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Web portal

A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displaying information (a portlet); often, the user can configure which ones to display. Variants of portals include mashups and intranet dashboards for executives and managers. The extent to which content is displayed in a "uniform way" may depend on the intended user and the intended purpose, as well as the diversity of the content. Very often design emphasis is on a certain "metaphor" for configuring and customizing the presentation of the content (e.g., a dashboard or map) and the chosen implementation framework or code libraries. In addition, the role of the user in an organization may determine which content can be added to the portal or deleted from the portal configuration.

A portal may use a search engine's application programming interface (API) to permit users to search intranet content as opposed to extranet content by restricting which domains may be searched. Apart from this common search engines feature, web portals may offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock quotes, information from databases and even entertainment content. Portals provide a way for enterprises and organizations to provide a consistent "look and feel" with access control and procedures for multiple applications and databases, which otherwise would have been different web entities at various URLs. The features available may be restricted by whether access is by an authorized and authenticated user (employee, member) or an anonymous website visitor.

History
In the late 1990s, the Web portal was a Web IT buzzword. After the proliferation of Web browsers in the late-1990s, many companies tried to build or acquire a portal to attempt to obtain a share of an Internet market. The Web portal gained special attention because it was, for many users, the starting point of their Web browsing if it was set as their home page. The content and branding of a portal could change as Internet companies merged or were acquired. Netscape became a part of America Online, the Walt Disney Company launched Go.com. Portal metaphors are widely used by public library sites for borrowers using a login as users and by university intranets for students and for faculty. Vertical markets remain for independent software vendors (ISVs) offering management and executive intranet "dashboards" for corporations and government agencies in areas such as governance, risk management, and compliance

Classification
Web portals are sometimes classified as horizontal or vertical. A horizontal portal is used as a platform to several companies in the same economic sector or to the same type of manufacturers or distributors. A vertical portal (also known as a "vortal") is a specialized entry point to a specific market or industry niche, subject area, or interest. Some vertical portals are known as "vertical information portals" (VIPs). VIPs provide news, editorial content, digital publications, and e-commerce capabilities. In contrast to traditional vertical portals, VIPs also provide dynamic multimedia applications including social networking, video posting, and blogging.

News portal
A news portal is an online gallery, index and search engine for news published online. It may cater to specific interest or language or target a wider market.

Web portal
A web portal is a website that provides a broad array of services, such as search engines, e-mail, online shopping, and forums. American web portals included Pathfinder, Excite, Netscape's Net Center, Go, NBC, MSN, Lycos, Voila, Yahoo!, and Google Search.

Personal portal
A personal portal is a Web Page at a Website on the World Wide Web or a local HTML home page including JavaScript and perhaps running in a modified Web browser. A personal portal typically provides personalized capabilities to its visitors or its local user, providing a pathway to other content. It may be designed to use distributed applications, different numbers and types of middleware and hardware to provide services from a number of different sources and may run on a non-standard local Web server. In addition, business portals can be designed for sharing and collaboration in workplaces. A further business-driven requirement of portals is that the content be presented on multiple platforms such as personal computers, laptops, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones and smartphones.

Information, news, and updates are examples of content that could be delivered through such a portal. Personal portals can be related to any specific topic such as providing friends information on a social network or providing links to outside content that may help others beyond the reach of services. Portals are not limited to simply providing links. Outside of business intranet user, very often simpler portals become replaced with richer mashup designs. Within enterprises, early portals were often replaced by much more powerful "dashboard" designs. Some also have relied on newer protocols such as some version of RSS aggregation and may or may not involve some degree of Web harvesting.

Government
At the end of the dot-com boom in the 1990s, many governments had already committed to creating government web portal sites for their citizens. These included primary portals to the governments as well as portals developed for specific branches (e.g., a particular government ministry, department or agency), or for specific sub-audiences (e.g., senior citizens, parents, post-secondary students, etc.). Notable government web portals include:
 * my.gov.au for Australia.
 * Disability.gov for citizens with disabilities in the United States.
 * Europa (web portal) links to all EU agencies and institutions in addition to press releases and audiovisual content from press conferences.
 * GobiernoUSA.gov for the United States (in Spanish).
 * gov.uk for citizens & businesslink.gov.uk for businesses in the United Kingdom.
 * Health-EU portal gathers all relevant health topics from across Europe.
 * india.gov.in for India.
 * National Resource Directory links to resources for United States Service Members, Veterans and their families.
 * USA.gov for the United States (in English).

Cultural
Cultural portals aggregate digitised cultural collections of galleries, libraries (see: library portal), archives and museums. This type of portal provides a point of access to invisible Web cultural content that may not be indexed by standard search engines. Digitised collections can include scans or digital photos of books, artworks, photography, journals, newspapers, maps, diaries and letters and digital files of music, sound recordings, films, and archived websites as well as the descriptive metadata associated with each type of cultural work (e.g., metadata provides information about the author, publisher, etc.). These portals are often based around a specific national or regional groupings of institutions. Notable cultural portals include:
 * Digital Public Library of America (in development)
 * DigitalNZ – A cultural portal led by the National Library of New Zealand focused on New Zealand digital content.
 * Europeana – A cultural portal for the European Union based in the National Library of the Netherlands and overseen by the Europeana Foundation.
 * TUT.by - A commercial cultural portal focused on Belarusian digital content.

Corporate
Corporate intranets became common during the 1990s. As intranets grew in size and complexity, organization webmasters were faced with increasing content and user management challenges. A consolidated view of company information was judged insufficient; users wanted personalization and customization. Webmasters, if skilled enough, were able to offer some capabilities, but for the most part ended up driving users away from using the intranet. Many companies began to offer tools to help webmasters manage their data, applications and information more easily, and by providing different users with personalized views. Portal solutions can also include workflow management, collaboration between work groups or branches, and policy-managed content publication. Most can allow internal and external access to specific corporate information using secure authentication or single sign-on.

JSR168 Standards emerged around 2001. Java Specification Request (JSR) 168 standards allow the interoperability of portlets across different portal platforms. These standards allow portal developers, administrators and consumers to integrate standards-based portals and portlets across a variety of vendor solutions. The concept of content aggregation seems to still gain momentum and portal solution will likely continue to evolve significantly over the next few years. The Gartner Group predicts generation 8 portals to expand on the Business Mashups concept of delivering a variety of information, tools, applications and access points through a single mechanism.

With the increase in user-generated content (blog posts, comments, photos), disparate data silos, and file formats, information architects and taxonomists will be required to allow users the ability to tag (classify) the data or content. For example, if a vice-president makes a blog post, this post could be tagged with their name, title, and the subject of the post. Tagging makes it easier for users of the intranet to find the content they are interested in. This will ultimately cause a ripple effect where users will also be generating ad hoc navigation and information flows. Corporate portals also offer customers and employees self-service opportunities.

Search
Search portals aggregate results from several search engines into one page. Users can find search portals specialized in a product, for example property search portals. Library search portals are also known as discovery interfaces.

Property search
Property search portals aggregate data about properties for sale or rent by real estate agents or vendors. Notable agent search portals in the UK include Nestoria, Nuroa, OnTheMarket, Rightmove and Zoopla. Notable vendor (seller or landlord) portals in the UK include OpenRent and Gumtree.

Tender
A tender portal is a gateway for government suppliers to bid on providing goods and services. Tender portals allow users to search, modify, submit, review and archive data in order to provide a complete online tendering process.

Using online tendering, bidders can do any of the following:
 * Receive notification of the tenders.
 * Receive tender documents online.
 * Fill out the forms online.
 * Submit proposals and documents.
 * Submit bids online.

Hosted
Hosted Web portals gained popularity and a number of companies began offering them as a hosted service. The hosted portal market fundamentally changed the composition of portals. In many ways they served simply as a tool for publishing information instead of the loftier goals of integrating legacy applications or presenting correlated data from distributed databases. The early hosted portal companies such as Hyperoffice.com or the now defunct InternetPortal.com focused on collaboration and scheduling in addition to the distribution of corporate data. As hosted Web portals have risen in popularity their feature set has grown to include hosted databases, document management, email, discussion fora and more. Hosted portals automatically personalize the content generated from their modules to provide a personalized experience to their users. In this regard they have remained true to the original goals of the earlier corporate Web portals.

Emerging new classes of Internet portals called Cloud Portals are showcasing the power of API (Application Programming Interface) rich software systems leveraging SOA (service-oriented architecture, Web services, and custom data exchange) to accommodate machine to machine interaction creating a more fluid user experience for connecting users spanning multiple domains during a given "session". Cloud portals like Nubifer Cloud Portal show what is possible using Enterprise Mashup and Web Service integration approaches to building cloud portals.

