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Shang Tsung

Shang Tsung is a fictional character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. He debuted as the final boss in the original 1992 game and has remained one of the franchise's primary villains. A powerful sorcerer, he is principally defined by his abilities to shapeshift into other characters and to absorb the souls of defeated warriors. Shang Tsung is usually portrayed as the right-hand man of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn and the archenemy of Shaolin monk Liu Kang. He also appeared as the main villain of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002), alongside Quan Chi as the eponymous Deadly Alliance, as well as in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath (2020) and Mortal Kombat 1 (2023).

The character has appeared in various media outside of the games, including as the main villain of the 1995 film and the 2021 film. He has received a positive reception for his design, abilities, and role in the series.

Creation
Shang Tsung (originally named "Shang Lao") was based on a "Chinese sorcerer" archetype from martial arts films, including but not limited to the character Lo Pan from the film Big Trouble in Little China. He was originally envisioned as the one who would behead the losing fighter, prior to the concept of character-specific Shang Fatalities. A cut character named "Kitsune", which was later developed into Kitana, "was going to fit into the story as Shang Lao's (Tsung's) princess daughter - the spoil of victory for winning the tournament", who would betray her father after she fell for Liu Kang. However, mid-development, Boon and the team thought it would be fun to put the finishing power in the player's hands, and started coming up with gruesome ways we could finish off their enemies rather than just Shang Tsung. So it was going to be just the boss, but just "goofing around one time" they made Johnny Cage duck down and uppercut the sorcerer. Following this test, the staff decided to turn everybody into finishers. The original idea was that Shang Tsung was a human traitor who had sold his soul. Mortal Kombat art director Herman Sanchez said that as the series progressed he decided to emphasize Tsung's air of "sinister regality."

Shang Tsung's design varies throughout the series. The initial history of the character was explained in the 1992 Midway-produced comic book based on the original MK game, in which he was the first-ever Mortal Kombat (then the Shaolin Tournament) champion over 500 years ago from the date of the then-current tournament depicted in the actual game, yet he was stricken with a curse that forced him to consume the souls of his defeated opponents in order to keep his youth. The book cited his "failure to appease the gods" as the reason for his premature aging to a withered old man, but he was noticeably younger in Mortal Kombat II, in which Shao Kahn had restored Shang Tsung's youth and powers as part of his plan to take over Earthrealm by luring Liu Kang and his fellow Earth warriors into Outworld for the next MK tournament. His actor in the sequel changed to Phillip Ahn, turning from the original game's Ho-Sung Pak.

According to GamePro magazine in 1993, the MKII version of Shang Tsung was nineteen years old, and an article about the game also included a rough sketch by Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias of Tsung's "true form," a twisted demon, which has never actually appeared in the video games. Tobias wanted Shang Tsung's long hair to hang loose in Mortal Kombat 3 (in which his actor was John Turk), but potential problems with it flopping about whenever he jumped resulted in it being tied back into a ponytail. Responding to player queries about how Shang Tsung's last name is pronounced, Acclaim Entertainment stated in 1994 that there is no one definitively correct way of pronouncing the character's name.

In the original Mortal Kombat game Shang Tsung is a computer-controlled boss that launches fireball projectiles (consisting of a flaming skull, in contrast to Liu Kang's fireball which is shaped like a Chinese dragon) and can morph into other characters at will; this gives him access to all of the Kombatants' signature moves. The character was originally given the morphing ability due to technical limitations as the arcade machines for the game had no memory left for his images. As a player character in MKII, he retains his morphing ability, but can only transform into playable characters (although he can transform into the non-playable sub-boss Kintaro for a fatality). His flaming skull projectile's versatility is also expanded: he can summon skulls from above or below the opponent as well as shoot multiple skulls from his hands. Tsung's shapeshifting went mostly unused in Deadly Alliance, Deception, Armageddon, and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Ed Boon explained this was due to a lack of sufficient memory. After the ending of Mortal Kombat 11, Ed Boon decided to cast Tagawa as Shang Tsung for Aftermath as he believes several gamers often visualize him when seeing the character. Despite being presented as an anti-hero, Boon acknowledges that everybody knows he is the actual villain instead and they look forward to the obvious revelation. Tagawa himself said that Mortal Kombat in general was one of the biggest experiences in his career, having enjoyed both films and gaming citing the franchise's length in general. For Mortal Kombat 1, Shang Tsung is returning as a major villain but according to Boon he will not be final one.

Mortal Kombat games
According to the first Mortal Kombat comic, Shang Tsung was cursed by his gods to steal souls lest he age rapidly and die prematurely. However, stealing souls allowed him to absorb his victims' knowledge and fighting skills as well. He entered the Mortal Kombat tournament, overcoming all competition and becoming the Grand Champion. After his victory, he became the tournament's coordinator, unfairly tipping the scales in Outworld's favor for nine tournaments so that Shao Kahn could conquer Earth. However, he and his protege and champion Goro are defeated by the Shaolin Monk Liu Kang in the tenth tournament during the events of the first Mortal Kombat game.

In Mortal Kombat II, Shao Kahn restores Shang Tsung's youth and tries to lure Earth's warriors into Outworld to give himself an advantage. While Shang Tsung and his master are defeated, this plot is merely a distraction while Shang Tsung resurrects Shao Kahn's wife Sindel in Earthrealm. Shao Kahn crosses the dimensional boundaries to claim her, which merges Earthrealm with Outworld and enslaves the souls of billions of people. Shang Tsung is assigned to hunt down survivors, but is defeated by Liu Kang once more.

In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Shang Tsung joins forces with fellow sorcerer Quan Chi in a bid to conquer the realms by resurrecting Onaga the Dragon King's undead army. However, their plan goes awry when Onaga himself returns from the dead, reclaiming his army. When Raiden releases his godly essence in a last-ditch effort to defeat the Dragon King, Shang Tsung dies as well, but he is revived in Mortal Kombat Armageddon before the final battle between good and evil.

Shang Tsung appears as a playable character in the Mortal Kombat reboot game (2011), which serves as a reboot of the first three titles in the series. In this new timeline, his role is mostly consistent with these games. However, near the story's end, Shao Kahn steals Shang Tsung's soul and uses it to empower Sindel before sending her to kill the Earthrealm defenders.

While Shang Tsung was not included in Mortal Kombat X (2015), he does appear in Ermac's arcade ending, stealing the latter's souls to reconstitute himself, and in a flashback during Erron Black's ending that sees him slowing Black's aging process in exchange for him assassinating an Earthrealm warrior.

Shang Tsung returns in Mortal Kombat 11 as both a DLC character and the central character of the DLC story expansion Aftermath. In the game's story mode, his now abandoned island is the site of several battles as opposing factions fight over the countless souls that he has stored there. Shang Tsung also appears as the guardian of the Krypt, also based on his island, narrating the player's progress. In Aftermath, the goddess Kronika imprisoned Shang Tsung in the Void once his purpose was served, during which he formulated a plan to get revenge. Following her death, the sorcerer emerged alongside Fujin and Nightwolf to stop Liu Kang from using Kronika's hourglass without the Crown of Souls. As Liu Kang had destroyed his version, Shang Tsung convinced the Fire God to send him, Fujin, and Nightwolf back in time to retrieve a past version of the Crown. While in the past, the sorcerer orchestrates events to ensure that he could gain the Crown with little to no opposition from Earthrealm, Outworld, and Kronika's forces. Once they are all defeated, Shang Tsung attempts to restart history for himself, only to discover that Liu Kang had manipulated events to ensure the sorcerer's victory over Kronika. The player can then choose to finish as either Liu Kang or Shang Tsung. If Liu Kang wins, he erases Shang Tsung from existence before restarting the timeline. If Shang Tsung wins, he absorbs Liu Kang's soul and becomes a Titan, intent on conquering the realms.

In Mortal Kombat 1, Shang Tsung appears as a preorder bonus and as the game's main antagonist. The game focuses on Liu Kang's new timeline, where Shang Tsung is depicted as a snake oil salesman struggling to make ends meet in Outworld. He later meets Kronika, calling herself "Damashi" from the previous timeline, who offers him the chance to become the powerful sorcerer he was before. Working together with Quan Chi and General Shao, he works his way up to Empress Sindel's court on the promise of curing her daughter Mileena from her Tarkat disease. When Fire God Liu Kang sends Earthrealm warriors to capture him for interrogation, he frames them for treason to convince Sindel to turn against Earthrealm. He later convinces Bi-Han to turn the Lin Kuei against Earthrealm by revealing his access to Emperor Ying's Dragon Army. When Liu Kang reveals his treachery to Sindel and the rest of the royal court and they confront him, they meet Damashi, who is revealed to be the Titan Shang Tsung from the second ending in Aftermath. His true intention is to kill all life in Liu Kang's timeline and merge it into his own. Liu Kang's Shang Tsung agrees to work with him to stop his Titan counterpart and manages to shut down his portals with help from Quan Chi and Raiden. Liu Kang recruits Titans from other timelines to successfully prevent Titan Shang Tsung from destroying his hourglass. Liu Kang and the other Titans build armies across multiple timelines to confront Titan Shang Tsung in his, resulting in a massive battle on the Pyramid of Argus where Titan Shang Tsung teams up with a Titan Quan Chi. Liu Kang and another character the player selects ultimately defeat them and end their threats across all timelines. In Liu Kang's timeline, his version of Shang Tsung escapes prison and discovers the island he hosted the tournament on in the previous timeline, where he plans to use the well of souls to make himself more powerful.

