (wax) or epoxy, which is placed in a mold and later hardened to produce a "block" which is readily cut.


title: Microtome

text: The declination is the angle of contact between the sample vertical and knife blade. If the knife blade is at right angles (declination=90) the cut is made directly using a pressure based mode, and the forces are therefore proportionally larger. If the knife is tilted, however, the relative motion of the knife is increasingly parallel to sample motion, allowing for a slicing action. This behaviour is very important for large or hard samples


title: Microtome

text: The inclination of the knife is the angle between the knife face and the sample. For an optimal result, this angle must be chosen appropriately. The optimal angle depends upon the knife geometry, the cut speed and many other parameters. If the angle is adjusted to zero, the knife cut can often become erratic, and a new location of the knife must be used to smooth this out.


title: Microtome

text: If the angle is too large, the sample can crumple and the knife can induce periodic thickness variations in the cut. By further increasing the angle such that it is too large one can damage the knife blade itself.


title: Vagamon

text: Vagamon () is an Indian hill station and a revenue village primarily located in Peerumedu taluk of Idukki district (majority area including Vagamon town), and also Meenachil taluk and Kanjirappally taluk of Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.


title: Vagamon

text: Vagamon does not have a long history to boast of as it remained unexplored for centuries. Though the British had plantations here, it was only in 1926, when Walter Duncan and Company started their tea plantations, that it became well-known. In the 1930s, more tea plantations were set up in the area. After 1940 people from Travancore, mostly from southern Travancore, and people from Madras (Tamil Nadu), migrated to Vagamon. Later, after the formation of Kerala State, people from various parts of Kerala migrated there.


title: Vagamon

text: In the 1950s, the famed Kurisumala Ashram was set up here and that was the turning point in its development into a well-known place.


title: Vagamon

text: National Geographic Traveler has listed Vagamon on their directory of the "50 most attractive places to visit in India".


title: Vagamon

text: As of 2011 Census, Vagamon had a population of 14,641 with 7,212 males and 7,429 females. Vagamon village has an area of with 3,816 families residing in it. The average sex ratio was 1030 lower than the state average of 1084. In Vagamon, 9% of the population was under 6 years of age. Vagamon had an average literacy of 90.9% higher than the national average of 74%, and lower than the state average of 94%.


title: Vagamon

text: DC School of Management and Technology (DCSMAT) and DC School Of Architecture And Design are the two institutions, promoted by DC Kizhakemuri Foundation and co-promoted by DC Books, located in Pullikkanam near Vagamon. DCSMAT, one of the leading management colleges in Kerala, has two campuses located in Thiruvananthapuram and Vagamon. DCSMAT offer programs such as Master of Business Administration (MBA), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor of Business Administrati (BBA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). DC School Of Architecture And Design provides courses such as Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design (BA Interior Design) and Bachelor of Architecture (BArch). The College of Dairy Sciences kolahalamedu Vagamon, offering courses for the B Tech Dairy Sciences, affiliated to Veterinary University.


title: Vagamon

text: In August 2008, the Kerala Police said it had begun investigations two months back into a training camp organized in December 2007 by the banned SIMI activists.


title: Vagamon

text: On 18 August 2014, two tourists from Kozhikode died in Vagamon, after lightning struck them. Others who were with them sustained minor injuries.


title: Vagamon

text: The incident happened at around 4:30 PM when the tourists were hanging around the barren hilltops. Both fell after the lightning hit them and their dresses had burnt out. Though both were taken to hospital, they died by the time they arrived.


