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Castra

In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word castrum (: castra) was a military-related term.

In Latin usage, the singular form castrum meant 'fort', while the plural form castra meant 'camp'. The singular and plural forms could refer in Latin to either a building or plot of land, used as a fortified military base.

In English usage, castrum commonly translates to "Roman fort", "Roman camp" and "Roman fortress". However, scholastic convention tends to translate castrum as "fort", "camp", "marching camp" or "fortress".

Romans used the term castrum for different sizes of camps – including large legionary fortresses, smaller forts for cohorts or for auxiliary forces, temporary encampments, and "marching" forts. The diminutive form castellum was used for fortlets, typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a centuria.

For a list of known castra, see List of castra.

Etymology
Castrum appears in Oscan and Umbrian, two other Italic languages, suggesting an origin at least as old as Proto-Italic language.

Julius Pokorny traces a probable derivation from *k̂es-, schneiden ("cut") in *k̂es-tro-m, Schneidewerkzeug ("cutting tool").

These Italic reflexes based on *kastrom include Oscan castrous (genitive case) and Umbrian castruo, kastruvuf (accusative case). They have the same meaning, says Pokorny, as Latin fundus, an estate, or tract of land. This is not any land, but is a prepared or cultivated tract, such as a farm enclosed by a fence or a wooden or stone wall of some kind. Cornelius Nepos uses Latin castrum in that sense: when Alcibiades deserts to the Persians, Pharnabazus gives him an estate (castrum) worth 500 talents in tax revenues. This is a change of meaning from the reflexes in other languages, which still mean some sort of knife, axe, or spear. Pokorny explains it as 'Lager' als 'abgeschnittenes Stück Land', "a lager, as a cut-off piece of land">

If this is the civilian interpretation, the military version must be "military reservation", a piece of land cut off from the common land around it and modified for military use. All castra must be defended by works, often no more than a stockade, for which the soldiers carried stakes, and a ditch. The castra could be prepared under attack within a hollow square or behind a battle line. Considering that the earliest military shelters were tents made of hide or cloth, and all but the most permanent bases housed the men in tents placed in quadrangles and separated by numbered streets, one castrum may well have acquired the connotation of tent.

Linguistic development of the military castra
The commonest Latin syntagmata (here phrases) for the term castra are:
 * castra stativa: Permanent camp/fortresses
 * castra aestiva: Summer camp/fortresses
 * castra hiberna: Winter camp/fortresses
 * castra navalia / castra nautica: Navy camp/fortresses

In Latin the term castrum is much more frequently used as a proper name for geographical locations: e.g., Castrum Album, Castrum Inui, Castrum Novum, Castrum Truentinum, Castrum Vergium. The plural was also used as a place name, as Castra Cornelia, and from this comes the Welsh place name prefix caer- (e.g. Caerleon and Caerwent) and English suffixes -caster and -chester (e.g. Winchester and Lancaster).

Castrorum Filius, "son of the camps", was one of the names used by the emperor Caligula and then also by other emperors.

Castro, also derived from Castrum, is a common Spanish family name as well as toponym in Spain and other Hispanophone countries, Italy, and the Balkans, either by itself or in various compounds such as the World Heritage Site of Gjirokastër (earlier Argurokastro).

The terms stratopedon (army camp) and phrourion (fortification) were used by Greek language authors to translate castrum and castellum, respectively.

Description
A castrum was designed to house and protect the soldiers, their equipment and supplies when they were not fighting or marching.

The most detailed description that survives about Roman military camps is De Munitionibus Castrorum, a manuscript of 11 pages that dates most probably from the late 1st to early 2nd century AD.

Regulations required a major unit in the field to retire to a properly constructed camp every day. "… as soon as they have marched into an enemy's land, they do not begin to fight until they have walled their camp about; nor is the fence they raise rashly made, or uneven; nor do they all abide ill it, nor do those that are in it take their places at random; but if it happens that the ground is uneven, it is first levelled: their camp is also four-square by measure, and carpenters are ready, in great numbers, with their tools, to erect their buildings for them." To this end a marching column ported the equipment needed to build and stock the camp in a baggage train of wagons and on the backs of the soldiers.

Camps were the responsibility of engineering units to which specialists of many types belonged, officered by architecti, "chief engineers", who requisitioned manual labor from the soldiers at large as required. They could throw up a camp under enemy attack in as little as a few hours. Judging from the names, they probably used a repertory of camp plans, selecting the one appropriate to the length of time a legion would spend in it: tertia castra, quarta castra, etc. (a camp of three days, four days, etc.).

More permanent camps were castra stativa (standing camps). The least permanent of these were castra aestiva or aestivalia, "summer camps", in which the soldiers were housed sub pellibus or sub tentoriis, "under tents". Summer was the campaign season. For the winter the soldiers retired to castra hiberna containing barracks and other buildings of more solid materials, with timber construction gradually being replaced by stone. Castra hibernas held eight soldiers to a room, who slept on bunkbeds. The soldiers in each room were also required to cook their own meals and eat with their "roommates".

The camp allowed the Romans to keep a rested and supplied army in the field. Neither the Celtic nor Germanic armies had this capability: they found it necessary to disperse after only a few days.

The largest castra were legionary fortresses built as bases for one or more whole legions.

From the time of Augustus more permanent castra with wooden or stone buildings and walls were introduced as the distant and hard-won boundaries of the expanding empire required permanent garrisons to control local and external threats from warlike tribes. Previously, legions were raised for specific military campaigns and subsequently disbanded, requiring only temporary castra. From then on many castra of various sizes were established, many of which became permanent settlements.

Plan of forts

Sources and origins
From the most ancient times Roman camps were constructed according to a certain ideal pattern, formally described in two main sources, the De Munitionibus Castrorum and the works of Polybius. Alan Richardson compared both original authors and concludes that "the Hyginian model greatly reduced the area and perimeter length for any given force." P. Fl. Vegetius Renatus has a small section on entrenched camps as well. The terminology varies but the basic plan is the same. The hypothesis of an Etruscan origin is a viable alternative.

Layout

The ideal enforced a linear plan for a camp or fort: a square for camps to contain one legion or smaller unit, a rectangle for two legions, each legion being placed back-to-back with headquarters next to each other. Laying it out was a geometric exercise conducted by experienced officers called metatores, who used graduated measuring rods called decempedae ("10-footers") and gromatici who used a groma, a sighting device consisting of a vertical staff with horizontal cross pieces and vertical plumb-lines. Ideally the process started in the centre of the planned camp at the site of the headquarters tent or building (principia). Streets and other features were marked with coloured pennants or rods. Richardson wrote that from the aspect ratio of the Castra one could determine the order of battle, and the size of the legion it housed determined the area of the camp. Steinhoff theorizes that Richardson has identified a commonality and builds on the latter's detailed studies to suggest that North African encampments in the time of Hadrian were based on the same geometrical skill.

The religious devotion of the Romans to geometry caused them to build into their camps whole-numbered right triangles.

The street plans of various present-day cities still retain traces of a Roman camp, for example Marsala in Sicily, the ancient Lilybaeum, where the name of the main street, the Cassaro, perpetuates the name "castrum".

Wall and ditch
The Castrum's special structure also defended from attacks.

The base (munimentum, "fortification") was placed entirely within the vallum ("wall"), which could be constructed under the protection of the legion in battle formation if necessary. The vallum was quadrangular aligned on the cardinal points of the compass. The construction crews dug a trench (fossa), throwing the excavated material inward, to be formed into the rampart (agger). On top of this a palisade of stakes (sudes or valli) was erected. The soldiers had to carry these stakes on the march. Over the course of time, the palisade might be replaced by a fine brick or stone wall, and the ditch serve also as a moat. A legion-sized camp always placed towers at intervals along the wall with positions between for the division artillery.

Intervallum
Around the inside periphery of the vallum was a clear space, the intervallum, which served to catch enemy missiles, as an access route to the vallum and as a storage space for cattle (capita) and plunder (praeda). The Romans were masters of geometry and showed it in their camps: a modern study shows that the intervallum "was 1/16th of the square root of the area it enclosed in the fort."

Legionaries were quartered in a peripheral zone inside the intervallum, which they could rapidly cross to take up position on the vallum. Inside of the legionary quarters was a peripheral road, the Via Sagularis, probably a type of "service road", as the sagum, a kind of cloak, was the garment of soldiers.

