text:
Sound-on-film

Sound-on-film is a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying a picture is recorded on photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track, and may record the signal either optically or magnetically. Earlier technologies were sound-on-disc, meaning the film's soundtrack would be on a separate phonograph record.

History
Sound on film can be dated back to the early 1880s, when Charles E. Fritts filed a patent claiming the idea. In 1923 a patent was filed by E. E. Ries, for a variable density soundtrack recording, which was submitted to the SMPE (now SMPTE), which used the mercury vapor lamp as a modulating device to create a variable-density soundtrack. Later, Case Laboratories and Lee De Forest attempted to commercialize this process, when they developed an Aeolite glow lamp, which was deployed at Movietone Newsreel at the Roxy Theatre in 1927. In 1928, Fox Film purchased Case Laboratories and produced its first talking film In Old Arizona using the Aeolite system. The variable-density sound system was popular until the mid-1940s.

Opposite with variable-density, in the early 1920s, variable-area sound recording was first experimented on by the General Electric Company, and later was applied by RCA which refined GE's technology. After the mid-1940s, variable-area system superseded the variable-density system, and became the major analog sound-on-film system until modern day.

Analog sound-on-film recording
The most prevalent current method of recording analogue sound on a film print is by stereo variable-area (SVA) recording, a technique first used in the mid-1970s as Dolby Stereo. A two-channel audio signal is recorded as a pair of lines running parallel with the film's direction of travel through the projector's screen. The lines change area (grow broader or narrower) depending on the magnitude of the signal. The projector shines light from a small lamp, called an exciter, through a perpendicular slit onto the film. The image on the small slice of exposed track modulates the intensity of the light, which is collected by a photosensitive element: a photocell, a photodiode or CCD.

In the early years of the 21st century distributors changed to using cyan dye optical soundtracks on color stocks, eliminating the need for a separate and difficult to control black-and-white emulsion on the soundtrack portion of the film. Because traditional incandescent exciter lamps produce copious amounts of infra-red light, and cyan tracks do not absorb infra-red light, this change required theaters to replace the incandescent exciter lamp with a complementary colored red LED or laser. These LED or laser exciters are backwards-compatible with older tracks.

Earlier processes, used on 70 mm film prints and special presentations of 35 mm film prints, recorded sound magnetically on ferric oxide tracks bonded to the film print, outside the sprocket holes. 16 mm and Super 8 formats sometimes used a similar magnetic track on the camera film, bonded to one side of the film on which the sprocket holes had not been punched ("single perforated") for the purpose. Film of this form is no longer manufactured, but single-perforated film without the magnetic track (allowing an optical sound track) or, in the case of 16 mm, utilising the soundtrack area for a wider picture (Super 16 format) is readily available.

Digital sound-on-film formats
Three different digital soundtrack systems for 35 mm cinema release prints were introduced during the 1990s. They are: Dolby Digital, which is stored between the perforations on the sound side; SDDS, stored in two redundant strips along the outside edges (beyond the perforations); and DTS, in which sound data is stored on separate compact discs synchronized by a timecode track on the film just to the right of the analog soundtrack and left of the frame (sound-on-disc). Because these soundtrack systems appear on different parts of the print, one movie can contain all of them, allowing broad distribution without regard for the sound system installed at individual theatres.

Sound-on-film formats
Almost all sound formats used with motion-picture film have been sound-on-film formats, including:

Optical analog formats

 * Fox/Western Electric (Westrex) Movietone, are variable-density formats of sound film. (No longer used, but still playable on modern 35 mm projectors.)
 * Tri-Ergon, another variable-density format prevalent in Germany and Europe until the 1940s. The US patent rights of this Berlin based company were bought by William Fox in 1926, leading to a patent war with the US film industry lasting until 1935. Tri-Ergon amalgamated with a number of other German competitors from 1928 to form the Dutch-controlled Tobis Film syndicate in 1930, licensing the system to UFA GmbH as UFA-Klang.
 * RCA Photophone, a variable-area format since the late 1920s—now universally used for optical analog soundtracks. Since the late 1970s usually with a Dolby encoding matrix.

Encoding matrices

 * Dolby Stereo (SVA)
 * Dolby SR
 * Ultra Stereo

Optical digital formats

 * Dolby Digital
 * Sony Dynamic Digital Sound

Obsolete formats

 * Cinema Digital Sound, an optical format which was the first commercial digital sound format, used between 1990 and 1992
 * Fantasound. This was a system developed by RCA and Disney Studios with a multi-channel soundtrack recorded on a separate strip of film from the picture. It was used for the initial release of Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940)
 * Phonofilm, patented by Lee De Forest in 1919, defunct by 1929

title: Sound-on-film


text:
Hōen

Hōen (保延) was a Japanese era name (年号) after Chōshō and before Eiji. This period spanned the years from September 1135 through July 1141. The reigning emperor was Sutoku-tennō (崇徳天皇).

Change of Era

 * February 15, 1035 Hōen gannen (保延元年): The new era name Hōen was created to mark an event or a series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Chōshō 4, on the 27th day of the 4th month of 1135.

Events of the Hōen Era

 * 1136 (Hōen 2, 3rd month): The former-Emperor Toba hosted a grand dinner party.
 * 1136 (Hōen 2, 5th month): The sadaijin Fujiwara Ieyetada died at age 75.
 * 1136 (Hōen 2, 12th month): The udaijin Minamoto no Arihito was named sadaijin; and the naidaijin Fujiwara Munetada was named udaijin.
 * 1136 (Hōen 2, 12th month): Fujiwara Yorinaga was appointed Minister of the Center (naidaijin) at the age of 17.
 * 1138 (Hōen 4, 2nd month): The udaijin Munetada shaved his head at age 77; and he became a Buddhist priest.
 * 1138 (Hōen 4, 9th month): The former-Emperor Toba went to Mount Hiei, where he stayed for seven days.
 * May 2, 1140 (Hōen 6, 14th day of the 4th month): The priests of the Buddhist temples on Mount Hiei banded together to burn down the Mii-dera again.

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

title: Hōen


text:
1987 Danish general election

General elections were held in Denmark on 8 September 1987. Although the Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing with 54 of the 179 seats, the Conservative People's Party-led coalition government was able to continue. Voter turnout was 87% in Denmark proper, 69% in the Faroe Islands and 45% in Greenland.

title: 1987 Danish general election


text: Talk:Ted Koehler

title: Talk:Ted Koehler


text: Category:Washington Statesmen players

title: Category:Washington Statesmen players


text:
Talk:Ted Koehler/to do

To incorporate and link:

title: Talk:Ted Koehler/to do


text:
Ennepetal

Ennepetal (Iämpedal) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was created in 1949 out of the former municipalities Milspe and Voerde. It was named after the river Ennepe, which flows through the municipality.

The town was featured in the headlines when on April 12, 2005, a hostage taker snatched several school children from a school bus, and took them as hostages, see Ennepetal hostage taking.

Division of the town
Ennepetal is divided into nine quarters (Ortsteile), which resemble former towns and villages. The population is shown as of 10 June 2015:
 * Altenvoerde (3663)
 * Bülbringen/Oberbauer (1470)
 * Büttenberg (3689)
 * Hasperbach (1208)
 * Königsfeld (1090)
 * Milspe (9776)
 * Oelkinghausen (573)
 * Rüggeberg (1482)
 * Voerde (7438)

Politics
The current mayor of Ennepetal is independent politician Imke Heymann. She was first elected in 2015 with the endorsement of the CDU, The Greens, Free Voters, and FDP. In the most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, Heymann was re-elected with 70.3% of votes with the backing of the SPD and CDU. She was opposed by Sotirios Kostas (18.2%) and Cornelia Born-Maijer (11.5%), who both ran as independents.

Local council
The Ennepetal municipal council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 12,041 ! 98.0 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 248 ! 2.0 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 12,289 ! 100.0 ! ! 36 ! 6 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 24,726 ! 49.7 ! ! !
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)
 * 3,792
 * 31.5
 * 7.1
 * 11
 * 5
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
 * 3,556
 * 29.5
 * 3.3
 * 11
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
 * 2,252
 * 18.7
 * 8.9
 * 7
 * 3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)
 * 1,089
 * 9.0
 * 2.9
 * 3
 * 1
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Voters Ennepetal (FWE)
 * 780
 * 6.5
 * 2.3
 * 2
 * 2
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 572
 * 4.8
 * 0.8
 * 2
 * ±0
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 572
 * 4.8
 * 0.8
 * 2
 * ±0
 * colspan=7| Source: City of Ennepetal
 * }
 * }

Twin towns – sister cities
Ennepetal is twinned with:
 * 🇧🇪 Vilvoorde, Belgium

Transport
The Ennepetal (Gevelsberg) station on the Wuppertal–Dortmund railway is served by regional trains.

The town also had a station named "Voerde" on the Kleinbahn Haspe-Voerde-Breckerfeld, which in former times was the longest streetcar in Germany. Today, the former track is being used as a walk and bicycle way, connecting the Ruhr area to the nearby Sauerland.

Notable places
The Klutert Cave is one of the largest natural caves of Germany with a length of over 5 km.

