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Category:East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding of Yorkshire has three meanings, each covering a different area:
 * It is a unitary authority. Articles about things in the area administered by the unitary authority should be placed in this category.
 * It is a ceremonial county. For this purpose only it includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is also a unitary authority. The Kingston upon Hull category is included in the list of subcategories below.
 * It was one of the three traditional Ridings of Yorkshire. The riding covered a larger area than either the unitary authority or the ceremonial county, but it is no longer an administrative unit. Articles relating to the historic riding are in Category:History of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

title: Category:East Riding of Yorkshire


text: Category:Towns in Staffordshire

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

title: Category:Towns in Staffordshire


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Talk:Bebington

St Andrew's Church lamp-post & Narnia
I have removed the following paragraph from the article (and its associated image): Bebington also has a claim to fame in that St. Andrews church yard features the lamp-post that was supposedly the real-life inspiration for the lamp-post in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles Of Narnia. This unverified statement was added by an anonymous IP in May 2006 and has been tagged since December 2007. Since then, no citation has been forthcoming, with only the lamppost image added a few weeks later. If anyone can provide any reliable sources to verify this statement then please restore it to the article. Thanks. Snowy 1973 (talk) 12:44, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Definition
The article needs to have greater clarity over the different definitions of Bebington that exist. The former municipal borough covered a much wider area - see the large map in the article on Civil parishes in Merseyside - than merely Higher and Lower Bebington, for example. It is not "nonsense" to say that places like Port Sunlight, New Ferry and Spital are part of Bebington - historically, they certainly were. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:59, 7 February 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm not from the area but as you mention "The former Municipal Borough" this is historical, can be recorded as so, I guess, but all these places are independent areas for sureBabydoll9799 (talk) 23:02, 7 February 2014 (UTC)
 * I am from the area, and old enough to remember the former borough. What do you mean by "independent areas"?   They are all part of a single urban area.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 23:04, 7 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Independent in the sense they are not part of Bebington! IE Port Sunlight is Port Sunlight, Wirral and not Port Sunlight, Bebington Babydoll9799 (talk) 23:08, 7 February 2014 (UTC)
 * You mean in terms of postal address? That's fairly significant, but not the whole story. Many people write "Oxton, Wirral", for example, but it's still part of Birkenhead.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:14, 8 February 2014 (UTC)
 * True, ie New Brighton. But these are places in their own right like Moreton, West Kirby, Heswall, etc. Babydoll9799 (talk) 11:38, 8 February 2014 (UTC)
 * "Places in their own right" is a meaningless expression - but, there are inconsistencies in the article. For instance, the ward boundaries for which the population is shown - see here - is far smaller than the old borough.  My point is that the article should explain these differences in definition, rather than trying to impose a single definition. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:03, 8 February 2014 (UTC)
 * PS: I've now added a short explanation of the differences. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:16, 8 February 2014 (UTC)

title: Talk:Bebington


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lord Moxon

Lord Moxon was proposed for deletion. This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was DELETE. 8 votes to delete. Postdlf 05:56, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Lord Moxon
Orphaned article, utter nonsense. Google search for "Lord Moxon" scone gets all of one google hit, and that's a wikipedia mirror. -- Graham ☺ | Talk 18:19, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: Sure looks like a joke to me. Geogre 19:18, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Smells of bogosity. I find exactly one Lord Moxon. --Ianb 21:32, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete quickly before it spreads further!!! Moxon Scones This link cites wikipedia as its primary source.--eleuthero 23:54, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * That's because it's a wikipedia mirror of the article that we're voting on deleting. -- Graham ☺ | Talk 02:02, 19 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete... non-notable and probably false to begin with. Andre ( talk )A| 14:01, Oct 19, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. There's neither a Lord Moxon nor a Lord Christopher John Moxon (they aren't interchangeable, as this article suggests), so it's clearly nonsense. Proteus (Talk) 12:57, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Lord Moron. Oy. Nonsense. --Improv 13:58, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. But that inexplicable lone link does intrigue me.  I wonder 'tis there a connexion?  Fishal 06:54, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like other '/delete' pages is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


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Michael Des Barres

Michael Philip Des Barres, 26th Marquis Des Barres, (born 24 January 1948) is an English actor and pop singer. He appeared as Murdoc in the original MacGyver, Lenny Stokes in Lois & Clark, and Murdoc's mentor Nicholas Helman in MacGyver (2016). He replaced Robert Palmer in the band the Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert.

Early life
The only child of Philip and Irene Des Barres (Marquis and Marquise Des Barres), Michael Philip Des Barres was born and brought up in Hove, Sussex. He attended Repton School, a boarding school in Derbyshire, and went on to attend the Corona Academy drama school in London and appeared in several plays. He has some French ancestry. His title of Marquis was bestowed upon a 13th-century ancestor Guillaume II Des Barres, a French knight, after rescuing King Philip II of France during the Battle of Bouvines in 1214.

Music
Des Barres started his musical career in the glam rock band Silverhead in England in 1972. The group released two albums on Deep Purple's record label Purple Records before breaking up in 1974.

After leaving Silverhead, Des Barres moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the band Detective. The band was signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label by Jimmy Page, whom Des Barres had met after a Silverhead performance in Birmingham, England, that the members of Led Zeppelin had attended.

Following the break-up of Detective in 1978, Des Barres formed Chequered Past in 1982. In 1983 he co-wrote and recorded the song "Obsession" with Holly Knight. In 1984, the band Animotion had an international top-ten hit with their cover.

Des Barres met the members of Duran Duran when Chequered Past opened for a few shows during their 1984 tour. In 1985, when Robert Palmer withdrew from the Duran Duran side project the Power Station just before their American summer tour, Des Barres was chosen to take his place as lead vocalist.

On 5 November 2013, the Michael Des Barres Band released a live album, Hot n Sticky Live, which was recorded at the Viper Room in Los Angeles in November 2012.

On 7 April 2015 Des Barres released a solo album, The Key to the Universe. Produced by Bob Rose at The Forum Music Village in Rome, the album reunited Des Barres with Nigel Harrison (former bassist of Blondie and Silverhead) on bass and guitar, in addition to Clive Deamer (Radiohead, Portishead, Robert Plant) on drums, and Dani Robinson on guitar.

In 2018, he formed the Mistakes, consisting of all veteran musicians – Loren Molinare (founding member of Little Caesar & the Dogs) on guitar, Eric Himel (Powerman 5000, host of the Sunset Jam) on guitar, Paul Ill (LA-based musician with sales of over 20 million records as a studio musician and 4.5 million records as a songwriter) on bass guitar, and Matt Starr (studio and touring drummer with Guns N' Roses, Ace Frehley, Bon Jovi & Whitesnake) on drums. The band is signed to Steven Van Zandt's Wicked Cool Records and has released 4 songs – "Living in the USA"/"Gotta Serve Somebody" (1/19/18) and "Crackle and Hiss"/"Stop in the Name of Love" (7/5/19). The Mistakes' plans to tour Japan and Russia in 2020 were cancelled because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Acting
Des Barres has appeared in over 100 different TV shows and almost 30 movies in his career. He first started acting at 8 years old as 'the Nux Bar Kid' on posters all over England. He appeared (uncredited) in the 1966 film starring Tony Curtis, Drop Dead Darling. His first credited film role was as a supporting cast member in the classic 1967 film To Sir, with Love, playing an East End pupil who always wears dark sunglasses indoors and out, followed by a few other minor roles before he decided to pursue a career in music instead. He later concentrated his energies on acting again and was cast in Ghoulies (1985) as cult leader Malcolm Graves, and Nightflyers (1987) as a charismatic empath. He worked opposite Clint Eastwood in 1989's Pink Cadillac. His other film roles have included Midnight Cabaret (1990), Under Siege (1992), Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992), A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), and Sugar Town (1999). He also appeared in the 2004 film Catch That Kid and had a brief part in David Lynch's 2001 film Mulholland Drive.

On television, besides the role of Murdoc in MacGyver, Des Barres was also a lead cast member of The New WKRP in Cincinnati during the 1991–1992 season, as part of a husband-and-wife morning team. He had previously appeared on the original WKRP in Cincinnati as the lead singer of a punk band, Scum of the Earth. On Roseanne he portrayed Leon's boyfriend as well as appearing as one of Darlene's baby's doctors on one of the final episodes of the series. Some of his dozens of television appearances include Seinfeld; Renegade; ALF; Ellen; Nip/Tuck; Just Shoot Me!; Hart To Hart; My Sister Sam; Lois & Clark, which reunited him with another MacGyver alumnus, Teri Hatcher; JAG; Melrose Place, where he played devilish Arthur Field in 11 episodes; Nash Bridges; Northern Exposure; The Rockford Files; Sledge Hammer!; Sliders; St. Elsewhere; 21 Jump Street; The Pretender; Dead Like Me; Frasier; Hawaii; Bones; and NCIS in the Season 10 episode "Phoenix".

On 23 October 2013, Des Barres joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of 200 Motels: The Suites, by Frank Zappa, in which he appeared as Rance, the narrator.