Other media
Shang Tsung plays his original role of the main antagonist in the first series of the Malibu Comics' Blood & Thunder miniseries, with his backstory mostly unchanged as an old man serving Shao Kahn to open the portal through 10 consecutive Mortal Kombat wins. He and Raiden share a bitter relationship, usually ending in either verbal assaults or draw fights. While Shang Tsung hosted the tenth tournament, he secretly planned to gain the powers of the mystical book Tao Te Zhan, which granted immense strength to whoever resolves its seven riddles. Shang Tsung and Raiden later join forces to stop Goro after he took the power of the book, since he cannot be trusted with such strength. During the Battlewave miniseries, it is implied that Shang Tsung resumed the tournament after his plans were foiled and lost it alongside Goro at the hands of Liu Kang. He is seen in the first pages of issue #1 being pursued and punished by Shao Kahn, Kintaro, and Gorbak (Goro's father). Even though Shao Kahn supposedly punished him, he later appears in the last page of issue #5 completely rejuvenated and still under Shao Kahn's servitude. Shang Tsung would later serve as the leader of Shao Kahn's team during the tournament he prepared in the last issue of the series, Tournament Edition II. Shang Tsung's last appearance is during the 1995 Kung Lao one-shot comic, in which he serves as the antagonist, attempting to kill Kung Lao through deceptive tricks using his shapeshifting abilities.

Shang Tsung is the main antagonist in Mortal Kombat, where he is played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. He sporadically resorts to intimidation and trickery to manipulate the outcome of the tournament. He is defeated and killed by Liu Kang in the final battle as revenge for killing his brother Chan.

Shang Tsung is also the villain of the animated film Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins, voiced by Jim Cummings. In this version, he is portrayed as having the ability to read his opponent's thoughts during the battle (an ability that was not present in the game series), allowing him to predict their attacks and adapt his own strategy to exploit the opponent's greatest weakness.

Shang Tsung appeared in several episodes of the animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, voiced by Neil Ross. In the 2015 Mortal Kombat X prequel comics published by DC Comics, in which he has not appeared, his island is described as having been taken over by Reiko and Havik following his death.

In the Mortal Kombat: Konquest TV series, Shang Tsung was portrayed by Bruce Locke as a sorcerer eager to take revenge on the Great Kung Lao, who had defeated him in Mortal Kombat. For most of the series, he is confined to Shao Kahn's cobalt mines for his failure in the Mortal Kombat tournament, although he occasionally escapes, since his powers are unaffected by the cobalt in the mines due to his human heritage. While in the mines, he keeps Kreeyan princess Vorpax as his personal slave and generally mistreats her until she receives her mother's powers. As with the other characters, Tsung is defeated in the finale by Kahn's Shadow Priests.

Shang Tsung appears briefly in the short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, portrayed by James Lew, and in the third episode of the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, played by Johnson Phan. Tagawa reprised his role from the first movie for the second season as successfully luring a distraught Liu Kang over to Outworld's side against Raiden. Shang Tsung also starred in the Death Battle! episode "Akuma vs. Shang Tsung" from Rooster Teeth, in which he faced off against Akuma from the Street Fighter franchise, defeating him in the series' titular duel to the death.

Shang Tsung appears in the animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge and the sequel Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms. Voice actor Artt Butler compared Shang Tsung with the Star Wars villain Darth Vader due to how powerful he is yet he is still serving Shao Khan. He claims that in Scorpion's Revenge he saw all his enemies as insignificant due to his arrogance wheareas in Battle of the Realms he is more interested in killing Liu Kang as he acknowledges the power the protagonist has and will take advantage of any act of mercy the Shaolin Monk shows in combat. In retrospect, Butler enjoyed the fight between Shang Tsung and Liu Kang, praising Jordan Rodrigues's performance of the character.

Chin Han portrays Shang Tsung in the 2021 reboot film Mortal Kombat. He resorts to cheating before the tournament by attacking Raiden's forces with allies like Prince Goro and Sub-Zero. He threatens Raiden with retaliation after the death of his minions but is teleported away by the Thunder God.

Reception
The character was met with a positive critical reception. Shang Tsung was ranked 17th on GameDaily's 2009 list of top evil masterminds of all time, which noted his attack style and goals while stating he is "one twisted freak." That same year, GamesRadar listed him as one of the top villains who will never stay dead. He was also sixth on GamesRadar's list of most misunderstood videogame villains. GamesRadar also listed his Fatality where he morphs into Kintaro from Mortal Kombat II as one of "ten greatest things about Mortal Kombat". In 2010, Shang Tsung was ranked 97th in IGN's list of top video game villains, with a comment that "considering Shang Tsung's devious powers and his cruel methods, his status as a reputable villain of the series is well deserved." Den of Geek said that while he never looked as menacing as the sub-boss Goro, his shapeshifting powers would surprise the player while his personality surprised the audience, making him one of the best bosses in fighting game history. In Game of Death, David Church found Liu Kang and Shang Tsung as obvious references Lee and Han from Enter the Dragon.

He was also ranked as third in Game Revolution's list of top old school Mortal Kombat characters for his ability to morph into other fighters during battles. Game Rant ranked Shang Tsung at number five on their list of "most awesome" Mortal Kombat characters, praising his ability to transform into other characters and adding "despite Shang Tsung's limited arsenal of unique special attacks, the character still provides experienced players with a stylish way to dispatch opponents." In UGO's 2012 list of top Mortal Kombat characters, Shang Tsung placed at 15th. Complex placed this "cold-blooded mastermind" at the top of their lists of the greatest wizards in games in 2012, calling him the "coolest video game wizard ever, by far," and of the most brutal fighters in Mortal Kombat in 2013. In 2013, Complex also included his transformation into Kintaro and his "Soul Purge" in MK3 among the best finishing moves in the series. Shang Tsung also became famous in the Deadly Alliance intro cutscene for killing the hero Liu Kang which surprised game journalist for the impact such dark twist had on the main narrative.

Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa's take on Shang Tsung is now regarded as the ideal portrayal of the sorcerer. JoBlo.com noted that every actor who has taken the role since have been compared to Tagawa, commenting that his delivery "has all the cadence and embellished style like he's on Broadway, but he holds himself physically like he's just casually laying down the law. Tagawa is Shang Tsung." Screen Rant reported that while they felt all the main cast members were equally outstanding, Tagawa was "the best casting of the movie to many". While reviewing Legacy, IGN said "the most noteworthy bit of recasting involves Shang Tsung" due to Tagawa's appeal on the character especially with his age despite there not being connections to the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie.

Tagawa's portrayal of Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath was praised by HobbyConsolas for often being the center of attention in his scenes. The Washington Post praised the handling of Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11 in general to the point he is a more enjoyable than the already striking DLC RoboCop due to his charismatic and manipulative characterization when working alongside Raiden's forces to obtain the power he wanted. In retrospect, the site said "Tagawa gave the most memorable performance of the movie." which further proves the reason to why the Aftermath storyline is so appealing despite being an obvious villain working with the heroes.

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Fashion Island

Fashion Island is an outdoor regional shopping mall in Newport Beach, California. Opened in 1967 by The Irvine Company as the anchor to their master-planned Newport Center district, Fashion Island is anchored by Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom.

Early history
The $20 million, million-square-foot, 75 acre Fashion Island shopping center opened on September 9, 1967 with parking spaces for 5,500 cars. At its launch, it featured 52 mall stores plus four anchor department stores:
 * Buffums, 54000 sqft, designed by Welton Becket and Associates
 * Robinson's, 225000 sqft, designed by William Pereira
 * The Broadway, 165000 sqft, designed by Charles Luckman
 * JCPenney, 205000 sqft, also designed by Luckman

The overall shopping center, mall shops and Buffums were designed by Welton Becket and Associates with only a trace of the Spanish architectural theme which later defined the property. However, one early feature of the property—a landmark koi pond constructed in 1968—remains in use to this day. Later additions to Fashion Island's anchor roster included Bullocks Wilshire, which opened in August 1977, and Neiman Marcus, which opened in March 1978.

