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Governor

A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a governor may be either appointed or elected, and the governor's powers can vary significantly, depending on the public laws in place locally. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernare.

Pre-Roman empires
Though the legal and administrative framework of provinces, each administered by a governor, was created by the Romans, the term governor has been a convenient term for historians to describe similar systems in antiquity. Indeed, many regions of the pre-Roman antiquity were ultimately replaced by Roman 'standardized' provincial governments after their conquest by Rome. Plato used the metaphor of turning the Ship of State with a rudder; the Latin word for rudder is gubernaculum.

Egypt

 * In Pharaonic times, the governors of each of the various provinces in the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt (called "nomes" by the Greeks, and whose names often alluded to local patterns of religious worship) are usually known by the Greek word.

Pre- and Hellenistic satraps

 * Media and Achaemenid Persia introduced the satrapy, probably inspired by the Assyrian / Babylonian examples
 * Alexander the Great and equally Hellenistic diadoch kingdoms, mainly Seleucids (greater Syria) and Lagids ('Ptolemies' in Hellenistic Egypt)
 * in later Persia, again under Iranian dynasties:
 * Parthia
 * the Sassanid dynasty dispensed with the office after Shapur I (who had still 7 of them), replacing them with petty vassal rulers, known as shahdars

Ancient Rome
From the creation of the earliest Roman subject provinces, a governor was appointed each year to administer each of them. The core function of a Roman governor was as a magistrate or judge, and the management of taxation and the public spending in their area.

Under the Republic and the early Empire, however, a governor also commanded military forces in his province. Republican governors were all men who had served in senior magistracies (the consulate or praetorship) in Rome in the previous year, and carried related titles as governor (proconsul or propraetor). The first emperor, Octavianus Augustus (who acquired or settled a number of new territories; officially his style was republican: Princeps civitatis), divided the provinces into two categories; the traditionally prestigious governorships remained as before (in what have become known as "senatorial" provinces), while in a range of others, he retained the formal governorship himself, delegating the actual task of administration to appointees (usually with the title legatus Augusti). The legatus sometimes would appoint a prefect (later procurator), usually a man of equestrian rank, to act as his deputy in a subregion of the larger province: the infamous character of Pontius Pilate in the Christian Gospels was a governor of this sort.

A special case was Egypt, a rich 'private' domain and vital granary, where the emperor almost inherited the theocratic status of a pharaoh. The emperor was represented there by a governor sui generis styled praefectus augustalis, a title evoking the religious cult of the emperor.

Emperors Diocletian (see Tetrarchy) and Constantine in the third and fourth centuries AD carried out a root and branch reorganisation of the administration with two main features:

 * Provinces were divided up and became much more numerous (Italy itself, before the 'colonizing homeland', was brought into the system for the first time); they were then grouped into dioceses, and the dioceses in turn into four praetorian prefectures (originally each under a residing co-emperor);
 * Military responsibilities were removed from governors and given to new officials called comes rei militaris (the comital title was also granted to many court and civilian administrative positions) or dux, later also magister militum.

The prestigious governorships of Africa and Asia remained with the title proconsul, and the special right to refer matters directly to the emperor; the praefectus augustalis in Alexandria and the comes Orientis in Antioch also retained special titles. Otherwise, the governors of provinces had various titles, some known as consularis, some as corrector, while others as praeses. Apart from Egypt and the East (Oriens – viz greater Syria), each diocese was directed by a governor known as a vicarius. The prefectures were directed by praefecti praetorio (greatly transformed in their functions from their role in the early Empire).

Byzantium
This system survived with few significant changes until the collapse of the empire in the West, and in the East, the breakdown of order with the Persian and Arab invasions of the seventh century. At that stage, a new kind of governor emerged, the Strategos. It was a role leading the themes which replaced provinces at this point, involving a return to the amalgamation of civil and military office which had been the practice under the Republic and the early Empire.

Legacy
While the Roman administration in the West was largely destroyed in the barbarian invasions, its model was remembered; this model became very influential through two particular vehicles: Roman law and the Christian Church.

Holy Roman/Habsburg Empires and successor states

 * Reichskommissar

Turkish rule
In the Ottoman Empire, all pashas (generals) administered a province of the Great Sultan's vast empire, with specific titles (such as Mutessaryf; Vali or Wāli which was often maintained and revived in the oriental successor states; Beilerbei (rendered as governor-general, as he is appointed above several provinces under individual governors) and Dey)

British Empire and Commonwealth realms
In the British Empire, a governor was originally an official appointed by the British monarch (or the cabinet) to oversee a crown colony and was the (sometimes notional) head of the colonial administration. The governors' powers varied from colony to colony, depending on its constitutional setup; while all colonies had a separate court system, the governor only had legislative power in colonies that lacked a Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly. The executive powers vested in the governor varied as well; while many colonies had an Executive Council to help with the colony's administration, these ranged from presidential cabinet-like bodies that only served as consultative forums without collective executive powers or functions of their own while the governor had an independent decision-making capacity, to fully-fledged parliamentary ministries whose decisions the governor was required to formally execute.

Today, crown colonies of the United Kingdom continue to be administered by governors who hold varying degrees of power. Because of the different constitutional histories of the former colonies of the United Kingdom, the term governor now refers to officials with differing amounts of power.

Administrators, commissioners and high commissioners exercise similar powers to governors. (Note: such high commissioners are not to be confused with the high commissioners who are the equivalent of ambassadors between Commonwealth states).

Frequently the name 'Government House' is given to governors' residences.

 * The term can also be used in a more generic sense, especially for compound titles which include it: governor-general and lieutenant-governor.

United Kingdom overseas territories
In the United Kingdom's remaining overseas territories, the governor is normally a direct appointee of the British government and plays an active role in governing and lawmaking (though usually with the advice of elected local representatives). The governor's chief responsibility is for the defence and external affairs of the colony.

In some minor overseas territories, instead of a governor, there is an administrator or commissioner, or the position is held ex officio by a High Commissioner.

Australia
In Australia, each state has the governor as its formal representative of the sovereign, as head of the state government. It is not a political office but a ceremonial one. Each state governor is appointed by the Australian monarch on the advice of the premier, who is the political chief executive of the state government (until 1986, state governors were appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the British government). State governors have emergency reserve powers but these are rarely used. The territories of Australia other than the ACT have administrators instead of governors, who are appointed formally by the governor-general. The governor-general is the representative of and appointed by the king of Australia sovereign at a federal level on the advice of the prime minister of Australia.

As with the governors-general of Australia and other Commonwealth realms, state governors usually exercise their power only on the advice of a government minister.

Canada
In Canada, there are governors at the federal and provincial levels of government who, within their jurisdictions, act as representatives of the king of Canada, who is Canada's head of state. The federal governor is the governor general of Canada, and the governor of each province is the lieutenant governor. The governor general is appointed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister of Canada, whereas the lieutenant governors are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. The role of the governor general and of the lieutenant governors in Canada is largely ceremonial, although they do retain the authority to exercise reserve powers in exceptional circumstances.

Each of the three territories is headed by a commissioner appointed by the federal Cabinet. Unlike provincial lieutenant governors, they are not representatives of the sovereign, but rather are representatives of the federal government.