Streets, gates and central plaza

Every camp included "main street", which ran through the camp in a north–south direction and was very wide. The names of streets in many cities formerly occupied by the Romans suggest that the street was called cardo or cardus maximus. This name applies more to cities than it does to ancient camps.

Typically "main street" was the via principalis. The central portion was used as a parade ground and headquarters area. The "headquarters" building was called the praetorium because it housed the praetor or base commander ("first officer"), and his staff. In the camp of a full legion he held the rank of consul or proconsul but officers of lesser ranks might command.

On one side of the praetorium was the quaestorium, the building of the quaestor (supply officer). On the other side was the forum, a small duplicate of an urban forum, where public business could be conducted. Along the Via Principalis were the homes or tents of the several tribunes in front of the barracks of the units they commanded.

The Via Principalis went through the vallum in the Porta Principalis Dextra ("right principal gate") and Porta Principalis Sinistra ("left, etc."), which were gates fortified with turres ("towers"). Which was on the north and which on the south depends on whether the praetorium faced east or west, which remains unknown.

The central region of the Via Principalis with the buildings for the command staff was called the Principia (plural of principium). It was actually a square, as across this at right angles to the Via Principalis was the Via Praetoria, so called because the praetorium interrupted it. The Via Principalis and the Via Praetoria offered another division of the camp into four quarters.

Across the central plaza (principia) to the east or west was the main gate, the Porta Praetoria. Marching through it and down "headquarters street" a unit ended up in formation in front of the headquarters. The standards of the legion were located on display there, very much like the flag of modern camps.

On the other side of the praetorium the Via Praetoria continued to the wall, where it went through the Porta Decumana. In theory this was the back gate. Supplies were supposed to come in through it and so it was also called, descriptively, the Porta Quaestoria. The term Decumana, "of the 10th", came from the arranging of manipuli or turmae from the first to the 10th, such that the 10th was near the intervallum on that side. The Via Praetoria on that side might take the name Via Decumana or the entire Via Praetoria be replaced with Decumanus Maximus.

Canteen
In peaceful times the camp set up a marketplace with the natives in the area. They were allowed into the camp as far as the units numbered 5 (half-way to the praetorium). There another street crossed the camp at right angles to the Via Decumana, called the Via Quintana, (English: 5th street) (from Latin:quintana, the fifth). If the camp needed more gates, one or two of the Porta Quintana were built, presumably named dextra and sinistra. If the gates were not built, the Porta Decumana also became the Porta Quintana. At "5th street" a public market was allowed.

Major buildings
The Via Quintana and the Via Principalis divided the camp into three districts: the Latera Praetorii, the Praetentura and the Retentura. In the latera ("sides") were the Arae (sacrificial altars), the Auguratorium (for auspices), the Tribunal, where courts martial and arbitrations were conducted (it had a raised platform), the guardhouse, the quarters of various kinds of staff and the storehouses for grain (horrea) or meat (carnarea). Sometimes the horrea were located near the barracks and the meat was stored on the hoof. Analysis of sewage from latrines indicates the legionary diet was mainly grain. Also located in the Latera was the Armamentarium, a long shed containing any heavy weapons and artillery not on the wall.

The Praetentura ("stretching to the front") contained the Scamnum Legatorum, the quarters of officers who were below general but higher than company commanders (Legati). Near the Principia were the Valetudinarium (hospital), Veterinarium (for horses), Fabrica ("workshop", metals and wood), and further to the front the quarters of special forces. These included Classici ("marines", as most European camps were on rivers and contained a river naval command), Equites ("cavalry"), Exploratores ("scouts"), and Vexillarii (carriers of vexilla, the official pennants of the legion and its units). Troops who did not fit elsewhere also were there.

The part of the Retentura ("stretching to the rear") closest to the Principia contained the Quaestorium. By the late empire it had developed also into a safekeep for plunder and a prison for hostages and high-ranking enemy captives. Near the Quaestorium were the quarters of the headquarters guard (Statores), who amounted to two centuries (companies). If the Imperator was present they served as his bodyguard.

Barracks
Further from the Quaestorium were the tents of the Nationes ("natives"), who were auxiliaries of foreign troops, and the legionaries themselves in double rows of tents or barracks (Strigae). One Striga was as long as required and 18 m wide. In it were two Hemistrigia of facing tents centered in its 9 m strip. Arms could be stacked before the tents and baggage carts kept there as well. Space on the other side of the tent was for passage.

In the northern places like Britain, where it got cold in the winter, they would make wood or stone barracks. The Romans would also put a fireplace in the barracks. They had about three bunk beds in it. They had a small room beside it where they put their armour; it was as big as the tents. They would also make these barracks if the fort they had was going to stay there for good.

A tent was 3 by 3.5 metres (0.6 m for the aisle), ten men per tent. Ideally a company took 10 tents, arranged in a line of 10 companies, with the 10th near the Porta Decumana. Of the c. 9.2 square metres of bunk space each man received 0.9, or about 0.6 by 1.5 m, which was only practical if they slept with heads to the aisle. The single tent with its men was called contubernium, also used for "squad". A squad during some periods was 8 men or fewer.

The Centurion, or company commander, had a double-sized tent for his quarters, which served also as official company area. Other than there, the men had to find other places to be. To avoid mutiny, it became extremely important for the officers to keep them busy.

A covered portico might protect the walkway along the tents. If barracks had been constructed, one company was housed in one barracks building, with the arms at one end and the common area at the other. The company area was used for cooking and recreation, such as gaming. The army provisioned the men and had their bread (panis militaris) baked in outdoor ovens, but the men were responsible for cooking and serving themselves. They could buy meals or supplementary foods at the canteen. The officers were allowed servants.

Sanitation
For sanitary facilities, a camp had both public and private latrines. A public latrine consisted of a bank of seats situated over a channel of running water. One of the major considerations for selecting the site of a camp was the presence of running water, which the engineers diverted into the sanitary channels. Drinking water came from wells; however, the larger and more permanent bases featured the aqueduct, a structure running a stream captured from high ground (sometimes miles away) into the camp. The praetorium had its own latrine, and probably the quarters of the high-ranking officers. In or near the intervallum, where they could easily be accessed, were the latrines of the soldiers. A public bathhouse for the soldiers, also containing a latrine, was located near or on the Via Principalis.

Territory
The influence of a base extended far beyond its walls. The total land required for the maintenance of a permanent base was called its territoria. In it were located all the resources of nature and the terrain required by the base: pastures, woodlots, water sources, stone quarries, mines, exercise fields and attached villages. The central castra might also support various fortified adjuncts to the main base, which were not in themselves self-sustaining (as was the base). In this category were speculae, "watchtowers", castella, "small camps", and naval bases.

All the major bases near rivers featured some sort of fortified naval installation, one side of which was formed by the river or lake. The other sides were formed by a polygonal wall and ditch constructed in the usual way, with gates and watchtowers. The main internal features were the boat sheds and the docks. When not in use, the boats were drawn up into the sheds for maintenance and protection. Since the camp was placed to best advantage on a hill or slope near the river, the naval base was usually outside its walls. The classici and the optiones of the naval installation relied on the camp for its permanent defense. Naval personnel generally enjoyed better quarters and facilities. Many were civilians working for the military.

Modifications in practice
This ideal was always modified to suit the terrain and the circumstances. Each camp discovered by archaeology has its own specific layout and architectural features, which makes sense from a military point of view.

If, for example, the camp was built on an outcrop, it followed the lines of the outcrop. The terrain for which it was best suited and for which it was probably designed in distant prehistoric times was the rolling plain. The camp was best placed on the summit and along the side of a low hill, with spring water running in rivulets through the camp (aquatio) and pastureland to provide grazing (pabulatio) for the animals. In case of attack, arrows, javelins and sling missiles could be fired down at an enemy tiring himself to come up. For defence troops could be formed in an acies, or "battle-line", outside the gates, where they could be easily resupplied and replenished, as well as being supported by archery from the palisade.

The streets, gates and buildings present depended on the requirements and resources of the camp. The gates might vary from two to six and not be centred on the sides. Not all the streets and buildings might be present.

Quadrangular camps in later times
Many settlements in Europe originated as Roman military camps and still show traces of their original pattern (e.g. Castres in France, Barcelona in Spain). The pattern was also used by Spanish colonizers in America following strict rules by the Spanish monarchy for founding new cities in the New World.