Domain-specific
A number of portals have come about which are specific to a particular domain, offering access to related companies and services; a prime example of this trend would be the growth in property portals that give access to services such as estate agents, removal firm, and solicitors that offer conveyancing. Along the same lines, industry-specific news and information portals have appeared, such as the clinical trials-specific portal.

Overview
The main concept is to present the user with a single Web page that brings together or aggregates content from a number of other systems or servers. The application server or architecture performs most of the crucial functions of the application. This application server is in turn connected to database servers, and may be part of a clustered server environment. High-capacity portal configurations may include load balancing strategies. For portals that present application functionality to the user, the portal server is in reality the front piece of a server configuration that includes some connectivity to the application server. For early Web browsers permitting HTML frameset and iframe elements, diverse information could be presented without violating the browser same-source security policy (relied upon to prevent a variety of cross-site security breaches). More recent client-side technologies rely on JavaScript frameworks and libraries that rely on more recent Web functionality such as WebSockets and asynchronous callbacks using XMLHttpRequests.

The server hosting the portal may only be a "pass through" for the user. By use of portlets, application functionality can be presented in any number of portal pages. For the most part, this architecture is transparent to the user. In such a design, security and concurrent user capacity can be important issues, and security designers need to ensure that only authenticated and authorized users can generate requests to the application server. If the security design and administration does not ensure adequate authentication and authorization, then the portal may inadvertently present vulnerabilities to various types of attacks.

Standards

 * Web Services for Remote Portlets v1
 * JSR 286 (Java Portlet v2.0 Definition Standard)

title: Web portal


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Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty (ハロー・キティ), also known by her real name Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト), is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red bow and no visible mouth. According to her backstory, she lives in a London suburb with her family, and is close to her twin sister Mimmy, who is depicted with a yellow bow.

Hello Kitty was created in 1974 and the first item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in 1975. Originally, Hello Kitty was only marketed towards pre-teenage girls, but beginning in the 1990s, the brand found commercial success among teenage and adult consumers as well. Hello Kitty's popularity also grew with the emergence of kawaii (cute) culture. The brand went into decline in Japan after the 1990s, but continued to grow in the international market. By 2010 the character was worth US$5 billion a year and The New York Times called her a "global marketing phenomenon." She did about US$8 billion at retail in 2013.

UNICEF has appointed Hello Kitty children's ambassador and the Japanese government appointed her ambassador of tourism. There are Sanrio theme parks based on Hello Kitty: Harmonyland in Hiji, Ōita, Japan, Sanrio Puroland in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan, and Hello Kitty Shanghai Times in Shanghai, China. The Hello Kitty media franchise has grown to include a number of animated series targeted towards children, as well as several comics, animated films, video games, books, music albums and other media productions. A variety of products have featured the character over the years, like school supplies, clothing, accessories, and toys, along with other items. In 2008, there were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products.

Creation and design
In 1962, Shintaro Tsuji, founder of Sanrio, began selling rubber sandals with flowers painted on them. Tsuji noted the profits gained by adding a cute design to the shoes and hired cartoonists to design cute characters for his merchandise. Hello Kitty was designed by Yuko Shimizu and was added to the lineup of early Sanrio characters in 1974.

Hello Kitty was initially known only as "the white kitten with no name" (名前のない白い子猫). Shimizu got the name Kitty from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass; during a scene early in the book, Alice plays with a cat she calls Kitty. Sanrio's motto is "social communication," and Tsuji wanted the brand name to reflect that by including a greeting. He first considered "Hi Kitty" before finally settling on "Hello Kitty," her current name. Sanrio decided to make Hello Kitty British because foreign countries, in particular Britain, were trendy in Japan at the time of Hello Kitty's creation. Sanrio already had several characters set in the US, and it wanted Hello Kitty to be different.

In 1976 Setsuko Yonekubo temporarily took over as lead designer for Hello Kitty, after Shimizu left Sanrio. In 1980 Yuko Yamaguchi became lead designer and has remained in charge since. Yamaguchi has said that fashion, movies, and TV inspire her in creating new designs. New series involving Hello Kitty with different themed designs are released regularly, following current trends.

Spokespeople for Sanrio have said that Hello Kitty has no mouth, as they want people to "project their feelings onto the character" and "be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty." Another explanation Sanrio has given for Hello Kitty's lack of a mouth is that she "speaks from the heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language." However, Yuko Yamaguchi has also said that "Kitty has a mouth" that is "hidden in the fur". Representatives for Sanrio have said that they see Hello Kitty as a symbol of friendship, which they hope she will foster between people across the world. There has been speculation that Hello Kitty has her origins in Maneki Neko, a traditional Japanese cat figurine. The name "Hello Kitty" is a back-translation of Maneki Neko, meaning "beckoning cat" in English. Despite this, no definitive statement supports that speculation. Hello Kitty has also instead been put forth as an early example of mukokuseki, a Japanese term meaning "stateless" or "nationless" in reference to characters lacking any identifiable national background.

History and reception
The character's first appearance on an item was in March 1975 on a vinyl coin purse sold in Japan, where she was pictured sitting between a bottle of milk and a goldfish bowl. She first appeared in the United States in 1976 when Sanrio opened a Gift Gate store in San Jose, California.

Hello Kitty sold well immediately after her 1975 launch, and Sanrio's sales increased sevenfold. Due to Japan's growing economy, many Japanese children could afford to buy Hello Kitty products. Her popularity also grew with the emergence of kawaii culture, which embraces cuteness.

UNICEF named Hello Kitty as children's ambassador to the United States in 1983, children's ambassador in Japan in 1994, and gave her the title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children in 2004, a title unique to her.

Originally, Hello Kitty was only marketed towards a child and preteen audience. In the 1990s, the target market for Hello Kitty was broadened to include teenagers and adults as a retro brand. Marketing to those who could not get Hello Kitty merchandise as children, and those who fondly remember items they had, Sanrio began selling Hello Kitty branded products such as purses and laptops. The 1994–1996 Face series was the first to be designed specifically for mature consumers.

The Hello Kitty brand rose to greater prominence internationally during the late 1990s. At that time, several celebrities, such as Mariah Carey, had adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement. New products featuring the character were made available in a large variety of American department stores.

Hello Kitty's popularity in Japan peaked in the late 1990s when she was the country's top-grossing character. In 2002, Hello Kitty lost her place as the top-grossing character in Japan in the Character Databank popularity chart. In a 2010 survey, she was in third place behind Anpanman and Pikachu from Pokémon. In 2010, The New York Times attributed the character's relative decline in Japan to her biography not being "compelling enough to draw many fans." The newspaper later wrote that analysts called the characterization "weak," and that Hello Kitty not having a mouth has dampened her success as an animated TV character. According to Character Databank, Hello Kitty was the third highest-grossing character in Japan as of 2013. In 2019 and 2020, Character Databank ranked her fifth, and as of 2021 she was out of the top five.

Overseas, her global popularity has increased over the years. According to Sanrio, Hello Kitty was appearing on 12,000 new products each year as of 1999. Beginning in 2007, following trends in Japan, Sanrio began using darker designs for Hello Kitty with more black and less pink and pulled away from kawaii styles. By 2008, Hello Kitty was responsible for half of Sanrio's $1 billion net income, and there were over 50,000 different Hello Kitty branded products in more than 60 countries. By 2010 the character was worth US$5 billion a year and The New York Times called her a "global marketing phenomenon". Worldwide annual sales reached US$8 billion in 2013.

In July 2008, the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, creator of Miffy, alleged that Hello Kitty is a copy of Miffy, being rendered in a similar style. He stated disapprovingly in an interview for the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph: "That" [...] "is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, 'No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself'." Mercis, the firm that managed copyrights for Bruna, took Sanrio to court over their Hello Kitty-associated character Cathy, a rabbit which made her first appearance in 1976 and which Mercis argued infringed the copyright for Miffy. A court in Amsterdam ruled in favour of Mercis in November 2010 and ordered Sanrio to stop the production and sale of merchandise featuring Cathy in the Benelux countries. However, in June 2011, the two companies announced that they had reached a settlement agreement to end their legal dispute. Sanrio stopped using the Cathy character, and the two firms jointly donated €150,000 for reconstruction after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

As of 2014, 90% of the profits from Hello Kitty came from licensing of products for the international market. She has been particularly popular in other Asian countries for decades, such as in China, where her cultural impact is comparable to that of Barbie in the Western world. In 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in both China and Hong Kong, marking the first time Japan's tourism ministry had appointed a fictional character to the role. Sharon Kinsella, a lecturer at Oxford University on Japanese sociology, called the selection of Hello Kitty "a bit farcical ... as if a dumbed-down cultural icon ... can somehow do something significant to alter the gnarly and difficult state of China–Japan relations."

