text:
Lumbar spinal stenosis

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a medical condition in which the spinal canal narrows and compresses the nerves and blood vessels at the level of the lumbar vertebrae. Spinal stenosis may also affect the cervical or thoracic region, in which case it is known as cervical spinal stenosis or thoracic spinal stenosis. Lumbar spinal stenosis can cause pain in the low back or buttocks, abnormal sensations, and the absence of sensation (numbness) in the legs, thighs, feet, or buttocks, or loss of bladder and bowel control.

The precise cause of LSS is unclear. Narrowing of spinal structures in the spinal cord such as the central canal, the lateral recesses, or the intervertebral foramen (the opening where a spinal nerve root passes) must be present, but are not sufficient to cause LSS alone. Many people who undergo MRI imaging are found to have such changes but have no symptoms. These changes are commonly seen in people who have spinal degeneration that occurs with aging (e.g., spinal disc herniation). LSS may also be caused by osteophytes, osteoporosis, a tumor, trauma, or various skeletal dysplasias, such as with pseudoachondroplasia and achondroplasia.

Medical professionals may clinically diagnose lumbar spinal stenosis using a combination of a thorough medical history, physical examination, and imaging (CT or MRI). EMG may be helpful if the diagnosis is unclear. Useful clues that support a diagnosis of LSS are age; radiating leg pain that worsens with prolonged standing or walking (neurogenic claudication) and is relieved by sitting, lying down, or bending forward at the waist; and a wide stance when walking. Other helpful clues may include objective weakness or decreased sensation in the legs, decreased reflexes in the legs, and balance difficulties, all of which are strongly associated with LSS. Most people with LSS qualify for initial conservative non-operative treatment. Nonsurgical treatments include medications, physiotherapy, and injection procedures. Decompressive spinal surgery may modestly improve outcomes but carries greater risk than conservative treatment. Overall, there is limited supporting evidence to determine the most effective surgical or nonsurgical treatment for people with symptomatic LSS. Evidence to support the use of acupuncture is also limited.

Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common condition and causes substantial morbidity and disability. It is the most common reason people over the age of 65 pursue spinal surgery. The condition affects over 200,000 people in the United States.

Signs and symptoms
Understanding the meaning of signs and symptoms of lumbar stenosis requires an understanding of what the syndrome is, and the prevalence of the condition. A review of lumbar stenosis in the Journal of the American Medical Association "Rational Clinical Examination Series" emphasized that the syndrome can be considered when lower extremity pain occurs in combination with back pain. The syndrome occurs in 12% of older community-dwelling men and up to 21% of those in retirement communities.

Because the leg symptoms in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) are similar to those found with vascular claudication, the term pseudoclaudication is often used for symptoms of LSS. These symptoms include pain, weakness, and tingling of the legs, which may radiate down the legs to the feet. Additional symptoms in the legs may be fatigue, heaviness, weakness, a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness, and leg cramps, as well as bladder symptoms. Symptoms are most commonly bilateral and symmetrical, but they may be unilateral; leg pain is usually more troubling than back pain.

Pseudoclaudication, now generally referred to as neurogenic claudication, typically worsens with standing or walking, and improves with sitting, and is often related to posture and lumbar extension. Lying on the side is often more comfortable than lying flat, since it permits greater lumbar flexion. Vascular claudication can resemble spinal stenosis, and some individuals experience unilateral or bilateral symptoms radiating down the legs rather than true claudication.

The first symptoms of stenosis include bouts of low back pain. After a few months or years, this may progress to claudication. The pain may be radicular, following the classic neurologic pathways. This occurs as the spinal nerves or spinal cord become increasingly trapped in a smaller space within the canal. Determining whether pain in the elderly is caused by lack of blood supply or stenosis is difficult; testing can usually differentiate between them, but patients can have both vascular disease in the legs and spinal stenosis.

Among people with lower-extremity pain in combination with back pain, lumbar stenosis as the cause is two times more likely in those older than 70 years of age while in those younger than 60 years it is less than half as likely. The character of the pain is also useful for diagnosis. When the discomfort does not occur while seated, the likelihood of lumbar spinal stenosis increases considerably, around 7.4 times. Other features increasing the likelihood of lumbar stenosis are improvement in symptoms on bending forward (6.4 times), pain that occurs in both buttocks or legs (6.3 times), and the presence of neurogenic claudication (3.7 times). On the other hand, the absence of neurogenic claudication makes lumbar stenosis much less likely as the explanation for the pain.

Causes
Spinal stenosis may be congenital (rarely) or acquired (degenerative), overlapping changes normally seen in the aging spine. Stenosis can occur as either central stenosis (the narrowing of the entire canal) or foraminal stenosis (the narrowing of the foramen through which the nerve root exits the spinal canal). Severe narrowing of the lateral portion of the canal is called lateral recess stenosis. The ligamentum flavum (yellow ligament), an important structural component intimately adjacent to the posterior portion of the dural sac (nerve sac) can become thickened and cause stenosis. The articular facets, also in the posterior portion of the bony spine can become thickened and enlarged, causing stenosis. These changes are often called "trophic changes" or "facet trophism" in radiology reports. As the canal becomes smaller, resembling a triangular shape, it is called a "trefoil" canal.

Degenerative spondylolisthesis
Forward displacement of a proximal vertebra in relation to its adjacent vertebra in association with an intact neural arch, and in the presence of degenerative changes, is known as degenerative spondylolisthesis, which narrows the spinal canal, and symptoms of spinal stenosis are common. Of these, neural claudication is most common. Any forward slipping of one vertebra on another can cause spinal stenosis by narrowing the canal. If this forward slipping narrows the canal sufficiently, and impinges on the contents of the spinal column, it is spinal stenosis by definition. If associated symptoms of narrowing exist, the diagnosis of spinal stenosis is confirmed. With increasing age, the occurrence of degenerative spondylolisthesis becomes more common. The most common spondylolisthesis occurs with slipping of L4 on L5. Frymoyer showed that spondylolisthesis with canal stenosis is more common in diabetic women who have undergone oophorectomy (removal of ovaries). The cause of symptoms in the legs can be difficult to determine. A peripheral neuropathy secondary to diabetes can have the same symptoms as spinal stenosis.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is based on clinical findings. Some patients can have a narrowed canal without symptoms, and do not require therapy.

The normal lumbar central canal has a midsagittal diameter (front to back) greater than 13 mm, with an area of 1.45 cm2. Relative stenosis is said to exist when the anterior-posterior canal diameter measures between 10 and 13 mm. Absolute stenosis of the lumbar canal exists anatomically when the anterior-posterior measurement is 10 mm or less.

Plain X-rays of the lumbar or cervical spine may or may not show spinal stenosis. The definitive diagnosis is established by either computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning. Identifying the presence of a narrowed canal makes the diagnosis of spinal stenosis.

Bicycle test of van Gelderen
In 1977, Dyck and Doyle reported on the bicycle test, a simple procedure in which the patient is asked to pedal on a stationary bicycle. If the symptoms are caused by peripheral artery disease, the patient will experience claudication, a sensation of not getting enough blood to the legs; if the symptoms are caused by lumbar stenosis, symptoms will be relieved when the patient is leaning forward while bicycling. Although diagnostic progress has been made with newer technical advances, the bicycle test remains an inexpensive and easy way to distinguish between claudication caused by vascular disease and spinal stenosis.

MRI
MRI is the preferred method of diagnosing and evaluating spinal stenosis of all areas of the spine, including cervical, thoracic, and lumbar. MRI is useful to diagnose cervical spondylotic myelopathy (degenerative arthritis of the cervical spine with associated damage to the spinal cord). The finding of degeneration of the cervical spinal cord on MRI can be ominous; the condition is called myelomalacia or cord degeneration. It is seen as an increased signal on the MRI. In myelopathy (pathology of the spinal cord) from degenerative changes, the findings are usually permanent and decompressive laminectomy will not reverse the pathology. Surgery can stop the progression of the condition. In cases where the MRI changes are due to vitamin B12 deficiency, a brighter prospect for recovery can be expected.

Establishing the diagnosis
The detection of spinal stenosis in the cervical, thoracic, or lumbar spine confirms only the anatomic presence of a stenotic condition. This may or may not correlate with the diagnosis of spinal stenosis which is based on clinical findings of radiculopathy, neurogenic claudication, weakness, bowel and bladder dysfunction, spasticity, motor weakness, hyperreflexia and muscular atrophy. These findings, taken from the history and physical examination of the patient (along with the anatomic demonstration of stenosis with an MRI or CT scan), establish the diagnosis.

Management
Nonoperative therapies and laminectomy are the standard treatment for LSS. A trial of conservative treatment is typically recommended. Individuals are generally advised to avoid stressing the lower back, particularly with the spine extended. A physical-therapy program to provide core strengthening and aerobic conditioning may be recommended. Overall scientific evidence is inconclusive on whether conservative approach or a surgical treatment is better for lumbar spinal stenosis.

Medication
The evidence for the use of medical interventions for LSS is poor. Injectable but not nasal calcitonin may be useful for short-term pain relief. Epidural blocks may also transiently decrease pain, but no evidence of long-term effect has been found. Adding corticosteroids to these injections does not improve the result; the use of epidural steroid injections  is controversial and evidence of their efficacy is contradictory.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, and opioid analgesics are often used to treat low back pain, but evidence of their efficacy is lacking.

Surgery
Surgery appears to lead to better outcomes if symptoms continue after 3–6 months of conservative treatment. Laminectomy is the most effective of the surgical treatments. In those who worsen despite conservative treatments surgery leads to improvement in 60–70% of cases. Another procedure using an interspinous distraction device known as X-STOP was less effective and more expensive when more than one spinal levels are repaired. Both surgical procedures are more expensive than medical management.