title: Vagamon

text: Vagamon, due to its elevation and climate, has a unique ecosystem, leading to the emergence of rich natural vegetation, plant species, shola forests etc. From the early 20th century plantation crops like tea, coffee started. Vagamon hills are home to less explored flora and fauna. A faunal diversity study conducted by Dr Pratheesh Mathew recorded 112 species of moths from 16 families under eight superfamilies and has become the prominent faunal diversity study in this area. The author has also recorded sightings of many species of insects, annelids, amphibians, lizards, snakes, birds and mammals. A wide variety of flowering and non-flowering plants, including rare Cycas species, has also been noted. The ongoing faunal and floral surveys are expected to shed light on the richness of biodiversity at this location. The flourishing tourism and related developments are predicted to have a negative impact on the flora and fauna of this region.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Mito, the capital, is the largest city in Ibaraki Prefecture. Other major cities include Tsukuba, Hitachi, and Hitachinaka. Ibaraki Prefecture is located on Japan's eastern Pacific coast to the northeast of Tokyo, and is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Ibaraki Prefecture features Lake Kasumigaura, the second-largest lake in Japan; the Tone River, Japan's second-longest river and largest drainage basin; and Mount Tsukuba, one of the most famous mountains in Japan. Ibaraki Prefecture is also home to Kairaku-en, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, and is an important center for the martial art of Aikido.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province. In 1871, the name of the province became Ibaraki, and in 1875 it became its current size, by annexing some districts belonging to the extinct Shimōsa Province.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: In Japanese Paleolithic, humans are believed to have started living in the present-day prefecture area before and after the deposition of the volcanic ash layer from the Aira Caldera about 24,000 years ago. At the bottom of this layer are local tools of polished stone and burnt pebbles.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: During the Asuka period the provinces of Hitachi and Fusa were created. Later Fusa was divided, among them, the Shimōsa Province.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: At the beginning of the Muromachi period, in the 14th century, Kitabatake Chikafusa made of the Oda Castle his field headquarters for over a year, and wrote the Jinnō Shōtōki (Chronicles of the Authentic Lineages of the Divine Emperors), while he was at castle.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: In Edo period, one of the three houses or clans originating from Tokugawa Ieyasu (Gosanke 御 三家, three houses), settled in the Mito Domain, known as Mito Tokugawa family or Mito Clan. Mito Domain, was a Japanese domain of the Edo period it was associated with Hitachi Province.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: In 1657 the Mitogaku school was created, when Tokugawa Mitsukuni, head of the Mito Domain, commissioned the compilation of the "Dai Nihonshi".


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: In Meiji era, during the Meiji Restoration, the political map changes, the old provinces are converted or merged, to create the current prefectures, in this case the Ibaraki Prefecture.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the Kantō region, stretching between Tochigi Prefecture and the Pacific Ocean and bounded on the north and south by Fukushima Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture. It also has a border on the southwest with Saitama Prefecture. The northernmost part of the prefecture is mountainous, but most of the prefecture is a flat plain with many lakes and is part of Kantō Plain.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: , 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park, and nine Prefectural Natural Parks. Also, Ibaraki has one Prefectural Geopark. The Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park, also includes the northeast area of Chiba Prefecture.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The northern third of the prefecture is mountainous and in the center is the Tsukuba Mountains (筑波 山地). Its main mountains are: mount Yamizo with an elevation of 1022 m on the border with Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures (tripoint), mount Takasasa with 922 m, mount Tsukuba with two peaks Nyotai-San at 877 m and Nantai-San at 871 m, mount Osho at 804 m, mount Hanazono at 798 m, and mount Kaba at 709 m.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The main rivers that flow through the prefecture include the Tone, Naka (Ibaraki), and Kuji rivers, all of which flow into the Pacific Ocean. Before the seventeenth century, the lower reaches of the Tone were different from its current layout, and the Tone ran south and emptied into Tokyo Bay, and tributaries such as the Watarase and Kinu rivers had independent water systems.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The main tributaries of the Tone River basin are the Kinu River and Kokai River, which flow from north to south in the western part of the prefecture. The Shintone and Sakura rivers flow into Lake Nishiura.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The Edo River flows into Tokyo Bay; its source currently rises as an arm of the Tone River. In the past, the course of the Edo River was different, its source was corrected and diverted to the Tone River in the 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the city of Edo (now Tokyo) from flooding.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The Tone River, in addition to the Edo River, is part of the southern border of Ibaraki Prefecture with Chiba Prefecture, and the Watarase River, Tone River, Gongendō River, and Naka River (Saitama) in the southwestern border of Ibaraki with Saitama Prefecture. The Watarase River has become a small boundary of the southern border between Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: From ancient times to the beginning of the Edo period, the lower reaches of the Tone River did not exist and the mouth of the Tone was in Tokyo Bay. On the plain was the Katori Sea, which existed in ancient times, the Lake Kasumigaura and other lagoons in present-day Chiba prefecture are remnants of that sea. Katori Sea was connected to the Kashima-nada (Pacific Ocean).