Many of the towns of England still retain forms of the word castra in their names, usually as the suffixes "-caster", "-cester" or "-chester" – Lancaster, Tadcaster, Worcester, Gloucester, Mancetter, Uttoxeter, Colchester, Chester, Manchester and Ribchester for example. Castle has the same derivation, from the diminutive castellum or "little fort", but does not usually indicate a former Roman camp. Whitley Castle however is an exception, referring to the Roman fort of Epiacum in Northumberland. It is now provided with a car park and café and open to the public under its Roman name of Epiacum.

Camp life
Activities conducted in a castra can be divided into ordinary and "the duty" or "the watch". Ordinary activity was performed during regular working hours. The duty was associated with operating the installation as a military facility. For example, none of the soldiers was required to man the walls all the time, but round-the-clock duty always required a portion of the soldiers to be on duty at any time.

Duty time was divided into vigilia, the eight watches into which the 24-hour day was divided so they stood guard for three hours that day. The Romans used signals on brass instruments to mark time. These were mainly the buccina or bucina, the cornu and the tuba. As they did not possess valves for regulating the pitch, the range of these instruments was somewhat limited. Nevertheless, the musicians (aenatores, "brassmen") managed to define enough signals for issuing commands. The instrument used to mark the passage of a watch was the buccina, from which the trumpet derives. It was sounded by a buccinator.

Ordinary life
Ordinary camp life began with a buccina call at daybreak, the first watch of the day. The soldiers arose at this time and shortly after gathered in the company area for breakfast and assembly. The centurions were up before them and off to the principia where they and the equites were required to assemble. The regimental commanders, the tribunes, were already converging on the praetorium. There the general staff was busily at work planning the day. At a staff meeting the tribunes received the password and the orders of the day. They brought those back to the centuriones, who returned to their company areas to instruct the men.

For soldiers, the main agendum was a vigorous training session lasting about a watch long. Recruits received two, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Planning and supervision of training were under a general staff officer, who might manage training at several camps. According to Vegetius, the men might take a 32 km hike or a 68 km jog under full pack, or swim a river. Marching drill was always in order.

Each soldier was taught the use of every weapon and also was taught to ride. Seamanship was taught at naval bases. Soldiers were generalists in the military and construction arts. They practiced archery, spear-throwing and above all swordsmanship against posts (pali) fixed in the ground. Training was taken very seriously and was democratic. Ordinary soldiers would see all the officers training with them including the praetor, or the Emperor, if he was in camp.

Swordsmanship lessons and use of the shooting range probably took place on the campus, a "field" outside the castra, from which English "camp" derives. Its surface could be lightly paved. Winter curtailed outdoor training. The general might in that case have sheds constructed, which served as field houses for training. There is archaeological evidence in one case of an indoor equestrian ring.

Apart from the training, each soldier had a regular job on the base, of which there was a large variety from the various kinds of clerk to the craftsmen. Soldiers changed jobs frequently. The commander's policy was to have all the soldiers skilled in all the arts and crafts so that they could be as interchangeable as possible. Even then the goal was not entirely achievable. The gap was bridged by the specialists, the optiones or "chosen men", of which there were many different kinds. For example, a skilled artisan might be chosen to superintend a workshop. Soldiers were also expected to build the camp upon arrival before engaging in any sort of warfare after a day's march.

The supply administration was run as a business using money as the medium of exchange. The aureus was the preferred coin of the late republic and early empire; in the late empire the solidus came into use. The larger bases, such as Moguntiacum, minted their own coins. As does any business, the base quaestorium required careful record keeping, performed mainly by the optiones. A chance cache of tablets from Vindolanda in Britain gives us a glimpse of some supply transactions. They record, among other things, the purchase of consumables and raw supplies, the storage and repair of clothing and other items, and the sale of items, including foodstuffs, to achieve an income. Vindolanda traded vigorously with the surrounding natives.

Another feature of the camp was the military hospital (valetudinarium, later hospitium). Augustus instituted the first permanent medical corps in the Roman army. Its physicians, the medici ordinarii, had to be qualified physicians. They were allowed medical students, practitioners and whatever orderlies they needed; i.e., the military hospitals were medical schools and places of residency as well.

Officers were allowed to marry and to reside with their families on base. The army did not extend the same privileges to the men, who were not allowed to marry. However, they often kept common law families off base in communities nearby. The communities might be native, as the tribesmen tended to build around a permanent base for purposes of trade, but also the base sponsored villages (vici) of dependents and businessmen. Dependants were not allowed to follow an army on the march into hostile territory.

Military service was for about 25 years. At the end of that time, the veteran was given a certificate of honorable discharge (honesta missio). Some of these have survived engraved on stone. Typically they certify that the veteran, his wife (one per veteran) and children or his sweetheart were now Roman citizens, which is a good indication that troops, which were used chiefly on the frontier, were from peoples elsewhere on the frontier who wished to earn Roman citizenship. However, under Antoninus Pius, citizenship was no longer granted to the children of rank-and-file veterans, the privilege becoming restricted only to officers.

Veterans often went into business in the communities near a base. They became permanent members of the community and would stay on after the troops were withdrawn, as in the notable case of Saint Patrick's family.

Duties
Conducted in parallel with the ordinary activities was "the duty", the official chores required by the camp under strict military discipline. The Legate was ultimately responsible for them as he was for the entire camp, but he delegated the duty to a tribune chosen as officer of the day. The line Tribunes were commanders of Cohortes and were approximately the equivalent of colonels. The six tribunes were divided into units of two, with each unit being responsible for filling the position of officer of the day for two months. The two men of a unit decided among themselves who would take what day. They could alternate days or each take a month. One filled in for the other in case of illness. On his day, the tribune effectively commanded the camp and was even respected as such by the Legate.

The equivalent concept of the duties performed in modern camps is roughly the detail. The responsibilities (curae) of the many kinds of detail were distributed to the men by all the methods considered fair and democratic: lot, rotation and negotiation. Certain kinds of cura were assigned certain classes or types of troops; for example, wall sentries were chosen only from Velites. Soldiers could be temporarily or permanently exempted: the immunes. For example, a Triarius was immunis from the curae of the Hastati.

The duty year was divided into time slices, typically one or two months, which were apportioned to units, typically maniples or centuries. They were always allowed to negotiate who took the duty and when. The most common kind of cura were the posts of the sentinels, called the excubiae by day and the vigilae at night. Wall posts were praesidia, gate posts, custodiae, advance positions before the gates, stationes.

In addition were special guards and details. One post was typically filled by four men, one sentinel and the others at ease until a situation arose or it was their turn to be sentinel. Some of the details were:
 * guarding, cleaning and maintaining the principia.
 * guarding and maintaining the quarters of each tribune.
 * tending the horses of each cavalry turma.
 * guarding the praetorium.

General

 * Links to a Glossary.
 * The Romans in Britain, Glossary of Military terms. Note that both Latin and Greek terms with the same meaning are included.
 * Links to a Glossary.
 * The Romans in Britain, Glossary of Military terms. Note that both Latin and Greek terms with the same meaning are included.
 * Links to a Glossary.
 * The Romans in Britain, Glossary of Military terms. Note that both Latin and Greek terms with the same meaning are included.

Forts and fortifications

 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.
 * . Article republished on Bill Thayer's LacusCurtius site, which has the advantage of linking to ancient texts cited by Smith.

title: Castra


text:
Ruby Elzy

Ruby Pearl Elzy (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943) was an American operatic soprano. She appeared on stage and in films. She recorded on albums before her death in her 30s from surgery to remove a benign tumor.

Family and early life
Elzy was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, and educated at Rust College, the Ohio State University (graduating in 1930) and the Juilliard School (graduating in 1934). At Juilliard she was a pupil of Lucia Dunham. Her sister Amanda Elzy (died 2004) was a prominent educator after whom Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Mississippi is named. Their mother Emma Elzy (died 1985, aged 98) was a teacher and prominent member of the Methodist church, in whose memory the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church presents an annual Emma K. Elzy award. Ruby had two sisters, Amanda and Beatrice Wayne and one brother, Robert. Their father Charlie abandoned the family when Ruby was five.

Professional accomplishments
Elzy entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's luncheon for the wives of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. She appeared on Broadway in the musical John Henry, in films, on radio and on the concert stage. She appeared with Paul Robeson in the 1933 film The Emperor Jones, and also with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin in Birth of the Blues, though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at Harlem's Apollo Theater and in the Hollywood Bowl.

Elzy created the role of Serena in George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess and performed in it more than eight hundred times. Serena sings the heart-wrenching soprano aria and lament "My Man's Gone Now" after her husband Robbin is murdered during a game of craps. But fellow cast member and lead soprano Anne Brown (who occupied the role of Bess) and not Elzy is actually heard singing the aria on the 1940 original cast album of selections from Porgy and Bess. Fortunately, Elzy sang the demanding aria on the 1937 CD release of the Gershwin Memorial Concert that took place at the Hollywood Bowl three months after the composer's death.

Legacy
In 1940, she was chosen by composer Harold Arlen to record the world premiere of his original suite of Negro spirituals, "Reverend Johnson's Dream", which would be her only commercial recording. During the same year Ruby married Jack Carr, an actor/singer who appeared on stage with her in "Porgy and Bess". The marriage lasted until her death.

Elzy rose above poverty and prejudice to become one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation, but her career lasted barely a decade. Just as she was reaching the peak of her powers as a singer and about to achieve her greatest dream—to star in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida—and one week after her final performance as Serena, Ruby Elzy died in Detroit following surgery to remove a benign tumor. She was 35 years old.

In 2006, Elzy's biographer, David E. Weaver, produced a first-ever CD compilation of Elzy, featuring the singer in twenty rare recorded and broadcast performances. The CD, entitled Ruby Elzy in Song, was released on the Cambria label.

Selected filmography

 * The Emperor Jones (1933) as Dolly
 * Birth of the Blues (1941)

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

title: Ruby Elzy


text:
Saint-Laurent (federal electoral district)

Saint-Laurent (formerly Saint-Laurent—Cartierville) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988.

Geography
The district corresponds exactly to the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal.

The neighbouring ridings are Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, Mount Royal and Pierrefonds—Dollard.

Demographics

 * According to the 2021 Canadian census

Ethnic groups: 40.9% White, 18.6% Arab, 10.1% Black, 8.6% South Asian, 8.2% Chinese, 3.8% Southeast Asian, 3.2% Latin American, 2% Filipino, 1.5% West Asian

Languages: 25.5% French, 15.2% Arabic, 14.4% English, 3.6% Mandarin, 3.2% Spanish, 2.9% Yue, 2.7% Greek, 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.6% Armenian, 1.5% Tamil, 1.5% Italian, 1.2% Punjabi, 1% Urdu

Religions: 44.9% Christian (23.6% Catholic, 9.1% Christian Orthodox, 1% Pentecostal), 22.4% Muslim, 18.4% No Religion, 5.5% Jewish, 3.8% Hindu, 3.4% Buddhist, 1% Sikh

Median income: $32,200 (2020)

Average income: $50,320 (2020)

History
The electoral district of Saint-Laurent was created in 1987 from Dollard, Laval-des-Rapides and Saint-Denis. The name was changed to Saint-Laurent—Cartierville in 1989.

This riding lost territory to Ahuntsic-Cartierville during the 2012 electoral redistribution.

It was represented since a by-election in 2017 by Emmanuella Lambropoulos, member of the Liberal Party. It has long been regarded as one of the safest Liberal ridings in the nation.

Members of Parliament
This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:

Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, 1993–2015
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election.


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Thorncliffe Park

Thorncliffe Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the former Borough of East York.

The City of Toronto recognizes Thorncliffe Park's boundaries as the Don River on the south side; Leaside Bridge, Millwood Road, and Laird Drive on the west side; the West Don River on the east side; and Eglinton Avenue East on the north side.

History

The site of Thorncliffe Park was a farm owned by Robert T. Davies, the wealthy founder of the Dominion Brewing Co. An avid participant in horse racing, under the banner of Thorncliffe Stable, he raced both Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. After Davies' death in 1916 his estate sold the property to a group of investors from Baltimore, Maryland, who built the Thorncliffe Park Raceway racetrack. The track was home to thoroughbred horse racing and harness racing from 1917 until 1952 when it was sold for real estate development. Today, the old racetrack site is commemorated by two streets named Grandstand Place and Milepost Place and the number of buildings that took on racetrack stable names like Churchill, Maple Glen and Wellow Glen.

The Thorncliffe Ski Jump, located west of the present day Ontario Science Centre, was opened by the Toronto Ski Club in January 1934 and operated until February 1941. Its last recorded event raised funds for the Canadian Red Cross and Norwegian War Aid Fund during World War II. In the 1950s, developers tore down the racetrack and created one of Toronto's first high-rise neighbourhoods. The neighbourhood embodies some standard urban planning ideas of the era – high concentrations of similar housing types, strict separation of retail and residential development, and the assumption that everyone has a car. Low-rise buildings are clustered inside the enclosure created by Thorncliffe Park and Overlea, while high-rise buildings line the outside of Thorncliffe Park. Retail establishments were concentrated in a single shopping mall, now called the East York Town Centre, between the two arms of Thorncliffe Park Drive at Overlea Boulevard. Smaller retail and service plazas have recently opened along Overlea Boulevard. Many residents on Thorncliffe Park Drive are at considerable walking distance from shops, although this problem is mitigated somewhat, even in winter, by well kept sidewalks and walkways and by frequent bus service.

Street names
Some of Thorncliffe Park's street names commemorate a former racetrack located there, or recognize the Town of Leaside's role in the development of the new community.

 * Leaside Park Drive – named in 1966, six months before the Town of Leaside's amalgamation into the Borough of East York.
 * Beth Nealson Drive – named after Beth Nealson, the last mayor of the Town of Leaside.
 * William Morgan Drive – named for Leaside's reeve from 1948 to 1950.
 * Banigan Drive – named for an elected member of Town of Leaside's Council from 1951 to 1955. Banigan was defeated by Charles H. Hiscott in the 1955 election to replace retiring mayor Howard Burrell.
 * Pat Moore Drive – named for a Thorncliffe Park resident and community advocate.
 * Patriarch Bartholomew Way – recognizes the Toronto visit of the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

Demographics
According to the 2016 Census, Thorncliffe Park has a population of 21,108, a 9.79% increase from 2011. The top 10 non-English mother tongues are Urdu (24.4%), Pashto (5.1%), Tagalog (Filipino) (4.7%), Persian (4.6%), Gujarati (4.1%), Arabic (3.5%), Bengali (2%), Greek (1.5%), Punjabi (1.4%), and Spanish (1.4%).

According to the 2016 Census, Thorncliffe Park is an extremely diverse community, with the vast majority of its residents being Visible minorities, with many being immigrants. Just under one-third, 32%, of Thorncliffe Park residents were born in Canada, and over 18% of Thorncliffe Park residents immigrated into Canada between 2011 and 2016.

Pakistanis, Indo-Canadians and Afghan Canadians make up 21%, 17.6% and 8.8% of the neighborhoods population, respectively.

In 2016, 46.6% of residents identified as South Asian, 20.5% identified as White Canadian, 8.45% identified as West Asian Canadians, 7.1% identified as Filipino Canadians, 5.2% identified as Black Canadians, 3.2% identified as Arab Canadians, 2.04% identified as Chinese Canadians, 1.42% identified as Latin American Canadians and 0.6% identified as Korean Canadians.

Public Transportation
Toronto Transit Commission buses operate in the community. When the new Line 5 Eglinton line opens, the 81 Thorncliffe Park and 88 South Leaside buses will connect to Science Centre Station and Laird Station, respectively. Thorncliffe Park Station will be a new stop on the Ontario Line, expected to open in 2030. Metrolinx is also building a maintenance and storage facility in the neighbourhood. The project requires the relocation of culturally-significant amenities and services, resulting in community members calling for a redesign of the project locally.

Roads
The Overlea Bridge, formally known as the Charles H. Hiscott Bridge, was built in 1960 to cross the west branch of the Don River and connect Overlea Boulevard to Don Mills Road, linking Thorncliffe Park to Flemingdon Park. The bridge was named for former mayor of Leaside Charles Henry Hiscott (1956 to 1961). Reconstruction is planned for the 2022-2025 period as part of the Renewing Overlea Boulevard project and will included widened sidewalks, the addition of cycle tracks and public art.

Education

Schools operated by the Toronto District School Board in Thorncliffe Park include Thorncliffe Park Public School, Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy, Valley Park Middle School, and Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute.

Recreation
Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation (PF&R) manages the Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre and is responsible for the maintenance of R.V. Burgess Park, Leaside Park and Outdoor Pool, and E.T. Seton Park, which is a part of the Toronto Ravine System. The Thorncliffe branch of the Toronto Public Library operates in the neighbourhood. Leaside Park is home to the Thorncliffe Park Tennis Club.

In culture
The neighbourhood has been depicted in the films Arrowhead and Concrete Valley.

Notable people

 * Michael Bliss, historian, author and Officer of the Order of Canada.
 * True Davidson, former mayor of East York.
 * William Dennison, former mayor of Toronto.
 * Peter Lynch, Canadian filmmaker.
 * Robert Baird McClure, medical missionary and Moderator of the United Church of Canada.
 * Beth Nealson, former mayor of Leaside.
 * Alan Redway, former mayor of East York, and former Member of Parliament for Don Valley East and York East.

title: Thorncliffe Park


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Greatest Hits (Alice in Chains album)

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits collection by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on July 24, 2001, on Columbia Records.

Overview
Greatest Hits is the second collection of hit songs by the band, albeit shorter than the previous release, Nothing Safe: Best of the Box. Greatest Hits was certified gold by the RIAA on November 30, 2005. It was the last album released by Alice in Chains before the death of singer Layne Staley in 2002. Mike Starr plays bass on the album's first five songs, while Mike Inez plays bass on the last five.

Album cover
The album featured two covers. The first cover features a photo of boxer Gene Fullmer receiving a crushing right from Neal Rivers during their 10-round bout at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 1957. The unofficial second cover features an image of the members of the band's heads from the Facelift photoshoot without the text on the cover.

Reception
The album received a mixed reception from critics, with reviewers criticizing the lack of songs and "Cash grab" nature of the album. AllMusic's Steve Huey called the album "a lower-priced, ten-track sampler of Alice in Chains' career." Bill Adams of Ground Control Magazine questioned the integrity of the album, writing in his review "one has to wonder who this compilation was made for. When it was released in 2001, Alice in Chains had only gone for about six years without a new studio album, and fans had been kept interested with live albums, box sets, and myriad other releases, so why put out something so plainly utilitarian?".

Personnel

 * Layne Staley – lead vocals, backing vocals on "No Excuses", "Grind" and "Heaven Beside You" and guitar on "Angry Chair"
 * Jerry Cantrell – lead guitar, backing vocals and lead vocals on "No Excuses", "Grind" and "Heaven Beside You"
 * Mike Starr – bass (tracks 1–5)
 * Mike Inez – bass (tracks 6–10)
 * Sean Kinney – drums
 * Bryan Carlstrom – engineer
 * Ronnie S. Champagne – engineer
 * Dave Jerden – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Stephen Marcussen – mastering
 * Rick Parashar – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Toby Wright – producer, engineer, mixing
 * Tom Nellen – engineer
 * Rocky Schenck – photography
 * Mary Maurer – art direction
 * Marty Temme – photography
 * Elliott Blakey – engineer

title: Greatest Hits (Alice in Chains album)


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Isaac C. Kidd Jr.

Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr. (August 14, 1919 – June 27, 1999) was an American admiral in the United States Navy who served as the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO's Atlantic Fleet, and also as commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1975 to 1978. He was the son of Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was killed on the bridge of the battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1978 Kidd was among a number of retired four-star officers who testified before Congress in favor of the controversial SALT II arms control pact.

Graduation
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Kidd graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1941; he was commissioned an ensign on December19, 1941, just 12 days after his father was killed aboard his flagship. As Time described the event, when Kidd received his commission as ensign "the U.S. Naval Academy and its guests broke into a thunderous cheer— an unprecedented demonstration in honor of Ensign Kidd and his father." During World War II he served as a gunnery and operations officer on destroyers in both Europe and the Pacific, and participated in various Allied landings in the Mediterranean as well as at Iwo Jima.

Naval service
His 23 years at sea during his 37-year naval career included 15 years in command of destroyers, destroyer divisions and squadrons and three U.S. fleets in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean; he also served as executive assistant and senior aide to the Chief of Naval Operations in the early 1960s, earning citations for his efforts in the Cuban Missile Crisis and several other crises. In 1967, he was chosen by his friend and colleague Admiral John S. McCain Jr. to head the Naval Court of Inquiry into the USS Liberty incident during the Six-Day War in June of that year. The Inquiry quickly became controversial amid allegations of a cover-up from both Liberty survivors and high-ranking Navy officers. The allegations concern the deliberateness of the Israeli attack and the suppression of evidence that would prove this. Captain Ward Boston, Admiral Kidd’s chief legal counsel, corroborated many of these claims in a 2004 affidavit. He also claimed that the entire Inquiry was a sham meant to exonerate Israel: “I know from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of “mistaken identity” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” From 1975 to 1978, Kidd served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

Retirement
Shortly after his 1978 retirement, Kidd was among a number of retired four-star officers who testified before Congress in favor of the controversial SALT II arms control pact. Kidd declared that while he was not entirely thrilled with the proposed treaty's verification procedures, "the alternative of having no ceiling at all, considering our position at this point in the so-called race, I find totally unacceptable."

He also taught the law of the sea at the College of William and Mary. His six children included Navy Captain Isaac C. KiddIII.

Kidd died of cancer at age 79 at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, and was buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery.

title: Isaac C. Kidd Jr.


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Talk:Rocket Robin Hood

I gave this page a facelift. it looks awesome! check out the episode clip for details!! User:Rocket_Robin_Hood_14 21:44, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Why hasn't anybody mentioned that the narrator is Alex Trebek? Surely this is the highlight of his broadcast career!?!

i didn't know that that was Alex trebek!!?!?!

There's no reference to Alex Trebek working on the show other than on Wikipedia and its innumerable mirrors. -Dhodges 00:31, 13 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Nothing on IMDB - but I bet the link to Alex Trebek is already blue when I type this. --Wtshymanski 16:04, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

— Was the cook, "Giles", unique to this show? I noticed we wasn't mentioned in the article (except for the couple of episodes titles). Great work on the page, people :-) I never imagined I would have found this here in Wikipedia, cool.  Nonprof. Frinkus (talk) 19:13, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Inconsistant animation
Little John's eyes & hair cut, tended to change back & forth, during an episode. GoodDay (talk) 15:12, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Just an aside
At the 2009 Montreal Shakespeare in the Park, a guitarist used the Rocket Robin Hood theme song as some of the musical accompaniment. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.157.183.15 (talk) 02:40, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Comic book
I want to put the comic book issue in here, but I can't find anything about it. I no longer have the issue, but I remember it was mostly about fighting pollution, like an educational comic. It was probably printed in the late 60s. If someone remembers, please add it.-- Auric 22:48, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:Rocket Robin Hood


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Benny Silman

Benny Silman of New York City is a former student turned campus bookmaker who was jailed for masterminding a point shaving scandal at Arizona State University.

Career
In 1998, Silman pleaded guilty to charges that he bribed college basketball players Stevin "Hedake" Smith and Isaac Burton to ensure the Sun Devils did not "cover the allotted spread" in four end-of-season basketball games during the 1994 season. He was sentenced to just under four years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to fixing Arizona State basketball games in exchange for money from gamblers. A total of $568,000 was wagered by professional sports handicappers on the approval of Silman.

Following his release in 2002, Silman has conducted seminars with NCAA athletes to warn them about the dangers of gambling and has written articles for such publications as Maxim magazine. Silman claims that he was coerced into perpetuating his scheme longer than planned by members of organized crime. His story was made into a movie titled Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie with David Krumholtz playing Silman.

title: Benny Silman


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Phacoemulsification

Phacoemulsification is a cataract surgery method in which the internal lens of the eye which has developed a cataract is emulsified with the tip of an ultrasonic handpiece and aspirated from the eye. Aspirated fluids are replaced with irrigation of balanced salt solution to maintain the volume of the anterior chamber during the procedure. This procedure minimises the incision size and reduces the recovery time and risk of surgery induced astigmatism.

It is best suited to relatively soft cataracts, where the ultrasonic energy required is moderate, and insertion of foldable intraocular prosthetic lenses, which take advantage of the small incision possible. It is the most common procedure for cataract removal in the developed world, with an excellent prognosis in uncomplicated cases.

Etymology
The term originated from phaco- (Greek phako-, comb. form of phakós, lentil; see lens) + emulsification.

Contraindications
The same general contraindications for cataract surgery apply. Specific contraindications for phacoemulsification include hard or dense cataracts where phacoemulsification is likely to cause permanent damage to the cornea.

Mechanism
The phacoemulsification system comprises three sub-systems: Ultrasound, aspiration, and irrigation.

Ultrasound
The ultrasound component is used to break the lens down into particles small enough to be aspirated through the suction passages around the tip, which allows a very small incision for access. The incision is small enough that sutures are not needed for closure, and very little astigmatism is caused by healing of the wound in the cornea.

The phacoemulsification handpiece has a tip which vibrates longitudinally at a frequency in the range of 27 to 60 kHz, with a stroke length of 60 to 150 micrometres. Power is adjustable by the operator as a percentage of full power, and indicates a variation in nominal stroke length. Actual stroke length may vary slightly depending on the density of the material it contacts, though some instruments use feedback to maintain nominal stroke by adjusting current, voltage or frequency. Nominal frequency is not adjustable. Both efficiency and heat generation are increased with higher frequency, and 40 kHz is considered a good compromise and is in common use.

Most handpieces use piezoelectric crystals and the rest use magnetostrictive materials to generate the vibration.

The handpiece is hollow and usually accommodates an aspiration line, and the vibratory transducer components are sealed into it. The handpiece is designed and constructed to be autoclaved between uses.

The phaco tip is available in a variety of configurations, including a selection of tip angles to suit lens removal technique. Standard tip angles range between straight and 60 degrees, and more complex tips may have compound angles. The end of the tip may be round, ellipsoid, bent or flared. A variety of designs are intended to enhance cooling and irrigation, and to prevent burns.

There are three hypothesised mechanisms of how the nuclear material is emulsified. One proposes that the tip acts as a chisel and removes material on the forward stroke, another proposes that ultrasonic energy is somehow involved, and the third proposes that the tip causes microcavitation bubbles on the retraction stroke, which collapse to exert high pressures on the materials very close to the bubble, which cause them to disintegrate.

Aspiration
The aspiration system is used to remove the emulsified lens tissue as it is broken down by the tip. This may be done through the handpiece, with the inlet orifice around the vibrating tip. or through a separate aspiration tip, inserted through a smaller incision.

The pump of the phacoemulsification system can be a peristaltic type or a vacuum transfer type. In peristaltic pumps aspiration flow rate and vacuum are independent. Vacuum is the suction force which holds cataract nuclear fragments against the phaco tip so that they can be emulsified, and draws the emulsion into the tip. Vacuum is the relative low pressure generated by the pump removing liquids and gas from the suction side, and the pressure difference between the vacuum pump reservoir and the ambient pressure at the inlet to the tip of the handpiece draws fluids through the aspiration ducting. When the inlet is occluded by solid material, such as a cataract fragment, the pressure difference holds the solid in contact with the tip while the ultrasonic vibration breaks up the solid to fragments small enough to pass into the aspiration ducting and be carried away by a current of ambient fluid, which must be replaced as fast as it is removed, to retain internal pressure and shape of the eye.

Irrigation
The three purposes of irrigation are to maintain intraocular pressure, carry lens particles out of the eye in the aspiration system,and to cool the phaco handpiece. Gravity feed of 650mm water column (75.5mm Hg) is typical. At this supply pressure, fluid enters the anterior chamber at a rate proportional to the rate at which it leaves due to aspiration and leakage. The pressure head is adjusted to suit anatomical variations and the health of the eye. Complications are less likely if the volume and pressure of the globe are maintained during surgery. This requires a balance between fluid input and output, which is a balance between irrigation, aspiration and leakage. Repeated partial collapses of the anterior chamber, and iris fluttering during removal of the nucleus are signs of inadequate fluid supply, which can be adjusted by changing the height of the gravity feed supply bottle. A height of 650mm above the eye is usually enough to compensate outflow almost immediately. During emulsification, the abrupt variations in flow at the start and end of emulsification of each fragment can cause fluctuations in volume and pressure, which can be corrected by control of the aspiration foot pedal.

Sleeves for the phaco tip are standard accessories to insulate the wound surface from heat generated by the ultrasonic energy, and provide a route for irrigation.

Anaesthesia
Proper anesthesia is essential for ocular surgery. A facial nerve block may occasionally be performed to reduce lid squeezing. General anesthesia is recommended for children, traumatic eye injuries with cataract, for very apprehensive or uncooperative patients and animals. Cardiovascular monitoring is preferable in local anesthesia and is mandatory with general anesthesia.

Either topical, sub-tenon, peribulbar, or retrobulbar local anaesthesia is used, usually causing the patient little or no discomfort. Topical anaesthetics are most commonly used; these are placed on the globe of the eye as eyedrops before surgery or in the globe during surgery. Local-anaesthetic injection techniques include sub-conjunctival injections and injections behind the globe (retrobulbar block) to block regional nerves and prevent eye movement. Intravenous sedation may be combined with the local anaesthetic.

Site preparation
Proper sterile precautions are taken to prepare the area for surgery, including use of antiseptics like povidone-iodine. Sterile drapes, gowns and gloves are employed. A plastic sheet with a receptacle helps collect the fluids during phacoemulsification. An eye speculum is inserted to keep the eyelids open. The operation site is prepared by disinfection of the area around the eye and any other exposed area of the face, and exposure of the eyeball using an eyelid speculum;

Surgical technique

The surgical procedure is typically performed under an operating microscope.

Incision
Before the phacoemulsification can be performed, one or more incisions are made in the eye to allow access for the surgical instruments. Entry into the eye is made through a minimal incision; the incision for cataract surgery has evolved along with the techniques for cataract removal and IOL placement. In phacoemulsification, the size depends on the requirements for IOL insertion. A more-posterior incision simplifies wound closure and decreases induced astigmatism but is more likely to damage blood vessels. With foldable IOLs, it is sometimes possible to use incisions smaller than 3.5 mm. The shape, position, and size of the incision affect the capacity for self sealing, the tendency to induce astigmatism, and the surgeon's ability to manoeuvre instruments through the opening. One or two smaller side-port incisions at 60-to-90 degrees from the main incision may be needed to access the anterior chamber with additional instruments.

Coaxial
Coaxial phacoemulsification uses a single probe to irrrigate, emulsify and aspirate, which is operated through a single incision.

Bimanual
Bimanual phacoemulsification uses one probe to emulsify and aspirate, and a second that is only used for irrigation.

Maintaining the eye shape
Ophthalmic viscosurgical devices (OVDs), also known as viscoelastics, are injected into the anterior chamber to support, stabilize, and protect the eyeball to help maintain eye shape and volume during the procedure, and to distend the lens capsule during IOL implantation.

OVDs are used to protect the corneal endothelium from mechanical trauma and to maintain volume and form of the intraocular space during an open incision. The OVD is introduced into the space by syringe through a cannula.

Intraocular pressure is maintained by the irrigation with BSS, which is either done through the phaco handpiece, or through a separate cannula. The tendency is for a single phaco handpiece to be used, containing the ultrasonic tip, irrigation nozzle and aspiration intake clustered at the tip. The tip is inserted through the OVD, which reduces the loss by outflow at the incision, and this is further limited by small clearance around the tip where it passes through the cornea. Pressure is controlled by elevation of the saline bag above the level of the eye.

Capsulorhexis
To remove a cataract by extracapsular techniques, the capsule of the lens must be opened. In earlier intracapsular cataract extraction, the whole lens and capsule was removed at the same time. This was done to prevent the inflammatory response to leftover lens material. Since it was all removed en-bloc, there was no residual lens material. With effective aspiration practically all the material can be removed while leaving the posterior capsule membrane intact. This provides a barrier between the front and back chambers of the eye, and prevents the vitreous from moving forwards. It also provides the intraocular lens implant with the ideal place to be located in the eye, away from contact with other structures yet securely held in place.

The surgeon removes the anterior face of the capsule that contains the lens inside the eye, tearing a circular opening in the front surface of the lens capsule to access the lens within. A continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis is usually used to create a round, smooth-edged opening through which the lens nucleus can be removed or emulsified and the intraocular lens implant inserted. When done correctly, a CCC does not have any edge notches, and forces applied to the capsule during surgery are better distributed and less likely to result in a tear.

The usual method is to use a bent needle to begin a tear in the capsule, and then guide the edge of the tear around the anterior surface with either the same needle or Utratas forceps. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, and most surgeons will use both instruments as the situation requires.

Preparation of the lens for emulsification
At this point, there are options. Either the nucleus can be separated from the cortex by hydrodissection and hydrodelineation, and then broken up, or the whole lens can be broken up in situ by the prechopping technique. The fragments are removed by emuslification and aspiration.

Prechopping
Cracking or prechop is sometimes used to break up the cataract before emulsification for more efficient fragment emulsification. Several methods can be used, based on the choice of instruments available and preference of the surgeon. Some are simple and do not require special or expensive equipment. In some methods a second steel instrument called a "chopper" is used from a side port (auxiliary incision) to help with breaking the nucleus into smaller pieces. The cataract is usually broken into two or four pieces before each piece is emulsified and aspirated.

The use of a modified cytostome with a Nagahara chopper is well suited to moderate density nuclei, and with experience can be used for soft or hard nuclei and through small pupils, but is less suitable for brunescent cataracts and loose capsules with zonular dialysis.

Other methods include bimanual twin instruments approaches for counter chopping, such as use of a cross-action cracking forceps, two modified cystotomes for middle prechop, the Fukasaku hydrochopping cannula, the Escaf ultrasonic ultrachopper, and the femtosecond laser. These prechop techniques allow surgeons to bypass the sculpting and chopping steps to fracture the nucleus, but require additional special instruments.

The is an ultrasonically powered blade similar to a phacoemulsifier needle but with a flattened blade which can be attached to the phaco handpiece. The mechanical action of the blade is augmented by the vibrations to cut hard and fibrous nuclear material easily. Tips van be selected to suit the cataract hardness.

Hydrodissection
When hydrodissection is used, the cataract's outer (cortical) layer is then separated from the capsule by a gentle, continuous flow or pulsed dose of liquid from a cannula, which is injected under the anterior capsular flap along the edge of the capsulorhexis opening. In hydrodelineation, fluid is injected into the body of the lens through the cortex against the nucleus of the cataract, which separates the hardened nucleus from the softer cortex shell by flowing along the interface between them. The smaller hard nucleus can then be more-easily emulsified. The posterior cortex serves as a buffer, protecting the posterior capsule membrane. The smaller size of the separated nucleus requires shallower and less-peripheral grooving, and produces smaller fragments after cracking or chopping. The posterior cortex also maintains the shape of the capsule, which reduces the risk of posterior capsule rupture.

Emulsification of the cataract
Nucleus emulsification makes it possible to aspirate the particles through a very small incision. After removing all hard central lens nucleus material by emulsification, the softer outer lens cortex is removed with suction only.

After nuclear cracking or chopping (if needed), the cataract is emulsified and aspirated. The nucleus or fragments of the nucleus are held against the phaco tip by suction while the ultrasonic tip emulsifies the material in front of it. The resulting slurry is aspirated through the tip. This may be interrupted as necessary to reposition the tip or access another fragment. This process is continued until all of the nucleus has been removed.

The remaining lens cortex (outer layer of lens) material from the capsular bag is also carefully aspirated, using an irrigation-aspiration phaco probe or a bimanual system, while leaving the posterior capsule intact. If considered necessary, the remaining epithelial cells from the capsule are removed by capsular polishing.

Capsular polishing is the removal of lens epithelial cells remaining in the capsule after cataract removal. Capsule opacification can occur when these cells divide and form fibers. The capsular bag can be polished using metallic scrapers, silicone scrapers, Rentsch capsule curettes, an irrigation/aspiration tip, or the ultrasound irrigation/aspiration tip. A 1994 study found that the cleanest capsules were obtained by polishing with the ultrasound irrigation/aspiration tip.

Lens insertion
As with other cataract removal procedures, an intraocular lens implant (IOL) is usually placed into the remaining lens capsule ("in-the-bag" implantation). For implanting a rigid poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOL, the incision has to be enlarged, so this is not usually done. For implanting a foldable IOL, the incision does not have to be enlarged. The foldable IOL, made of silicone or acrylic of appropriate power, is folded either using a holder/folder, or a proprietary insertion device provided along with the IOL. Because a smaller incision is sufficient, no stitches should be needed, and recovery time is usually shorter when using a foldable IOL.

Aligning the IOL in the correct axis to counteract astigmatism is necessary for a toric IOL. Sometimes, a ciliary sulcus implantation may be required because of posterior capsular tears or because of zonular dialysis.

Removal of OVDs
At the end of the procedure, OVDs that were injected to stabilize the anterior chamber, protect the cornea from damage, and distend the cataract's capsule during IOL implantation are removed from the eye to prevent post-operative viscoelastic glaucoma, a severe intra-ocular pressure increase. This is done via suction from the irrigation-aspiration instrument and replacement by buffered saline solution (BSS). Removal of OVDs from behind the implant reduces the risk and magnitude of postoperative pressure spikes or capsular distention.

Wound sealing
In the final step, the wound is sealed by elevating the pressure inside the globe with BSS, which presses the internal tissue against the external tissue of the incision, holding the incision closed. This should be sufficient to hold the wound closed and make a watertight seal, but if this does not achieve a satisfactory seal, a suture may be added. The wound is then hydrated with BSS, which causes corneal epithelial cells to expand and compress each other and helps seal the wound. The seal can be tested by drying the surface around it and pressing on the cornea.

Contingency procedures
Sometimes a change from a phacoemulsification procedure to extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) may be necessary. This may occur in the event of posterior capsule rupture, zonular dehiscence, or a dropped nucleus with a nuclear fragment more than half the size of the cataract; problematic capsulorhexis with a hard cataract; or a very dense cataract where phacoemulsification is likely to cause permanent damage to the cornea.

Complications
Complications can develop during and after surgery.

During surgery
Posterior capsular rupture, a tear in the posterior capsule of the natural lens, is the most-common complication during cataract surgery. Posterior capsule rupture can cause lens fragments to be retained, corneal oedema, and cystoid macular oedema; it is also associated with increased risk of endophthalmitis and retinal detachment.

Suprachoroidal hemorrhage is a rare complication.

Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome has an incidence of around 0.5% to 2.0%. Iris or ciliary body injury has an incidence of about 0.6%-1.2%. In the event of a posterior capsule rupture, fragments of the nucleus can find their way through the tear into the vitreous chamber; this is called posterior dislocation of nuclear fragments.

Other complications include failure to aspirate all lens fragments, leaving some in the anterior chamber; and incisional burns caused by overheating of the phacoemulsification tip.

After surgery

Complications after cataract surgery are relatively uncommon. Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) may occur but does not directly threaten vision.

Some people develop a posterior capsular opacification (PCO), also called an after-cataract. This may compromise visual acuity, and can usually be safely and painlessly corrected using a laser. to create a clear central visual axis. Patients who have had cataract surgery are at an increased risk of developing rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD)—the most-common form of retinal detachment. Toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS), a non-infectious inflammatory condition, may occur following cataract surgery.

Endophthalmitis is a serious infection of the intraocular tissues, usually following intraocular surgery complications or penetrating trauma, and one of the most-severe. It is rare in cataract surgery due to the use of prophylactic antibiotics. Hypopyon occurs about 80% of the time.

Glaucoma may occur and may be very difficult to control. It is usually associated with inflammation, especially when small fragments or chunks of the nucleus access the vitreous cavity.

Mechanical pupillary block can occur when contact between the edge of the pupil and an adjacent structure blocks the flow of aqueous through the pupil. This is more frequent as a complication of anterior chamber intraocular lens implantation, but has been known to occasionally occur with posterior IOL implantation.

Swelling of the macula, the central part of the retina, results in macular oedema and can occur a few days or weeks after surgery. Most such cases can be successfully treated. Uveitis–glaucoma–hyphema syndrome is a complication caused by the mechanical irritation of a mis-positioned IOL over the iris, ciliary body or iridocorneal angle.

Other possible complications include Elevated intraocular pressure; swelling or oedema of the cornea; displacement or dislocation of the IOL implant (rare); unplanned high refractive error—either myopic or hypermetropic—due to error in the ultrasonic biometry (measurement of the eye length and calculation of the required intraocular lens power); cyanopsia, in which the patient's vision tinted blue and often occurs for a few days, weeks or months after removal of a cataract; and floaters, which commonly appear after surgery.

Recovery and rehabilitation
Following cataract surgery, side-effects such as grittiness, watering, blurred vision, double vision or a red or bloodshot eye may occur, and will usually clear after a few days. Full recovery can take four-to-six weeks. Patients are usually advised to avoid getting water in the eye during the first week after surgery, and to avoid swimming for two-to-three weeks as a conservative approach, to minimise risk of bacterial infection. Most patients can return to normal activities the day after phacoemulsification surgery. Patients should avoid driving for at least 24 hours after the surgery, largely due to possible swelling affecting focus, and pupil dilation causing excessive glare. At the first post-operative check, the surgeon will usually assess whether vision is suitable for driving.

