text:
Occurs check

In computer science, the occurs check is a part of algorithms for syntactic unification. It causes unification of a variable V and a structure S to fail if S contains V.

Application in theorem proving
In theorem proving, unification without the occurs check can lead to unsound inference. For example, the Prolog goal $$X = f(X)$$ will succeed, binding X to a cyclic structure which has no counterpart in the Herbrand universe. As another example, without occurs-check, a resolution proof can be found for the non-theorem $$(\forall x \exists y. p(x,y)) \rightarrow (\exists y \forall x. p(x,y))$$: the negation of that formula has the conjunctive normal form $$p(X,f(X)) \land \lnot p(g(Y),Y)$$, with $$f$$ and $$g$$ denoting the Skolem function for the first and second existential quantifier, respectively; the literals $$p(X,f(X))$$ and $$p(g(Y),Y)$$ are unifiable without occurs check, producing the refuting empty clause.

Rational tree unification
Prolog implementations usually omit the occurs check for reasons of efficiency, which can lead to circular data structures and looping. By not performing the occurs check, the worst case complexity of unifying a term $$t_1$$ with term $$t_2$$ is reduced in many cases from $$O(\text{size}(t_1)+\text{size}(t_2))$$ to $$O(\text{min}(\text{size}(t_1),\text{size}(t_2)))$$; in the particular, frequent case of variable-term unifications, runtime shrinks to $$O(1)$$.

Modern implementations, based on Colmerauer's Prolog II, use rational tree unification to avoid looping. However it is difficult to keep the complexity time linear in the presence of cyclic terms. Examples where Colmerauers algorithm becomes quadratic can be readily constructed, but refinement proposals exist.

See image for an example run of the unification algorithm given in Unification (computer science), trying to solve the goal $$cons(x,y) \stackrel{?}{=} cons(1,cons(x,cons(2,y)))$$, however without the occurs check rule (named "check" there); applying rule "eliminate" instead leads to a cyclic graph (i.e. an infinite term) in the last step.

Sound unification
ISO Prolog implementations have the built-in predicate unify_with_occurs_check/2 for sound unification but are free to use unsound or even looping algorithms when unification is invoked otherwise, provided the algorithm works correctly for all cases that are "not subject to occurs-check" (NSTO). The built-in acyclic_term/1 serves to check the finiteness of terms.

Implementations offering sound unification for all unifications are Qu-Prolog and Strawberry Prolog and (optionally, via a runtime flag): XSB, SWI-Prolog, Tau Prolog, Trealla Prolog and Scryer Prolog. A variety of optimizations can render sound unification feasible for common cases.

title: Occurs check


text:
Talk:Hurlstone Agricultural High School

Jordan Kerr
Jordan Kerr was never a principal of Hurlstone Agricultural High School. It was the longest running joke within the school community and remained on the article for years after edits made by staff school prefects. Jordan was considered Principal due to his involvement in almost every aspect of the school. Since leaving Jordan has held a number of public roles and these are referenced in the article.

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Hurlstone Agricultural High School. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20120707044513/http://campbelltown.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/flying-high/1224629.html to http://campbelltown.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/flying-high/1224629.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 00:47, 9 November 2017 (UTC)

Move to Hawkesbury
I believe the final paragraph at Hurlstone_Agricultural_High_School should be deleted. Both links are dead and the wording about the cancelling is confusing as it does not appear to cover the final sentence while the other wording is still futuristic as though it is also still to happen.Fleet Lists (talk) 03:40, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Hurlstone Agricultural High School


text:
Oakwood, London

Oakwood is a suburban area of north London, in the London Borough of Enfield. It is situated within the Southgate postal area (London N14) and was, historically, the southernmost area of Enfield Chase.

Local history

The area derives its name from Oakwood Park, which Southgate Council purchased in 1927 and opened to the public. Oakwood Park was named after Oak Lodge, which stood in the grounds between the late 19th century and First World War.

The arrival in Oakwood of the Piccadilly line extension of the London Underground in 1933 resulted in the construction of the grade II* listed Oakwood tube station and heralded the start of a building boom. Builders George Reed and Laing bought up much of the land for development and estates began to eat up the countryside along Bramley Road and towards Cockfosters.

Prior to development, the only major building in the area was South Lodge - one of the four lodges of Enfield Chase. South Lodge was demolished in 1935; West Lodge Park, East Lodge Nursery, and North Lodge Farm are the locations of the other three lodges. South Lodge Drive and South Lodge Crescent are reminders of South Lodge. Boxer's Lake Open Space is one remnant of the Chase.

title: Oakwood, London


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for bureaucratship/Bcorr

Bcorr
I'd like to apply for bureaucratship. As someone said here once before, I don't generally like to nominate myself for things, but as I've been spending more and more time on administrative and mediation duties — and less time on actual editing — I've decided that I ought to focus more on the administrative side of Wikipedia, and more consciously work on limiting my editing to a few areas of special interest and knowledge as much as possible. For those who don't know me, I've been a sysop since December 2003 and a member of the Mediation Committee since March 2004.

Thanks, BCorr | Брайен 21:19, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Support
 * 1) Strong support.Neutrality 21:20, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) —No-One Jones 21:26, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) Sure. I know no reason not to support this nomination. Isomorphic 21:31, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) Acegikmo1 21:38, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 5) Michael Snow 21:38, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 6) V V 21:40, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) uc 22:01, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) older ≠ wiser 22:06, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 9) Cecropia | Talk 22:12, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) Definitely. And with his spare time from doing the arduous bureaucrat tasks, he can join me watching the grass grow and the snail races. :)
 * 10) Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:23, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) SUPERTY-DUPER STRONG SUPPORT! blankfaze |  (беседа!)  22:30, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) Dysprosia 22:31, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 13) Of course. David Gerard 22:34, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 14) [[User:Dpbsmith|Dpbsmith (talk)]] 22:56, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 15) I don't know you that well, but if you're a sysop and haven't done any major havoc, then I see no reason to not let you be a bureaucrat. —  Ilγαηερ   (Tαlκ)  23:20, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 16) pir 23:40, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 17) Chris 73 | Talk 00:16, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 18) Guanaco 00:22, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 19) Serious contributor, calm community voice. Yes, Brian, you'd make a great bureaucrat. JFW | T@lk  00:34, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 20) Strongly support. Very commited user with impressive record. Arminius 03:08, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 21) Support, with enthusiasm. Fuzheado | Talk 03:40, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 22) Cribcage 04:05, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 23) JCarriker 05:12, Aug 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 24) GeneralPatton 15:29, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 25) Tεx  τ  urε  18:21, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 26) Hell yes. - UtherSRG 18:25, 17 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 27) From everything I've seen, he really does live up to his user page -- and that says a lot.  Definite support.  SWAdair | Talk  03:59, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 28) He was always adequate to the situations I've seen. Dr Bug (Volodymyr V. Medeiko) 09:50, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 29) Catbar (Brian Rock) 10:18, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 30) Merovingian  ✍  Talk  15:26, Aug 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 31) David Cannon 21:48, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC) Support, of course!
 * 32) Andries 21:52, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC) (>2500 edits since Jan 2004) Support
 * 33) Don't think you'd mess anything up if you had it :) - Fennec (はさばくのきつね) 11:51, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 34) Warofdreams 17:46, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 35) [[User:Avala|Avala| ★ ]] 22:04, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 36) Oppose, *insert stupid reason here*. Wait... I already tried this tactic. Darnit... I suppose I will "grudgingly" support (yeah right, Go Bcorr!). ugen64 00:41, Aug 21, 2004 (UTC)
 * 37) Andre 14:10, 21 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 38) Danny 15:56, 21 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 39) Comarde Nick @)--^-- 19:59, 21 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * 40) Support. Elf-friend 15:30, 22 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Oppose

Neutral

Comments

Hm, I'm a bit surprised - according to the List of Wikipedians by number of edits, there are just 1472 edits by BCorr. Is it a right number? Dr Bug (Volodymyr V. Medeiko) 21:39, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * According to the list, Brian has 3711 edits in all namespaces of which 1472 are in the main (or 'article') namespace. A count from today shows edits 3778 total edits. Natryn 21:51, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * If he was here vefore the crash he should have more. I know I lost half of my edits because the stupid server crash won't count my first 600 contribs (even if they show up in my user contributions page). YAY! They fixed it! :D [[User:Ilyanep|Ilyanep Old sig...back wen I used templates...now gone ]] 15:52, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC)


text:
Oaklisp

Oaklisp is a message based portable object-oriented Scheme developed by Kevin J. Lang and Barak A. Pearlmutter while Computer Science PhD students at Carnegie Mellon University. Oaklisp uses a superset of Scheme syntax. It is based on generic operations rather than functions, and features anonymous classes, multiple inheritance, a strong error system, setters and locators for operations, and a facility for dynamic binding.

Version 1.2 includes an interface, bytecode compiler, run-time system and documentation.

title: Oaklisp


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for bureaucratship/Danny

Danny
I've been a sysop for a long time and time quite a few other things. I would like to help out whenever and wherever I can, and this seems like a good opportunity. I generally support sysophood for people, since I believe that having more sysops demystifies the idea of having sysops at all.

Support
 * 1) Originally I boycotted voting on this new status because I was opposed to an additional level of hierarchy within Wikipedia, but since it is now established I might as give my support to the people I respect. -- Viajero 08:31, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) Secretlondon 08:43, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) David Gerard 09:41, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) Fredrik | talk 09:55, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 5) Johnleemk | Talk 09:58, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 6) --Woggly 12:19, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) Mais oui, d'accord! BCorr | Брайен 12:43, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) Tεx  τ  urε  14:37, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 9) Of course. —No-One Jones 18:08, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 10) 172 18:59, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) blankfaze | •ï¿½• 19:09, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) Lst27 20:30, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 13) "I generally support sysophood for people, since I believe that having more sysops demystifies the idea of having sysops at all." I very strongly agree with this statement. --"D ICK " C HENEY  20:36, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 14) john k 22:37, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 15) Merovingian  ✍ Talk 23:10, Jun 21, 2004 (UTC)
 * 16) Cecropia | Talk 00:22, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC) Support, based on Danny's clarification.
 * 17) Angela. 00:33, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 18) older ≠ wiser 00:42, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 19) Warofdreams 13:24, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 20) Jwrosenzweig 15:49, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 21) Michael Snow 00:11, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 22) Kingturtle 01:55, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 23) Guanaco 01:56, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 24) James F. (talk) 03:37, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 25) KIZU 10:11, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Oppose
 * 1) Impolite. Sam [Spade] 18:11, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) VV 09:58, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC)  More than impolite, downright abusive.

Comments
 * Danny, I know you're a very long-time and active member of the community, and I agree with your general sentiment on more sysops are better than fewer. As a bureaucrat, would you tend to use guidelines more or less the way I outlined below, or what would be your policy? Thanks! -- Cecropia | Talk 14:28, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * Cecropia, I would use the guidelines to a great degree as you outlined below. If someone had 80 percent of the vote, I would not hesitate to make that person a sysop. If, however, we were in a grey area (say 70-80 percent), I would discuss it with other bureaucrats first and hope that we could make a joint decision. In fact, that is one of the reasons that I would want to see more bureaucrats--to expand the discussion. At the same time, I am convinced that the role of the bureaucrat (and sysop) is nothing more than that of a servant of the community, committed to acting solely on its behalf. Danny 23:46, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for bureaucratship/Jwrosenzweig

Jwrosenzweig
I hate to nominate myself for things -- it always makes me worried I'm acting out of pride. But I've realized this is the sort of thing that one has to volunteer for, and risk negative commentary. I just looked over the list of bureaucrats and realized that it is generally a group of names I don't see anywhere much anymore -- therefore, in spite of the fact that we obviously have some very fine names below, I thought I might be a welcome addition. I may not seem all that active at times, but I check this page every weekday at the least, and I have several times noticed someone needed promoting and wished I could do something about it. If there are obvious reasons I would be a bad choice for this that I'm unaware of, I'd appreciate it if someone would leave me a discreet note on my talk page so that I can pull this down quietly. :-) I don't have much stomach for a fight these days, and likely won't until my arbitration ends.  Oppose votes, though, are of course welcome, especially if there's something about my actions as an admin that needs correcting.  Thanks for your consideration, and for reading this too-long explanation.

Support
 * 1) "D ICK " C HENEY  19:48, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) RickK 19:50, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) —No-One Jones 19:57, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) I would be hard-pressed to name a user better-suited to the job.
 * 4) Cecropia | Talk 20:33, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) Agree with Mirv.
 * 5) Finlay McWalter |  Talk 20:37, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 6) Angela. 21:27, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) older ≠ wiser 21:56, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) David Gerard 22:06, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 9) moink 23:21, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 10) BCorr | Брайен 00:04, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) Mirv did say it best. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 00:12, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) jengod 01:29, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 13) James F. (talk) 01:36, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 14) Cribcage 03:32, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 15) James is an extremely trustworthy and reliable contributor. →Raul654 03:57, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 16) Zw 09:02, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 17) theresa knott 09:24, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 18) 172 09:40, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 19) Acegikmo1 11:23, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 20) john k 17:51, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 21) Merovingian ↕ T@Lk 17:55, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 22) Warofdreams 18:09, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 23) The explanation is long enough to show he will be a good bureaucrat. :) Pfortuny 20:15, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 24) Neutrality 21:13, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 25) Of course. Isomorphic 00:34, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 26) Danny 01:42, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 27) I trust James. Muriel G 17:17, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 28) Lst27 03:43, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 29) Viajero 19:49, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 30) Has shown good leadership skills. It's a pleasure to receive his advice. --Uncle Ed 22:09, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 31) Tεx  τ  urε  23:40, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 32) Secretlondon 01:25, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 33) pir 08:01, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 34) --Woggly 12:27, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 35) Sam [Spade] 18:11, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 36) Decumanus 17:18, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 37) Michael Snow 00:11, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC) (Echo Mirv's comment above)
 * 38) I know Jwrosenzweig to be competent. Kingturtle 01:54, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC) P.S. and that is fully and only a compliment :)


text:
European Molecular Biology Laboratory

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 29 member states, two prospect member states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in 1974 and is funded by public research money from its member states. Research at EMBL is conducted by more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology.

The Laboratory operates from six sites: the main laboratory in Heidelberg (Germany), and sites in Barcelona (Spain), Grenoble (France), Hamburg (Germany), Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), in England), and Rome (Italy). EMBL groups and laboratories perform basic research in molecular biology and molecular medicine as well as train scientists, students, and visitors. The organization aids in the development of services, new instruments and methods, and technology in its member states. Israel is the only full member state located outside Europe.

History
EMBL was the idea of Leó Szilárd, James Watson and John Kendrew. Their goal was to create an international research centre, similar to CERN, to rival the strongly American-dominated field of molecular biology. Kendrew served as the first Director general of EMBL until 1982 and was succeeded by Lennart Philipson. From 1993 to 2005, Fotis Kafatos, served as director and was succeeded by Iain Mattaj, EMBL's fourth director, from 2005 to 2018. In January 2019, Edith Heard became the fifth director of EMBL and the first woman to hold this position.

Heard announced the organisation's five-year scientific programme Molecules to Ecosystems on 19 January 2022.

Research

Each EMBL site has a specific research field. The EMBL-EBI is a hub for bioinformatics research and services, developing and maintaining a large number of scientific databases that are free of charge. At Grenoble and Hamburg, research is focused on structural biology.

The EMBL Rome site is dedicated to the study of epigenetics and neurobiology. Scientists at EMBL Barcelona are exploring how tissues and organs function and develop, in health and disease. At the headquarters in Heidelberg, there are units in cell biology and biophysics, developmental biology, genome biology, and structural and computational biology, as well as service groups complementing the aforementioned research fields.

Many scientific breakthroughs have been made at EMBL. The first systematic genetic analysis of embryonic development in the fruit fly was conducted at EMBL by Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995. In the early 1980s, Jacques Dubochet and his team at EMBL developed cryogenic electron microscopy for biological structures. They were rewarded with the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Scientific Services
EMBL has identified as a core mission the provision of advanced experimental and data services to external researchers, including structural biology, imaging and sequencing facilities at its five European sites. In 2021, EMBL completed a new centre for high-resolution light and electron microscopy at its Heidelberg Headquarters – the EMBL Imaging Centre. The centre is open to visiting scientists worldwide and provides a unique service facility for the life sciences by combining the latest imaging technologies with expert advice and industry-led developments not yet otherwise available.

Training

Advanced training is one of EMBL's five core missions. Over the years, the Laboratory has established a number of training activities, of which the EMBL International PhD Programme (EIPP) is the flagship – it has a student body of about 200, and since 1997 has had the right to award its own degree, although currently students receive their degrees from partner universities. Other activities include the postdoctoral programme, including the EMBL Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral programme (EIPOD) and the Visitor Programme.

EMBL Advanced Training Centre
In March 2010, the EMBL Advanced Training Centre (ATC) was inaugurated on the main campus in Heidelberg. Shaped in the form of a double helix, it hosts scientific conferences, seminars and training courses, and provides access to training laboratories and lecture halls.

The ATC also hosts EMBL's European Learning Lab for the Life Sciences (ELLS) which provides training for secondary school teachers on the latest developments in molecular biology, and runs a student outreach program.

Science and society
EMBL also runs an active Science and Society Programme which offers activities and events on current questions in life science research for the general public and the scientific community.

Membership
EMBL is currently supported by 29 member states, one associate member state, and two prospect member states.

title: European Molecular Biology Laboratory


text:
First Great Western Link

First Great Western Link (FGWL) was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Thames franchise from April 2004 until March 2006.

History
In April 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority invited FirstGroup and Go-Ahead to bid for a two-year extension to the Thames franchise that would coincide with the end date of the First Great Western franchise, after which both would become part of the Greater Western franchise. In November 2003 the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the new franchise to First with the services operated by Thames Trains transferring to FGWL on 1 April 2004.

On 12 June 2005 Heathrow Connect was introduced as a joint venture between FGWL and BAA. BAA supplied the Class 360 rolling stock and on-board staff. FGWL received the revenue for journeys between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington, and BAA the revenue for journeys between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Airport.

Services
FGWL ran services along the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington to Didcot with services continuing to north to Oxford, Bicester Town, Hereford and Stratford-upon-Avon. It also operated services on the Greenford, Windsor & Eton Central, Marlow, Henley and Bedwyn lines and on the Reading to Basingstoke and North Downs lines.

The Stratford-upon-Avon service was transferred to Chiltern Railways in December 2004 with FGWL ceasing to operate beyond Banbury.