Economy

 * dormakaba
 * febi - Ferdinand Bilstein
 * ABC - Altenloh Brinck & Co (screws)
 * Dahlhaus Leuchten, GmbH
 * Ernst Mager KG (screws)

Sons and daughters of the town

 * Karl-Heinz Peters (1903–1990), film actor

People who are connected to Ennepetal

 * Dirk Rauin (born 1957), handball player and coach
 * Ralf Waldmann (born 1966), motorcycle racing driver

title: Ennepetal


text: User talk:68.55.176.131

title: User talk:68.55.176.131


text:
Talk:Versine

Other languages
I think that https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinus_versus_und_Kosinus_versus should be marked as the German version of this article, but I have no idea how to do that myself. Maybe someone more experienced than me could do that. Kriegaex (talk) 08:18, 31 October 2021 (UTC)

Redirect
I think Haversine should redirect to Haversine_formula rather than here.

Non-negative
It is really always non-negative, as stated in the "History and applications" section, if it is defined as 2sin²(θ/2), but not, if it is defined as 1-cosθ. Are the definitions missing a pair of || somewhere? --Pt 23:33, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)
 * Sorry, my fault. --Pt 15:39, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)

vertangent etc.

 * Would it make sense to have a vertangent or versecant function? Or an exsine or extangent function? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Celtic Minstrel (talk • contribs) 22:53, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

 * For a function $$\operatorname{f}$$:
 * $$\operatorname{verf}(x):=2\left(\operatorname{f}\left(\frac{x}{2}\right)\right)^2$$
 * $$\operatorname{cof}:=\operatorname{f}\left(\frac{\pi}{2}-x\right)$$
 * $$\operatorname{haf}(x):=\frac{\operatorname{f}(x)}{2}$$
 * So it would make perfect sense to define a vertangent, a hacoversecant and what not. The reason we don't mention them in the article is that their use is not historically attested (as far as the authors of this article know). Barsamin (talk) 11:55, 11 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Judging by the exsecant article, a hypothetical extangent or exsine would be defined as one less than the tangent or sine. Whether that's useful for anything, though? Probably not. Still, $$\operatorname{exf}(x):=\operatorname{f}(x) - 1$$ could be added to the list. (But don't do it just because I suggested it. That would be pointless and silly.) —Celtic Minstrel (talk • contribs) 03:36, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Ambiguous math notation
Math notation, of course, is naturally ambiguous, like all natural languages. This case of ambiguity has to do with the use of exponents in math. Consider this from the article:

 * $$\textrm{versin} (\theta) = 1 - \cos (\theta) = 2 \sin^2\left(\frac{\theta} {2}\right) \,$$

$$\sin$$ is a function, and some mathematicians write, $$f^2\left(x\right)$$ when they mean to say $$f\left(f\left(x\right)\right)$$. Therefore, it is not immediately apparent that the author of this article really meant to say $$\sin\left(\frac{\theta} {2}\right)^2$$ when s/he wrote $$\sin^2\left(\frac{\theta} {2}\right)$$. It was necessary for me to verify the identity with a calculator before I could be sure. A more complex equation can be rendered totally unreadable by the proliferation of such ambiguity.

98.31.14.215 (talk) 13:29, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

 * This mathematical notation for powers of sin and cos functions is totally standard and widespread. I'm sorry you're not familiar with it, but it's used all over mathematics/science/engineering and all over Wikipedia and this is not the place to fight against it. Go to Talk:Trigonometric functions and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mathematics if you want to try to convince editors to avoid this notation on Wikipedia, but it seems fruitless to me.  —Steven G. Johnson (talk) 17:04, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

 * The alternative you propose is, if anything, worse than the notation you criticize. $$\sin\left(\frac{\theta} {2}\right)^2$$ can be misinterpreted as $$\sin\left(\left(\frac{\theta} {2}\right)^2\right)$$, rather than the intended $$\left(\sin\left(\frac{\theta} {2}\right)\right)^2$$.--Srleffler (talk) 05:12, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

 * I agree that there is an annoying ambiguity arising from the use of exponents on trig functions, but it is standardized, and your alternative is even worse, as Srleffler explains. If we were to write it out in the full, unambiguous manner, we would have an annoying proliferation of parentheses. I prefer the ambiguity, personally. —Celtic Minstrel (talk • contribs) 03:32, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Diagram needed
This article should have a diagram showing the versine function plotted vs. angle.--Srleffler (talk) 05:15, 28 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. Lytir (talk) 05:26, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

Graphical clarification needed
Refering to wikipedia's diagram http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Circle-trig6.svg which is used on the Trigonometric functions page, the Versed Sine and Coversed Sine are both shown, however the corresponding COsine functions (versed cosine and coversed cosine) are not. Since the diagram is (there) claimed to show "all of the trigonometric functions" that this is an omission.

I was trying to clarify in my mind the distinction between coversed cosine and versed sine (and failed!), but as a "visual learner" inclusion of a completed diagram would be rather helpful!

188.221.150.127 (talk) 18:51, 24 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Done (back in 2015 already). --Matthiaspaul (talk) 16:56, 31 July 2017 (UTC)

Ptolemy's is older
Article says:
 * In fact, the earliest surviving trigonometric table, from the fourth–fifth century Siddhantas from India, was a table of values for the sine and versed sine only (in 3.75° increments from 0 to 90°).

Checking Indian astronomy, it appears that this is indeed fourth–fifth century A.D.. In which case, Ptolemy's table of chords is a trig table, found in the Almagest, still extant, and at least 150 years older. (The oldest known trig table is by Hipparchus, 3 centuries older still, but no known copies survive.) -- 203.20.101.203 (talk) 08:30, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

 * You are right. According to Boyer (A History of Mathematics), the Siddhantas is the earliest surviving table of the modern sine function (half chords), whereas Ptolemy's table is the earliest surviving table of chords.  — Steven G. Johnson (talk) 16:42, 19 July 2011 (UTC)

versine - sin
It appears to me that between 0 and PI(180 degrees), does the result of sin(angle) - versine (angle) always equals zero (?) But what about angles between PI rad or 180 degrees - and 2 PI rad or 360 degrees ? I would like the article to show sine, versine and haversine curves for one entire lap, if possible. I think that would be helpfull for readers as well. Boeing720 (talk) 02:36, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
 * No. The article does show versine and haversine curves from -360° (-2*pi) to +360° (+2*pi), that is for two full turns.
 * However, what might be confusing (and should be improved in the images) is the scale in radians given as decimal numbers (e.g. 0, 2, 4, 6) instead of a radian scale given in fractions of pi (e.g. 0, 2/3*pi, 4/3*pi, 2*pi).
 * --Matthiaspaul (talk) 18:04, 17 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Actually, a scale (0, 1/2*pi, pi, 3/2*pi, 2*pi) would be more useful.
 * --Matthiaspaul (talk) 18:13, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

Is the overview over-cited?
I've noticed that the overview has a ridiculous amount of citations. Some have up to 10 citations, just to show that something is a synonym! This seems a little unnecessary.Eridian314 (talk) 18:01, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Inverse
You can see how to convert a function $$ f(x) $$ into $$ verf(x) $$ up there but what about $$ arcverf(x) $$? I think it should be included along with how to convert a function $$ f(x) $$ into $$ verf(x) $$. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.39.195.196 (talk) 17:04, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Versine


text:
Talk:Charles Follen McKim

is the Boston Public Library ???
Is the Boston Public Library really designed and built in the neo-classical style? I hate to jump in and start slashing other folks work, but, I don't think that it is neo-classical. Carptrash 07:45, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
 * for the record, I'd be much happier with something along the lines of 'Renaissance Revival'. But then not everyone agrees that the point of the universe is to make me happy, so I'm tossing this out for a more general discussion.

 * Quite right. "Renaissance Revival" is the better style designation. The arcaded windows owe a debt to the side elevations of Alberti's Tempio Malatestiana, Rimini. --Wetman 18:10, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, as Alberti himself would have said, "grazie." Carptrash 18:40, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

File:Charles Follen McKim by Frances Benjamin Johnston.jpg scheduled for POTD
Hello! This is to let editors know that the featured picture File:Charles Follen McKim by Frances Benjamin Johnston.jpg, which is used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for August 24, 2020. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2020-08-24. Any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be made before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:23, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Charles Follen McKim


text:
Talk:Charles Follen McKim/to do

Incorporate:

title: Talk:Charles Follen McKim/to do


text:
Second Summer of Love

The Second Summer of Love was a late-1980s social phenomenon in the United Kingdom which saw the rise of acid house music and unlicensed rave parties. Although primarily referring to the summer of 1988, it lasted into the summer of 1989, when electronic dance music and the prevalence of the drug MDMA fuelled an explosion in youth culture culminating in mass free parties and the era of the rave. The music of this era fused dance beats with a psychedelic, 1960s flavour, and the dance culture drew parallels with the hedonism and freedom of the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco. The smiley logo is synonymous with this period in the UK.

History
The Second Summer of Love began in 1988 in UK, and rose from the house music British nightclubs dating from 1987 to 1988 Shoom (run by Danny Rampling) and Future (organised by Paul Oakenfold), Trip (run by Nicky Holloway), Slam (DJs) and The Haçienda (run by Mike Pickering and Graeme Park). It was though a cultural happening particularly associated with the quite sudden increase in independent gatherings outdoors in fields and in disused warehouses as well as with the quite new underground club scene, which had often become called raves. Beyond those held around London were also events springing up in areas such as Blackburn and Nottingham, before spreading across all the UK, with very large numbers of distinct gatherings held weekly by late summer of 1988. There were both illegal and legal gatherings in terms of adherence to event planning laws.

