text:
Adder

Vipera berus, also known as the common European adder and the common European viper, is a species of venomous snake in the family Viperidae. The species is extremely widespread and can be found throughout much of Europe, and as far as East Asia. There are three recognised subspecies.

Known by a host of common names including common adder and common viper, the adder has been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. It is not regarded as especially dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually bites only when really provoked, stepped on, or picked up. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal. The specific name, berus, is Neo-Latin and was at one time used to refer to a snake, possibly the grass snake, Natrix natrix.

The common adder is found in different terrains, habitat complexity being essential for different aspects of its behaviour. It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards, and amphibians, and in some cases on spiders, worms, and insects. The common adder, like most other vipers, is ovoviviparous. Females breed once every two or three years, with litters usually being born in late summer to early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Litters range in size from three to 20 with young staying with their mothers for a few days. Adults grow to a total length (including tail) of 60 to 90 cm and a mass of 50 to 180 g. Three subspecies are recognised, including the nominate subspecies, Vipera berus berus described here. The snake is not considered to be threatened, though it is protected in some countries.

Taxonomy
There are three subspecies of V. berus that are recognised as being valid including the nominotypical subspecies.

The subspecies V. b. bosniensis and V. b. sachalinensis have been regarded as full species in some recent publications.

The name 'adder' is derived from nædre, an Old English word that had the generic meaning of serpent in the older forms of many Germanic languages. It was commonly used in the Old English version of the Christian Scriptures for the devil and the serpent in the Book of Genesis. In the 14th century, 'a nadder' in Middle English was rebracketed to 'an adder' (just as 'a napron' became 'an apron' and 'a nompere' changed into 'an umpire').

In keeping with its wide distribution and familiarity through the ages, Vipera berus has a large number of common names in English, which include:
 * Common European adder, common European viper, European viper, northern viper, adder, common adder, crossed viper, European adder, common viper, European common viper, cross adder, or common cross adder.

In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the snake is known as hugorm, hoggorm and huggorm, roughly translated as 'striking snake'. In Finland, it is known as kyykäärme or simply kyy, in Estonia it is known as rästik, while in Lithuania it is known as angis. In Poland the snake is called żmija zygzakowata, which translates as 'zigzag viper', due to the pattern on its back.

Description
Relatively thick-bodied, adults usually grow to 60 cm in total length (including tail), with an average of 55 cm. Maximum size varies by region. The largest, at over 90 cm, are found in Scandinavia; specimens of 104 cm have been observed there on two occasions. In France and Great Britain, the maximum size is 80 - 87 cm. Mass ranges from 50 g to about 180 g. The head is fairly large and distinct and its sides are almost flat and vertical. The edge of the snout is usually raised into a low ridge. Seen from above, the rostral scale is not visible, or only just. Immediately behind the rostral, there are two (rarely one) small scales.

Dorsally, there are usually five large plates: a squarish frontal (longer than wide, sometimes rectangular), two parietals (sometimes with a tiny scale between the frontal and the parietals), and two long and narrow supraoculars. The latter are large and distinct, each separated from the frontal by one to four small scales. The nostril is situated in a shallow depression within a large nasal scale.

The eye is relatively large—equal in size or slightly larger than the nasal scale—but often smaller in females. Below the supraoculars are six to 13 (usually eight to 10) small circumorbital scales. The temporal scales are smooth (rarely weakly keeled). There are 10–12 sublabials and six to 10 (usually eight or 9) supralabials. Of the latter, the numbers 3 and 4 are the largest, while 4 and 5 (rarely 3 and 4) are separated from the eye by a single row of small scales (sometimes two rows in alpine specimens).

Midbody there are 21 dorsal scales rows (rarely 19, 20, 22, or 23). These are strongly keeled scales, except for those bordering the ventral scales. These scales seem loosely attached to the skin and lower rows become increasingly wide; those closest to the ventral scales are twice as wide as the ones along the midline. The ventral scales number 132–150 in males and 132–158 in females. The anal plate is single. The subcaudals are paired, numbering 32–46 in males and 23–38 in females.

The colour pattern varies, ranging from very light-coloured specimens with small, incomplete, dark dorsal crossbars to entirely brown ones with faint or clear, darker brown markings, and on to melanistic individuals that are entirely dark and lack any apparent dorsal pattern. However, most have some kind of zigzag dorsal pattern down the entire length of their bodies and tails. The head usually has a distinctive dark V or X on the back. A dark streak runs from the eye to the neck and continues as a longitudinal series of spots along the flanks.

Unusually for snakes, it is often possible to distinguish the sexes by their colour. Females are usually brownish in hue with dark-brown markings, the males are pure grey with black markings. The basal colour of males will often be slightly lighter than that of the females, making the black zigzag pattern stand out. The melanistic individuals are often females.

Distribution and habitat
Vipera berus has a wide range. It can be found across the Eurasian land-mass; from northwestern Europe (Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, France) across southern Europe (Italy, Serbia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and northern Greece) and eastern Europe to north of the Arctic Circle, and Russia to the Pacific Ocean, Sakhalin Island, North Korea, northern Mongolia and northern China. It is found farther north than any other snake species. The type locality was originally listed as 'Europa'. Mertens and Müller (1940) proposed restricting the type locality to Uppsala, Sweden and it was eventually restricted to Berthåga, Uppsala by designation of a neotype by Krecsák & Wahlgren (2008).

In several European countries, it is notable as being the only native venomous snake. It is one of only three snake species native to Britain. The other two, the barred grass snake and the smooth snake, are non-venomous.

Sufficient habitat complexity is a crucial requirement for the presence of this species, in order to support its various behaviours—basking, foraging, and hibernation—as well as to offer some protection from predators and human harassment. It is found in a variety of habitats, including: chalky downs, rocky hillsides, moors, sandy heaths, meadows, rough commons, edges of woods, sunny glades and clearings, bushy slopes and hedgerows, dumps, coastal dunes, and stone quarries. It will venture into wetlands if dry ground is available nearby and thus may be found on the banks of streams, lakes, and ponds.

In much of southern Europe, such as southern France and northern Italy, it is found in either low lying wetlands or at high altitudes. In the Swiss Alps, it may ascend to about 3000 m. In Hungary and Russia, it avoids open steppeland; a habitat in which V. ursinii is more likely to occur. In Russia, however, it does occur in the forest steppe zone.

Conservation status
In Great Britain, it is illegal to kill, injure, harm or sell adders under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The same situation applies to Norway under the Viltloven (The Wildlife Act 1981) and Denmark (1981). In Finland (Nature Conservation Act 9/2023) killing an adder is legal if it's not possible to capture and transfer it to another location and the same provisions also exists in Sweden. The common viper is categorised as 'endangered' in Switzerland, and is also protected in some other countries in its range. It is also found in many protected areas.

This species is listed as protected (Appendix III) under the Berne Convention.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species describes the conservation status as of 'least concern' in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, broad range of habitats, and likely slow rate of decline though it acknowledges the population to be decreasing. Reduction in habitat for a variety of reasons, fragmentation of populations in Europe due to intense agriculture practices, and collection for the pet trade or for venom extraction have been recorded as major contributing factors for its decline. A citizen science based survey in the UK found evidence of extensive population declines in the UK, especially affecting smaller populations. A combination of public pressure and disturbance, habitat fragmentation and poor habitat management were considered the most likely causes of the decline. The release of 47 million non-native pheasants and 10 million partridges each year by countryside estates has also been suggested to have a significant impact on adder populations across the UK, with the possibility the reptile could be extinct by 2032.

Behaviour
This species is mainly diurnal, especially in the north of its range. Further south it is said to be active in the evening, and it may even be active at night during the summer months. It is predominantly a terrestrial species, although it has been known to climb up banks and into low bushes in order to bask or search for prey.

Adders are not usually aggressive, tending to be rather timid and biting only when cornered or alarmed. People are generally bitten only after stepping on them or attempting to pick them up. They will usually disappear into the undergrowth at a hint of any danger, but will return once all is quiet, often to the same spot. Occasionally, individual snakes will reveal their presence with a loud and sustained hissing, presumably to warn off potential aggressors. Often, these turn out to be pregnant females. When the adder is threatened, the front part of the body is drawn into an S-shape to prepare for a strike.

The species is cold-adapted and hibernates in the winter. In Great Britain, males and females hibernate for about 150 and 180 days, respectively. In northern Sweden hibernation lasts 8–9 months. On mild winter days, they may emerge to bask where the snow has melted and will often travel across snow. About 15% of adults and 30–40% of juveniles die during hibernation.

Feeding
Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, such as mice, rats, voles, and shrews, as well as lizards. Sometimes, slow worms are taken, and even weasels and moles. Adders also feed on amphibians, such as frogs, newts, and salamanders. Birds are also reported to be consumed, especially nestlings and even eggs, for which they will climb into shrubbery and bushes. Generally, diet varies depending on locality. Juveniles will eat nestling mammals, small lizards and frogs as well as worms and spiders. One important dietary source for young adders is the alpine salamander (salamadra atra). Because both species live at higher altitudes, S. atra could be a prevalent food source for adders, since there may be few other animals. One study suggests that alpine salamanders could consist of almost half of the adders' diets in some locations. They have been witnessed swallowing these salamanders in the early morning hours.

Once they reach about 30 cm in length, their diet begins to resemble that of the adults.

Reproduction
In Hungary, mating takes place in the last week of April, whilst in the north it happens later (in the second week of May). Mating has also been observed in June and even early October, but it is not known if this autumn mating results in any offspring. Females often breed once every two years, or even once every three years if the seasons are short and the climate is not conducive. Males find females by following their scent trails, sometimes tracking them for hundreds of metres a day. If a female is found and then flees, the male follows. Courtship involves side-by-side parallel 'flowing' behaviour, tongue flicking along the back and excited lashing of the tail. Pairs stay together for one or two days after mating. Males chase away their rivals and engage in combat. Often, this also starts with the aforementioned flowing behaviour before culminating in the dramatic 'adder dance'. In this act, the males confront each other, raise up the front part of the body vertically, make swaying movements and attempt to push each other to the ground. This is repeated until one of the two becomes exhausted and crawls off to find another mate. Appleby (1971) notes that he has never seen an intruder win one of these contests, as if the frustrated defender is so aroused by courtship that he refuses to lose his chance to mate. There is no record of any biting taking place during these bouts.

Females usually give birth in August or September, but sometimes as early as July, or as late as early October. Litters range in size from 3 to 20. The young are usually born encased in a transparent sac from which they must free themselves. Sometimes, they succeed in freeing themselves from this membrane while still inside the female.

Neonates measure 14 to 23 cm in total length (including tail), with an average total length of 17 cm. They are born with a fully functional venom apparatus and a reserve supply of yolk within their bodies. They shed their skins for the first time within a day or two. Females do not appear to take much interest in their offspring, but the young have been observed to remain near their mothers for several days after birth.

Venom
Because of the rapid rate of human expansion throughout the range of this species, bites are relatively common. Domestic animals and livestock are frequent victims. In Great Britain, most instances occur in March–October. In Sweden, there are about 1,300 bites a year, with an estimated 12% that require hospitalisation. At least eight different antivenoms are available against bites from this species.

Mallow et al. (2003) describe the venom toxicity as being relatively low compared to other viper species. They cite Minton (1974) who reported the values for mice to be 0.55 mg/kg IV, 0.80 mg/kg IP and 6.45 mg/kg SC. As a comparison, in one test the minimum lethal dose of venom for a guinea pig was 40–67 mg, but only 1.7 mg was necessary when Daboia russelii venom was used. Brown (1973) gives a higher subcutaneous LD 50 range of 1.0–4.0 mg/kg. All agree that the venom yield is low: Minton (1974) mentions 10–18 mg for specimens 48 – in length, while Brown (1973) lists only 6 mg. Relatively speaking, bites from this species are not highly dangerous. In Britain there were only 14 known fatalities between 1876 and 2005—the last a 5-year-old child in 1975 —and one nearly fatal bite of a 39-year-old woman in Essex in 1998. An 82-year-old woman died following a bite in Germany in 2004, although it is not clear whether her death was due to the effect of the venom. A 44-year-old British man was left seriously ill after he was bitten by an adder in the Dalby Forest, Yorkshire, in 2014. Even so, professional medical help should always be sought as soon as possible after any bite. Very occasionally bites can be life-threatening, particularly in small children, while adults may experience discomfort and disability long after the bite. The length of recovery varies, but may take up to a year.

Local symptoms include immediate and intense pain, followed after a few minutes (but perhaps by as much as 30 minutes) by swelling and a tingling sensation. Blisters containing blood are not common. The pain may spread within a few hours, along with tenderness and inflammation. Reddish lymphangitic lines and bruising may appear, and the whole limb can become swollen and bruised within 24 hours. Swelling may also spread to the trunk, and with children, throughout the entire body. Necrosis and intracompartmental syndromes are very rare.

Systemic symptoms resulting from anaphylaxis can be dramatic. These may appear within 5 minutes post bite, or can be delayed for many hours. Such symptoms include nausea, retching and vomiting, abdominal colic and diarrhoea, incontinence of urine and faeces, sweating, fever, vasoconstriction, tachycardia, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, blindness, shock, angioedema of the face, lips, gums, tongue, throat and epiglottis, urticaria and bronchospasm. If left untreated, these symptoms may persist or fluctuate for up to 48 hours. In severe cases, cardiovascular failure may occur.

Folklore
Adders were believed to be deaf, which is mentioned in Psalm 58 (v. 4), but snake oil made from them was used as a cure for deafness and earache. Females were thought to swallow their young when threatened and regurgitate them unharmed later. It was believed that they did not die until sunset. Remedies for adder "stings" included killing the snake responsible and rubbing the corpse or its fat on the wound, also holding a pigeon or chicken on the bite, or jumping over water. Adders were thought to be attracted to hazel trees and repelled by ash trees.

Druids believed that large frenzied gatherings of adders occurred in spring, at the centre of which could be found a polished rock called an adder stone or Glain Neidr in the Welsh language. These stones were said to have held supernatural powers.

title: Adder


text:
Talk:Darrell Russell (dragster driver)

Which Pinehurst, Texas?
A sentence in this article reads:

 * "He was interred in the Klein Cemetery in Pinehurst, Texas."

Pinehurst, Texas is a disambig page,

Any idea which of the following Texas towns is the correct one?

 * Pinehurst, Montgomery County, Texas
 * Pinehurst, Orange County, Texas

Kevyn 10:09, 13 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The page has since been updated to show that it was Montgomery County. Thanks for the heads-up. Glenn L (talk) 07:09, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Darrell Russell (dragster driver)


text: File:Jurassic Park poster.jpg

title: File:Jurassic Park poster.jpg


text: Category:Long-distance runners

title: Category:Long-distance runners


text:
User:Jnestorius

Joesty Nestorius, at your service.

Also playing at commons:User:Jnestorius

Subpages

/Resources

Todo

 * /Subpages

Misc

 * Olympic medal and Medal (sports) from gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal
 * Hiberno-English phonology; standard v dialect;
 * Clay Sanskrit Library ←→ John P. Clay : Murty Classical Library of India
 * Sheldon Pollock quoted in Kuruvilla, Elizabeth (24 January 2015). "The modern revivalists". Live Mint corresponded with [HUP] on 5 January 2009, saying that the Clay Sanskrit Library ... was coming to an end and I wanted to find a way to build on that visionary project ... John Clay ... had decided to move on to other philanthropic activities. So the library was closed and many translators were left hanging. They had done one part of a series, Book 1 of Kadambari, Books 2 and 3 were just “sorry, bye". I want to praise John Clay for his extraordinary vision, but many people were blindsided by the sudden termination of the library and I felt that was unfair. ... John said no, I don’t want you to go raise money for me, I don’t want to continue the series, it is what it is, thank you, bye-bye—that was in October 2008"
 * Wookie adds from other spellings
 * David Copperfield -- little Emily was never a prostitute, whereas Martha was.
 * do you remember Martha?” / “Of our town?” / I needed no other answer than his face. / “Do you know that she is in London?” / “I have seen her in the streets,” he answered, with a shiver.
 * When my child,” he said aloud, and with an energy of gratitude that shook him from head to foot, “stood upon the brink of more than I can say or think on—Martha, trew to her promise, saved her!”
 * List of Irish Academy Award winners and nominees
 * John Huston 1964, Anjelica Huston 1964 p. 127
 * List of British Academy Award nominees and winners
 * Peter O'Toole had Irish passport
 * Maureen O'Hara born in Ireland, honorary Oscar
 * Ireland newspapers and other two "Newspapers of Ireland founded in the period before the establishment of Northern Ireland in 1921 and the Republic of Ireland in 1937" — (1) 1937 was Constitution, 1949 was Republic (2) why the different end dates? Why not just 1921 for both? (3) why plaster two overlapping templates onto most articles? what value to readers? (4) just vague yuck
 * Court of Chancery cited 1828 source says 8 Ed. 1 quote (Law French original in 1662 cited by 1828) is a "Statute", but a 1970 source says "Chancery memorandum".
 * The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show merge some SeeAlso into Legacy
 * Governorate of Paraguay -- how to split rows where governor spans two kings? rownum on cells is not working.
 * Cashio add redirect and in- links and dab or hatnote
 * Names of the Holocaust intro redo from The Holocaust
 * Lord Mayor of Dublin 1959 Council motion to request Oireachtas act removing Lord from title was amended to Irish Ard Mhaor IT 6 Sep 1959 p1
 * Bowl of Light at An Tóstal 1953. Sources differ. Photos exist. plastic flames, copper bowl, steel tubes, concrete base; compared to a coal-effect electric fire. Brawl started when hoarding removed to reveal monument. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-george-m-neil/27326732/ Anthony Babington Wilson soon threw flames into river, fined. Bowl thrown in later by students. Flowers planted in bowl later. DCC debated removal 1958. Removed 1964 as too heavy.  Called "The Thing" after flowers added or "The Tomb of the Unknown Gurrier" before then by Jimmy O'Dea. https://ifiarchiveplayer.ie/the-thing-is-removed-from-oconnell-bridge/ https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/the-times-we-lived-in-the-odd-bowl-of-light-on-o-connell-bridge-1.3411617 https://www.dublincity.ie/library/blog/rathmines-literary-heritage-transcript https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Bowl+of+Light%22+tostal+-wikipedia&tbm=bks
 * county corporate and Unreformed House of Commons and Irish House of Commons — I think only in Irish counties corporate did the extra-municipal liberties form part of the parliamentary borough as opposed to voting for the county-at-large; but complications elsewhere. Separate questions of forty shilling freeholders inside vs outside municipal boundary.
 * includes brief discussion of Irish CCs on pp. 47–48
 * Municipal Corporation (Boundaries) Act 1836 suggests 1835 act mistakenly added corporate county's Liberties to municipal area, whereas 1836 act reversed that and seemingly also took Liberties from corporate to at-large county. Presumably this experience influenced Irish act of 1840.
 * Krivichs Radimichs and Dregovichs — bare -s plural is incorrect; Krivich[i] or Krivichian[s] etc per languagehat and Google Books University Press
 * eg 2024 Cork City Council election results use "new" in the delta columns --- misleading and unnecessary
 * Penalty shoot-out (association football) talks about winning the match rather than winning the fixture; in the case of a single match, the shootout is not part of the match [check World/euro ranking points]; also, two legged ties and group ranking tiebreakers.
 * Not Angles but angels
 * Penalty shoot-out (association football) talks about winning the match rather than winning the fixture; in the case of a single match, the shootout is not part of the match [check World/euro ranking points]; also, two legged ties and group ranking tiebreakers.
 * Not Angles but angels