The 1980s
The first major change at the shopping center occurred in April 1982, when JCPenney shut its doors. The building JCPenney occupied was redeveloped into a new, enclosed shopping area dubbed the Atrium Court, which featured a basement-level food court and two levels of shops above. An El Torito Grill, the first in the company, opened in a stand-alone building adjacent to Bullock's in 1986.

In 1989, the center underwent a major expansion and renovation based on the design of architect Jon Jerde, adding the Island Terrace—a second food court and a seven-screen Edwards Theatres cinema - along with a dramatic restructuring of the existing center. A large portion of the property between The Broadway and Bullocks Wilshire was redeveloped into a series of pedestrian avenues radiating from a new circular courtyard with the "Iris fountain", an animated fountain created by WET Design.

1990 to 2010
The 1990s and early 2000s brought about major consolidation and change in the department store industry of Southern California and beyond, significantly affecting Fashion Island.

In February of 1990, all Bullocks Wilshire stores were rebranded as I. Magnin, including the Fashion Island location. Buffum's closed the following year as part of a chain-wide liquidation, with its building subdivided in 1992 to accommodate several uses including a Circuit City store. Other new additions that same year included The Cheesecake Factory adjacent to I. Magnin, a Bookstar book store near the property's cinema, and a new multi-tenant restaurant building with a Hard Rock Cafe on the property's perimeter.

May Department Stores opted to consolidate its two West Coast department store chains (Robinson's and May Company California) into a single business unit, resulting in the rebranding of most Robinson's and May Co. department stores - including the Robinson's at Fashion Island - to Robinsons-May in 1993.

The I. Magnin brand was phased out by parent company Federated Department Stores in 1995, with the Fashion Island location rebranded as a Bullock's Women's Store in June of that same year.

The purchase of Broadway Stores, Inc. - the parent company of The Broadway - by Bullock's owner Federated Department Stores in 1996 led to another significant shift in the property's anchors. Federated announced it would rebrand the Broadway fleet of department stores into Macy's or Bloomingdale's, closing redundant locations in the process. The Bullock's Women's store at Fashion Island was converted to a women's-only Macy's store in the summer of 1996. The Broadway, the sole remaining anchor from the property's 1967 opening, was renovated and reopened as Bloomingdale's in the fall of 1996, as part of the company's entry into California. The arrival of Bloomingdale's was considered a major achievement for Fashion Island, beating its rival South Coast Plaza in a bidding war for the department store's first Orange County location. The third floor of the Atrium Court building was converted into a separate Bloomingdale's Home Store in 1997.

The first Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar opened adjacent to the Hard Rock Cafe in 1998, followed by then-sister concept Roy's the following year.

Fashion Island was renovated once more in 2003, strengthening the property's Mediterranean design and adding refreshed landscaping, architectural elements, and a new carousel.

The Hard Rock Cafe closed in 2005, and was replaced by Blue Coral, a short-lived seafood concept from Fleming's and Roy's parent OSI International (now Bloomin' Brands). That same year, a major renovation to the property's Neiman Marcus created a third level above the still-operating department store.

The 2006 merger of Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores brought another wave of changes to Fashion Island. The property's Robinsons-May store became a full-line Macy's store, while the stand-alone Macy's Women's store was shuttered and sold to The Irvine Company for future development. Bookstar rebranded as Barnes & Noble, and moved to a significantly larger space in the Atrium Court that same year.

In 2009, The Irvine Company began another renovation to the property, at a cost of $100 million. The renovation project included the demolition and replacement of the former Macy's Women's store with Nordstrom, the construction of a new multi-tenant building with a flagship Dean & Deluca next to the Atrium Court, the replacement of the Island Terrace food court with upscale restaurants, and a re-leasing initiative aimed at bringing more upscale tenants to the property.

2010 to present
The Great Recession led to several changes at Fashion Island. The 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation of Circuit City led to the addition of a large-scale Forever 21 store in 2010. Dean & Deluca cancelled its plans to open at Fashion Island in 2009, causing a delay in the construction of the multi-tenant building it was slated to occupy. Whole Foods Market signed on as a replacement for Dean & Deluca in 2011, opening in 2012 along with Dick's Sporting Goods and Ulta Beauty.

Edwards Cinemas sold their Island Terrace cinema in 2011 to The Irvine Company, who renovated the seven-screen complex and reopened it as the Island Cinema in December 2011. Several changes came about on the property's perimeter, with True Food Kitchen supplanting Blue Coral in 2010, the El Torito Grill closing in 2012, and the construction of several new buildings on the property's southern side in 2013. A multi-tenant building was constructed on former parking space adjacent to Macy's, and two new restaurant buildings—intended for upscale restaurants Fig & Olive and Red O—were constructed at the property's southern entrance. Finally, the El Torito Grill became locally-owned restaurant concept Cucina Enoteca in 2014.

The Island Cinema closed in 2017 and was leased by upscale cinema operator The Lot, which renovated the theater and reopened it the following year. Forever 21 closed its Fashion Island store as part of a bankruptcy filing in 2019. The building sat vacant until 2022, when it was demolished to make room for a large-scale RH gallery store slated to open in 2024. Roy's and Fig & Olive closed in 2019 and 2022 respectively. JOEY, a Canadian restaurant group, opened in the former Roy's space in late 2022.

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

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Nanomaterials

Nanomaterials describe, in principle, chemical substances or materials of which a single unit is sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale ).

Nanomaterials research takes a materials science-based approach to nanotechnology, leveraging advances in materials metrology and synthesis which have been developed in support of microfabrication research. Materials with structure at the nanoscale often have unique optical, electronic, thermo-physical or mechanical properties.

Nanomaterials are slowly becoming commercialized and beginning to emerge as commodities.

Definition
In ISO/TS 80004, nanomaterial is defined as the "material with any external dimension in the nanoscale or having internal structure or surface structure in the nanoscale", with nanoscale defined as the "length range approximately from 1 nm to 100 nm". This includes both nano-objects, which are discrete pieces of material, and nanostructured materials, which have internal or surface structure on the nanoscale; a nanomaterial may be a member of both these categories.

On 18 October 2011, the European Commission adopted the following definition of a nanomaterial: "A natural, incidental or manufactured material containing particles, in an unbound state or as an aggregate or as an agglomerate and for 50% or more of the particles in the number size distribution, one or more external dimensions is in the size range 1 nm – 100 nm. In specific cases and where warranted by concerns for the environment, health, safety or competitiveness the number size distribution threshold of 50% may be replaced by a threshold between 1% to 50%."

Engineered
Engineered nanomaterials have been deliberately engineered and manufactured by humans to have certain required properties.

Legacy nanomaterials are those that were in commercial production prior to the development of nanotechnology as incremental advancements over other colloidal or particulate materials. They include carbon black and titanium dioxide nanoparticles.

Incidental
Nanomaterials may be unintentionally produced as a byproduct of mechanical or industrial processes through combustion and vaporization. Sources of incidental nanoparticles include vehicle engine exhausts, smelting, welding fumes, combustion processes from domestic solid fuel heating and cooking. For instance, the class of nanomaterials called fullerenes are generated by burning gas, biomass, and candle. It can also be a byproduct of wear and corrosion products. Incidental atmospheric nanoparticles are often referred to as ultrafine particles, which are unintentionally produced during an intentional operation, and could contribute to air pollution.

Natural
Biological systems often feature natural, functional nanomaterials. The structure of foraminifera (mainly chalk) and viruses (protein, capsid), the wax crystals covering a lotus or nasturtium leaf, spider and spider-mite silk, the blue hue of tarantulas, the "spatulae" on the bottom of gecko feet, some butterfly wing scales, natural colloids (milk, blood), horny materials (skin, claws, beaks, feathers, horns, hair), paper, cotton, nacre, corals, and even our own bone matrix are all natural organic nanomaterials.

Natural inorganic nanomaterials occur through crystal growth in the diverse chemical conditions of the Earth's crust. For example, clays display complex nanostructures due to anisotropy of their underlying crystal structure, and volcanic activity can give rise to opals, which are an instance of a naturally occurring photonic crystals due to their nanoscale structure. Fires represent particularly complex reactions and can produce pigments, cement, fumed silica etc.

Natural sources of nanoparticles include combustion products forest fires, volcanic ash, ocean spray, and the radioactive decay of radon gas. Natural nanomaterials can also be formed through weathering processes of metal- or anion-containing rocks, as well as at acid mine drainage sites.

 * Gallery of natural nanomaterials

Types
Nano-materials are often categorized as to how many of their dimensions fall in the nanoscale. A nanoparticle is defined a nano-object with all three external dimensions in the nanoscale, whose longest and the shortest axes do not differ significantly. A nanofiber has two external dimensions in the nanoscale, with nanotubes being hollow nanofibers and nanorods being solid nanofibers. A nanoplate/nanosheet has one external dimension in the nanoscale, and if the two larger dimensions are significantly different it is called a nanoribbon. For nanofibers and nanoplates, the other dimensions may or may not be in the nanoscale, but must be significantly larger. In all of these cases, a significant difference is noted to typically be at least a factor of 3.