Radio
Recently, Des Barres hosts "The Michael Des Barres Program" every weekday morning from 8–11 AM ET with a replay every weekday evening from 9- midnight PT on Little Steven's Underground Garage (SiriusXM Channel 21). Over six million listeners hear an eclectic mix of rock, soul and punk, infused with Des Barres' extensive musical knowledge and his messages of positivity and longevity.

Documentary: Michael Des Barres: Who Do You Want Me To Be
In 2021, Des Barres released the documentary Who Do You Want Me To Be, directed by J. Elvis Weinstein, on streaming platforms plus DVD and Blu-ray. The tag line for the film is "The son of a junkie aristocrat and a schizophrenic showgirl becomes a master of reinvention on a 50+ year journey through rock and roll, TV, and movies."

Personal life
In 1974, Des Barres married his girlfriend of seven years, actress Wendy Hamilton (Professor Emeritus Wendy Wheeler, London Metropolitan University). They divorced when Michael moved to Los Angeles following the disbandment of Silverhead.

Des Barres was married to Pamela Des Barres from 1977 until 1991. They have a son, Nicholas Des Barres, who is a writer and video game designer.

Des Barres has been sober since June 1981. In the mid-1980s, he was one of the founding members of Rock Against Drugs. He later did volunteer addiction counselling and worked with homeless teens. Des Barres has also organised and hosted the annual Don't Knock the Rock Film Festival, which first took place in 2003.

Des Barres married his long-term girlfriend, Britta Hayertz, on December 21, 2018.

Studio albums

 * I'm Only Human (1980)
 * Somebody Up There Likes Me (1986)
 * The Key to the Universe (2015)

with Silverhead

 * Silverhead (1972)
 * 16 and Savaged (1973)
 * Live at the Rainbow (1975)

with Detective

 * Detective (1977)
 * It Takes One to Know One (1977)
 * Live from the Atlantic Studios (1978)

with Chequered Past

 * Chequered Past (1984)

with the Michael Des Barres Band

 * Carnaby Street (2012)
 * Hot n Sticky Live (2013)

title: Michael Des Barres


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Category:Towns in Shropshire

Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) has 22 settlements or communities which are officially towns.

See also Category:Villages in Shropshire and Category:Hamlets in Shropshire for more settlements in the county.

title: Category:Towns in Shropshire


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GAU-7 cannon

The Ford-Philco GAU-7/A was an abortive program initiated by United States Air Force in the late 1960s to develop a new cannon for the proposed F-14 ADC interceptor and replace the M61 Vulcan on the then-upcoming F-15 Eagle. The GAU-7/A was a 25 mm Gatling gun using telescoped ammunition with a combustible case developed by the Brunswick Corporation. It was intended to have greater range and hitting power than the 20 mm Vulcan, while the caseless ammunition would have alleviated the problems of either storing or ejecting spent cartridges, both of which present considerable problems for jet aircraft.

Despite great expenditure, the project and its ammunition proved to be a failure, and it was canceled in 1974. The F-15 therefore retained the M61A1 cannon, as have most U.S. fighter aircraft since 1956.

title: GAU-7 cannon


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Iman Darweesh Al Hams

Iman Darweesh Al Hams (Arabic: ايمان درويش الهمص ʾĪmān Darwīsh al-Hamṣ; also Iyman) (1991 – 5 October 2004) was a 13-year-old Palestinian girl killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fire on 5 October 2004, in Rafah, Gaza Strip.

The IDF commander of the soldiers who shot her was accused by his comrades and Palestinian witnesses of using automatic fire to deliberately shoot her repeatedly, a subject which was brought into investigation. During trial, he expressed no regret over his actions and said he would have done the same even if the girl was a 3-year-old. His legal team argued that the "confirmation of the kill" after a suspect is shot was a standard Israeli military practice to eliminate terrorist threats. The commander was charged with illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and perverting the course of justice by an Israeli military court but was found not guilty. Human rights groups cite her death as one of several incidents which illustrate a "culture of impunity" in the IDF.

Overview of the incident
Soldiers said they opened fire on the girl because they initially thought she was planting a bomb, although the tape recording of the radio conversation between soldiers at the scene reveals that, from the beginning, she was identified as a child and at no point was a bomb spoken about nor was she described as a threat. After she was hit, soldiers claimed the unit's commanding officer went up to her and kept on shooting her, despite their pleas to stop. No explosives or weapons were found on the girl's body. A search of her bag revealed that it was filled with textbooks.

Palestinian witnesses
According to Umar Abu Khalifa, 25, "Israeli soldiers stormed the area, the girl left the bag and tried to run. Bullets hit the (girl's) bag and then soldiers opened fire on the girl."

Palestinian witnesses reported that it was more than an hour before Israeli troops would allow medics to evacuate the body in an ambulance. At least fifteen bullets were found in the girl's body by Palestinian hospital officials.

Dr. Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body told The Guardian newspaper that:"'She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs ... The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head."

Ehab Hams, an older brother of the slain girl, expressed his distrust of Israeli military justice: "We demand the prosecution of Iman's killer (but) we do not trust the Israeli judicial system." He added, "My sister was an innocent little girl."

Israeli documentary and audio recording of internal communications
A documentary screened nationwide on Ilana Dayan's Uvda ("Fact") investigative program on Israel's Channel 2 aired an audio recording of the internal communications between soldiers at the post at the time of the incident.

According to the audio recording, the soldiers of the Givati Brigade identified the victim as "a girl, about 10 years old", describing her as looking "scared to death". Another soldier is heard saying, "Our forces are attacking her", and a lookout says "One of the positions has taken her down." The Givati Brigade company commander, Captain R., is then heard saying "We operated on her. Yes, it seems she has been hit." He later states that he "verified" the killing, and clarifies his actions by stating that:"'This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over.'"

Israeli soldiers interviewed in the documentary, and whose anonymity was maintained, submitted that their commander had knowingly shot the girl in the head at close range and then emptied his magazine of bullets into her body to "confirm the kill." One of the soldiers said: "'We saw her from a distance of 70 meters. She was fired at ... from the outpost. She fled and was wounded.'" The soldiers then explained how while Iman was lying wounded about 70 m from the Israeli guard post, the commander fired two bullets at her head from close range. They added that the commander returned to her body again, put his weapon on the automatic setting, and emptied his entire magazine into her body, disregarding their objections over the walkie-talkie.

One of the soldiers said:"'We couldn't believe what he had done. Our hearts ached for her. Just a 13-year-old girl ... How do you spray a girl from close range? He was hot for a long time to take out terrorists and shot the girl to relieve pressure.'"

First internal investigation
On 11 October 2004, the BBC reported that Israel's top military prosecutor was investigating the army commander for repeatedly firing at the lifeless body of the young girl. The report stated that according to Haaretz newspaper, "confirming the kill" (i.e. shooting combatants at close range to make sure they are dead) goes against Israeli military regulations governing the rules of engagement. On 13 October 2004, CBS reported that the army had suspended the officer during the investigation. On 15 October 2004, it was reported that the officer was cleared of responsibility in the shooting.

The BBC reported that army officials had accepted the commander's claim that "he fired into the ground near the girl after coming under fire in a dangerous area," but that they did not explain why the officer shot into the ground rather than at the source of the fire.

Excerpts from the army statement read:"'The investigation did not find that the company or the company commander had acted unethically ... The investigation concluded that the behaviour of the company commander from an ethical point of view does not warrant his removal from his position.'"

The officer was nevertheless temporarily suspended due to his poor relations with the soldiers under his command and operational failures. It was further noted that a decision on his career in the army would be given by the end of the week.

Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, the army chief of staff, said repeatedly that the officer had acted properly under the circumstances. The Israeli military police launched a separate investigation.

Second internal investigation
On 18 November 2004, the Israeli army requested the family's permission to exhume Hams' body. The earlier accusations made by the soldiers against their commanding officer of engaging in the outlawed practice of "verifying the kill" had regained currency. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that it was not known whether the girl was already dead or had merely been wounded before being repeatedly shot again. That same month, the army formally charged the officer with two counts of illegally using his weapon, and one count each of obstruction of justice, conduct unbecoming an officer and improper use of authority.

Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon conceded that the first military investigation had been "a grave failure". The indictment against the officer alleged that the first investigation was the subject of an attempted coverup.

Military tribunal
After the commencement of the military tribunal, the al-Hams family and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice in January 2005 to request that the investigation be turned over to civilian authorities. The court declined the request in February 2005.

Referred to in public only as Lieutenant R., (or Captain R.), the officer maintained that when he reached the girl's body, he came under fire from Palestinian militants at least 300 yd away and shot at the ground to deter the fire. In an interview with the Associated Press, an Israeli military official stated that a soldier in the observation tower claimed the officer's fire was aimed at the girl's body and could offer no explanation as to why the officer shot into the ground rather than at the source of the fire.