British Hong Kong (1841–1997)
In the colonial period of Hong Kong, the governor was the representative of the sovereign from 1843, which was the year that the authorities and duties of the post were officially defined by the Hong Kong Letters Patent and the Royal Instructions, until the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC government in 1997. Each governor was appointed by the monarch and possessed significant powers such as the power of appointing lawmakers in the legislative council, the power to grant land, the power of veto over bills and motions, the power of pardon, etc. At the same time, the governor was also the head of the colonial cabinet, the chairman of the Executive Council, the president of the Legislative Council (until 1993), as well as the commander-in-chief of the British Forces in Hong Kong.

New Zealand
The governor-general of New Zealand is always the governor of the Ross Dependency, an Antarctic sector which is claimed by the Realm of New Zealand.

Within the United Kingdom
Within the United Kingdom itself, there was a position of Governor of Northern Ireland from 1922 until the suspension of the devolved Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1973.

Within England
From the 16th century until 1995, there was a governor of the Isle of Wight, part of England. Since the reign of Henry VIII, the monarch has borne the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Other colonial empires
European powers other than the United Kingdom, with colonies in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, gave their top representatives in their colonies the title of governor. Those representatives could be from chartered companies that ruled the colonies. In some of these colonies, there are still officials called governors.

See:
 * Danish colonial empire
 * Dutch Empire
 * Empire of Japan
 * French colonial empire
 * German colonial empire
 * Italian Empire
 * Portuguese Empire
 * Spanish Empire
 * Swedish overseas colonies

Russia and former Soviet Union
In the Russian Empire, the governorate (guberniya) and governorate-general were the main units of territorial and administrative subdivision since the reforms of Peter the Great. These were governed by a governor and governor-general respectively.

A special case was the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone, which was governed as a concession granted by Imperial China to the Russian 'Chinese Eastern Railway Society' (in Russian Obshchestvo Kitayskoy Vostochnoy Zheleznoy Dorogi; established on 17 December 1896 in St. Petersburg, later moved to Vladivostok), which built 1,481 km of tracks (Tarskaya – Hilar – Harbin – Nikolsk-Ussuriski; 3 November 1901 traffic opened) and established on 16 May 1898 the new capital city, Harbin; in August 1898, the defense for Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) across northeast China was assumed by Russia (first under Priamur governor).

On July 1, 1903, the Chinese Eastern Railway was opened and given authority of its own CER Administration (Russian: Upravleniye KVZhD), vested in the Directors of the Chinese Eastern Railway, with the additional quality of Governors of the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone (in Harbin; as such being August 12, 1903 – July 1, 1905 subordinated to the imperial Viceroyalty of the Far East, see Lüshunkou). The post continued to function despite various political changes until after World War II.

Some of the administrative subdivisions of Russia are headed by governors, while others are headed by presidents or heads of administration. From 1991 to 2005, they were elected by popular vote and from 2005 to 2012, they were appointed by the federal president and confirmed by the province's legislature. After the debate, conducted by State Duma in April 2012, the direct elections of governors were expected to be restored.

Austria
A Landeshauptmann (German for "state captain" or "state governor", literally 'country headman'; plural Landeshauptleute or Landeshauptmänner as in Styria till 1861; Landeshauptfrau is the female form) is an official title in German for certain political offices equivalent to a governor. It has historical uses, both administrative and colonial, and is now used in federal Austria and in South Tyrol, a majority German-speaking province of Italy adjacent to Tyrol.

Benelux monarchies

 * In the Netherlands, the government-appointed heads of the provinces were known as Gouverneur from 1814 until 1850, when their title was changed to King's (or Queen's) Commissioner. In the southern province of Limburg, however, the commissioner is still informally called Governor.
 * In the Dutch crown's Caribbean Overseas territories (Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten), the style governor is still used, alongside the political head of government.
 * In Belgium, each of the ten provinces has a governor, appointed by the regional government. He represents not only the regional, but also the federal government in the province. He controls the local governments and is responsible for law and order, security and emergency action. The national capital of Brussels, which is not part of a province, also has a governor with nearly the same competences.

France
During the Ancien Régime in France, the representative of the king in his provinces and cities was the gouverneur. Royal officers chosen from the highest nobility, provincial and city governors (oversight of provinces and cities was frequently combined) were predominantly military positions in charge of defense and policing. Provincial governors – also called "lieutenant generals" – also had the ability of convoking provincial parlements, provincial estates and municipal bodies. The title "gouverneur" first appeared under Charles VI. The ordinance of Blois of 1579 reduced their number to 12, but an ordinance of 1779 increased their number to 39 (18 first-class governors, 21 second-class governors). Although in principle, they were the king's representatives and their charges could be revoked at the king's will, some governors had installed themselves and their heirs as a provincial dynasty. The governors were at the height of their power from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th century, but their role in provincial unrest during the civil wars led Cardinal Richelieu to create the more tractable positions of intendants of finance, policing and justice, and in the 18th century the role of provincial governors was greatly curtailed.

Germany
Until 1933, the term Landeshauptmann (state governor) was used in Prussia for the head of government of a province, In the modern-day states of Germany, the counterpart to Landeshauptmann is the Ministerpräsident (minister-president). In the present German states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, and North Rhine-Westphalia there are – and earlier in more German states there were – sub-state administrative regions called in Regierungsbezirk, which is sometimes translated into English as governorate. Thus its respective head, in Regierungspräsident, is also translated as governor.

Greece
Ioannis Kapodistrias was the first (and, with the exception of the short tenure of his younger brother Augustinos Kapodistrias, the only) head of state of Greece to bear the title of governor.

Italy

 * The essentially maritime empire of the Venetian republic, comprising Terra Firma, other Adriatic (mainly Istria and Dalmatia) and further Mediterranean (mainly Greek) possessions, used different styles, such as (castelleno e) provveditore (generale) or baile.
 * In the fascist regime there was the governor of the colonies of the Italian colonial empire.
 * In today's Italy, the official name of a head of a Regione (the Italian subnational entity) is Presidente della Giunta regionale (President of the regional executive council), but since 2000, when a constitutional reform decided the direct election of the president by the people, it has been usual to call him/her governatore/governatrice (governor).
 * In the various Italian provinces (former principalities and city-states) that became amalgamated as the Papal States, the Holy See exerted temporal power via its legates and delegates, including some cardinals
 * Also in Avignon and the surrounding southern French Comtat Venaissin, the home of the popes during their 'Babylonian exile', and retained centuries after, but never incorporated into the Papal States, legates and vice-legates were appointed.
 * The sovereign modern remnant of the formerly large Papal States, the tiny Vatican City State, is now a mere enclave in Rome, the capital of Italian Republic. As it is too small to have further administrative territorial divisions, it is the equivalent of a prime minister, governor and mayor all rolled into one post, styled the Governor of Vatican City.

China
In the People's Republic of China, the title Governor refers to the highest ranking executive of a provincial government. The governor is usually placed second in the provincial power hierarchy, below the secretary of the provincial Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee (省委书记), who serves as the highest ranking party official in the province. Governors are elected by the provincial congresses and approved by the provincial party chief. All governors are not locals in the provinces which they govern.

The title can be also used while referring to a county governor (县长).

India
In India, each state has a ceremonial governor appointed by the president of India. These governors are different from the governors who controlled the British-controlled portions of the Indian Empire (as opposed to the princely states) prior to 1947.