Nanostructured materials are often categorized by what phases of matter they contain. A nanocomposite is a solid containing at least one physically or chemically distinct region or collection of regions, having at least one dimension in the nanoscale. A nanofoam has a liquid or solid matrix, filled with a gaseous phase, where one of the two phases has dimensions on the nanoscale. A nanoporous material is a solid material containing nanopores, voids in the form of open or closed pores of sub-micron lengthscales. A nanocrystalline material has a significant fraction of crystal grains in the nanoscale.

Nanoporous materials
The term nanoporous materials contain subsets of microporous and mesoporous materials. Microporous materials are porous materials with a mean pore size smaller than 2 nm, while mesoporous materials are those with pores sizes in the region 2–50 nm. Microporous materials exhibit pore sizes with comparable length-scale to small molecules. For this reason such materials may serve valuable applications including separation membranes. Mesoporous materials are interesting towards applications that require high specific surface areas, while enabling penetration for molecules that may be too large to enter the pores of a microporous material. In some sources, nanoporous materials and nanofoam are sometimes considered nanostructures but not nanomaterials because only the voids and not the materials themselves are nanoscale. Although the ISO definition only considers round nano-objects to be nanoparticles, other sources use the term nanoparticle for all shapes.

Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles have all three dimensions on the nanoscale. Nanoparticles can also be embedded in a bulk solid to form a nanocomposite.

Fullerenes
The fullerenes are a class of allotropes of carbon which conceptually are graphene sheets rolled into tubes or spheres. These include the carbon nanotubes (or silicon nanotubes) which are of interest both because of their mechanical strength and also because of their electrical properties.

The first fullerene molecule to be discovered, and the family's namesake, buckminsterfullerene (C60), was prepared in 1985 by Richard Smalley, Robert Curl, James Heath, Sean O'Brien, and Harold Kroto at Rice University. The name was a homage to Buckminster Fuller, whose geodesic domes it resembles. Fullerenes have since been found to occur in nature. More recently, fullerenes have been detected in outer space.

For the past decade, the chemical and physical properties of fullerenes have been a hot topic in the field of research and development, and are likely to continue to be for a long time. In April 2003, fullerenes were under study for potential medicinal use: binding specific antibiotics to the structure of resistant bacteria and even target certain types of cancer cells such as melanoma. The October 2005 issue of Chemistry and Biology contains an article describing the use of fullerenes as light-activated antimicrobial agents. In the field of nanotechnology, heat resistance and superconductivity are among the properties attracting intense research.

A common method used to produce fullerenes is to send a large current between two nearby graphite electrodes in an inert atmosphere. The resulting carbon plasma arc between the electrodes cools into sooty residue from which many fullerenes can be isolated.

There are many calculations that have been done using ab-initio Quantum Methods applied to fullerenes. By DFT and TDDFT methods one can obtain IR, Raman, and UV spectra. Results of such calculations can be compared with experimental results.

Metal-based nanoparticles
Inorganic nanomaterials, (e.g. quantum dots, nanowires, and nanorods) because of their interesting optical and electrical properties, could be used in optoelectronics. Furthermore, the optical and electronic properties of nanomaterials which depend on their size and shape can be tuned via synthetic techniques. There are the possibilities to use those materials in organic material based optoelectronic devices such as organic solar cells, OLEDs etc. The operating principles of such devices are governed by photoinduced processes like electron transfer and energy transfer. The performance of the devices depends on the efficiency of the photoinduced process responsible for their functioning. Therefore, better understanding of those photoinduced processes in organic/inorganic nanomaterial composite systems is necessary in order to use them in optoelectronic devices.

Nanoparticles or nanocrystals made of metals, semiconductors, or oxides are of particular interest for their mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical and other properties. Nanoparticles have been used as quantum dots and as chemical catalysts such as nanomaterial-based catalysts. Recently, a range of nanoparticles are extensively investigated for biomedical applications including tissue engineering, drug delivery, biosensor.

Nanoparticles are of great scientific interest as they are effectively a bridge between bulk materials and atomic or molecular structures. A bulk material should have constant physical properties regardless of its size, but at the nano-scale this is often not the case. Size-dependent properties are observed such as quantum confinement in semiconductor particles, surface plasmon resonance in some metal particles, and superparamagnetism in magnetic materials.

Nanoparticles exhibit a number of special properties relative to bulk material. For example, the bending of bulk copper (wire, ribbon, etc.) occurs with movement of copper atoms/clusters at about the 50 nm scale. Copper nanoparticles smaller than 50 nm are considered super hard materials that do not exhibit the same malleability and ductility as bulk copper. The change in properties is not always desirable. Ferroelectric materials smaller than 10 nm can switch their polarization direction using room temperature thermal energy, thus making them useless for memory storage. Suspensions of nanoparticles are possible because the interaction of the particle surface with the solvent is strong enough to overcome differences in density, which usually result in a material either sinking or floating in a liquid. Nanoparticles often have unexpected visual properties because they are small enough to confine their electrons and produce quantum effects. For example, gold nanoparticles appear deep red to black in solution.

The often very high surface area to volume ratio of nanoparticles provides a tremendous driving force for diffusion, especially at elevated temperatures. Sintering is possible at lower temperatures and over shorter durations than for larger particles. This theoretically does not affect the density of the final product, though flow difficulties and the tendency of nanoparticles to agglomerate do complicate matters. The surface effects of nanoparticles also reduces the incipient melting temperature.

One-dimensional nanostructures
The smallest possible crystalline wires with cross-section as small as a single atom can be engineered in cylindrical confinement. Carbon nanotubes, a natural semi-1D nanostructure, can be used as a template for synthesis. Confinement provides mechanical stabilization and prevents linear atomic chains from disintegration; other structures of 1D nanowires are predicted to be mechanically stable even upon isolation from the templates.

Two-dimensional nanostructures
2D materials are crystalline materials consisting of a two-dimensional single layer of atoms. The most important representative graphene was discovered in 2004. Thin films with nanoscale thicknesses are considered nanostructures, but are sometimes not considered nanomaterials because they do not exist separately from the substrate.

Bulk nanostructured materials
Some bulk materials contain features on the nanoscale, including nanocomposites, nanocrystalline materials, nanostructured films, and nanotextured surfaces.

Box-shaped graphene (BSG) nanostructure is an example of 3D nanomaterial. BSG nanostructure has appeared after mechanical cleavage of pyrolytic graphite. This nanostructure is a multilayer system of parallel hollow nanochannels located along the surface and having quadrangular cross-section. The thickness of the channel walls is approximately equal to 1 nm. The typical width of channel facets makes about 25 nm.

Applications
Nano materials are used in a variety of, manufacturing processes, products and healthcare including paints, filters, insulation and lubricant additives. In healthcare Nanozymes are nanomaterials with enzyme-like characteristics. They are an emerging type of artificial enzyme, which have been used for wide applications in such as biosensing, bioimaging, tumor diagnosis, antibiofouling and more. High quality filters may be produced using nanostructures, these filters are capable of removing particulate as small as a virus as seen in a water filter created by Seldon Technologies. Nanomaterials membrane bioreactor (NMs-MBR), the next generation of conventional MBR, are recently proposed for the advanced treatment of wastewater. In the air purification field, nano technology was used to combat the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabian hospitals in 2012. Nanomaterials are being used in modern and human-safe insulation technologies; in the past they were found in Asbestos-based insulation. As a lubricant additive, nano materials have the ability to reduce friction in moving parts. Worn and corroded parts can also be repaired with self-assembling anisotropic nanoparticles called TriboTEX. Nanomaterials have also been applied in a range of industries and consumer products. Mineral nanoparticles such as titanium-oxide have been used to improve UV protection in sunscreen. In the sports industry, lighter bats to have been produced with carbon nanotubes to improve performance. Another application is in the military, where mobile pigment nanoparticles have been used to create more effective camouflage. Nanomaterials can also be used in three-way-catalyst (TWC) applications. TWC converters have the advantage of controlling the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are precursors to acid rain and smog. In core-shell structure, nanomaterials form shell as the catalyst support to protect the noble metals such as palladium and rhodium. The primary function is that the supports can be used for carrying catalysts active components, making them highly dispersed, reducing the use of noble metals, enhancing catalysts activity, and potentially improving the stability.

Synthesis
The goal of any synthetic method for nanomaterials is to yield a material that exhibits properties that are a result of their characteristic length scale being in the nanometer range (1 – 100 nm). Accordingly, the synthetic method should exhibit control of size in this range so that one property or another can be attained. Often the methods are divided into two main types, "bottom up" and "top down".