In the United States, Hello Kitty is recognized by more than 80% of young adults in the 18–23 age group,. In 2014 a four-day convention, Hello Kitty Con in Los Angeles, attracted over 25,000 visitors. The convention was held in celebration of Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary. Sanrio's Puroland Tokyo theme park also held a celebration spanning several days in November 2014.

Character
Hello Kitty is a gijinka, an anthropomorphism or personification of a Japanese Bobtail cat. Official character profiles list her full name as Kitty White (キティ・ホワイト), born in the suburbs of London, England, on November 1. Her height is described as five apples and her weight as three apples. She is portrayed as a bright and kind-hearted girl, very close to her twin sister Mimmy. She is good at baking cookies and loves her mama's homemade apple pie. She likes to play the piano and collect cute things, and her favorite subjects in school are English, music, and art.

Hello Kitty is portrayed with a large family with the surname White. Her twin sister Mimmy is described as "shy and very girly," interested in sewing and dreaming of marriage. While Hello Kitty wears a red bow on her left ear, Mimmy wears a yellow one on her right. Their papa George is described as dependable, humorous but also absent-minded. Their mama Mary is portrayed as a good cook who loves doing housework. Grandpa Anthony likes to tell stories and grandma Margaret likes sewing. In addition to family, Hello Kitty is also depicted with several animal friends, including the mice Joey and Judy, the bears Tippy and Thomas, the raccoon Tracy and the squirrel Rorry.

Aside from the core Hello Kitty characters, several spinoff characters have been created: Hello Kitty's boyfriend Dear Daniel in 1999, Charmmy Kitty, Hello Kitty's pet cat, and Sugar, her pet hamster, both in 2004, and her superhero alter-ego Ichigoman in 2011.

SFGATE said in 2004 that in light of the level of success of Hello Kitty, her fictional biography "seems almost too modest – or irrelevant" and "doesn't seem to have played much of a part" in the success.

In 2014 an anthropologist was told by Sanrio that Kitty White was not simply a cat (i.e. "depicted on all fours"), describing her as a little English girl called Kitty White, from outside London. Following reports that interpreted this to mean she was human, a Sanrio PR representative said that the organization had "never said she was a human", explaining anthropomorphization by comparing the character to Mickey Mouse: "No one would mistake the Disney character for a human–but at the same time he's not quite a mouse. Just like Hello Kitty isn't a human, she's not quite a cat either." Sanrio stated further, "Hello Kitty was done in the motif of a cat. It's going too far to say that Hello Kitty is not a cat."

Animated series
There have been several different animated series starring Hello Kitty. The first was Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater, an animated television series with 13 22-minute episodes that premiered in 1987. The next, an OVA titled Hello Kitty and Friends, spanned 30 entries originally released in Japan between 1989 and 1994. Hello Kitty's Paradise came out in 1999 and was 16 episodes long. Hello Kitty's Stump Village came out in 2005, and The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends came out in 2008 and has aired 52 episodes. A crossover series under the name Kiss Hello Kitty (that paired animated versions of the members of the rock band KISS with Hello Kitty) was announced in March 2013. Produced by Gene Simmons, this show was supposed to air on The Hub Network (now Discovery Family), but it never came to fruition.

 was a long-running live-action children's program that aired on TXN from January 1999 to March 2011. It was the longest-running weekly kids' television program in the network's history. In January 2011, the show's creators mutually agreed to end the series after twelve seasons, with the final episode being broadcast on 29 March 2011.

In August 2018, Sanrio began streaming a CGI animated series on YouTube. It features Hello Kitty talking to the camera about her life in the style of vlogging YouTubers.

Sanrio began streaming the newest 2D animated Hello Kitty series Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures on YouTube on 26 October 2020.

Comics
Hello Kitty had two Japanese comic series serialized in Ribon, a shōjo manga magazine - Hello Kitty Doki (ran from May 2007 to April 2008) and Hello Kitty Peace (released in June 2008).

In March 2016, Sanrio launched a webcomic featuring Hello Kitty as a strawberry-themed superhero called Ichigoman (ichigo meaning strawberry). The webcomic is created by Toshiki Inoue and Shakua Sinkai and updates once a month. Ichigoman first appeared in 2011 in an exhibition with Yuko Yamaguchi's art.

Music
Hello Kitty has her own branded album, Hello World, featuring Hello Kitty-inspired songs performed by a collection of artists including Keke Palmer, Cori Yarckin, and Ainjel Emme under Hello Kitty's Lakeshore Records record label. Hello Kitty was also chosen by AH Software to be the basis of the new Vocaloid Nekomura Iroha (猫村いろは) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sanrio.

Musician Yoshiki unveiled the Hello Kitty theme song "Hello Hello" in November 2014 at the first Hello Kitty Con. Yoshiki, who was the first celebrity to have his own Hello Kitty doll, "Yoshikitty," was approached by Yamaguchi to compose the song seven years prior.

Video games
There are numerous Hello Kitty games starting with the release of the first title for Famicom in 1992; however, the majority of these games were never released outside of Japan. Hello Kitty also has made cameo appearances in games featuring other Sanrio characters, such as the Keroppi game, Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken Nikki: Nemureru Mori no Keroleen. Special-edition consoles such as the Hello Kitty Dreamcast, Hello Kitty Game Boy Pocket, and Hello Kitty Crystal Xbox have also been released exclusively in Japan.

Hello Kitty appeared as a guest character in Sega's Sonic Dash in 2016, as part of Sega's partnership with Sanrio. Hello Kitty and My Melody (another Sanrio character) appeared together in Super Mario Maker as unlockable Mystery Mushroom costumes. Hello Kitty appears as a playable character via downloadable content in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.

Partial list of Hello Kitty video games

 * Hello Kitty no Hanabatake (1992, Famicom): a platformer
 * Hello Kitty World (1992, Famicom): a Famicom port of Balloon Kid co-developed by Nintendo and Character Soft.
 * Hello Kitty's Big Fun Piano (1994, PC): a piano simulation
 * Kitty the Kool (1998, PlayStation) a game from Imagineer
 * Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy (1998, Game Boy Color, PlayStation): a life simulation/minigame collection
 * DDR Hello Kitty (1999, Bemani Pocket): a handheld Hello Kitty game in the Dance Dance Revolution series
 * The Hello Kitty Simple 1500 series (PlayStation): a series of specifically low-priced games
 * Gotouchi Hello Kitty Sugoroku Monogatari (2003, PlayStation): a sugoroku-based game
 * Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals (2005, Game Boy Advance): an action/adventure game
 * Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue (2005, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2): an action/adventure game
 * Mainichi Suteki! Hello Kitty no Life Kit (2007, Nintendo DS): a puzzle game
 * The Hello Kitty Simple 2000 series (2007, PlayStation 2): a series of specifically low-priced games
 * Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (2008, Nintendo DS): an adventure game published by Empire Interactive developed by Sanrio Digital. In the game, Hello Kitty moves to the Big City where she meets other Sanrio characters and makes new friends.
 *  (2008, Nintendo DS): a PDA application featuring a diary, calendar, alarm clock, money managing system and school planner
 * Hello Kitty Online (2009, PC): an online MMORPG developed by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games. The game allows players to create and customize characters, then use them to battle monsters, socialize with one another, mine for ore, do domestic chores like farming or cooking, and participate in quests.
 * Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise (2009, iPhone/iPod Touch): an iPhone game with tilt-based controls
 * Apron of Magic (2010, Arcade, iOS, Nintendo 3DS): An Arcade Card Game developed by Examu to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Sanrio. The game features Hello Kitty and other notable Sanrio Characters.
 * Hello Kitty Seasons (2010, Wii): A game in which the playable character is appointed as Deputy Mayor to help Sanrio Town.
 * Hello Kitty Picnic (2012, Nintendo 3DS)
 *  (2014, iOS, Wii U, Nintendo Switch): A kart racing game featuring Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters
 * Hello Kitty and Friends: Happiness Parade (2022, iOS and Android; 2023, Switch): a rhythm game. The mobile versions are Netflix exclusives.
 * Hello Kitty Island Adventure (2023, Apple Arcade; 2025, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5): a cozy social simulation game taking place on an island visited by various Sanrio characters.  The game won the Apple Arcade Game of the Year award in 2023.

Films
Three Hello Kitty anime films were released in Japan. Hello Kitty: Cinderella released in 1989, Hello Kitty no Oyayubi Hime released in 1990, and Hello Kitty no Mahō no Mori no Ohime-sama released in 1991.

On 3 July 2015, Sanrio announced a full-length Animated Hello Kitty theatrical feature initially planned for 2019. In early 2019, it was revealed that New Line Cinema will be teaming up alongside Sanrio and Flynn Picture Company for an "English language film based on the venerable kid brand." In 2021, it was reported that Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda have been hired to direct the film with Lindsey Beer set to pen the script.