While the prime musical point of convergence throughout the phenomenon was house music at first mostly imported from the US underground nightlife centres Chicago, Detroit and New York, also a basis for the scene was focused upon enabling people to open up to other genres of music. This was most typically music not seen as very commercial for the time, including music of the hippie eras and some folk derived music.

These five DJs associated with the early British house music scene reported they were inspired to start these events after holidaying on Ibiza in the summer of 1987 with their friend Johnny Walker. Ibiza was where acid house music first became popular in Europe and the after-hours nature of the club scene emerged.

In the early stages of the Second Summer of Love, the events and parties were often held in empty warehouses across the UK and were essentially illegal. Vague flyers around towns and cities advertised events and information travelled by word of mouth (as well as the newly popular mobile pager) between clubbers who were obliged to party incognito. Increasingly huge parties started to be put on around the M25 orbital of London by promoters including “Biology” (Jarvis Sandy, Micky Jump & Tarquin de Meza), “Energy” (Jeremy Taylor & Tin Tin Chambers), “Genesis (Andrew Pritchard, Wayne Anthony & Keith Brooks), “Sunrise/Back to the Future” (Tony Colston Hayter & Dave Roberts) and “Weekend World” (Tarquin de Meza). In London, events were put on by Raindance, and at Labrynth/Four Aces.

The symbol of the time became a smiley face after the London crowd picked up the design when it was posted on one of the flyers from the third Shoom party. Revellers would soon become adorned in smiley t-shirts and badges.

Water and Lucozade were a common feature because of the dehydrating effects of marathon dancing due to MDMA use. Clubgoers wore baggy clothing to combat the heat inside the clubs, and staff handed out ice pops.

Music
Acid house and hip house was typical of the Second Summer of Love. Acid house was characterised by the "squelching" bass produced by the Roland TB-303 and loud repetitive beats. It originated in Chicago and took on new qualities when it came to Europe. Songs from the period include "French Kiss" by Lil Louis, "On & On" by Jesse Saunders, "Mystery of Love" by Fingers Inc., "Love Can't Turn Around" by Farley "Jackmaster" Funk and Saunders (featuring Darryl Pandy), "I've Lost Control" by Sleezy D, and "Your Only Friend" by Phuture. Hip house would become a popular cross-over of a rap and house music, with tracks such as "Turn Up The Bass" by Tyree Cooper, "Who's In the House" by the Beatmasters, "Let It Roll" by Doug Lazy, and "That's How I'm Living" by Tony Scott.

Radio
The raves and music were promoted by pirate radio stations, including Kiss FM, Sunrise and Centreforce.

Drug use
Ecstasy was the drug of choice during the time. LSD was still present, just not as prominently. Mark Moore, of group S'Express, said: "It definitely took ecstasy to change things. People would take their first ecstasy and it was almost as if they were born again." Violence was uncommon due to the feelings of euphoria, love and empathy caused by ecstasy. Ecstasy use in raves is often linked to the reduction in football hooliganism at the time. The drug also increased the enjoyment of the music and encouraged dancing. Nicky Holloway, a DJ from the time, said: "The ecstasy and music came together. It was all part of the package. ... That may sound a little sad, but there's no way acid house would have taken off the way it did without ecstasy."

Media attention
British news media and tabloids devoted an increasing amount of coverage to the hedonistic scene, focusing increasingly on its association with club drugs. Early positive reports such as running articles on the "acid house" fashion would soon become sensationalist negative coverage. The moral panic of the press began in late 1988, when The Sun, which only days earlier on 12 October had promoted acid house as "cool and groovy" while running an offer on acid smiley face t-shirts, abruptly turned on the scene. On October 19, The Sun ran with the headline "Evils of Ecstasy," linking the acid house scene with the newly popular and relatively unknown drug. On 24 June 1989, the newspaper ran its infamous "Spaced Out!" headline after a Sunrise party.

title: Second Summer of Love


text:
Talk:Flogsta

Real
reagarding the flogsta page. this is not patent nonsense. it is a real area in a real city with thousands of real people living in it. if the bicycle salesman is the problem, then remove him not the whole article.

History and statistics
In what year did the Flogsta Scream start?

How long is the time duration of the average Flogsta Scream?

Does seasonal night length affect the duration of the Flogsta Scream, and if so, how? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.101.104.17 (talk) 06:57, 2 December 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Flogsta


text:
Influenza vaccine

Influenza vaccines, colloquially known as flu shots, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies from year to year, most provide modest to high protection against influenza. Vaccination against influenza began in the 1930s, with large-scale availability in the United States beginning in 1945.

Both the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend yearly vaccination for nearly all people over the age of six months, especially those at high risk, and the influenza vaccine is now on the WHO's List of Essential Medicines. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also recommends yearly vaccination of high-risk groups, particularly pregnant women, the elderly, children between six months and five years, and those with certain health problems.

The vaccines are generally safe, including for people who have severe egg allergies. A common side effect is soreness near the site of injection. Fever occurs in five to ten percent of children vaccinated, and temporary muscle pains or feelings of tiredness may occur. In certain years, the vaccine was linked to an increase in Guillain–Barré syndrome among older people at a rate of about one case per million doses. Influenza vaccines are not recommended in those who have had a severe allergy to previous versions of the vaccine itself. The vaccine comes in inactive and weakened viral forms. The live, weakened vaccine is generally not recommended in pregnant women, children less than two years old, adults older than 50, or people with a weakened immune system. Depending on the type it can be injected into a muscle, sprayed into the nose, or injected into the middle layer of the skin (intradermal). The intradermal vaccine was not available during the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 influenza seasons.

History
Vaccines are used in both humans and non-humans. Human vaccine is meant unless specifically identified as a veterinary, poultry or livestock vaccine.

Origins and development
During the worldwide Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, "Pharmacists tried everything they knew, everything they had ever heard of, from the ancient art of bleeding patients, to administering oxygen, to developing new vaccines and serums (chiefly against what we now call Hemophilus influenzae – a name derived from the fact that it was originally considered the etiological agent – and several types of pneumococci). Only one therapeutic measure, transfusing blood from recovered patients to new victims, showed any hint of success."

In 1931, viral growth in embryonated hens' eggs was reported by Ernest William Goodpasture and colleagues at Vanderbilt University. The work was extended to growth of influenza virus by several workers, including Thomas Francis, Jonas Salk, Wilson Smith, and Macfarlane Burnet, leading to the first experimental influenza vaccines. In the 1940s, the US military developed the first approved inactivated vaccines for influenza, which were used during World War II. Hens' eggs continued to be used to produce virus used in influenza vaccines, but manufacturers made improvements in the purity of the virus by developing improved processes to remove egg proteins and to reduce systemic reactivity of the vaccine. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved influenza vaccines made by growing virus in cell cultures and influenza vaccines made from recombinant proteins have been approved, with plant-based influenza vaccines being tested in clinical trials.

Acceptance
The egg-based technology for producing influenza vaccine was created in the 1950s. In the US swine flu scare of 1976, President Gerald Ford was confronted with a potential swine flu pandemic. The vaccination program was rushed, yet plagued by delays and public relations problems. Meanwhile, maximum military containment efforts succeeded unexpectedly in confining the new strain to the single army base where it had originated. On that base, a number of soldiers fell severely ill, but only one died. The program was canceled after about 24% of the population had received vaccinations. An excess in deaths of 25 over normal annual levels as well as 400 excess hospitalizations, both from Guillain–Barré syndrome, were estimated to have occurred from the vaccination program itself, demonstrating that the vaccine itself is not free of risks. In the end, however, even the maligned 1976 vaccine may have saved lives. A 2010 study found a significantly enhanced immune response against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 in study participants who had received vaccination against the swine flu in 1976. The 2009 H1N1 "swine flu" outbreak resulted in the rapid approval of pandemic influenza vaccines. Pandemrix was quickly modified to target the circulating strain and by late 2010, 70 million people had received a dose. Eight years later, the BMJ gained access to vaccine pharmacovigilance reports compiled by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) during the pandemic which the BMJ reported indicated death was 5.39 fold more likely with Pandemrix vs the other pandemic vaccines.

Quadrivalent vaccines

A quadrivalent flu vaccine administered by nasal mist was approved by the FDA in March 2012. Fluarix Quadrivalent was approved by the FDA in December 2012.

In 2014, the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) published a review of quadrivalent influenza vaccines.

Starting with the 2018–2019 influenza season most of the regular-dose egg-based flu shots and all the recombinant and cell-grown flu vaccines in the United States are quadrivalent. In the 2019–2020 influenza season all regular-dose flu shots and all recombinant influenza vaccine in the United States are quadrivalent.

In November 2019, the FDA approved Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent for use in the United States starting with the 2020–2021 influenza season.

In February 2020, the FDA approved Fluad Quadrivalent for use in the United States. In July 2020, the FDA approved both Fluad and Fluad Quadrivalent for use in the United States for the 2020–2021 influenza season.