Bottom-up methods
Bottom-up methods involve the assembly of atoms or molecules into nanostructured arrays. In these methods the raw material sources can be in the form of gases, liquids, or solids. The latter require some sort of disassembly prior to their incorporation onto a nanostructure. Bottom up methods generally fall into two categories: chaotic and controlled.

Chaotic processes involve elevating the constituent atoms or molecules to a chaotic state and then suddenly changing the conditions so as to make that state unstable. Through the clever manipulation of any number of parameters, products form largely as a result of the insuring kinetics. The collapse from the chaotic state can be difficult or impossible to control and so ensemble statistics often govern the resulting size distribution and average size. Accordingly, nanoparticle formation is controlled through manipulation of the end state of the products. Examples of chaotic processes are laser ablation, exploding wire, arc, flame pyrolysis, combustion, and precipitation synthesis techniques.

Controlled processes involve the controlled delivery of the constituent atoms or molecules to the site(s) of nanoparticle formation such that the nanoparticle can grow to a prescribed sizes in a controlled manner. Generally the state of the constituent atoms or molecules are never far from that needed for nanoparticle formation. Accordingly, nanoparticle formation is controlled through the control of the state of the reactants. Examples of controlled processes are self-limiting growth solution, self-limited chemical vapor deposition, shaped pulse femtosecond laser techniques, plant and microbial approaches and molecular beam epitaxy.

Top-down methods
Top-down methods adopt some 'force' (e. g. mechanical force, laser) to break bulk materials into nanoparticles. A popular method involves mechanical break apart bulk materials into nanomaterials is 'ball milling'. Besides that, nanoparticles can also be made by laser ablation which apply short pulse lasers (e. g. femtosecond laser) to ablate a target (solid).

Characterization
Novel effects can occur in materials when structures are formed with sizes comparable to any one of many possible length scales, such as the de Broglie wavelength of electrons, or the optical wavelengths of high energy photons. In these cases quantum mechanical effects can dominate material properties. One example is quantum confinement where the electronic properties of solids are altered with great reductions in particle size. The optical properties of nanoparticles, e.g. fluorescence, also become a function of the particle diameter. This effect does not come into play by going from macrosocopic to micrometer dimensions, but becomes pronounced when the nanometer scale is reached.

In addition to optical and electronic properties, the novel mechanical properties of many nanomaterials is the subject of nanomechanics research. When added to a bulk material, nanoparticles can strongly influence the mechanical properties of the material, such as the stiffness or elasticity. For example, traditional polymers can be reinforced by nanoparticles (such as carbon nanotubes) resulting in novel materials which can be used as lightweight replacements for metals. Such composite materials may enable a weight reduction accompanied by an increase in stability and improved functionality.

Finally, nanostructured materials with small particle size, such as zeolites and asbestos, are used as catalysts in a wide range of critical industrial chemical reactions. The further development of such catalysts can form the basis of more efficient, environmentally friendly chemical processes.

The first observations and size measurements of nano-particles were made during the first decade of the 20th century. Zsigmondy made detailed studies of gold sols and other nanomaterials with sizes down to 10 nm and less. He published a book in 1914. He used an ultramicroscope that employs a dark field method for seeing particles with sizes much less than light wavelength.

There are traditional techniques developed during the 20th century in interface and colloid science for characterizing nanomaterials. These are widely used for first generation passive nanomaterials specified in the next section.

These methods include several different techniques for characterizing particle size distribution. This characterization is imperative because many materials that are expected to be nano-sized are actually aggregated in solutions. Some of methods are based on light scattering. Others apply ultrasound, such as ultrasound attenuation spectroscopy for testing concentrated nano-dispersions and microemulsions.

There is also a group of traditional techniques for characterizing surface charge or zeta potential of nano-particles in solutions. This information is required for proper system stabilization, preventing its aggregation or flocculation. These methods include microelectrophoresis, electrophoretic light scattering, and electroacoustics. The last one, for instance colloid vibration current method is suitable for characterizing concentrated systems.

Mechanical Properties
The ongoing research has shown that mechanical properties can vary significantly in nanomaterials compared to bulk material. Nanomaterials have substantial mechanical properties due to the volume, surface, and quantum effects of nanoparticles. This is observed when the nanoparticles are added to common bulk material, the nanomaterial refines the grain and forms intergranular and intragranular structures which improve the grain boundaries and therefore the mechanical properties of the materials. Grain boundary refinements provide strengthening by increasing the stress required to cause intergranular or transgranular fractures. A common example where this can be observed is the addition of nano Silica to cement, which improves the tensile strength, compressive strength, and bending strength by the mechanisms just mentioned. The understanding of these properties will enhance the use of nanoparticles in novel applications in various fields such as surface engineering, tribology, nanomanufacturing, and nanofabrication.

Techniques used:

Steinitz in 1943 used the micro-indentation technique to test the hardness of microparticles, and now nanoindentation has been employed to measure elastic properties of particles at about 5-micron level. These protocols are frequently used to calculate the mechanical characteristics of nanoparticles via atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. To measure the elastic modulus; indentation data is obtained via AFM force-displacement curves being converted to force-indentation curves. Hooke's law is used to determine the cantilever deformation and depth of the tip, and in conclusion, the pressure equation can be written as:

P=k (ẟc - ẟc0)

ẟc : cantilever deformation

ẟc0 : deflection ofset

AFM allows us to obtain a high-resolution image of multiple types of surfaces while the tip of the cantilever can be used to obtain information about mechanical properties. Computer simulations are also being progressively used to test theories and complement experimental studies. The most used computer method is molecular dynamics simulation, which uses newton's equations of motion for the atoms or molecules in the system. Other techniques such direct probe method are used to determine the adhesive properties of nanomaterials. Both the technique and simulation are coupled with transmission electron microscope (TEM) and AFM techniques to provide results.

Mechanical properties of common nanomaterials classes:

Crystalline metal nanomaterials: Dislocations are one of the major contributors toward elastic properties within nanomaterials similar to bulk crystalline materials. Despite the traditional view of there being no dislocations in nanomaterials. Ramos, experimental work has shown that the hardness of gold nanoparticles is much higher than their bulk counterparts, as there are stacking faults and dislocations forming that activate multiple strengthening mechanisms in the material. Through these experiments, more research has shown that via nanoindentation techniques, material strength; compressive stress, increases under compression with decreasing particle size, because of nucleating dislocations. These dislocations have been observed using TEM techniques, coupled with nanoindentation. Silicon nanoparticles strength and hardness are four times more than the value of the bulk material. The resistance to pressure applied can be attributed to the line defects inside the particles as well as a dislocation that provides strengthening of the mechanical properties of the nanomaterial. Furthermore, the addition of nanoparticles strengthens a matrix because the pinning of particles inhibits grain growth. This refines the grain, and hence improves the mechanical properties. However, not all additions of nanomaterials lead to an increase in properties for example nano-Cu. But this is attributed to the inherent properties of the material being weaker than the matrix.

Nonmetallic nanoparticles and nanomaterials:  Size-dependent behavior of mechanical properties is still not clear in the case of polymer nanomaterials however, in one research by Lahouij they found that the compressive moduli of polystyrene nanoparticles were found to be less than that of the bulk counterparts. This can be associated with the functional groups being hydrated. Furthermore, nonmetallic nanomaterials can lead to agglomerates forming inside the matrix they are being added to and hence decrease the mechanical properties by leading to fracture under even low mechanical loads, such as the addition of CNTs. The agglomerates will act as slip planes as well as planes in which cracks can easily propagate (9). However, most organic nanomaterials are flexible and these and the mechanical properties such as hardness etc. are not dominant.

Nanowires and nanotubes:  The elastic moduli of some nanowires namely lead and silver, decrease with increasing diameter. This has been associated with surface stress, oxidation layer, and surface roughness. However, the elastic behavior of ZnO nanowires does not get affected by surface effects but their fracture properties do. So, it is generally dependent on material behavior and their bonding as well.

The reason why mechanical properties of nanomaterials are still a hot topic for research is that measuring the mechanical properties of individual nanoparticles is a complicated method, involving multiple control factors. Nonetheless, Atomic force microscopy has been widely used to measure the mechanical properties of nanomaterials.

Adhesion and friction of nanoparticles

When talking about the application of a material adhesion and friction play a critical role in determining the outcome of the application. Therefore, it is critical to see how these properties also get affected by the size of a material. Again, AFM is a technique most used to measure these properties and to determine the adhesive strength of nanoparticles to any solid surface, along with the colloidal probe technique and other chemical properties. Furthermore, the forces playing a role in providing these adhesive properties to nanomaterials are either the electrostatic forces, VdW, capillary forces, solvation forces, structure force, etc. It has been found that the addition of nanomaterials in bulk materials substantially increases their adhesive capabilities by increasing their strength through various bonding mechanisms. Nanomaterials dimension approaches zero, which means that the fraction of the particle's surface to overall atoms increases.