 * Great Western Main Line (Local services between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway).
 * Cherwell Valley Line (Didcot Parkway - Oxford)
 * Cotswold Line (Oxford - Hereford)
 * North Downs Line (Reading - Redhill)
 * Reading to Plymouth Line (Reading - Bedwyn)
 * Reading to Basingstoke Line (Reading - Basingstoke)
 * Slough to Windsor & Eton Line (Slough - Windsor and Eton Central)
 * Oxford to Bicester Line (Oxford - Bicester Town)
 * Marlow Branch Line (Maidenhead - Marlow)
 * Henley Branch Line (Twyford railway station - Henley-on-Thames)
 * Greenford Branch Line (London Paddington - Greenford)

Rolling stock
FGWL inherited a fleet of Class 165s and 166s from Thames Trains. A franchise commitment was to use five Class 180 Adelantes from sister company First Great Western on Cotswold Line services from December 2004, releasing five Class 165s for transfer to Chiltern Railways. Because of the short nature of the franchise and the fact that the Class 165s and 166s had only recently been repainted, the Thames Trains livery of white, blue and green was retained with FGWL branding applied.

Depot
FGWL's fleet was maintained at Reading TMD.

Demise
On 6 November 2002 as part of a franchise reorganisation by the Strategic Rail Authority, it was announced that the Great Western, Thames Trains and Wessex Trains franchises would be combined to form the Greater Western franchise. This was part of a Strategic Rail Authority strategy to reduce the number of train operating companies providing services from a single London terminal. This was expected to improve efficiency and reliability.

In December 2005 the Department for Transport awarded the new Greater Western franchise to First with the services operated by FGWL transferring to First Great Western on 1 April 2006.

title: First Great Western Link


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for bureaucratship/Warofdreams

Warofdreams
Given that there appears to be a shortage of bureaucrats, as I'm a sysop with this page on my watchlist, and I check it most days, I'd be happy to help out.

Support
 * 1) Cecropia | Talk 14:23, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) "Many [responsible] hands make light work."
 * 2) David Gerard 14:36, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) theresa knott 14:44, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) I don't know WoD well, but anyone with David G and Theresa K's trust has mine. :-) Jwrosenzweig 18:11, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 5) James F. (talk) 01:37, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 6) Merovingian ↕ T@Lk 17:57, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) Neutrality 21:14, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) Danny 01:46, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 9) Lst27 03:43, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 10) The Undertones 22:04, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) Secretlondon 01:24, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) pir 08:06, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 13) Woggly 22:17, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 14) Acegikmo1 23:41, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC).  My vote is based on this user's response to the questions below.
 * 15) Morwen - Talk 18:46, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Oppose
 * 1) Very respectfully oppose. Warofdreams is an excellent contributor, but I very strongly disagree with the statement What I would object to is simply deciding to ignore votes against because a voter is controversial and perhaps often votes against popular candidates. Such a policy in practice would empower troublesome users such as Wik or Entmoots of Trolls. I would readily support Warofdreams if they have a change of heart. --"D ICK " C HENEY  20:49, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) I too respectfully oppose. I beleive Hcheney's assessment is correct. →Raul654 21:50, Jun 21, 2004 (UTC)

Neutral
 * (was oppose) Warofdreams did not answer my questions. --"D ICK " C HENEY 15:42, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * You only asked them yesterday you haven't given him very long to think of an answer. theresa knott 18:02, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * They are good questions which got me thinking. I've now answered them at User talk:Hcheney.  Don't hesitate if you have any more questions; I can't promise you how quickly I'll answer but I'll do it as soon as I can. Warofdreams 18:14, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Discussion (from User talk:Hcheney)

Do you support adminship being widespread and generally "no big deal" or do you feel adminship should be more exclusive?
 * I think that adminship is often seen as a vote of trust by the community in a user. In many cases, it encourages the newly promoted admin to do more maintainance work, particularly as they are able to delete pages (whether speedily or from vfd). This should be encouraged and spread around. I don't want to see an exclusive group of admins built up which new users feel intimidated by, and I don't think that the fairly rapid increase in the number of admins over the past year has caused problems - on the contrary, it has kept Wikipedia well maintained. Warofdreams 18:02, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

As a bureaucrat would you give controversial user's and troll's votes equal weight to the votes of respected contributors?
 * I think a bureaucrat's role is to be as impartial as possible, and therefore I would treat every vote equally when deciding whether there was a consensus. Elections don't work on the principle of weighting respected citizen's votes more highly than those of dubious character, and neither should this page. Besides, almost every user on the requests for adminship page attracts enough votes that one or two users I might consider controversial or a troll cannot change a clear consensus into a split vote, or vice versa. Warofdreams 18:02, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I am very concerned about your idealistic, though very noble and principaled, view of voting.

 * Elections don't work on the principle of weighting respected citizen's votes more highly than those of dubious character, and neither should this page.

In the US state of Florida, which is the home of the Wikimedia Foundation and myself, the priviledge of voting is in fact denied to dubious characters (or at least dubious characters that happen to be convicted felons, even after release from prison). As I have said below in Cecropia's comment section, the most well qualified candidates seem to attract trolls and controversial users to their request for adminship like meat attracts flies. Unfortunately, Wikipedia has more than one or two problem users, and given the relatively low turnout for RfA elections and the mandate for 75-80% support, they could easily influence elections. Would you support allowing other bureaucrats weighing the votes of trolls and controversial users differently than that of regular users? Would you object to the arbitration committee or other approved body disenfranchising users? Would you allow political ideology to come into play in your duties as a bureaucrat? --"D ICK " C HENEY 18:46, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * I think that disenfranchising voters by an agreed procedure is an entirely different matter to asking a bureaucrat to decide how heavily to weight votes. If users try to disrupt the voting procedure, then in my opinion they should risk disenfranchisement.  I also agree that there is a "grey area" for requests which achieve slightly less than 80% support, and do not object to bureaucrats following agreed policy and using their judgement in promoting users in these cases.  What I would object to is simply deciding to ignore votes against because a voter is controversial and perhaps often votes against popular candidates.  I don't believe that is likely to happen.  I'm not sure what you mean by your last question; I would certainly not be any more or less likely to promote users on the basis of their political ideology.

I'm also quite concerned about this user's responses, as established Wikipedia policy (regarding a Beauracrat's job) says the exactly the opposite. →Raul654 18:53, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)


text:
Jan Mikulicz-Radecki

Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (Johann Freiherr von Mikulicz-Radecki) was a German-Polish-Austrian surgeon who worked mainly in the German Empire. He was born on 16 May 1850 in Czerniowce in the Austrian Empire (present-day Chernivtsi in Ukraine) and died on 4 June 1905 in Breslau, German Empire. He was professor in Kraków, Breslau, and Königsberg. He was the inventor of new operating techniques and tools, and is one of the pioneers of antiseptics and aseptic techniques. In Poland he is regarded as one of the founders of the Kraków school of surgery.

Life
His parental ancestors of the Mikulicz family were of Polish szlachta origin and had been granted the Gozdawa coat of arms by King John III Sobieski after the 1683 Battle of Vienna. His mother Emilie Freiin von Damnitz was of Austrian descent. Mikulicz-Radecki spoke his native German and also Polish, Russian and English fluently. When asked his nationality he simply answered "surgeon". After finishing studies at the University of Vienna under Theodor Billroth, he was a director of surgery at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the University of Königsberg (Kaliningrad) and from 1890 at the University of Breslau.

Mikulicz-Radecki's innovations in operative technique for a wide variety of diseases helped develop modern surgery. He contributed prodigiously to cancer surgery, especially on organs of the digestive system. He was first to suture a perforated gastric ulcer (1885), surgically restore part of the oesophagus (1886), remove a malignant part of the colon (1903), and describe what is now known as Mikulicz’ disease.

In 1881, he developed improved models of the esophagoscope and gastroscope. As an ardent advocate of antiseptics, he did much to popularize Joseph Lister's antiseptic methods. He created a surgical mask and was the first to use medical gloves during surgery.

Mikulicz-Radecki was a talented amateur pianist and a friend of Johannes Brahms.

He received an honorary doctorate (LL.D) from the University of Glasgow in June 1901.

The German ornithologist Maria Koepcke (born Maria Emilie Anna von Mikulicz-Radecki) and her daughter the German mammalogist Juliane Koepcke, are his descendants.