A governor is the head of a state in India. Generally, a governor is appointed for each state, but after the 7th Constitutional Amendment, 1956, one governor can be appointed for more than one state.

Indonesia
In Indonesia, the title gubernur refers to the highest ranking executive of a provincial government. The governor and the vice governor are elected by a direct vote from the people as a couple, so the governor is responsible to the provincial residents. The governor has a term of five years to work in office and can be re-elected for another single period. In case of death, disability, or resignation, the vice governor would stand in as acting governor for some time before being inaugurated as the permanent governor.

The elected governor is inaugurated by the president, or by the Indonesian minister of home affairs on behalf of the president. In addition, the governor is the representative of central government in the province, and is responsible to the president. The governor's authority is regulated within Law (Undang-undang) No. 32/2004 and Governmental Ordinance (Peraturan Pemerintah) No. 19/2010.

Principally, the governor has the tasks and the authorities to lead governmental services in the province, based upon the policies that have been made together with the provincial parliament. The governor is not the superordinate of regents or mayors, but only guides, supervises, and coordinates the works of city/municipal and regency governments. In other parts, municipal and regency governments have the rights to manage each governance affairs based on autonomy principle and assistantship duties.

Japan
In Japan, the title Governor (知事) refers to the highest ranking executive of a prefectural government. The governor is elected by a direct vote from the people and had a fixed term of four years. There is no restriction on the number of terms a person may serve as governor. The governor holds considerable power within the prefecture, including the ability to veto ordinances that have been passed by the prefecture assembly, as well as control of the prefecture's budget and the power to dissolve the prefecture assembly. The governor can be subjected to a recall referendum. A total of one to four vice governors are appointed by the governor with the approval of the assembly. In the case of the governor's death, disability, or resignation, a vice governor would stand in as governor or acting governor.

See List of governors of Japan for a list of the current governors.

Malaysia
In Malaysia, each of the four non-monarchical states (Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak) has a ceremonial governor styled Yang di-Pertua Negeri, appointed to a renewable four-year term by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the federal King of Malaysia, on the advice of the prime minister after consulting the state governments. Each of these states has a separate head of government called the Ketua Menteri or chief minister. The four Yang di-Pertua Negeri are members of the Conference of Rulers; however, they cannot participate in the election of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, discussions related to the privileges of the Malay rulers and matters concerning the observance of Islam.

Pakistan
In Pakistan, each of the four provinces has a governor who is appointed by the president. The governor is the representative of the federal in their province and is the ceremonial head of the province whereas the chief minister is the head of the provincial government. The governor exercises powers similar to the president's, in their respective province.

Papua New Guinea
In Papua New Guinea, the leaders of the provinces have been known as governors since August 1995. Previously they were called premiers.

Philippines
In the Philippines, the title Governor (Gobernador or Punong Lalawigan in Filipino) refers to the highest-ranking executive of a province. The governor is elected by a direct vote from the people and has a fixed term of three years. A governor can serve only up to a maximum of three consecutive terms. He may however be suspended by either the ombudsman or the president, through the secretary of the interior and local government. He may be removed by the president if found guilty of an administrative case or a criminal act during his tenure. He may be subjected to a recall vote, but unlike a referendum, the voters elect the governor of their choice. In case of death, disability, resignation, forced removal, or suspension, the vice governor, elected separately in the same election for governor, succeeds as governor, or acting governor, as the case may be.

During both the Spanish and American colonial periods, as well as during the Japanese occupation of World War II, the chief executive of the Philippines was the governor-general of the Philippines.

The highest ranking executive of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was called regional governor. The regional governor is elected every three years, separately from a regional vice governor who replaces the regional governor if the latter vacates the position. Bangsamoro, its replacement, has the wa'lī (Arabic for "governor") as its head of the region, and is elected by parliament for a six-year term.

Sri Lanka
The provincial councils of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka are headed by governors, as representatives of the president. Prior to 1948, in Ceylon (former name for Sri Lanka), the governor of Ceylon was the head of the British colony.

Thailand
In Thailand, the title Governor (ผู้ว่าราชการ Phuwa Ratcha Gaan in Thai) refers to the administrator of each Thai province, who is appointed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The only exception is the specially governed district of Bangkok, whose governor is elected by its population, thus making him or her equivalent to a mayor.

United States
In the United States, the title "Governor" refers to the head of each state or insular territory. Governors retain sovereign power over executive and judiciary, are subordinate to the president of the United States and laws provided by the enumerated powers section of the federal constitution, and serve as the political and ceremonial head of the state. Nearly three-fourths of the states (36) hold gubernatorial elections in the same years as midterm elections (two years off set from presidential elections). Eleven states hold them in the same years as presidential elections (Vermont and New Hampshire hold elections every two years in every even numbered year), while the remaining five hold them in odd numbered years (two in the year after a presidential election, three in the year before).

In colonial North America, governors were chosen in a variety of ways, depending on how the colony was organized. In the crown colonies of Great Britain, France, and Spain, the governor was chosen by the ruling monarch of the colonizing power, or his designees; in British colonies, the Board of Trade was often the primary decision maker. Colonies based on a corporate charter, such as the Connecticut Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony, elected their own governors based on rules spelled out in the charter or other colonial legislation. In proprietary colonies, such as the Province of Carolina before it became a crown colony (and was divided into North and South), governors were chosen by the Lords Proprietor who controlled the colony. In the early years of the American Revolutionary War, eleven of the Thirteen Colonies evicted (with varying levels of violence) royal and proprietary governors. The other two colonies (Connecticut and Rhode Island) had corporate charters; Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull was governor before and during the war period, while in Rhode Island, Governor Joseph Wanton was removed from office in 1775 for failing to support the rebel war effort.

Before achieving statehood, many of the fifty states were territories. Administered by the federal government, they had governors who were appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate rather than elected by the resident population.

Mexico
In Mexico, governor refers to the elected leader of each of the nation's thirty one Free and Sovereign States with the official Spanish title being Gobernador. Mexican governors are directly elected by the citizens of each state for a six-year term and cannot be re-elected.

Other modern countries in South America
Many of the South American republics (such as Chile and Argentina) have provinces or states run by elected governors, with offices similar in nature to U.S. state governors.

Brazil
Until the 1930 Revolution, the heads of the Brazilian Provinces, now called States, were styled as (provincial/state) presidents (presidentes). From 1930 to 1945, they were styled either governors (governadores) or, when appointed by the federal government, intervenors (interventores). From 1945 on, they have only been called governors.

Modern equivalents
As a generic term, governor is used for various 'equivalent' politician who are the head of a state or province, rendering other official titles such as:
 * Minister

This also applies to non-western or antique culture

Other meanings of the word
The word governor refers to a member of confederation of governors of a private sector entity who is a shareholder himself/herself and elected by all of the other shareholders of that private sector entity to be a member of confederation of governors at a private sector entity (for profit and non-profit).

title: Governor


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Flour

Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures. Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in both Central Europe and Northern Europe.

Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour). Meal is either differentiable from flour as having slightly coarser particle size (degree of comminution) or is synonymous with flour; the word is used both ways. For example, the word cornmeal often connotes a grittier texture whereas corn flour connotes fine powder, although there is no codified dividing line.