Prognosis
Most people with mild to moderate symptoms do not get worse. While many improve in the short term after surgery, this improvement decreases somewhat with time. A number of factors present before surgery are able to predict the outcome after surgery, with people with depression, cardiovascular disease, and scoliosis doing in general worse, while those with more severe stenosis beforehand and better overall health doing better.

The natural evolution of disc disease and degeneration leads to stiffening of the intervertebral joint. This leads to osteophyte formation—a bony overgrowth about the joint. This process is called spondylosis, and is part of the normal aging of the spine. This has been seen in studies of normal and diseased spines. Degenerative changes begin to occur without symptoms as early as age 25–30 years. Not uncommonly, people experience at least one severe case of low back pain by the age of 35. This can be expected to improve and become less prevalent as the individual develops osteophyte formation around the discs.

In the US workers' compensation system, once the threshold of two major spinal surgeries is reached, the vast majority of workers never return to any form of gainful employment. Beyond two spinal surgeries, any more are likely to make the patient worse, not better.

Epidemiology
There are many causes for spinal stenosis but degenerative changes are a precursor to spinal stenosis becoming symptomatic. While the exact prevalence of degenerative LSS is unknown, it is estimated that it ranges from 1.7% - 13.1%. However, the results from these statistics have been put into question. This is mainly due to unclear diagnostic criteria. For example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) are the most common ways to diagnosis LSS, but clinically significant definitions of canal, foraminal, or subarticular narrowing do not exist.

In addition to this, the lumbar and cervical types are more common than the rarer thoracic stenosis. Although stenosis can be found isolated in one region of the spine, developmental spinal stenosis will most likely involve both the cervical and lumbar sections.

The age that people develop spinal stenosis is correlated with change in the joint's biomechanics. Because of this, there has been a recent increasing trend seen by physicians, of lumbar spinal stenosis being more commonly diagnosed in older patients. Low back pain accounts for 17% of all physician visits of people aged 65 and older. From this population, a large portion of radicular pain stems not from disk pathology, but from lumbar spinal stenosis. According to Kalff et al., 21% of people over the age of 60 have lumbar spinal stenosis, as confirmed by radiological screening. Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis has been predominantly seen in the 50 to 60-year-old population. A recent study in Japan found that the incidence of LSS increases with age. The study supports that LSS incidence increases incrementally in the following age groups, 1.7–2.2% in 40–49 years old population, and 10.3%–11.2% in 70–79 years old population. It is estimated that around 200,000 adults are affected by LSS in the United States and that by the year 2025, this number will rise to 64 million elderly. The syndrome occurs in 12% of older community-dwelling men and up to 21% of those in retirement communities.

Spinal stenosis generally affects more men than women. A study in Geneva found that the ratio between men and women is 1.28. It went on to state that while the disease is strongly related to aging, men are affected earlier in life than women. This is likely due to heavy workload and a higher body mass index (BMI). Although spinal stenosis tends to affect men more than women, degenerative spondylolisthesis in association with spinal stenosis is more prevalent in women. Occupation, race, and smaller canal diameter also do not appear to have a correlation with the development of spinal stenosis.

Furthermore, there is now a disproportionate rise in spinal surgery being performed. The incidence in the 1980s in Sweden was 5 per 100,000 people and increased 300% between 1987 and 1999. Again in 2013, Sweden reported an incidence of 40 per 100,000 people. The large increase in surgical treatment for this disease is well known and studied. The United States has also followed similar trends.

History
A description of LSS was published by Sachs and Frankel in 1900, but the first clinical description of LSS is usually attributed to the Dutch neurosurgeon Henk Verbiest, whose report appeared in 1954.

Spinal stenosis began to be recognized as an impairing condition in the 1950s and 1970s. Individuals who experience back pain and other symptoms are likely to have bigger spinal canals than those who are asymptomatic. A normal-sized lumbar canal is rarely encountered in persons with either disc disease or those requiring a laminectomy.

During the 1970s and 1980s, many case reports showed successful surgical treatment rates, but these were based on subjective assessment by surgeons. In 1992, Johnsson, Rosén and Udén described the natural history of LSS, with different conclusions about prognosis and treatment: "70% of patients reported no significant change in symptoms, 15% showed significant improvement, whereas 15% showed some deterioration. The investigators concluded that observation is a reasonable treatment option for lumbar stenosis and that significant neurologic deterioration is rare."

United States
Under rules promulgated by Titles II and XVI of the United States Social Security Act, spinal stenosis is recognized as a disabling condition under Listing 1.04 C. The listing states: "Lumbar spinal stenosis resulting in neurogenic claudication, established by findings on appropriate medically acceptable imaging, manifested by chronic nonradicular pain and weakness, and resulting in inability to ambulate effectively, as defined in 1.00B2b." The regulation is written specifically for lumbar stenosis.

title: Lumbar spinal stenosis


text:
Guadalinex

Guadalinex is an Ubuntu-based operating system promoted by the government of Andalusia (Spain). It is used in schools, public libraries, centers for elderly people and Guadalinfo centers.

There are five different versions of Guadalinex:
 * Guadalinex EDU (specially developed for schools by the CGA), includes Gnome Nanny
 * Guadalinex CDM (for centers of elderly people)
 * Guadalinex Guadalinfo (only used in Guadalinfo centers, where any person living in Andalusian rural areas can access the Internet for free)
 * Guadalinex Bibliotecas (special version for public libraries)
 * Guadalinex Mini (minimalistic Guadalinex distribution, suitable for old computers, and netbooks)

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

title: Guadalinex


text:
Joseph Lakanal

Joseph Lakanal (14 July 1762 – 14 February 1845) was a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France.

Early career
Born in Serres, in present-day Ariège, his name was originally Lacanal, and was altered to distinguish him from his Royalist brothers. He studied theology, and joined one of the teaching congregations (Pères de la Doctrine Chrétienne), and for fourteen years taught in their schools. He was professor of rhetoric at Bourges, and of philosophy at Moulins.

He was elected by his native département to the National Convention of the French Republic in 1792, where he sat until 1795; Lakanal was one of the noted administrators of the French Revolution. At the time of his election, he was acting as vicar to his uncle Bernard Font (1723–1800), the constitutional bishop of Pamiers. In the convention, he sat with The Mountain and voted for the execution of King Louis XVI.

Projects and reforms
Lakanal became a member of the Committee of Public Instruction early in 1793, and after carrying many useful decrees on the preservation of national monuments, on the military schools, on the reorganization of the Jardin des Plantes as the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and other matters (such as the creation of the École publique des Langues Orientales vivantes), he brought forward on 26 June his Projet d'éducation nationale (printed at the Imprimerie Nationale), which proposed to lay the burden or primary education on the public funds, but to leave secondary education to private enterprise; public fêtes were also assigned specified sums, and a central commission was to be entrusted with educational questions.

The project, to which Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès also contributed, was refused by the convention, who submitted the whole question to a special Commission of six, which, under the influence of Maximilien Robespierre, adopted a report by Louis-Michel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau (shortly before his death).

Lakanal, who was a member of the commission, now began to work for the organization of higher education, and, abandoning the principle of his Projet, advocated the establishment of state-aided schools for primary, secondary and university education. In October 1793, he was sent by the convention to the south-western départements and did not return to Paris until after the revolution of Thermidor that toppled Robespierre.

Thermidor and Directory
He became president of the Education Committee, and promptly abolished the system which had had Robespierre's support. He drew up schemes for normal schools of départements, for primary schools (in accordance with his previous Projet) and central schools; Lakanal accepted resolutions against his own system, but continued his educational reforms after his election to the Council of the Five Hundred in 1795.

In 1799 he was sent by the Directory to organize the defence of the four départments on the left bank of the Rhine (in present-day Germany), threatened by the invasion of counter-Revolution forces (the Second Coalition).

Later life and exile
Under the Consulate and Empire, Lakanal resumed his professional work, as a professor at the Lycée Charlemagne, and after the battle of Waterloo (1815), he retired to the United States. He was welcomed there by President James Madison, and the United States Congress gave him a grant of 500 acre in the Vine and Olive Colony in Alabama. He then later became a planter, therefore owning slaves, and was afterward chosen president of the University of Louisiana that he reorganized with the support of local masonic lodges, known today as Tulane University.

He returned to France in 1834, and published in 1838 an Expos sommaire des travaux de Joseph Lakanal. Shortly afterwards, in spite of his advanced age, Lakanal married a second time. He died in Paris; his widow died in 1881. Lakanal's éloge at the Academy of Moral and Political Science, of which he was a member, was pronounced by the Comte de Rémusat (16 February 1845), and a Notice historique by François Mignet was read on 2 May 1857.

Freemasonry
Probably initiated at a Moulins lodge between 1786 and 1788, Lakanal was member of "Le point parfait" lodge in Paris from 1790. After the Revolution, he created two High Degree Chapters "La Triple Harmonie" and "L'Abeille Impériale".

title: Joseph Lakanal


text:
Olympic Charter

The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the 136th IOC Session, held by video conference. Adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it is the codification of the fundamental principles, rules and by-laws. French and English are the official languages of the Olympic Charter.

Purpose
Throughout the history of the Olympics, the Olympic Charter has often decided the outcome of Olympic controversy. As expressed in its introduction, the Olympic Charter serves three main purposes:
 * to establish principles and values of Olympism
 * to serve as IOC law
 * to define the rights and obligations of the three main constituents of the Olympic movement: the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees.

Main components
With its 6 chapters and 61 articles, the Olympic Charter outlines in detail several guidelines and rules. This article highlights and summarises those items considered most important to governing the Olympic Games, the Olympic movement, and its three main constituents: the International Olympic Committee, the International Federations, and the National Olympic Committees.