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Lake Kasumigaura is currently divided into three lakes: Nishiura, Kitaura, Sotonasakaura. In addition, in the prefecture there are freshwater lagoons such as Hinuma, Senba, and Ushiku.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Fukuoka Dam, is a dam that spans the Kokai River in Tsukubamirai, it is one of the three largest dams in the Kantō region. Ryūjin Dam in Hitachiōta, is a beautiful dam on the Ryūjin River with a large pedestrian suspension bridge above the dam lake.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Ibaraki's economy is based on energy production (particularly nuclear energy), chemical and precision machining industries, research institutes, and tourism. Agriculture, fishing, and livestock are also important sectors in the prefecture.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Ibaraki's vast flat terrain make it highly suitable for industrial development. This complements its proximity to the Tokyo metropolitan area, giving it a high reputation as an industrial base. The prefecture is also home to Tsukuba, Japan's most extensive research and academic city, and the birthplace of Hitachi, Ltd.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: With extensive flat lands, abundant water, and suitable climate, Ibaraki is among the prefectures with the highest agricultural production in Japan. It plays an important role in supplying food to the Tokyo metropolitan area. Its main products include melons, pears, peppers, various varieties of rice and sugar cane, as well as flowers and ornamental plants.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: It also supplies other food crops to the rest of the country. As of March 2011, the prefecture produced 25% of Japan's bell peppers and Chinese cabbage.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: It is one of the prefectures with the highest fish production in the country; in the Pacific Ocean, Lake Kasumigaura, other lagoons and rivers, various species of fish are obtained.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The Hitachigyū cattle (常 陸 牛 - ひたちぎゅう - Hitachi-gyū, Hitachi-ushi), which is a prefectural bovine breed, is noteworthy in livestock. The name comes from the kanji 常 陸 (Hitachi), the name of the ancient Hitachi Province and 牛 (ushi or gyū, beef).


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Background. In 1833 Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川 斉昭) established the breeding of black cattle in the present Migawa-chō (見川 町) of the city of Mito. Originally it remained mainly in the northern part of the prefecture, but later it spread throughout the prefecture.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Ibaraki is known for nattō, or fermented soybeans, in Mito, watermelons in Kyōwa (recently merged into Chikusei), and chestnuts in the Nishiibaraki region.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Ibaraki is famous for the martial art of Aikido founded by Morihei Ueshiba, also known as Osensei. Ueshiba spent the latter part of his life in the town of Iwama, now part of Kasama, and the Aiki Shrine and dojo he created still remain.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Kasama is famous for Shinto (Kasama Inari Shrine), Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum, house museum of the calligrapher and ceramist Kitaōji Rosanjin, Kasama Nichidō Museum of Art, residence of Morihei Ueshiba, founder of the martial art Aikidō.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The capital Mito is home to Kairakuen, one of Japan's three most celebrated gardens, and famous for its over 3,000 Japanese plum trees of over 100 varieties.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: There are castle ruins in many cities, including Mito Castle, Yūki Castle, Kasama Castle, Tsuchiura Castle, Oda Castle.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: Yūki-tsumugi (silk weaving technique) Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Kasama ware, Makabe Stone Lamp, Kagami Crystal Glass Factory, old glass factory in Ryūgasaki City.


title: Ibaraki Prefecture

text: The prefecture is often alternatively pronounced "Ibara"gi" by those who speak the regional dialect known as Ibaraki-ben. However, the standard pronunciation is "Ibara"ki". According to the author of "Not Ibara"gi", Ibara"ki", this is most likely due to a mishearing of the softening of the "k" sound in Ibaraki dialect.