The whole nine yards

 * 1855 "The Judge’s Big Shirt"
 * OED (Dec. 2015 update per linguistlist) s.v. "nine, adj." subsense 3.e. [sense 3 groups "allusive and proverbial uses"; others include "nine days' wonder", "nine ways at once", "nine lives"] "Apparently originating in the frequently repeated comic story cited in quot. 1855." — says who? OED internal lexicographers? What of others? (1855 quote is in brackets; 1907 quote is first unqualified)
 * nytimes 2012 (article has potted history of antedatings since 1982 Safire NYT article; also enchilada, shebang, ball of wax)
 * Barry Popik barrypopik.com — originally 2005 but check archive.org for dates of later edits —  'it appears that a popular 1855 story, "The Judge's Big Shirt," spread the idea that the "whole nine yards" of cloth meant "everything."'
 * Fred Shapiro
 * nytimes.com 2013/01/02 sceptical of 1855 relevance (also Brooklyn Eagle 1873 “a brief and pithy letter nine yards long.”)
 * yalealumnimagazine The inflation of “cloud seven” and “the whole six yards.” 2013 finds 1921 “the whole six yards”
 * Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman grammarphobia 2016/12 Dubious of 1855–1907 attestation gap: "Perhaps researchers will eventually fill in the gap with more examples." / Other researchers have found that cloth was often sold in multiples of three yards during the 19th century, and “nine yards” was a common measurement. / “nine yards to the dollar” / Richard Bucci 1850 will not attempt to follow you through your ‘nine yards’ in all its serpentine windings
 * Stephen Goranson "1855 joke link is iffy, at best"
 * David Wilton wordorigins "the long gap, over fifty years, between this citation and the next militates against this story"

Category:CS1 maint: unfit URL
(Help talk:Citation Style 1/Archive subpages unless stated otherwise):
 * dead-url=unfit "In all cases, the |url= values that Cyberbot II declared to be unfit, are not in fact, unfit and are working correctly. ... I will modify Module:Citation/CS1 to add articles with |dead-url=unfit and |dead-url=usurped to a maintenance category so these templates are marked and can be inspected and repaired." added to sandbox 2016-06-20T11:56:25
 * dead-url=unfit maintenance category|19—|dead-url=unfit maintenance category "I misspoke. Cyberbot II sets |dead-url=unfit when it moves an archival url from |url= to |archive-url= leaving behind the original url in |url= ... As a result of the conversation at the bot operator's talk page, I have modified the sandbox to include a new |dead-url= keyword bot: unknown." added to sandbox 2016-06-21T15:57:56
 * Module:Citation/CS1  (lines 3851 et seq)  sandbox to main 2016-07-30T10:55:17
 * Category talk:CS1 maint: unfit URL "Is there a method to remove this category from articles when the parameter has been correctly applied?" 26 January 2019 "The maintenance message helps to answer editor questions about why the reference has the 'Archived from the original' static text where 'the original' isn't linked" 6 January 2024
 * 57—Unfit URLs "Seems a bit silly to have a maintenance category that can't be emptied." "A lot of the articles in that category come from a time when Cyberbot II was adding |dead-url=unfit to many cs1|2 templates that it touched. ... We could create additional keywords unfit-verified, usurped-verified. What then? ... Someone may find it useful – it isn't as though there is a cost to having such categories." 22 May 2019
 * 72—unfit url: maint or property? "The tracking category for pages using |url-status=unfit or |url-status=usurped, Category:CS1 maint: unfit url, seems like it would make more sense as a property category, much like Category:CS1: long volume value, given that there are legitimate uses for those values" "We've had one or two (not recent?) discussions about whether it should be maintained. For example, someone might feasibly misuse the parameter to remove a URL that doesn't need removing, where maybe it should be the case that someone should check that each instance of unfit is a good use." 27 October 2020
 * 83—unfit url maintenance message "I think that you are the first to complain about lingering maintenance messaging." 6 March 2022
 * 84—url-status parameter invalid "There is no required action for most maintenance messages." 3 August 2022
 * 88—Template:Citation Style documentation/url leaves a Script warning "explain why there should be a Script warning – of any type – when using url-status=unfit in the way explicitly defined by the documentation" 17 April 2023
 * reasoned amendment - procedureofhouse03redl said flat no to main motion never used
 * "not the county town" books, , ,

Teju Cole birth name

 * refs from 2011, 2016, and 2022 all call Teju Cole a "pen name" for Obayemi "Yemi" [Babajide Adetokunbo] Onafuwa
 * I note that 2016 ref is a bit snarky about the change
 * but Cole (as User:Simultanagnosia)
 * removed in 2020 from lede (left in infobox)
 * User:Lopifalko re-added (as "born" rather than "real name"), Cole reverted, Lopifalko de-reverted then self-reverted "WP:BLP states that such things can be removed if the subject of the article is trying to communicate that they would like them removed"
 * The edit summary may be alluding to WP:BLPEDIT "When a logged-out editor blanks all or part of a BLP, this might be the subject attempting to remove problematic material"; not WP:BLPNAME which relates to "individuals who are discussed primarily in terms of a single event"
 * said in 2015 Talk that "Teju Cole" was by then his legal name and name for all other purposes:
 * v1 - "strongly preferred name" - "it becomes a topic of discussion, and this is precisely what one wishes to avoid"
 * v2 - "This information is handled differently for Toni Morrison, Marguerite Yourcenar, Tea Obreht, Jhumpa Lahiri, Xeni Jardin, and a number of contemporary writers who use a name other than the ones they're born with, but whom I do not wish to out." --- instances he cites are [no longer] of the format he would prefer
 * Section deleted in 2015 by User:Nickknack00 without explanation
 * I suggest:
 * restoring birthname to body with info on when used and when changed
 * but do any citable sources give full name without asserting Teju Cole is only a pen name? I suspect they all rely (perhaps tacitly) on the Wikipedia article, which is invalid per WP:CIRCULAR
 * add comment-note to lede saying not to add there
 * restore section to Talk, ping Simultanagnosia Lopifalko and Nickknack00 and re-open discussion
 * remove email address etc
 * add Connected contributor Simultanagnosia

Checkup

 * Orders, decorations, and medals of the Republic of Ireland, see also
 * Orders, decorations, and medals of the Republic of Ireland, see also

Dealing with controversy
Try to satisfy the following requirements, in descending order of importance:
 * Do not say anything that is not true: This does not preclude initial simplifications and approximations clearly flagged as such and corrected later in an article.
 * Do not omit anything important: This may be a temptation to forestall controversy, editwars, etc; but "don't mention the war" is bad advice for an encyclopedia.
 * Distinguish between "Controversy about Foo" and "Foo": Do not allow the former to overwhelm the latter. Depending on the particular case, the controversy may better be either confined to its own section/subarticle or else interspersed through the article.
 * Is there even a controversy?: There may be a difference of opinion with no engagement between advocates of each opinion. Or there may be polite debate. Or they may be vitriolic or violent conflict.
 * Avoid annoying partisans: Avoid hot-button words and phrases likely to annoy partisans of one side of the controversy: Avoiding using a term does not mean avoiding mentioning it.
 * Avoid annoying neutrals: Avoid long-winded circumlocutions, hedges, or terms of art; litanies of "on the one hand...on the other hand..."

title: User:Jnestorius


text:
Lance Klusener

Lance Klusener (born 4 September 1971) is an international cricket coach and former cricketer of South Africa. He was known for his aggressive batting and fast-medium swing bowling. Klusener was one of the best all-rounders in the world during 1990s and early 2000s and one of the pioneers of power batting as a finisher. He was popular for his ferocious batting, ability to hit the deck hard and ability to take wickets on crunch situations and break partnerships.

He is nicknamed "Zulu" because of his fluency in the Zulu language. Since his retirement he has occasionally commentated on cricket in both Zulu and Xhosa.

In September 2019, Klusener was appointed as the head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team.

Early life
Klusener grew up on a sugarcane farm north of Empangeni, attending Kwambonambi primary school with Zulu children. He later attended Durban High School and broke into the school's first team only in his final year. He also underwent military service for three years which contributed to a straightforward approach to his bowling. The manager of Natal Denis Carlstein identified the potential in his bowling and he recommended Klusener to attend the provincial nets. He was later spotted by the West Indian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall who was then Natal's overseas player in the first-class cricket season. Klusener was drafted into Natal's first XI in 1993/94 season and was mentored by Malcolm Marshall.

Domestic career
Klusener played for KwaZulu-Natal (Nashua Dolphins) in the domestic level in South Africa between 1991 and 2004. In 2004, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club signed him on a contract running until late 2008. At Wantage Road he impressed with his fired-up seam bowling and his hard-hitting in the low middle-order. Due to family bereavements back home, it was announced that his contract with the county would not be renewed at the end of the 2008 season. In late 2007, he started playing in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 tournament in India for the Kolkata Tigers team.

International career
Klusener made his ODI debut on 19 January 1996 against England. He made his Test debut for South Africa against India in Calcutta during the second Test in 1996/97. At the time playing primarily as a bowler, Klusener took some hammering in the first innings at the hands of Mohammad Azharuddin, who at one point hit him for five consecutive fours, but Klusener returned what would remain career-best figures of eight for 64 in the second. On his test debut he picked 8 wicket haul in a flat pitch in Kolkata, and he led from the front especially after Allan Donald had broken down. His bowling figures of 8/64 is regarded as the best bowling figures by a South African bowler in an innings on test debut.

In his fourth test appearance, he registered the then fastest-ever test century by a South African in test cricket when he raced to the milestone off 100 balls against India at Cape Town in January 1997. It was also his maiden test century, as he achieved it while batting at no 9 position. He was initially selected to the South African squad for the 50 over cricket tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games but he later withdrew from the tournament without featuring in any of the games and was subsequently replaced by Alan Dawson. He also raised his game in test cricket further by scoring 174 against England in a drawn test match in Port Elizabeth in December 1999 and he was awarded the player of the match.

Klusener is remembered for his contributions in One Day Internationals, in which he was a hard hitting batsman and was voted as Man of the Tournament during the 1999 World Cup. He showed glimpses of his big-hitting in the years leading to the 1999 World Cup. His baseball-style backlift and thunderous hitting lit up the tournament and nearly took South Africa to the final. He was also voted as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2000.

His international career tapered off after this, mainly due to persistent ankle injuries, as well as a public dispute with the then South African captain Graeme Smith, who at a breakfast meeting shortly after his appointment to the captaincy, in which he described Klusener as a "disruptive force" to the younger players within the South African national cricket team. The quote ended up in the South African press. Later Klusener and Smith patched up their differences.

He had scored 1,906 runs in 49 matches with a highest score of 174 and took 80 wickets with best figures of 8/64 in test matches. He scored 3,576 runs in 171 ODI matches at an average of 41.1 with a highest score of 103 and took 192 wickets with a best of 6/49. He has most fifers for South Africa in ODIs with 6.

1999 World Cup
In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, South Africa had progressed to the semi-finals, and Klusener until then had an excellent tournament, taking 17 wickets and scoring 250 runs (including two half centuries) in 8 matches and building a reputation as a hard-hitting batsman in tight situations. During the 1999 World Cup, he remained not out in five consecutive innings which yielded 214 runs without being dismissed. His streak was finally ended by Gavin Larsen in the Super Six stage match against New Zealand when he was dismissed for the first time in the tournament after scoring just four runs. His finishing prowess before the New Zealand match prompted the team to promote him to no 3 position in the match against New Zealand but it backfired.

During the World Cup, he was dismissed only on two occasions out of the eight innings in which he played and averaged 142.50 in those eight innings. He still holds the record for not having dismissed in most consecutive innings in World Cup matches. Due to his all-round performances with the bat and ball during the World Cup, he topped the ICC rankings for allrounders with a rating of 521 points. He showed his temperament in every matches for South Africa either with the bat and ball with performances including 12* & 3/66 against India, 52* off 45 balls & 3/21 against Sri Lanka, 48* and 1/16 against England, DNB & 5/21 against Kenya, 52* and 1/35 against Zimbabwe, 46* and 1/41 against Pakistan, 4 & 2/46 against New Zealand, 36 & 1/53 against Australia (Super Six), 31* off 16 balls & 0/50 against Australia in the semi-final. The only time he went wicketless in the tournament was the semi-final against Australia as he was always amongst the wickets. He was praised for his baseball-style backlift throughout the tournament. He had a strike rate of 163 in last 10 overs of 1999 WC.

He won four Man of the Match awards out of the nine matches South Africa played in the tournament. The four awards were consecutive with respect to South Africa's wins (one match in between was won by Zimbabwe). The only other South African to win Man of the Match award in this tournament was Jacques Kallis. He was criticized for his knock in a losing cause against Zimbabwe taking 58 balls to score 52 and when South Africa were bowled out for 185, he was stranded in the crease without being dismissed. His opposite number Neil Johnson who also took 1999 World Cup on storm had engineered Zimbabwe's win of the tournament against South Africa with his all-round display scoring 76 runs and taking 3/27.

His teammate Herschelle Gibbs let Klusener down when the former dropped an easy catch of Steve Waugh off Klusener's bowling in the last Super Six match, which proved out to be the turning point of the match. Waugh eventually scored a match-winning century remaining unbeaten on 120, as Australia won in the last over of the contest with two balls to spare.

The second semi-final was played between Australia and South Africa in Edgbaston, England. Australia, having been put in to bat, set a target of 214 for South Africa to chase in 50 overs. Klusener came in to bat when South Africa were 175/6 in 44.5 overs, and his big-hitting along with support from other batsmen helped South Africa enter the final over at 205/9, needing nine runs to win with only one wicket remaining. The two batsmen at the crease were Klusener (on strike) and Allan Donald.

Klusener scored consecutive fours on the first two balls of the over (bowled by Damien Fleming), levelling the scores and leaving South Africa with only 1 run to win in 4 balls with Klusener on strike. The third ball was a dot, and Donald narrowly escaped getting run out when he backed out too far and tried to get back to his crease. The fourth saw Klusener mis-hit his shot to mid-wicket fielder Mark Waugh. Klusener went for the run, although chances of a run-out were high and two balls were still remaining. However, Donald at the other end, keeping his eyes on the ball and hoping to avoid another mix-up like in the last delivery, did not see Klusener sprinting down the pitch and did not hear the call to run, and Klusener was almost at the bowler's end by the time Donald (who had also dropped his bat) began running. By then, Waugh had thrown the ball to Fleming, who rolled it to Adam Gilchrist who took the bails off at the other end, meaning Donald was run-out by some distance, thus ending the match with the scores level. However, a tie meant that Australia progressed to the final since they had beaten South Africa in the group stages of the tournament. As commentator Bill Lawry put it during the final ball:

"'...this will be out surely – oh it's out, it's gonna be run out...oh, that is South Africa out – Donald did not run, I cannot believe it. Australia go into the World Cup Final – ridiculous running with two balls to go. Donald did not go, Klusener came – what a disappointing end for South Africa.'"

Australia went on to win the tournament, but Klusener was voted the Player of the Series.

In 2014, Klusener stated in an interview that Donald was not to blame for what happened. Klusener stated that he became impatient and, although he made it to the bowler's end, there was genuinely no run. After the match, he was cross at himself and regretted making that run.

Post 1999 World Cup
After a breakthrough World Cup tournament, many expected him to continue his strong performance from him for South Africa. He was named in South African squad for the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. However, he struggled for consistency in the tours of West Indies in 2000/01 and Australia in 2001/02 which forced him out of the team for a while. He then got a recall to the South African team for both the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and 2003 World Cup. He performed decently, despite South Africa's group stage exit from the 2003 World Cup tournament.

He was subsequently snubbed from the side for the tour of England in 2003 which raised questions about his future in the game. His omission from the English test tour of 2003 was nothing short of controversy as he took legal action against United Cricket Board of South Africa for loss of earnings as he turned down the County cricket offers after being assured of a spot in the test side. Later, United Cricket Board of South Africa and Klusener both swept the legal battle under the carpet and ended their differences.

He was again available for selection following the end of disputes and was picked for the ODI series against the West Indies in 2003/04. He also received a test recall for the tour of Sri Lanka in 2004. He was also included for the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. He retired from international cricket in 2004.

Coaching career
Klusener severed all ties with the Indian Cricket League in late 2009 and then completed a Level-three coaching course provided by Cricket South Africa in Spring 2010. He has also worked closely with the South African High Performance Program and also worked with the South Africa A cricket team.

Klusener confirmed he was in negotiations with the Bangladesh Cricket Board about becoming the team bowling coach. However, in early September 2010 the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed that they were still awaiting a response from Klusener. Klusener had finally turned down the offer to take over as Bangladesh's bowling coach, replacing Sri Lanka's Champaka Ramanayake. Klusener was reportedly unable to convince his wife about a permanent move to Bangladesh.

From 2012 until 2016, he was head coach of the Dolphins, whom he represented in domestic cricket during his playing career, Klusener reportedly took over the coaching job from Graham Ford during the mid domestic season in 2012 as the latter resigned midway and departed to Sri Lanka to coach the Sri Lankan national side. In February 2016, his contract with Dolphins was terminated and was told that his contract would not be renewed which also triggered Klusener to seek an arbitration proceeding over the manner of his dismissal from the Dolphins franchise.

In 2016, he started as a batting coach for the Zimbabwe national team and served in the position until 2018. He also coached the Lyca Kovai Kings in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.

In 2018, he was appointed as the head coach of Rajshahi Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League replacing Daniel Vettori.

He was named as consultant coach for Delhi team ahead of the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy season. He also served as the batting coach of Mumbai Indians and has also coached Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League.

In 2019, he served in an interim capacity as the assistant batting coach of South Africa for the away T20I series against India.

In July 2019, Klusener was appointed as the head coach of the Glasgow Giants for the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.

In September 2019, Klusener was appointed as the head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team replacing Phil Simmons. He stepped down from the post after the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Overall, under Klusener's tenure, Afghanistan won one out of three Test matches, three out of six ODIs and nine out of fourteen T20 internationals.

In December 2020, it was announced that he would serve as team director of Bangla Tigers during the 2021 T10 League.

In January 2022, Klusener was appointed as the head coach of the Khulna Tigers in the Bangladesh Premier League In 2022, it was reported that he initially applied for the role of head coach of Sri Lankan men's cricket team but after being shortlisted by Sri Lanka Cricket as one of the candidates, he pulled out at the eleventh hour citing personal reasons.

In March 2022, he was reappointed as batting coach of Zimbabwe men's national team.Currently he is the coach of the cricket team of Tripura, a north eastern state of India. He is one of the assistant coach of IPL team Lucknow Super Giants.

Personal life
Klusener enjoys fishing. He is also an avid hunter. Lance married Isabelle Potgieter on 13 May 2000, at age 28 in Durban. They have two sons.

He is one of the goodwill partners of Cricket Foundation which is a blockchain-based platform headquartered in Singapore.

title: Lance Klusener


text:
Talk:Universal Network Objects/to do

In no particular order:
 * Explain the UNO interfaces, in particular XInterface
 * talk about UNO's IDL
 * talk about exceptions
 * explain the service specification
 * explain UNO Interprocess Connections (maybe how you have to setup openoffice as a server listening on a port?)
 * describe how it works with Java, C++ and possibly python
 * UNO URLs and how it resolves them

title: Talk:Universal Network Objects/to do


text: Category:Linguistic morphology

title: Category:Linguistic morphology


text:
Talk:Christian views of women/to do

 * Include patriarchy in Father, Son role of Christianity.
 * NPOV this piece
 * Expand the introduction, and try to give the position of more sects of Christianity
 * Add "Biblical arguments against equal roles" section
 * Point out that many of the New Testament arguements against the equality of roles were authored by Paul, not Jesus
 * Perhaps add "By issue" section, with subsections on the major issues of controversy,

Judaism is matriarchcal

 * Much of the research on Paul's views on women is grossly out of date with current NT research - the 1 Cor 14, 1 Cor 11 and 1 Tim 2 verse references are quite shallowly researched - maybe expand those verses to another article alone, since they alone (and their contextual explanations) could take an entire page themselves?

title: Talk:Christian views of women/to do


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Anatolian Turmen Beyliks

From VfD:

This is misspelt (should have read Turkmen), contains almost nothing, the link in it is pointless, though I have it in my to do list and I did create another article on the same subject Anatolian beyliks.--leandros 10:20, 13 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Now redirected to Anatolian beyliks. Redirects for misspellings are good until and unless they get in the way of some future article.  Keep harmless redirect.  Rossami 13:23, 13 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * I agree. Until there is a conflict of some sort or unless the author requests his/her mistake be removed, I vote keep. Skyler 01:35, Aug 14, 2004 (UTC)
 * I've seen this misspelling before, as a transliteration error- Keep the redirect. -FZ 15:43, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)

end moved disccussion


text:
BGU

BGU may refer to:
 * Bakke Graduate University, a United States accredited graduate school of Dallas, TX
 * Bangassou Airport, a public use airport located near Bangassou, Mbomou, the Central African Republic
 * Bau Geo Umwelt, a department of the Technical University of Munich
 * Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, Israel
 * Birla Global University in Bhubaneswar, India
 * Birregurra railway station, Australia
 * Bishop Grosseteste University, a public university in the city of Lincoln, England
 * Border Guard Unit of the Ghana Armed Forces
 * Berliner griechische Urkunden, a collection of papyrus documents

title: BGU


text:
Miss Nepal

Miss Nepal (मिस नेपाल) is a national beauty pageant in Nepal. The winners are sent to Miss World, Miss Earth, Miss International.