Chapter 1: The Olympic Movement and its Action
Article 2: The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement. This includes upholding ethics in sports, encouraging participation in sports, ensuring the Olympic Games take place on a regular period, protecting the Olympic Movement, and encouraging and supporting the development of sport.

Article 6: The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries. Article 8: The Olympic symbol consists of five interlocking rings which, from left to right are blue, yellow, black, green and red.

Chapter 2: The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
This chapter outlines the membership, meetings, and guiding doctrines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Chapter 3: The International Federations (IFs)
Chapter 3 discusses the role of International Federations (IFs) in the Olympic movement. IFs are international non-governmental organisations that administer to sports at the world level and encompass organisations administering such sports at the national level. For each sport that is part of the Olympic Games, an International Federation exists. These IFs work to ensure their sports are developed in a way that agrees with the Olympic Charter and the Olympic spirit. With technical expertise in its particular sport, an IF has control over eligibility for competition as well as details of the venue in which the athletic competition takes place.

Chapter 4: The National Olympic Committees (NOCs)
Article 28: The mission of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) is to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement in their respective countries. The role of NOCs within each country is to promote the spirit of Olympicism, ensure the observance of the Olympic Charter, and to encourage ethics in and development of sports. They are in charge of their country's representation at the Games, deciding on a host city for the Games, and cooperation with governmental and non-governmental bodies during the Games.

Chapter 5: The Olympic Games
This chapter addresses the celebration of the Olympic Games, the selection of the host city, the eligibility code for participation in the games, those sports included in the Games, media coverage, publications, and propaganda allowed for the Games.

In addition, Section 3 of this chapter discusses applicable protocol for Olympic functions and events. This includes an outline of use of the Olympic flag, flame, and opening and closing ceremonies. The five rings of the Olympic games signify the five continents.

Chapter 6: Measures and Sanctions, Disciplinary Procedures and Dispute Resolution
This chapter addresses (Measures and Sanctions, Disciplinary Procedures and Dispute Resolution)
 * Rule: 59 – Measures and sanctions
 * Rule : 60 – Challenging IOC decisions
 * Rule : 61 – Dispute resolution

Fundamental Principles of Olympism

 * 1) Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.
 * 2) The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.
 * 3) The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of Olympism. It covers the five continents. It reaches its peak with the bringing together of the world's athletes at the great sports festival, the Olympic Games. Its symbol is five interlaced rings.
 * 4) The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
 * 5) Recognising that sport occurs within the framework of society, sports organisations within the Olympic Movement shall have the rights and obligations of autonomy, which include freely establishing and controlling the rules of sport, determining the structure and governance of their organisations, enjoying the right of elections free from any outside influence and the responsibility for ensuring that principles of good governance be applied.
 * 6) The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
 * 7) Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.

In the media
The Olympic Charter is not simply a matter of unenforced policy for the Olympic Games. Throughout history, it has served as guidance for the proceedings of the Games. Below are a few of the most recent examples:

 * 2011 – 2012: Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia of contravening the Olympic Charter by systematically preventing women from practising sports in the country, and by not allowing Saudi women athletes to take part in the Olympic Games, thus violating the fourth, sixth and seventh fundamental principles of the Charter, which every member of the Olympic Movement is bound to. This came as Anita DeFrantz, chair of the IOC's Women and Sports Commission, suggested that the country be barred from participating in the Olympics until it agrees to send women athletes to the Games. IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau, however, indicated that the Committee "would not mandate that the Saudis have female representation in London", arguing that "the IOC does not give ultimatums nor deadlines but rather believes that a lot can be achieved through dialogue".
 * 2012: The Lebanese judo team at the 2012 London Olympics refused to practice next to the Israeli one, and a makeshift barrier was erected to split their gym into two halves. Due to the alphabetical order of the English language, the two teams were scheduled to use the same mats at the ExCel to finalize their preparations. However, due the Lebanese constitution, the athletes would not train in view of the Israeli team, and insisted some sort of barrier be placed between them. Organisers accepted the Lebanese coach's demand to separate the teams, erecting a barrier so that the Lebanese team would not see the Israeli athletes.

Olympic Congress
The Olympic Congress is organized by the IOC. The Congress include representatives of the constituents of the Olympic Movement. The date and place of the Olympic Congress is determined by the Session. The Session also determines the duties of the president of the Congress. The Olympic Congress' participants are the members, Honorary President, honorary members and honour members of the IOC, the delegates representing the IFs and the NOCs. The representatives of the organizations recognized by the IOC may also take place at the Congress.

title: Olympic Charter


text:
Dingley Village, Victoria

Dingley Village is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Dingley Village recorded a population of 10,495 at the.

History
Dingley was the original name before being renamed to Dingley Village in 1991.

In 1856, Thomas Attenborough bought land in the area and named his house Dingley Grange, after Dingley Hall in Dingley in his native Northamptonshire, England. A farming community developed, relatively remote from either the bayside or Gippsland railway lines, moving into market gardens and poultry to supply metropolitan markets. There was no identifiable centre to the area apart from Christ Church (1873) at the corner of Centre and Old Dandenong Roads. The post office opened on 21 July 1913.

A family of five brothers – the Gartside – solved the problem of vegetable gluts by opening a cannery around 1920. The cannery employed up to 50 local people. The Gartside brothers donated land for the primary school which opened in 1925. In 1936 the Kingswood Golf Club, Dandenong, opened its new course in Dingley. A progress association was formed in 1947 and a recreation reserve acquired in 1954.

Urbanisation in Dingley began in the early 1960s. A small shopping centre, school, kindergarten, reserve and, later, Sunday markets on the reserve created a village atmosphere which resulted in the official change of name.

Two more primary schools, one Catholic, opened later, along with the Spring Park Public Golf course and nearby tennis courts complex. Near the Moorabbin Airport is an industrial zone set in a garden landscape, separated from the Dingley Village residential area by the Mornington Peninsula Freeway.

Dingley Village became part of the municipality of the City of Kingston on 15 December 1994.

It is located by the City of Kingston's green wedge and is bordered to its south by Braeside Park.

The rock band Jet originated from the suburb.

Primary schools

 * Dingley Primary School, established in 1925 and located on the corner of Centre Dandenong and Marcus roads
 * Kingswood Primary School established in 1976
 * St Mark's Primary School is a Catholic primary school within the Archdiocese of Melbourne

Sporting facilities and clubs

 * Dingley Baseball Club
 * Dingley (Dingoes) Football Club competing in the Southern Football League.
 * Dingley Village Men's Shed
 * Dingley Village Historical Society
 * Dingley Village Neighbourhood Centre
 * Dingley Goodlife
 * Maroons Netball Club
 * Dingley Netball Club
 * Dingley Tennis Club
 * Dingley Cricket Club
 * Equest Park Equestrian Centre
 * Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club
 * Southern Golf Club
 * Souter and Corrigan Oval
 * Spring Park Public Golf Course and Dingley Village Adventure Golf

Churches

 * Heatherton-Dingley Uniting Church ("The Little White Church on the Corner")
 * Christ Church Dingley
 * Destiny Church Melbourne
 * The Salvation Army – Kingston Gardens
 * Village Church
 * St Mark's Catholic Church

title: Dingley Village, Victoria


text:
Blue Peter badge

A Blue Peter badge is an award for Blue Peter viewers, given by the BBC children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement. They are awarded to children aged 5 to 15, or to adults who have been guests on the programme. Adults can also get a Gold badge if they have done something extraordinary. Approximately 22,000 are distributed annually.

The pin badges were introduced to the programme by editor Biddy Baxter in 1963, from an idea by Blue Peter producer Edward Barnes. The design, a shield containing the Blue Peter ship logo, was designed by Tony Hart. Coincidentally, Hart's plasticine companion, Morph, was awarded one in 1981 by Blue Peter presenter at the time, Sarah Greene. Although the original white-and-blue design remains the most common and well-known, differently coloured variations have been created for various purposes. Gold badges are the highest level of award, being reserved for exceptional achievements and former presenters.

The badge provides the wearer with free entry to many British attractions, particularly museums and exhibitions that are featured on the show although many of the attractions will only allow one badge holder for each full price paying adult. The programme producers suspended the privileges amid concerns about the badges being sold in March 2006, but they were reintroduced with additional security a few months later.

Use by presenters
The presenters almost always wear their badges on the show – the only exception being when their apparel is incompatible (for example, a life jacket), in which case a sticker with the ship emblem is normally used instead. In addition, large prints or stickers of the ship are attached to vehicles driven by the presenters during filming assignments.

Sometimes new presenters first appear on the programme with no badge before it is clarified to the audience that they are a new presenter. For example, Zöe Salmon appeared on the show as a guest a week before being introduced as a presenter. Simon Groom first appeared during a filming assignment at a disco where he was a DJ and Gethin Jones made a debut appearance disguised as Santa Claus on Zoe Salmon's first appearance.

Many presenters are awarded the more prestigious "gold badge" when they leave the show. When Simon Thomas left in 2005, he was awarded a gold badge on his last programme. This has since become a tradition with Liz Barker, Matt Baker, Konnie Huq, Katy Hill, Joel Defries, Andy Akinwolere, Helen Skelton, Lindsey Russell, Adam Beales and Barney Harwood also being awarded gold badges on their final show. Conversely, when Richard Bacon was fired from the show for drug use, he was required to hand back his Blue Peter badge.

Several former presenters have been awarded them when appearing as guests on the programme. Valerie Singleton was awarded a gold badge during a studio interview recorded for the 1990 video release The Best of Blue Peter, the 60's and 70's. Her fellow presenters John Noakes and Peter Purves were given gold badges on the first programme in 2000 when the time capsule for the year 2000 was dug up. Peter Duncan was presented with a gold badge in February 2007, whilst appearing on the programme as a guest.