The CDC has cautioned not to eat raw flour doughs or batters. Raw flour can contain bacteria like E. coli and needs to be cooked like other foods.

Etymology
The English word flour is originally a variant of the word flower, and both words derive from the Old French fleur or flour, which had the literal meaning "blossom", and a figurative meaning "the finest". The phrase fleur de farine meant "the finest part of the flour", since flour resulted from the elimination of coarse and unwanted matter from the grain during milling.

History

Maize or corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas. Rye flour is a constituent of bread in central and northern Europe. Archaeological evidence for making flour (wheat seeds crushed between simple millstones) dates to at least 6000 BC. In 2018, archaeologists reported finding evidence of bread making at Shubayqa 1, a Natufian hunter-gatherer site more than 14,000 years old in northwest Jordan. The Romans were the first to grind seeds on cone mills. In 1786, at the beginning of the Industrial Era, the first steam-powered flour mill, Albion Mills, Southwark, was completed in London. In the 1930s, some flour began to be enriched with iron, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin. In the 1940s, mills started to enrich flour and folic acid was added to the list in the 1990s.

Degermed and heat-processed flour
An important problem of the industrial revolution was the preservation of flour. Transportation distances and a relatively slow distribution system collided with natural shelf life. The reason for the limited shelf life is the fatty acids of the germ, which react from the moment they are exposed to oxygen. This occurs when grain is milled; the fatty acids oxidize and flour starts to become rancid. Depending on climate and grain quality, this process takes six to nine months. In the late 19th century, this process was too short for an industrial production and distribution cycle. As vitamins, micronutrients and amino acids were completely or relatively unknown in the late 19th century, removing the germ was an effective solution. Without the germ, flour cannot become rancid. Degermed flour became standard. Degermation started in densely populated areas and took approximately one generation to reach the countryside. Heat-processed flour is flour where the germ is first separated from the endosperm and bran, then processed with steam, dry heat or microwave and blended into flour again.

Production
Milling of flour is accomplished by grinding grain between stones or steel wheels. Today, "stone-ground" usually means that the grain has been ground in a mill in which a revolving stone wheel turns over a stationary stone wheel, vertically or horizontally with the grain in between.

Modern mills
Roller mills soon replaced stone grist mills as the production of flour has historically driven technological development, as attempts to make gristmills more productive and less labor-intensive led to the watermill and windmill. These terms are now applied more broadly to uses of water and wind power for purposes other than milling. More recently, the Unifine mill, an impact-type mill, was developed in the mid-20th century.

Modern farm equipment allows livestock farmers to do some or all of their own milling when it comes time to convert their own grain crops to coarse meal for livestock feed. This capability is economically important because the profit margins are often thin enough in commercial farming that saving expenses is vital to staying in business.

Composition
Flour contains a high proportion of starches, which are a subset of complex carbohydrates also known as polysaccharides. The kinds of flour used in cooking include all-purpose flour (known as plain outside North America), self-rising flour, and cake flour (including bleached flour). The higher the protein content the harder and stronger the flour, and the more it will produce crispy or chewy breads. The lower the protein the softer the flour, which is better for cakes, cookies, and pie crusts. Cereal flour consists either of the endosperm, germ, and bran together (whole-grain flour) or of the endosperm alone (refined flour).

Bleached flour
"Bleached flour" is "refined" flour with a chemical whitening (bleaching) agent added. "Refined" flour has had the germ and bran, containing much of the nutritional fibre and vitamins, removed and is often referred to as "white flour".

Bleached flour is artificially aged using a "bleaching" agent, a "maturing" agent, or both. A bleaching agent affects the carotenoids responsible for the natural colour of the flour; a "maturing" agent also affects gluten development. A maturing agent may either strengthen or weaken gluten development.

Additives
The four most common additives used as bleaching/maturing agents in the US are:
 * Potassium bromate, listed as an ingredient, is a maturing agent that strengthens gluten development. It does not bleach.
 * Benzoyl peroxide bleaches, but does not act as a maturing agent. It has no effect on gluten.
 * Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is listed as an ingredient, either as an indication that the flour was matured using ascorbic acid or that a small amount is added as a dough enhancer. It is a maturing agent that strengthens gluten development, but does not bleach.
 * Chlorine gas is used as both a bleaching agent and a maturing agent. It weakens gluten development and oxidizes starches, making it easier for the flour to absorb water and swell, resulting in thicker batters and stiffer doughs. The retarded gluten formation is desirable in cakes, cookies, and biscuits, as it would otherwise make them tougher and bread-like. The modification of starches in the flour allows the use of wetter doughs (making for a moister end product) without destroying the structure necessary for light, fluffy cakes and biscuits. Chlorinated flour allows cakes and other baked goods to set faster and rise better, and the fat to be distributed more evenly, with less vulnerability to collapse.

Some other chemicals used as flour treatment agents to modify color and baking properties include:
 * Chlorine dioxide (unstable to be transported in the U.S.)
 * Calcium peroxide
 * Azodicarbonamide or azobisformamide (synthetic)
 * Atmospheric oxygen causes natural bleaching.

Common preservatives in commercial flour include:
 * Calcium propanoate
 * Sodium benzoate
 * Tricalcium phosphate
 * Butylated hydroxyanisole

Frequency of additives
All bleaching and maturing agents (with the possible exception of ascorbic acid) have been banned in the United Kingdom.

Bromination of flour in the US has fallen out of favor, and while it is not yet actually banned anywhere, few retail flours available to the home baker are bromated anymore.

Many varieties of flour packaged specifically for commercial bakeries are still bromated. Retail bleached flour marketed to the home baker is now treated mostly with either peroxidation or chlorine gas. Current information from Pillsbury is that their varieties of bleached flour are treated both with benzoyl peroxide and chlorine gas. Gold Medal states that their bleached flour is treated either with benzoyl peroxide or chlorine gas, but no way exists to tell which process has been used when buying the flour at the grocery store.

Old method of bleaching
The old method of procuring white or "bleached" flour did not entail the use of chemical agents at all. Rather, the wheat kernels were moistened with water long enough for the outer kernels of the wheat which contained the bran to soften and, eventually, fall-off while grinding. In some places, the leaves of Syrian rue (Peganum harmala) were spread in stratified layers between the layers of grain, and left in such a state for several days, until the fumes emitted from the astringent leaves of the plant caused the outer kernels of the wheat to break-down and dissolve, leaving a clean and white flour after grinding.

Enriched flour
During the process of making flour, specifically as a result of the bleaching process, nutrients are lost. Some of these nutrients may be replaced during refining – the result is known as enriched flour.

Cake flour
Cake flour is the lowest in gluten protein content, with 6–7% (5–8% from second source ) protein to produce minimal binding so the cake "crumbles" easily.

Pastry flour
Pastry flour has the second-lowest gluten protein content, with 7.5–9.5% (8–9% from second source ) protein to hold together with a bit more strength than cakes, but still produce flaky crusts rather than hard or crispy ones.

Plain or all-purpose flour
All-purpose, or "AP flour", or plain flour is medium in gluten protein content at 9.5–11.5% (10–12% from second source ) protein content. It has adequate protein content for many bread and pizza bases, though bread flour and special 00 grade Italian flour are often preferred for these purposes, respectively, especially by artisan bakers. Some biscuits are also prepared using this type of flour. "Plain" refers not only to AP flour's middling gluten content but also to its lack of any added leavening agent (as in self-rising flour).