title: Modern warfare

text: Modern warfare is warfare that is in notable contrast with previous military concepts, methods, and technology, emphasizing how combatants must modernize to preserve their battle worthiness. As such, it is an evolving subject, seen differently in different times and places. In its narrowest sense, it is merely a synonym for "contemporary warfare".


title: Modern warfare

text: In its widest sense, it includes all warfare since the "gunpowder revolution" that marks the start of early modern warfare, but other landmark military developments have been used instead, including the emphasis of artillery marked by the Crimean War, the military reliance on railways beginning with the American Civil War, the launch of the first dreadnought in 1905, or the use of the machine gun, aircraft, tank, or radio in World War I. In other senses, it is tied to the introduction of total war, industrial warfare, mechanized warfare, nuclear warfare, counter-insurgency, or (more recently) the rise of asymmetric warfare also known as fourth-generation warfare.


title: Modern warfare

text: Some argue that the changing forms of third generation warfare represents nothing more than an evolution of earlier technology.


title: Modern warfare

text: Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy concentrations or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control of airspace; attack aircraft engaging in close air support against ground targets; naval aviation flying against sea and nearby land targets; gliders, helicopters and other aircraft to carry airborne forces such as paratroopers; aerial refueling tankers to extend operation time or range; and military transport aircraft to move cargo and personnel.


title: Modern warfare

text: A military situation in which two belligerents of unequal strength interact and take advantage of their respective strengths and weaknesses. This interaction often involves strategies and tactics outside conventional warfare.


title: Modern warfare

text: Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. It is meant to incapacitate or kill enemy combatants. It may also be defined as the employment of biological agents to produce casualties in man or animals and damage to plants or material; or defense against such employment. Biological warfare involves the intentional release of living pathogens either in their naturally occurring form, for example the diseased corpses of animals, or in the form of specific human-modified organisms.


title: Modern warfare

text: Chemical warfare is warfare (associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to incapacitate or kill enemy combatants. Chemical warfare nerve agents are potent anticholinesterase compounds deliberately formulated to induce debilitating effects or death during wartime hostilities. A key need for both community emergency preparedness, and restoration of military installations where agents have been processed and/or stored, is access to concise and timely information on agent characteristics and treatment, as well as health-based exposure guidelines derived in a clear manner by contemporary methods of data analysis.


title: Modern warfare

text: Electronic warfare refers to mainly non-violent practices used chiefly to support other areas of warfare. The term was originally coined to encompass the interception and decoding of enemy radio communications, and the communications technologies and cryptography methods used to counter such interception, as well as jamming, radio stealth, and other related areas. Over the later years of the 20th century and early years of the 21st century, this has expanded to cover a wide range of areas: the use of, detection of and avoidance of detection by radar and sonar systems, computer hacking, etc.


title: Modern warfare

text: Fourth generation warfare (4GW) is a concept defined by William S. Lind and expanded by Thomas X. Hammes, used to describe the decentralized nature of modern warfare. The simplest definition includes any war in which one of the major participants is not a state but rather a violent ideological network. Fourth Generation wars are characterized by a blurring of the lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians, conflicts and peace, battlefields and safety.


title: Modern warfare

text: While this term is similar to terrorism and asymmetric warfare, it is much narrower. Classical insurgencies and the Indian Wars are examples of pre-modern wars, not 4GW. Fourth generation warfare usually has the insurgency group or non-state side trying to implement their own government or reestablish an old government over the one currently running the territory. The blurring of lines between state and non-state is further complicated in a democracy by the power of the media.


title: Modern warfare

text: Infantry in modern times would consist of mechanized infantry and airborne forces. Usually having a type of rifle or sub-machine gun, an infantryman is the basic unit of an army.


title: Modern warfare

text: Armored warfare in modern times involves a variety of armored fighting vehicles for the purpose of battle and support. Tanks or other armored vehicles (such as armored personnel carriers or tank destroyers) are slower, yet stronger hunks of metal. They are invulnerable to enemy machine gun fire but prone to rocket infantry, mines, and aircraft so are usually accompanied by infantry. In urban areas, because of smaller space, an armored vehicle is exposed to hidden enemy infantry but as the so-called "Thunder Run" at Baghdad in 2003 showed, armored vehicles can play a critical role in urban combat. In rural areas, an armored vehicle does not have to worry about hidden units though muddy and damp terrain that have always been a factor of weakness for tanks and vehicles.