Lieutenant R. was released from custody in February 2005 after a key prosecution witness, another IDF lieutenant, who had told the military police investigation that he saw R. fire two individual bullets, followed by a volley, into Al-Hams' body, recanted his testimony under intensive cross examination. Earlier, another lookout also retracted parts of his initial testimony against R, attributed by human rights groups to heavy behind-the-scenes military pressure. Though Lieutenant R. had admitted firing two shots into the girl's body from close range to "verify the kill", he denied shooting subsequently. His lawyers, Yoav Meni and Elad Eisenberg, said the practice of "verifying the kill" was used regularly by the IDF to eliminate immediate threats.

Acquittal
On 15 November 2005, a military tribunal acquitted Captain R., clearing him of all the charges against him.

Upon hearing the verdict, Captain R., burst into tears and turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent."

Iman's father, Samir al-Hams, responded to the verdict by saying that from the outset there was no intention to hold the officer accountable:"'They did not charge him with Iman's murder, only with small offences, and now they say he is innocent of those even though he shot my daughter so many times ... This was the cold-blooded murder of a girl. The soldier murdered her once and the court has murdered her again. What is the message? They are telling their soldiers to kill Palestinian children.'"

The Palestinian National Authority condemned the verdict.

Military police investigation into first investigation
In February 2006, Ha'aretz newspaper reported that a military police internal investigation found that there were major failures in the October 2004 investigation into the killing of al-Hams.

Two reservist officers appointed by Military Police Commander Brigadier General Roni Benny to examine the military police's conduct during the investigation determined that investigators acted unprofessionally and with negligence. The two officers criticized the decision not to appoint a special investigation team led by higher-ranking, more experienced officials and also noted that the incident was not appropriately documented by the investigation. The military police officer in charge of the investigation was reprimanded and the head of the investigation team was censured.

Compensation and promotion to rank of major
Subsequent to his acquittal, Captain R. was promoted to the rank of major. In March 2006, he received 82,000 New Israel Shekels (roughly $17,000) to compensate him for the cost of his defense and time spent in jail. Captain R. also filed a libel suit against Ilana Dayan and the Telad production company. The district court accepted the suit and awarded him 300,000 shekels in damages. The decision was overturned in part by the Supreme Court, which ruled that Telad should pay only 100,000. The court ruled Dayan did not know that Captain R. was unaware that he was pursuing a child, and so should not be held liable for the news report.

Further legal actions
In 2010 a Jerusalem district court found the claim that "Captain R" had shot Al Hams multiple times to "verify" her death, made by Ilana Dayan in her Uvda ("Fact") TV show on Channel 2, to be libelous, and required them to air a correction and for production company Telad to pay ₪300,000. A 2012 decision by the Israeli Supreme Court acquitted Dayan and reduced the damages to ₪100,000, finding that the statements were "correct at the time of their broadcast", based on honest belief, verified facts and credible sources. The court found that "Captain R" had been unaware that the death he was running out to verify had been that of a 13-year-old girl, but that Ilana Dayan was unaware of this.

title: Iman Darweesh Al Hams


text:
Category:Towns in Berkshire

Towns in the ceremonial county of Berkshire in England.

title: Category:Towns in Berkshire


text:
Category:Towns in Northamptonshire

See also: List of places in Northamptonshire

title: Category:Towns in Northamptonshire


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Talk:List of British place names and their meanings

Merge Proposals
I am somewhat concerned with the proposed merge with the generic forms article, which deals quite obviously with generic forms and this article which deals with specific place names. What would make sense however would be to make these sub pages of a main page dealing explicitly with British toponymy. Sjc 05:38, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

 * I have redirected it for now because to have this pitifully small list up was a disgrace to the UK, and because at Talk:British toponymy I suggested merging it with List of places in the United Kingdom and have thus far got no response. My feeling is that place name etymologies should go in the articles themselves, with the list of generics forms in place names remaining.

 * And what this guy below has been taking I don't know... -- Graham ☺ | Talk 14:24, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Unfortunate Place Names
There is quite a long list of place names that give food to the dirty mind be they chosen accidentally or deliberately. Obviously there seems to be a kind of tradition for this in the history of naming which originally started with place names.

Some of our ancestors obviously were too innocent to realize what burden they place on their offspring when naming places like Pratts Bottom (Kent), Brown Willy (Cornwall), Lickey End (near Birmingham), Booby Dingle (Powys), Great Cockup (Cumbria), Even places such as Thong (Kent) seem to have revealed far too much for not being the victim of lewd remarks.

The European continent, however, is also challenging the innocent mind of the English speaking traveller. In Southern Bavaria they will come across a village with the name of “Petting” and about eleven miles from there, in neighbouring Upper Austria, the shock might be inevitable when they enter the village of "Fucking". Inspite of the fact that the inhabitants of Fucking have had enough with English-speaking tourists swiping their sign, they refuse to change their name. It goes back to the ancient Bavarian settlement and although this area was christianized by Irish and Scottish monks in the 9th and 10th century, an amendment of the name has never been deemed necessary.

No wonder that in many countries there are restrictions regarding the choice of a place name as a trademark for goods and services.


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Metamatic

Metamatic is the debut solo album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo project following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the mix of synthesizers and conventional rock instrumentation on that band's work, Metamatic was purely electronic in sound. The name 'Metamatic' comes from a painting machine by kinetic artist Jean Tinguely, first exhibited at the Paris Biennial in 1959. The album peaked at #18 on the UK Albums Chart.

Production and style
Metamatic was recorded at Pathway Studios, a small eight-track studio in Islington, and was engineered by Gareth Jones. Foxx's electronic equipment included an ARP Odyssey, an Elka 'String Machine' and a Roland CR-78 drum machine. Several of the synth parts were played by John Wesley-Barker. Dub music was an influence on the production.

The lyrics were heavily influenced by the writings of J. G. Ballard. Six of the tracks referenced automobiles or motorways, most obviously "Underpass" and "No-One Driving". (Foxx re-worked the former track as "Overpass" on the live Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour in 1998). The song "A New Kind of Man" is about a man stepping into a film screen, which inspired the cover art of the album. The song "He's a Liquid" was influenced by a still from a Japanese horror film depicting a suit draped across a chair in such a way as to suggest that the wearer had liquified; Foxx's lyrics also alluded to the 'fluidity' of human relationships. The final track, "Touch and Go", included psychedelic aspects.

Although Foxx had performed "He's a Liquid" and "Touch and Go" live with Ultravox before leaving the band in 1979, the band was not credited for them on Metamatic. When Ultravox adapted the tune from "Touch and Go" for the song "Mr. X" on Vienna (1980), their first album following Foxx's departure, Foxx was not credited.

Release and aftermath
Metamatic spent seven weeks in the UK charts, peaking at #18. The album was generally well received by critics and is still cited as his most influential solo release.

Singles and reissues
"Underpass" was released as an edited single a week before the album (length: 3:18), making #31 in the UK charts and appearing on a number of electropop compilations of the time. Its B-side was a non-album instrumental, "Film One". In March 1980 a remix of "No-One Driving" was released as a double single with three other non-album tracks: "Glimmer", "Mr No" and "This City", reaching #32.

In June 1980, Foxx released a single with new songs on both sides, "Burning Car" b/w "20th Century", making #35. He issued one more single-only release in October 1980, the transitional "Miles Away" b/w "A Long Time", which provided a foretaste of the more fully produced sound of his next album, The Garden (1981). All these non-album tracks have appeared on various John Foxx compilations and reissues of Metamatic; the 1993 CD version of the album also included "Young Love", a previously unreleased track recorded in 1979. A 'definitive' two-CD reissue of the album was released in September 2007 which was intended to bring together all the Metamatic-era material, plus previously unavailable tracks, onto one bonus CD. Another re-mastered edition was released as a 3CD Deluxe Edition in 2018. This included fifteen instrumentals on disc three, as the new reissue project grew to forty-nine tracks across three CDs.

Foxx's record label and his official website are also named Metamatic.

Metal Beat interview
An in-depth interview with Foxx by Steve Malins about the making of Metamatic is the subject of a double-CD album "Metal Beat" released in 2007. The interview includes extracts from demos of No-One Driving, Touch and Go and Like A Miracle and an extended version of Plaza, together with some early experiments by Foxx with drum machines and analogue synthesisers and tracks retrieved from two 1980 tapes marked "music for film" and "instrumentals". A 30-second piece entitled Jane is also included.

Critical reception
Upon its release in 1980 the album received positive reviews. Record Mirror gave the album a 5 out of 5 rating. Smash Hits wrote that "this restrained and melodic album of synthesised music and (surprise, surprise) futuristic visions comes as an impressive step forward" (from the "chronically pretentious Ultravox").

Trouser Press wrote: "Metamatic is Foxx’s first venture alone into the world of synthesizers (...) In emulation of his own work and Conny Plank’s production on Ultravox’s Systems of Romance, Foxx (aided by another synthesist and a bassist) finds the perfect counterpart for his themes of alienation and dislocation in sterile, minimalist electronic sounds. His vocals are oddly distant, like echoes, but the record has an honesty and directness that are quite affecting."

From retrospective reviews, in a Record Collector review of the 2007 reissue Ian Shirley concluded: "To be frank, however, Metamatic has not worn well. Although the analogue synth textures work well on the singles and tracks such as Plaza, Metal Beat and Touch & Go, the rhythms of the drum machines and overall sound of A New Kind Of Man and Tidal Wave are very dated. Considering how adventurous and warm the Human League’s Reproduction and Travelogue from the same period are, Metamatic is the sound of musical austerity."

The 2018 reissue received a positive review by Kieron Tyler: "Metamatic feels as much about melody as the then-current musical tools. “He’s a Liquid” and “Touch and Go” had been played live by Ultravox so, clearly, Foxx was honing some of the album’s songs before they were recorded; there was pre-planning. There’s also a timelessness, born from to the combination of Foxx’s chops as a songwriter and the use of pre-digital synths which had to be configured manually. The sounds and arrangements Foxx came up with were his own. The only track which has dated is “Metal Beat” due to its borrowings from elements of Kraftwerk's “Showroom Dummies” and “The Robots”. Overall, Metamatic is poppy, romantic, and refracts the aura of concrete-filled urban environments and the power they exert."

Track listing
All tracks written by John Foxx.

 * 1) "Plaza" – 3:52
 * 2) "He's a Liquid" – 2:59
 * 3) "Underpass" – 3:53
 * 4) "Metal Beat" – 2:59
 * 5) "No-One Driving" – 3:45
 * 6) "A New Kind of Man" – 3:38
 * 7) "Blurred Girl" – 4:16
 * 8) "030" – 3:15
 * 9) "Tidal Wave" – 4:14
 * 10) "Touch and Go" – 5:33

1993 reissue bonus tracks

 * 1) "Young Love" – 3:10
 * 2) "Film One" – 3:58
 * 3) "20th Century" – 3:06
 * 4) "Miles Away" – 3:17
 * 5) "A Long Time" – 3:49
 * 6) "Swimmer 1" – 4:06

2001 reissue bonus tracks

 * 1) "Film One" – 3:58
 * 2) "Glimmer" – 3:33
 * 3) "Mr. No" – 3:14
 * 4) "This City" – 3:03
 * 5) "20th Century" – 3:06
 * 6) "Burning Car" – 3:12
 * 7) "Miles Away" – 3:17

2007 reissue bonus disc

 * 1) "Film One"
 * 2) "This City"
 * 3) "To Be With You"
 * 4) "Cinemascope"
 * 5) "Burning Car"
 * 6) "Glimmer"
 * 7) "Mr No"
 * 8) "Young Love"
 * 9) "20th Century"
 * 10) "My Face"
 * 11) "Like a Miracle" (alternative version)
 * 12) "A New Kind of Man" (alternative version)
 * 13) "He's a Liquid" (alternative version)

 * "To Be With You" and "Cinemascope" were created by sampling and arranging audio clips from material previously recorded with analogue equipment.

2014 Record Store Day white vinyl reissue
Track listing as per the original 1980 vinyl issue but in new gatefold sleeve with artwork featuring rare images and reconstructions. Track Listings Disc: 1 1	Plaza 2	He's a Liquid 3	Underpass 4	Metal Beat 5	No-one Driving 6	A New Kind of Man 7	Blurred Girl 8	030 9	Tidal Wave 10	Touch and Go Disc: 2 1	Film One 2	This City 3	To Be With You 4	Cinemascope 5	Burning Car 6	Glimmer 7	Mr. No 8	Young Love 9	20th Century 10	My Face 11	Underpass (Radio Edit) 12	Non-one Driving (Single Version) 13	Like a Miracle 14	A New Kind of Man 15	He's a Liquid 16	Plaza (Extended Version) 17	Underpass (Extended Version) 18	Blurred Girl (Lounge Fade Version) Disc: 3 1	A Frozen Moment 2	He's a Liquid (Instrumental Dub) 3	Mr. No 4	The Uranium Committee 5	A Man Alone 6	Over Tokyo 7	Terminal Zone 8	Urban Code 9	A Version of You 10	Glimmer 11	Fragmentary City 12	Metamorphosis 13	Approaching the Monument 14	Critical Mass 15	Alamogordo Logic 16	Touch and Go (Early Version) 17	Miss Machinery 18	No-one Driving (Early Version) 19	Burning Car (Early Version) 20	Like a Miracle (Early Version) 21	No-one Driving

Personnel

 * John Foxx – vocals, rhythm machines (mainly Roland CR-78), synthesizers and keyboards
 * John Wesley Barker – additional synthesizers and keyboards
 * Jake Durant – bass guitar
 * Gareth Jones – engineer

Keyboards used on the album include the Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, clavinet, Elka Rhapsody 610, piano, Farfisa string synth, and Hammond organ.

title: Metamatic


text:
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics

The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) is an autonomous institution set up by the University Grants Commission of India to promote nucleation and growth of active groups in astronomy and astrophysics in Indian universities. IUCAA is located in the University of Pune campus next to the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, which operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. IUCAA has a campus designed by Indian architect Charles Correa.

History
After the founding of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) by Prof. Govind Swarup, a common research facility for astronomy and astrophysics was proposed by Dr. Yash Pal of the planning commission. Working on this idea, astrophysicist Prof. Jayant Narlikar, along with Ajit Kembhavi and Naresh Dadhich set up IUCAA within the Pune University campus in 1988. In 2002, IUCAA initiated a nationwide campaign to popularize astronomy and astrophysics in colleges and universities. IUCAA arranged visitor programs for universities in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Thiruvalla (Kerala), Siliguri (West Bengal) and others, along with a tie-up with the Ferguson college, Pune.

In 2004, IUCAA set up the Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika (Exlporatorium), a science popularization initiative, with a grant from the Pu La Deshpande foundation. The center is open to all school students from Pune. IUCAA was declared the nodal center for India to coordinate the year-long celebrations for the International Year of Astronomy.

IUCAA was headed for its first decade by Prof. Jayant Narlikar, followed by Prof. Naresh Dadhich and Prof. Ajit Kembhavi. From September 2015, the Director is Prof. Somak Raychaudhury.

Research
Scientists at IUCAA carry out research in a wide range of areas in astronomy, astrophysics and physics. IUCAA has active research groups in fields like classical and quantum gravity, cosmology, gravitational waves, optical and radio astronomy, Solar System physics and instrumentation.

Facilities
IUCAA, along with Persistent Systems, Pune, operates the Virtual Observatory project. The observatory provides users access to raw observational data along with advanced processing software designed by engineers at Persistent.

IUCAA also maintains Girawali Observatory which is about 80 km from Pune city, off Pune-Nasik Road and near the historical Junnar town. In addition to catering to the needs of astronomers in general, this observatory is unique in setting aside a certain amount of time specifically for training as well as observational proposals arising from Indian Universities. The telescope has a primary mirror of diameter 2 meter, f/3 and a secondary of 60 cm, f/10. IUCAA Faint Object Spectrograph & Camera (IFOSC) is the main instrument available on the telescope's direct Cassegrain port currently.

IUCAA, along with the Raman Research Institute and Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, declared a proposal to take a ten percent stake in the Large Telescope Project, which would allow Indian astronomers access to major upcoming observatories such as the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the European Extremely Large Telescope (EELT).

Science popularization
The SciPop initiative was set up by Prof. Jayant Narlikar along with N. C. Rana and Arvind Paranjpe. SciPop, based out of the Muktangan Vidnyan Shodhika building, provides educational facilities for school students, teachers and amateur astronomers. IUCAA organizes the open Science day program every year on 28 February, in which members of the general public can visit the institute to take a look at ongoing research and contemporary work happening elsewhere in the world. IUCAA was one of the few Indian research institutes to start a science popularization program, and other organisations such as the Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, and TIFR, Mumbai started similar public outreach programmes in the wake of its success.

People
Notable people associated with IUCAA:

 * Jayant Narlikar, founding director
 * Naresh Dadhich, physicist, Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 2nd Director
 * Ajit Kembhavi, 3rd Director
 * Thanu Padmanabhan, Padma Shri award-winning astrophysicist
 * Somak Raychaudhury, 4th Director
 * Sanjeev Dhurandhar, gravitational-wave physicist and science advisor to the IndIGO consortium
 * Raghunathan Srianand, astrophysicist and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
 * Kanak Saha, astrophysicist and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate.

Logo
The logo of IUCAA is a symmetric 8-crossing Carrick mat knot, and a mirror image to that of the International Guild of Knot Tyers.


text:
Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)

Article 48 of the constitution of the Weimar Republic of Germany (1919–1933) allowed the Reich president, under certain circumstances, to take emergency measures without the prior consent of the Reichstag. This power came to be understood to include the promulgation of emergency decrees. It was used frequently by Reich President Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party to deal with both political unrest and economic emergencies. Later, under President Paul von Hindenburg and the presidential cabinets, Article 48 was called on more and more often to bypass a politically fractured parliament and to rule without its consent. After the Nazi Party's rise to power in the early 1930s, the law allowed Chancellor Adolf Hitler, with decrees issued by Hindenburg, to create a totalitarian dictatorship by seemingly legal means.

Background
The Weimar National Assembly, which was responsible for writing a constitution for a new, democratic Germany following the overthrow of the Hohenzollern monarchy at the end of World War I, had the task of producing a document that would be accepted by both conservatives who wanted to keep the semi-constitutional monarchy of the Empire and people on the left who were looking for a socialist or even communist government. The Weimar Constitution's framers intended Article 48 to allow a strong executive within the parliamentary republic that could bypass the slower legislative process in times of crisis.

The article allowed the Reich president to use the armed forces to compel any federal state to obey the lawful obligations placed on it by the Reich government. In addition, if "security and order" were endangered, the president could take measures, including use of the military, to restore order; he could also suspend certain enumerated fundamental rights: personal liberty, inviolability of the home, of the mail and other communications, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and of association, and the inviolability of property. The president had to inform the Reichstag of any such measures, and the Reichstag could revoke them by a majority vote. Since under Article 50 of the Weimar Constitution the president's decrees had to be counter-signed by the chancellor or "competent national minister", use of Article 48 required agreement between president and chancellor. There was to be a law passed by the parliament to determine the "details" of the powers granted the president, but none was ever written.

Under President Ebert
In the early years of the Republic, following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, the combination of reparations payments, the occupation of the Ruhr by French and Belgian troops between 1921 and 1923, and the resulting hyperinflation led to economic turmoil and political unrest from both the left and right. To cope with the crises, Friedrich Ebert, a Social Democrat and the Republic's first president, used Article 48 on 136 occasions, although he always based invoking the act on agreements between himself, the government and parliament. In October 1923, when the Communist Party of Germany entered the Social Democratic-led governments of Saxony and Thuringia with hidden revolutionary intentions, Ebert used a Reichsexekution under Article 48 to send troops into the two states to remove the Communists from the governments. Ebert later granted Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno considerable latitude under Article 48 to deal with inflation and matters related to the Reichsmark. It was a more controversial use of the power because it was not clear that the constitutional article was meant to be used to handle economic issues. The Emminger Reform of 4 January 1924 also used Article 48 to abolish the jury system as a cost saving measure and replace it with the mixed system of judges and lay judges that still exists today.

Under President Hindenburg
Article 48 was used by President Paul von Hindenburg in 1930 to deal with the effects of the Great Depression. During the spring and summer, Chancellor Heinrich Brüning found his government unable to obtain a parliamentary majority for its financial reform bill, which was voted down by the Reichstag, but the government did not seriously try to negotiate with the parliament to find a modus vivendi. Instead, Brüning asked Hindenburg to invoke Article 48 in order to promulgate the bill as an emergency decree and thereby give Brüning's government the authority to act without the consent of the Reichstag. When Hindenburg gave his authorization and issued the decree, it was the first time that a bill that had been legislatively rejected was later promulgated by way of executive decree, a tactic whose constitutionality has been questioned. On 18 July 1930 the Reichstag repudiated the decree by a vote of 236 to 221, with the Social Democrats, Nazis, German National People's Party and Communists voting in favor. Under Article 48, the vote by a majority of the Reichstag members invalidated the presidential decree. Brüning then asked Hindenburg to dissolve parliament and call for new elections. The Reichstag was accordingly dissolved on 18 July and new elections were scheduled for 14 September 1930. The September 1930 election resulted in increased representation in the Reichstag for the Communists and, most dramatically the Nazis, at the expense of the moderate middle-class parties. Forming a parliamentary majority became even more difficult for Brüning. In fact, just to conduct the normal business of government, he was forced to invoke Article 48 many more times between 1930 and 1932. Subsequent governments under chancellors Franz von Papen and Kurt von Schleicher during the tumultuous year 1932 obtained decrees from Hindenburg under Article 48 when they too found it impossible to obtain a parliamentary majority as the extremist parties on the left and right gained power. Altogether, Article 48 was invoked by Hindenburg 109 times from 1930 to 1932:

The invocation of Article 48 by successive governments helped seal the fate of the Weimar Republic. While Brüning's first invocation of an emergency decree may have been well-intentioned, the power to rule by decree was increasingly used not in response to a specific emergency but as a substitute for parliamentary leadership. The excessive use of the decree power and the fact that successive chancellors were no longer responsible to the Reichstag probably played a significant part in the loss of public confidence in constitutional democracy, in turn leading to the rise of the extremist parties.

Nazi use
On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor. Lacking a majority in the Reichstag, he formed a coalition with the national conservative German National People's Party (DNVP). Not long afterwards, he called elections for 5 March. Six days before the election, on 27 February, the Reichstag fire damaged the house of parliament in Berlin. Claiming that the fire was the first step in a Communist revolution, the Nazis used the fire as a pretext to induce President Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree, officially the Presidential Decree for the Protection of People and State (Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten zum Schutz von Volk und Staat).

Under the decree, which was issued on the basis of Article 48, the government was given authority to curtail constitutional rights including habeas corpus, free expression of opinion, freedom of the press, rights of assembly, and the privacy of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications. Constitutional restrictions on searches and confiscation of property were likewise rescinded. The Reichstag Fire Decree was one of the first steps the Nazis took toward the establishment of a one-party dictatorship in Germany. With key government posts in the hands of Nazis and with the constitutional protections on civil liberties suspended by the decree, the Nazis were able to use their control of the police to intimidate and arrest their opposition, in particular the Communists. Due to the use of Article 48, the repression had the mark of legality.

The 5 March 1933 elections gave the Nazi-DNVP coalition a narrow majority in the Reichstag. On 23 March the Nazis were nevertheless able to maneuver the passage of the Enabling Act by the required two-thirds parliamentary majority, effectively abrogating the authority of the Reichstag and placing its authority in the hands of the cabinet (in effect, the chancellor, Adolf Hitler). This had the effect of giving Hitler dictatorial powers.

Over the years, Hitler used Article 48 to give his dictatorship the stamp of legality. Thousands of his decrees were based explicitly on the Reichstag Fire Decree, and hence on Article 48, allowing Hitler to rule under what amounted to martial law. It was a major reason why Hitler never formally repealed the Weimar Constitution, though it had effectively been rendered a dead letter with the passage of the Enabling Act.

Effect on post-war constitutions
The misuse of Article 48 was fresh in the minds of the framers of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. They decided to significantly curb the powers of the president, to the point that the office, unlike its Weimar predecessor, has little de facto executive power. Also, to prevent a government from being forced to rely on decrees to carry on normal business, they stipulated that a chancellor may only be removed from office via a constructive vote of no confidence, which requires that a prospective successor already command a majority before a chancellor can be voted out of office.

Article 48 also influenced the framers of the French Constitution of 1958, whose Article 16 similarly allows the president of France to rule by decree in emergencies. The French article, however, includes much stronger safeguards against misuse than was the case in Weimar. The president is required to consult with the prime minister and the presidents of both houses of parliament before issuing emergency decrees; these decrees, in turn, cannot be used to suspend civil rights and liberties, but are instead required to be designed to restore the normal rules of the Constitution. That is, the president cannot use Article 16 as a substitute for parliamentary confidence. Article 16 also prohibits the dissolution of the National Assembly while an emergency is in effect, while the parliament retains the right to submit emergency decrees to the Constitutional Council, which has the power to invalidate them if the conditions necessary for the article's invocation no longer exist.

Interpretation
The text of the Article 48 neither precisely defined the kind of emergency that would justify its use nor expressly granted to the president the power to enact, issue, or otherwise promulgate legislation. However, such an inherent presidential legislative power was clearly implied, since the Article expressly gave the Reichstag the power to cancel the emergency decree by a simple majority vote. Such a parliamentary power implied that a decree could, either by its express terms or its operation, impinge on the Reichstag's constitutional function.

Article 48 required the president to inform the Reichstag immediately of the issuance of the emergency decree and gave the Reichstag the power to nullify the emergency decree by simple majority action. The Reichsrat, the upper house, was not involved in the process at all. If the Reichstag nullified the decree, the president could retaliate by using the power granted him under Article 25 to dissolve the Reichstag and call for new elections within 60 days.

authors: نوفاك اتشمان

title: Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)


text:
Category:Towns in Gloucestershire

Towns in Gloucestershire.

title: Category:Towns in Gloucestershire


text:
Nitrogenase

Nitrogenases are enzymes that are produced by certain bacteria, such as cyanobacteria (blue-green bacteria) and rhizobacteria. These enzymes are responsible for the reduction of nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3). Nitrogenases are the only family of enzymes known to catalyze this reaction, which is a step in the process of nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is required for all forms of life, with nitrogen being essential for the biosynthesis of molecules (nucleotides, amino acids) that create plants, animals and other organisms. They are encoded by the Nif genes or homologs. They are related to protochlorophyllide reductase.

Classification and structure
Although the equilibrium formation of ammonia from molecular hydrogen and nitrogen has an overall negative enthalpy of reaction ($$ \Delta H^{0} = -45.2 \ \mathrm{kJ} \, \mathrm{mol^{-1}} \; \mathrm{NH_3} $$), the activation energy is very high ($$ E_\mathrm{A} = 230-420 \ \mathrm{kJ} \, \mathrm{mol^{-1}} $$). Nitrogenase acts as a catalyst, reducing this energy barrier such that the reaction can take place at ambient temperatures.

A usual assembly consists of two components:

 * 1) The homodimeric Fe-only protein, the reductase which has a high reducing power and is responsible for a supply of electrons.
 * 2) The heterotetrameric MoFe protein, a nitrogenase which uses the electrons provided to reduce N2 to NH3. In some assemblies it is replaced by a homologous alternative.

Reductase
The Fe protein, the dinitrogenase reductase or NifH, is a dimer of identical subunits which contains one [Fe4S4] cluster and has a mass of approximately 60-64kDa. The function of the Fe protein is to transfer electrons from a reducing agent, such as ferredoxin or flavodoxin to the nitrogenase protein. Ferredoxin or flavodoxin can be reduced by one of six mechanisms: 1. by a pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, 2. by a bi-directional hydrogenase, 3. in a photosynthetic reaction center, 4. by coupling electron flow to dissipation of the proton motive force, 5. by electron bifurcation, or 6. by a ferredoxin:NADPH oxidoreductase. The transfer of electrons requires an input of chemical energy which comes from the binding and hydrolysis of ATP. The hydrolysis of ATP also causes a conformational change within the nitrogenase complex, bringing the Fe protein and MoFe protein closer together for easier electron transfer.

Nitrogenase
The MoFe protein is a heterotetramer consisting of two α subunits and two β subunits, with a mass of approximately 240-250kDa. The MoFe protein also contains two iron–sulfur clusters, known as P-clusters, located at the interface between the α and β subunits and two FeMo cofactors, within the α subunits. The oxidation state of Mo in these nitrogenases was formerly thought Mo(V), but more recent evidence is for Mo(III). (Molybdenum in other enzymes is generally bound to molybdopterin as fully oxidized Mo(VI)).

 * The core (Fe8S7) of the P-cluster takes the form of two [Fe4S3] cubes linked by a central sulfur atom. Each P-cluster is linked to the MoFe protein by six cysteine residues.
 * Each FeMo cofactor (Fe7MoS9C) consists of two non-identical clusters: [Fe4S3] and [MoFe3S3], which are linked by three sulfide ions. Each FeMo cofactor is covalently linked to the α subunit of the protein by one cysteine residue and one histidine residue.

Electrons from the Fe protein enter the MoFe protein at the P-clusters, which then transfer the electrons to the FeMo cofactors. Each FeMo cofactor then acts as a site for nitrogen fixation, with N2 binding in the central cavity of the cofactor.

Variations
The MoFe protein can be replaced by alternative nitrogenases in environments low in the Mo cofactor. Two types of such nitrogenases are known: the vanadium–iron (VFe; Vnf) type and the iron–iron (FeFe; Anf) type. Both form an assembly of two α subunits, two β subunits, and two δ (sometimes γ) subunits. The delta subunits are homologous to each other, and the alpha and beta subunits themselves are homologous to the ones found in MoFe nitrogenase. The gene clusters are also homologous, and these subunits are interchangeable to some degree. All nitrogenases use a similar Fe-S core cluster, and the variations come in the cofactor metal.

The Anf nitrogenase in Azotobacter vinelandii is organized in an anfHDGKOR operon. This operon still requires some of the Nif genes to function. An engineered minimal 10-gene operon that incorporates these additional essential genes has been constructed.

General mechanism
Nitrogenase is an enzyme responsible for catalyzing nitrogen fixation, which is the reduction of nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) and a process vital to sustaining life on Earth. There are three types of nitrogenase found in various nitrogen-fixing bacteria: molybdenum (Mo) nitrogenase, vanadium (V) nitrogenase, and iron-only (Fe) nitrogenase. Molybdenum nitrogenase, which can be found in diazotrophs such as legume-associated rhizobia, is the nitrogenase that has been studied the most extensively and thus is the most well characterized. Vanadium nitrogenase and iron-only nitrogenase can both be found in select species of Azotobacter as an alternative nitrogenase. Equations 1 and 2 show the balanced reactions of nitrogen fixation in molybdenum nitrogenase and vanadium nitrogenase respectively.

All nitrogenases are two-component systems made up of Component I (also known as dinitrogenase) and Component II (also known as dinitrogenase reductase). Component I is a MoFe protein in molybdenum nitrogenase, a VFe protein in vanadium nitrogenase, and an Fe protein in iron-only nitrogenase. Component II is a Fe protein that contains the Fe-S cluster., which transfers electrons to Component I. Component I contains 2 metal clusters: the P-cluster, and the FeMo-cofactor (FeMo-co). Mo is replaced by V or Fe in vanadium nitrogenase and iron-only nitrogenase respectively. During catalysis, 2 equivalents of MgATP are hydrolysed which helps to decrease the potential of the to the Fe-S cluster and drive reduction of the P-cluster, and finally to the FeMo-co, where reduction of N2 to NH3 takes place.

Lowe-Thorneley kinetic model
The reduction of nitrogen to two molecules of ammonia is carried out at the FeMo-co of Component I after the sequential addition of proton and electron equivalents from Component II. Steady state, freeze quench, and stopped-flow kinetics measurements carried out in the 70's and 80's by Lowe, Thorneley, and others provided a kinetic basis for this process. The Lowe-Thorneley (LT) kinetic model was developed from these experiments and documents the eight correlated proton and electron transfers required throughout the reaction. Each intermediate stage is depicted as En where n = 0–8, corresponding to the number of equivalents transferred. The transfer of four equivalents are required before the productive addition of N2, although reaction of E3 with N2 is also possible. Notably, nitrogen reduction has been shown to require 8 equivalents of protons and electrons as opposed to the 6 equivalents predicted by the balanced chemical reaction.

Intermediates E0 through E4
Spectroscopic characterization of these intermediates has allowed for greater understanding of nitrogen reduction by nitrogenase, however, the mechanism remains an active area of research and debate. Briefly listed below are spectroscopic experiments for the intermediates before the addition of nitrogen:

E0 – This is the resting state of the enzyme before catalysis begins. EPR characterization shows that this species has a spin of 3/2.

E1 – The one electron reduced intermediate has been trapped during turnover under N2. Mӧssbauer spectroscopy of the trapped intermediate indicates that the FeMo-co is integer spin greater than 1. E2 – This intermediate is proposed to contain the metal cluster in its resting oxidation state with the two added electrons stored in a bridging hydride and the additional proton bonded to a sulfur atom. Isolation of this intermediate in mutated enzymes shows that the FeMo-co is high spin and has a spin of 3/2.

E3 – This intermediate is proposed to be the singly reduced FeMo-co with one bridging hydride and one hydride.

E4 – Termed the Janus intermediate after the Roman god of transitions, this intermediate is positioned after exactly half of the electron proton transfers and can either decay back to E0 or proceed with nitrogen binding and finish the catalytic cycle. This intermediate is proposed to contain the FeMo-co in its resting oxidation state with two bridging hydrides and two sulfur bonded protons. This intermediate was first observed using freeze quench techniques with a mutated protein in which residue 70, a valine amino acid, is replaced with isoleucine. This modification prevents substrate access to the FeMo-co. EPR characterization of this isolated intermediate shows a new species with a spin of ½. ENDOR experiments have provided insight into the structure of this intermediate, revealing the presence of two bridging hydrides. 95Mo and 57Fe ENDOR show that the hydrides bridge between two iron centers. Cryoannealing of the trapped intermediate at -20 °C results in the successive loss of two hydrogen equivalents upon relaxation, proving that the isolated intermediate is consistent with the E4 state. The decay of E4 to E2 + H2 and finally to E0 and 2H2 has confirmed the EPR signal associated with the E2 intermediate.

The above intermediates suggest that the metal cluster is cycled between its original oxidation state and a singly reduced state with additional electrons being stored in hydrides. It has alternatively been proposed that each step involves the formation of a hydride and that the metal cluster actually cycles between the original oxidation state and a singly oxidized state.

Distal and alternating pathways for N2 fixation
While the mechanism for nitrogen fixation prior to the Janus E4 complex is generally agreed upon, there are currently two hypotheses for the exact pathway in the second half of the mechanism: the "distal" and the "alternating" pathway. In the distal pathway, the terminal nitrogen is hydrogenated first, releases ammonia, then the nitrogen directly bound to the metal is hydrogenated. In the alternating pathway, one hydrogen is added to the terminal nitrogen, then one hydrogen is added to the nitrogen directly bound to the metal. This alternating pattern continues until ammonia is released. Because each pathway favors a unique set of intermediates, attempts to determine which path is correct have generally focused on the isolation of said intermediates, such as the nitrido in the distal pathway, and the diazene and hydrazine in the alternating pathway. Attempts to isolate the intermediates in nitrogenase itself have so far been unsuccessful, but the use of model complexes has allowed for the isolation of intermediates that support both sides depending on the metal center used. Studies with Mo generally point towards a distal pathway, while studies with Fe generally point towards an alternating pathway.