Bread flour
Bread flour is typically made from hard red winter wheat planted in the fall and harvested in the spring. Hard wheat is high in gluten, a protein that makes dough stretchy. Hard wheat is 11.5–13.5% (12–14% from second source ) protein. The increased protein binds to the flour to entrap carbon dioxide released by the yeast fermentation process, resulting in a better rise and chewier texture.

Hard flour
Hard is a general term for flours with high gluten protein content, commonly refers to extra strong flour, with 13.5–16% (or 14–15% from some sources) protein (16% is a theoretically possible protein content ). This flour may be used where a recipe adds ingredients that require the dough to be extra strong to hold together in their presence, or when strength is needed for constructions of bread (e.g., some centerpiece displays).

Gluten flour
Gluten flour is refined gluten protein, or a theoretical 100% protein (though practical refining never achieves a full 100%). It is used to strengthen flour as needed. For example, adding approximately one teaspoon per cup of AP flour gives the resulting mix the protein content of bread flour. It is commonly added to whole grain flour recipes to overcome the tendency of greater fiber content to interfere with gluten development, needed to give the bread better rising (gas holding) qualities and chew.

Unbleached flour
Unbleached flour is simply flour that has not undergone bleaching and therefore does not have the color of "white" flour. An example is graham flour, whose namesake, Sylvester Graham, was against using bleaching agents, which he considered unhealthy.

Self-raising flour
In English-speaking countries, self-raising (or self-rising) flour is commercially available with chemical leavening agents already in the mix. In America, it is also likely to be pre-salted; in Britain this is not the case. The added ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the flour, which aids a consistent rise in baked goods. This flour is generally used for preparing sponge cakes, scones, muffins, etc. It was invented by Henry Jones and patented in 1845. If a recipe calls for self-raising flour, and this is not available, the following substitution is possible:
 * 1 cup (125 g) plain flour
 * 1 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
 * (US recipes) a pinch to $1/4$ teaspoon (1 g or less) salt

Wheat flour
Wheat is the grain most commonly used to make flour. Certain varieties may be referred to as "clean" or "white". Flours contain differing levels of the protein gluten. "Strong flour" or "hard flour" has a higher gluten content than "weak" or "soft" flour. "Brown" and wholemeal flours may be made of hard or soft wheat.
 * Atta flour is a whole-grain wheat flour important in Indian and Pakistani cuisine, used for a range of breads such as roti and chapati. It is usually stone-ground to coarse granules, which gives it a texture not easily found in other flatbreads.
 * Common wheat flour (T. aestivum) is the flour most often used for making bread. Durum wheat flour (T. durum) is the second most used.
 * Maida flour is a finely milled wheat flour used to make a wide variety of Indian breads such as paratha and naan. Maida is widely used not only in Indian cuisine but also in Central Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine. Though sometimes referred to as "all-purpose flour" by Indian chefs, it more closely resembles cake flour or even pure starch. In India, maida flour is used to make pastries and other bakery items such as bread, biscuits and toast.
 * Noodle flour is a special blend of flour used for the making of Asian-style noodles, made from wheat or rice.
 * Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, breakfast cereals, puddings, and couscous.
 * Spelt, an ancient grain, is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt dough needs less kneading than common wheat or durum wheat dough. Compared to hard-wheat flours, spelt flour has a relatively low (six to nine percent) protein count, just a little higher than pastry flour. That means that plain spelt flour works well in creating dough for soft foods such as cookies or pancakes. Crackers turn out well because they are made from dough that does not need to rise when baked.

Other varieties

 * Rye flour is used to bake the traditional sourdough breads of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland and Scandinavia. Most rye breads use a mix of rye and wheat flours because rye does not produce sufficient gluten. Pumpernickel bread is usually made exclusively of rye, and contains a mixture of rye flour and rye meal. Secale flower is used to make bread such as Prądnik bread.

Gluten-free flours
When flours do not contain gluten, they are suitable for people with gluten-related disorders, such as coeliac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy sufferers, among others. Contamination with gluten-containing cereals can occur during grain harvesting, transporting, milling, storing, processing, handling and/or cooking.
 * Acorn flour is made from ground acorns and can be used as a substitute for wheat flour. It was used by Native Americans. Koreans also use acorn flour to make dotorimuk.
 * Almond flour is made from ground almonds.
 * Amaranth flour is a flour produced from ground amaranth grain. It was commonly used in pre-Columbian meso-American cuisine and was originally cultivated by the Aztecs. It is becoming more and more available in speciality food shops.
 * Apple flour is made from milling apple pomace, the solid remains of juiced apples.
 * Banana flour has been traditionally made of green bananas for thousands of years and is currently popular both as a gluten-free replacement for wheat flour and as a source of resistant starch.
 * Bean flour is a flour produced from pulverized dried or ripe beans. Garbanzo and fava bean flour is a flour mixture with a high nutritional value and strong aftertaste.
 * Brown rice flour is of great importance in Southeast Asian cuisine. Edible rice paper can be made from it.
 * Buckwheat flour is used as an ingredient in many pancakes in the United States. In Japan, it is used to make a popular noodle called soba. In Russia, buckwheat flour is added to the batter for pancakes called blinis which are frequently eaten with caviar. Buckwheat flour is also used to make crêpes bretonnes in Brittany. On Hindu fasting days (Navaratri mainly, also Maha Shivaratri), people eat food made with buckwheat flour. The preparation varies across India. The most famous dishes are kuttu ki puri and kuttu pakora. In most northern and western states the usual term is kuttu ka atta.
 * Cassava flour is made from the root of the cassava plant. In a purified form (pure starch), it is called tapioca flour (see in list below).
 * Chestnut flour is popular in Corsica, the Périgord, and Lunigiana for breads, cakes and pastas. It is the original ingredient for polenta, still used as such in Corsica and other Mediterranean locations. Chestnut bread keeps fresh for as long as two weeks. In other parts of Italy it is mainly used for desserts.
 * Chickpea flour (also known as gram flour or besan) is of great importance in Indian cuisine, and in Italy, where it is used for the Ligurian farinata.
 * Chuño flour is made from dried potatoes in various countries of South America.
 * Coconut flour is made from ground coconut meat and has the highest fiber content of any flour, having a very low concentration of digestible carbohydrates and thus making an excellent choice for those looking to restrict their carbohydrate intake. It also has a high fat content of about 60 percent.
 * Corn (maize) flour is popular in the Southern and Southwestern US, Mexico, Central America, and Punjab regions of India and Pakistan, where it is called makai ka atta. Coarse whole-grain corn flour is usually called cornmeal. Finely ground corn flour that has been treated with food-grade lime is called masa harina (see masa) and is used to make tortillas and tamales in Mexican cooking. Corn flour should never be confused with corn starch, which is known as "cornflour" in British English.
 * Cornmeal is very similar to corn flour (see above) except in a coarser grind.
 * Corn starch is starch extracted from endosperm of the corn kernel.
 * Glutinous rice flour or sticky rice flour is used in east and southeast Asian cuisines for making tangyuan, etc.
 * Hemp flour is produced by pressing the oil from the hemp seed and milling the residue. Hemp seed is approximately 30 percent oil and 70 percent residue. Hemp flour does not rise, and is best mixed with other flours. Added to any flour by about 15–20 percent, it gives a spongy nutty texture and flavor with a green hue.
 * Mesquite flour is made from the dried and ground pods of the mesquite tree, which grows throughout North America in arid climates. The flour has a sweet, slightly nutty flavor and can be used in a wide variety of applications.
 * Nut flours are grated from oily nuts—most commonly almonds and hazelnuts—and are used instead of or in addition to wheat flour to produce more dry and flavorful pastries and cakes. Cakes made with nut flours are usually called tortes and most originated in Central Europe, in countries such as Hungary and Austria.
 * Peasemeal or pea flour is a flour produced from roasted and pulverized yellow field peas.
 * Peanut flour made from shelled cooked peanuts is a high-protein alternative to regular flour.
 * Potato starch flour is obtained by grinding the tubers to a pulp and removing the fibre and protein by water-washing. Potato starch (flour) is very white starch powder used as a thickening agent. Standard (native) potato starch needs boiling, to thicken in water, giving a transparent gel. Because the flour is made from neither grains nor legumes, it is used as a substitute for wheat flour in cooking by Jews during Passover, when grains are not eaten.
 * Potato flour, often confused with potato starch, is a peeled, cooked potato powder of mashed, mostly drum-dried and ground potato flakes using the whole potato and thus containing the protein and some of the fibres of the potato. It has an off-white slight yellowish color. These dehydrated, dried, potatoes, also called instant mashed potatoes can also be granules or flakes. Potato flour is cold-water-soluble; however, it is not used often as it tends to be heavy.
 * Rice flour is ground kernels of rice. It is a staple in Asia. It is also widely used in Western countries, especially for people who suffer from gluten-related disorders. Brown rice flour has higher nutritional value than white rice flour.
 * Sorghum flour is made from grinding whole grains of the sorghum plant. It is called jowar in India.
 * Tapioca flour, produced from the root of the cassava plant, is used to make breads, pancakes, tapioca pudding, a savoury porridge called fufu in Africa, and is used as a starch.
 * Teff flour is made from the grain teff, and is of considerable importance in eastern Africa (particularly around the Horn of Africa). Notably, it is the chief ingredient in the bread injera, an important component of Ethiopian cuisine.