The B/Yamagata lineage of influenza B, one of the four lineages targeted by quadrivalent vaccines, might have become extinct in 2020/2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic measures, and there have been no naturally occurring cases confirmed since March 2020. In 2023, the World Health Organization concluded that protection against the Yamagata lineage was no longer necessary in the seasonal flu vaccine, so future vaccines are recommended to be trivalent instead of quadrivalent. For the 2024–2025 Northern Hemisphere influenza season, the FDA recommends removing B/Yamagata from all influenza vaccines.

Medical uses
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the flu vaccine as the best way to protect people against the flu and prevent its spread. The flu vaccine can also reduce the severity of the flu if a person contracts a strain that the vaccine did not contain. It takes about two weeks following vaccination for protective antibodies to form.

A 2012 meta-analysis found that flu vaccination was effective 67   percent of the time; the populations that benefited the most were HIV-positive adults aged 18 to 55 (76    percent), healthy adults aged 18 to 46 (approximately 70    percent), and healthy children aged six months to 24 months (66    percent). The influenza vaccine also appears to protect against myocardial infarction with a benefit of 15–45%.

Effectiveness
A vaccine is assessed by its efficacy – the extent to which it reduces risk of disease under controlled conditions – and its effectiveness – the observed reduction in risk after the vaccine is put into use. In the case of influenza, effectiveness is expected to be lower than the efficacy because it is measured using the rates of influenza-like illness, which is not always caused by influenza. Studies on the effectiveness of flu vaccines in the real world are difficult; vaccines may be imperfectly matched, virus prevalence varies widely between years, and influenza is often confused with other influenza-like illnesses. However, in most years (16 of the 19 years before 2007), the flu vaccine strains have been a good match for the circulating strains, and even a mismatched vaccine can often provide cross-protection. The virus rapidly changes due to antigenic drift, a slight mutation in the virus that causes a new strain to arise.

The effectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines varies significantly, with an estimated average efficacy of 50–60% against symptomatic disease, depending on vaccine strain, age, prior immunity, and immune function, so vaccinated people can still contract influenza. The effectiveness of flu vaccines is considered to be suboptimal, particularly among the elderly, but vaccination is still beneficial in reducing the mortality rate and hospitalization rate due to influenza as well as duration of hospitalization. Vaccination of school-age children has shown to provide indirect protection for other age groups. LAIVs are recommended for children based on superior efficacy, especially for children under 6, and greater immunity against non-vaccine strains when compared to inactivated vaccines.

From 2012 to 2015 in New Zealand, vaccine effectiveness against admission to an intensive care unit was 82%. Effectiveness against hospitalized influenza illness in the 2019–2020 United States flu season was 41% overall and 54% in people aged 65 years or older. One review found 31% effectiveness against death among adults.

Repeated annual influenza vaccination generally offers consistent year-on-year protection against influenza. There is, however, suggestive evidence that repeated vaccinations may cause a reduction in vaccine effectiveness for certain influenza subtypes; this has no relevance to current recommendations for yearly vaccinations but might influence future vaccination policy. , the CDC recommends a yearly vaccine as most studies demonstrate overall effectiveness of annual influenza vaccination.

There is not enough evidence to establish significant differences in the effectiveness of different influenza vaccine types, but there are high-dose or adjuvanted products that induce a stronger immune response in the elderly.

According to a 2016 study by faculty at the University of New South Wales, getting a flu shot was as effective or better at preventing a heart attack than even quitting smoking.

Children
In April 2002, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) encouraged that children 6 to 23 months of age be vaccinated annually against influenza. In 2010, ACIP recommended annual influenza vaccination for those 6 months of age and older. Currently the CDC recommends that everyone except infants under the age of six months should receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. Vaccination campaigns usually focus special attention on people who are at high risk of serious complications if they catch the flu, such as pregnant women, children under 59 months, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems, as well as those to whom they are exposed, such as health care workers.

As the death rate is also high among infants who catch influenza, the CDC and the WHO recommend that household contacts and caregivers of infants be vaccinated to reduce the risk of passing an influenza infection to the infant.

In children, the vaccine appears to decrease the risk of influenza and possibly influenza-like illness. In children under the age of two data are limited. During the 2017–18 flu season, the CDC director indicated that 85 percent of the children who died "likely will not have been vaccinated".

In the United States,, the CDC recommend that children aged six through 35 months may receive either 0.25   milliliters or 0.5    milliliters per dose of Fluzone Quadrivalent. There is no preference for one or the other dose volume of Fluzone Quadrivalent for that age group. All persons 36 months of age and older should receive 0.5 milliliters per dose of Fluzone Quadrivalent. , Afluria Quadrivalent is licensed for children six months of age and older in the United States. Children six months through 35 months of age should receive 0.25   milliliters for each dose of Afluria Quadrivalent. All persons 36 months of age and older should receive 0.5   milliliters per dose of Afluria Quadrivalent. , Afluria Tetra is licensed for adults and children five years of age and older in Canada.

In 2014, the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) published a review of influenza vaccination in healthy 5–18-year-olds, and in 2015, published a review of the use of pediatric Fluad in children 6–72 months of age. In one study, conducted in a tertiary referral center, the rate of influenza vaccination in children was only 31%. Higher rates were found among immuno-suppressed pediatric patients (46%), and in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (50%).

Adults

In unvaccinated adults, 16% get symptoms similar to the flu, while about 10% of vaccinated adults do. Vaccination decreased confirmed cases of influenza from about 2.4% to 1.1%. No effect on hospitalization was found.

In working adults, a review by the Cochrane Collaboration found that vaccination resulted in a modest decrease in both influenza symptoms and working days lost, without affecting transmission or influenza-related complications. In healthy working adults, influenza vaccines can provide moderate protection against virologically confirmed influenza, though such protection is greatly reduced or absent in some seasons.

In health care workers, a 2006 review found a net benefit. Of the eighteen studies in this review, only two also assessed the relationship of patient mortality relative to staff influenza vaccine uptake; both found that higher rates of health care worker vaccination correlated with reduced patient deaths. A 2014 review found benefits to patients when health care workers were immunized, as supported by moderate evidence based in part on the observed reduction in all-cause deaths in patients whose health care workers were given immunization compared with comparison patients where the workers were not offered vaccine.

Elderly
Evidence for an effect in adults over 65 is unclear. Systematic reviews examining both randomized controlled and case–control studies found a lack of high-quality evidence. Reviews of case–control studies found effects against laboratory-confirmed influenza, pneumonia, and death among the community-dwelling elderly.

The group most vulnerable to non-pandemic flu, the elderly, benefits least from the vaccine. There are multiple reasons behind this steep decline in vaccine efficacy, the most common of which are the declining immunological function and frailty associated with advanced age. In a non-pandemic year, a person in the United States aged 50–64 is nearly ten times more likely to die an influenza-associated death than a younger person, and a person over 65 is more than ten times more likely to die an influenza-associated death than the 50–64 age group.

There is a high-dose flu vaccine specifically formulated to provide a stronger immune response. Available evidence indicates that vaccinating the elderly with the high-dose vaccine leads to a stronger immune response against influenza than the regular-dose vaccine.

A flu vaccine containing an adjuvant was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2015, for use by adults aged 65 years of age and older. The vaccine is marketed as Fluad in the US and was first available in the 2016–2017 flu season. The vaccine contains the MF59C.1 adjuvant which is an oil-in-water emulsion of squalene oil. It is the first adjuvanted seasonal flu vaccine marketed in the United States. It is not clear if there is a significant benefit for the elderly to use a flu vaccine containing the MF59C.1 adjuvant. Per Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices guidelines, Fluad can be used as an alternative to other influenza vaccines approved for people 65 years and older.

Vaccinating health care workers who work with elderly people is recommended in many countries, with the goal of reducing influenza outbreaks in this vulnerable population. While there is no conclusive evidence from randomized clinical trials that vaccinating health care workers helps protect elderly people from influenza, there is tentative evidence of benefit.

Fluad Quad was approved for use in Australia in September 2019, Fluad Quadrivalent was approved for use in the United States in February 2020, and Fluad Tetra was approved for use in the European Union in May 2020.

Pregnancy
As well as protecting mother and child from the effects of an influenza infection, the immunization of pregnant women tends to increase their chances of experiencing a successful full-term pregnancy.

The trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine is protective in pregnant women infected with HIV.

Side effects
Common side effects of vaccination include local injection-site reactions and cold-like symptoms. Fever, malaise, and myalgia are less common. Flu vaccines are contraindicated for people who have experienced a severe allergic reaction in response to a flu vaccine or to any component of the vaccine. LAIVs are not given to children or adolescents with severe immunodeficiency or to those who are using salicylate treatments because of the risk of developing Reye syndrome. LAIVs are also not recommended for children under the age of 2, pregnant women, and adults with immunosuppression. Inactivated flu vaccines cannot cause influenza and are regarded as safe during pregnancy.

While side effects of the flu vaccine may occur, they are usually minor, including soreness, redness, and swelling around the point of injection, headache, fever, nausea or fatigue. Side effects of a nasal spray vaccine may include runny nose, wheezing, sore throat, cough, or vomiting.

In some people, a flu vaccine may cause serious side effects, including an allergic reaction, but this is rare. Furthermore, the common side effects and risks are mild and temporary when compared to the risks and severe health effects of the annual influenza epidemic.

Contrary to a common misconception, flu shots cannot cause people to get the flu.

Guillain–Barré syndrome
Although Guillain–Barré syndrome had been feared as a complication of vaccination, the CDC states that most studies on modern influenza vaccines have seen no link with Guillain–Barré. Infection with influenza virus itself increases both the risk of death (up to one in ten thousand) and the risk of developing Guillain–Barré syndrome to a far higher level than the highest level of suspected vaccine involvement (approximately ten times higher by 2009 estimates).

Although one review gives an incidence of about one case of Guillain–Barré per million vaccinations, a large study in China, covering close to a hundred million doses of vaccine against the 2009 H1N1 "swine" flu found only eleven cases of Guillain–Barré syndrome, (0.1 per million doses) total incidence in persons vaccinated, actually lower than the normal rate of the disease in China, and no other notable side effects.

Egg allergy

Although most influenza vaccines are produced using egg-based techniques, influenza vaccines are nonetheless still recommended as safe for people with egg allergies, even if severe, as no increased risk of allergic reaction to the egg-based vaccines has been shown for people with egg allergies. Studies examining the safety of influenza vaccines in people with severe egg allergies found that anaphylaxis was very rare, occurring in 1.3 cases per million doses given.

Monitoring for symptoms from vaccination is recommended in those with more severe symptoms. A study of nearly 800 children with egg allergy, including over 250 with previous anaphylactic reactions, had zero systemic allergic reactions when given the live attenuated flu vaccine.

Vaccines produced using other technologies, notably recombinant vaccines and those based on cell culture rather than egg protein, started to become available from 2012 in the US, and later in Europe and Australia.

Other
Several studies have identified an increased incidence of narcolepsy among recipients of the pandemic H1N1 influenza AS03-adjuvanted vaccine; efforts to identify a mechanism for this suggest that narcolepsy is autoimmune, and that the AS03-adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine may mimic hypocretin, serving as a trigger.

Some injection-based flu vaccines intended for adults in the United States contain thiomersal (also known as thimerosal), a mercury-based preservative. Despite some controversy in the media, the World Health Organization's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has concluded that there is no evidence of toxicity from thiomersal in vaccines and no reason on grounds of safety to change to more-expensive single-dose administration.

Types
Seasonal flu vaccines are available either as:
 * a trivalent or quadrivalent injection, which contains the inactivated form of the virus. This is usually an intramuscular injection, though subcutaneous and intradermal routes can also be protective.
 * a nasal spray of live attenuated influenza vaccine, which contains the live but attenuated (weakened) form of the virus.

Injected vaccines induce protection based on an immune response to the antigens present on the inactivated virus, while the nasal spray works by establishing short-term infection in the nasal passages.

Annual reformulation
Each year, three influenza strains are chosen for inclusion in the fothcoming year's seasonal flu vaccination by the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System of the World Health Organization (WHO). The recommendation for trivalent vaccine comprises two strains of Influenza A (one each of A/H1N1 and A/H3N2), and one strain of influenza B (B/Victoria), together representing strains thought most likely to cause significant human suffering in the coming season. Starting in 2012, WHO has also recommended a second influenza B strain (B/Yamagata) for use in quadrivalent vaccines; this was discontinued in 2024.

 * "The WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network was established in 1952 (renamed "Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System" in 2011). The network comprises four WHO Collaborating Centres (WHO CCs) and 112 institutions in 83 countries, which are recognized by WHO as WHO National Influenza Centres (NICs). These NICs collect specimens in their country, perform primary virus isolation and preliminary antigenic characterization. They ship newly isolated strains to WHO CCs for high level antigenic and genetic analysis, the result of which forms the basis for WHO recommendations on the composition of influenza vaccine for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere each year."

Formal WHO recommendations were first issued in 1973. Beginning in 1999 there have been two recommendations per year: one for the northern hemisphere and the other for the southern hemisphere.

Due to the widespread use of non-pharmaceutical interventions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the B/Yamagata influenza lineage has not been isolated since March 2020, and may have been eradicated. Starting with the 2024 Southern Hemisphere influenza season, the WHO and other regulatory bodies have removed B/Yamagata from influenza vaccine recommendations.

Recommendations
Various public health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), recommend that yearly influenza vaccination be routinely offered, particularly to people at risk of complications of influenza and those individuals who live with or care for high-risk individuals, including:
 * people aged 50 years of age or older
 * people with chronic lung diseases, including asthma
 * people with chronic heart diseases
 * people with chronic liver diseases
 * people with chronic kidney diseases
 * people who have had their spleen removed or whose spleen is not working properly
 * people who are immunocompromised
 * residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
 * health care workers (both to prevent sickness and to prevent spread to their patients)
 * children and adolescents (aged 6 months through 18 years) who are receiving aspirin- or salicylate-containing medications and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection
 * American Indians/Alaska Natives
 * people who are extremely obese (body mass index ≥40 for adults)
 * people who are extremely obese (body mass index ≥40 for adults)

The flu vaccine is contraindicated for those under six months of age and those with severe, life-threatening allergies to flu vaccine or any ingredient in the vaccine.

World Health Organization
, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends seasonal influenza vaccination for:

First priority:
 * Pregnant women

Second priority (in no particular order):
 * Children aged 6–59 months
 * Elderly
 * Individuals with specific chronic medical conditions
 * Health-care workers

Canada
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), the group that advises the Public Health Agency of Canada, recommends that everyone over six months of age be encouraged to receive annual influenza vaccination, and that children between the age of six months and 24 months, and their household contacts, should be considered a high priority for the flu vaccine. Particularly:
 * People at high risk of influenza-related complications or hospitalization, including people who are morbidly obese, healthy pregnant women, children aged 6–59 months, the elderly, aboriginals, and people with one of an itemized list of chronic health conditions
 * People capable of transmitting influenza to those at high risk, including household contacts and health care workers
 * People who provide essential community services
 * Certain poultry workers

Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) was not available in Canada for the 2019–2020 season.

European Union
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recommends vaccinating the elderly as a priority, with a secondary priority people with chronic medical conditions and health care workers.

The influenza vaccination strategy is generally that of protecting vulnerable people, rather than limiting influenza circulation or eliminating human influenza sickness. This is in contrast with the high herd immunity strategies for other infectious diseases such as polio and measles. This is also due in part to the financial and logistics burden associated with the need of an annual injection.

United States

In the United States routine influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged six months and over. It takes up to two weeks after vaccination for sufficient antibodies to develop in the body. The CDC recommends vaccination before the end of October, although it considers getting a vaccine in December or even later to be still beneficial. The U.S. military also requires a flu shot annually for its active and reserve servicemembers.

According to the CDC, the live attenuated virus (LAIV4) (which comes in the form of the nasal spray in the US) should be avoided by some groups.

Within its blanket recommendation for general vaccination in the United States, the CDC, which began recommending the influenza vaccine to health care workers in 1981, emphasizes to clinicians the special urgency of vaccination for members of certain vulnerable groups, and their caregivers:
 * Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of serious influenza complications or people who live with or care for people at higher risk for serious complications. In 2009, a new high-dose formulation of the standard influenza vaccine was approved. The Fluzone High Dose is specifically for people 65 and older; the difference is that it has four times the antigen dose of the standard Fluzone.

The US government requires hospitals to report worker vaccination rates. Some US states and hundreds of US hospitals require health care workers to either get vaccinations or wear masks during flu season. These requirements occasionally engender union lawsuits on narrow collective bargaining grounds, but proponents note that courts have generally endorsed forced vaccination laws affecting the general population during disease outbreaks.

Vaccination against influenza is especially considered important for members of high-risk groups who would be likely to have complications from influenza, for example pregnant women and children and teenagers from six months to 18 years of age who are receiving aspirin- or salicylate-containing medications and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;
 * In raising the upper age limit to 18 years, the aim is to reduce both the time children and parents lose from visits to pediatricians and missing school and the need for antibiotics for complications
 * An added benefit expected from the vaccination of children is a reduction in the number of influenza cases among parents and other household members, and of possible spread to the general community.

The CDC indicated that live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also called the nasal spray vaccine, was not recommended for the 2016–2017 flu season in the United States.

Furthermore, the CDC recommends that health care personnel who care for severely immunocompromised persons receive injections (TIV or QIV) rather than LAIV.

Australia
The Australian Government recommends seasonal flu vaccination for everyone over the age of six months. Australia uses inactivated vaccines. Until 2021, the egg-based vaccine has been the only one available (and continues to be the only free one), but from March 2021 a new cell-based vaccine is available for those who wish to pay for it, and it is expected that this one will become the standard by 2026. The standard flu vaccine is free for the following people:
 * children aged six months to five years;
 * people aged 65 years and over;
 * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged six months and over;
 * pregnant women; and
 * anyone over six months of age with medical conditions such as severe asthma, lung disease or heart disease, low immunity or diabetes that can lead to complications from influenza.

At risk groups
Uptake of flu vaccination, both seasonally and during pandemics, is often low. Systematic reviews of pandemic flu vaccination uptake have identified several personal factors that may influence uptake, including gender (higher uptake in men), ethnicity (higher in people from ethnic minorities) and having a chronic illness. Beliefs in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine are also important.

A number of measures have been found to be useful to increase rates of vaccination in those over sixty including: patient reminders using leaflets and letters, postcard reminders, client outreach programs, vaccine home visits, group vaccinations, free vaccinations, physician payment, physician reminders and encouraging physician competition.

Health care workers
Frontline health care workers are often recommended to get seasonal and any pandemic flu vaccination. For example, in the UK all health care workers involved in patient care are recommended to receive the seasonal flu vaccine, and were also recommended to be vaccinated against the H1N1/09 (later renamed A(H1N1)pdm09 ) swine flu virus during the 2009 pandemic. However, uptake is often low. During the 2009 pandemic, low uptake by healthcare workers was seen in countries including the UK, Italy, Greece, and Hong Kong.

In a 2010 survey of United States health care workers, 63.5% reported that they received the flu vaccine during the 2010–11 season, an increase from 61.9% reported the previous season. US Health professionals with direct patient contact had higher vaccination uptake, such as physicians and dentists (84.2%) and nurse practitioners (82.6%).

The main reason to vaccinate health care workers is to prevent staff from spreading flu to their patients and to reduce staff absence at a time of high service demand, but the reasons health care workers state for their decisions to accept or decline vaccination may more often be to do with perceived personal benefits.

In Victoria (Australia) public hospitals, rates of health care worker vaccination in 2005 ranged from 34% for non-clinical staff to 42% for laboratory staff. One of the reasons for rejecting vaccines was concern over adverse reactions; in one study, 31% of resident physicians at a teaching hospital incorrectly believed Australian vaccines could cause influenza.

Manufacturing

Research continues into the idea of a "universal" influenza vaccine that would not require tailoring to a particular strain, but would be effective against a broad variety of influenza viruses. No vaccine candidates had been announced by November 2007, but, there are several universal vaccines candidates, in pre-clinical development and in clinical trials.

In a 2007 report, the global capacity of approximately 826 million seasonal influenza vaccine doses (inactivated and live) was double the production of 413 million doses. In an aggressive scenario of producing pandemic influenza vaccines by 2013, only 2.8 billion courses could be produced in a six-month time frame. If all high- and upper-middle-income countries sought vaccines for their entire populations in a pandemic, nearly two billion courses would be required. If China pursued this goal as well, more than three billion courses would be required to serve these populations. Vaccine research and development is ongoing to identify novel vaccine approaches that could produce much greater quantities of vaccine at a price that is affordable to the global population.

Egg-based
Most flu vaccines are grown by vaccine manufacturers in fertilized chicken eggs. In the Northern hemisphere, the manufacturing process begins following the announcement (typically in February) of the WHO recommended strains for the winter flu season. Three strains (representing an H1N1, an H3N2, and a B strain) of flu are selected and chicken eggs are inoculated separately. These monovalent harvests are then combined to make the trivalent vaccine.

, both the conventional injection and the nasal spray are manufactured using chicken eggs. The European Union also approved Optaflu, a vaccine produced by Novartis using vats of animal cells. This technique is expected to be more scalable and avoid problems with eggs, such as allergic reactions and incompatibility with strains that affect avians like chickens.

Influenza vaccines are produced in pathogen-free eggs that are eleven or twelve days old. The top of the egg is disinfected by wiping it with alcohol and then the egg is candled to identify a non-veinous area in the allantoic cavity where a small hole is poked to serve as a pressure release. A second hole is made at the top of the egg, where the influenza virus is injected in the allantoic cavity, past the chorioallantoic membrane. The two holes are then sealed with melted paraffin and the inoculated eggs are incubated for 48 hours at 37 degrees Celsius. During incubation time, the virus replicates and newly replicated viruses are released into the allantoic fluid

After the 48-hour incubation period, the top of the egg is cracked and the ten milliliters of allantoic fluid is removed, from which about fifteen micrograms of the flu vaccine can be obtained. At this point, the viruses have been weakened or killed and the viral antigen is purified and placed inside vials, syringes, or nasal sprayers. Up to 3 eggs are needed to produce one dose of a trivalent vaccine, and an estimated 600 million eggs are produced each year for flu vaccine production.

Other methods of manufacture
Methods of vaccine generation that bypass the need for eggs include the construction of influenza virus-like particles (VLP). VLP resemble viruses, but there is no need for inactivation, as they do not include viral coding elements, but merely present antigens in a similar manner to a virion. Some methods of producing VLP include cultures of Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 insect cells and plant-based vaccine production (e.g., production in Nicotiana benthamiana). There is evidence that some VLPs elicit antibodies that recognize a broader panel of antigenically distinct viral isolates compared to other vaccines in the hemagglutination-inhibition assay (HIA).

A gene-based DNA vaccine, used to prime the immune system after boosting with an inactivated H5N1 vaccine, underwent clinical trials in 2011.

On November 20, 2012, Novartis received FDA approval for the first cell-culture vaccine. In 2013, the recombinant influenza vaccine, Flublok, was approved for use in the United States.

On September 17, 2020, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for Supemtek, a quadrivalent influenza vaccine (recombinant, prepared in cell culture). The applicant for this medicinal product is Sanofi Pasteur. Supemtek was approved for medical use in the European Union in November 2020.

Australia authorised its first and cell-based vaccine in March 2021, based on an "eternal cell line" of a dog kidney. Because of the way it is produced, it produces better-matched vaccine (to the flu strains).

Vaccine manufacturing countries
According to the WHO,, countries where influenza vaccine is produced include:

In addition, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Thailand had facilities in final stages of establishing production.

Cost-effectiveness
The cost-effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination has been widely evaluated for different groups and in different settings. In the elderly (over 65), the majority of published studies have found that vaccination is cost saving, with the cost savings associated with influenza vaccination (e.g. prevented health care visits) outweighing the cost of vaccination. In older adults (aged 50–64 years), several published studies have found that influenza vaccination is likely to be cost-effective, however the results of these studies were often found to be dependent on key assumptions used in the economic evaluations. The uncertainty in influenza cost-effectiveness models can partially be explained by the complexities involved in estimating the disease burden, as well as the seasonal variability in the circulating strains and the match of the vaccine. In healthy working adults (aged 18–49 years), a 2012 review found that vaccination was generally not cost-saving, with the suitability for funding being dependent on the willingness to pay to obtain the associated health benefits. In children, the majority of studies have found that influenza vaccination was cost-effective, however many of the studies included (indirect) productivity gains, which may not be given the same weight in all settings. Several studies have attempted to predict the cost-effectiveness of interventions (including prepandemic vaccination) to help protect against a future pandemic, however estimating the cost-effectiveness has been complicated by uncertainty as to the severity of a potential future pandemic and the efficacy of measures against it.

Research
Influenza research includes molecular virology, molecular evolution, pathogenesis, host immune responses, genomics, and epidemiology. These help in developing influenza countermeasures such as vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tools. Improved influenza countermeasures require basic research on how viruses enter cells, replicate, mutate, evolve into new strains and induce an immune response. The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project is creating a library of influenza sequences that will help researchers' understanding of what makes one strain more lethal than another, what genetic determinants most affect immunogenicity, and how the virus evolves over time. Solutions to limitations in current vaccine methods are being researched.

A different approach uses Internet content to estimate the impact of an influenza vaccination campaign. More specifically, researchers have used data from Twitter and Microsoft's Bing search engine, and proposed a statistical framework which, after a series of operations, maps this information to estimates of the influenza-like illness reduction percentage in areas where vaccinations have been performed. The method has been used to quantify the impact of two flu vaccination programmes in England (2013/14 and 2014/15), where school-age children were administered a live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV). Notably, the impact estimates were in accordance with estimations from Public Health England based on traditional syndromic surveillance endpoints.

Rapid response to pandemic flu
The rapid development, production, and distribution of pandemic influenza vaccines could potentially save millions of lives during an influenza pandemic. Due to the short time frame between identification of a pandemic strain and need for vaccination, researchers are looking at novel technologies for vaccine production that could provide better "real-time" access and be produced more affordably, thereby increasing access for people living in low- and moderate-income countries, where an influenza pandemic may likely originate, such as live attenuated (egg-based or cell-based) technology and recombinant technologies (proteins and virus-like particles). , more than seventy known clinical trials have been completed or are ongoing for pandemic influenza vaccines. In September 2009, the FDA approved four vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus (the 2009 pandemic strain), and expected the initial vaccine lots to be available within the following month.

In January 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Audenz as a vaccine for the H5N1 flu virus. Audenz is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by the influenza A virus H5N1 subtype contained in the vaccine. Audenz is approved for use in persons six months of age and older at increased risk of exposure to the influenza A virus H5N1 subtype contained in the vaccine.

Universal flu vaccines
A universal influenza vaccine that would not have to be designed and made for each flu season in each hemisphere would stabilize the supply, avoid error in predicting the season's variants, and protect against escape of the circulating strains by mutation. Such a vaccine has been the subject of research for decades.

One approach is to use broadly neutralizing antibodies that, unlike the annual seasonal vaccines used over the first decades of the 21st century that provoke the body to generate an immune response, instead provide a component of the immune response itself. The first neutralizing antibodies were identified in 1993, via experimentation. It was found that the flu neutralizing antibodies bound to the stalk of the Hemagglutinin protein. Antibodies that could bind to the head of those proteins were identified. The highly conserved M2 proton channel was proposed as a potential target for broadly neutralizing antibodies.

The challenges for researchers are to identify single antibodies that could neutralize many subtypes of the virus, so that they could be useful in any season, and that target conserved domains that are resistant to antigenic drift.

Another approach is to take the conserved domains identified from these projects, and to deliver groups of these antigens to provoke an immune response; various approaches with different antigens, presented different ways (as fusion proteins, mounted on virus-like particles, on non-pathogenic viruses, as DNA, and others), are under development.

Efforts have also been undertaken to develop universal vaccines that specifically activate a T-cell response, based on clinical data showing that people with a strong, early T-cell response have better outcomes when infected with influenza and because T-cells respond to conserved epitopes. The challenge for developers is that these epitopes are on internal protein domains that are only mildly immunogenic.

Along with the rest of the vaccine field, people working on universal vaccines have experimented with vaccine adjuvants to improve the ability of their vaccines to create a sufficiently powerful and enduring immune response.

Oral influenza vaccine
As of 2019, an oral flu vaccine was in clinical research. The oral vaccine candidate is based on an adenovirus type   5 vector modified to remove genes needed for replication, with an added gene that expresses a small double-stranded RNA hairpin molecule as an adjuvant. In 2020, a Phase   II human trial of the pill form of the vaccine showed that it was well tolerated and provided similar immunity to a licensed injectable vaccine.

COVID-19
An influenza vaccine and a COVID-19 vaccine may be given safely at the same time. Preliminary research indicates that influenza vaccination does not prevent COVID-19, but may reduce the incidence and severity of COVID-19 infection.

Criticism
Tom Jefferson, who has led Cochrane Collaboration reviews of flu vaccines, has called clinical evidence concerning flu vaccines "rubbish" and has therefore declared them to be ineffective; he has called for placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials, which most in the field hold as unethical. His views on the efficacy of flu vaccines are rejected by medical institutions including the CDC and the National Institutes of Health, and by key figures in the field like Anthony Fauci.

Michael Osterholm, who led the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy 2012 review on flu vaccines, recommended getting the vaccine but criticized its promotion, saying, "We have overpromoted and overhyped this vaccine   ... it does not protect as promoted. It's all a sales job: it's all public relations."

Veterinary use
Veterinary influenza vaccination aims to achieve the following four objectives:
 * 1) Protection from clinical disease
 * 2) Protection from infection with virulent virus
 * 3) Protection from virus excretion
 * 4) Serological differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (so-called DIVA principle).

Horses
Horses with horse flu can run a fever, have a dry hacking cough, have a runny nose, and become depressed and reluctant to eat or drink for several days but usually recover in two to three weeks. "Vaccination schedules generally require a primary course of two doses, 3–6 weeks apart, followed by boosters at 6–12 month intervals. It is generally recognized that in many cases such schedules may not maintain protective levels of antibody and more frequent administration is advised in high-risk situations."

It is a common requirement at shows in the United Kingdom that horses be vaccinated against equine flu and a vaccination card must be produced; the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) requires vaccination every six months.

Poultry
Poultry vaccines for bird flu are made inexpensively and are not filtered and purified like human vaccines to remove bits of bacteria or other viruses. They usually contain whole virus, not just hemagglutinin as in most human flu vaccines. Another difference between human and poultry vaccines is that poultry vaccines are adjuvated with mineral oil, which induces a strong immune reaction but can cause inflammation and abscesses. "Chicken vaccinators who have accidentally jabbed themselves have developed painful swollen fingers or even lost thumbs, doctors said. Effectiveness may also be limited. Chicken vaccines are often only vaguely similar to circulating flu strains – some contain an H5N2 strain isolated in Mexico years ago. 'With a chicken, if you use a vaccine that's only 85   percent related, you'll get protection,' Dr. Cardona said. 'In humans, you can get a single point mutation, and a vaccine that's 99.99    percent related won't protect you.' And they are weaker [than human vaccines]. 'Chickens are smaller and you only need to protect them for six weeks, because that's how long they live till you eat them,' said Dr. John J. Treanor, a vaccine expert at the University of Rochester. Human seasonal flu vaccines contain about 45 micrograms of antigen, while an experimental A(H5N1) vaccine contains 180. Chicken vaccines may contain less than one microgram. 'You have to be careful about extrapolating data from poultry to humans,' warned Dr. David E. Swayne, director of the agriculture department's Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory. 'Birds are more closely related to dinosaurs.'"

Researchers, led by Nicholas Savill of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, used mathematical models to simulate the spread of H5N1 and concluded that "at least 95   percent of birds need to be protected to prevent the virus spreading silently. In practice, it is difficult to protect more than 90    percent of a flock; protection levels achieved by a vaccine are usually much lower than this." The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has issued recommendations on the prevention and control of avian influenza in poultry, including the use of vaccination.

Pigs
Swine influenza vaccines are extensively used in pig farming in Europe and North America. Most swine flu vaccines include an H1N1 and an H3N2 strain.

Swine influenza has been recognized as a major problem since the outbreak in 1976. Evolution of the virus has resulted in inconsistent responses to traditional vaccines. Standard commercial swine flu vaccines are effective in controlling the problem when the virus strains match enough to have significant cross-protection. Customised (autogenous) vaccines made from the specific viruses isolated, are made and used in the more difficult cases. The vaccine manufacturer Novartis claims that the H3N2 strain (first identified in 1998) has brought major losses to pig farmers. Abortion storms are a common sign and sows stop eating for a few days and run a high fever. The mortality rate can be as high as fifteen percent.

Dogs
In 2004, influenza A virus subtype H3N8 was discovered to cause canine influenza. Because of the lack of previous exposure to this virus, dogs have no natural immunity to this virus. However, a vaccine was found in 2004.

title: Influenza vaccine


text: Category:Fictional trains

title: Category:Fictional trains


text:
Thirty Tyrants (disambiguation)

Thirty Tyrants may refer to either of two groups of rulers in classical Antiquity:

 * Thirty Tyrants, a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE
 * Thirty Tyrants (Roman), a series of thirty rulers who appear in the Historia Augusta as having ostensibly been pretenders to the throne of the Roman Empire during the reign of the emperor Gallienus (reigned 253–268); but there is a scholarly consensus that the author of the Historia Augusta deliberately inflated the number of pretenders in order to parallel the Thirty Tyrants of Athens

title: Thirty Tyrants (disambiguation)


text:
Deadlands: Hell on Earth

Deadlands: Hell on Earth (or "Deadlands: The Wasted West") is a genre-mixing alternate history roleplaying game which combines the post-apocalyptic and horror genres. Western tropes and magitech elements are also prominent. It was written by Shane Lacy Hensley and originally published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. As part of the original marketing campaign in August 1998, the game had a green leatherbound hardcover edition run, limited to about 750 copies.

Plot
As the name implies, Deadlands: Hell on Earth is set in the same exact place as the original Deadlands roleplaying game. Specifically, it is set in a post-apocalyptic future of the original "Weird West" setting of Deadlands, also known as the "Wasted West."

Through a series of machinations, the Reckoners from the original Deadlands setting contrive to spark a nuclear war between the United States and the still-existent Confederate States, in which the weapons are not only powered by nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, but are also powered by a supernatural element known as "Ghost Rock." The combination of multi-megaton explosives, radiation, and supernatural devastation serves to turn large portions of the United States into hellish wastelands filled with radiation and deadly supernatural monsters.

The formation of these large "deadlands" allows the Reckoners to enter the realm of Earth, where they are revealed to be the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They ravage across the globe, destroying civilization and turning most of the Earth into a wasted landscape of nightmares and death. Then they mysteriously vanish.

Thirteen years have passed since the Reckoners appeared, and civilization is once more attempting to assert itself in small, isolated pockets. Players take on the roles of characters struggling to survive the nightmarish wasteland that the Reckoners left behind. A variety of mundane and arcane archetypes are available, including "Sykers" (characters with deadly psychic powers), "Doomsayers" (magical priests of radiation), "Templars" (members of a martial organization patterned after the Knights Templar), "Junkers" (humans with the supernatural ability to create working devices from the scavenged debris of pre-apocalypse civilization), and even just plain-old everyday humans, surviving by their wits and their gun.

Character types
In addition to a variety of mundane survivors, would-be law men, ex-road gangers, and general do-gooders that exist in Hell on Earth, there are a number of magically-attuned characters that are playable.