With small-incision self-sealing wounds used with phacoemulsification, some of the post-operative restrictions common with intracapsular and extracapsular procedures are not relevant. Restrictions against lifting and bending were intended to reduce the risk of the wound opening, because straining increases intraocular pressure. With a self-sealing tunnel incision, however, higher pressure closes the wound more tightly. Routine use of a shield is not usually required because inadvertent finger pressure on the eye should not open a correctly structured incision, which should only open to point pressure. After surgery, to prevent contamination, the eyes should not be rubbed and the use of eye makeup, face cream or lotions should be avoided. Excessive dust, wind, pollen or dirt should also be avoided. Sunglasses should be worn on bright days because the eyes will be more sensitive to bright light for a while.

Topical anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics are commonly used in the form of eye-drops to reduce the risk of inflammation and infection. A shield or eye-patch may be prescribed to protect the eye while sleeping. The eye will be checked to ensure the IOL remains in place, and once it has fully stabilised, after about six weeks, vision tests will be used to check whether prescription lenses are needed. Where the focal length of the IOL is optimised for distance vision, reading glasses will generally be needed for near focus.

In some cases, the patient is dissatisfied with the optical correction provided by the initial implants, and removal and replacement is necessary. This can occur with more-complex IOL designs when patient expectations do not match with the compromises inherent in these designs, or the patient cannot accommodate the difference in distance and near-focusing of monovision lenses. The patient should not participate in contact or extreme sports or similar activities until cleared to do so by the eye surgeon.

Outcomes
After full recovery, visual acuity depends on the underlying condition of the eye, the choice of IOL, and any long-term complications associated with the surgery. More than 90% of operations are successful in restoring useful vision, with a low complication rate. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 80% of eyes should have a presenting visual acuity of 6/6 to 6/18 (20/20 to 20/60) after surgery, which is considered a good visual outcome, and that with best correction this should be at least 90%. Acuity of between 6/18 and 6/60 (20/60 to 20/200) is regarded as borderline, and worse than 6/60 (20/200) is considered poor. Borderline or poor visual outcomes are usually due to pre-surgery conditions such as glaucoma, macular disease, and diabetic retinopathy.

A ten-year prospective survey on refractive outcomes from a UK National Health Service (NHS) cataract surgery service from 2006 to 2016 showed a mean difference between the targeted and outcome refraction of −0.07 dioptres, with a standard deviation of 0.67, a mean absolute error of 0.50 dioptres. 88.76% were within one diopter of target refraction and 62.36% within 0.50 dioptres.

In a 2009 study in Sweden, factors that affected predicted refraction error included sex, preoperative visual acuity, and glaucoma, and other eye diseases. Second-eye surgery, macular degeneration, age, and diabetes did not affect predicted outcome. Prediction error decreased with time, which is likely due to the use of improved equipment and techniques, including more-accurate biometry. An American survey of nearly two million bilateral cataract surgery patients published in 2013 found immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery was statistically associated with worse visual outcomes than for delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery; the difference was small and may not be clinically relevant.

History
Charles Kelman and Anton Banko introduced phacoemulsification in 1967. Kelman had the idea to use ultrasonic vibrations after being inspired by his dentist's ultrasonic probe and collaborated with Banko who designed the first phacoemulsifier.

This method of surgery decreased the need for an extended hospital stay and made out-patient surgery the standard. Patients who undergo phacoemulsification rarely complain of pain or discomfort, although those who have topical anaesthesia rather than peribulbar block anaesthesia may experience some discomfort during the procedure.

A method of pre-chopping the cataract using the same bent cystotome needle used for capsulorhexis and a Nagahara chopper was described by Takayuki Akahoshi in 1998.

Recent advances in phacoemulsification technology involve combining the ultrasonic and irrigation-aspiration sleeve into a single handpiece with disposable tip sleeves. This design reduces manufacturing costs, eliminates the risk of infection and provides better surgical outcomes.

Research
Use of ultrasound in phacoemulsification can cause effects such as corneal edema, and macular edema after surgery. However, in some cases, use of ultrasound energy does not generate macular edema. The cause of macular edema in phacoemulsification is intraocular pressure fluctuation during surgery. Intraocular fluctuation can create micro bubbles and generate micro emboli in macular vessels that can cause micro ischemia in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL).

A Cochrane Review seeking to determine whether glaucoma surgery combined with cataract surgery via phacoemulsification has any advantages over cataract surgery (via phacoemulsification) alone, found that eyes that underwent combined (glaucoma and phacoemulsification) surgery had a significantly lower intraocular pressure (-1.62 mmHg) compared to eyes that underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery alone. The authors note that this finding is not conclusive, as the studies examined had many differences and poor reporting outcomes.

A Cochrane Review of 42 trials seeking to compare the effectiveness of laser-assisted cataract surgery with standard ultrasound phacoemulsification found uncertain evidence suggesting benefits of one procedure over the other. A meta-analysis of more than 14500 eyes and 37 studies found no significant differences between the two techniques in terms of visual or refractive outcomes or overall complications.

In a Cochrane Review, clinical trials comparing NSAIDs versus corticosteroids in the treatment of postoperative eye inflammation were uncertain, but there was some evidence suggesting patients treated with NSAIDs were less likely to develop cystoid macular edema.

title: Phacoemulsification


text:
Talk:Binary clock

[Untitled]
The clock shown seems to show numbers in binary-coded decimal rather than straight binary. --Juuitchan

Why (as of this writing) does Wikipedia have an article on binary clocks, but no articles on analog clocks and digital clocks? --Smack (talk) 05:15, 14 July 2005 (UTC)

I added a link to my own JavaScript version. Do two versions seem too much? Just remove one of the links if you think so. --Hauberg 13:52, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

You should add in two more groups of 6 LED's to the left of existing ones to determine the date (6 are needed for the date in BCD, and both must be 6 if are they to be changable), and add in to the left of those a column of 3 LED's to determine the day of the week. And then you can add in options, including: binary or BCD, 24 or 12 hours, Month-Day or Day-Month, whether Monday or Sunday is day 1, to hide or show unusable LED's according to the settings provided, and LED color. So it'd look like this:

o o o o o o o o ooooo ooooooooooo ooooooooooo

if unused LED's are visible. If such a design would be made into a real clock, with the addition of several other elements (rings around the LED's that light when the LED's are turned off, but only in darkness, with the addition of a light sensor, and a simple array of rocker switches to determine settings and to set time in binary), I'd actually buy it. BirdValiant 00:10, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

If anyone knows how to can someone post circuit plans for a BCD? It seems like it would make a wonderful addition to the page.

True Binary
Added info about new true binary (in contrast to BCD) clocks 84.163.254.114

Uploaded image built with "How To Build A Binary Clock" instructions in link on bottom. This picture is cleaner looking. Zachzink (talk) 22:41, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Note that the BCD clock shown in the picture also has the ability to be a binary clock, displaying hours, minutes, and seconds horizontally. (In which case it would show 7:16:45.)  Conveniently the LED arrangement allows for both, so we don't really know which one is shown. Gah4 (talk) 17:06, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Note that the BCD clock shown in the picture also has the ability to be a binary clock, displaying hours, minutes, and seconds horizontally. (In which case it would show 7:16:45.)  Conveniently the LED arrangement allows for both, so we don't really know which one is shown. Gah4 (talk) 17:06, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Analog version?
Could someone please post an analog version of a binary clock? I can't seem to imagine one. An analog clock would display the variations between the values, how is this done in the context of a binary clock? Padillah (talk) 20:34, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

Possible advertising / Sourceless info
"As of 2008, the most common binary clocks sold are designed by Anelace Inc." Where is the source for this? It seems like advertising but has been changed from Think Geek, Real Nerds, and Anelace over the years, but stopped being changed after 2008. — Félix Wolf (talk | contribs) 10:35, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

 * ✅ • Sbmeirow  •  Talk  • 11:56, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

title: Talk:Binary clock


text:
Sun Devils

Sun Devils or Sun Devil may refer to:
 * Arizona State Sun Devils, nickname for the sports teams of Arizona State University.
 * Sun Devils (comics), a DC Comics maxi-series
 * Sun Devils Drum and Bugle Corps of Orlando, Florida.
 * Sun Devil Gym, arena in Tempe, Arizona, United States
 * Sun Devil Marching Band of Arizona State University.
 * Sun Devil Stadium, outdoor football stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, United States

title: Sun Devils