Products
Originally aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the Hello Kitty product range has expanded from dolls, stickers, greeting cards, board games, clothes, backpacks, lunch boxes, piggy banks, pencils, erasers, accessories, school supplies and stationery to purses, toasters, televisions, other home appliances, massagers, motor oil and computer equipment. These products range from mass market items to high-end consumer products and rare collectibles. , more than 50,000 Hello Kitty product lines were available in over 130 countries.

High-end
Sanrio and various corporate partners have released Hello Kitty-branded products, including the Hello Kitty Stratocaster electric guitar (since 2005, with Fender, under its Squier sub-brand, in the US) and an Airbus A330-200 commercial passenger jet airliner, dubbed the Hello Kitty Jet (2005–2009, with EVA Airways in Taiwan). In late 2011 and early 2012, EVA Air revived their "Hello Kitty Jets" with their three new A330-300s. However, due to high demand, the airline added two more alongside their existing A330-200s in mid-2012. A year later, EVA Air introduced one of their 777-300ERs as another Hello Kitty Jet, which featured other Sanrio characters as well as Hello Kitty.

In 2009, Hello Kitty entered the wine market with a collection of four wines available for purchase online, continuing the expansion of product lines targeted at older audiences.

Establishments
Hello Kitty is included as part of the Sanrio livery at the Japanese theme parks Harmonyland and Sanrio Puroland. The Hello Kitty Shanghai Times theme park in Shanghai, China opened in 2019. A theme park called Hello Kitty Town existed in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia from 2012 to 2019. In 2014, Sanrio partnered with the Indonesian theme park Dufan to introduce Hello Kitty Adventure, a cinema based attraction.

Hello Kitty cafés have opened around the world, including in Seoul and other locations in South Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; Adelaide, Australia; Irvine, California; the Santa Anita Mall in California, and the Park MGM in Las Vegas, Nevada.

There is a themed restaurant named Hello Kitty Sweets in Taipei, Taiwan, which opened in 2008. The restaurant's decor and many of its dishes are patterned after the Hello Kitty characters. Another restaurant called the Hello Kitty Diner opened in the Chatswood area of Sydney, Australia, and a Hello Kitty dim sum restaurant opened in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

In 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers, and nurses' uniforms. The hospital's owner explained that he hoped that the theme would help ease the stress of childbirth.

Clothing
Dr. Martens collaborated with Hello Kitty in 2010 and 2020. The 2020 collaboration includes platform boots, platform sandals as well as a satchel. Forever 21 collaborated with Hello Kitty on clothing collections several times, the first one in 2011. In 2018, Puma collaborated with Hello Kitty to create a collection which features sneakers for both children and adults. Also in 2018, Converse collaborated with Sanrio to create a collection which includes shoes ranging from kids' to adult sizes as well as clothing and bags. In 2020, Skechers collaborated with Hello Kitty releasing chunky-soled style shoes with brand's logo and Hello Kitty's face and bow. Hello Kitty is used as a brand for sanitary pads in the Philippines.

Legacy and impact
In 1994, artist Tom Sachs was invited to create a scene for Barneys New York Christmas displays and titled it Hello Kitty Nativity. In the scene, the Virgin Mary was replaced by Madonna with an open Chanel bra, the three Kings were all Bart Simpson, the stable was marked by a McDonald's logo, and the Christ Child was replaced by Hello Kitty. This contemporary revision of the nativity scene demonstrated Sachs' interest in the phenomena of consumerism, branding, and the cultural fetishization of products. Many audiences instead took offense to the artwork, which received backlash from Catholic organizations for its misuse of Christian symbolism.

In 2009, Tom Sachs' Bronze Collection was shown at the Public art space in Manhattan's Lever House, as well as in the Baldwin Gallery in Aspen, Colorado, and the Trocadéro in Paris. The collection featured white bronze casts of a foam core Hello Kitty sculpture – a style distinctive to the artist. As of April 2010, the Wind-Up Hello Kitty sculpture is still on display at Lever House. Although Sachs did not seek permission to use the character in his work, a brand marketing manager for Sanrio was quoted as saying "You know, there was Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol, and then Michael Jackson and Jeff Koons. When you're an icon, that's what happens." In 2013 The Wall Street Journal said Sanrio's attitude to copyright was "laissez-faire" compared to companies like Disney, and that they have let artists use Hello Kitty's likeness without interfering.

In 2015, a nine-foot tall pearlescent Hello Kitty sculpture by artist Sebastian Masuda was exhibited at the Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza in New York City, as part of the Japan Society's exhibition: Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection.

Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne wrote and recorded a song called "Hello Kitty" for her fifth studio album, Avril Lavigne, released in 2013. The Hello Kitty Stratocaster guitar, originally released in 2005, was initially aimed at pre-teen girls, but has since been used by notable guitarists including Krist Novoselic, Courtney Love, Dave Navarro, and Lisa Loeb. In 2022, vintage Hello Kitty Stratocasters were among the most popular musical instruments sold on the marketplace Reverb.com. While it originally retailed for $230, some re-sold for over $1,000.

In 2022 Saturday Night Live aired a sketch parodying Hello Kitty's backstory (described by The A.V. Club as "incongruous, corporate-sanctioned") and Sanrio's handling of it. The sketch centers on managers at a fictional Hello Kitty store. They describe the character in contradictory terms as a "human little girl" who is in third grade and also 48 years old. The Atlantic described the sketch as both "a skewering of the ever-expanding Hello Kitty commercial universe" and as capturing the gaslighting and manipulation of truth of the time.

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

title: Hello Kitty


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French euro coins

French euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. The minor series was designed by Fabienne Courtiade, the middle one by Laurent Jurio and the major two coins are by Joaquin Jimenez. All designs share the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint as well as the letters "RF" for République Française (French Republic).

French euro design
For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins. To coincide with the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the 20th anniversary of euro coins, the French national designs on the 1 and 2 euro coins have been changed. The new designs were approved by the Council of the European Union on 26 July 2021 and have been revealed to the public on 16 December 2021 ahead of their entry into circulation in 2022.

In 2024, new designs for the 10-, 20-, and 50-cent coins will be introduced, featuring Simone Veil on the 10-cent, Josephine Baker on the 20-cent, and Marie Curie on the 50-cent coin.

Circulating Mintage quantities
The following table shows the mintage quantity for all French euro coins, per denomination, per year.

title: French euro coins


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Irish euro coins

Irish euro coins all share the same design by Jarlath Hayes, that of the harp, a traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on that of the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College Dublin. The same harp is used as on the official seals of the Taoiseach, and government ministers and the seal of the president of Ireland. The coins' design also features the 12 stars of the EU, the year of issue and the Irish name for Ireland, "Éire", in a traditional Gaelic script.

Irish euro design
All Irish euro coins bear the same design on their obverse side: a Celtic harp based on the Trinity College Harp, flanked to the left and right by the word "ÉIRE" (Irish for Ireland) and the year the coin was struck, written in Gaelic type. These in turn are surrounded by the 12 stars of the flag of Europe. On the one-euro coin the stars appear on the gold coloured surround with the harp and words in the silver coloured centre. The colours are in the reverse for the two euro coin.

Circulating mintage quantities
The following table shows the mintage quantity for all Irish euro coins, per denomination, per year.

Commemorative coins
Limited release in 2010, featuring an Irish hunter horse and foal.

Limited release in 2011, featuring a salmon and smolt.

Limited release in 2012, featuring an Irish wolfhound and pup.

Wide release (in common with all Euro nations) in 2007, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.

Wide release (in common with all Euro nations) in 2009, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Economic and Monetary Union.

Wide release (in common with all Euro nations) in 2012, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the euro coins and banknotes.

Wide release (in common with all Euro nations) in 2015, commemorating the 30th anniversary of adoption of the European flag by the European Economic Community.

Wide release in 2016, with the figure of Hibernia on top of the Dublin G.P.O. Building, commemorating the centenary of the Easter Rising.

Wide release in 2019, commemorating the centenary of the First Dáil.

Commemorative 2 Euros in 2023, commemorating 50 Years of Ireland's E.U. membership.

Usage of 1 cent and 2 cent coins
As 1c and 2c coins are of comparatively low value, a National Payments Plan prepared by the Central Bank of Ireland approved by the Government in April 2013 plans "to trial the use of a rounding convention in a pilot project in a mid-size Irish town", with the 1c and 2c no longer being minted while remaining legal tender. The cost of producing a 1 cent coin is 1.65c and the cost of producing a 2 cent coin is 1.94c.