Awards to viewers
Blue Peter badges are frequently given out to children who appear on the show. Additionally, viewers aged 6–15 can apply for a badge by corresponding with the show by post. Applications require a message of at least 50 words explaining why a badge is deserved and often include drawings, poems, or other creative works. There are different types of badges, representing different types of achievement.

History of badges
The badge was originally introduced in 1963, featuring the blue ship logo on a white plastic shield inspired by the ship from Disney's Peter Pan. This design remained unchanged until the 1990s when a revised badge featuring a raised moulding of the ship design by Tony Hart was introduced (more detailed and neater than the previous printed reproduction). This version disappeared in 1997 when the old-style badge returned.

In 2004, coinciding with the show's September revamp, a new badge design was introduced. It is slightly larger in dimension and with a much bolder printing of the new-style traditional ship without its rigging detail (though the pre-2000 style flags remain).

In 2016, it was announced that any future Green badges awarded (see below) would be made out of recycled yoghurt pots to try to make them 'greener'. The Blue and Purple badges followed suit during early 2017. These badges are slightly smaller, thinner and lighter than the badges before this change, but have the same ship design as the 2004 badge.

Types
Blue Peter awards seven different types of badges, as well as, occasionally, some limited edition variants.

Main badges

 * The Blue or White badge (a blue ship on a white shield): This is what the presenters on the show usually wear. Viewers of the programme can win one by either sending in an interesting letter, poem, picture or story, or by appearing on the programme.
 * The Silver and Blue badge (a silver ship on a blue shield; not to be confused with the newer Silver badge described below): This was awarded to viewers who have already won a Blue badge, for a further achievement, until it was retired in 2022 in favour of the new Silver badge.
 * The Green badge (a white ship on a green shield): This is Blue Peter's environmental award, awarded for any correspondence from viewers with a conservation, nature or environmental theme. Presenters on the programme occasionally wear this badge instead of the blue one, as does the gardener Chris Collins, and they have been given out to those appearing on editions of the programme dedicated to environmental issues. On the Thursday 2 June 2016 show, it was announced that the Green badge would be made out of recycled material from then onwards.
 * The Competition Winners, or Orange badge (a white ship on an orange shield): This is given to viewers who have been either a winner or runner up in any of Blue Peter's many competitions. This replaced the original competition winners badge, which was a circular metal badge with the ship in the centre and the words "Blue Peter Competition Winner" around the outside, in 2005.
 * The Fan Club, Purple, or Team Player's badge (a white ship on a purple shield): Introduced in September 2006, this was originally awarded to 12 children a month who won the chance to spend a day working with the Blue Peter team by having ideas for the programme. It was also awarded to the 'Purple Lady' visited by Gethin Jones on the show broadcast on Thursday 10 May 2007. From the September 2007 series, the team players scheme was changed and viewers are now awarded these badges when writing a review of an edition of the programme.
 * The Silver badge (a silver ship on a sparkling silver shield) launched on 14 October 2022, awarded for acts of kindness and supporting others.
 * The Book badge was introduced in 2023. It is awarded to children for showing an interest in reading. It was designed by Sir Quentin Blake in his caricature style.
 * The Gold badge (a gold-plated brooch in the shape of the ship logo): This is Blue Peter's highest award and is given for exceptional achievement, such as to people who have performed acts of extreme bravery, or represented their country in a major event. It takes the form of a gold-plated ship-shaped pin brooch. Gold badge holders include Leo Stuchbury (1993) who was awarded this badge for being the youngest ever person to complete the National Swimathon at the age of 6, David Beckham, J. K. Rowling, Stephen Payne, Queen Elizabeth II (2001), Tom Daley (2009), David Tennant (2009), Sir Lewis Hamilton (2009), Karina Bailey McNally (2009), Anthony Horowitz (2011), Sir Jonathan Ive (2013), Helen Glover (2014), Peter Lord (2015), Steven Spielberg (2016), Roald Dahl (posthumously 2016), the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (2017), Ed Sheeran (2018), Madonna, Sir Peter Jackson, Sir David Attenborough, Sir Paul McCartney (2019), Captain Tom Moore (2020), Anne Wood CBE (2020), Dani Harmer (2021) and Marcus Rashford (2021), King Charles III and Queen Camilla (2023). Also, Matthew McGuinness for outstanding cricket despite living with cystic fibrosis in 2006, E Henshaw for fundraising efforts in 2013 and Emily Burrows for bravery and fundraising in 2019. Two dogs have also received the Gold badge: Bonnie in 1991 and Endal in 2003. Valerie Singleton was the first former presenter to be awarded the gold badge, being presented with it by Yvette Fielding and John Leslie during the recording of a commercial VHS home video Blue Peter – The Best Of The 1960s And 1970s, released in 1990. John Noakes and Peter Purves were awarded their gold badges during the programme broadcast in January 2000 where the presenters reunited to open the box buried for the millennium in 1971. It has become traditional to present a leaving presenter with a gold badge on their final show, firstly with Simon Thomas, (see Use by presenters, above). Former editors of the programme; Biddy Baxter and Lewis Bronze were both given the badge live on their last shows, whilst Richard Marson was awarded one after his last programme by Baxter. Janet Ellis was awarded her gold badge in November 2017 on BBC’s breakfast news by presenter Radzi Chingyanganya.

Limited edition badges
As well as the badges listed above, some types of badges have been produced as limited editions for various occasions:
 * A 25th birthday badge, introduced in October 1983.
 * A 30th birthday badge, introduced in October 1988.
 * A 35th birthday badge, introduced in October 1993.
 * A badge to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the original badge in 1963, introduced in October 2003. This moulding was made of rubber and larger than the traditional badge; it consisted of a white shield with a raised 'bubble ship' applique.
 * A 50th birthday badge, introduced in October 2008. This was a gold shield with a blue ship, with the digits "50" superimposed. It was awarded to viewers who sent in something to the programme which celebrated the 50th birthday. However this badge was not announced on the programme itself.
 * The Factbyte Factory badge (a shield containing a hologram which oscillates between the Blue Peter logo and a "factbyte" logo): was introduced in early 2009, this badge was awarded to those achieving VIP Level 7 in the online Factbyte Factory game. This is achieved by collecting factbytes (interesting facts and information represented by a gold circle containing an f) from the programmes and the website. This was a limited edition badge and ended after the close of the 2009 series.
 * The Sport Badge was introduced for a limited time in 2013 to try to get more children to participate in a sport (from the months of July to September – a child's usual summer holiday.) The badge is shield-shaped and made from the same material as the common Blue badge. It is a white badge with a medal shape on the front of it (the round-shaped medal which is blue, but has the white Blue Peter ship on it. The ribbon 'attached' to the medal is made from stripes of blue, white and red.) The child could earn the badge by introducing someone to a new sport, maybe a friend or a brother or sister. Children could apply for the sport badge during the summer months of every year since, with slight changes in the badge's design. The 2014 and 2015 badge had borders added to the design, which were blue and red respectively. To celebrate the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, a competition was launched to design the 2016 sport badge. The sports badge was also awarded in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The 2021/22 Sport badge was designed by skateboarder Sky Brown; it features a wave design, and the raised motto "The sky is the limit" in a ring around the ship logo.
 * The Music badge, designed by Ed Sheeran, was launched for BBC Music Day in 2019; it has a black ship on a multi-coloured shield featuring musical instruments and other motifs
 * The Diamond badge, given out in 2018 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Blue Peter and given to viewers who had already received a blue badge.
 * The Doctor Who badge, given out in 2023 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who and was given to the top 500 competition entries for the Blue Peter Doctor Who Competition.

Other awards
As well as the badges, an "Outstanding Endeavour" award was introduced to the show in 1978. It is circular, made from brass, and bears the show's ship logo. It was presented to the programme on its 20th-anniversary show by original presenter Christopher Trace. Trace was working at a factory at the time and his colleagues made the award to be presented to a viewer who had achieved some remarkable endeavour, such as saving a life or overcoming a particular adversity. Trace had not informed the production team ahead of the live broadcast he was planning on introducing the award on the programme. Initially it was presented annually on the show's October birthday edition, being given to, amongst others, pop group Musical Youth in 1982 and trampoline champion Andrea Holmes in 1983, who received the award from Trace himself on the 25th-anniversary show. 11-years-old lifesaver Martin Pout won the award in 1984 followed by Bob Geldof in 1985. Don Allum took the award in 1987 and teenagers Simon Marsh and Anthony Walters were recognised in 1988 for saving a school bus from disaster, being given their award by Valerie Singleton on the show's 30th anniversary edition. In 1989 the show honoured the boys of Emanuel School who had assisted the victims of the Clapham Junction rail crash on 12 December 1988 This was the last time the award was presented.

Badges for sale
In March 2006, the news that Blue Peter badges were available for sale on auction websites such as eBay attracted a great deal of media interest, with the suspicion that the right to free entry was being abused. In a leader article The Times described the news as "a knife to the national psyche", while The Sun launched a campaign in which readers could "send in the names of people they know who have an illegal Blue Peter badge".

After news of the sales reached a wide audience, the number of badges for sale on eBay exploded from a few dozen to 300. eBay said that it would remove any auctions proven to involve fake badges on the grounds of copyright infringement, but that trade in real badges was not illegal and would not be halted by eBay administrators.

On 29 March 2006, the decision was made to withdraw the privileges the badges offered until measures could be put in place to stop the badges being sold for commercial gain, with the show appealing to the public for ideas. Accompanying the statement of suspensions the show's editor Richard Marson said Blue Peter wished to "protect children who have earned their badges and who are feeling very let down by this cynical trade."