More types
Flour also can be made from soybeans, arrowroot, taro, cattails, manioc, quinoa, and other non-cereal foodstuffs.

Type numbers
In some markets, the different available flour varieties are labeled according to the ash mass that remains after a sample is incinerated in a laboratory oven (typically at 550 C or 900 C, see international standards ISO 2171 and ICC 104/1 ). This is an easily verified indicator for the fraction of the whole grain remains in the flour, because the mineral content of the starchy endosperm is much lower than that of the outer parts of the grain. Flour made from all parts of the grain (extraction rate: 100%) leaves about 2 g ash or more per 100 g dry flour. Plain white flour with an extraction rate of 50–60% leaves about 0.4 g.
 * German flour type numbers (Mehltypen) indicate the amount of ash (measured in milligrams) obtained from 100 g of the dry mass of this flour. Standard wheat flours (defined in DIN 10355) range from type 405 for normal white wheat flour for baking, to strong bread flour types 550, 812, and the darker types 1050 and 1600 for wholegrain breads.
 * French flour type numbers (type de farine) are a factor of 10 smaller than those used in Germany, because they indicate the ash content (in milligrams) per 10 g flour. Type 55 is the standard, hard-wheat white flour for baking, including puff pastries (pâte feuilletée). Type 45 is often called pastry flour, and is generally from a softer wheat (this corresponds to what older French texts call farine de gruau). Some recipes use type 45 for croissants, for instance, although many French bakers use type 55 or a combination of types 45 and 55. Types 65, 80, and 110 are strong bread flours of increasing darkness, and type 150 is a wholemeal flour.
 * Czech flour types describes roughness of milling instead of amount of ash, though sometimes a numbering system is used, it is not a rule. Czechs determine following four basic types of mill: extra soft wheat flour (výběrová hladká mouka, 00), soft wheat flour (hladká mouka, T650), fine wheat flour (polohrubá mouka), rough wheat flour (hrubá mouka) and farina wheat flour (pšeničná krupice)
 * Argentine flour uses roughness of milling as well, being 0, 00, 000 and 0000, where the number of zeroes indicates its refinement.
 * Polish flour type numbers, as is the case in Germany, indicate the amount of ash in 100 g of the dry mass of the flour. Standard wheat flours (defined by the PKN in PN-A-74022:2003) range from type 450 to 2000.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, no numbered standardized flour types are defined, and the ash mass is only rarely given on the label by flour manufacturers. However, the legally required standard nutrition label specifies the protein content of the flour, which is also a way for comparing the extraction rates of different available flour types.

In general, as the extraction rate of the flour increases, so do both the protein and the ash content. However, as the extraction rate approaches 100% (whole meal), the protein content drops slightly, while the ash content continues to rise.

The following table shows some typical examples of how protein and ash content relate to each other in wheat flour:

This table is only a rough guideline for converting bread recipes. Since flour types are not standardized in many countries, the numbers may differ between manufacturers. There is no French type corresponding to the lowest ash residue in the table. The closest is French Type 45.

There is no official Chinese name corresponding to the highest ash residue in the table. Usually such products are imported from Japan and the Japanese name zenryufun (全粒粉) is used, or it is called quánmài miànfěn (全麥麵粉).

It is possible to determine ash content from some US manufacturers. However, US measurements are based on wheat with a 14% moisture content. Thus, a US flour with 0.48% ash would approximate a French Type 55.

Other measurable properties of flour as used in baking can be determined using a variety of specialized instruments, such as the farinograph.

Flammability
Flour dust suspended in air is explosive—as is any mixture of a finely powdered flammable substance with air (see dust explosion). Some devastating explosions have occurred at flour mills, including an explosion in 1878 at the Washburn "A" Mill in Minneapolis that killed 22 people.

Pathogens
The CDC has cautioned not to eat raw flour doughs or batters. Raw flour can contain bacteria like E. coli and needs to be cooked like other foods.

Products
Bread, pasta, crackers, many cakes, and many other foods are made using flour. Wheat flour is also used to make a roux as a base for thickening gravy and sauces. It can also be used as an ingredient in papier-mâché glue.

Cornstarch is a principal ingredient used to thicken many puddings or desserts, and is the main ingredient in packaged custard.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Flour


text:
User:BetsyB

I just got here, and am interested in adding some articles on topics relating to popular education. There was a blank page for Antonio Gramsci, and I have started an entry by writing up some of the things that are most important to me in his life and writing. I've been reading his writing and a biography of him for the past six months.

I live in Minneapolis and think this is a really cool idea, a "popular" and free encyclopedia. Seems to jive with the impulse behind Indymedia, and other participatory and empowering-the-ordinary-person efforts.

Thanks to all who make this possible.

title: User:BetsyB


text:
Talk:Salvador Allende

The weapon
Why does both articles Salvador Allende and Death of Salvador Allende says that he shot himself with an AK-47? that weapon is obviously incorrect. Allende's weapon was a AKMS, a underfolding stock variant of the AKM.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/leopoldovictorvargas/29247078691

https://twitter.com/desde_1965/status/1330097873963413507?lang=zh-Hant ColorfulSmoke (talk) 13:10, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

 * most sources say it was a AK-47. If you find sources saying otherwise then add them. Twitter and Flickr posts are obviously not acceptable Bedivere (talk) 15:22, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Can we just settle his manner of death once and for all???
Chilean courts repeatedly ruled his death as a suicide, after two autopsies of his body clearly showed that he died by suicide. His family had also long accepted that he died by suicide, and mentioned that he had suggested the possibility of taking himself out days before the coup. And yes, he did have an AK-47 and carried it around in several pictures. He even said in his last speech that those were his "últimas palabras". He planned to do it. David Jiang (talk) 18:31, 3 February 2023 (UTC)

The manner of his death was self-sacrifice. He choose to die to save his family- Pinochet had offered a plane to fly President Allende and his family out of the country, but Allende knew that, if he was on the plane, it would be shot down and his family wiped out- there was a recording of Pinochet, from that day saying this was his plan. Salvador Allende choose to sacrifice himself to protect his wife and children- it was heroism, and should not be implied to be cowardice, or admission of failure or wrong. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:603:4E00:AD10:F813:3B23:1ACB:F7F4 (talk) 21:26, 12 August 2023 (UTC)

Alleged CIA coup backing
Describing the 1973 Chilean coup as "CIA backed" exaggerates the CIA's role. 2600:1700:19E0:36C0:152D:2060:20CE:1482 (talk) 07:16, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Not only that, but the CIA played no role in organizing or orchestrating the coup in the first place Kingllama100 (talk) 04:37, 30 September 2023 (UTC)

Seriously you buried the fact that he died under "coup"?!
wth wiki 208.98.223.47 (talk) 01:25, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

The page for Kennedy should be used as a template to avoid bias
That is, there should be a heading titled "assassination". 208.98.223.47 (talk) 01:26, 6 May 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Salvador Allende


text:
Talk:Automatism

pre-automatic dictatorship appears to have been determined to be a nonexistant subject, and will probably soon be deleted. Should the reference to it be removed from this article as well?
 * Probably - if the term dosen't exist, it doesn't exist. The entire paragraph the link is in also should be removed because it is just a lead-in. --maveric149

What is the justification for having the legal term automatism as the main subject? --Daniel C. Boyer

It's intended to encourage someone to write a real article on Automatism. -- Anon.

This comment provides further justification for the inclusion of an article on the pre-automatic dictatorship. --Daniel C. Boyer
 * Just a note: See http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=11504&hook=231668 (Britannica article on automatism).
 * I am not saying that Britannica is the be-all and end-all authority but if you read it here or look it up in the actual encyclopedia the article on automatism is only on surrealist automatism and then there is an article on mediumistic automatism and there is nothing about the legal theory of automatism at all. This is just one example but I have yet to hear any real justification for mentioning the legal theory first and not vice versa. --user:Daniel C. Boyer
 * As I have gotten no real justification in the past week for this rewrite, I am switching back the places of the legal and surrealist/mediumist definitions of automatism. Any thoughts? --Daniel C. Boyer

Added information on Les Champs Magnetiques. --Daniel C. Boyer

Should mention of Les Automatistes be included? --Daniel C. Boyer

Automatic writing?
It is not clear to me that this area of pseudoscience is referred to as "automatism" typically. I have checked a half dozen references to confirm this.--Filll (talk | wpc ) 21:34, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

title: Talk:Automatism


text:
Acrylamide

Acrylamide (or acrylic amide) is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH2=CHC(O)NH2. It is a white odorless solid, soluble in water and several organic solvents. From the chemistry perspective, acrylamide is a vinyl-substituted primary amide (CONH2). It is produced industrially mainly as a precursor to polyacrylamides, which find many uses as water-soluble thickeners and flocculation agents.

Acrylamide forms in burnt areas of food, particularly starchy foods like potatoes, when cooked with high heat, above 120 C. Despite health scares following its discovery in 2002, and its possible classification as a carcinogen, acrylamide from diet is thought unlikely to cause cancer in humans; Cancer Research UK categorized the idea that burnt food causes cancer as a "myth".

Production
Acrylamide can be prepared by the hydration of acrylonitrile, which is catalyzed enzymatically:
 * CH2=CHCN + H2O → CH2=CHC(O)NH2

This reaction also is catalyzed by sulfuric acid as well as various metal salts. Treatment of acrylonitrile with sulfuric acid gives acrylamide sulfate, CH\dCHC(O)NH2*H2SO4. This salt can be converted to acrylamide with a base or to methyl acrylate with methanol.

Uses

The majority of acrylamide is used to manufacture various polymers, especially polyacrylamide. This water-soluble polymer, which has very low toxicity, is widely used as thickener and flocculating agent. These functions are valuable in the purification of drinking water, corrosion inhibition, mineral extraction, and paper making. Polyacrylamide gels are routinely used in medicine and biochemistry for purification and assays.

Toxicity and carcinogenicity

Acrylamide can arise in some cooked foods via a series of steps by the reaction of the amino acid asparagine and glucose. This condensation, one of the Maillard reactions, followed by dehydrogenation produces N-( D -glucos-1-yl)- L -asparagine, which upon pyrolysis generates some acrylamide.

The discovery in 2002 that some cooked foods contain acrylamide attracted significant attention to its possible biological effects. IARC, NTP, and the EPA have classified it as a probable carcinogen, although epidemiological studies (as of 2019) suggest that dietary acrylamide consumption does not significantly increase people's risk of developing cancer.

Europe
According to the EFSA, the main toxicity risks of acrylamide are "Neurotoxicity, adverse effects on male reproduction, developmental toxicity and carcinogenicity". However, according to their research, there is no concern on non-neoplastic effects. Furthermore, while the relation between consumption of acrylamide and cancer in rats and mice has been shown, it is still unclear whether acrylamide consumption has an effect on the risk of developing cancer in humans, and existing epidemiological studies in humans are very limited and do not show any relation between acrylamide and cancer in humans. Food industry workers exposed to twice the average level of acrylamide do not exhibit higher cancer rates.

United States
Acrylamide is classified as an extremely hazardous substance in the United States as defined in Section 302 of the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (42 U.S.C. 11002), and is subject to strict reporting requirements by facilities which produce, store, or use it in significant quantities.

Acrylamide is considered a potential occupational carcinogen by U.S. government agencies and classified as a Group 2A carcinogen by the IARC. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have set dermal occupational exposure limits at 0.03 mg/m3 over an eight-hour workday.

Opinions of health organizations
Baking, grilling or broiling food causes significant concentrations of acrylamide. This discovery in 2002 led to international health concerns. Subsequent research has however found that it is not likely that the acrylamides in burnt or well-cooked food cause cancer in humans; Cancer Research UK categorizes the idea that burnt food causes cancer as a "myth".

The American Cancer Society says that laboratory studies have shown that acrylamide is likely to be a carcinogen, but that evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that dietary acrylamide is unlikely to raise the risk of people developing most common types of cancer.

Hazards
Acrylamide is also a skin irritant and may be a tumor initiator in the skin, potentially increasing risk for skin cancer. Symptoms of acrylamide exposure include dermatitis in the exposed area, and peripheral neuropathy.