History
From the first pageant in 1994, the winner of the Miss Nepal has represented Nepal at Miss Asia Pacific. After 1997, the Hidden Treasures collaborated with Kathmandu Jaycees and formed two pageants of Kathmandu Jacyees Miss Nepal and Hidden Treasures Miss World Nepal. From 1998 onwards, the winner of Miss Nepal has been sent to Miss World contest and the first runner-up to Miss Asia Pacific. No contest was held in 2001 due to the Nepalese royal massacre.

From 2004, the second runner-up represented represent Nepal at Miss Earth. This changed in 2005, to first runner-up, as they stopped sending them to Miss Asia Pacific. From 2010, the second runner-up was sent to Miss International. Since 2011 onwards; the names of the third and fourth runner-up were revealed while announcing the names of the winners on the coronation night. In 2017, Hidden Treasure acquired Miss Universe franchise and directly nominated Nagma Shrestha as the First Miss Universe Nepal 2017, because she had contacted the Miss Universe and obtained license on the behalf of the Hidden Treasure. From 2018 onwards, all four winners are of equal position with no runner-ups.

As the press announcement of Miss Nepal 2020 by Hidden Treasure, Miss Nepal 2020 will air live on Kantipur TV. This was the first time Miss Nepal would telecast on another national television after dropping the contract with Nepal Television. Hidden Treasure also announced that they no longer had the Miss Universe franchise so there will have only four winners for this years. The price money has been increased from NRS 100000 to NRS 250000 each for all winners. The organizer announced on 20 March 2020, that the contest has been postponed due to the (COVID-19) pandemic, as informed by Chairman of Hidden Treasure Mr. Driwakar Rajkarnikar. Later the pageant was conducted on 5 December 2020.

In 2022, Miss Nepal lost the franchise of Miss Supranational. Now, Mister and Miss National Nepal (Santosh Upadhyaya Directorship) sends Nepalese delegates to Supranational pageant.

Competition
Since 1994, women from 19–24 years old compete at the national pageant, Miss Nepal. 25 contestants are chosen from across the country and they begin a one-month training and grooming course before the final event in which they participate in lectures, social work, photoshoots, interviews and etiquette lessons. On the coronation night, which lasts up to three hours, all the candidates engage in an opening sequence, introduction speech (after which the top 12 semi-finalists are chosen who then compete in an interview portion with the judges), and an evening gown sequence, where the 5 finalists are chosen. This is when the final common question and answer round is held. At the end, the names of five winners are announced from a live telecast on Nepal Television.

Tasks

 * Miss Nepal's have to represent Nepal into their respective international beauty pageants.
 * Miss Nepal gets to be a Young Conservation Ambassador for the WWF Nepal.
 * Relevant and important charity work with Maiti Nepal & HIV & Aids Campaign.

Notable winners and contestants

 * Ruby Rana (Miss Nepal 1994)
 * Nilima Gurung (Miss Nepal 1997)
 * Niru Shrestha Gurung (Miss Nepal 1998)
 * Malvika Subba (Miss Nepal 2002)
 * Anita Gurung (Miss Nepal Earth 2004)
 * Sarah Gurung (Miss Nepal Asia Pacific 2005)
 * Anupama Aura Gurung (Miss Nepal Earth 2011)
 * Shristi Shrestha (Miss Nepal World 2012)
 * Nagma Shrestha (Miss Nepal Earth 2012) / (Miss Universe Nepal 2017)
 * Ishani Shrestha (Miss Nepal World 2013)
 * Nikita Chandak (Miss Nepal World 2017)
 * Manita Devkota (Miss Universe Nepal 2018)
 * Shrinkhala Khatiwada (Miss Nepal World 2018)
 * Priya Sigdel (Miss Nepal Earth 2018)
 * Anushka Shrestha (Miss Nepal World 2019)
 * Namrata Shrestha (Miss Nepal World 2020)
 * Priyanka Rani Joshi (Miss Nepal World 2022)
 * Srichchha Pradhan (Miss Nepal World 2023)

Controversial contestants

 * 1998 Winner Jyoti Pradhan was dethroned when it was discovered that she had fled to the US after she finish competed in Miss World 1998. Therefore, 1st runner-up Niru Shrestha was crowned first place.
 * 2012 Contestant Rashmita Maharjan was injured during the scooter practice, resulting her to quit the contest. She later, came back in 2014 contest and made it to Top 10 semi-finalist.
 * 2014 Contestant Mona Bajracharya's family was unhappy with her competing in the pageant which resulted with her quitting from the contest which give an odd number, from 20 to 19 contestants.
 * 2014 First Runner-up Prinsha Shrestha was the second Miss Nepal to be dethroned due to breaking the rules from her contract with Hidden Treasure by competing in Miss Eco Queens 2015 pageant. 2nd runner-up Sonie Rajbhandari was then given the title of Miss Nepal Earth 2014 (1st runner-up).

Titleholders at Miss Nepal
There is an unofficial formula to determine the states and regions represented in Nepal. The base number of contestants over the last decade has been 19–20, which can be increased or decreased by the pageant's management.

Official states (20)
* Denotes that state has a preliminary pageant – which may or may not still be held – as of 2014 only Biratnagar, Chitwan, Dharan, Itahari, Jhapa and Pokhara held preliminaries.

** Denotes that state has been represented through the Miss Purwanchal (Miss Eastern Region) preliminary. Additionally, two states, Chitwan and Pokhara hold their own individual pageants.

Official regions (5)

 * Kathmandu Valley, काठमाडौं उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: स्वनिगः, Capital valley of Nepal includes Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Kirtipur and Lalitpur.)
 * Chitwan Valley, चितवन उपत्यका Southwestern valley of Nepal includes Chitwan, Makwanpur and Nawalparasi.)
 * Pokhara Valley, पोखरा उपत्यका, Western valley of Nepal includes Pokhara and Lekhnath.
 * Eastern Region, पुर्वाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र, Eastern Region of Nepal includes Biratnagar, Dharan, Itahari and Jhapa.)
 * Far-Western Region, सुदुर पश्चिमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र Far Western Region of Nepal includes Dhangadhi and Mahendranagar, Dadeldhura, Baitadi, Bajhang, Darchula, Doti, Achham.

Biratnagar, Dharan, Itahari and Jhapa are regions of Eastern Region and are titles handed out at the Miss Purwanchal preliminary. As of 1995 Pokhara has its own preliminary.

Together, these 20 regions form the "base" of the Miss Nepal contest. However, at times other regions and territories have been represented. However, many times the pageant has been criticized for having lack of diversity interns of selection of candidates. Due to the reason that many girls from Kathmandu Valley are represented and are consistent in the pageant per year which resulted in the most winners from the Kathmandu Valley. However, since 2013, the pageant has decided to include more candidates from outside the Capital Valley.

International franchise titles
Miss Nepal sends delegates to participate in 3 of the Big Four international beauty pageants as of 2024. Note that the year designates the time Nepal has acquired that particular pageant franchise.

Current franchise
 * Miss World (1997–present)
 * Miss Earth (2002–present)
 * Miss International (2000, 2005, reacquired in 2010–present)
 * Previous franchise
 * Miss Universe (2017–present) (The contest now under Global Glamour Venture P.Ltd. headed by Sangita Puri)
 * Miss Supranational (2014, 2018–present)(The contest now under Sanurvi International Org. headed by Santosh Upadhyaya)
 * Miss Asia Pacific International (1994–2017)

Representatives at Big Four pageants
The following women have represented Nepal in the Big Four international beauty pageants, the four major international beauty pageants for women. These are Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth.

Miss Universe Nepal

 * Miss Nepal has started to send a Miss Nepal to Miss Universe from 2017. In that year Nagma Shrestha was directly nominated by Miss Nepal Organization without any competition as the first Miss Nepal Universe in the special occasion of 23rd Anniversary of Miss Nepal, Hidden Treasure.
 * In 2020 the new org. called Miss Universe Nepal independently debuted to select the winner to the Miss Universe pageant. This organization was under Uddhab Adhikari directorship ("Umanga Creation" 2020-2023).
 * As of 2024, new organization, Global Glamour Venture P.Ltd. is responsible for organizing Miss Universe Nepal- Global Glamour with Sangita Puri as National Director.
 * On occasion, when the winner does not qualify (due to age) for either contest, a runner-up is sent.
 * On occasion, when the winner does not qualify (due to age) for either contest, a runner-up is sent.

Miss World Nepal

 * After the local franchise for the Miss World pageant in 1997, Miss Nepal have started to send its winner. In 2002, the pageant was held in December which was after the Miss World 2002, hence the Miss Nepal 2002 winner, Malvika Subba missed the opportunity to represent Nepal in the Miss World pageant. On occasion, when the winner does not qualify (due to age) for either contest, a runner-up is sent.

Miss Earth Nepal

Miss International Nepal

 * Before 2010, Miss Nepal International was organised by different company which produced winners that were represented in Miss International beauty pageant. But since 2010, Hidden Treasure bought the franchise to Miss International and now sends delegate from the annual Miss Nepal beauty pageant.

Miss Supranational Nepal

''Miss Nepal began to send delegates to Miss Supranational from 2018 when Mahima Singh was appointed as Miss Nepal Supranational. Since 2021, the delegate for Miss Supranational is seleceted by Mister and Miss National pageant by Santosh Upadhyay, National Director, Sanurvi International P.Ltd.''

Miss Asia Pacific Nepal

 * From 1994 to 1997, the Miss Nepal pageant was held to select the representative of the Nepal to the Miss Asia Pacific Pageant. In 1997, Jharana Bajracharya was crowned as Hidden Treasures Miss World Nepal 1997 winner who was sent to Miss World 1997 and Kathmandu Jaycees Miss Nepal where Nilima Gurung took the crown and went to Miss Asia Pacific 1997. After 1997, Miss Nepal Beauty Pageant started to hold the local franchise for the Miss World Pageant and the 1st runner-up was sent to the Miss Asia Pacific contest until 2004.

Miss North America Nepal
The first ever Miss Nepal USA was held, in August 2011 and was organized by Event Planet Inc. For more details about Miss Nepal US, please visit www.misnepalus.com

The aim of this pageant platform is to identify young women leaders who can uphold Nepalese pride in an international platform while advancing her career in the field she is passionate about. Since 2014, there has been introduction to new special awards of Miss California Nepal, Miss New York Nepal and Miss Texas Nepal as the winners of regional states which were equivalent to 3rd runner-up spots. Since 2019, the Miss Nepal US Organisation stopped giving the special regional awards.

Miss Hong Kong Nepal
Miss Nepal Hong Kong was held in 1998 in favor of giving a platform for Nepalese teenagers to women in Hong Kong to build up their confidence and self-esteem. Factually, since Hong Kong's life is hectic and also because of internal issues, Miss Nepal Hong Kong has had ups and downs: 1998 (was held), 1999 (canceled), 2000 (was held), 2001 (was held), 2002, 2003, 2004 (canceled), 2005 (was held). Consequently, Miss Talent Hunt Hong Kong Nepal (Mega Model) was replaced by Miss Nepal Hong Kong from 2006 to 2009 organized by Laxmi Rai (Lara), Mamita Gurung (Miss Hong Kong Nepal 2000), and Tara Subbha. It followed up organizers from 2008 (Basanti Pun and Sushmita Gurung) because of some internal issues. However, in 2010 since Miss Talent Hunt HK Nepal was transformed into an international pageant, it withdrew itself from Miss Nepal Hong Kong. After a long decades, fortunately, in 2011, the 5th Miss Nepal Hong Kong was held on 3 August 2011.

Overseas Performance in Miss Nepal
The following is a list of overseas contestants who have competed at the Miss Nepal Pageant. Overseas competed from 2005 onwards, every year except 2007.

title: Miss Nepal


text:
Education University of Hong Kong

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) is a public university in Ting Kok, New Territories, Hong Kong.

The university was founded in 1994 as The Hong Kong Institute of Education. It is one of eight subsidised universities under the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong and the only one dedicated to teacher education.

History and recent developments
The history of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) can be traced back to 1853. The St. Paul's College introduced the first formalised programme of in-service teacher training. This was described in its Annual Report for 1994–1995. On 25 April 1994, under the recommendation made by the Education Commission Report No 5, The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) was formally established by the merger of:

 * Northcote College of Education, established in 1939 and named after Sir Geoffry Northcote, then Governor of Hong Kong.
 * The college was at what is now at the Bonham Road Government Primary School in Sai Ying Pun from 1941 to 1962, though this was interrupted by the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. In 1962, the college moved to 21 Sassoon Road, now headquarters of the Li Ka Shing Medical Faculty of the HKU. The college returned to the Sai Ying Pun site in 1971 and stayed there until 1997.
 * Grantham College of Education, established in 1951 and named after Sir Alexander Grantham, then Governor of Hong Kong. It was located at 42 Gascoigne Road.
 * Sir Robert Black College of Education, established in 1960 and named after Sir Robert Brown Black, then Governor of Hong Kong.
 * Hong Kong Technical Teachers’ College, established in 1974.
 * Institute of Language in Education, established in 1982 and previously under the supervision of the then Education Department.

Established in 1994, HKIEd provides doctorate, master and undergraduate degrees, postgraduate diploma, certificates and a range of in-service programmes to around 7,000 pre-service students and serving teachers.

In October 1997, the Institute moved to its new campus in Tai Po near the Tai Po Industrial Estate. It has a Sports Centre at Pak Shek Kok, Tai Po, as well as a Town Centre campus in Tseung Kwan O.

In 2001, the HKIEd HSBC Early Childhood Learning Centre was established on the campus. The HKIEd Jockey Club Primary School was founded on the campus in the following year.

From 1 May 2004, the institute was granted self-accrediting status in respect of its own teacher education programmes at degree-level and above.

In June 2009, the institute won extra annual funding of HK$22 million from the Hong Kong Government to provide 120 undergraduate degree places for three new undergraduate programs and 30 research postgraduate places for the 2009–2012 triennium.

In January 2010, the University Grants Committee endorsed the HKIEd's plans for Research Postgraduate programmes and undergraduate programs in three disciplines: "Humanities" (mainly Language), "Social Sciences", and "Creative Arts & Culture".

The approval is seen as a step closer for the institute to gaining its university title by becoming a fully-fledged university of education with a range of disciplines and strong research capacity.

HKIEd will launch its first batch of non-education programmes, namely the Bachelor of Arts in Language Studies and Bachelor of Social Sciences in Global and Environmental Studies in September 2010. Both programmes have already secured the support of the External Validation Panel of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications.

Preparations for the launching of the third Education-Plus programme, Bachelor of Arts in Creative Arts and Culture, in 2011–2012 are underway.

The institute operates four institute-level research centres had been set up to facilitate the growth of expertise in multi-disciplinary research.

On 11 September 2015 the University Grants Committee accepted the application by the Institute of Education to change its name to university, and on 26 January 2016 the adoption of the title "The Education University of Hong Kong" was approved. Accordingly, The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill will be gazetted on 19 February 2016 and introduced into the Legislative Council on 2 March 2016.

In January 2016, the institute was awarded self-accrediting status in three further programme areas, covered by its existing Programme Area Accreditation status: Chinese Studies, English Studies and Environmental Studies.

On 27 May 2016, the institute was formally renamed The Education University of Hong Kong in recognition of its "efforts and contributions over the years".

In September 2020, The Education University of Hong Kong, with the help of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, partnered with Kneron to build Hong Kong's first AI educational system.

In November 2023, the university announced that students would have to undergo mandatory national security education.

Academic organisation
There are three faculties and a number of non-faculty academic units at the university, which provide study programmes and courses for students.

The Graduate School was established in April 2010 to support EdUHK (the then HKIEd) in the management and quality assurance of its higher degree programmes.

Faculties

 * Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
 * Faculty of Education and Human Development
 * Faculty of Humanities
 * Graduate School

Research centres

 * Academy of Hong Kong Studies (AHKS)
 * Assessment Research Centre (ARC)
 * Centre for Governance and Citizenship (CGC)
 * The Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change (APCLC)

Sports centre
The 5.3 hectare Sports Centre is located at 55 Yau King Lane, Tai Po Kau, facing Tolo Harbour. It houses a range of outdoor and indoor sports and recreational facilities including:
 * grandstand with undercover seating for 1,200 spectators
 * 400-metre all-weather track with facilities for field events
 * natural grass soccer pitch
 * artificial turf soccer / hockey pitch
 * five tennis courts
 * jogging path with six fitness stations
 * fitness room
 * parking spaces

Reputation and rankings
According to the 2018 QS World University Rankings: "In the field of Education, it is ranked the ninth in the world and the second in Asia; in the field of linguistics, it is ranked the 151-200th in the world; in the field of Psychology, it is ranked the 251-300th in the world; in the field of Social Science and Management, it is ranked the 323rd in the world".

Controversy over the proposed HKIEd-CUHK merger
In January 2007, a public row broke out between the management and the government over the future of the institute. Battle lines were drawn between the Vice-Chancellor Paul Morris and then Secretary for Education and Manpower, Prof. Arthur Li. The dispute had apparently been brewing for some time, as far back as June 2002, when the Arthur Li was appointed secretary. Apparently, Li favoured a merger of the institute with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), where he was vice-chancellor. Morris opposed the merger, and had for some time been campaigning to establish the institute as a university in its own right. Morris maintained he had been warned by the Chairman of the council, Dr. Thomas Leung Kwok-fai, as far back as June 2006, that his tenure would end unless he agreed to the amalgamation of the institute with the CUHK.

Timeline
Prof Luk also corroborated Vice Chancellor Morris' version of events by revealing a secret breakfast meeting that took place between Dr. Leung and the Vice Chancellor in June 2006. Luk also alleged that during January 2004, Li had phoned Morris to once again urge Morris to take the lead in amalgamating with CUHK. He threatened to reduce future student intake quotas of HKIEd otherwise. Luk pointed out that there had been numerous newspaper articles written by IEd staff members in the past few years criticizing the EMB education reform and policies. Luk maintained this resulted in a number of phone calls from a certain high-ranking official in the EMB, demanding the immediate dismissals of those four staff members, which they refused to entertain.
 * 24 June 2002 – Shortly after Li's appointment as Education Secretary, Li had apparently invited Morris to dinner and proposed a merger of the institute with the Chinese University. Li also apparently offered Morris to head the "super education centre".
 * 19 July 2002 – Morris was allegedly told by Simon Ip Sik-on, a former chairman of the institute's council, during a lunch he shared with Li and two other senior institute officials that Li threatened to render the institute unviable if a merger could not be achieved.
 * 14 October 2002 – Fanny Law had met with Arthur Li, Dr. Leung and its former vice chairman Alfred Chan Wing-kin. She issued an "internal email" to staff, stating the institute's wish for an early indication of a possible merger with the education faculty of the CUHK.
 * 25 January 2007 – The governing council of the institute decided in a vote of 10 to 3, with three abstentions, not to renew Vice Chancellor Morris' contract. Leung denied Morris' assertion about the threats to the security of his tenure, instead accusing Morris of misinterpreting him. Leung insisted that there was no connection between the two. This led to speculation that the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) was trying to force an amalgamation of the institute with the CUHK.
 * 26 January 2007 – Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Bernard Luk Hung-kay (陸鴻基) alleged on RTHK Radio 1's Openline Openview phone-in program that during the summer of 2003, after results of the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers were released, the media reported (falsely) that most of 330 teachers who had failed in the test were from The Hong Kong Institute of Education. Professor Luk accused Law for not having set the record straight and alleged that this publicity resulted in a sharp fall in the number of applications for the next year, though the numbers had since recovered through hard work of the staff.
 * 5 February 2007 – Luk alleged both in his open letter and on RTHK Radio 1's Openline Openview program that Li had made veiled threats both against him and Morris in the past. For their refusal to make a news release denouncing those teachers who exceeded the placement quota for their profession and who were about to lose their current jobs, Arthur Li was quoted by Luk to have said on 26/27 June 2004, "I'll remember this. You will pay." (The quote was said in English). Luk suggests in his letter that the time is up for his "pound of flesh."
 * 6 February 2007 – Staff members Leung Yan-wing (梁恩榮) and Ip Kin-yuen (葉建源) asked Legco to investigate further or set up an open hearing into the allegations. Legco member Cheung Man Kwong told RTHK Radio 1's Openline Openview phone-in program that he along with eight other Democratic camp members had already written to Legco's Education Committee chairman Tsang Yok-sing, urging him to convene an emergency meeting to investigate these allegations of government interference in the running of IEd. Students overwhelmingly passed vote of no-confidence in Governing Board Chairman Thomas Leung Kwok-fai: of 680 the voters, only 36 students backed Leung. There were 65 abstentions and eight voided ballot papers.
 * 7 February 2007 – It was announced that Legco's Education Committee would convene on 12 February 2007 to discuss any further action and that it would invite both IEd representatives and Arthur Li himself if necessary.
 * 9 March 2007 – Pro-government legislators blocked an attempt to set up a Legco inquiry to investigate allegations over meddling with the academic freedom and autonomy of educational institutions. The vote failed by 30:21 with one abstention.
 * Chief Executive Donald Tsang set up a commission headed by Justice Woo Kwok-hing.
 * 16 March 2007 – Justice Woo Kwok-hing resigned to avoid potential accusations of lack of impartiality.
 * 22 March 2007 – Commission hearings commenced.
 * 20 June 2007 – The commission dismissed allegations that Li had interfered with the institutional autonomy, but pinned the blame on Fanny Law. Law resigned immediately from her post of Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
 * 13 March 2009 – the Secretary for Education took out a judicial review application to challenge the commission's findings in 2007. In recognising that academic freedom is a self-contained right under Articles 34 and 137 of the Basic Law, the Court of First Instance held that the Permanent Secretary's (Mrs Fanny Law) approach did not violate the institute's right to academic freedom as she had not made any direct or indirect threats of sanction. The judicial review was allowed in March 2009.

title: Education University of Hong Kong


text:
Tangkuban Perahu

Tangkuban Perahu (Tangkuban Parahu) is a stratovolcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It erupted in 1826, 1829, 1842, 1846, 1896, 1910, 1926, 1929, 1952, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1983, 2013 and 2019. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs and boiling mud up close, and buy eggs cooked on the hot surface. Together with Mount Burangrang and Bukit Tunggul, it is a remnant of the ancient Mount Sunda after the plinian eruption caused the Caldera to collapse.

In April 2005, the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - Anak Krakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a build-up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal." On the mountain's northern flank is Death Valley, which derives its name from a frequent accumulation of poisonous gases.

History of volcanic activity
A study conducted in 2001 determined that Tangkuban Perahu had erupted at least 30 times in the previous 40,750 years. Studies of the tephra layers within three kilometres of the crater revealed that 21 were minor eruptions and the remaining were significant eruptions. The eruptions that occurred before approximately 10,000 years ago were magmatic/phreatomagmatic, and the ones that occurred after 10,000 years ago were phreatic. The volcano erupted as recently as 26 July 2019. On 2 August 2019, the volcano experienced eight minor eruptions, and as a result, the place was closed down for visitors, but is open again.

Legend
The name translates roughly to "upturning of (a) boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation. The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang decided to return to his home, long after the two had forgotten and failed to recognise each other. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi, his mother, and planned to marry her, only for Dayang Sumbi to recognise his birthmark just as he was about to go hunting wild boar. To prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to build a dam on the river Citarum and to build a large boat to cross the river, both before sunrise. Sangkuriang meditated and summoned mythical ogre-like creatures -buta hejo or green giant(s)- to do his bidding. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban Perahu from the hull of the boat.

title: Tangkuban Perahu


text:
Theological noncognitivism

Theological noncognitivism is the non-theist position that religious language, particularly theological terminology such as 'God', is not intelligible or meaningful, and thus sentences like 'God exists' are cognitively meaningless. This would also imply that sentences like the negation of 'God exists' or 'God does not exist' are likewise meaningless, i.e., neither true nor false. It may be considered synonymous with ignosticism (also called igtheism), a term coined in 1964 by Sherwin Wine, a rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism.

Arguments
Theological noncognitivists argue in different ways, depending on what one considers the "theory of meaning" to be.

One argument holds to the claim that definitions of God are irreducible, self-instituting relational, circular. For example, a sentence stating that "God is He who created everything, apart from Himself", is seen as circular rather than an irreducible truth.

Michael Martin writing from a verificationist perspective concludes that religious language is meaningless because it is not verifiable.

George H. Smith uses an attribute-based approach in an attempt to prove that there is no concept for God: he argues that there are no meaningful attributes, only negatively defined or relational attributes, making the term meaningless. An example: Consider the proposition of the existence of a "pink unicorn". When asserting the proposition, one can use attributes to at least describe the concept such that a cohesive idea is transferred in language. With no knowledge of "pink unicorn", it can be described minimally with the attributes "pink", "horse", and "horn". Only then can the proposition be accepted or rejected. The acceptance or rejection of the proposition is distinct from the concept.

Relationship to other non-theist perspectives
Steven J. Conifer contrasts theological noncognitivism with positive atheism, which describes not only a lack of a belief in gods but furthermore denies that gods exist thereby giving credence to the existence of a concept of something for "God" to refer to, because it assumes that there is something understandable to not believe in.

Paul Kurtz finds the view to be compatible with both weak atheism and agnosticism. However, Theodore Drange distinguishes noncognitivism and agnosticism, describing the latter as accepting that theological language is meaningful but being noncommittal about its truth or falsity on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

title: Theological noncognitivism


text:
Larvacean

Larvaceans or appendicularians, class Appendicularia, are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. While larvaceans are filter feeders like most other tunicates, they keep their tadpole-like shape as adults, with the notochord running through the tail. They can be found in the pelagic zone, specifically in the photic zone, or sometimes deeper. They are transparent planktonic animals, usually ranging from 2 mm to 8 mm in body length including the tail, although giant larvaceans can reach up to 10 cm in length.

Larvaceans are known for the large houses they build around their bodies to assist in filter-feeding. Secreted from mucus and cellulose, these structures often comprise several layers of filters and can reach up to ten times their body length. In some genera like Oikopleura, houses are built and discarded every few hours, with sinking houses playing a key role in the oceanic carbon cycle.

History
The study of larvaceans began with the description of Appendicularia flagellum by Chamisso and Eysenhardt in 1821. More species were quickly discovered, with Oikopleura in 1830 providing the first evidence of the larvacean house, although its role in feeding wouldn't be understood until Eisen's discoveries in 1874.

Larvaceans as tunicates
Huxley was the first to suggest the identity of larvaceans as tunicates in 1851. Their relationship with other tunicates remained unclear, with larvaceans being argued to be ascidian larvae or a free-swimming generation of ascidians.

An attempt at establishing the internal phylogeny of the class was realized by Fol following the discovery of the aberrant Kowalevskia. Fol grouped together the families Oikopleuridae and Fritillariidae in the putative Endostyla, based on the presence of an endostyle, absent in Kowalevskia which he placed in the sister group Anendostyla.

In situ observations
Another jump in the study of larvaceans was the beginning of in situ observations, which allowed to study the creatures inside their fragile houses without damage. Researchers such as Kakani Katija Young from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute pioneered imaging techniques such as the particle image velocimetry instrument DeepPIV, revealing the complexity and inner structure of larvacean houses and leading to the first 3D simulations of their internal currents.

Anatomy
The adult larvaceans resemble the tadpole-like larvae of most tunicates. Like a common tunicate larva, the adult Appendicularia have a discrete trunk and tail. It was originally believed that larvaceans were neotenic tunicates, giving them their common name. Recent studies hint at an earlier divergence, with ascidians having developed their sessile adult form later on.

As the larvae of ascidian tunicates don't feed at all, the larvae of doliolids goes through their metamorphosis while still inside the egg, and salps and pyrosomes have both lost the larval stage, it makes the larvaceans the only tunicates that feed and have fully functional internal organs during their tailed "tadpole stage", which in Appendicularia is permanent.

The full development of Oikopleura dioica and the fate of its cell lineages have been well-documented, providing insight into larvacean anatomy. Being a model organism, most of our knowledge on larvaceans comes from this specific taxon. Variations in body shape and anatomy exist between families, although the general body plan stays similar.

Trunk
The trunk can roughly be divided into three regions — pharyngeo-brachial, digestive and genital — which are more or less distinct depending on the genus. Like in vertebrates, the digestive system comprises in order a mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, intestine and rectum.

The pharynx is equipped with an endostyle on its lower side, a specialized organ helping direct food particles inside. It also possesses two spiracles, each surrounded by a ring of cilia, which direct food particles from the inner filter's junction to the mouth.

In some genera like Oikopleura, the tract is U-shaped, with the anus located in a forwards position compared to the stomach and intestine. Others like Fritillaria present a more segmented appearance, with a straighter digestive tract and well-separated pharyngeal and digestive sections. The species Appendicularia sicula doesn't have any anus at all, leading to accumulation of undigested material.