title: Modern warfare

text: Artillery in contemporary times is distinguished by its large caliber, firing an explosive shell or rocket, and being of such a size and weight as to require a specialized mount for firing and transport. Weapons covered by this term include the howitzer, cannon, mortar, and field gun (collectively called "cannon artillery", "gun artillery" or "tube artillery") and rocket artillery. The term "artillery" has traditionally not been used for projectiles with internal guidance systems, even though some artillery units employ surface-to-surface missiles. Recent advances in terminal guidance systems for small munitions has allowed large caliber shells to be fitted with precision guidance fuses, blurring this distinction.


title: Modern warfare

text: Guerrilla warfare is defined as fighting by groups of irregular troops (guerrillas) within areas occupied by the enemy. When guerrillas obey the laws and customs of war, they are entitled, if captured, to be treated as ordinary prisoners of war; however, they are often treated by their captors as unlawful combatants and executed. The tactics of guerrilla warfare stress deception and ambush, as opposed to mass confrontation, and succeed best in an irregular, rugged terrain, and with a sympathetic populace, whom guerrillas often seek to win over or dominate by propaganda and reform. Guerrilla warfare has played a significant role in modern history, especially when waged by Communist liberation movements in Southeast Asia (most notably in the Vietnam War) and elsewhere.


title: Modern warfare

text: Guerrilla fighters gravitate toward weapons which are easily accessible, low in technology, and low in cost. A typical arsenal of the modern guerrilla would include the AK-47, RPGs, and Improvised explosive devices. The guerrilla doctrines' main disadvantage is the inability to access more advanced equipment due to economic, influence, and accessibility issues. They must rely on small unit tactics involving hit and run. This situation leads to low intensity warfare, asymmetrical warfare, and war amongst the people. The rules of Guerrilla warfare are to fight a little and then to retreat.


title: Modern warfare

text: Propaganda is an ancient form of disinformation concerted with sending a set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience.


title: Modern warfare

text: Psychological warfare had its beginnings during the campaigns of Genghis Khan through the allowance of certain civilians of the nations, cities, and villages to flee said place, spreading terror and fear to neighboring principalities. Psychological actions have the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives.


title: Modern warfare

text: Made possible by the widespread use of the electronic media during World War II, Information warfare is a kind of warfare where information and attacks on information and its system are used as a tool of warfare. Some examples of this type of warfare are electronic "sniffers" which disrupt international fund-transfer networks as well as the signals of television and radio stations. Jamming such signals can allow participants in the war to use the stations for a misinformation campaign.


title: Modern warfare

text: Naval warfare takes place on the high seas (blue water navy). Usually, only large, powerful nations have competent blue water or deep water navies. Modern navies primarily use aircraft carriers, submarines, frigates, cruisers, and destroyers for combat. This provides a versatile array of attacks, capable of hitting ground targets, air targets, or other seafaring vessels. Most modern navies also have a large air support contingent, deployed from aircraft carriers. In World War II, small craft (motor torpedo boats variously called PT boats, MTBs, MGBs, "Schnellboote", or MAS-boats) fought near shore. This developed in the Vietnam War into riverine warfare (brown water navy), in intertidal and river areas. Irregular warfare makes this sort of combat more likely in the future.


title: Modern warfare

text: Network-centric warfare is essentially a new military doctrine made possible by the Information Age. Weapons platforms, sensors, and command and control centers are being connected through high-speed communication networks. The doctrine is related to the Revolution in Military Affairs debate.


title: Modern warfare

text: The overall network which enables this strategy in the United States military is called the Global Information Grid.


title: Modern warfare

text: New generation warfare is a Russian military theory of unconventional warfare based on the Gerasimov doctrine which prioritizes the psychological and people-centered aspects over traditional military concerns, and emphasizes a phased approach of non-military influence such that armed conflict, if it arises, is much less costly in human or economic terms.