Specific support for the distal pathway has mainly stemmed from the work of Schrock and Chatt, who successfully isolated the nitrido complex using Mo as the metal center in a model complex. Specific support for the alternating pathway stems from a few studies. Iron only model clusters have been shown to catalytically reduce N2. Small tungsten clusters have also been shown to follow an alternating pathway for nitrogen fixation. The vanadium nitrogenase releases hydrazine, an intermediate specific to the alternating mechanism. However, the lack of characterized intermediates in the native enzyme itself means that neither pathway has been definitively proven. Furthermore, computational studies have been found to support both sides, depending on whether the reaction site is assumed to be at Mo (distal) or at Fe (alternating) in the MoFe cofactor.

Mechanism of MgATP binding

Binding of MgATP is one of the central events to occur in the mechanism employed by nitrogenase. Hydrolysis of the terminal phosphate group of MgATP provides the energy needed to transfer electrons from the Fe protein to the MoFe protein. The binding interactions between the MgATP phosphate groups and the amino acid residues of the Fe protein are well understood by comparing to similar enzymes, while the interactions with the rest of the molecule are more elusive due to the lack of a Fe protein crystal structure with MgATP bound (as of 1996). Three protein residues have been shown to have significant interactions with the phosphates. In the absence of MgATP, a salt bridge exists between residue 15, lysine, and residue 125, aspartic acid. Upon binding, this salt bridge is interrupted. Site-specific mutagenesis has demonstrated that when the lysine is substituted for a glutamine, the protein's affinity for MgATP is greatly reduced and when the lysine is substituted for an arginine, MgATP cannot bind due to the salt bridge being too strong. The necessity of specifically aspartic acid at site 125 has been shown through noting altered reactivity upon mutation of this residue to glutamic acid. Residue 16, serine, has been shown to bind MgATP. Site-specific mutagenesis was used to demonstrate this fact. This has led to a model in which the serine remains coordinated to the Mg2+ ion after phosphate hydrolysis in order to facilitate its association with a different phosphate of the now ADP molecule. MgATP binding also induces significant conformational changes within the Fe protein. Site-directed mutagenesis was employed to create mutants in which MgATP binds but does not induce a conformational change. Comparing X-ray scattering data in the mutants versus in the wild-type protein led to the conclusion that the entire protein contracts upon MgATP binding, with a decrease in radius of approximately 2.0 Å.

Other mechanistic details
Many mechanistic aspects of catalysis remain unknown. No crystallographic analysis has been reported on substrate bound to nitrogenase.

Nitrogenase is able to reduce acetylene, but is inhibited by carbon monoxide, which binds to the enzyme and thereby prevents binding of dinitrogen. Dinitrogen prevent acetylene binding, but acetylene does not inhibit binding of dinitrogen and requires only one electron for reduction to ethylene. Due to the oxidative properties of oxygen, most nitrogenases are irreversibly inhibited by dioxygen, which degradatively oxidizes the Fe-S cofactors. This requires mechanisms for nitrogen fixers to protect nitrogenase from oxygen in vivo. Despite this problem, many use oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor for respiration. Although the ability of some nitrogen fixers such as Azotobacteraceae to employ an oxygen-labile nitrogenase under aerobic conditions has been attributed to a high metabolic rate, allowing oxygen reduction at the cell membrane, the effectiveness of such a mechanism has been questioned at oxygen concentrations above 70 μM (ambient concentration is 230 μM O2), as well as during additional nutrient limitations.

Nonspecific reactions
In addition to dinitrogen reduction, nitrogenases also reduce protons to dihydrogen, meaning nitrogenase is also a dehydrogenase. A list of other reactions carried out by nitrogenases is shown below:
 * HC≡CH → H2C=CH2
 * N–=N+=O → N2 + H2O
 * N=N=N– → N2 + NH3
 * cyanide → CH4, NH3, H3C–CH3, H2C=CH2 (CH3NH2)
 * N≡C–R → RCH3 + NH3
 * C≡N–R → CH4, H3C–CH3, H2C=CH2, C3H8, C3H6, RNH2
 * O=C=S → CO + H2S
 * O=C=O → CO + H2O
 * S=C=N– → H2S + HCN
 * O=C=N– → H2O + HCN, CO + NH3

Furthermore, dihydrogen functions as a competitive inhibitor, carbon monoxide functions as a non-competitive inhibitor, and carbon disulfide functions as a rapid-equilibrium inhibitor of nitrogenase.

Vanadium nitrogenases have also been shown to catalyze the conversion of CO into alkanes through a reaction comparable to Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

Organisms that synthesize nitrogenase
There are two types of bacteria that synthesize nitrogenase and are required for nitrogen fixation. These are:

 * Free-living bacteria (non-symbiotic), examples include:
 * Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)
 * Green sulfur bacteria
 * Azotobacter
 * Mutualistic bacteria (symbiotic), examples include:
 * Rhizobium, associated with legumes
 * Azospirillum, associated with grasses
 * Frankia, associated with actinorhizal plants

Similarity to other proteins
The three subunits of nitrogenase exhibit significant sequence similarity to three subunits of the light-independent version of protochlorophyllide reductase that performs the conversion of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyll. This protein is present in gymnosperms, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria but has been lost by angiosperms during evolution.

Separately, two of the nitrogenase subunits (NifD and NifH) have homologues in methanogens that do not fix nitrogen e.g. Methanocaldococcus jannaschii. Little is understood about the function of these "class IV" nif genes, though they occur in many methanogens. In M. jannaschii they are known to interact with each other and are constitutively expressed.

Measurement of nitrogenase activity
As with many assays for enzyme activity, it is possible to estimate nitrogenase activity by measuring the rate of conversion of the substrate (N2) to the product (NH3). Since NH3 is involved in other reactions in the cell, it is often desirable to label the substrate with 15N to provide accounting or "mass balance" of the added substrate. A more common assay, the acetylene reduction assay or ARA, estimates the activity of nitrogenase by taking advantage of the ability of the enzyme to reduce acetylene gas to ethylene gas. These gases are easily quantified using gas chromatography. Though first used in a laboratory setting to measure nitrogenase activity in extracts of Clostridium pasteurianum cells, ARA has been applied to a wide range of test systems, including field studies where other techniques are difficult to deploy. For example, ARA was used successfully to demonstrate that bacteria associated with rice roots undergo seasonal and diurnal rhythms in nitrogenase activity, which were apparently controlled by the plant.

Unfortunately, the conversion of data from nitrogenase assays to actual moles of N2 reduced (particularly in the case of ARA), is not always straightforward and may either underestimate or overestimate the true rate for a variety of reasons. For example, H2 competes with N2 but not acetylene for nitrogenase (leading to overestimates of nitrogenase by ARA). Bottle or chamber-based assays may produce negative impacts on microbial systems as a result of containment or disruption of the microenvironment through handling, leading to underestimation of nitrogenase. Despite these weaknesses, such assays are very useful in assessing relative rates or temporal patterns in nitrogenase activity.

title: Nitrogenase


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Butterface

Butterface was proposed for deletion. This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was DELETE. 15 votes to delete, 2 to keep. Postdlf 06:04, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Butterface
Butterface was speedy deleted as patent nonsense but does not qualify, since it is not unintelligible or lacking in meaning. More than 24 hours after a request for clarification made to the deletor I've received no reply, so here it is after undeletion as an out of process deletion. This listing by me neither supports nor opposes deletion - it's just required by undeletion policy. Jamesday 18:39, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

NB: Content was ''Butterface: A female who has a very good-looking body but an ugly face (comes from "Everything looks good but her face"). Used by males.'' Since then the content has been updated.

 * Neutral at present - it's little but a dictionary definition but I gather at least a couple of people think it has potential. We'll see. Jamesday 18:39, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete - doesn't appear to be notable. -- Graham ☺ | Talk 19:17, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: I'd agree with the speed delete, too, frankly, because this is not nonsense, as the deletor said, but a vandal joke, an obvious one. It's simply someone's sex joke and perpetuation of juvenalia.  Just informing the world of his buddies' slang.   Geogre 19:26, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It's not just his buddies' slang. I heard the word used in 2000. anthony (see warning) 00:03, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Were you not also the one who suggested that some high schools on VfD were famous, but couldn't state what for, or was that siroxo? :) --Improv 21:34, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Aren't you the one who suggested that the most famous cheese steak place in the world was not notable, or was that RickK? BTW, 2/5/2000.  anthony (see warning) 01:48, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * A quick Google check suggests that the word might be a Howard Stern neologism, or is at least used on his show. If nobody expands it, delete it as a dicdef. gK 19:27, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Right now it's deleted (by RickK as patent nonsense), so it can't be expanded. It doesn't seem to be invented by Howard Stern, though it is a word used on his show.  Deleting an article because Howard Stern uses the word is obviously ridiculous. anthony (see warning) 00:03, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Looking into this, the earliest reference I can find is 11/15/1999, attributed to Howard Stern, so maybe he did coin the term. anthony (see warning) 02:09, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * I remember this being a popular thing to say in high school, and I can think of several people to whom it would apply now...but, I don't think this could be anything more than a dictionary definition. The previous content pretty much said it all, so I vote to keep it deleted. Adam Bishop 21:01, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It is expandable, just like geek or nerd or asshole. If we delete this then we should delete them too. anthony (see warning) 00:03, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It is far less known than those terms. --Improv 21:34, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Which just makes it more likely that someone is going to look it up. anthony (see warning) 22:39, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Undelete. Expandable. anthony (see warning) 00:03, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * In all fairness, this made me laugh out loud. I nominated it as a speedy for lack of content and neologistics.  If it's connected to Howard Stern and can be suitably expanded, I'll change my vote to keep.  Right now, it stands as a good-natured delete. - Lucky 6.9 02:21, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * I don't understand your vote. It is connected to Howard Stern, in that he uses the term, and it can be suitably expanded.  So why isn't your vote already keep? anthony (see warning) 02:24, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete slang dicdef. -- Cyrius|✎ 03:21, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete unless expanded. Needs to establish that it's more than just the typical attempted neologism we get here, but that it has some basis for notability. --Michael Snow 20:15, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * What would be necessary to establish "notability"? anthony (see warning) 22:41, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * BJAODN — siro  χ  o  10:11, Oct 21, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not encyclopedic, not notable. --Improv 15:46, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Dictdef, no potential to become encyclopedic.   — Gwalla | Talk 19:41, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * It appears to me that it could become encyclopedic by the usual process — people adding to it and refining each other's work. The Wiki method should be effective on all articles, even those about the term "butterface". Factitious 06:32, Oct 23, 2004 (UTC)
 * delete dictdef Mozzerati 21:40, 2004 Oct 21 (UTC)
 * Delete Search in Google Groups for butterface yields 875 hits, fairly impressive since other things being equal Google Groups typically returns about 1/5 as many hits as (the usual) Google web search. Search in Groups for butterface -stern yields 488 hits, showing that Stern is playing a role in popularizing it but that it has an existence outside his orbit. In borderline cases I am influenced by the quality, thoroughness, and scholarship behind an article as well as the topic. I would probably vote to keep a good article on this topic. But I vote to delete this one. Some bad articles are seeds of good articles, some are not. This one is not. There could be an encyclopedic article on the topic "butterface," but this article itself does not have the potential of becoming encyclopedic. The word should be covered in our articles on slang, Stern, or whatever if it isn't already. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 22:19, 21 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * I think I must be misunderstanding you. Are you saying that there could be a good article on the topic "butterface", but that the article Butterface cannot become a good article on that topic? Factitious 06:32, Oct 23, 2004 (UTC)
 * I think his point is that an article has to be great from the very beginning. We can't wait for it to expand, because that might take too long, and ruin the respect people have for the encyclopedia.  By this rationale we might never have had an encyclopedia in the first place, I mean, just look at the first version of Al Gore, but I think the argument is that we've grown big enough that we don't have to be a wiki any more, and should abandon the principles which made us what we are today.  Maybe we could move this article to the talk page until it's great, though.  This way it doesn't reflect on Wikipedia negatively, and it can still be easily expanded.  Were this page truly about finding consensus, that's something that could be discussed.  anthony (see warning) 14:20, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Yep, I'm saying that the more obscure and unimportant the topic itself is, the better the article ought to be on first appearance. By my rationale, though, a stub on Al Gore should be kept because, since Al Gore is quite notable, there is a large pool of people interested in expanding that stub and it is likely to grow. An article on a relatively obscure topic, such as Claude Chappe, however, should be decent—not great, but something like three decent paragraphs—when submitted. Reread The perfect stub article. Stubs are supposed to get expanded fairly quickly. Stubs in themselves are not valuable. Their value is as a means of producing an article. Not all stubs are equally valuable. This is not a question of logic-chopping. I can write the words "Chapter 1" on a page and it has the potential of becoming a great novel. In a literal sense it "can become" a great novel. But it is not a valuable page. Collaboration and incremental expansion works well on topics that are notable enough to draw on a pool of collaborators. For very obscure topics, the article should start life in a sorta-kinda-half-decent state, because it will be a long time before someone else comes along to improve it. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 02:39, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) P. S. Take a look at the history of Claude Chappe. Fifteen edits in two years, and the article absolutely was improved by the collaborative process—but it started out as a perfectly respectable article when first submitted. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 02:43, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Thank you for that explanation. It makes sense, and I agree that it's not logic-chopping.  But considering that the article has already been expanded since the beginning of this discussion, would you agree that it's now sufficiently "sorta-kinda-half-decent"?  I agree that it's not yet a great article, of course. Factitious 05:50, Oct 24, 2004 (UTC)
 * It has indeed expanded since it was created. My view is that it's borderline, and my mental coin-flip happened to land on the "delete" side. If my mood had been different I might have voted the other way. I feel very strongly that it just does not matter very much whether this article is in Wikipedia or not. I don't see any terribly good reason to change my vote, so I'm leaving it as it is, out of inertia or stubbornness or sales resistance. If it does get worked up into a decent article, than, well, I will have misjudged. That's why I'm glad that I am not the only person who votes in these things. [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 16:25, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Personally I am very hesitant to work on articles which are on VfD. Rather than risk having my work deleted, I prefer to wait until the VFD period is over and then recreate the article in a better form.  That this article can easily be expanded is obvious from the fact that there is much more information right here on the delete discussion than there is in the actual article.  I think a stub article should be given at least a week to grow before being listed on VfD for that reason.  As for stubs getting expanded very quickly, I should note that Al Gore remained in that original state for 9 months.  One year later it looked like this .  Maybe things have changed, and we should abandon the principles that made Wikipedia what it is today, but if we had deleted articles just because they weren't likely to be significantly expanded in even a year's time, we likely wouldn't have a Wikipedia. anthony (see warning) 14:37, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * And yes, in the case of this article, it was deleted within minutes. It wasn't even given a week to grow. anthony (see warning) 14:37, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Ambi 00:24, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Dictdef. Delete, possibly move to Wiktionary. - Mike Rosoft 12:44, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * BJAODN Passw0rd 14:38, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Keep. There's nothing actually wrong with it.  We have plenty of other articles on slang terms, and though this is shorter than I'd like, the correct way to fix that on a Wiki is by expanding the article, not deleting it.  What do we stand to gain by getting rid of the information? Factitious 06:32, Oct 23, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete: joke, dicdef, ephemeral. Wile E. Heresiarch 02:27, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Why do you consider the article to be a joke? I was under the impression that it was factual and serious. Factitious 20:42, Oct 24, 2004 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like other '/delete' pages is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in the Province of Liverpool, known also on occasion as the Northern Province.

History
With the gradual abolition of the legal restrictions on the activities of Catholics in England and Wales in the early 19th century, Rome decided to proceed to bridge the gap of the centuries from Queen Elizabeth I by instituting Catholic dioceses on the regular historical pattern. Thus Pope Pius IX issued the Bull Universalis Ecclesiae of 29 September 1850 by which thirteen new dioceses which did not formally claim any continuity with the pre-Elizabethan English dioceses were created. The Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern District was duly elevated to diocese status as the Diocese of Hexham.

On 23 May 1861 the diocese became the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. In the early period from 1850 the diocese was a suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Westminster, but under Pope Pius X, on 28 October 1911, it was assigned to the newly created Province of Liverpool.

Current situation
The present diocese covers an area of 7,700 km2 of the counties of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and that part of Cleveland which is north of the River Tees. The see is in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, which was consecrated on 21 August 1860.

The Bishop's residence was formerly Bishop's House, East Denton Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. It is now at West Avenue, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Right Reverend Séamus Cunningham, who was appointed the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle by Pope Benedict XVI on 9 January 2009. He had previously served as Vicar General and Diocesan Administrator. He was ordained on 20 March 2009, the Feast of Saint Cuthbert, patron of the diocese. He retired at the age of 76 in February 2019.

The previous bishop is the Right Reverend Robert Byrne. He was installed on 25 March 2019 in St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne. Bishop Byrne submitted his resignation early, at the age of 66, citing that his episcopal ministry had become "too great a burden." His resignation was accepted by the Holy See on 12 December 2022.

Past and present ordinaries
From 1850 to 1861 the title was Bishop of Hexham, and since 1861 it has been Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. By the decree of 29 September 1850 by Pope Pius IX, the Roman Catholic hierarchy was restored in England and Wales. Much of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern District of England became the Diocese of Hexham, and the Vicar Apostolic of the district became the Bishop of Hexham. The Diocese of Hexham comprised Northumberland, County Durham, Cumberland and Westmorland. The patrons of the diocese were Our Blessed Lady Immaculate and St Cuthbert.

On 22 April 1861, the Propaganda congregation decreed that St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne should be the bishop's seat, and the Episcopal see should be renamed the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The decree was approved by Pope Pius IX on 7 March, and was expedited on 23 May 1861.

title: Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle


text:
National Bureau for Students with Disabilities

Skill: National Bureau for Students With Disabilities (Used to be called National Bureau for Handicapped Students) is a UK charity promoting opportunities for people with any kind of disability in post-16 education, training and employment across the UK.

Skill was established in 1974; By Ronald E. Sturt. Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

History
National Bureau for Students with Disabilities (SKILL) was established by Ronald E. Sturt in 1974. A librarian who founded the talking newspaper in Britain. Since 1974, SKILL has been helping people over 16 with disabilities to lead an independent life.