Beginning on Wednesday 28 October 2015 Ireland followed The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Hungary and, in introducing so-called Swedish rounding. While individual prices are still shown and summed up with 1-cent precision, the total sum is then rounded to the nearest 5 cents when paying with cash. Sums ending in 1, 2, 6 and 7 cents are rounded down; sums ending in 3, 4, 8 and 9 cents are rounded up.

The 1 cent and 2 cent coins remain legal tender, and rounding is voluntary for both the customer and retailer, the Central Bank of Ireland advises "for Rounding to happen, both the retailer and the customer must accept it; both will have the right to use exact change".

Rounding applies only to cash payments and does not apply to bills paid electronically - by debit card, credit card or by store card.

title: Irish euro coins


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Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome, or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The syndrome is named after cysts which form on the ovaries of some women with this condition, though this is not a universal symptom, and not the underlying cause of the disorder.

Women with PCOS may experience irregular menstrual periods, heavy periods, excess hair, acne, pelvic pain, difficulty getting pregnant, and patches of thick, darker, velvety skin. The primary characteristics of this syndrome include: hyperandrogenism, anovulation, insulin resistance, and neuroendocrine disruption.

A review of international evidence found that the prevalence of PCOS could be as high as 26% among some populations, though ranges between 4% and 18% are reported for general populations.

The exact cause of PCOS remains uncertain, and treatment involves management of symptoms using medication.

Definition
Two definitions are commonly used:
 * NIH
 * In 1990, a consensus workshop sponsored by the NIH/NICHD suggested that a person has PCOS if they have all of the following:

 * 1) Oligoovulation
 * 2) Signs of androgen excess (clinical or biochemical)
 * 3) Exclusion of other disorders that can result in menstrual irregularity and hyperandrogenism (e.g.: Congenital Suprarrenal Hyperplasia, androgen producer tumors, hyperprolactinemia).
 * Rotterdam
 * In 2003, a consensus workshop sponsored by ESHRE/ASRM in Rotterdam indicated PCOS to be present if any two out of three criteria are met, in the absence of other entities that might cause these findings:

 * 1) Oligoovulation and/or anovulation
 * 2) Excess androgen activity
 * 3) Polycystic ovaries (by gynecologic ultrasound)

 * The Rotterdam definition is wider, including many more women, the most notable ones being women without androgen excess. Critics say that findings obtained from the study of women with androgen excess cannot necessarily be extrapolated to women without androgen excess.

 * Androgen Excess PCOS Society
 * In 2006, the Androgen Excess PCOS Society suggested a tightening of the diagnostic criteria to all of the following:

 * 1) Excess androgen activity
 * 2) Oligoovulation/anovulation and/or polycystic ovaries
 * 3) Exclusion of other entities that would cause excess androgen activity

Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of PCOS include irregular or no menstrual periods, heavy periods, excess body and facial hair, acne, pelvic pain, difficulty getting pregnant, and patches of thick, darker, velvety skin, ovarian cysts, enlarged ovaries, excess androgen, and weight gain.

Associated conditions include type 2 diabetes, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, heart disease, mood disorders, and endometrial cancer.

Common signs and symptoms of PCOS include the following:
 * Menstrual disorders: PCOS mostly produces oligomenorrhea (fewer than nine menstrual periods in a year) or amenorrhea (no menstrual periods for three or more consecutive months), but other types of menstrual disorders may also occur.
 * Infertility: This generally results directly from chronic anovulation (lack of ovulation).
 * High levels of masculinizing hormones: Known as hyperandrogenism, the most common signs are acne and hirsutism (male pattern of hair growth, such as on the chin or chest), but it may produce hypermenorrhea (heavy and prolonged menstrual periods), androgenic alopecia (increased hair thinning or diffuse hair loss), or other symptoms. Approximately three-quarters of women with PCOS (by the diagnostic criteria of NIH/NICHD 1990) have evidence of hyperandrogenemia.
 * Metabolic syndrome: This appears as a tendency towards central obesity and other symptoms associated with insulin resistance, including low energy levels and food cravings. Serum insulin, insulin resistance, and homocysteine levels are higher in women with PCOS.
 * Acne: A rise in testosterone levels, increases the oil production within the sebaceous glands and clogs pores. For many women, the emotional impact is great and quality of life can be significantly reduced.
 * Androgenic Alopecia: Estimates suggest that androgenic alopecia affects 22% of PCOS sufferers. This is a result of high testosterone levels that are converted into the dihydrotestosterone (DHT) hormone. Hair follicles become clogged, making hair fall out and preventing further growth.
 * Acanthosis Nigricans (AN): A skin condition where dark, thick and "velvety" patches can form.
 * Polycystic ovaries: PCOS is a complicated disorder characterized by high androgen levels, irregular menstruation, and/or small cysts on one or both ovaries. Ovaries might get enlarged and comprise follicles surrounding the eggs. As result, ovaries might fail to function regularly. This disease is related to the number of follicles per ovary each month growing from the average range of 6-8 to double, triple or more. Women with PCOS have higher risk of multiple diseases including Infertility, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2), cardiovascular risk, metabolic syndrome, obesity, impaired glucose tolerance, depression, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), endometrial cancer, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH).

Women with PCOS tend to have central obesity, but studies are conflicting as to whether visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat is increased, unchanged, or decreased in women with PCOS relative to non-PCOS women with the same body mass index. In any case, androgens, such as testosterone, androstanolone (dihydrotestosterone), and nandrolone decanoate have been found to increase visceral fat deposition in both female animals and women.

Although 80% of PCOS presents in women with obesity, 20% of women diagnosed with the disease are non-obese or "lean" women. However, obese women that have PCOS have a higher risk of adverse outcomes, such as hypertension, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and endometrial hyperplasia.

Even though most women with PCOS are overweight or obese, it is important to acknowledge that non-overweight women can also be diagnosed with PCOS. Up to 30% of women diagnosed with PCOS maintain a normal weight before and after diagnosis. "Lean" women still face the various symptoms of PCOS with the added challenges of having their symptoms properly addressed and recognized. Lean women often go undiagnosed for years, and usually are diagnosed after struggles to conceive. Lean women are likely to have a missed diagnosis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These women also have an increased risk of developing insulin resistance, despite not being overweight. Lean women are often taken less seriously with their diagnosis of PCOS, and also face challenges finding appropriate treatment options. This is because most treatment options are limited to approaches of losing weight and healthy dieting.

Hormone levels
Testosterone levels are usually elevated in women with PCOS. In a 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis of sexual dysfunction related to PCOS which included 5,366 women with PCOS from 21 studies, testosterone levels were analyzed and were found to be 2.34 nmol/L (67 ng/dL) in women with PCOS and 1.57 nmol/L (45 ng/dL) in women without PCOS. In a 1995 study of 1,741 women with PCOS, mean testosterone levels were 2.6 (1.1–4.8) nmol/L (75 (32–140) ng/dL). In a 1998 study which reviewed many studies and subjected them to meta-analysis, testosterone levels in women with PCOS were 62 to 71 ng/dL (2.2–2.5 nmol/L) and testosterone levels in women without PCOS were about 32 ng/dL (1.1 nmol/L). In a 2010 study of 596 women with PCOS which used liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) to quantify testosterone, median levels of testosterone were 41 and 47 ng/dL (with 25th–75th percentiles of 34–65 ng/dL and 27–58 ng/dL and ranges of 12–184 ng/dL and 1–205 ng/dL) via two different labs. If testosterone levels are above 100 to 200 ng/dL, per different sources, other possible causes of hyperandrogenism, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia or an androgen-secreting tumor, may be present and should be excluded.

Associated conditions
Warning signs may include a change in appearance. But there are also manifestations of mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.

A diagnosis of PCOS suggests an increased risk of the following: The risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer is not significantly increased overall.
 * Endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterine lining) are possible, due to overaccumulation of uterine lining, and also lack of progesterone, resulting in prolonged stimulation of uterine cells by estrogen. It is not clear whether this risk is directly due to the syndrome or from the associated obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperandrogenism.
 * Insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes. A review published in 2010 concluded that women with PCOS have an elevated prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, even when controlling for body mass index (BMI). PCOS is also associated with higher risk for diabetes.
 * High blood pressure, in particular if obese or during pregnancy
 * Depression and anxiety
 * Dyslipidemia – disorders of lipid metabolism – cholesterol and triglycerides. Women with PCOS show a decreased removal of atherosclerosis-inducing remnants, seemingly independent of insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes.
 * Cardiovascular disease, with a meta-analysis estimating a 2-fold risk of arterial disease for women with PCOS relative to women without PCOS, independent of BMI.
 * Strokes
 * Weight gain
 * Miscarriage
 * Sleep apnea, particularly if obesity is present
 * Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, particularly if obesity is present
 * Acanthosis nigricans (patches of darkened skin under the arms, in the groin area, on the back of the neck)
 * Autoimmune thyroiditis
 * Iron deficiency

Cause
PCOS is a heterogeneous disorder of uncertain cause. There is some evidence that it is a genetic disease. Such evidence includes the familial clustering of cases, greater concordance in monozygotic compared with dizygotic twins and heritability of endocrine and metabolic features of PCOS. There is some evidence that exposure to higher than typical levels of androgens and the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in utero increases the risk of developing PCOS in later life.

It may be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Risk factors include obesity, a lack of physical exercise, and a family history of someone with the condition. Diagnosis is based on two of the following three findings: anovulation, high androgen levels, and ovarian cysts. Cysts may be detectable by ultrasound. Other conditions that produce similar symptoms include adrenal hyperplasia, hypothyroidism, and high blood levels of prolactin.

Genetics
The genetic component appears to be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion with high genetic penetrance but variable expressivity in females; this means that each child has a 50% chance of inheriting the predisposing genetic variant(s) from a parent, and, if a daughter receives the variant(s), the daughter will have the disease to some extent. The genetic variant(s) can be inherited from either the father or the mother, and can be passed along to both sons (who may be asymptomatic carriers or may have symptoms such as early baldness and/or excessive hair) and daughters, who will show signs of PCOS. The phenotype appears to manifest itself at least partially via heightened androgen levels secreted by ovarian follicle theca cells from women with the allele. The exact gene affected has not yet been identified. In rare instances, single-gene mutations can give rise to the phenotype of the syndrome. Current understanding of the pathogenesis of the syndrome suggests, however, that it is a complex multigenic disorder.

Due to the scarcity of large-scale screening studies, the prevalence of endometrial abnormalities in PCOS remains unknown, though women with the condition may be at increased risk for endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma as well as menstrual dysfunction and infertility.

The severity of PCOS symptoms appears to be largely determined by factors such as obesity. PCOS has some aspects of a metabolic disorder, since its symptoms are partly reversible. Even though considered as a gynecological problem, PCOS consists of 28 clinical symptoms.

Even though the name suggests that the ovaries are central to disease pathology, cysts are a symptom instead of the cause of the disease. Some symptoms of PCOS will persist even if both ovaries are removed; the disease can appear even if cysts are absent. Since its first description by Stein and Leventhal in 1935, the criteria of diagnosis, symptoms, and causative factors are subject to debate. Gynecologists often see it as a gynecological problem, with the ovaries being the primary organ affected. However, recent insights show a multisystem disorder, with the primary problem lies in hormonal regulation in the hypothalamus, with the involvement of many organs. The term PCOS is used due to the fact that there is a wide spectrum of symptoms possible. It is common to have polycystic ovaries without having PCOS; approximately 20% of European women have polycystic ovaries, but most of those women do not have PCOS.

Environment
PCOS may be related to or worsened by exposures during the prenatal period,  epigenetic factors, environmental impacts (especially industrial endocrine disruptors, such as bisphenol A and certain drugs)   and the increasing rates of obesity.

Endocrine disruptors are defined as chemicals that can interfere with the endocrine system by mimicking hormones such as estrogen. According to the NIH (National Institute of Health), examples of endocrine disruptors can include dioxins and triclosan. Endocrine disruptors can cause adverse health impacts in animals. Additional research is needed to assess the role that endocrine disruptors may play in disrupting reproductive health in women and possibly triggering or exacerbating PCOS and its related symptoms.

Pathogenesis
Polycystic ovaries develop when the ovaries are stimulated to produce excessive amounts of androgenic hormones, in particular testosterone, by either one or a combination of the following (almost certainly combined with genetic susceptibility):
 * the release of excessive luteinizing hormone (LH) by the anterior pituitary gland
 * through high levels of insulin in the blood (hyperinsulinaemia) in women whose ovaries are sensitive to this stimulus

A majority of women with PCOS have insulin resistance and/or are obese, which is a strong risk factor for insulin resistance, although insulin resistance is a common finding among women with PCOS in normal-weight women as well. Elevated insulin levels contribute to or cause the abnormalities seen in the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian axis that lead to PCOS. Hyperinsulinemia increases GnRH pulse frequency, which in turn results in an increase in the LH/FSH ratio increased ovarian androgen production; decreased follicular maturation; and decreased SHBG binding. Furthermore, excessive insulin increases the activity of 17α-hydroxylase, which catalyzes the conversion of progesterone to androstenedione, which is in turn converted to testosterone. The combined effects of hyperinsulinemia contribute to an increased risk of PCOS.

Adipose (fat) tissue possesses aromatase, an enzyme that converts androstenedione to estrone and testosterone to estradiol. The excess of adipose tissue in obese women creates the paradox of having both excess androgens (which are responsible for hirsutism and virilization) and excess estrogens (which inhibit FSH via negative feedback).

The syndrome acquired its most widely used name due to the common sign on ultrasound examination of multiple (poly) ovarian cysts. These "cysts" are in fact immature ovarian follicles. The follicles have developed from primordial follicles, but this development has stopped ("arrested") at an early stage, due to the disturbed ovarian function. The follicles may be oriented along the ovarian periphery, appearing as a 'string of pearls' on ultrasound examination.

PCOS may be associated with chronic inflammation, with several investigators correlating inflammatory mediators with anovulation and other PCOS symptoms. Similarly, there seems to be a relation between PCOS and an increased level of oxidative stress.

Diagnosis
Not every person with PCOS has polycystic ovaries (PCO), nor does everyone with ovarian cysts have PCOS; although a pelvic ultrasound is a major diagnostic tool, it is not the only one. The diagnosis is fairly straightforward using the Rotterdam criteria, even when the syndrome is associated with a wide range of symptoms.

Differential diagnosis
Other causes of irregular or absent menstruation and hirsutism, such as hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (21-hydroxylase deficiency) (which may cause excessive body hair, deep tone voice and others symptoms similar to hyperandrogenism), Cushing's syndrome, hyperprolactinemia (leading to anovulation), androgen-secreting neoplasms, and other pituitary or adrenal disorders, should be investigated.

Standard assessment

 * History-taking, specifically for menstrual pattern, obesity, hirsutism and acne. A clinical prediction rule found that these four questions can diagnose PCOS with a sensitivity of 77.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 62.7%–88.0%) and a specificity of 93.8% (95% CI 82.8%–98.7%).
 * Gynecologic ultrasonography, specifically looking for small ovarian follicles. These are believed to be the result of disturbed ovarian function with failed ovulation, reflected by the infrequent or absent menstruation that is typical of the condition. In a normal menstrual cycle, one egg is released from a dominant follicle – in essence, a cyst that bursts to release the egg. After ovulation, the follicle remnant is transformed into a progesterone-producing corpus luteum, which shrinks and disappears after approximately 12–14 days. In PCOS, there is a so-called "follicular arrest"; i.e., several follicles develop to a size of 5–7 mm, but not further. No single follicle reaches the preovulatory size (16 mm or more). According to the Rotterdam criteria, which are widely used for diagnosis of PCOS, 12 or more small follicles should be seen in a suspect ovary on ultrasound examination. More recent research suggests that there should be at least 25 follicles in an ovary to designate it as having polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) in women aged 18–35 years. The follicles may be oriented in the periphery, giving the appearance of a 'string of pearls'. If a high-resolution transvaginal ultrasonography machine is not available, an ovarian volume of at least 10 ml is regarded as an acceptable definition of having polycystic ovarian morphology. rather than follicle count.
 * Laparoscopic examination may reveal a thickened, smooth, pearl-white outer surface of the ovary. (This would usually be an incidental finding if laparoscopy were performed for some other reason, as it would not be routine to examine the ovaries in this way to confirm a diagnosis of PCOS.)
 * Serum (blood) levels of androgens, including androstenedione and testosterone may be elevated. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels above 700–800 μg/dL are highly suggestive of adrenal dysfunction because DHEA-S is made exclusively by the adrenal glands. The free testosterone level is thought to be the best measure, with approximately 60 per cent of PCOS patients demonstrating supranormal levels.

Some other blood tests are suggestive but not diagnostic. The ratio of LH (luteinizing hormone) to FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), when measured in international units, is elevated in women with PCOS. Common cut-offs to designate abnormally high LH/FSH ratios are 2:1 or 3:1 as tested on day 3 of the menstrual cycle. The pattern is not very sensitive; a ratio of 2:1 or higher was present in less than 50% of women with PCOS in one study. There are often low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin, in particular among obese or overweight women. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is increased in PCOS, and may become part of its diagnostic criteria.

Glucose tolerance testing

 * Two-hour oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) in women with risk factors (obesity, family history, history of gestational diabetes) may indicate impaired glucose tolerance (insulin resistance) in 15–33% of women with PCOS. Frank diabetes can be seen in 65–68% of women with this condition. Insulin resistance can be observed in both normal weight and overweight people, although it is more common in the latter (and in those matching the stricter NIH criteria for diagnosis); 50–80% of people with PCOS may have insulin resistance at some level.
 * Fasting insulin level or GTT with insulin levels (also called IGTT). Elevated insulin levels have been helpful to predict response to medication and may indicate women needing higher doses of metformin or the use of a second medication to significantly lower insulin levels. Elevated blood sugar and insulin values do not predict who responds to an insulin-lowering medication, low-glycemic diet, and exercise. Many women with normal levels may benefit from combination therapy. A hypoglycemic response in which the two-hour insulin level is higher and the blood sugar lower than fasting is consistent with insulin resistance. A mathematical derivation known as the HOMAI, calculated from the fasting values in glucose and insulin concentrations, allows a direct and moderately accurate measure of insulin sensitivity (glucose-level x insulin-level/22.5).

The Four Types of PCOS

PCOS diagnosis is categorized into four different types;
 * 1) Insulin-resistant PCOS is the most common and occurs because of high insulin levels in the body, as a result the pancreas releases more insulin that then leaves the body at an excess of insulin that then signals the body to produce androgen at higher levels.
 * 2) Inflammatory PCOS results from inflammation in the body that is caused by stress and or high inflamatory foods. With inflamatory PCOS because of the inflammation the body will not ovulate, that results in an imbalance in hormones that then causes the body to produce androgen at higher levels.
 * 3) Post-Pill PCOS results from individuals stopping oral contraceptives. When you stop taking these pills the body will produce androgen at higher levels resulting in PCOS symptoms.
 * 4) Adrenal PCOS  is a PCOS caused by how our body reacts to stress. As a result DHEAS a type of androgens that from in the adrenal glands.

Management
PCOS has no cure. Treatment may involve lifestyle changes such as weight loss and exercise.

Recent research suggests that daily exercise including both aerobic and strength activities can improve hormone imbalances.

Birth control pills may help with improving the regularity of periods, excess hair growth, and acne. Combined oral contraceptives are especially effective, and used as the first-line of treatment to reduce acne and hirsutism, and regulate menstrual cycle. This is especially the case of adolescents.

Metformin, GLP-1, and anti-androgens may also help. Other typical acne treatments and hair removal techniques may be used. Efforts to improve fertility include weight loss, metformin, and ovulation induction using clomiphene or letrozole. In vitro fertilization is used by some in whom other measures are not effective.

Certain cosmetic procedures may also help alleviate symptoms in some cases. For example, the use of laser hair removal, electrolysis, or general waxing, plucking and shaving are all effective methods for reducing hirsutism. The primary treatments for PCOS include lifestyle changes and use of medications.

Goals of treatment may be considered under four categories:
 * Lowering of insulin resistance
 * Reducing androgen and testosterone levels
 * Restoration of fertility
 * Treatment of hirsutism or acne
 * Restoration of regular menstruation, and prevention of endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer

In each of these areas, there is considerable debate as to the optimal treatment. One of the major factors underlying the debate is the lack of large-scale clinical trials comparing different treatments. Smaller trials tend to be less reliable and hence may produce conflicting results. General interventions that help to reduce weight or insulin resistance can be beneficial for all these aims, because they address what is believed to be the underlying cause. As PCOS appears to cause significant emotional distress, appropriate support may be useful.

Diet
Where PCOS is associated with being overweight or obesity, successful weight loss is the most effective method of restoring normal ovulation/menstruation. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists guidelines recommend a goal of achieving 10–15% weight loss or more, which improves insulin resistance and all hormonal disorders. Still, many women find it very difficult to achieve and sustain significant weight loss. Insulin resistance itself can cause increased food cravings and lower energy levels, which can make it difficult to lose weight on a regular weight-loss diet. A scientific review in 2013 found similar improvements in weight, body composition and pregnancy rate, menstrual regularity, ovulation, hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, lipids, and quality of life to occur with weight loss, independent of diet composition. Still, a low GI diet, in which a significant portion of total carbohydrates is obtained from fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain sources, has resulted in greater menstrual regularity than a macronutrient-matched healthy diet.

Reducing intake of food groups that cause inflammation, such as dairy, sugars and simple carbohydrates, can be beneficial.

A mediterranean diet is often very effective due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties.

Vitamin D deficiency may play some role in the development of the metabolic syndrome, and treatment of any such deficiency is indicated. However, a systematic review of 2015 found no evidence that vitamin D supplementation reduced or mitigated metabolic and hormonal dysregulations in PCOS. As of 2012, interventions using dietary supplements to correct metabolic deficiencies in people with PCOS had been tested in small, uncontrolled and nonrandomized clinical trials; the resulting data are insufficient to recommend their use.

Medications
Medications for PCOS include oral contraceptives and metformin. The oral contraceptives increase sex hormone binding globulin production, which increases binding of free testosterone. This reduces the symptoms of hirsutism caused by high testosterone and regulates return to normal menstrual periods. Anti-androgens such as finasteride, flutamide, spironolactone, and bicalutamide do not show advantages over oral contraceptives, but could be an option for people who do not tolerate them. Finasteride is the only oral medication for the treatment of androgenic alopecia, that is FDA approved.

Metformin is a medication commonly used in type 2 diabetes mellitus to reduce insulin resistance, and is used off label (in the UK, US, AU and EU) to treat insulin resistance seen in PCOS. In many cases, metformin also supports ovarian function and return to normal ovulation. A newer insulin resistance medication class, the thiazolidinediones (glitazones), have shown equivalent efficacy to metformin, but metformin has a more favorable side effect profile. The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended in 2004 that women with PCOS and a body mass index above 25 be given metformin when other therapy has failed to produce results. Metformin may not be effective in every type of PCOS, and therefore there is some disagreement about whether it should be used as a general first line therapy. In addition to this, metformin is associated with several unpleasant side effects: including abdominal pain, metallic taste in the mouth, diarrhoea and vomiting. Metformin is thought to be safe to use during pregnancy (pregnancy category B in the US). A review in 2014 concluded that the use of metformin does not increase the risk of major birth defects in women treated with metformin during the first trimester. Liraglutide may reduce weight and waist circumference in people with PCOS more than other medications. The use of statins in the management of underlying metabolic syndrome remains unclear.

It can be difficult to become pregnant with PCOS because it causes irregular ovulation. Medications to induce fertility when trying to conceive include the ovulation inducer clomiphene or pulsatile leuprorelin. Evidence from randomised controlled trials suggests that in terms of live birth, metformin may be better than placebo, and metform plus clomiphene may be better than clomiphene alone, but that in both cases women may be more likely to experience gastrointestinal side effects with metformin.

Infertility
Not all people with PCOS have difficulty becoming pregnant. But some individuals with PCOS may have difficulty getting pregnant since their body does not produce the hormones necessary for regular ovulation. PCOS might also increase the risk of miscarriage or premature delivery. However, it is possible to have a normal pregnancy. Including medical care and a healthy lifestyle to follow.

For those that do, anovulation or infrequent ovulation is a common cause and PCOS is the main cause of anovulatory infertility. Other factors include changed levels of gonadotropins, hyperandrogenemia, and hyperinsulinemia. Like women without PCOS, women with PCOS that are ovulating may be infertile due to other causes, such as tubal blockages due to a history of sexually transmitted diseases.

For overweight anovulatory women with PCOS, weight loss and diet adjustments, especially to reduce the intake of simple carbohydrates, are associated with resumption of natural ovulation. Digital health interventions have been shown to be particularly effective in providing combined therapy to manage PCOS through both lifestyle changes and medication.

Femara is an alternative medicine that raises FSH levels and promote the development of the follicle.

For those women that after weight loss still are anovulatory or for anovulatory lean women, then ovulation induction using the medications letrozole or clomiphene citrate are the principal treatments used to promote ovulation. Clomiphene can cause mood swings and abdominal cramping for some.

Previously, the anti-diabetes medication metformin was recommended treatment for anovulation, but it appears less effective than letrozole or clomiphene.

For women not responsive to letrozole or clomiphene and diet and lifestyle modification, there are options available including assisted reproductive technology procedures such as controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) injections followed by in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Though surgery is not commonly performed, the polycystic ovaries can be treated with a laparoscopic procedure called "ovarian drilling" (puncture of 4–10 small follicles with electrocautery, laser, or biopsy needles), which often results in either resumption of spontaneous ovulations or ovulations after adjuvant treatment with clomiphene or FSH. (Ovarian wedge resection is no longer used as much due to complications such as adhesions and the presence of frequently effective medications.) There are, however, concerns about the long-term effects of ovarian drilling on ovarian function.

In a small UK randomized trial, bariatric surgery led to more spontaneous ovulations than behavioral interventions combined with medical therapy in adult women with PCOS, raising the prospect that surgery could enhance prospects of spontaneous fertility.

Mental Health
Women with PCOS are far more likely to have depression than women without. Symptoms of depression might be heightened by certain physiological manifestations of this disease such as hirsutism or obesity that can lead to low self-esteem or poor body image. Researchers suggest that there be mental health screenings performed in tandem with PCOS assessment in order to identify these complications early and treat them accordingly.

PCOS is associated with other mental health related conditions besides depression such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. Additionally, it has been found to significantly increase risk of eating disorders. Screening for these mental health conditions will also be helpful in treatment of PCOS.

Lifestyle changes for people with PCOS have been proven to be difficult due to lack of intrinsic motivation, altered risk perception or other PCOS-related barriers. However, self management techniques and behavior change can be taught in a multidisciplinary approach with the goal of supporting those with PCOS in managing their symptoms.

Hirsutism and acne
When appropriate (e.g., in women of child-bearing age who require contraception), a standard contraceptive pill is frequently effective in reducing hirsutism. Progestogens such as norgestrel and levonorgestrel should be avoided due to their androgenic effects. Metformin combined with an oral contraceptive may be more effective than either metformin or the oral contraceptive on its own.

In the case of taking medication for acne, Kelly Morrow-Baez PHD, in her exposition titled Thriving with PCOS, informs that it "takes time for medications to adjust hormone levels, and once those hormone levels are adjusted, it takes more time still for pores to be unclogged of overproduced oil and for any bacterial infections under the skin to clear up before you will see discernible results." (p. 138)

Other medications with anti-androgen effects include flutamide, and spironolactone, which can give some improvement in hirsutism. Metformin can reduce hirsutism, perhaps by reducing insulin resistance, and is often used if there are other features such as insulin resistance, diabetes, or obesity that should also benefit from metformin. Eflornithine (Vaniqa) is a medication that is applied to the skin in cream form, and acts directly on the hair follicles to inhibit hair growth. It is usually applied to the face. 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (such as finasteride and dutasteride) may also be used; they work by blocking the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (the latter of which responsible for most hair growth alterations and androgenic acne).

Although these agents have shown significant efficacy in clinical trials (for oral contraceptives, in 60–100% of individuals ), the reduction in hair growth may not be enough to eliminate the social embarrassment of hirsutism, or the inconvenience of plucking or shaving. Individuals vary in their response to different therapies. It is usually worth trying other medications if one does not work, but medications do not work well for all individuals.

Menstrual irregularity
If fertility is not the primary aim, then menstruation can usually be regulated with a contraceptive pill. The purpose of regulating menstruation, in essence, is for the patient's convenience, and perhaps their sense of well-being; there is no medical requirement for regular periods, as long as they occur sufficiently often.

If a regular menstrual cycle is not desired, then therapy for an irregular cycle is not necessarily required. Most experts say that, if a menstrual bleed occurs at least every three months, then the endometrium (womb lining) is being shed sufficiently often to prevent an increased risk of endometrial abnormalities or cancer. If menstruation occurs less often or not at all, some form of progestogen replacement is recommended.

Alternative medicine
A 2017 review concluded that while both myo-inositol and D-chiro-inositols may regulate menstrual cycles and improve ovulation, there is a lack of evidence regarding effects on the probability of pregnancy. A 2012 and 2017 review have found myo-inositol supplementation appears to be effective in improving several of the hormonal disturbances of PCOS. Myo-inositol reduces the amount of gonadotropins and the length of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. A 2011 review found not enough evidence to conclude any beneficial effect from D-chiro-inositol. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of acupuncture, current studies are inconclusive and there's a need for additional randomized controlled trials.

Epidemiology
PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder among women between the ages of 18 and 44. It affects approximately 2% to 20% of this age group depending on how it is defined. When someone is infertile due to lack of ovulation, PCOS is the most common cause and could guide to patients' diagnosis. The earliest known description of what is now recognized as PCOS dates from 1721 in Italy.

The prevalence of PCOS depends on the choice of diagnostic criteria. The World Health Organization estimates that it affects 116 million women worldwide as of 2010 (3.4% of women). Another estimate indicates that 7% of women of reproductive age are affected. Another study using the Rotterdam criteria found that about 18% of women had PCOS, and that 70% of them were previously undiagnosed. Prevalence also varies across countries due to lack of large-scale scientific studies; India, for example, has a purported rate of 1 in 5 women having PCOS.

There are few studies that have investigated the racial differences in cardiometabolic factors in women with PCOS. There is also limited data on the racial differences in the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in adolescents and young adults with PCOS. The first study to comprehensively examine racial differences discovered notable racial differences in risk factors for cardiovascular disease. African American women were found to be significantly more obese, with a significantly higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome compared to white adult women with PCOS. It is important for the further research of racial differences among women with PCOS, to ensure that every woman that is affected by PCOS has the available resources for management.

Ultrasonographic findings of polycystic ovaries are found in 8–25% of women non-affected by the syndrome. 14% women on oral contraceptives are found to have polycystic ovaries. Ovarian cysts are also a common side effect of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine devices (IUDs).

There are few studies that have investigated the racial differences in cardiometabolic factors in women with PCOS.

History
The condition was first described in 1935 by American gynecologists Irving F. Stein, Sr. and Michael L. Leventhal, from whom its original name of Stein–Leventhal syndrome is taken. Stein and Leventhal first described PCOS as an endocrine disorder in the United States, and since then, it has become recognized as one of the most common causes of oligo ovulatory infertility among women.

The earliest published description of a person with what is now recognized as PCOS was in 1721 in Italy. Cyst-related changes to the ovaries were described in 1844.

Etymology
Other names for this syndrome include polycystic ovarian syndrome, polycystic ovary disease, functional ovarian hyperandrogenism, ovarian hyperthecosis, sclerocystic ovary syndrome, and Stein–Leventhal syndrome. The eponymous last option is the original name; it is now used, if at all, only for the subset of women with all the symptoms of amenorrhea with infertility, hirsutism, and enlarged polycystic ovaries.

Most common names for this disease derive from a typical finding on medical images, called a polycystic ovary. A polycystic ovary has an abnormally large number of developing eggs visible near its surface, looking like many small cysts.

Society and culture
In 2005, 4 million cases of PCOS were reported in the US, costing $4.36 billion in healthcare costs. In 2016 out of the National Institute Health's research budget of $32.3 billion for that year, 0.1% was spent on PCOS research. Among those aged between 14 and 44, PCOS is conservatively estimated to cost $4.37 billion per year.

As opposed to women in the general population, women with PCOS experience higher rates of depression and anxiety. International guidelines and Indian guidelines suggest psychosocial factors should be considered in women with PCOS, as well as screenings for depression and anxiety. Globally, this aspect has been increasingly focused on because it reflects the true impact of PCOS on the lives of patients. Research shows that PCOS adversely impacts a patient's quality of life.

Public figures
A number of celebrities and public figures have spoken about their experiences with PCOS, including:
 * Victoria Beckham
 * Maci Bookout
 * Frankie Bridge
 * Harnaam Kaur
 * Jaime King
 * Chrisette Michele
 * Lea Michele
 * Keke Palmer
 * Sasha Pieterse
 * Daisy Ridley
 * Romee Strijd
 * Lee Tilghman

title: Polycystic ovary syndrome


text:
Talk:French euro coins

I'm pretty sure the tree symbol used to be on the 2 Franc coin. Can anyone confirm? -- Tarquin

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 * Done, Miguel.mateo (talk) 09:39, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

WRONG!! everything is wrong T_T
* = No coins were minted that year for that denomination That's wrong. Coins were minted, but only in small quantities only avilable in sets. I've already seen a french 1 Euro coin from 2005, etc. on fairs (means: they exist!). It should be marked with *** not with *. Take a look at ebay, you'll find many of there *-marked coins there. Someone really should correct it. Otherwise I'll replace the * with ** (no data avilable.) Better no data than wrong data..

Btw.. the reference (not even the official national bank page..) say for example: France 2005, 50 Cent "---". Which means: --- : The coin has only been minted for collector folders and does not exist in circulation.

Would be quite cool, if someone could add the data given in the reverence ;) Or perhaps try to find a reference at the french national bank page.

Bah, hate trolls adding wrong information to wikipedia.. so annoying.... --91.61.65.192 (talk) 07:54, 14 October 2013 (UTC)

new design?
There reads: a new design on the French euro coins is expected in the near future

It's been over six years from that recommendation, so is that only a theoretical expectation? They aren't the only one; Austria, Germany and Italy are also yet to update their coins... 82.141.95.20 (talk) 10:22, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

title: Talk:French euro coins