title: Modern warfare

text: Nuclear war is a type of warfare which relies on nuclear weapons. There are two types of warfare in this category. In a limited nuclear war, a small number of weapons are used in a tactical exchange aimed primarily at enemy combatants. In a full-scale nuclear war, large numbers of weapons are used in an attack aimed at entire countries. This type of warfare would target both combatants and non-combatants.


title: Modern warfare

text: Space warfare is the hypothetical warfare that occurs outside the Earth's atmosphere. No wars have been fought here yet. The weapons would include orbital weaponry and space weapons. High value outer space targets would include satellites and weapon platforms. Notably no real weapons exist in space yet, though ground-to-space missiles have been successfully tested against target satellites. As of now, this is purely science fiction.


title: Women's erotica

text: Women's erotica is any erotic material that caters specifically to women target-demographic of various sexual preferences. When erotica is specifically directed at lesbians, it is referred to as lesbian erotica. Women's erotica is available from a variety of media including video games, websites, books, comics, short stories, films, photography, magazines, audio, anime and manga. The content may cover many aspects of sexuality, from relationships to fetishes; the main idea being to convey sex-positivism from a woman's perspective, or to feature female empowerment and sexual fantasies.


title: Women's erotica

text: Because of the privacy and anonymity offered by the internet, women have increasingly embraced erotic material online. In 2003, Nielsen Netratings noted that more than a quarter of all porn surfers were female. The first women's erotica subscription-based website, Purve, was launched in 1998. The site featured photos of nude men culled from gay sites, articles and sex advice. Sssh.com, a similar subscription site that features original movies and photographic content, was launched in 1999 by Angie Rowntree, who was later inducted into the Adult Video News Hall of Fame, Internet Founders Division, in recognition of her efforts to help establish and grow an online market for women's erotica. In 2015, Sssh.com became the first porn-for-women site to win the XBIZ Award for Best Alternative Site. The first women's adult directory was Ladylynx which featured links to galleries and site reviews. Kara's Links, a similar directory site, began operating soon after.


title: Women's erotica

text: Erotic literature for women has seen explosive growth in the period of 2010–2015. Publishers report that women's erotica novels consistently sell well.


title: Women's erotica

text: The first publishing imprint of erotic fiction for women was Black Lace, launched in Britain in 1992. It remained unique in publishing for over a decade and was only recently joined in the marketplace by big-name publishers Harlequin, Kensington and Avon, who have released their own "black label" lines for female readers.


title: Women's erotica

text: The first series of books to feature erotic short stories for women was "Herotica", first published by Down There Press in 1996. Author and sex activist Susie Bright founded the series and edited the first three volumes. A similar series is "Best Women's Erotica" from Cleis Press which has appeared annually since 2001.


title: Women's erotica

text: Internet-based publisher Ellora's Cave produces what it calls "romantica" - romance novels with explicit sex scenes. The company originally produced e-books but has now moved into printed publishing.


title: Women's erotica

text: Women were not acknowledged as a potential audience by pornographic filmmakers until 1985 when former adult star Candida Royalle created her first adult movie for women, "Femme". The movie featured explicit sex but focused on the woman's pleasure and refused to include "pop shots" (external ejaculation scenes). Since then, she has made 16 adult films for women. In April 2007, she launched a new line of films, Femme Chocolat, which depicts the sexual fantasies of Black women.


title: Women's erotica

text: For many years, Royalle was the sole producer of erotic films for women. In 1997, Oscar-nominated director Lars von Trier started the company Puzzy Power, and together with Lene Børglum started producing pornographic films for women, starting with "Constance" (1998) and "Pink Prison" (1999). In July 2009, women's magazine "Cosmopolitan" (German edition) ranked "Pink Prison" as #1 in its Top Five of "" (best women's porn), calling it the "" (role model for the new porn-generation).


title: Women's erotica

text: In the 21st century, a number of other women have stepped in and created their own vision of women's erotica. These include: