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Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis

The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA axis or HTPA axis) is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three components: the hypothalamus (a part of the brain located below the thalamus), the pituitary gland (a pea-shaped structure located below the hypothalamus), and the adrenal (also called "suprarenal") glands (small, conical organs on top of the kidneys). These organs and their interactions constitute the HPS axis.

The HPA axis is a major neuroendocrine system that controls reactions to stress and regulates many body processes, including digestion, immune responses, mood and emotions, sexual activity, and energy storage and expenditure. It is the common mechanism for interactions among glands, hormones, and parts of the midbrain that mediate the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).

While steroid hormones are produced mainly in vertebrates, the physiological role of the HPA axis and corticosteroids in stress response is so fundamental that analogous systems can be found in invertebrates and monocellular organisms as well.

The HPA axis, hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis, and the hypothalamic–neurohypophyseal system are the four major neuroendocrine systems through which the hypothalamus and pituitary direct neuroendocrine function.

Anatomy
The key elements of the HPA axis are:
 * The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus: It contains neuroendocrine neurons which synthesize and secrete vasopressin and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH).
 * The anterior lobe of the pituitary gland: CRH and vasopressin stimulate the anterior lobe of pituitary gland to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), once known as corticotropin.
 * The adrenal cortex: It produces glucocorticoid hormones (mainly cortisol in humans) in response to stimulation by ACTH. Glucocorticoids in turn, act back on the hypothalamus and pituitary (to suppress CRH and ACTH production) in a negative feedback cycle.

CRH and vasopressin are released from neurosecretory nerve terminals at the median eminence. CRH is transported to the anterior pituitary through the portal blood vessel system of the hypophyseal stalk and vasopressin is transported by axonal transport to the posterior pituitary gland. There, CRH and vasopressin act synergistically to stimulate the secretion of stored ACTH from corticotrope cells. ACTH is transported by the blood to the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland, where it rapidly stimulates the biosynthesis of corticosteroids such as cortisol from cholesterol. Cortisol is a major stress hormone and has effects on many tissues in the body, including the brain. In the brain, cortisol acts on two types of receptors: mineralocorticoid receptors and glucocorticoid receptors, and these are expressed by many different types of neurons. One important target of glucocorticoids is the hypothalamus, which is a major controlling centre of the HPA axis.

Vasopressin can be thought of as "water conservation hormone" and is also known as "antidiuretic hormone(ADH)". It is released when the body is dehydrated and has potent water-conserving effects on the kidney. It is also a potent vasoconstrictor.

Important to the function of the HPA axis are some of the following feedback loops:
 * Cortisol produced in the adrenal cortex will negatively feedback to inhibit both the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. This reduces the secretion of CRH and vasopressin, and also directly reduces the cleavage of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) into ACTH and β-endorphins.
 * Epinephrine and norepinephrine (E/NE) are produced by the adrenal medulla through sympathetic stimulation and the local effects of cortisol (upregulation enzymes to make E/NE). E/NE will positively feedback to the pituitary and increase the breakdown of POMCs into ACTH and β-endorphins.

Function
Release of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) from the hypothalamus is influenced by stress, physical activity, illness, by blood levels of cortisol and by the sleep/wake cycle (circadian rhythm). In healthy individuals, cortisol rises rapidly after wakening, reaching a peak within 30–45 minutes. It then gradually falls over the day, rising again in late afternoon. Cortisol levels then fall in late evening, reaching a trough during the middle of the night. This corresponds to the rest-activity cycle of the organism. An abnormally flattened circadian cortisol cycle has been linked with chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia and burnout.

The HPA axis has a central role in regulating many homeostatic systems in the body, including the metabolic system, cardiovascular system, immune system, reproductive system and central nervous system. The HPA axis integrates physical and psychosocial influences in order to allow an organism to adapt effectively to its environment, use resources, and optimize survival.

Anatomical connections between brain areas such as the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus facilitate activation of the HPA axis. Sensory information arriving at the lateral aspect of the amygdala is processed and conveyed to the amygdala's central nucleus, which then projects out to several parts of the brain involved in responses to fear. At the hypothalamus, fear-signaling impulses activate both the sympathetic nervous system and the modulating systems of the HPA axis.

Increased production of cortisol during stress results in an increased availability of glucose in order to facilitate fighting or fleeing. As well as directly increasing glucose availability, cortisol also suppresses the highly demanding metabolic processes of the immune system, resulting in further availability of glucose.

Glucocorticoids have many important functions, including modulation of stress reactions, but in excess they can be damaging. Atrophy of the hippocampus in humans and animals exposed to severe stress is believed to be caused by prolonged exposure to high concentrations of glucocorticoids. Deficiencies of the hippocampus may reduce the memory resources available to help a body formulate appropriate reactions to stress.

Immune system
There is bi-directional communication and feedback between the HPA axis and the immune system. A number of cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-alpha can activate the HPA axis, although IL-1 is the most potent. The HPA axis in turn modulates the immune response, with high levels of cortisol resulting in a suppression of immune and inflammatory reactions. This helps to protect the organism from a lethal overactivation of the immune system, and minimizes tissue damage from inflammation.

In many ways, the CNS is "immune privileged", but it plays an important role in the immune system and is affected by it in turn. The CNS regulates the immune system through neuroendocrine pathways, such as the HPA axis. The HPA axis is responsible for modulating inflammatory responses that occur throughout the body.

During an immune response, proinflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-1) are released into the peripheral circulation system and can pass through the blood–brain barrier where they can interact with the brain and activate the HPA axis. Interactions between the proinflammatory cytokines and the brain can alter the metabolic activity of neurotransmitters and cause symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and mood changes. Deficiencies in the HPA axis may play a role in allergies and inflammatory/ autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

When the HPA axis is activated by stressors, such as an immune response, high levels of glucocorticoids are released into the body and suppress immune response by inhibiting the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-1, TNF alpha, and IFN gamma) and increasing the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13) in immune cells, such as monocytes and neutrophils.

The relationship between chronic stress and its concomitant activation of the HPA axis, and dysfunction of the immune system is unclear; studies have found both immunosuppression and hyperactivation of the immune response.

Stress and disease
The HPA axis is involved in the neurobiology and pathophysiology of mood disorders and functional illnesses, including anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, insomnia, posttraumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, ADHD, major depressive disorder, burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and alcoholism. Antidepressants, which are routinely prescribed for many of these illnesses, serve to regulate HPA axis function.

Sex differences are prevalent in humans with respect to psychiatric stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression, where women are diagnosed with these disorders more often than men. One rodents study found that females may lack the ability to tolerate as well as process stress (particularly for chronic stress) due to possible down regulation of glucocorticoid receptor expression as well as a deficiency of FKBP51 binding protein in the cytosol. By constantly activating the HPA axis, this could lead to higher instances of stress and disorders that would only get worse with chronic stress. Specifically in this rodent study, females showed greater activation of the HPA axis following stress than males. These differences also likely arise due to the opposing actions that certain sex steroids have, such as testosterone and oestrogen. Oestrogen functions to enhance stress-activated ACTH and CORT secretion while testosterone functions to decrease HPA axis activation and works to inhibit both ACTH and CORT responses to stress. However, more studies are required to better understand the underlying basis of these sex differences.

Experimental studies have investigated many different types of stress, and their effects on the HPA axis in many different circumstances. Stressors can be of many different types—in experimental studies in rats, a distinction is often made between "social stress" and "physical stress", but both types activate the HPA axis, though via different pathways. Several monoamine neurotransmitters are important in regulating the HPA axis, especially dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). There is evidence that an increase in oxytocin, resulting for instance from positive social interactions, acts to suppress the HPA axis and thereby counteracts stress, promoting positive health effects such as wound healing.

The HPA axis is a feature of mammals and other vertebrates. For example, biologists studying stress in fish showed that social subordination leads to chronic stress, related to reduced aggressive interactions, to lack of control, and to the constant threat imposed by dominant fish. Serotonin (5-HT) appeared to be the active neurotransmitter involved in mediating stress responses, and increases in serotonin are related to increased plasma α-MSH levels, which causes skin darkening (a social signal in salmonoid fish), activation of the HPA axis, and inhibition of aggression. Inclusion of the amino acid L -tryptophan, a precursor of 5-HT, in the feed of rainbow trout made the trout less aggressive and less responsive to stress. However, the study mentions that plasma cortisol was not affected by dietary L -tryptophan. The drug LY354740 (also known as Eglumegad, an agonist of the metabotropic glutamate receptors 2 and 3) has been shown to interfere in the HPA axis, with chronic oral administration of this drug leading to markedly reduced baseline cortisol levels in bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata); acute infusion of LY354740 resulted in a marked diminution of yohimbine-induced stress response in those animals.

Studies on people show that the HPA axis is activated in different ways during chronic stress depending on the type of stressor, the person's response to the stressor and other factors. Stressors that are uncontrollable, threaten physical integrity, or involve trauma tend to have a high, flat diurnal profile of cortisol release (with lower-than-normal levels of cortisol in the morning and higher-than-normal levels in the evening) resulting in a high overall level of daily cortisol release. On the other hand, controllable stressors tend to produce higher-than-normal morning cortisol. Stress hormone release tends to decline gradually after a stressor occurs. In post-traumatic stress disorder there appears to be lower-than-normal cortisol release, and it is thought that a blunted hormonal response to stress may predispose a person to develop PTSD.

It is also known that HPA axis hormones are related to certain skin diseases and skin homeostasis. There is evidence shown that the HPA axis hormones can be linked to certain stress related skin diseases and skin tumors. This happens when HPA axis hormones become hyperactive in the brain.

Prenatal stress
There is evidence that prenatal stress can influence HPA regulation. In animal experiments, exposure to prenatal stress has been shown to cause a hyper-reactive HPA stress response. Rats that have been prenatally stressed have elevated basal levels and abnormal circadian rhythm of corticosterone as adults. Additionally, they require a longer time for their stress hormone levels to return to baseline following exposure to both acute and prolonged stressors. Prenatally stressed animals also show abnormally high blood glucose levels and have fewer glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampus. In humans, prolonged maternal stress during gestation is associated with mild impairment of intellectual activity and language development in their children, and with behavior disorders such as attention deficits, schizophrenia, anxiety and depression; self-reported maternal stress is associated with a higher irritability, emotional and attentional problems.

There is growing evidence that prenatal stress can affect HPA regulation in humans. Children who were stressed prenatally may show altered cortisol rhythms. For example, several studies have found an association between maternal depression during pregnancy and childhood cortisol levels. Prenatal stress has also been implicated in a tendency toward depression and short attention span in childhood.

Early life stress
The role of early life stress in programming the HPA axis has been well-studied in animal models. Exposure to mild or moderate stressors early in life has been shown to enhance HPA regulation and promote a lifelong resilience to stress. In contrast, early-life exposure to extreme or prolonged stress can induce a hyper-reactive HPA axis and may contribute to lifelong vulnerability to stress. In one widely replicated experiment, rats subjected to the moderate stress of frequent human handling during the first two weeks of life had reduced hormonal and behavioral HPA-mediated stress responses as adults, whereas rats subjected to the extreme stress of prolonged periods of maternal separation showed heightened physiological and behavioral stress responses as adults.

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain these findings in rat models of early-life stress exposure. There may be a critical period during development during which the level of stress hormones in the bloodstream contribute to the permanent calibration of the HPA axis. One experiment has shown that, even in the absence of any environmental stressors, early-life exposure to moderate levels of corticosterone was associated with stress resilience in adult rats, whereas exposure to high doses was associated with stress vulnerability.

Another possibility is that the effects of early-life stress on HPA functioning are mediated by maternal care. Frequent human handling of the rat pups may cause their mother to exhibit more nurturant behavior, such as licking and grooming. Nurturant maternal care, in turn, may enhance HPA functioning in at least two ways. First, maternal care is crucial in maintaining the normal stress hypo responsive period (SHRP), which in rodents, is the first two weeks of life during which the HPA axis is generally non-reactive to stress. Maintenance of the SHRP period may be critical for HPA development, and the extreme stress of maternal separation, which disrupts the SHRP, may lead to permanent HPA dysregulation. Another way that maternal care might influence HPA regulation is by causing epigenetic changes in the offspring. For example, increased maternal licking and grooming has been shown to alter expression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene implicated in adaptive stress response. At least one human study has identified maternal neural activity patterns in response to video stimuli of mother-infant separation as being associated with decreased glucocorticoid receptor gene methylation in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from early life stress. Yet clearly, more research is needed to determine if the results seen in cross-generational animal models can be extended to humans.

Though animal models allow for more control of experimental manipulation, the effects of early life stress on HPA axis function in humans has also been studied. One population that is often studied in this type of research is adult survivors of childhood abuse. Adult survivors of childhood abuse have exhibited increased ACTH concentrations in response to a psychosocial stress task compared to unaffected controls and subjects with depression but not childhood abuse. In one study, adult survivors of childhood abuse that are not depressed show increased ACTH response to both exogenous CRF and normal cortisol release. Adult survivors of childhood abuse that are depressed show a blunted ACTH response to exogenous CRH. A blunted ACTH response is common in depression, so the authors of this work posit that this pattern is likely to be due to the participant's depression and not their exposure to early life stress.

Heim and colleagues have proposed that early life stress, such as childhood abuse, can induce a sensitization of the HPA axis, resulting in particular heightened neuronal activity in response to stress-induced CRH release. With repeated exposure to stress, the sensitized HPA axis may continue to hypersecrete CRH from the hypothalamus. Over time, CRH receptors in the anterior pituitary will become down-regulated, producing depression and anxiety symptoms. This research in human subjects is consistent with the animal literature discussed above.

The HPA axis was present in the earliest vertebrate species, and has remained highly conserved by strong positive selection due to its critical adaptive roles. The programming of the HPA axis is strongly influenced by the perinatal and early juvenile environment, or "early-life environment". Maternal stress and differential degrees of caregiving may constitute early life adversity, which has been shown to profoundly influence, if not permanently alter, the offspring's stress and emotional regulating systems. Widely studied in animal models (e.g. licking and grooming/LG in rat pups), the consistency of maternal care has been shown to have a powerful influence on the offspring's neurobiology, physiology, and behavior. Whereas maternal care improves cardiac response, sleep/wake rhythm, and growth hormone secretion in the neonate, it also suppresses HPA axis activity. In this manner, maternal care negatively regulates stress response in the neonate, thereby shaping his/her susceptibility to stress in later life. These programming effects are not deterministic, as the environment in which the individual develops can either match or mismatch with the former's "programmed" and genetically predisposed HPA axis reactivity. Although the primary mediators of the HPA axis are known, the exact mechanism by which its programming can be modulated during early life remains to be elucidated. Furthermore, evolutionary biologists contest the exact adaptive value of such programming, i.e. whether heightened HPA axis reactivity may confer greater evolutionary fitness.

Various hypotheses have been proposed, in attempts to explain why early life adversity can produce outcomes ranging from extreme vulnerability to resilience in the face of later stress. Glucocorticoids produced by the HPA axis have been proposed to confer either a protective or harmful role, depending on an individual's genetic predispositions, programming effects of early-life environment, and match or mismatch with one's postnatal environment. The predictive adaptation hypothesis (1), the three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience (2) and the maternal mediation hypothesis (3) attempt to elucidate how early life adversity can differentially predict vulnerability or resilience in the face of significant stress in later life. These hypotheses are not mutually exclusive but rather are highly interrelated and unique to the individual.

(1) The predictive adaptation hypothesis: This hypothesis is in direct contrast with the diathesis stress model, which posits that the accumulation of stressors across a lifespan can enhance the development of psychopathology once a threshold is crossed. Predictive adaptation asserts that early life experience induces epigenetic change; these changes predict or "set the stage" for adaptive responses that will be required in their environment. Thus, if a developing child (i.e., fetus to neonate) is exposed to ongoing maternal stress and low levels of maternal care (i.e., early life adversity), this will program their HPA axis to be more reactive to stress. This programming will have predicted, and potentially be adaptive in a highly stressful, precarious environment during childhood and later life. The predictability of these epigenetic changes is not definitive, however – depending primarily on the degree to which the individual's genetic and epigenetically modulated phenotype "matches" or "mismatches" with their environment (See: Hypothesis (2)).

(2) Three-Hit Concept of vulnerability and resilience: this hypothesis states that within a specific life context, vulnerability may be enhanced with chronic failure to cope with ongoing adversity. It fundamentally seeks to explicate why, under seemingly indistinguishable circumstances, one individual may cope resiliently with stress, whereas another may not only cope poorly, but consequently develop a stress-related mental illness. The three "hits" – chronological and synergistic – are as follows: genetic predisposition (which predispose higher/lower HPA axis reactivity), early-life environment (perinatal – i.e. maternal stress, and postnatal – i.e. maternal care), and later-life environment (which determines match/mismatch, as well as a window for neuroplastic changes in early programming). The concept of match/mismatch is central to this evolutionary hypothesis. In this context, it elucidates why early life programming in the perinatal and postnatal period may have been evolutionarily selected for. Specifically, by instating specific patterns of HPA axis activation, the individual may be more well-equipped to cope with adversity in a high-stress environment. Conversely, if an individual is exposed to significant early life adversity, heightened HPA axis reactivity may "mismatch" them in an environment characterized by low stress. The latter scenario may represent maladaptation due to early programming, genetic predisposition, and mismatch. This mismatch may then predict negative developmental outcomes such as psychopathologies in later life.

(3) Maternal mediation hypothesis: This hypothesis states that maternal care is the primary factor in developing stress resistance later in life.

Ultimately, the conservation of the HPA axis has underscored its critical adaptive roles in vertebrates, so, too, various invertebrate species over time. The HPA axis plays a clear role in the production of corticosteroids, which govern many facets of brain development and responses to ongoing environmental stress. With these findings, animal model research has served to identify what these roles are – with regards to animal development and evolutionary adaptation. In more precarious, primitive times, a heightened HPA axis may have served to protect organisms from predators and extreme environmental conditions, such as weather and natural disasters, by encouraging migration (i.e. fleeing), the mobilization of energy, learning (in the face of novel, dangerous stimuli) as well as increased appetite for biochemical energy storage. In contemporary society, the endurance of the HPA axis and early life programming will have important implications for counseling expecting and new mothers, as well as individuals who may have experienced significant early life adversity.

title: Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis


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Västerbotten

Västerbotten, known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (landskap) in the north of Sweden, bordering Angermannia, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the Westrobothnian cheese, (Västerbottensost) named after the province.

Administration
The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities. The administrative county, Västerbottens län ("County of Westrobothnia"), consists of the province and the southern part of Swedish Lappland.

Heraldry
On 18 January 1884, all provinces gained the rights to the rank of duchy, and the arms can be represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Azure Seme of Mullets Or a Reindeer in full course and hoofed Gules."

Geography
Westrobothnia was historically divided into chartered cities and districts.

Cities

 * Umeå (1622)
 * Skellefteå (1845)

Communes/Municipality Västerbottens län
• Bjurholm Angermannia

• Dorotea (Lappland)

• Lycksele (Lappland)

• Malå (Lappland)

• Nordmaling Angermannia

• Norsjö

• Robertsfors

• Skellefteå

• Sorsele (Lappland)

• Storuman (Lappland)

• Umeå

• Vilhelmina (Lappland)

• Vindeln

• Vännäs

• Åsele (Lappland)

Towns and villages

 * Björksele

Facts

 * Highest mountain: Åmliden (550 meters)
 * Largest lake: Bygdeträsket

History

Up until the Finnish War 1808–1809, and the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, the province of Westrobothnia also included a small portion of the extreme north of current Finland. This part has later been integrated in Lapland, Finland. The Österbotten, Eastern Botten or Ostrobothnia, lay on the Finnish side of the sea, and this province name still survives.

Following the Fredrikshamn treaty, which re-defined the outlines and orientation of Sweden, in 1810, Västerbotten County was split in two parts. The northern portion became Norrbottens län ("County of North Bothnia"), and the Swedish-speaking locals of North Bothnia (which in itself is a multi-lingual area) soon began referring to themselves as Northbothnians. The county borders thus gradually led to a local provincial identity. Nowadays North Bothnia is considered a separate province, even though provinces had ceased to have any administrative or legal significance hundreds of years before 1810.

Westrobothnia's Regiment was the provincial regiment.

Dukes of Westrobothnia
Since the 13th century, Swedish princes in some dynasties have been created dukes of various provinces. Since 1772, these are only nominal titles.
 * Prince Gustaf Adolf (1906-1947)

Sports
Regional football in the province is administered by Västerbottens Fotbollförbund. Ice hockey is also popular, with IF Björklöven and Skellefteå AIK.

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

title: Västerbotten


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USS New Jersey (BB-16)

USS New Jersey (BB-16) was the fourth of five Virginia-class battleships of the United States Navy, and the first ship to carry her name. She was laid down at the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Massachusetts, in May 1902, launched in November 1904, and commissioned into the fleet in May 1906. The ship was armed with an offensive battery of four 12 in guns and eight 8 in guns, and she was capable of a top speed of 19 kn.

New Jersey spent her entire career in the Atlantic Fleet. In late 1906, she took part in the Second Occupation of Cuba, and she participated in the Jamestown Exposition in April – May 1907. At the end of the year, she joined the Great White Fleet for its circumnavigation of the globe, which lasted into 1909. The ship spent the following five years conducting peacetime training. In April 1914, New Jersey took part in the occupation of Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution. During World War I, she was used as a training ship, and after the war, she was tasked with transporting American soldiers back from Europe. New Jersey was decommissioned in 1920 and slated for destruction in bombing tests in 1923. Martin NBS-1 bombers sank the ship on 5 September 1923 in a series of bomb attacks.

Design
Design work on the Virginia-class battleship began in 1899, after the United States' victory in the Spanish–American War, which had demonstrated the need for sea-going battleships suitable for operations abroad, finally resolving the debate between proponents of that type and those who favored low-freeboard types useful for coastal defense. The designers included a superposed arrangement of the main and some of the secondary guns, which proved to be a significant disappointment in service, as firing either set of guns interfered with the others, slowing the rate of fire.

New Jersey was 441 ft long overall and had a beam of 76 ft and a draft of 23 ft. She displaced 14948 LT as designed and up to 16094 LT at full load. The ship was powered by two-shaft triple-expansion steam engines rated at 19000 ihp, with steam provided by twelve coal-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The propulsion system generated a top speed of 19 kn. As built, she was fitted with heavy military masts, but these were quickly replaced by cage masts in 1909. She had a crew of 812 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was armed with a main battery of four 12 in /40 caliber Mark 4 guns in two twin gun turrets on the centerline, one forward and aft. The secondary battery consisted of eight 8 in /45 caliber guns and twelve 6 in /50 caliber guns. The 8-inch guns were mounted in four twin turrets; two of these were superposed atop the main battery turrets, with the other two turrets abreast the forward funnel. The 6-inch guns were placed in casemates in the hull. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried twelve 3 in/50 caliber guns mounted in casemates along the side of the hull and twelve 3-pounder guns. She also carried two 1-pounder guns. As was standard for capital ships of the period, New Jersey carried four 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, submerged in her hull on the broadside.

New Jersey's main armored belt was 11 in thick over the magazines and the machinery spaces and 6 in elsewhere. The faces of the main battery gun turrets (and the secondary turrets on top of them) were 12 in thick. Each turret rested on a supporting barbettes that had 10 in of armor plating. The conning tower had 9 in thick sides.

Early career and Great White Fleet

The keel for New Jersey was laid down at the Fore River Shipyard on 3 April 1902. She was launched on 10 November 1904; the daughter of Franklin Murphy, then the Governor of New Jersey, christened the ship. She was commissioned into the US fleet on 12 May 1906, Captain William Kimball in command. New Jersey began her initial training in the Atlantic and Caribbean, which was interrupted by a naval review for President Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay in September. On 21 September, the ship was deployed to Cuba to take part in the Second Occupation of Cuba; she remained there until 13 October. New Jersey participated in the Jamestown Exposition from 15 April to 14 May 1907, which commemorated the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colony. An international fleet that included British, French, German, Japanese, and Austro-Hungarian warships joined the US Navy at the event.

New Jersey joined the Great White Fleet on 16 December 1907, when they departed Hampton Roads to begin their circumnavigation of the globe. The cruise of the Great White Fleet was conceived as a way to demonstrate American military power, particularly to Japan. Tensions had begun to rise between the United States and Japan after the latter's victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, particularly over racist opposition to Japanese immigration to the United States. The press in both countries began to call for war, and Roosevelt hoped to use the demonstration of naval might to deter Japanese aggression. The fleet cruised south to the Caribbean and then to South America, making stops in Port of Spain, Rio de Janeiro, Punta Arenas, and Valparaíso, among other cities. After arriving in Mexico in March 1908, the fleet spent three weeks conducting gunnery practice. The fleet then resumed its voyage up the Pacific coast of the Americas, stopping in San Francisco and Seattle before crossing the Pacific to Australia, stopping in Hawaii on the way. Stops in the South Pacific included Melbourne, Sydney, and Auckland.

After leaving Australia, the fleet turned north for the Philippines, stopping in Manila, before continuing on to Japan where a welcoming ceremony was held in Yokohama, which helped to defuse tensions between the two countries. Three weeks of exercises followed in Subic Bay in the Philippines in November. The ships passed Singapore on 6 December and entered the Indian Ocean; they coaled in Colombo before proceeding to the Suez Canal and coaling again at Port Said, Egypt. The fleet called in several Mediterranean ports before stopping in Gibraltar, where an international fleet of British, Russian, French, and Dutch warships greeted the Americans. The ships then crossed the Atlantic to return to Hampton Roads on 22 February 1909, having traveled 46729 nmi. There, they conducted a naval review for Theodore Roosevelt.

1910–1923

New Jersey spent the next several years in the peacetime routine of the Atlantic Fleet, with various training maneuvers and gunnery practice in the Atlantic and Caribbean. During this period, she spent a year out of commission at Boston from 2 May 1910 to 15 July 1911, and in the summers of 1912 and 1913, she conducted training cruises for midshipmen from the United States Naval Academy. The ship was deployed to the Caribbean to protect American interests as the Mexican Revolution worsened in late 1913. On 21 April 1914, the United States occupied Veracruz in the aftermath of the Tampico Affair. On 13 August, New Jersey departed Mexican waters and steamed to Santo Domingo, where unrest gripped both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. After observing conditions in the two countries, the ship continued on, arriving in Hampton Roads on 9 October. She spent the next three years conducting her normal training routine.

On 6 April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany owing to the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign Germany initiated earlier that year. New Jersey was employed as a training ship for naval draftees, based in Chesapeake Bay. In November 1918, Germany signed the Armistice that ended the war; New Jersey was thereafter used to transport American soldiers back from Europe. In the course of four voyages between late 1918 and 9 June 1919, she carried some 5,000 soldiers. New Jersey was decommissioned on 6 August 1920 at the Boston Naval Shipyard, and was to be disposed of under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty signed in 1922. New Jersey, along with her sister USS Virginia (BB-13) and the battleship USS Alabama (BB-8) were allocated for weapons tests conducted with the US Army Air Service, under the supervision of General Billy Mitchell.

The bombing tests against New Jersey were conducted on 5 September 1923 in the Atlantic Ocean off Diamond Shoals, North Carolina, by Martin NBS-1 bombers of the 2nd Bombardment Group. Observers were aboard the Army transport ship USAT St. Mihiel. Four of the NBS-1s attacked New Jersey with 600 lb bombs at an altitude of 10000 ft, scoring four hits and several near-misses, which caused significant flooding. Another attack was made, this time with 2000 lb bombs at 6000 ft, seven of which landed close to the ship. By this time, flooding had increased to the point that the casemate gun ports were submerged. Two more NBS-1s then attacked with two 1100 lb bombs apiece; the first two missed but the third was a direct hit. It caused a large explosion and New Jersey capsized and sank 24 minutes later.

title: USS New Jersey (BB-16)


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Jason Marsden

Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director and producer, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He is best known for his voice roles as the voice of the Disney character Max Goof, since 1995, Prince Haku in the English dub of Spirited Away, Chester McBadbat in The Fairly OddParents, Matt Olsen/Shaygon in W.I.T.C.H., Chase Young in Xiaolin Showdown, Nermal in The Garfield Show and the title character in the Tak and the Power of Juju video game trilogy (Tak and the Power of Juju, Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams and Tak: The Great Juju Challenge) from 2003 to 2005. He is also known for voicing Thackery Binx in Disney's cult classic film Hocus Pocus (1993).

Early life
Marsden was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 3, 1975, to Linda (née Williams), and Myles Marsden (1936–2019). Linda was a former fashion model and Myles was a former premier danseur of the Yugoslav National Ballet. He has three older half-siblings from his father's first marriage to Croatian dancer Ivanka Herci Munitic: Ana Fox (née Marsden), ballet dancer Richard Anton "Rick" Marsden, and Mark Marsden.

Career
In 1986, Marsden got his first professional acting job as the character A. J. Quartermaine, in the television series General Hospital. In 1987, at the age of twelve, Marsden booked his first major film role in a science fiction movie called Robot Jox, which was released two years after filming because of the studio's financial problems and inevitable bankruptcy at the time. This was followed soon afterwards by the role of Eddie Munster in the TV series remake of The Munsters titled The Munsters Today. At the same time, he also had his first voice acting role in a cartoon, that of Cavin in the later seasons of the Disney TV series Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, as well as being the young announcer of the (new) Mickey Mouse Club and Disney Infomercials.

Marsden continued his career with many guest star appearances on prime time sitcoms. In 1990, he was the voice of Peter Pan in Peter Pan and the Pirates, which ran for two seasons and in 1992, he landed the role of Dash X in Eerie, Indiana.

He provided the voice of Thackery Binx as a black cat in Disney's Hocus Pocus and reprised the role in the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular.

His next roles included voicing Goofy's son Max Goof in Disney's A Goofy Movie (1995), as well as in the sequel An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000) and also had a supporting role in White Squall (1996). Marsden also did the voice of Garrett Miller on Extreme Ghostbusters and the younger versions of Shere Khan and King Louie on Jungle Cubs, which was a prequel to Disney's hit film Jungle Book and also continued his role as Max Goof on Disney's House of Mouse.

Some other on-camera roles were that of Rich Halke (J.T's best friend) in Step by Step, which was from 1995 until the show's cancellation in 1998; and Nelson Burkhard (D.J.'s rich boyfriend) in Full House, though after making a commitment with Dragon Con, Marsden did not reprise his role as Nelson in the sequel Fuller House instead Hal Sparks (who actually replaced Marsden as Tak in Tak and the Power of Juju series based on the 2003 video game of the same name) took over the role as Nelson. On Boy Meets World the part of "Jason" was written for him by show's creator/producer Michael Jacobs, whom Jason had worked with previously on the short-lived reboot of The Torkelsons called Almost Home. When it was time for Mr. Feeny (Played by William Daniels) to address "Jason" the writers thought it might be funny if he called Jason by his real last name. Jason agreed, and thus Eric Matthews' best friend "Jason Marsden" was played by Jason Marsden, after his departure from Boy Meets World after finishing Season 2, his character was replaced by Jack Hunter (Played by Matthew Lawrence) in Seasons 5-7. He played the young Burt Ward/Robin in the 2002 television movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. In 1999, he was featured in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Tarzan as a member of the gorilla family, a role given by the film's director, Kevin Lima, who also helmed A Goofy Movie.

Since Step by Step, Marsden has provided voices for numerous animated television shows and computer games. He did the voice of Kovu in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and narrated many of the special features on the Lion King Special edition DVD. He was the voice of Haku in the American dub of Spirited Away (2001). He has also provided the voice of Richie Foley/Gear in the television series Static Shock. In Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, he voiced several characters, most notably Lilarcor the talking sword, and the druid Cernd.

His first foray into directing was an episode of the Nickelodeon series The Journey of Allen Strange (1997). He also directed, wrote, produced and edited The Greatest Short Film Ever!!! and multiple indie music videos.

He has done voice-over work on multiple DC Comics-inspired animated series; as Clark Kent as a teenager in Superman: The Animated Series, as Snapper Carr in Justice League, as Billy Numerous in Teen Titans, as Donny Grasso on an episode of Batman Beyond, as Danger Duck in Loonatics Unleashed and as the villain Firefly in The Batman and as Paco in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. More recently, he played Impulse and Atom in Young Justice: Invasion. He also voiced Chase Young in Xiaolin Showdown from 2003 to 2006, and from 2003 to 2004, voiced Todd Sweeney in the Christmas episode of My Life as a Teenage Robot.

He also voiced for Tak in the game Tak and the Power of Juju along with Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams and Tak: The Great Juju Challenge. He voiced two recruitable companion characters in the Fallout game series, Myron in Fallout 2 (1998) and Boone in Fallout: New Vegas (2010).

From late summer 2004 to early spring 2007, Marsden was the head announcer for Toon Disney (excluding Jetix), but he also served as a part-time announcer for Disney Channel. He had a cameo in the film Fun with Dick and Jane as the cashier at the gas station, and was Tasslehoff Burrfoot in the movie Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight.

In 2012, Marsden did the voice of Final Fantasy XIII-2 character Noel Kreiss, Kade Burns and Fingers on The Hub series Transformers: Rescue Bots and Kaijudo, and continues to provide the voices of Nermal, Vito, Doctor Bonkers and numerous others on The Garfield Show.

In 2013, he did the voice of Aye-Aye in The Legend of Korra.

In 2014, he voiced Sumo and Belson in the pilot episode of the Cartoon Network animated series Clarence. After this episode, the voices of Sumo and Belson were handed to Tom Kenny and Roger Craig Smith, respectively.

In 2019, Marsden returned to voice Bart Allen / Kid Flash in Young Justice: Outsiders. In 2020, Marsden began producing an online web series for YouTube called The Mars Variety Show. Following the style of The Dean Martin Show, it features Indie musicians, comedians, and alternative performers.

Personal life
Marsden married Christy Hicks in October 2004. In 2020 they divorced after 16 years of marriage. Their son was born on February 10, 2010. Marsden lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 2005, Marsden and Hicks opened up a Yoga studio in Burbank, California, entitled, "Yoga Blend" which relocated to bigger location in 2007. In March 2020, "Yoga Blend" was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closed permanently on December 30, 2020, due to financial issues.

In 2020, Marsden revealed he has a girlfriend during an interview for a YouTube series.

title: Jason Marsden


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Braunschweig (region)

Braunschweig (German Regierungsbezirk Braunschweig) was one of the eight former administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke) of Lower Saxony, Germany. It was located in the southeast of the state.

The region covers roughly the area of the former state of Brunswick-Lüneburg. It was founded in 1978 out of 'Verwaltungsbezirk Braunschweig'. At the end of 2004, all Regierungsbezirke of Lower Saxony were dissolved.

The other seven were Regierungsbezirk Aurich, Regierungsbezirk Hannover, Regierungsbezirk Hildesheim, Regierungsbezirk Lüneburg, Regierungsbezirk Osnabrück, Regierungsbezirk Stade and Regierungsbezirk Weser-Ems. 'Verwaltungsbezirk Oldenburg' was dissolved in June 1977 and became part of Regierungsbezirk Weser-Ems.

The region of Braunschweig was (2005/6) the most R&D-intensive area in the whole European Economic Area investing 7.1% of its GDP for research & technology.

Districts from 1978 to 2004

 * Kreise (districts)

 * 1) Gifhorn
 * 2) Goslar
 * 3) Göttingen
 * 4) Helmstedt
 * 5) Northeim
 * 6) Osterode
 * 7) Peine
 * 8) Wolfenbüttel

 * Kreisfreie Städte (district-free towns)

 * 1) Braunschweig (Brunswick)
 * 2) Salzgitter
 * 3) Wolfsburg

title: Braunschweig (region)


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Pow-wow (folk magic)

Powwow, also called Brauche, Brauchau, or Braucherei in the Pennsylvania Dutch language, is a vernacular system of North American traditional medicine and folk magic originating in the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Blending aspects of folk religion with healing charms, "powwowing" includes a wide range of healing rituals used primarily for treating ailments in humans and livestock, as well as securing physical and spiritual protection, and good luck in everyday affairs. Although the word "powwow" is Native American, these ritual traditions are of European origin and were brought to colonial Pennsylvania in the transatlantic migrations of German-speaking people from Central Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A practitioner is sometimes referred to as a "Powwower" or Braucher, but terminology varies by region. These folk traditions continue to the present day in both rural and urban settings, and have spread across North America.

Origins and practices
Early colonial Pennsylvania was a melting pot of various European religious influences, as William Penn's promise of religious tolerance opened the doors for many Christian sects: the Anabaptists, Quakers, Lutherans, German Reformed, Catholics, and all manner of religious mystics and free-thinkers. It is from this blending that the Pennsylvania German powwow tradition was born.

Although the majority of the Pennsylvania Dutch were Protestant, their folk religious culture was deeply rooted in practices of the pre-Reformation era, such as the veneration of the saints, the use of folk adaptations of liturgical blessings for everyday purposes, and the use of sacred objects and inscriptions for healing and protection. These practices were brought to North America, and formed the basis of both oral and literary ritual traditions in Pennsylvania.

The majority of the early ritual traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch were rooted in German language, but the term "Powwow" became widely used by speakers of English by the late 18th century. "Powwaw" (in one of its early spellings) was appropriated from the Algonquian language by 17th century missionaries in New England, where it originally described a healer, derived from a verb implying trance, or dreaming for divination or healing purposes. Evidence suggests that the term was applied to the Pennsylvania Dutch out of a perceived similarity in ritual healing, consistent with its borrowed meaning in English for "conjuration performed for the cure of diseases and other purposes."

Later, at the turn of the 20th century, the term "powwow" became associated with the title of the English edition of a celebrated manual of ritual procedures, entitled Pow-Wows; or, Long Lost Friend, written by John George Hohman and first published in German as Der Lange Verborgene Freund (literally "The Long Hidden Friend") in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1820.

Braucheri newborns are welcomed by other Brauchau witches in a secret ceremony called das-familia-triffin, loosely translated from high-German as "[the] family meeting".

The tradition is also called Braucherei, or simply Brauche, in Pennsylvania Dutch; an adept is referred to as a "Powwower" or Braucher, though not all practitioners use the same terminology. The verb brauche means "to use, to employ, to make use of, to need," (brauchen or gebrauchen in modern High German) while Braucherei implies a collection of traditional ways, related to "Breiche – of customs, traditions, rituals, ceremonies." In modern High German, Brauch means "tradition" or "folklore".

Powwow literature
The Bible is considered the most important book of the powwow, and no practitioner would work without their Bible on hand. In addition, several popular grimoires are also utilized, primarily the Romanus-Buchlein and Egyptian Secrets of Albertus Magnus.

Important to some practitioners was the work The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, a magical text attributed to Moses and claimed as an esoteric sequel to the Pentateuch. Various versions of the work can be traced to 18th- and 19th-century German sources, while an English translation was published in Das Kloster in New York in 1880 by the German antiquarian Johann Scheible. However, the majority of practitioners were superstitiously fearful of this work and believed it invoked all manner of evil and devilry, as explained in The Red Church by author and Braucher Christopher Bilardi.

An excerpt from The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, which many Powwowers find as justification for the Christian practice of powwowing, reads: "One thing must not be omitted, in conclusion, and that is, we must first become Christians before we can perform cures by Christian methods. Very few are really Christians who call themselves such; they are only Christians in name and appearance. The art of healing, according to scriptural principles, deserves special mention in this place, in more than one respect, not only because something truly magical takes place therein, but because scriptural healing is often regarded as the only true one. The principles of this art of healing have been fully established according to certain declarations and doctrines of the Bible."

People who practiced Powwowing were often women who used prayer as well as locally accepted folk remedies. Because these were individualized prayers and not rote incantations the practice was seen as acceptable among the most devout Christians and was very popular well into the 1940s.

The origins of a majority of the charms and spells utilized by the powwow are generally agreed upon to be remnants of medieval folk charms used by superstitious Catholics against illness and witchery.

It is primarily understood by practitioners of the Powwow tradition that Powwow is an Americanized version of English "cunning craft": "The Pow-Wow practitioner is more closely allied with theology than medicine and feels he is a mediator between the patient and God. Among the Pennsylvania Germans, the 'plain folk', such as the Amish, Dunkers, and the Mennonites, as well as among the Lutheran and German Reformed church members – Pow-Wow and the Pow-Wow doctor has a significant following."

Another characteristic practice of powwow magic is the Himmelsbrief or "heaven's letter". Significantly, The Long-Lost Friend assures its owner that: "Whoever carries this book with him, is safe from all his enemies, visible or invisible; and whoever has this book with him cannot die without the holy corpse of Jesus Christ, nor drowned in any water, nor burn up in any fire, nor can any unjust sentence be passed upon him. So help me."

A Sure Means to Staunch Blood
It is helpful, though the person is far absent, if the one who uses this means for him, pronounces his name aright.

Cure for the Headache
"Tame thou flesh and bone, like Christ in Paradise; and you who will assist thee, this I tell thee (name) for your repentance sake. + + + This you must say three times, each time lasting for three minutes, and your headache will soon cease. But if your headache is caused by strong drink, or otherwise will not leave you soon, then you must repeat these words every minute. This, however, is not necessary in regard to headache."

In popular culture
The tradition of hex signs painted on Pennsylvania barns in some areas is believed by some to relate to this tradition; the paintings consisted of geometric star patterns thought to have talismanic properties, though many hex signs are made simply for decoration. Some scholars disagree with this claim, however, and believe the hex signs are the natural progression of German fraktur art. (need better citation for this claim)

The 1988 film Apprentice to Murder stars Donald Sutherland as "powwow" doctor John Reese, and Chad Lowe as his young apprentice Billy Kelly. Reese practices the folk magic rituals in a small Pennsylvania town whose residents believe they have fallen under a curse. The film makes use of Pow Wows or the Long Lost Friend cited above.

The 2016 documentary "Amish Witches The Real Story of Amish Witches" claims to follow the lives of real Amish witches who inspired the Lifetime original movie "Amish Witches: The True Story of Holmes County" with mixed reviews on IMDB.

title: Pow-wow (folk magic)


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Wilhelm Wattenbach

Wilhelm Wattenbach (22 September 1819 – 20 September 1897), was a German historian.

He was born at Rantzau in Holstein. He studied philology at the universities of Bonn, Göttingen and Berlin, and in 1843 he began to work upon the Monumenta Germaniae Historica. In 1855 he was appointed archivist at Breslau; in 1862 he became a professor of history at Heidelberg, and ten years later a professor at Berlin, where he was a member of the directing body of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica and a member of the Academy. He died at Frankfurt.

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Wattenbach was distinguished by his thorough knowledge of the chronicles and other original documents of the Middle Ages, and his most valuable work was done in this field.

Works

 * Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter bis zur Mitte des XIII Jahrhunderts (1858), his principal book, a guide to the sources of the history of Germany in the Middle Ages, several editions. 1893 ed.
 * Anleitung zur lateinischen Paläographie (Leipzig, 1869, and again 1886)
 * Das Schriftwesen im Mittelalter (Leipzig, 1871, and again 1896)
 * Beiträge zur Geschichte der christlichen Kirche in Böhmen und Mähren (Vienna, 1849)
 * Geschichte des römischen Papsttums (Berlin, 1876)
 * Anleitung zur griechischen Paläographie (Leipzig, 1867, and again 1895).

title: Wilhelm Wattenbach