Associated eponyms

 * Heineke–Mikulicz pyloroplasty: reconstruction of the pyloric channel with a longitudinal incision of the pylorus, and suturing the incision transversely. Named along with German surgeon Walter Hermann von Heineke (1834–1901). (Dorlands Medical Dictionary)
 * Heineke–Mikulicz strictureplasty: one of two procedures commonly employed to relieve fibrotic strictures of the small bowel, the other being Finney strictureplasty.
 * Mikulicz's cells: Vesicular cells found in the diseased tissue in cases of rhinoscleroma and containing Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis.
 * Mikulicz's disease: Benign lymphocytic infiltration and enlargement of the lacrimal and salivary glands. It has often been referred to as benign lymphoepithelial lesion, but is now regarded as a manifestation of IgG4-related disease.
 * Mikulicz's drain: Process of pushing successive layers of gauze into a wound or cavity.
 * Mikulicz's enterotome (historical term): A special scissors developed by Guillaume Dupuytren. An enterotome is used in abdominal surgery.
 * Mikulicz's mask (historical term): Gauze-covered frame worn over nose and mouth during an operation.
 * Mikulicz's aphtae : Another name for minor aphtae
 * Mikulicz's pad (historical term): A gauze-pad used in abdominal surgery
 * Mikulicz's syndrome: Symptoms characteristic of Mikulicz's disease when occurring as a complication of another disease, such as leukemia or sarcoidosis.
 * Mikulicz–Vladimiroff operation; also Mikulicz–Vladimiroff amputation (historical term): resection of the foot in diseases of the talus and calcaneus.

title: Jan Mikulicz-Radecki


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for bureaucratship/Cecropia

Cecropia
I hadn't any intention of putting myself up for bureaucrat, since a bureaucrat doesn't do very much and I thought that the current people in that position were just fine. But I've noticed that some obviously successful nominations have gone days without being sysoped, and I had no idea why. Now I see—the work has been falling on just a few people. I do the dog work on Wikipedia (VfD, vandals) when I can, and would be happy to help here, too.
 * User "Dick Cheney" asked me a question on my user page, which I thought was a good one, about using the Bureaucrat power of promotion. With his permission, I'm repeating it below under "Discussion" with my response. -- Cecropia | Talk 15:52, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Support
 * 1) Always a polite and responsible sysop. JCarriker 06:54, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) A good choice to help out. Warofdreams 11:47, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) Calm, fair, and a good worker. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 15:59, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) Perfect temperament, excellent dedication. Jwrosenzweig 18:11, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 5) —No-One Jones 19:57, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 6) older ≠ wiser 21:57, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) David Gerard 22:06, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) James F. (talk) 01:38, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 9) 172 14:50, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 10) --"D ICK " C HENEY  16:23, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) john k 17:52, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) Merovingian ↕ T@Lk 17:58, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 13) Neutrality 21:21, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 14) Wile E. Heresiarch 09:52, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 15) Lst27 03:43, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 16) VV 18:27, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 17) Hey, isn't this the guy who only got 78% of the votes for sysop? ;-) Heck, YEAH, I support! --Uncle Ed 22:11, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 18) Definitely. BCorr | Брайен 22:34, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 19) pir 08:12, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 20) Tεx  τ  urε  14:45, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 21) Woggly 20:02, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 22) Davodd 04:17, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)
 * 23) Decumanus 17:18, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 24) Michael Snow 00:11, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 25) I have confidence with Cecropia in this regard. Kingturtle 01:53, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Oppose
 * 1) Zw 09:03, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) Kevin Baas 18:34, 2004 Jun 18 (UTC)

Neutral

Discussion [from Cecropia's talk page]: Hello. I noticed your request for bureaucratship and I had a couple of quick questions I've been asking all of the recent candidates. Do you support adminship being widespread and generally "no big deal" or do you feel adminship should be more exclusive? As a bureaucrat would you give controversial user's and troll's votes equal weight to the votes of respected contributors? Best regards --"DICK" CHENEY 15:05, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * I'm happy to answer these questions, if only because it might help others solidify their own ideas in these areas, whether they agree with me or not, or want me for Bureaucrat or not. I agree with the general policy that adminship should be granted to a diligent contributor who appears to enjoy the general confidence of the community—that is, there is no reason to believe that person would use the "power" for mischief, and thereby promote arguments about "de-sysoping," which pretty much never happens. I don't think that the overall number of admins should be some "exclusive club," but I would like to see admin candidates express a positive interest in doing housekeeping: vandalism," VfD, and appropriately helping newcomers (or warning potential miscreants) understand the Culture and Rules of Wikipedia—in short, increase the numbers of "active," as opposing to "nominal" admins.

 * As a bureaucrat I would go a single step beyond the concept that a BC should ideally be a button pusher who simply carries out the will of the community, because their are certain instances where some kind of judgment must be made. So, I would not sysop someone who had less than 75% of the votes, hoping they could address the arguments against them and return later. If the user had 80% or more, I would almost always (will explain anon) make them sysops.

 * Only in the dicey area between 75% and 80%, if I saw that the nomination was "hanging" (at least 24 hours) for lack of a decision I would look at: the overall number of votes (3 out of 4 is much different than 30 out of 40); and read the support and objections; my life experience opinion is that a manager (bureaucrat) has to be able to make a decision and be able to defend it. I wouldn't reject "controversial" user's votes, because (a) they are still votes and (b) controversial is arguable. I would have to see what was meant by a "vandal." "troll." A true troll (and most vandals) are short-term users whose vote wouldn't count due to already-existing rules, and of course I wouldn't count them either. As I just said, in the 75-80% area, I would have to read the specific comments, and if necessary, research these comments. Of course, closeness to 80% obviously also counts. However, as a final important point (again in the 75-80% area), if I felt that I could not be neutral because the nominee was viewed as a friend or opponent of mine, I would leave the decision to another BC, and would likely confer my opinion, if any, to them. -- Cecropia | Talk 15:52, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * In reality, not all users are equal and not all trolls are short-term users. Pardon my candor and use of a real example, but Wik was, at the very least, a controversial user. Should the pre-ban Wik's vote of Oppose be able to cancel out 4 respected users that vote Support? Various EntmootsOfTrolls reincarnations have been voting here after making contributions elsewhere, and like Wik, they usually oppose the most well qualified candidates. I firmly believe that the votes of controversial users and trolls should be given approximately half the weight (or less) of regular users. Maybe the arbitration committee should disenfranchise troublesome users? --"D ICK " C HENEY 15:38, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * I agree with your sentiment. I have complained about exactly that point (one POV user cancels four votes). However, I would feel bound to honor policy which appears to give Bureaucrats minimal discretion in "pushing the button." IOW, I don't see where a Bureaucrat is empowered to use broad discretion in determining consensus. I've outlined my approach above--long debates appear to show that the "gray" area is between 75% and 80%. I would certainly take the time to examine the issues, personalities and arguments put forth to come to a fair conclusion in those circumstances, because I don't feel it is right to leave a candidate "hanging" after eight full days have passed. I would be happy to join you and anyone else in a debate aimed at setting guidelines that would focus criteria for Bureaucrats to make informed decisions in determining consensus beyond simple numbers. -- Cecropia | Talk 16:16, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)


text: Category:Polish surgeons

title: Category:Polish surgeons


text:
Käsespätzle

Käsespätzle (German for "spätzle with cheese", also called Käsknöpfle in Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein or Kasspatzln in Tyrol) is a traditional dish of the German regions of Swabia, Baden and Allgäu, and also in the Austrian regions Vorarlberg and Tyrol, as well as Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Preparation
Hot spätzle and grated cheese such as Emmentaler or granular cheese are layered alternately and finally topped with fried onions. After adding each layer, the käsespätzle is baked until all the cheese is melted.

Accompanying side dishes are green salads or potato salad. In some parts of Vorarlberg and also Liechtenstein käsespätzle is usually served with apple sauce. Leftovers of käsespätzle can be pan-fried with butter.

Regional specialities
In Tyrol, käsespätzle are prepared with Bergkäse or Emmental cheese, optionally with both. In Vorarlberg two different cheese varieties are dominating, so in Montafon the cooks use Montafon sour cheese and in Bregenz Forest they use Bergkäse and Räßkäse, a local hard cheese.

Side dishes in Vorarlberg are butter and yellowly tarnished onion rings.

Different variations are found with Limburger, Weisslacker or Vorarlberger Bergkäse.

Variations
A variation of käsespätzle is Kasnocken or Kasnockn from Salzburg and Obersteiermark, both parts of Austria and are pan-fried instead. Grated cheese and spätzle, freshly scraped from a board, are mixed together and are heated in a pan.

title: Käsespätzle


text:
Times of Lore

Times of Lore is a 1988 action role-playing game that was developed and published by Origin Systems for several platforms, including PC, Commodore 64/128, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Apple II, NES, and Amiga.

Plot
The game's story tells of the kingdom of Albareth whose monarch High King Valwyn has disappeared and the dukes and barons are wrestling for power. Barbarians are threatening to invade, while monsters are pillaging the land. The player must assume the role of one of three heroes, choosing between a barbarian, a knight, and a valkyrie; and unravel the conspiracy and find three magic items.

Gameplay
The game takes place in a very complex world, featuring 13,000 screens of map according to the promotional material. There is no loading during the game, which was an impressive technical accomplishment for such a massive environment.

The Commodore 64 version features high-res overlays for the sprites, a technique that employs two sprites on top of each other one being a low resolution multi-colour sprite the other a high resolution monochrome sprite. Animated water is also used and the game world slowly changes colour between night and day.

It is possible to get to unwinnable situations which require restarting the game, such as killing important characters who would otherwise have given certain quests or objects. Killing random peasants is not as dangerous, as staying the night at the inn will make them forget your trespasses.

There are many objects to be found in the game, including a teleportation scroll, a returning axe à la Mjolnir, and healing potions. There is the hidden city of Treela, in the middle of the map, behind a forest. Serfs will speak of a dragon in the north, which can be found sleeping in his cave on the eastern edge of the northern mountains. Catacombs also exists but if entered, the ghouls inside are unleashed upon the world, making the game much more difficult. In the Apple II version, the dragon is replaced with a giant lurking in the northwest portion of the map.

Development
Times of Lore, developed by Chris Roberts, was originally titled Ultra Realm. According to Roberts, it was inspired by console action-adventures, particularly The Legend of Zelda. Roberts stated that "interfaces and design are being affected" by the video game console market and that what "the Japanese market originally demanded were certain constraints which did not affect the depth and quality of a game."

Reception
Scorpia of Computer Gaming World recommended Times of Lore as an introductory computer RPG, noting both dialogue and actions were menu-driven, simplifying the game. Compute! agreed with the recommendation, noting that the game's scale was smaller than the Ultima games' and praising its graphics and sound. The magazine named the game to its list of "nine great games for 1989" as "an excellent introductory-level fantasy role-playing game".

Reviews

 * Jeux & Stratégie #56

Legacy
Times of Lore went on to inspire several later titles by Origin Systems. This includes the 1990 title Bad Blood, another action RPG based on the same engine. It also inspired the 1990 title Ultima VI: The False Prophet, which adopted several elements from Times of Lore, including real-time elements, a constant-scale open world (replacing the unscaled overworld of earlier Ultima games), and an icon-based point & click interface. Richard Garriott, in addition to citing it as an influence on Ultima VI, said that Ultima VII: The Black Gate was also inspired by Times of Lore. Some have considered the game as a precursor to Diablo and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

title: Times of Lore


text:
Talk:Alum

First posts

 * (Added header to first posts. They may need further headers yet.)--Canoe1967 (talk) 05:34, 11 July 2012 (UTC)

What about alum in popular culture? I think the way that most people hear about it is watching old Looney Tunes cartoons. The alum always puckered their mouths to an insane degree. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.36.244.253 (talk) 22:33, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

A new deodorant product seems to be based on alum, is this noteworthy enough for the article? --Bobbagum 01:20, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

A scatalogical snippet of information on alum; not sure where this belongs:

The history of alum production in Britain is quite interesting. Alum was vital to the economically important wool and textiles trade. Britain used to import alum from mines on the continent, but this supply could be cut off by political disputes (e.g. as a result of Henry VIII's dispute with the Catholic church).

A process for producing alum was discovered in the 17th century, involving processing certain shales with ammonia. However it was not until the 19th century that ammonia could be manufactured. Until then - for a couple of hundred years - the ammonia was distilled from human urine. Demand for alum grew, especially with the start of the industrial revolution. This resulted in a healthy(?) trade in urine, which quite out-stripped supplies local to the manufacturing plants. Urine collectors (they probably preferred to be known as 'Alum Production Agents') bought the stuff from households across England, and it was shipped by piss-barges to the manufacturing plants.

I shit you not. c.f. for more details.

 * I went along and added some stuff from that article in fel64 23:33, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

-Dan Winterstein

Another interesting fact that probably doesn't belong on the main page. Alum is also used in the manufacture of fake eggs in China. It is added with a variety of other ingredients such as gelatin, benzoic acid, and coagulating materials to form an 'egg white'. A fake 'yolk' is also made and the whole thing put in a parafin wax 'shell'. They turn out to be about half the price of real eggs.

I also am not shitting you. http://dontsay.blogspot.com/

-Captain Awesome

 * Weird-oh! I found pictures: --Arteitle 08:31, Dec 20, 2004 (UTC)

 * but this may be alarming and may be a fact that needs to be added to the actual article.
 * "Not only do they not contain any nutrients, a Hong Kong Chinese University professor warned that long-term consumption of alum could cause dementia."
 * 24.123.198.38 23:49, 14 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Update: pics came back, but I found extensive information: http://www.ispub.com/ostia/index.php?xmlFilePath=journals/ijto/vol2n1/eggs.xml#documentHeading-TheHuman-MadeEggs
 * 24.123.198.38 15:16, 15 February 2006 (UTC)
 * http://www.hoax-slayer.com/fake-eggs-china.shtml evaluates this as a hoax --Stevemiller (talk) 05:11, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Needs to be cleaned up?
I believe this article needs to be cleaned up, as there are no categories.

Seconded. This article needs headings so that one can find the relevant information quickly without reading the whole thing.

 * Added some headers - modify as needed. Still needs a rewrite of the archaic 1911 stuff. Vsmith 15:36, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

What was the use for Alum in the 1930s/1940s? My only experience with Alum is from the PorkyPig cartoons when Elmer Fudd put alum in milk. Sylvester drank it and his head shrunk.

Of course, it's funny in its own right to see Sylvester's head shrink, but I can't explain any part of alum's usage that would make that funny to somebody. Clearly the joke is dated.

--It would be because alum causes dimentia 128.118.40.79 14:47, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Actually, it's probably because alum is used to make shrunken heads. It's used in leather making and makes it shrink. Shrunken heads were topical due to a probably fake story about an explorer who was following African tribesmen. But something an everyday person in the 40's would know is that when you add alum to pickle brine, the pickles shrink. --King Starscream (talk) 17:30, 13 November 2019 (UTC)

Could somebody in the know put in a few words about why alum was a common household item in the early 20th century?

--Pietbarber 17:16, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

While I admire the exhaustive listing of alkali metals that could conceivably form alum-type compounds, I had thought that francium was far too short-lived (minutes), intensely radioactive, and difficult to produce (it's not found in nature) to actually be of much significance in chemistry. I doubt that any francium alums have ever existed.

-- a chemist

you need to calm down 205.161.196.23 (talk)a reader —Preceding comment was added at 17:56, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

another thing- the part about indians. Does this refer to Native Americans or people from India? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.225.215.158 (talk) 23:21, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

For a chemistry page the explanation under "Industrial Uses" is rather muddled. It should be fixed up. I can do it after some research or otherwise if anyone would recognize and rectify it prior to that would be great. — Preceding unsigned comment added by GKnomeThought (talk • contribs) 05:14, 20 December 2011 (UTC)

Other uses?
I remember hearing once that if you mixed alum in with a dog's food, it would keep them from barking. Seeing as I know absolutely nothing about this kind of stuff, I have to assume that it does so either by What's the truth behind this homespun remedy? TKarrde 20:13, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
 * muting its vocal chords, or
 * killing the dog
 * I'd say because it caused dementia =p (see above) 24.123.198.38 15:16, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

heals canker sores on the tongue
I have a piece of alum cyrstal that my grandmother always keep in her medicine cabinet for canker sores on the tongue or mouth. It really works my just rubbing it on the sore. The next day it will be gone or almost gone. Just repeat one more time and it should be gone in hours. My piece of cyrstal is almost gone. I want to know where I can buy another piece. She died in 1975 and I have protected this piece since then.65.29.86.116 07:22, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

You can find it in almost every middle eastern store/market. It's known to them as Shabbeh rock. I was told that the Alum rock is also good for restoring hair loss if you rub it on your head over the places where you lost your hair. I'm still searching for any evidence to see if this is true.

alum
One medical use of Alum is that it is used to clean infections of the eyes. We've tried this before and it works majic.

Ehrab Hussain.

Why are some formulae doubled-up?
Why are some of the formulae 'doubled-up' (A2SO4·B2(SO4)3·24H2O, Na2SO4·Al2(SO4)3·24H2O) and some not (KAl(SO4)2.12H2O, NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O)? Are the double ones a single molecule? - or two molecules in some sort of close association? Do the single ones have a different structure? - or just have a common factor of 2 taken out? Please excuse my extreme ignorance of chemistry. --catslash (talk) 12:02, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Good question. The short answer is that there are no molecules for this (or most inorganic materials) - these species are almost always polymers.  For such materials, chemists use formulas to both describe stoichiometry and highlight parentage (structural families).--Smokefoot (talk) 12:53, 22 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the swift response! - OK: so KAl(SO4)2.12H2O gives me the ratio of the various species in solution or in an ionic crystal (not a molecule). But then K2SO4·Al2(SO4)3·24H2O suggests to me that Alum is little more than a mixture of K and Al sulphates. If I mix solutions of thes sulphates in the correct proportions (assuming Al2(SO4)3 is soluble) and crystallize, will the alum crystals have the Al and K ions arranged in some regular pattern? --catslash (talk) 13:39, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Nice.:

Of course, these are only one chemist's views, others might see matters differently, but probably not too differently.--Smokefoot (talk) 13:57, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Experiment A: The dissolution of KAl(SO4)2.12H2O will give a solution with the ratio 1"K+":2 SO42-:1"Al3+" and some water provided from the alumn.  To cloud the situation somewhat, Al3+ really exists as [Al(H2O)6]3+ (and more complex things, depending on pH of the soln).  Being 3+, the aluminium cations adhere tightly to oxygen in water (that is the reason that alums are hydrated).  You'd think that they'd prefer to bind sulfate, but it's water that wins that competition.
 * Experiment B: "If I mix solutions of thes sulphates in the correct proportions (assuming Al2(SO4)3 is soluble) and crystallize, will the alum crystals have the Al and K ions arranged in some regular pattern" Yes again, usually (crystallization is freaky and slightly unpredictable).  Crystals always feature regular patterns (they are megamolecules, in a sense).

WikiProject Food and drink Tagging
This article talk page was automatically added with WikiProject Food and drink banner as it falls under Category:Food or one of its subcategories. If you find this addition an error, Kindly undo the changes and update the inappropriate categories if needed. The bot was instructed to tagg these articles upon consenus from WikiProject Food and drink. You can find the related request for tagging here. Maximum and careful attention was done to avoid any wrongly tagging any categories, but mistakes may happen... If you have concerns, please inform on the project talk page -- TinucherianBot (talk) 06:44, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

needs more refs
This needs more refs, then it could be a GA or FA article eventually. Sticky Parkin 21:01, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Solubility Table Annoying Units
Having solubility in parts per 100 is very annoying when mass per volume (for example g/mL) are more useful in chemistry. Could whomever wrote the table include solubility in terms of g/mL or at least a citation of the reference used for the parts per hundred measurements? Also, is it right to have non-integer values for something like parts per hundred?--160.253.128.7 (talk) 18:43, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

I concur. The use of the term "parts" is ambiguous -- mass or volume?. Please rewrite to use SI units of mass or of volume.Metricator (talk) 20:01, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

alum
Alum ths rutcgds  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.95.114.86 (talk) 10:48, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Is Alum used to stop bleeding from razor cuts? DGerman (talk) 21:26, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Just a suggestion, but the alum crystal image could be a lot better, perhaps one showing the full octahedral crystal habit. Periksson28 (talk) 17:42, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Alum in Comedy
I've added a section on the use of Alum in comedy. Trivial or not this is or was part of the common view of Alum and it's effects.Saxophobia (talk) 16:09, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Alum in other culture
Alum الشبه in Arabian world have another use where we used to eliminate body odor —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mewoone (talk • contribs) 11:42, 27 May 2010 (UTC)

Alum toxicity
There needs to be a section re alum being a possible poison in large doses. There are internet reports that ingesting 1 ounce has resulted in death--although I can't find an MDS that lists the LD50. Irv —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.21.141.254 (talk) 13:46, 6 September 2010 (UTC)
 * This data sheet also says that there are reports of 30g (pretty near 1 ounce) being a lethal dose, but doesn't give citations. Lavateraguy (talk) 17:19, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Sources of alunite
The sources of alunite given in this article (upper Bavaria, Bohemia, Belgium, and Scotland) seem to be quite different from those given in the alunite article (Tuscany, Hungary, Australia, United States). Or are the "alum schists" referred to here in fact different from alunite? (in which case perhaps they should have their own subsection) I'm sorry I do not have anywhere near the necessary expertise to fix this myself. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 12:38, 3 August 2011 (UTC)

Deodorant?
Are there any realiable sources that could verfiy this?

"Alum's antibacterial properties contribute to its traditional use as an underarm deodorant."

- Alum

Paucabot (talk) 07:21, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

Cultural/literary references
I have just created a new subheading to include the fact that alum and its production, social, ecological and economic effects is the subject of a well-researched historical novel. It was previously listed under Uses. My edit was reverted after a second item was added to that section, concerning a reference to alum in a book by Lennie Bruce. It has now been reverted twice (in neither case restored by me). I accept that listing this information under Uses was inappropriate, but I think it's information of general interest and that it's now listed in an appropriate section. If there is no consensus for that point of view, I will remove it myself. Rather than get into an edit war, perhaps the point could be discussed here? Robocon1 (talk) 09:11, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Seems the problem is that it is only referenced to the book itself and that is a WP:primary source. As it is a novel published in 2013, the reference to it appears promotional. A secondary source discussing the book's content/scholarship would be required. Vsmith (talk) 13:35, 26 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Additionally the publisher listed (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) is a problem. Removed again. Vsmith (talk) 13:44, 26 December 2014 (UTC)

Duplicate with Potassium alum page?
This page refers to the same compond as Potassium alum. It would be less confusing to merge both.
 * This page covers both the specific compound potassium alum and the broader class of alums. Rather than merge the two pages a more appropriate action would be to add a hatnote at the top, and transfer the stuff specific to potassium alum. Lavateraguy (talk) 09:11, 2 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Good idea, go ahead and merge these two articles. --Smokefoot (talk) 14:17, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

The Alum gag
There really ought to be some mention/explanation/history of "alum" as it appears in numerous cartoons, a remarkable substance that somehow shrinks the head and voice.

It is probably the only way most people have ever heard of alum.

--23.119.204.117 (talk) 04:45, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

 * This is completely new to me. Can you supply some references to reliable sources? --Slashme (talk) 07:43, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Reliable? You be the judge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-Haired_Hare

Bugs pulls him out and takes him backstage. Next Bugs sprays Giovanni's throat with "liquid alum" which shrinks his head as well as his voice. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.174.171.22 (talk) 03:24, 4 September 2016 (UTC)

 * Agreed!!! I was well into adulthood before I encountered alum outside of Warner Bros cartoons. Since then I've seen it in a few pickling recipes, and some play dough recipes, but my first though will always be cartoon characters' heads shrinking because of alum.... PurpleChez (talk) 16:58, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

The gag also appears in "Birds Anonymous". Sylvester tries to eat Tweety, but another cat pours powdered alum into his mouth (from a box), making Sylvester's lips too tight for Tweety to fit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Anonymous — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:440:C500:36E4:4108:BA1A:4046:B700 (talk) 16:38, 14 September 2019 (UTC)

What are the products of the chemical reaction between alum and steel?
Can someone please tell me? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.221.154.43 (talk) 18:33, 30 October 2016 (UTC)

Coagulant
There seems to be confusion between the notions of astringent and coagulant. I find particularly questionable this sentence in the Uses / Cosmetic section: "Alum in block form (usually potassium alum) can be used as a blood coagulant." Its reference is a 1914 personal diary which, as interesting as it may be, is not in the least scientific. I propose deleting it. Any objections? 137.175.150.95 (talk) 22:45, 7 June 2017 (UTC)
 * (The silence is deafening.) I deleted the objectionable sentence. 137.175.150.95 (talk) 00:35, 13 June 2017 (UTC)

not for coloring bread
I was just watching James Townsends YouTube videos. That's how I got to looking at this page. It turns out alum wasn't added to bread tochange the color, since it doesn't actually do so. On the video they demonstrated this empirically. This needs to be updated on the page EdwinAmi (talk) 04:03, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Possible references

 * Alum production in late medieval time: new data for a Mediterranean approach
 * Uses and misuses of alum in medieval and pre-modern artists’ recipe books
 * Making and Using Alum in Hispanic Craft Recipe Books from the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries
 * The Earliest Chemical Industry: An Essay in the Historical Relations of Economics and Technology Illustrated from the Alum Tradehttps
 * Loosening of the Alum Monopoly

To add to article
To add to this article: the effects of alum (ingestion) on health, as it is sometimes a food ingredient. 173.88.246.138 (talk) 10:14, 28 July 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Alum


text:
OBJ (programming language)

OBJ is a programming language family introduced by Joseph Goguen in 1976, and further worked on by Jose Meseguer.

Overview
It is a family of declarative "ultra high-level" languages. It features abstract types, generic modules, subsorts (subtypes with multiple inheritance), pattern-matching modulo equations, E-strategies (user control over laziness), module expressions (for combining modules), theories and views (for describing module interfaces) for the massively parallel RRM (rewrite rule machine). Members of the OBJ family of languages include CafeOBJ, Eqlog, FOOPS, Kumo, Maude, OBJ2, and OBJ3.

OBJ2
OBJ2 is a programming language with Clear-like parametrised modules and a functional system based on equations.

OBJ3
OBJ3 is a version of OBJ based on order-sorted rewriting. OBJ3 is agent-oriented and runs on Kyoto Common Lisp AKCL.

title: OBJ (programming language)


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for bureaucratship/Raul654

Raul654
I'd like to apply to be a bureaucrat. I've been a sysop since late last year, and I think in the time I've been here, I've established myself as trustworthy. After the position of bureaucrat was created, I was the one who wrote the polls that defined what their role is, so I'm very familiar with what a bureaucrat is supposed to do. I'm applying here because Angela has said there aren't enough bureaucrats, which (given that Angela or Kingturtle do most of the promoting) I'm inclined to agree with. →Raul654 00:26, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)

Support
 * 1) Fredrik (talk) 00:34, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 2) JCarriker 01:31, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) I trust Raul ✏ Sverdrup 01:51, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) Jiang 01:52, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) has been a very helpful member of the community
 * 5) Elf | Talk 02:06, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) He's all over the place on wikipedia doing all kinds of useful things and my experience with him has been good.
 * 6) Acegikmo1 02:04, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 7) Angela. 02:33, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 8) Burgundavia 07:01, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC) Nothing but good interactions with Raul since I arrived
 * 9) Clearly not a member of the axis of evil :) Muriel G 10:11, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 10) David Gerard 11:38, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 11) Warofdreams 11:51, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 12) BCorr | Брайен 12:49, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) Definitely
 * 13) Itai 12:52, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) I'm familiar with the user's work. Earnestly support.
 * 14) Cecropia | Talk 14:21, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) Raul is always on top of things, and that's what we need for a Bureaucrat.
 * 15) Ilyanep 14:31, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC) I have seen Raul do a lot of work...Totally support!
 * 16) theresa knott 14:47, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 17) Raul's level-headed arbitration of the frequently-heated discussions on FAC has always been impressive.  - DropDeadGorgias (talk) 15:11, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 18) Jwrosenzweig 18:11, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 19) "D ICK " C HENEY  19:48, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 20) —No-One Jones 19:57, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 21) OPPOSE! Mark needs to knuckle under and get on with his Ph.D Bah, does the world really need another Ph.D? Support. -- Finlay McWalter |  Talk 20:42, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 22) older ≠ wiser 21:58, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 23) jengod 01:29, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 24) Of course. James F. (talk) 01:35, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 25) Raul's an excellent chap who deserves to be a bureaucrat. Support! DO'Neil 08:57, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 26) Profoss 09:12, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 27) Of course! Raul knows his stuff.  Perfect fellow for the job. - blankfaze | •ï¿½• 09:16, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 28) 172 09:40, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 29) Merovingian ↕ T@Lk 17:58, Jun 18, 2004 (UTC)
 * 30) From my brief interaction with him, he seems clear-headed, calm, and assertive. Kevin Baas 18:38, 2004 Jun 18 (UTC)
 * 31) We haven't met, but after looking over his work, he's a shoo-in. Neutrality 21:19, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 32) Danny 01:44, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 33) --GeneralPatton 16:28, 19 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 34) Lst27 03:43, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 35)   — Lady Lysine Ikinsile 07:24, 2004 Jun 20 (UTC)
 * 36) Gentgeen 07:54, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 37) Just noticed this. I fully support. Johnleemk | Talk 12:12, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 38) Raul's dedication deserves recognition, and I expect he'll serve well. However, I think this discussion is incomplete without one caveat: Raul too often assumes ill intent. Please avoid this pitfall as a bureaucrat. Cribcage 03:27, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 39) pir 08:15, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 40) --Woggly 12:35, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 41) Tεx  τ  urε  14:41, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 42) Davodd 21:41, Jun 21, 2004 (UTC)
 * 43) Decumanus 17:18, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 44) Michael Snow 00:11, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 45) I trust Raul with such new powers. Kingturtle 01:51, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 46) Guanaco 01:53, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 47) A true pillar of Wikipedia. - Mark 02:34, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 48) Sam [Spade] 18:12, 21 Jun 2004 (UTC) dubious of his neutrality . Feeling much happier due to recent clarifications regarding Featured articles. I support.
 * 49) Sure. Isomorphic 04:56, 23 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * 50) Fuzheado | Talk 10:13, 24 Jun 2004 (UTC) - haven't been too many 50th votes on someone, so I'm happy to be the 50th to support.

Oppose
 * 1) This application is hereby ignored. anthony (see warning)
 * 2) *What does that mean? RickK 05:25, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 3) **I told him one of his complaints on the FAC was frivilous and said essentially that. This is his payback. →Raul654 05:36, Jun 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * 4) oppose because of his behaviour in regard to zionism and related pages - manipulative, dishonest and unfair person. Zw 09:04, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Comments

 * To continue an interesting debate on Raul654's talk page, which I don't want to break into directly; I think that we should have clear ideas about what judgements a Bureaucrat should do (a lot, in my opinion), and then ask the current bureaucrats to try to follow them, or resign. If Angela, or any other bureaucrat thinks that this was not what he/she wanted to do, they can resign as bureaucrats, without anyone thinking less of them. ✏ Sverdrup 02:01, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * The current problem is that bureaucrats aren't even making the decision to sysop someone when they have 100% support, so trying to make them make judgements about less clear cut cases isn't likely to work. The reason I said we need more bureaucrats is that although we have 13 of them, since the start of May, only two of them have been active, meaning that in some cases nominations have been left an extra three days without any action being taken. Angela. 02:33, 17 Jun 2004 (UTC)


text:
Parvicursor

Parvicursor (meaning "small runner") is a genus of tiny maniraptoran dinosaur with long slender legs for fast running.

Description
At only about 39 cm from snout to end of tail, and 162 g in weight, it was initially seen as one of the smallest non-avian dinosaurs known from an adult specimen. However, in 2022 its holotype was concluded to represent a juvenile individual. Like other members of the family Alvarezsauridae, the forelimbs of Parvicursor were short and stubby, with hands all but completely reduced to a single large claw, possibly useful for opening tough termite mounds or other types of digging. It is unlikely that the claw could have served much for defense, as it was short and not adapted for flexible movements — it is more likely it would do as the animal's name implies: cursor means runner.

Parvicursor is known from the late Campanian-age Barun Goyot Formation of Khulsan, Mongolia, dated at approximately 72 million years old. The type species, Parvicursor remotus, is only known from one incomplete specimen, holotype PIN no. 4487/25, mostly consisting of vertebrae, the pelvis and the right hindlimb, that was discovered in 1992 and described in 1996. Close relatives include Shuvuuia and Mononykus, and together with these it is classified in the alvarezsaurid subfamily Parvicursorinae.

Taxonomy
There may be a second, yet-unnamed, species of Parvicursor. Two specimens of tiny alvarezsaurids were described by Suzuki et al. in 2002. These authors considered the specimens to be juvenile Shuvuuia, which lived in the same formation. However, a study by Nick Longrich and Phil Currie in 2009 suggested that several characters of the skeleton, including fused wrist and pelvic bones, indicated that these specimens were in fact adults of a tiny alvarezsaurid species. A phylogenetic analysis found that they grouped together with Parvicursor, and the authors provisionally referred them to Parvicursor sp. pending further study.

It has been suggested that Linhenykus and Ceratonykus may be junior synonyms of Parvicursor.

Phylogeny
Parvicursor in a cladogram after Fowler et al. (2020):

title: Parvicursor


text:
Category:Abortion law

This category includes articles which are related to abortion law, whether on a regional, national, or international level.

title: Category:Abortion law


text: User talk:68.58.138.171

title: User talk:68.58.138.171


text:
Kappa 77 KP 2U-SOVA

The Kappa 77 KP-2U Sova, later produced as the Jihlavan KP-2U Skyleader and most recently as the Jihlavan Skyleader, is a two-seat civil utility aircraft designed in the Czech Republic and available in kit form for home building. It is a conventional low-wing monoplane featuring all-metal construction and tricycle undercarriage.

Design and development
Jihlavan Aircraft built the Kappa Sova for Kappa 77 from 1997 to 2004 and obtained marketing rights in 2005 when Kappa became insolvent. They became a subsidiary of Skyleader Aircraft in 2008 when the type was redesignated Jihlavan Skyleader. It is an all-metal design apart from a carbon fibre cockpit frame. It has two-spar tapered wings with 6° of dihedral, electrically operated Fowler flaps and upturned Küchemann tips. The fin and rudder are swept. The straight tapered tailplane is set on top of the fuselage, the port elevator carrying a trim tab.

The Bulgarian company ACS started producing the Skyleader 600 at the state owned TEREM-Letets aircraft factory in Sofia in July 2015 under a licence agreement.

The original Sova/Skyleader 150 has staggered side-by-side configuration seating with the starboard seat 200 mm (8 in) aft of the other, but a widened fuselage allows the Skyleader 200 to have true side-by-side seating. The earlier version has a forward-hinged canopy with fixed rear transparencies; the Skyleader 200 has a single-piece canopy. Both these variants normally have an electrically actuated tricycle undercarriage with a steerable nosewheel, though a fixed version is an option and is standard on the later Skyleader 500 and 600 variants. The standard engine for the 150/200 variants is a 60 kW (80 hp) Rotax 912UL, though the more powerful Rotax 912ULS or Rotax 914 can be fitted, all driving a choice of two-blade propellers. The 500/600 variants can also use the Rotax 912 UL or Rotax 912S; the Jabiru 2200 or 3300 engines may also be fitted. The Skyleader 500/600 variants have three-blade propellers.

The Kappa 77 KP-2U Sova first flew on 26 May 1996 and the KP-5 Rapid 500 (later the Skyleader 500) in December 2003. Czech certification was achieved in September 1997 and March 2004 respectively. The Skyleader is produced in both kit and flyaway form.

Operational history
Over 210 had been sold by November 2010. 145 Sovas and 12 Skyleaders appear on the civil registers of European countries, Russia excepted, in mid-2010.

Variants (Jihlavan)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2011/12
 * Skyleader 100
 * Single-seat variant, with optional rectangular or trapezoidal wing planform and powered by a 64 hp Rotax 582 two-stroke engine. Was expected to be marketed starting in 2011 as a kit or complete aircraft.

 * KP-2U Skyleader 150
 * Originally called the Kappa 77 KP-2U Sova. Staggered side-by-side seating.

 * KP-2 Skyleader 200
 * Introduced 1996, with widened cockpit to 120 cm for more elbow room with side-by-side seating. It features retractable landing gear.

 * Rapid 200FC: One-off hydrogen-powered via fuel cell and electric motor Skyleader 150 conversion, first flight 20 May 2010.
 * KP-5 Skyleader 500: S-LSA version, originally the KP-5 Rapid 500. FAA approved July 2005.
 * Skyleader 400
 * Light-sport aircraft version with a gull-winged canopy and re-designed engine cowling, introduced as a "mid-line model". The 400 is also available a purely electric aircraft, powered by an 80 kW electric motor and 145 amp-hour battery pack.

 * Skyleader 600
 * Light sport model introduced at AERO Friedrichshafen in 2010. It features a wider 128 cm cockpit, revised wingtips and greater fuel capacity. Engines available include the 80 hp Rotax 912UL, the 100 hp Rotax 912ULS and the turbocharged 115 hp Rotax 914 four-stroke powerplants.

Accidents and incidents
In May 2016 a Skyleader 500 crashed in Rhoadesville, Virginia, United States, killing the two occupants of the aircraft. The Galaxy Rescue Systems ballistic parachute had been deployed, but the single front riser failed, leading to the parachute failure. The aircraft had been practicing slow flight and stalls and most likely entered a spin, from which the parachute was deployed. The aircraft was 50 lb over maximum weight at the time of the accident. The GRS parachute model had never been tested in the air on this aircraft design and had only been ground tested once. A new double front riser system is now in use.

title: Kappa 77 KP 2U-SOVA


text:
Alvarezsauridae

Alvarezsauridae is a family of small, long-legged dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, they are now thought to be an early diverging branch of maniraptoran theropods. Alvarezsaurids were highly specialized. They had tiny but stout forelimbs, with compact, bird-like hands. Their skeletons suggest that they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They had long, tube-shaped snouts filled with tiny teeth. They have been interpreted as myrmecophagous, adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites, with the short arms acting as effective digging instruments to break into nests.

Alvarezsaurus, the type genus of the family, was named for the historian Gregorio Álvarez.

History of study
Bonaparte (1991) described the first alvarezsaurid, Alvarezsaurus calvoi, from an incomplete skeleton found in Patagonia, Argentina. Bonaparte also named a family, Alvarezsauridae, to contain it. He argued that Alvarezsaurus might be most closely related to the ornithomimosaurs.

In 1993, Perle et al. described the next alvarezsaur to be discovered, naming it Mononychus olecranus (meaning "one claw"). A month later they changed the genus name to Mononykus, because the earlier spelling was already the genus name of an extant beetle. Perle et al. mistakenly described Mononykus as a member of Avialae, one more advanced than Archaeopteryx. They argued that the family Alvarezsauridae was actually a group of Mesozoic flightless birds on the basis of several features that were supposedly unique to birds.

In 1996, Novas described another member of the group called Patagonykus puertai. Karhu and Rautian (1996) described a Mongolian member of the family; Parvicursor remotus. Chiappe et al.(1998) described another Mongolian member, Shuvuuia deserti, and found it to be a bird as in Perle et al.'s analysis.

These mistaken assignments of alvarezsaurids to birds were caused primarily by features that are strikingly, or even uniquely, avian. The sternum, for example, is elongated and deeply keeled for an enlarged pectoralis muscle, as it is in neognathous birds and volant ratites. One bone in the skull of Shuvuuia appeared to be an ectethmoid fused to a prefrontal. The ectethmoid is an ossification known only in Neornithes. Other birdlike characters included the palatine, foramen magnum, cervical and caudal vertebrae, and many others.

Several researchers disagreed with Perle et al. (1993) and Chiappe et al. (1998), Feduccia (1994), Ostrom (1994), Wellnhofer (1994), Kurochkin (1995), Zhou (1995), and Sereno (1997) considered it unlikely that alvarezsaurids were members of Avialae. Martin (1997) performed a cladistic analysis but Sereno criticized it strongly, finding it flawed by incorrect codings, use of only select data, and results that did not support his conclusions. Sereno (1999) performed a new analysis, revising the anatomical interpretations and clarifying the characters. He found that alvarezsaurids were more parsimoniously related to the Ornithomimosauria.

As the more primitive members of the Alvarezsauridae were better characterized, the monophyly of the clade was strongly supported, but the more primitive members lacked the most birdlike traits. Some of these traits had been misinterpreted, also. The remaining similarities between birds and alvarezsaurs, like the keeled sterna, are another case of homoplasy; where the derived alvarezsaurids developed birdlike characters through convergent evolution, rather than inheriting them from a common ancestor with birds.

Description
Alvarezsaurids ranged from 50 cm to 2 m in length, although some possible members may have been larger, including the European Heptasteornis that may have reached 2.5 m long. Fossils attributed to alvarezsaurids have also been found in North and South America and Asia, and range in age from about 86 to 66 million years ago.

Feathers
At least one specimen of alvarezsaurid, from the species Shuvuuia deserti, preserved down-like, feathery, integumental structures covering the fossil. Schweitzer et al. (1999) subjected these filaments to microscopic, morphological, mass spectrometric, and immunohistochemical studies and found that they consisted of beta-keratin, which is the primary protein in feathers.

Lifestyle
The lifestyle of alvarezsaurids has been debated since the nature of these dinosaurs was established. It has been suggested by numerous palaeontologists that they used their claws to break into ant and termite colonies, though the arm anatomy of an alvarezsaurid would require the animal to lie on its chest against a termite nest. It is also possible that the alvarezsaurids filled some ecological niche that has not yet been considered. Studies of the tails in various alvarezsaur genera also suggest they were possessed of an incredible ability to change their rotational inertia, and combined with their forelimbs, this suggests their ecological niches were similar to those of aardvarks, pangolins, and anteaters.

Additionally, it is known that alvarezsaurids, with their long legs, appear to be built for speed. What implications this has on possible lifestyle is unknown. The discovery of Qiupanykus in association with oviraptorid eggs, indicates that the advanced alvarezsaurids may also have been specialists in nest raiding, using their robust thumb claws to crack open eggshells.

Classification
Turner et al. (2007) place the alvarezsaurs as the most basal group in the Maniraptora, one step more derived than Ornitholestes and two more derived than the Ornithomimosauria. The alvarezsaurs are more primitive than the Oviraptorosauria.

Novas' 1996 description of Patagonykus, demonstrated that it was a link between the more primitive (basal) Alvarezsaurus and the more advanced (derived) Mononykus, and reinforced their monophyly. Parvicursor was discovered shortly after, and placed in its own family Parvicursoridae, and then Shuvuuia in 1998. Everything has since been lumped into Alvarezsauridae, with Mononykinae surviving as a subfamily.

There may be a relationship between the alvarezsaurids and the Ornithomimosauria as sister clades within either Thomas Holtz's Arctometatarsalia or Paul Sereno's Ornithomimiformes. The discovery of Haplocheirus, which exhibits transitional features between the more derived alvarezsaurs and other maniraptorans, particularly in relation to the skull structure and development of the hand, has provided further support for that relationship.

The taxonomy of the alvarezsaurs has been somewhat confused, due to different authors using different names for groups with the same definition. The family Alvarezsauridae was first coined by Jose Bonaparte in 1991, but given no specific phylogenetic definition. Novas later defined the group as the most recent common ancestor of Alvarezsaurus and Mononykus plus all its descendants, though others, such as Paul Sereno, used a more inclusive definition, such as all dinosaurs closer to Shuvuuia than to modern birds. In 2009, Livezey and Zusi used the name Alvarezsauroidea for the total group of all alvarezsaurs, restricting the name Alvarezsauridae to the clade defined by Alvarezsaurus + Mononykus. This was followed by Choiniere and colleagues in 2010, who described the first non-alvarezsaurid alvarezsauroid, Haplocheirus. Some authors have used the name Mononykinae for the sub-group of alvarezsaurs including the advanced Mongolian species. However, Choiniere and colleagues argued that Parvicursorinae has priority, since its coordinate name under the ICZN Code, Parvicursoridae, was named earlier. Another subfamily, Patagonykinae, has been named to include the South American Patagonykus and Bonapartenykus, but a few recent studies have placed them just outside Alvarezsauridae, some of which do not even recover them in a single clade, making Patagonykinae turn out to be paraphyletic.

The cladogram presented here follows a 2012 phylogenetic analysis by Agnolin and colleagues.

Cladogram after Xu et al., 2011:

title: Alvarezsauridae


text:
Object Data Management Group

The Object Data Management Group (ODMG) was conceived in the summer of 1991 at a breakfast with object database vendors that was organized by Rick Cattell of Sun Microsystems. In 1998, the ODMG changed its name from the Object Database Management Group to reflect the expansion of its efforts to include specifications for both object database and object–relational mapping products.

The primary goal of the ODMG was to put forward a set of specifications that allowed a developer to write portable applications for object database and object–relational mapping products. In order to do that, the data schema, programming language bindings, and data manipulation and query languages needed to be portable.

Between 1993 and 2001, the ODMG published five revisions to its specification. The last revision was ODMG version 3.0, after which the group disbanded.

Major components of the ODMG 3.0 specification

 * Object Model. This was based on the Object Management Group's Object Model. The OMG core model was designed to be a common denominator for object request brokers, object database systems, object programming languages, etc. The ODMG designed a profile by adding components to the OMG core object model.
 * Object Specification Languages. The ODMG Object Definition Language (ODL) was used to define the object types that conform to the ODMG Object Model. The ODMG Object Interchange Format (OIF) was used to dump and load the current state to or from a file or set of files.
 * Object Query Language (OQL). The ODMG OQL was a declarative (nonprocedural) language for query and updating. It used SQL as a basis, where possible, though OQL supports more powerful object-oriented capabilities.
 * C++ Language Binding. This defined a C++ binding of the ODMG ODL and a C++ Object Manipulation Language (OML). The C++ ODL was expressed as a library that provides classes and functions to implement the concepts defined in the ODMG Object Model. The C++ OML syntax and semantics are those of standard C++ in the context of the standard class library. The C++ binding also provided a mechanism to invoke OQL.
 * Smalltalk Language Binding. This defined the mapping between the ODMG ODL and Smalltalk, which was based on the OMG Smalltalk binding for the OMG Interface Definition Language (IDL). The Smalltalk binding also provided a mechanism to invoke OQL.
 * Java Language Binding. This defined the binding between the ODMG ODL and the Java programming language as defined by the Java 2 Platform. The Java binding also provided a mechanism to invoke OQL.

Status
ODMG 3.0 was published in book form in 2000. By 2001, most of the major object database and object-relational mapping vendors claimed conformance to the ODMG Java Language Binding. Compliance to the other components of the specification was mixed. In 2001, the ODMG Java Language Binding was submitted to the Java Community Process as a basis for the Java Data Objects specification. The ODMG member companies then decided to concentrate their efforts on the Java Data Objects specification. As a result, the ODMG disbanded in 2001.

In 2004, the Object Management Group (OMG) was granted the right to revise the ODMG 3.0 specification as an OMG specification by the copyright holder, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. In February 2006, the OMG announced the formation of the Object Database Technology Working Group (ODBT WG) and plans to work on the 4th generation of an object database standard.

ODMG Compliant DBMS

 * Orient ODBMS: http://www.OrienTechnologies.com
 * Objectivity/DB C++, Java and Smalltalk interfaces.

title: Object Data Management Group