Along with surface effects, the movement of nanoparticles also plays a role in dictating their mechanical properties such as shearing capabilities. The movement of particles can be observed under TEM. For example, the movement behavior of MoS2 nanoparticles dynamic contact was directly observed in situ which led to the conclusion that fullerenes can shear via rolling or sliding. However, observing these properties is again a very complicated process due to multiple contributing factors.

Applications specific to Mechanical Properties:

 * Lubrication
 * Nano-manufacturing
 * Coatings

Uniformity
The chemical processing and synthesis of high performance technological components for the private, industrial and military sectors requires the use of high purity ceramics, polymera, glass-ceramics, and composite materials. In condensed bodies formed from fine powders, the irregular sizes and shapes of nanoparticles in a typical powder often lead to non-uniform packing morphologies that result in packing density variations in the powder compact.

Uncontrolled agglomeration of powders due to attractive van der Waals forces can also give rise to in microstructural inhomogeneities. Differential stresses that develop as a result of non-uniform drying shrinkage are directly related to the rate at which the solvent can be removed, and thus highly dependent upon the distribution of porosity. Such stresses have been associated with a plastic-to-brittle transition in consolidated bodies, and can yield to crack propagation in the unfired body if not relieved.

In addition, any fluctuations in packing density in the compact as it is prepared for the kiln are often amplified during the sintering process, yielding inhomogeneous densification. Some pores and other structural defects associated with density variations have been shown to play a detrimental role in the sintering process by growing and thus limiting end-point densities. Differential stresses arising from inhomogeneous densification have also been shown to result in the propagation of internal cracks, thus becoming the strength-controlling flaws.

It would therefore appear desirable to process a material in such a way that it is physically uniform with regard to the distribution of components and porosity, rather than using particle size distributions which will maximize the green density. The containment of a uniformly dispersed assembly of strongly interacting particles in suspension requires total control over particle-particle interactions. A number of dispersants such as ammonium citrate (aqueous) and imidazoline or oleyl alcohol (nonaqueous) are promising solutions as possible additives for enhanced dispersion and deagglomeration. Monodisperse nanoparticles and colloids provide this potential.

Monodisperse powders of colloidal silica, for example, may therefore be stabilized sufficiently to ensure a high degree of order in the colloidal crystal or polycrystalline colloidal solid which results from aggregation. The degree of order appears to be limited by the time and space allowed for longer-range correlations to be established. Such defective polycrystalline colloidal structures would appear to be the basic elements of sub-micrometer colloidal materials science, and, therefore, provide the first step in developing a more rigorous understanding of the mechanisms involved in microstructural evolution in high performance materials and components.

Nanomaterials in articles, patents, and products
The quantitative analysis of nanomaterials showed that nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanocrystalline materials, nanocomposites, and graphene have been mentioned in 400,000, 181,000, 144,000, 140,000, and 119,000 ISI-indexed articles, respectively, by September 2018. As far as patents are concerned, nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanocomposites, graphene, and nanowires have been played a role in 45,600, 32,100, 12,700, 12,500, and 11,800 patents, respectively. Monitoring approximately 7,000 commercial nano-based products available on global markets revealed that the properties of around 2,330 products have been enabled or enhanced aided by nanoparticles. Liposomes, nanofibers, nanocolloids, and aerogels were also of the most common nanomaterials in consumer products.

The European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) has produced a database (NanoData) that provides information on specific patents, products, and research publications on nanomaterials.

World Health Organization guidelines
The World Health Organization (WHO) published a guideline on protecting workers from potential risk of manufactured nanomaterials at the end of 2017. WHO used a precautionary approach as one of its guiding principles. This means that exposure has to be reduced, despite uncertainty about the adverse health effects, when there are reasonable indications to do so. This is highlighted by recent scientific studies that demonstrate a capability of nanoparticles to cross cell barriers and interact with cellular structures. In addition, the hierarchy of controls was an important guiding principle. This means that when there is a choice between control measures, those measures that are closer to the root of the problem should always be preferred over measures that put a greater burden on workers, such as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). WHO commissioned systematic reviews for all important issues to assess the current state of the science and to inform the recommendations according to the process set out in the WHO Handbook for guideline development. The recommendations were rated as "strong" or "conditional" depending on the quality of the scientific evidence, values and preferences, and costs related to the recommendation.

The WHO guidelines contain the following recommendations for safe handling of manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs)

A. Assess health hazards of MNMs B. Assess exposure to MNMs C. Control exposure to MNMs For health surveillance WHO could not make a recommendation for targeted MNM-specific health surveillance programmes over existing health surveillance programmes that are already in use owing to the lack of evidence. WHO considers training of workers and worker involvement in health and safety issues to be best practice but could not recommend one form of training of workers over another, or one form of worker involvement over another, owing to the lack of studies available. It is expected that there will be considerable progress in validated measurement methods and risk assessment and WHO expects to update these guidelines in five years' time, in 2022.
 * 1) WHO recommends assigning hazard classes to all MNMs according to the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals for use in safety data sheets. For a limited number of MNMs this information is made available in the guidelines (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
 * 2) WHO recommends updating safety data sheets with MNM-specific hazard information or indicating which toxicological end-points did not have adequate testing available (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
 * 3) For the respirable fibres and granular biopersistent particles' groups, the GDG suggests using the available classification of MNMs for provisional classification of nanomaterials of the same group (conditional recommendation, low-quality evidence).
 * 1) WHO suggests assessing workers' exposure in workplaces with methods similar to those used for the proposed specific occupational exposure limit (OEL) value of the MNM (conditional recommendation, low-quality evidence).
 * 2) Because there are no specific regulatory OEL values for MNMs in workplaces, WHO suggests assessing whether workplace exposure exceeds a proposed OEL value for the MNM. A list of proposed OEL values is provided in an annex of the guidelines. The chosen OEL should be at least as protective as a legally mandated OEL for the bulk form of the material (conditional recommendation, low-quality evidence).
 * 3) If specific OELs for MNMs are not available in workplaces, WHO suggests a step-wise approach for inhalation exposure with, first an assessment of the potential for exposure; second, conducting basic exposure assessment and third, conducting a comprehensive exposure assessment such as those proposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or Comité Européen de Normalisation (the European Committee for Standardization, CEN) (conditional recommendation, moderate quality evidence).
 * 4) For dermal exposure assessment, WHO found that there was insufficient evidence to recommend one method of dermal exposure assessment over another.
 * 1) Based on a precautionary approach, WHO recommends focusing control of exposure on preventing inhalation exposure with the aim of reducing it as much as possible (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
 * 2) WHO recommends reduction of exposures to a range of MNMs that have been consistently measured in workplaces especially during cleaning and maintenance, collecting material from reaction vessels and feeding MNMs into the production process. In the absence of toxicological information, WHO recommends implementing the highest level of controls to prevent workers from any exposure. When more information is available, WHO recommends taking a more tailored approach (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
 * 3) WHO recommends taking control measures based on the principle of hierarchy of controls, meaning that the first control measure should be to eliminate the source of exposure before implementing control measures that are more dependent on worker involvement, with PPE being used only as a last resort. According to this principle, engineering controls should be used when there is a high level of inhalation exposure or when there is no, or very little, toxicological information available. In the absence of appropriate engineering controls PPE should be used, especially respiratory protection, as part of a respiratory protection programme that includes fit-testing (strong recommendation, moderate-quality evidence).
 * 4) WHO suggests preventing dermal exposure by occupational hygiene measures such as surface cleaning, and the use of appropriate gloves (conditional recommendation, low quality evidence).
 * 5) When assessment and measurement by a workplace safety expert is not available, WHO suggests using control banding for nanomaterials to select exposure control measures in the workplace. Owing to a lack of studies, WHO cannot recommend one method of control banding over another (conditional recommendation, very low-quality evidence).

Other guidance
Because nanotechnology is a recent development, the health and safety effects of exposures to nanomaterials, and what levels of exposure may be acceptable, are subjects of ongoing research. Of the possible hazards, inhalation exposure appears to present the most concern. Animal studies indicate that carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers can cause pulmonary effects including inflammation, granulomas, and pulmonary fibrosis, which were of similar or greater potency when compared with other known fibrogenic materials such as silica, asbestos, and ultrafine carbon black. Acute inhalation exposure of healthy animals to biodegradable inorganic nanomaterials have not demonstrated significant toxicity effects. Although the extent to which animal data may predict clinically significant lung effects in workers is not known, the toxicity seen in the short-term animal studies indicate a need for protective action for workers exposed to these nanomaterials, although no reports of actual adverse health effects in workers using or producing these nanomaterials were known as of 2013. Additional concerns include skin contact and ingestion exposure, and dust explosion hazards.