Appendicularia retains the ancestral chordate characteristics of having the pharyngeal spiracles and the anus open directly to the outside, and by the lack of the atrium and the atrial siphon found in related classes.

The gonads are located in the posterior section of the trunk, beyond the digestive tract. They are the only section of the body not to be well-distinguished in the juvenile post-tail shift, instead only growing in size in the days leading to spawning.

Tail
The tail of larvaceans contain a central notochord, a dorsal nerve cord, and a series of striated muscle bands enveloped either by epithelial tissue (oikopleurids) or by an acellular basement membrane (fritillarids). Unlike the ascidian larvae, the tail nerve cord in larvaceans contains some neurons.

The tail twists during development, with its dorsal and ventral sides becoming left and right sides respectively. In this way, the dorsal nerve cord actually runs through the tail to the left of the notochord, connecting to the rest of the nervous system at the caudal ganglion at the base of the tail.

The muscle bands surrounding the notochord and nerve cord consist of rows of paired muscle cells, or myocytes, running along the length of the tail.

House
To assist in their filter-feeding, larvaceans produce a "house" made of mucopolysaccharides and cellulose, secreted from specialized cells termed oikoplasts. In most species, the house surrounds the animal like a bubble. Even for species in which the house does not completely surround the body, such as Fritillaria, the house is always present and attached to at least one surface.

The house is secreted from oikoplasts, a specialized family of cells constituting the oikoplastic epithelium. Derived from the ectoderm, it covers part (in Fritillaria) or all (in Oikopleura) of the trunk. In larvae, surface fibrils are secreted by the epithelium prior to the differentiation of the oikoplasts, and have been suggested to play a part in the development of the first house, as well as the formation of the cuticular layer.

The houses possesses several sets of filters, with external filters stopping food particles too big for the larvacean to eat, and internal filters redirecting edible particles to the larvacean's mouth. Including the external filters, the houses can reach over one meter in giant larvaceans, an order of magnitude larger than the larvacean itself. The house varies in shape: incomplete in Fritillaria, it is shaped like a pair of kidneys in Bathochordaeus, and toroidal in Kowalevskia.

The arrangement of filters allows food in the surrounding water to be brought in and concentrated prior to feeding, with some species able to concentrate food up to 1000 times compared to the surrounding water. By regularly beating the tail, the larvacean can generate water currents within its house that allow the concentration of food. For this purpose, the tail fits into a specialized tail sheath, a funnel of the house connected to the exhalent aperture. The high efficiency of this method allows larvaceans to feed on much smaller nanoplankton than most other filter feeders.

This specific niche of "mucous-mesh grazers" or "mammoth grazers" has been argued to be shared with thaliaceans (salps, pyrosomes and doliolids) — all using internal mucous structures —, as well as with sea butterflies, a clade of pelagic sea snails similarly using an external mucous web to catch prey, although through passive "flux feeding" rather than active filter-feeding.

Larvaceans have been found to be able to select food particles based on factors such as nutrient availability and toxin presence, although both laboratory feeding experiments and in situ observations show no difference in feeding rate between their usual food sources and microplastics. They can eat a wide range of particles sizes, down to one ten-thousandth of their own body size, far smaller than other filter-feeders of comparable size. On the other side of the spectrum, Okiopleura dioica can eat prey up to 20% of its body size. The upper limit on prey size is set by the mouth size, which in the largest genus Bathochordaeus is around 1–2 mm wide for a trunk length of 1–3 cm.

In some species, houses are discarded and replaced regularly as the animal grows in size and its filters become clogged; in Oikopleura, a house is kept for no more than four hours before being replaced. In other genera such as Fritillaria, houses can be regularly deflated and inflated, cleaning off particles clogging the filters. Houses being reused in this manner leads to a smaller contribution in marine snow from these genera.

Larvacean houses share key homologies with tunicate tunics, including the use of cellulose as a material, confirming that the ancestral tunicate already had the capability to synthesize cellulose. This has been confirmed through genetic studies on Oikopleura dioica and the ascidian Ciona, pinpointing their common cellulose synthase genes as originating with a horizontal gene transfer from a prokaryote. However, houses and tunics share key differences — while houses are gelatinous and can be deflated or even discarded at will, tunics are rigid structures definitively incorporated into the animal's filter-feeding apparatus.

Habitat
Larvaceans are widespread, motile planktonic creatures, living through the water column. As their habitats are mostly defined by ocean currents, many species have a cosmopolitan distribution, with some like Oikopleura dioica being found in all of the world's oceans. Larvaceans have been reported as far as the Southern Ocean, where they are estimated to comprise 10.5 million tonnes of wet biomass.

Most species live in the photic zone at less than 100 meters in depth, although giant larvaceans such as Bathochordaeus mcnutti can be found up to 1,400 meters deep, and undescribed oikopleurid and fritillariid species have been reported through the bathypelagic zone, down to the 3,500 meters deep seafloor in Monterey Bay where they constitute the dominant particle feeders in most of the water column.

Reproduction and life cycle
Larvaceans reproduce sexually, with all but one species being protandric hermaphrodites. Unlike all other known larvaceans, Oikopleura dioica shows separate sexes, which are distinguished on the last day of their life cycle through differing gonad shapes.

The immature animals resemble the tadpole larvae of ascidians, albeit with the addition of developing viscera. Once the trunk is fully developed, the larva undergoes "tail shift", in which the tail moves from a rearward position to a ventral orientation and twists 90° relative to the trunk. Following tail shift, the larvacean begins secretion of the first house.

The life cycle is short. The tadpole-shaped larva usually performs the tail shift less than one day after fecundation, becoming fully functional juveniles. Adults usually reproduce after 5 to 7 days depending on the species.

Fertilisation is external. The body wall ruptures during egg release, killing the animal.

Ecological impact
Through their discarded, nutrient-rich houses — termed sinkers — and fecal pellets falling towards the deep seafloor, larvaceans transport large amounts of organic matter towards that region, constituting a significant component of marine snow. In that way, they massively contribute to the oceanic carbon cycle, being responsible for up to one-third of the carbon transfer to the deep seafloor in Monterey Bay. Still in Monterey Bay, giant larvaceans have been found to have the highest filtration rate of any invertebrate, and discarded larvacean houses have been observed as a consistent food source for both pelagic and benthic organisms in that same region.

Both larvacean houses and fecal pellets were also found to trap microplastics, before sinking towards the seafloor. In this way, larvaceans are believed to play a part in the missing plastic paradox, transporting microplastics through the water column and to the seafloor. Experiments performed on the giant larvacean Bathochordaeus stygius confirm their ability to filter and discard microplastics.

Taxonomy
Appendicularia is most often recovered as the sister group of the other tunicate groups (Ascidiacea and Thaliacea). Already in the late 19th to early 20th century, it was hypothesized by Seeliger and later by Lohmann that Appendicularia diverged first from a free-swimming ancestral tunicate, with sessile forms evolving later in the sister lineage (often termed Acopa).

The following cladogram is based on the 2018 phylogenomic study of Delsuc and colleagues.

Fossil record
Being delicate and soft-bodied, Appendicularia has no definitive fossil record, although the Cambrian form Oesia disjuncta has historically been suggested to belong to the class. More recently, microfossils covered in an organic coat found in vanadium-rich Cambrian black shales in South China have been suggested to be traces of early larvaceans in their houses, putatively termed "paleoappendicularians".

Vetulicolians have also been argued to represent stem-group larvaceans by Dominguez and Jefferies, on the basis of synapomorphies comprising the reduction of the atria and of the gill slits, the position of the anus, and a 90° counter-clockwise torsion of the tail (as seen from behind) around the anterior-posterior axis.

Internal classification
The extant species of the class are divided into three families based on both morphological and genomic criteria: Kowalevskiidae, Fritillariidae and Oikopleuridae. The first two are believed to be closer to each other, sharing more derived characteristics compared to the primitive Oikopleuridae. Fritillariidae itself is subdivided into Fritillariinae and the monotypic Appendiculariinae, while Oikopleuridae is split into Bathochordaeinae and Oikopleurinae. Deeper phylogeny is unclear, with genera such as Oikopleura possibly being paraphyletic.

Several key morphological differences distinguish the families. Fritillariidae presents a more tapered, compressed trunk, as compared to the rounder one of the other two families. Meanwhile, Kowalevskiidae is notable for lacking the heart and endostyle present in other families, the latter replaced by a ciliated groove without glandular cells. The shape of the spiracles also differs: they appear as simple holes in Fritillariidae, long narrow slits in Kowalevskiidae, and tubular passages in Oikopleuridae.

While the number of described species is comparatively low, the class is believed to harbour massive diversity in the form of cryptic species. For instance, Oikopleura dioica comprises at least three distinct, reproductively incompatible clades despite a similar morphological appearance.

Not all species are equally well-studied. The popularity of Oikopleura dioica as a model organism and its ease of cultivation have led to studies disproportionately focusing on this species' anatomy, and in situ observations on Bathochordaeus charon have been performed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Meanwhile, studies of Kowalevskiidae and Fritillariidae are comparatively rarer and more limited.

Use as a model species
The dioecious Oikopleura dioica is the only larvacean species that has successfully been cultured in laboratory. The ease of cultivation, combined with extremely small genome size and recent development of techniques for expressing foreign genes in O. dioica, has led to the advancement of this species as a model organism for the study of gene regulation, chordate evolution, developmental biology, and ecology.

title: Larvacean


text:
File:The Eagle Has Landed poster.JPG

A film poster for "The Eagle Has Landed", contended as fair use.

Fair use in The Eagle Has Landed (film)
Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:
 * 1) It's a low resolution copy of a Film Poster / VHS or DVD Cover.
 * 2) It doesn't limit the copyright owner's rights to sell the film in any way, in fact, it may encourage sales.
 * 3) Because of the low resolution, copies could not be used to make illegal copies of the artwork/image.
 * 4) The image is itself a subject of discussion in the article or used in the infobox thereof.
 * 5) The image  is significant because it was used to promoted a notable film.

Source

 * 1) Derived from a digital capture (photo/scan) of the Film Poster/ VHS or DVD Cover (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the film company or the artist.  Claimed as fair use regardless.

title: File:The Eagle Has Landed poster.JPG