Blue Peter badges were re-introduced on 19 June 2006, under a new system in which all current holders of a Blue Peter badge and those who win a badge will also need to be issued with a photo ID card. The idea was thought up by 11-year-old Blue Peter viewer and Blue badge winner Helen Jennings, who even included a prototype design of the ID card in the letter that she sent to the show. The producers awarded Jennings a Silver badge for proposing the system. ID cards for previous badge winners aged 6 to 15 can be obtained by entering details into a form on the Blue Peter website.

title: Blue Peter badge


text:
Industrial process control

Industrial process control (IPC) or simply process control is a system used in modern manufacturing which uses the principles of control theory and physical industrial control systems to monitor, control and optimize continuous industrial production processes using control algorithms. This ensures that the industrial machines run smoothly and safely in factories and efficiently use energy to transform raw materials into high-quality finished products with reliable consistency while reducing energy waste and economic costs, something which could not be achieved purely by human manual control.

In IPC, control theory provides the theoretical framework to understand system dynamics, predict outcomes and design control strategies to ensure predetermined objectives, utilizing concepts like feedback loops, stability analysis and controller design. On the other hand, the physical apparatus of IPC, based on automation technologies, consists of several components. Firstly, a network of sensors continuously measure various process variables (such as temperature, pressure, etc.) and product quality variables. A programmable logic controller (PLC, for smaller, less complex processes) or a distributed control system (DCS, for large-scale or geographically dispersed processes) analyzes this sensor data transmitted to it, compares it to predefined setpoints using a set of instructions or a mathematical model called the control algorithm and then, in case of any deviation from these setpoints (e.g., temperature exceeding setpoint), makes quick corrective adjustments through actuators such as valves (e.g. cooling valve for temperature control), motors or heaters to guide the process back to the desired operational range. This creates a continuous closed-loop cycle of measurement, comparison, control action, and re-evaluation which guarantees that the process remains within established parameters. The HMI (Human-Machine Interface) acts as the "control panel" for the IPC system where small number human operators can monitor the process and make informed decisions regarding adjustments. IPCs can range from controlling the temperature and level of a single process vessel (controlled environment tank for mixing, separating, reacting, or storing materials in industrial processes.) to a complete chemical processing plant with several thousand control feedback loops.

IPC provides several critical benefits to manufacturing companies. By maintaining a tight control over key process variables, it helps reduce energy use, minimize waste and shorten downtime for peak efficiency and reduced costs. It ensures consistent and improved product quality with little variability, which satisfies the customers and strengthens the company's reputation. It improves safety by detecting and alerting human operators about potential issues early, thus preventing accidents, equipment failures, process disruptions and costly downtime. Analyzing trends and behaviors in the vast amounts of data collected real-time helps engineers identify areas of improvement, refine control strategies and continuously enhance production efficiency using a data-driven approach.

IPC is used across a wide range of industries where precise control is important. The applications can range from controlling the temperature and level of a single process vessel, to a complete chemical processing plant with several thousand control loops. In automotive manufacturing, IPC ensures consistent quality by meticulously controlling processes like welding and painting. Mining operations are optimized with IPC monitoring ore crushing and adjusting conveyor belt speeds for maximum output. Dredging benefits from precise control of suction pressure, dredging depth and sediment discharge rate by IPC, ensuring efficient and sustainable practices. Pulp and paper production leverages IPC to regulate chemical processes (e.g., pH and bleach concentration) and automate paper machine operations to control paper sheet moisture content and drying temperature for consistent quality. In chemical plants, it ensures the safe and efficient production of chemicals by controlling temperature, pressure and reaction rates. Oil refineries use it to smoothly convert crude oil into gasoline and other petroleum products. In power plants, it helps maintain stable operating conditions necessary for a continuous electricity supply. In food and beverage production, it helps ensure consistent texture, safety and quality. Pharmaceutical companies relies on it to produce life-saving drugs safely and effectively. The development of large industrial process control systems has been instrumental in enabling the design of large high volume and complex processes, which could not be otherwise economically or safely operated.

Historical milestones in the development of industrial process control began in ancient civilizations, where water level control devices were used to regulate water flow for irrigation and water clocks. During the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, there was a growing need for precise control over boiler pressure in steam engines. In the 1930s, pneumatic and electronic controllers, such as PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) controllers, were breakthrough innovations that laid the groundwork for modern control theory. The late 20th century saw the rise of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and distributed control systems (DCS), while the advent of microprocessors further revolutionized IPC by enabling more complex control algorithms.

History
Early process control breakthroughs came most frequently in the form of water control devices. Ktesibios of Alexandria is credited for inventing float valves to regulate water level of water clocks in the 3rd century BC. In the 1st century AD, Heron of Alexandria invented a water valve similar to the fill valve used in modern toilets.

Later process controls inventions involved basic physics principles. In 1620, Cornelis Drebbel invented a bimetallic thermostat for controlling the temperature in a furnace. In 1681, Denis Papin discovered the pressure inside a vessel could be regulated by placing weights on top of the vessel lid. In 1745, Edmund Lee created the fantail to improve windmill efficiency; a fantail was a smaller windmill placed 90° of the larger fans to keep the face of the windmill pointed directly into the oncoming wind.

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in the 1760s, process controls inventions were aimed to replace human operators with mechanized processes. In 1784, Oliver Evans created a water-powered flourmill which operated using buckets and screw conveyors. Henry Ford applied the same theory in 1910 when the assembly line was created to decrease human intervention in the automobile production process.

For continuously variable process control it was not until 1922 that a formal control law for what we now call PID control or three-term control was first developed using theoretical analysis, by Russian American engineer Nicolas Minorsky. Minorsky was researching and designing automatic ship steering for the US Navy and based his analysis on observations of a helmsman. He noted the helmsman steered the ship based not only on the current course error, but also on past error, as well as the current rate of change; this was then given a mathematical treatment by Minorsky. His goal was stability, not general control, which simplified the problem significantly. While proportional control provided stability against small disturbances, it was insufficient for dealing with a steady disturbance, notably a stiff gale (due to steady-state error), which required adding the integral term. Finally, the derivative term was added to improve stability and control.

Development of modern process control operations
Process control of large industrial plants has evolved through many stages. Initially, control would be from panels local to the process plant. However this required a large manpower resource to attend to these dispersed panels, and there was no overall view of the process. The next logical development was the transmission of all plant measurements to a permanently-staffed central control room. Effectively this was the centralization of all the localized panels, with the advantages of lower manning levels and easier overview of the process. Often the controllers were behind the control room panels, and all automatic and manual control outputs were transmitted back to plant. However, whilst providing a central control focus, this arrangement was inflexible as each control loop had its own controller hardware, and continual operator movement within the control room was required to view different parts of the process.

With the coming of electronic processors and graphic displays it became possible to replace these discrete controllers with computer-based algorithms, hosted on a network of input/output racks with their own control processors. These could be distributed around plant, and communicate with the graphic display in the control room or rooms. The distributed control system (DCS) was born.

The introduction of DCSs allowed easy interconnection and re-configuration of plant controls such as cascaded loops and interlocks, and easy interfacing with other production computer systems. It enabled sophisticated alarm handling, introduced automatic event logging, removed the need for physical records such as chart recorders, allowed the control racks to be networked and thereby located locally to plant to reduce cabling runs, and provided high level overviews of plant status and production levels.

Hierarchy
The accompanying diagram is a general model which shows functional manufacturing levels in a large process using processor and computer-based control.

Referring to the diagram: Level 0 contains the field devices such as flow and temperature sensors (process value readings - PV), and final control elements (FCE), such as control valves; Level 1 contains the industrialized Input/Output (I/O) modules, and their associated distributed electronic processors; Level 2 contains the supervisory computers, which collate information from processor nodes on the system, and provide the operator control screens; Level 3 is the production control level, which does not directly control the process, but is concerned with monitoring production and monitoring targets; Level 4 is the production scheduling level.

Control model
To determine the fundamental model for any process, the inputs and outputs of the system are defined differently than for other chemical processes. The balance equations are defined by the control inputs and outputs rather than the material inputs. The control model is a set of equations used to predict the behavior of a system and can help determine what the response to change will be. The state variable (x) is a measurable variable that is a good indicator of the state of the system, such as temperature (energy balance), volume (mass balance) or concentration (component balance). Input variable (u) is a specified variable that commonly include flow rates.

The entering and exiting flows are both considered control inputs. The control input can be classified as a manipulated, disturbance, or unmonitored variable. Parameters (p) are usually a physical limitation and something that is fixed for the system, such as the vessel volume or the viscosity of the material. Output (y) is the metric used to determine the behavior of the system. The control output can be classified as measured, unmeasured, or unmonitored.

Types
Processes can be characterized as batch, continuous, or hybrid. Batch applications require that specific quantities of raw materials be combined in specific ways for particular duration to produce an intermediate or end result. One example is the production of adhesives and glues, which normally require the mixing of raw materials in a heated vessel for a period of time to form a quantity of end product. Other important examples are the production of food, beverages and medicine. Batch processes are generally used to produce a relatively low to intermediate quantity of product per year (a few pounds to millions of pounds).

A continuous physical system is represented through variables that are smooth and uninterrupted in time. The control of the water temperature in a heating jacket, for example, is an example of continuous process control. Some important continuous processes are the production of fuels, chemicals and plastics. Continuous processes in manufacturing are used to produce very large quantities of product per year (millions to billions of pounds). Such controls use feedback such as in the PID controller A PID Controller includes proportional, integrating, and derivative controller functions.

Applications having elements of batch and continuous process control are often called hybrid applications.

Control loops
The fundamental building block of any industrial control system is the control loop, which controls just one process variable. An example is shown in the accompanying diagram, where the flow rate in a pipe is controlled by a PID controller, assisted by what is effectively a cascaded loop in the form of a valve servo-controller to ensure correct valve positioning.

Some large systems may have several hundreds or thousands of control loops. In complex processes the loops are interactive, so that the operation of one loop may affect the operation of another. The system diagram for representing control loops is a Piping and instrumentation diagram.

Commonly used control systems include programmable logic controller (PLC), Distributed Control System (DCS) or SCADA.

A further example is shown. If a control valve were used to hold level in a tank, the level controller would compare the equivalent reading of a level sensor to the level setpoint and determine whether more or less valve opening was necessary to keep the level constant. A cascaded flow controller could then calculate the change in the valve position.

Economic advantages
The economic nature of many products manufactured in batch and continuous processes require highly efficient operation due to thin margins. The competing factor in process control is that products must meet certain specifications in order to be satisfactory. These specifications can come in two forms: a minimum and maximum for a property of the material or product, or a range within which the property must be. All loops are susceptible to disturbances and therefore a buffer must be used on process set points to ensure disturbances do not cause the material or product to go out of specifications. This buffer comes at an economic cost (i.e. additional processing, maintaining elevated or depressed process conditions, etc.).

Process efficiency can be enhanced by reducing the margins necessary to ensure product specifications are met. This can be done by improving the control of the process to minimize the effect of disturbances on the process. The efficiency is improved in a two step method of narrowing the variance and shifting the target. Margins can be narrowed through various process upgrades (i.e. equipment upgrades, enhanced control methods, etc.). Once margins are narrowed, an economic analysis can be done on the process to determine how the set point target is to be shifted. Less conservative process set points lead to increased economic efficiency. Effective process control strategies increase the competitive advantage of manufacturers who employ them.

title: Industrial process control


text:
Samuel John Atlee

Samuel John Atlee (1739 – November 25, 1786) was an American soldier and statesman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress for the Province of Pennsylvania from 1778 to 1782.

Early life
Samuel was born in Trenton, New Jersey, but his family moved to Lancaster before he was seven. He was educated at home, and began the study of law. But his studies were interrupted by the French and Indian War.

Military career
In 1756 he joined the Lancaster company and was commissioned as an ensign. He served on the Forbes Expedition to Fort Duquesne in 1758, and by 1759 he was a captain.

In 1776, Pennsylvania began raising new units for the Continental Army, and on March 21, 1776, Atlee was named Colonel of a unit, the Pennsylvania Musketry Battalion. Once they were organized, he led them north to the defense of New York City. During the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, he led the original defense of the Old Stone House in Brooklyn, New York. The house was situated on high ground and covered the American withdrawal. Atlee's force was driven from the house, but General William Alexander (American general) came to support him. The Americans twice recaptured the house. The defenders directly engaged three British regiments, led by General Cornwallis. They held out until noon, allowing most of the Continental forces in Brooklyn to successfully withdraw to the Brooklyn Heights. At last, surrounded and cut off by the Hessians, General Alexander surrendered in the early afternoon. While watching this action from fortifications to the north on Brooklyn Heights, General Washington remarked, "Good God, what brave men must I lose this day!" Samuel Atlee remained a prisoner of war until he was exchanged in October 1778.

Political career
When Atlee returned home, the Pennsylvania General Assembly named him as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He served there until 1782. In 1782, Lancaster County sent Atlee to the Pennsylvania Assembly. In 1783, he became a charter member in the Pennsylvania branch of the Society of the Cincinnati, and was named the County executive for Lancaster County. In 1784, he served on the commission negotiating Indian treaties that acquired most of the remaining Native American lands in Pennsylvania.

Atlee was returned to the state assembly in 1785 and 1786. He died on November 25, 1786, while attending a meeting of the legislature in Philadelphia, and is buried in the Christ Church Burial Ground there.

The reconstructed Old Stone House that he defended in the battle of Brooklyn located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Third Street, it was moved a few feet during its reconstruction and is at a higher grade level. It is in Byrne Park, and is open to the public on a limited basis.

title: Samuel John Atlee


text:
Arthur's Pass (mountain pass)

Arthur's Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. The pass sits 920 m above sea level and marks part of the boundary between the West Coast and Canterbury regions. Located 140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth, the pass comprises part of a saddle between the valleys of the Ōtira River (a tributary of the Taramakau River in the west) and of the Bealey River (in the east). Arthur's Pass lies on the border of the Selwyn and Westland districts.

A township of the same name (Arthur's Pass) lies about 5 km south of the mountain pass. The pass is named after Arthur Dudley Dobson and a memorial at the pass commemorates him.

History
For hundreds of years Māori had crossed the Southern Alps by every pass free of snow in the summer months. The reason for making this difficult journey was greenstone (pounamu), highly prized both for its hardness and beauty and found only on the West Coast of the South Island. By the time Europeans arrived, the only pass in regular use was the one now known as Harper Pass, north of Arthur's Pass. When Leonard Harper was led in 1857 by Māori guides across the pass which now bears his name, Tarapuhi, chief at the Māori settlement of Māwhera (now Greymouth), told him about a route across the mountains at the head of the Ōtira River that had not been used in living memory. Bad weather prevented Harper from exploring it on his return journey.

In 1860 writer and explorer Samuel Butler had seen a pass at the head of the Bealey Valley, but was travelling alone and did not want to leave his horse unattended so "shirked investigation".

In 1864 Arthur Dudley Dobson (1841–1934) along with his brother Edward were the first Europeans to cross the pass. In 1863 Dobson went to the mostly unexplored West Coast for seven months of survey work. His area of work extended from the Grey River to Abut Head, and inland up to the Main Divide. His brother Edward, meanwhile, was clearing a rough track over Harper Pass. Arthur Dobson returned to Christchurch and reported his findings to the chief surveyor, Thomas Cass. Cass then commissioned Arthur Dobson in 1864 to find out whether there was a suitable pass from the Waimakariri watershed to the West Coast. George and Arthur Dobson set out in March 1864, later to be joined by their brother Edward at Craigieburn. While George surveyed road lines there, Edward and Arthur proceeded to explore the high country. On 13 March 1864 they found the pass mentioned by Tarapuhi to Harper, which steeply descended to what became known as Otira. They explored the gorge as far as the junction of the Rolleston River, but saw no good sheep country so retraced their steps. Arthur prepared a report, which included a sketch of the pass which he described as the "Arahura Saddle", thinking it led to the Arahura River, and presented it to Cass.

Soon after, the discovery of gold triggered the West Coast Gold Rush. The provincial engineer, their father Edward Dobson, was commissioned to examine every possible pass to the West Coast from the watersheds of the Waimakariri, Taramakau and Hurunui Rivers. After finishing his examination, he declared that "Arthur's pass" was by far the most suitable to get to the gold fields. The provincial government decided that a road was to be built between Christchurch and Hokitika, a distance of 156 miles, and Edward Dobson was put in charge of the project. The road was opened on 20 March 1866. The alpine pass became known as Arthur's Pass, with a nearby village and a later a national park also taking this name. Arthur Dobson had a long and distinguished career, was knighted in 1931, and after his death in 1934, calls for a memorial came up. The Arthur Dudley Dobson memorial, a stone column of 25 ft in height, was unveiled in April 1937 at the alpine pass that bears his name.

Road link
State Highway 73 passes over Arthur's Pass and is the highest of only three roads crossing the Southern Alps, the other crossings being the Haast Pass and the Lewis Pass. However, Porters Pass, on the same road, is higher (at 939 m) than Arthur's Pass, but it is not considered one of the alpine passes, as it is located in the Canterbury foothills not far away from Springfield.

Previously prone to be blocked by landslides or avalanches, the road on the western side of the pass has seen extensive civil engineering work in the late 1990s. Most notably, the impressive Otira Viaduct, near the settlement of Otira and spanning 440 metres of unstable terrain, was completed in 1999.

Rail link
The Midland Line, connecting Christchurch and the West Coast, crosses the Main Divide by means of the Otira Tunnel, between Arthur's Pass township and Otira. When opened in 1923, the tunnel was the longest in the British Empire.

title: Arthur's Pass (mountain pass)


text:
Initial reaction force

An initial reaction force (IRF), also known as an internal reaction force, or extreme reaction force (ERF) to inmates, is a type of small-scale riot squad in U.S. military prisons such as the Camp Delta detention center of Guantanamo Bay. A squad is suited up and ready to respond, at all times, in instances when one or more detainees are combative or resistive.

Controversy
It is alleged by detainees that the units also act as a punishment squad for detainees whose level of insubordination does not fit the criteria for IRF deployment. Part of the allegations charge that regular guards will create reasons to call on the IRF to brutalize detainees over petty or non-existent infractions; refusing to agree to the third cell search in a day or infractions as slight as placing their toiletries on their shelf in the wrong order. claims: "16. I have witnessed the activities of the Internal Reaction Force (hereinafter "IRF"), which consists of a squad of soldiers that enter a detainee's cell and brutalize him with the aid of an attack dog. The IRF invasions were so common that the term to be "IRF'd" became part of the language of the detainees. I have seen detainees suffer serious injuries as a result of being IRF'ed. I have seen detainees IRF'ed while they were praying, or for refusing medication."

Another allegation by ex-detainees is that while the IRF squad is en route to the target detainee's cell they will chant, "IRF! IRF! IRF!" in order to intimidate and terrify the detainee. Part of the allegation claims that, when the squad arrives at a detainee's cell, they shout out demands to comply.

In his first interview, after his repatriation, Tarek Dergoul asserted that a sixth member of the ERF team always stood outside the cell, with a video camera, recording the action. Camp authorities confirmed every ERF action was filmed, and Senator Patrick Leahy called for the recordings to be made available to the Senate Judiciary Committee, to see if they contained instances of the kind of abuse recorded in the Abu Ghraib trophy photos. Camp Commandant Jay Hood appeared before the committee two months later with a selection of recordings of the use of the ERF squad.

Video

 * Story from Democracy Now!, May 19, 2009

title: Initial reaction force


text:
ERF

Erf or ERF may refer to:

Industry

 * Enerplus, a North American energy producer whose stock is listed as ERF under the TSX and NYSE
 * ERF (truck manufacturer), a former British truck manufacturer

Mathematics

 * Error function, erf
 * Exponential response formula

Science and technology

 * Effective radiative forcing, a concept to compare radiative forcing in climate models
 * ERF (gene), coding for ETS domain-containing transcription factor
 * Electrorheological fluid
 * Eukaryotic release factors
 * Event-related field

Other uses

 * Erf (law), in real estate law
 * Erf (river), in Germany
 * Estuarine Research Federation, an American environmental organization
 * Erfurt-Weimar Airport, in Germany (IATA code)
 * European Racquetball Federation
 * European Refugee Fund
 * Extreme Reaction Force, in United States military prisons
 * Reformed Church of France (French: Église réformée de France), a Christian denomination in France

title: ERF


text:
Cordotomy

Cordotomy (or chordotomy) is a surgical procedure that disables selected pain-conducting tracts in the spinal cord, in order to achieve loss of pain and temperature perception. This procedure is commonly performed on patients experiencing severe pain due to cancer or other incurable diseases. Anterolateral cordotomy is effective for relieving unilateral, somatic pain while bilateral cordotomies may be required for visceral or bilateral pain.

Indications
Cordotomy is performed as for patients with severe intractable pain, usually but not always due to cancer. Being irreversible and relatively invasive, cordotomy is used exclusively for pain where treatment to level 3 of the World Health Organization pain ladder (i.e., use of major opiates such as morphine) has proved inadequate. Cordotomy is especially indicated for pain due to asbestos-related cancers such as pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.

Procedure
Most cordotomies are now performed percutaneously with fluoroscopic or CT guidance while the patient is awake under local anesthesia. The spinothalamic tract is normally divided at the level C1-C2.

Open cordotomy, which requires a laminectomy (removal of part of one or more vertebrae), takes place under general anaesthetic and has a longer recovery time and a higher risk of side-effects including permanent weakness. However, it is still sometimes used where percutaneous cordotomy is unfeasible, especially in children or other patients who are unable to co-operate. In open cordotomy, a thoracic approach is normally used so that the spinal cord tracts controlling the breathing muscles are not put at risk.

Adverse effects
Cordotomy can be highly effective in relieving pain, but there are significant side effects. These include dysesthesia (abnormal sensation), urinary retention and (for bilateral cervical cordotomy) apnea during sleep (acquired central hypoventilation syndrome) caused by inadvertent division of the reticulospinal tracts.

History
Cordotomy was first performed in 1912 by the American Neurosurgeons, William Gibson Spiller (1863–1940) and Edward Martin (1859–1938). Due to the surgical risks, it remained a rare procedure until the percutaneous technique was developed in 1965. During the 1990s the procedure became less widely used, partly because medical pain-control options had improved, and partly due to concern about side-effects. Nevertheless, it is still considered an effective treatment for severe pain.

Alternative surgical procedures for pain
A number of alternative surgical procedures have evolved in the 20th century. These include:

Commissural myelotomy, for bilateral pain arising from pelvic or abdominal malignancies

Punctate or limited midline myelotomy for pelvic and abdominal visceral pain,

Other options for medically intractable pain which do not involve open surgery include implantation of an intrathecal pump (a syringe driver delivering medication into the space around the spinal cord) administering local anaesthetics and/or opiates

title: Cordotomy


text:
Cyatheales

The order Cyatheales, which includes most tree ferns, is a taxonomic order of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic. Some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms from a vertical rhizome, others have shorter or horizontal expanding rhizomes.

Some species have scales on the stems and leaves, while others have hairs. However, most plants in the Cyatheales are tree ferns and have trunk-like stems up to 10 m tall. It is unclear how many times the tree form has evolved and been lost in the order.

Description
While the Cyatheales have been shown to be monophyletic through molecular analysis, no prominent morphological characteristics are common to the entire group. Though loosely referred to as "tree ferns", most but not all members of the order possess the characteristic tree fern morphology: the rhizome is massive, woody, and rather than creeping horizontally below or on the ground, it stands erect and above ground, like a tree trunk, bearing a crown of fronds. This habit is most evident in families Dicksoniaceae and Cyatheaceae. Outside of the Cyatheales, a few ferns in other groups could be considered tree ferns, such as several ferns (Leptopteris and Todea) in the family Osmundaceae that can achieve short trunks under 1 m tall. A few species in the genera Blechnum and Sadleria could also be considered tree ferns in a liberal interpretation of the term.

Like all ferns, tree ferns reproduce by means of spores developed in sporangia on the undersides of the fronds.

The fronds of tree ferns are usually very large and multiple-pinnated, but at least one type has entire (undivided) fronds. The fronds of tree ferns also exhibit circinate vernation, meaning the young fronds emerge in coils that uncurl as they grow.

Unlike flowering plants, tree ferns do not form new woody tissue in their trunk as they grow. Rather, the trunk is supported by a fibrous mass of roots that expands as the tree fern grows.

Some genera — for example Dicksonia and Cibotium, and some Cyathea — can be transplanted by severing the top portion from the rest of the trunk and replanting it. If the transplanted top part is kept moist it will regrow a new root system over the next year. The success rate of transplantation increases if the roots are dug up intact. If the crown of the Tasmanian tree fern Dicksonia antarctica (the most common species in gardens) is damaged, it will die because all new growth occurs there. But other clump-forming tree fern species, such as D. squarrosa and D. youngiae, can regenerate from basal offsets or from "pups" emerging along the surviving trunk length. Tree ferns often fall over in the wild, yet manage to reroot from this new prostrate position and begin new vertical growth. The number of tree fern species is likely to be around a thousand. Although new species are discovered in New Guinea with each botanical survey, many species throughout its range have become extinct in the last century as forest habitats have come under pressure from human activities.

Taxonomy
In the molecular phylogenetic classification of Smith et al. in 2006, the Cyatheales were placed in the leptosporangiate ferns, class Polypodiopsida. Eight families, Thyrsopteridaceae, Loxsomataceae, Culcitaceae, Plagiogyriaceae, Cibotiaceae, Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae, and Metaxyaceae, were recognized. The linear sequence of Christenhusz et al. (2011), intended for compatibility with the classification of Chase and Reveal (2009) which placed all land plants in Equisetopsida, reclassified Smith's Polypodiopsida as subclass Polypodiidae and placed the Cyatheales there. The circumscription of the order and its families was not changed. The classification of Christenhusz and Chase (2014) placed all members of the Cyatheales in a more broadly defined Cyatheaeaceae, reducing the eight existing families to subfamilies as Thyrsopteridoideae, Loxsomatoideae, Culcitoideae, Plagiogyrioideae, Cibotioideae, Cyatheoideae, Dicksonioideae, and Metaxyoideae. The PPG I classification (2016) returned to the eight-family definition of the order., but this is not yet accepted by the general botanical community.

Historically, the Plagiogyriaceae were considered the single member of order Plagiogyriales, thought to be more closely related to Osmundales than to the tree ferns, but this hypothesis has been disproven by molecular phylogenetics.

Incertae sedis fossil genera

 * Alienopteris – Cerro Negro Formation, Antarctica, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) (stem)
 * Yavanna – Cerro Negro Formation, Antarctica, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) (stem)
 * Natalipteris – Mzinene Formation?, South Africa, Cretaceous (Albian-Turonian) (stem)
 * Kwazulupteris – Mzinene Formation?, South Africa, Cretaceous (Albian-Turonian) (stem)
 * Rafaherbstia – Cerro Negro Formation, Antarctica, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) (stem)

Distribution and habitat
Tree ferns are found growing in tropical and subtropical areas, as well as temperate rainforests in South Africa, Australia, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, and other island groups nearby; a few genera extend further, such as Culcita in southern Europe.

While many ferns are able to achieve a widespread distribution because of their spore reproduction, tree fern species tend to be very local. This makes their species much more susceptible to the effects of local deforestation. Why species are not more widespread is unknown, especially considering they have sufficient height to have a greater chance of getting spores into the wind stream.

Conservation
Where feral pigs are a problem, as in some Hawaiian rainforests, they will knock over tree ferns to root out the starchy pith, killing the plant.

title: Cyatheales


text:
Banditry

Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an individual or in groups. Banditry is a vague concept of criminality and in modern usage can be synonymous for gangsterism, brigandage, marauding, terrorism, piracy and thievery.

Definitions
The term bandit (introduced to English via Italian around 1776) originates with the early Germanic legal practice of outlawing criminals, termed *bamnan (English ban). The legal term in the Holy Roman Empire was Acht or Reichsacht, translated as "Imperial ban". In modern Italian, the equivalent word "bandito" literally means banned or a banned person.

The New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (NED) defined "bandit" in 1885 as "one who is proscribed or outlawed; hence, a lawless desperate marauder, a brigand: usually applied to members of the organized gangs which infest the mountainous districts of Italy, Sicily, Spain, Greece, Iran, and Turkey".

In modern usage the word has become a synonym for "thief", hence the term "one-armed bandit" for gambling machines that can leave the gambler with no money.

Social bandit
"Social banditry" is a term invented by the historian Eric Hobsbawm in his 1959 book Primitive Rebels, a study of popular forms of resistance that also incorporate behaviour characterized as illegal. He further expanded the field in the 1969 study Bandits. Social banditry is a widespread phenomenon that has occurred in many societies throughout recorded history, and forms of social banditry still exist, as evidenced by piracy and organized crime syndicates.

Medieval period
Tradition depicts medieval German robber barons as bandits.