Elimination and substitution are the most desirable approaches to hazard control. While the nanomaterials themselves often cannot be eliminated or substituted with conventional materials, it may be possible to choose properties of the nanoparticle such as size, shape, functionalization, surface charge, solubility, agglomeration, and aggregation state to improve their toxicological properties while retaining the desired functionality. Handling procedures can also be improved, for example, using a nanomaterial slurry or suspension in a liquid solvent instead of a dry powder will reduce dust exposure. Engineering controls are physical changes to the workplace that isolate workers from hazards, mainly ventilation systems such as fume hoods, gloveboxes, biosafety cabinets, and vented balance enclosures. Administrative controls are changes to workers' behavior to mitigate a hazard, including training on best practices for safe handling, storage, and disposal of nanomaterials, proper awareness of hazards through labeling and warning signage, and encouraging a general safety culture. Personal protective equipment must be worn on the worker's body and is the least desirable option for controlling hazards. Personal protective equipment normally used for typical chemicals are also appropriate for nanomaterials, including long pants, long-sleeve shirts, and closed-toed shoes, and the use of safety gloves, goggles, and impervious laboratory coats. In some circumstances respirators may be used.

Exposure assessment is a set of methods used to monitor contaminant release and exposures to workers. These methods include personal sampling, where samplers are located in the personal breathing zone of the worker, often attached to a shirt collar to be as close to the nose and mouth as possible; and area/background sampling, where they are placed at static locations. The assessment should use both particle counters, which monitor the real-time quantity of nanomaterials and other background particles; and filter-based samples, which can be used to identify the nanomaterial, usually using electron microscopy and elemental analysis. As of 2016, quantitative occupational exposure limits have not been determined for most nanomaterials. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has determined non-regulatory recommended exposure limits for carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, and ultrafine titanium dioxide. Agencies and organizations from other countries, including the British Standards Institute and the Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Germany, have established OELs for some nanomaterials, and some companies have supplied OELs for their products.

 Nanoscale diagnostics

Nanotechnology has been making headlines in the medical field, being responsible for biomedical imaging. The unique optical, magnetic and chemical properties of materials on the Nano scale has allowed the development of imaging probes with multi-functionality such as better contrast enhancement, better spatial information, controlled bio distribution, and multi-modal imaging across various scanning devices. These developments have had advantages such as being able to detect the location of tumors and inflammations, accurate assessment of disease progression, and personalized medicine.

 * 1) Silica nanoparticles- Silica nanoparticles can be classified into solid, non-porous, and mesoporous. They have large surface are, hydrophilic surface, and chemical and physical stabilities. Silica nanoparticles are made by the use of the Stöber process. Which is the hydrolysis of silyl ethers such as tetraethyl silicate into silanols (Si-OH) using ammonia in a mixture of water and alcohol followed by the condensation of silanols into 50–2000 nm silica particles. The size of the particle can be controlled by varying the concentration of silyl ether and alcohol or the micro emulsion method. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are synthesized by the sol-gel process. They have pores that range in diameter from 2 nm to 50 nm. They are synthesized in a water-based solution in the presence of a base catalyst and a pore forming agent known as a surfactant. Surfactants are molecules that present the particularity to have a hydrophobic tail (alkyl chain) and a hydrophilic head (charged group, such as a quaternary amine for example). As these surfactants are added to a water-based solution, they will coordinate to form micelles with increasing concentration in order to stabilize the hydrophobic tails. Varying the pH of the solution and composition of the solvents, and the addition of certain swelling agents can control the pore size. Their hydrophilic surface is what makes silica nanoparticles so important and allows them to carry out functions such as drug and gene delivery, bio imaging and therapy. In order for this application to be successful, assorted surface functional groups are necessary and can be added either by the co-condensation process during preparation or by post surface modification. The high surface area of silica nanoparticles allows them to carry much larger amounts of the desired drug than through conventional methods like polymers and liposomes. It allows for site specific targeting, especially in the treatment of cancer. Once the particles have reached their destination, they can act as a reporter, release a compound, or be remotely heated to damage biological structures in close proximity.  Targeting is typically accomplished by modifying the surface of the nanoparticle with a chemical or biological compound. They accumulate at tumor sites through Enhanced Permeability Retention (EPR), where the tumor vessels accelerate the delivery of the nanoparticles directly into the tumor. The porous shell of the silica allows control over the rate at which the drug diffuses out of the nanoparticle. The shell can be modified to have an affinity for the drug, or even to be triggered by pH, heat, light, salts, or other signaling molecules. Silica nanoparticles are also used in bio imaging because they can accommodate fluorescent/MRI/PET/ SPECT contrast agents and drug/DNA molecules to their adaptable surface and pores. This is made possible by using the silica nanoparticle as a vector for the expression of fluorescent proteins. Several different types of fluorescent probes, like cyanine dyes, methyl violegen, or semiconductor quantum dots can be conjugated to silica nanoparticles and delivered into specific cells or injected in vivo. Carrier molecule RGD peptide has been very useful of targeted in vivo imaging.
 * 2) Topically applied surface-enhanced resonance Raman ratiometric spectroscopy (TAS3RS) - TAS3RS is another technique that is starting to make advancement in the medical field. It is an imaging technique that uses Folate Receptors (FR) to detect tumor lesions as small as 370 micrometers. Folate Receptors are membrane bound surface proteins that bind folates and folate conjugates with high affinity. FR is frequently overexpressed in a number of human malignancies including cancer of the ovary, lung, kidney, breast, bladder, brain, and endometrium. Raman imaging is a type of spectroscopy that is used in chemistry to provide structural fingerprint by which molecules can be identified. It relies upon inelastic scattering of photons, which result in ultra high sensitivity. There was a study that was done where two different surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering were synthesized (SERRS). One of the SERRS was a "targeted nanoprobe functionalized with an anti-folate-receptor antibody (αFR-Ab) via a PEG-maleimide-succinimide and using the infrared dye IR780 as the Raman reporter, henceforth referred to as αFR-NP, and a nontargeted probe (nt-NP) coated with PEG5000-maleimide and featuring the IR140 infrared dye as the Raman reporter." These two different mixtures were injected into tumor bearing mice and healthy controlled mice. The mice were imaged with Bioluminescence (BLI) signal that produces light energy within an organism's body. They were also scanned with the Raman microscope in order to be able to see the correlation between the TAS3RS and the BLI map. TAS3RS did not show anything in the healthy mice, but was able to locate the tumor lesions in the infected mice and also able to create a TAS3RS map that could be used as guidance during surgery. TAS3RS shows to be promising in being able to combat ovarian and peritoneal cancer as it allows early detection with high accuracy. This technique can be administered locally, which is an advantage as it does not have to enter the bloodstream and therefore bypassing the toxicity concerns circulating nanoprobes. This technique is also more photostable than fluorochromes because SERRS nanoparticles cannot form from biomolecules and therefore there would not be any false positives in TAS3RS as there is in fluorescence imaging.

title: Nanomaterials


text:
George Waterhouse

George Waterhouse may refer to:

 * George Robert Waterhouse (1810–1888), British naturalist
 * George Waterhouse (politician) (1824–1906), Premier of South Australia and Premier of New Zealand
 * George Waterhouse (footballer) (1899–1931), Australian rules footballer

title: George Waterhouse


text:
Recurring character

A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main focus. They may be contrasted with "regular" characters, who typically appear in every or almost every episode of a series. Recurring characters appear less frequently than regulars, but more frequently than guest star characters, who may appear in only one, two or more episodes without being expected to return.

Recurring characters sometimes start out as guest stars in one episode, who then reappear in future episodes because creators or audiences found the actors or storylines compelling enough to revisit. Sometimes a recurring character eventually becomes part of the main cast of characters; such a character is sometimes called a breakout character. Some notable examples of main characters who were originally recurring characters are: Eli Gold on The Good Wife; Leo Chingkwake on That '70s Show; Angel and Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Marc St. James on Ugly Betty; Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl; Zack Allan on Babylon 5; Steve Urkel on Family Matters; Donna Moss on The West Wing; Steve Harrington on Stranger Things; and Felicity Smoak on Arrow.

In other cases, recurring characters have been given spin-off series of their own, such as Dr. Frasier Crane who originally was a recurring character on Cheers. Kelsey Grammer, along with fellow recurring actor John Ratzenberger were hired for seven episodes, to play Frasier Crane and Cliff Clavin respectively. Cliff was scheduled to recur during the 1982–1983 season, Frasier to recur during 1984–1985 season. Both actors were subsequently upgraded to the main cast, and Crane continued in his own series following the end of Cheers.

On sketch comedy programs, recurring characters are generally a staple. For example, in the sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows, Sid Caesar used the concept frequently:

"As we were building and evolving our sketch comedy, we would look for new types of sketches that had legs (not caterpillar legs). We liked the idea of recurring characters and themes. It gave us something we could start with and something the audience could connect with."