Laboratory research has found that some phytochemicals may have the potential to be developed into drugs which could alleviate the toxicity of acrylamide.

Mechanism of action
Acrylamide is metabolized to the genotoxic derivative glycidamide. On the other hand, acrylamide and glycidamide can be detoxified via conjugation with glutathione.

Occurrence in food
Acrylamide was discovered in foods, mainly in starchy foods, such as potato chips (UK: potato crisps), French fries (UK: chips), and bread that had been heated higher than 120 C. Production of acrylamide in the heating process was shown to be temperature-dependent. It was not found in food that had been boiled, or in foods that were not heated.

Acrylamide has been found in roasted barley tea, called mugicha in Japanese. The barley is roasted so it is dark brown prior to being steeped in hot water. The roasting process produced 200–600 micrograms/kg of acrylamide in mugicha. This is less than the >1000 micrograms/kg found in potato crisps and other fried whole potato snack foods cited in the same study and it is unclear how much of this enters the drink to be ingested. Rice cracker and sweet potato levels were lower than in potatoes. Potatoes cooked whole were found to have significantly lower acrylamide levels than the others, suggesting a link between food preparation method and acrylamide levels.

Acrylamide levels appear to rise as food is heated for longer periods of time. Although researchers are still unsure of the precise mechanisms by which acrylamide forms in foods, many believe it is a byproduct of the Maillard reaction. In fried or baked goods, acrylamide may be produced by the reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars (fructose, glucose, etc.) or reactive carbonyls at temperatures above 120 °C.

Later studies have found acrylamide in black olives, dried plums, dried pears, coffee,  and peanuts.

The US FDA has analyzed a variety of U.S. food products for levels of acrylamide since 2002.

Occurrence in cigarettes
Cigarette smoking is a major acrylamide source. It has been shown in one study to cause an increase in blood acrylamide levels three-fold greater than any dietary factor.

title: Acrylamide


text:
Premier

Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.

A premier will normally be a head of government, but is not the head of state. In presidential systems, the two roles are often combined into one, whereas in parliamentary systems of government the two are usually kept separate.

Relationship to the term "prime minister"
"Premier" is often the title of the heads of government in sub-national entities, such as the provinces and territories of Canada, states of the Commonwealth of Australia, provinces of South Africa, the island of Nevis within the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the nation of Niue. In some of these cases, the formal title remains "Prime Minister" but "Premier" is used to avoid confusion with the national leader. In these cases, care should be taken not to confuse the title of "premier" with "prime minister". In these countries, terms such as "Federal Premier", "National Premier" or "Premier of the Dominion" were sometimes used to refer to prime ministers, although these are now obsolete.

Etymology
The word comes from French premier ministre which means prime minister. Premier meaning 'first', coming from Latin prīmārius. This is why in many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister".

Examples by country
In the People's Republic of China, "premier" is more common and official, but "prime minister" is still used (see Premier of the People's Republic of China).

In the Republic of China (Taiwan), the head of government is officially the President of the Executive Yuan, but it can also be abbreviated to Premier.

In the Cayman Islands, the head of government is referred to as the “Premier”, however, as a British Overseas Territory, the British Monarch is the head of state, and the British government often has the last say on external affairs.

In Cambodia, "Premier" means the "Prime Minister". In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a sub-national entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well in the cantons, the head of government has the formal title of "premier", often anglicized as "prime minister", while the national prime minister is Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but "premier" is sometimes colloquially used.

In the Czech Republic, the head of government is colloquially called “Premiér”, and the Czech language translates both “Premier” and “Prime Minister” as “Premiér”. However, although his post is commonly translated in English as “Prime Minister”, the official title as per articles 67 and 68 of the Constitution is “Předseda vlády”, literally “President of the Government”.

In Croatia, the head of government is officially called “President of the Government” (predsjednik vlade) but “Premier” (premijer) is colloquially used.

In Serbia, the head of government is officially called "President of the Government" (predsednik vlade) but "Premier" (premijer) is colloquially used.

In Poland, the head of government is officially called "President of the Council of Ministers" (Prezes Rady Ministrów) but "Premier" (polish for Prime Minister) is colloquially used.

In Italy, the President of the Council of Ministers, an office equivalent to prime minister, is informally referred to as the "Premier".

In North Macedonia the head of the government is named premier (Macedonian премиер, premier), usually translated in English as prime minister.

In the Soviet Union, the title of premier was applied to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, named Chairman of the Council of Ministers after 1946, which became the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In Malaysia, the head of the Sarawak state government is known as the Premier of Sarawak following a state constitutional amendment in 2022, a move widely seen to reflect the status of Sarawak as an equal partner with Sabah and Malaya in Malaysia as stipulated in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).

In the Netherlands, the term premier is colloquially used as a synonym of prime minister. In the Dutch language, the official and also commonly used term is "minister president", so this is even a third synonym, but this is normally not translated literally into the English language.

By jurisdiction

 * Premiers of Australia
 * Premier of Bermuda
 * Premier of the British Virgin Islands
 * Premiers of Canada
 * Premier of the Cayman Islands
 * Premier of the People's Republic of China
 * List of premiers of China
 * Chancellor of China
 * Premier of North Korea
 * Premier of Montserrat
 * Premier of Sarawak
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text:
Ixtab

At the time of the Spanish conquest of Yucatán (1527–1546), Ix Tab or Ixtab ([iʃˈtaɓ]; "Rope Woman", "Hangwoman") was the indigenous Maya goddess of suicide by hanging. Playing the role of a psychopomp, she would accompany such suicides to heaven.

Comparisons
Ix Tab is the female form of ah tab, "hangman". The function of Ix Tab as a benevolent "hangwoman" could derive from a basic association with snares. Landa (Tozzer 1941: 155) mentions the hunting deity [Ah] Tabay ("Ensnarer" or "Deceiver"), possibly a patron of hunting with snares, including such that hoist the prey into the air. Animals hoisted by such snares are found depicted in the Dresden and Madrid codices, the Madrid codex (MC45c) personifying one of these traps by a male hunting deity. Ix Tab could be understood as a specialized, female form of such a deity, luring the human quarry into the hanging rope personified by her. Suicides freely putting their heads into this "snare" (prompted, perhaps, by a dream) could then be seen to consecrate themselves to her. On the other hand, the Xtabay of contemporary folklore is a seductive female demon "ensnaring" or "deceiving" her male human preys so as to madden and destroy them.

Dresden Codex
The Dresden Codex picture (DC53b) of a dead woman with a rope around the neck, suspended from a celestial bar, is often, and without further proof, taken to represent Ix Tab. However, since the picture occurs in a section devoted to eclipses of sun and moon, it may rather have been used to symbolize a lunar eclipse and its dire consequences for women, who were intimately associated with the moon goddess.

As possible fabrication
It has been claimed that the Pre-Spanish Maya did not have a suicide goddess, or a significant narrative of suicide by hanging. Originally, Ix Tab may only have been a hunting goddess (see above, Comparisons). Today, the sensationalist idea of a "cult of Ix Tab" appears to be invoked by popular Yucatecan media to portray suicide as an indigenous problem, given that Yucatán has a suicide rate more than twice that of Mexico at large.

title: Ixtab