Pope Sixtus V had about 5,000 bandits executed in the five years before his death in 1590, but there were reputedly 27,000 more at liberty throughout Central Italy.

Brigandry in Italy
Banditry or brigandry, while existing in Italy since pre-historic times, became particularly widespread in Southern Italy following the Unification of Italy in the 1860s. Brigands such as Carmine Crocco, Michelina Di Cesare, Ninco Nanco, and Nicola Napolitano were active during this period and eventually developed followings as folk heroes. Brigandage in Southern Italy continued sporadically following the 1870s, with brigands such as Giuseppe Musolino and Francesco Paolo Varsallona forming bandit gangs at the turn of the 20th century. Salvatore Giuliano and Gaspare Pisciotta formed a brigand group in Sicily in the 1940s to 1950 and similarly became known as folk heroes. Sardinia has a long history of banditry, with the bandit and kidnapping group anonima sarda being the most recent manifestation of this phenomenon.

Nazi-occupied Europe
In Nazi-occupied Europe from 1939 to 1945, the German doctrine of Bandenbekämpfung ("bandit fighting") portrayed opponents of the Greater Germanic Reich as "bandits" — dangerous criminals who did not deserve any consideration as human beings. German authorities suppressed partisan opposition with maximum force and, usually, with the mass slavery of civilians from  partisan-controlled areas.

Ming China
Banditry (Dao, qiangdao) in Ming China (1368–1644) was defined by the Ming government as “‘robbery by force’ punishable by death.” But throughout the dynasty, people had entered into the occupation of banditry for various reasons and the occupation of banditry was fluid and temporary.

Causes and opportunities
Ming China was largely an agricultural society and contemporary observers remarked that famine and subsequent hardship often gave rise to banditry. In his 1991 book Disorder under Heaven: Collective Violence in the Ming Dynasty, James W. Tong uses data from provincial and prefectural gazetteers of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties to analyze patterns of violence during the Ming Dynasty. Tong analyzes that the peasants had to make a "rational choice" between surviving harsh conditions and surviving through illegal activities of banditry. He identifies multiple important factors in peasants' calculation of whether to become bandits or not, such as the government's ability to punish bandits. Tong concludes that his "rational choice model predicts that there would be more rebellions and banditry where the likelihood of surviving hardship is minimal but the likelihood of surviving as an outlaw is maximal." As a result, Tong finds that banditry, like other types of collective violence, had a spatial and temporal pattern. Banditry was especially pervasive in the southern provinces (most notably Guangdong and Fujian) and the second half of the dynasty (1506-1644).

However, the Northern China and the middle Ming period (1450–1525) had their fair share of banditry. Mounted banditry was the major and pervasive type of banditry plaguing roads around the capital Beijing and its surrounding areas, administrated and named as the Capital Region. Xiangmazei (whistling arrow bandits) was a category of mounted bandits named after their practice of firing whistling arrows to alert their victims. Whistling arrow bandits had troubled the Capital Region throughout the first three decades of the sixteenth century. They had posed such serious threat that special police attention was given to them and failure to arrest them on time incurred severer punishment (further information on Ming justice system can be found in History of criminal justice).

Ming historian David M. Robinson identifies some prominent causes of banditry in the Capital Region. The Region was agriculturally disadvantaged due to constant flood, and thus the peasants often lived in poverty. Furthermore, the Region's economy provided plentiful opportunities for highway robbery. In addition to the highly developed economy of Beijing, the Region also contained numerous commercial cities; these cities not only attracted merchants but also bandits. Robinson also points out that many eunuchs in Beijing resorted to banditry. As Shih-Shan Henry Tsai explained, self-castration was just another way to escape impoverishment; and when a group of eunuchs failed to find employment in the palace, they often turned to mob violence.

The Capital Region also housed a huge number of soldiers with Ming's system of hereditary military and a major portion of bandits were actually soldiers stationed in the region. In 1449, Mongolian soldiers in the service of Ming attacked and plundered Beijing area. Another report of 1489 attested that soldiers had raided in Henan province. Robinson points out that "dire economic straits" forced soldiers to use illegal means to make a living. Also, policies and conditions in the Capital Region provided opportunities for soldiers/bandits to dodge governmental punishment. During the Ming Dynasty, military and civil jurisdictions were separated. This was especially troubling when soldiers lived physically far from their superiors: when soldiers committed robbery, civil officials had no jurisdiction nor power to apprehend them. Policy of transporting nearby garrisons to Beijing for annual training also created opportunities for banditry. One official reported that soldiers travelling by the Grand Canal from adjacent garrisons to the capital committed robbery and murder against civilian travelers and merchants; on the land, these soldiers had fallen into mounted banditry as well.

Techniques, organization, livelihood, and risks
Bandits’ technique involved the martial skills to use various weapons, ranging from bows and arrows to swords. Another important skill was horsemanship, especially in the Northern Capital Region, where mounted banditry concentrated. As shown above, a large number of bandits were actually garrison soldiers and had access to and able usage of weapons and armors. Another skill was the ability to deploy road blocks to stop and prey on travelers.

Once they forcefully acquired goods and commodities, bandits had to sell them. One 1485 official report revealed that local people, some probably working as fences (see Fences in Ming China), purchased stolen animals and goods from highway bandits at lower prices. Robinson further points out that "[a] widespread network to dispose of the stolen livestock linked" towns in the Capital Region to nearby provinces.

The career nor the identity of a bandit was permanent. Some bandits actually had a settled life and were even married. Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty relates that the great bandit Zhang Mao lived in a big mansion in his hometown Wenan. Similarly, Zhang's comrades Liu Brothers and Tiger Yang had wives and children.

Bandits often operated in groups under one or more leaders. These charismatic leaders were not only skilled in fighting and riding but also possessed material and social capital. One exemplary leader was Zhang Mao of Wenan. He had assembled a massive following and by using his connection and wealth, he managed to bribe and befriend important eunuchs in the court.

Of course, the Ming government used a heavy hand to crack down on banditry. Local commanders and constables were responsible for apprehending bandits, but the emperors often dispatched special censors to cope with rampant banditry. Ning Gao was one of the censors of 1509, and he employed gruesome means such as display of severed heads and body parts to kill off existing bandits and to intimidate potential ones. Other than escaping to difficult terrains, powerful bandits used their connections with high-standing figures in the capital to negotiate safety. In one occasion, the influential eunuch Zhang Zhong helped his sworn brother Zhang Mao to negotiate with a commander sent to hunt down local bandits. However, such patronage did not guarantee immunity. An effective and determined official, empowered by influential superiors or eunuchs, could pose a severe threat to bandits’ survival. Through a well-planned raid, Ning Gao, a client of another powerful eunuch Liu Jin, successfully wounded and captured Zhang Mao, who was then transported to Beijing and executed.

Future paths of bandits
Even though bandits were subject to capital punishment, they could still be incorporated into the regime, serving as local police forces and personal soldiers employed by officials to secure order and suppress bandits. Such transition was not permanent and could often be reversed. Tiger Yang once served as a personal military retainer of the aforementioned Ning Gao before turning to banditry; similarly, when facing unemployment, some of Ning's former "bandit catchers" simply joined the bandit leaders Liu Brothers.

The career of banditry often led leaders to assemble more bandits and army deserters and organize predatory gangs into active rebel groups. One example was Gao Yingxiang, who started as a mounted bandit in Shaanxi and later became an important rebel leader in late Ming. Another example would be Deng Maoqi, a bandit in Fujian who perpetrated robbery on roads and in villages in the late 1440s. His gang of bandits eventually grew into a rebel army and Deng conducted attacks on the government in Fujian. Bandit-rebels were not only common in late Ming. In 1510 and 1511, several bandit gangs under the leadership of Liu Brothers, Tiger Yang raided and plundered Shandong and Henan. Their illegal actions eventually evolved into open rebellion against the Ming Dynasty as they blatantly besieged cities, seized imperial weaponry, extended area of operation southward, and even assumed rhetoric and attire of an imperial dynasty. The rebellion took the Ming almost two years to crush.

Similarly, small groups of local bandits could also end up joining larger groups of rebels. Robinson points out that bandits obviously perceived the benefits of supporting rebel cause but they also could be repelled to join; as a result, the 1510s rebels attracted a lot of local bandits and outlaws as they moved from one place to another.

Republican period
Marauding was one of the most common peasant reactions to oppression and hardship. In early Republican China, the growth of warlord armies during the Warlord era was also accompanied by a dramatic increase in bandit activity exploiting the lawlessness. By 1930, the total bandit population was estimated to be 20 million.

Americas

 * Banditry in Chile
 * Cangaço, banditry in Northeast Region, Brazil

Asia

 * Dacoity, Hindi term for banditry
 * Honghuzi
 * Shanlin
 * Thuggee

Europe

 * Abrek, Anti-Cossack/Russian guerilla raiders in the North Caucasus, especially Chechnya
 * Bagaudae, bandits around the Pyrenees in the Roman Empire
 * Betyárs, bandits in Kingdom of Hungary
 * Border reivers
 * Brigandage in the Two Sicilies, bandits in South Italy (1861-65)
 * Hajduks, bandits in the Balkans
 * Kirdzhalis
 * Klepht, anti-Ottoman insurgents in Greece and Cyprus
 * Rapparee, Irish guerrillas during the 1690s Williamite war
 * Robber baron
 * Sardinian banditry
 * Uskoks, Croatian Habsburg soldiers during the Ottoman wars in Europe

Oceania

 * Bushranger, bandits in Australia (1790s–1900s)

Related occupations

 * Fence, helping bandits to sell stolen goods.
 * Irregular military, sometimes bandits were treated in chaotic times.
 * Henchman
 * Highwayman

title: Banditry