Usually they appear in their own sketch and the sketch itself can become a regular part of the show. Some notable examples include the Church Lady and Hans and Franz from Saturday Night Live, the Gumbys from Monty Python's Flying Circus, and Bob and Doug McKenzie from SCTV. However, the characters are not always limited to their own sketches. Sometimes, characters from a recurring sketch go on to appear in other sketches, or develop into their own TV shows. For example, when The Carol Burnett Show was canceled the central character of a popular recurring sketch called The Family, Thelma "Mama" Harper, went on to have her own show Mama's Family. Also, recurring characters in sketch comedy shows can go on to have their own movies. This is especially true with Saturday Night Live which has had many recurring characters turn into movies such as Stuart Smalley, Wayne and Garth of Wayne's World, The Blues Brothers, and The Ladies Man. Recurring characters may even revisit shows long after the actor who played them has left the cast, for example, the character Mary Katherine Gallagher was portrayed by Molly Shannon when she hosted Saturday Night Live in 2007, six years after she left the cast. Sometimes a recurring character from one show appears on another show, such as when Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis hosted Saturday Night Live in 1983 and portrayed Bob and Doug MacKenzie, or when Emily Litella (portrayed by Gilda Radner) from Saturday Night Live appeared on The Muppet Show in 1978. Sacha Baron Cohen's character Ali G is another example, originating on the Channel Four series The Eleven O'Clock Show. The character was such a huge success that Cohen got his own show as the original show was cancelled.

Recurring characters are not limited to television. In the early 20th century, the Saturday Evening Post frequently had recurring characters in their cover art, such as Baby New Year. The Shmoo was a recurring character in the comic strip Li'l Abner, which eventually went on to appear in the TV cartoon series Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo and The New Shmoo. The Sherlock Holmes series of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle featured well-known recurring characters such as Inspector Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson.

In US daytime soap operas, recurring characters are ones played by actors who do not have a contract. They are not obligated to play the role and have no guarantee of work. Actors on recurring status used to be referred to as day players.

title: Recurring character


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Rāgarāja

Rāgarāja (रागराज) is a deity venerated in the Esoteric and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions. He is especially revered in Chinese Esoteric Buddhism in Chinese communities as well as Shingon and Tendai in Japan.

Nomenclature
Rāgarāja is known to transform worldly lust into spiritual awakening. When scriptures related to him reached China during the Tang dynasty, his Sanskrit name was translated as Àirǎn Míngwáng "Love-stained Wisdom King". In Japanese, the same Kanji characters are read Aizen Myō'ō.

Depiction
Rāgarāja, also known as Aizen-Myōō, is one of many Wisdom kings, (but not in the traditional grouping of the five great Myoo, or Godai Myoo) Wisdom Kings like Acala (Fudo-Myōō). There are four different mandalas associated with Rāgarāja: The first posits him with thirty-seven assistant devas, the second with seventeen. The other two are special arrangements: one made by Enchin, fourth Tendai patriarch; the other is a Shiki mandala which represents deities using their mantra seed syllables drawn in bonji. Rāgarāja is also depicted in statuary and thangka having two heads: Rāgarāja and Acala or Rāgarāja and Guanyin, both iterations symbolizing a commingling of subjugated, complementary energies, typically male/female but also male/male. There are two, four or six armed incarnations of Rāgarāja but the six-armed one is the most common. Those six arms bear a bell which calls one to awareness; a vajra, the diamond that cuts through illusion, an unopened lotus flower representing the power of subjugation, a bow and arrows (sometimes with Rāgarāja shooting the arrow into the heavens), and the last one holding something that we cannot see (referred to by advanced esoteric practitioners as "THAT".) Rāgarāja is most commonly depicted sitting in full lotus position atop an urn that ejects jewels showing beneficence in granting wishes.

He is portrayed as a red-skinned man with a fearsome appearance, a vertical third eye and flaming wild hair that represents rage, lust and passion. Rāgarāja was also popular among Chinese tradesmen who worked in the fabric-dying craft, typically accomplished with sorghum. He is petitioned by devotees for a peaceful home and fortune in business. There is usually a lion's head on top of his head in his hair, representing the mouth into which thoughts and wishes may be fed. Some of these are the wishes of local devotees who make formal requests for success in marriage and sexual relations. According to the "Pavilion of Vajra Peak and all its Yogas and Yogins Sutra" with the abbreviated name of the ''"Yogins Sutra" (likely an apocryphal work attributed to the great Buddhist patriarch Vajrabodhi) Rāgarāja represents the state at which harnessed sexual excitement or agitation—which are otherwise decried as defilements—are seen as equal to enlightenment "bonno soku bodai," and passionate love can become compassion for all living things.

Rāgarāja is similar to the red form of Tara, called Kurukulla, in Tibetan Buddhism. Appropriately, Rāgarāja's mantras are pronounced in either Chinese or Japanese transliterations of Sanskrit; the cadences depending upon the respective region where his devotees reside and practice, and whether in the Shingon or Tendai schools. His seed vowel, as written in bonji, is pronounced "HUM," usually with a forceful emphasis coming from the use of lower belly muscles. This is part of the syncretic practice of mixing Tantra and Buddhism as was popular during the Heian period courts and amongst the lower classes of both China and Japan. His popularity in Japan reached an apogee when a Shingon priest used magical chants and rituals to call up the Kamikaze that protected the Japanese from sea-born invaders.

Patronage of homosexuality in Japan
At various periods throughout Japanese history, Rāgarāja was invoked as a patron and symbol of homoerotic male desire. While it is ahistorical to ascribe a "gay" self-identification to historical figures, clear examples of Rāgarāja's patronage of men having intimate sexual relations with other men appear in the historical record. Male kabuki actors placed love letters to the men they desired on the wall of Rāgarāja's temple at Naniwa in hopes of attaining success in love. In a story from the Ashikaga era, a man praises his male lover by comparing him to Rāgarāja. Rāgarāja's dharani was also included in the preparatory prayers performed by the young male consorts of Japanese Buddhist monks in some kanjo rituals.

title: Rāgarāja


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Razzle

Razzle may refer to:

 * Razzle (game), a carnival game
 * Razzle (magazine), a British soft porn magazine
 * Razzle (musician) (1960–1984), former drummer of Hanoi Rocks
 * Razzle, the precursor to the band Lit
 * Razzle, the fictional dog in the BBC children's television series Jonny Briggs
 * Razzles, a type of candy

title: Razzle


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Ralph Sherwin

Ralph Sherwin (25 October 1550 – 1 December 1581) was an English Roman Catholic priest, executed in 1581. He is a Catholic martyr and saint.

Early years and education
Sherwin was born at Rodsley, Derbyshire to John and Constance Sherwin and christened in Longford church. He was educated at Eton College. In 1568, he was nominated by Sir William Petre to one of the eight fellowships which he had founded at Exeter College, Oxford, probably influenced by Sherwin's uncle, John Woodward, who from 1556 to 1566 had been rector of Ingatestone, Essex, where Petre lived. A talented classical scholar, Sherwin obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1571 and Master of Arts on 2 July 1574, and the following year converted to Roman Catholicism. He soon made for the English College at Douai, where he was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Cambrai on 23 March 1577. On 2 August 1577, he left for Rome, where he stayed at the English College, Rome for nearly three years. On 18 April 1580, Sherwin and thirteen companions left Rome for England as missionaries. He got into England in early August and started his successful ministry in different parts of the country but not for long.

Prison and death
On 9 November 1580, he was arrested while preaching in the house of Nicholas Roscarrock in London and imprisoned in the Marshalsea, where he converted many fellow prisoners, and on 4 December was transferred to the Tower of London, where he was tortured on the rack and then laid out in the snow. Later he was put into an isolation cell, without food. He is said to have been personally offered a bishopric by Elizabeth I if he converted, but refused. After spending a year in prison he was finally brought to trial with Edmund Campion on a charge of treasonable conspiracy. He was convicted in Westminster Hall on 20 November 1581. Eleven days later he was taken to Tyburn on a hurdle along with Alexander Briant and Edmund Campion, where the three martyrs were hanged, drawn and quartered. On the scaffold Ralph Sherwin again "professed his innocence, proclaimed his Catholic faith, and prayed for the Queen". Sherwin's last words were "Iesu, Iesu, Iesu, esto mihi Iesus!"

Veneration
Sherwin was the first member of the English College in Rome to be martyred. During the years 1581–1681 over forty more students were martyred for their faith. He was beatified on 29 December 1886 by Pope Leo XIII. He was canonised on 25 October 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales with a common feast day of 25 October. His individual feast day is celebrated on 1 December, the day of his martyrdom.

A Catholic church in the Chellaston area of Derby, registered in January 1981, was dedicated to Ralph Sherwin. The church was demolished in 2018 to make space for a Lidl supermarket.

There is a Sherwin Football Club based in the Normanton area of Derby. Founded in 1973, the club provides football and social opportunities for all ages and both genders in the local community. The club colours are purple with yellow trim.

title: Ralph Sherwin