In addition to the new arcane backgrounds found in Hell on Earth, many of the arcane backgrounds from Deadlands still exist. These include Shamans, Hucksters, Voodooists, and Blessed, and are detailed in their respective Deadlands: Weird West sourcebooks.
 * Anti-Templar: Anti-Templars have defected from the Templars due to clashing views over the worth of human life. They believe that all people are deserving of help and do not discriminate or test people like the Templars do. The two groups share a similar list of powers, but Anti-Templars have a few tricks of their own. Anti-Templars are detailed in the Last Crusaders sourcebook.
 * Cyborgs: Before the Last War, scientists could not get human Cyborgs to work well due to an inability to perfectly mimic all of the vital organs that people have. Instead, they turned their efforts to making Cyborgs from Harrowed. In addition to cybernetic enhancements and the general abilities that all Harrowed have, some (usually those who were Harrowed before the Cyborg conversion) have access to Harrowed powers. Cyborgs (as well as Harrowed) are detailed in the Cyborgs sourcebook.
 * Doomsayers: Doomsayers are magically gifted people who gain power through worship of "The Atom." They believe that mutation is the next step for humanity, and that they are the priests of this new way of life. The original group of Doomsayers, called the Cult of Doom, are now a villain group who try to speed up evolution by killing humans. They are sometimes referred to as "Green Robes" due to the robes they wear. The Schismatic Doomsayers, who don purple robes, believe that their gifts need to be spread to help the humans. While they still believe that mutation is a sign of the gifted and the way of the future, they do not outright attack humans and are largely seen as good and heroic. With some of the most devastating powers in the game, Doomsayers are one of the more potent arcane backgrounds. Doomsayers are detailed in the Children o' the Atom sourcebook.
 * Junker: Sort of an evolved form of Mad Science and Huckster magic (in particular, the Thaumaturgical Diffusionists, or Metal Mages, whose magic focused on item construction and more scientific theories), Junkers construct amazing devices using scavenged parts and magic rituals. Their powers come from "Tech Spirits"—spirits of Pre-War technological objects that now reside in a part of the Hunting Grounds. The rules for item creation are far more complex than those of the Mad Scientists, but allow for great variety and uniqueness. Junkers are detailed in The Junkman Cometh sourcebook.
 * Librarians: Magically, Librarians are an evolution of a mundane character concept introduced earlier in the game. The group spreads across America, searching for and preserving knowledge in order to prevent its ultimate loss. As an arcane background, Librarians gain powers based around literature, such being able to emulate traits of famous literary characters. Librarians are detailed as mundane collector/heroes in The Wasted West sourcebook and as an arcane background in the Shattered Coast sourcebook.
 * Martial Artist: Martial Artists are very similar to those from the Weird West. In addition to receiving some rule updates, Sykers are allowed to use Martial Arts powers, as their training was developed from Martial Arts training. Martial Artists are detailed in the Waste Warriors sourcebook.
 * Power Armor Pilot: Power armor jocks pilot super advanced power armor. Like Iron Man but tougher.  HI, US and CS models.  Incredible firepower but short operational times due to batteries.
 * Syker: Sykers, who use powerful psychic abilities, were usually trained for military combat and espionage. While most saw action on Banshee (the location for Deadlands: Lost Colony), many others were stationed on Earth to fight human threats during the Last War. A third group of Sykers called "Greenies" have discovered their powers since the end of the Last War. While less experienced than Banshee or Earth Sykers, Greenies have the ability to overcharge their powers to make them more potent, at the cost of additional strain and risk. Sykers are detailed in the Brainburners sourcebook.
 * Templar: The Templars were formed to help those in need. However, because the founder of the Templars felt that people need to be willing to help themselves and aid in their fight, he decreed that each Templar must only help those that he deems worthy. The Templars gain magical powers from "the Saints", great people from the past who lend their strength to those of worth. In addition to Templars, some other heroic characters can use some of the powers Templars get, although not nearly on the same level. Templars are detailed in the Last Crusaders sourcebook.
 * Toxic Shaman: When the Ghost Rock Bombs were dropped, and the world transformed into a toxic wasteland, many of the nature spirits were affected by the mystical corruption. As a result, spirits of pollution and insects suited for this toxic world gained greater power, and the spirits of pure nature were severely weakened. Toxic Shamans channel the mystical energies of these "Toxic Spirits" in the same way their predecessors, the Shamans, channeled the power of the nature spirits. Toxic Shamans are detailed in the Spirit Warriors sourcebook.
 * Witch: Witches are similar to Hucksters in practice. Witches use an old cookbook (titled "How to Serve your Man") with encrypted spells in it. They have a limited selection of powers and are minor arcane characters in Hell on Earth. Witches are detailed in the Wasted West sourcebook.

Current status
Although Deadlands has officially ended as its own product line, Pinnacle Entertainment Group has re-released all of the "Classic" Deadlands line in print and in an electronic version.

Deadlands: The Weird West saw an update in 2006 as Deadlands: Reloaded. The Reloaded line updates the setting and brings the rules in line with Pinnacle's current flagship product, Savage Worlds. Hell on Earth: Reloaded was released digitally in July, 2012, with a print version to follow later in the year.

Reception
The reviewer from the online second volume of Pyramid stated that "Deadlands: Hell on Earth continues the trend that the original Deadlands game began, taking the Weird West more than 200 years into the future for a kind of "Weird West meets the Road Warrior" setting with all the fun and weirdness of the original, and then some. There are themes of fighting against evil, rebuilding civilization and man's inhumanity to man but mostly it's a fun game outlaw heroes with cool new guns and abilities fighting mutants and other nasty critters."

Game historian Shannon Appelcline, in his book Designers & Dragons: The 90s, noted that "Hell on Earth was the first game to show the cracks in Pinnacle's original Deadlands system. Where the bullet-by-bullet combat of Deadlands had been evocative and fast-paced for a game with six-shooters, it began to bog down with the fully automatic weaponry of the Hell on Earth era."

Other reviews and commentary

 * Shadis #52 (Oct., 1998)
 * Casus Belli #116
 * Backstab #11

Rulebooks
See List of Deadlands: Hell on Earth publications

title: Deadlands: Hell on Earth


text:
Pinus latteri

Pinus latteri, or Tenasserim pine, is a pine native to Mainland Southeast Asia.

Description
Pinus latteri is a medium-sized to large tree, reaching 25–45 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves ('needles') are in pairs, moderately slender, 15–20 cm long and just over 1 mm thick, green to yellowish green. The cones are narrow conic, 6–14 cm long and 4 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown. They open to 6–8 cm broad, often some time after maturity or following heating by forest fires, to release the seeds. The seeds are 7–8 mm long, with a 20–25 mm wing, and are wind-dispersed.

Related species
Pinus latteri is closely related to Sumatran pine (Pinus merkusii), which occurs further south in Southeast Asia in Sumatra and the Philippines; some botanists treat the two as conspecific (under the name P. merkusii, which was described first), but the Sumatran pine differs in shorter (15–20 cm) and slenderer (under 1 mm thick) leaves, smaller cones with thinner scales, the cones opening at maturity, and seeds only half the weight. It is also related to the group of Mediterranean pines including Aleppo pine and Turkish pine, which share many features with it.

Distribution and habitat
It grows in the mountains of southeastern Burma, northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Guangxi Province and Hainan island of China.

It generally occurs at moderate elevations, mostly from 400–1000 m, but occasionally as low as 100 m and up to 1200 m. The tree is named after the Tenasserim Hills between Myanmar and Thailand.

title: Pinus latteri


text: File:Little Feat - Down Upon the Suwannee River.jpg


text:
Black robin

The black robin or Chatham Island robin (Moriori: karure, kakaruia; Petroica traversi) is an endangered bird from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand. It is closely related to the South Island robin (P. australis). It was first described by Walter Buller in 1872. The binomial commemorates the New Zealand botanist Henry H. Travers (1844–1928). Unlike its mainland counterparts, its flight capacity is somewhat reduced. Evolution in the absence of mammalian predators made it vulnerable to introduced species, such as cats and rats, and it became extinct on the main island of the Chatham group before 1871, being restricted to Little Mangere Island thereafter.

Discovery and taxonomy
The first mention of the black robin in science was at a presentation given by William Travers at the Wellington Philosophical Society in 1871. He presented the findings of his son, Henry Travers, who had visited the Chatham Islands to investigate their fauna. Although Henry Travers' notes on his visit were published the following year, it was the publication of Walter Buller a month later that is considered the species' official description.

In 1905 it was believed to be completely vanished: "...the so-called black Tit or black Robin, Miro traversi, have fallen victims to man and his satellites."

Description
The black robin is a small, sparrow-sized bird measuring 10 –. Its plumage is almost entirely brownish-black, with a black bill and brownish-black yellow-soled feet.

Females are usually slightly smaller than males. Male songs are a simple phrase of 5 to 7 notes. Its call is a high-pitched single note. Their eyes are dark brown. Black robins moult between December and March.

Habitat
Black robins live in low-altitude scrub forest remnants. They are entirely insectivorous, feeding on the forest floor or on low branches, and preferring to nest in hollow trees and tree stumps. To shelter from the strong winds and rough seas around the islands, they frequent the lower branches of the forest, or in flat areas with deep litter layers. They prefer woody vegetation under the canopies of trees such as akeake.

Ecology and behaviour
Black robins are territorial. Males will patrol and defend their areas. Females have been known to chase away other females. They make short flights from branch to branch and do not fly long distances.

Diet and feeding
Black robins forage in the leaf litter on the ground for grubs, cockroaches, wētā, and worms. Black robins will hunt for food during the day and night and have good night vision.

Breeding
Black robins will generally start to breed at two years of age. The female robin will make the nest, and while she lays and incubates the eggs, the male will feed the female for a rest.

Eggs are laid between early October and late December. A second clutch may be laid if the first is unsuccessful. The clutch size varies from one to three eggs, but two is typical. Eggs are creamy in colour with purple splotches. When the eggs are laid, the female will sit on them to keep them warm until they hatch, after about 18 days. Then both parents will help to feed the chicks. Young robins stay in the nest for about 23 days after hatching, but even after leaving the nest the parents will continue to feed them until they are about 65 days old. This period of parental care is longer than would normally be expected for a bird of this size. After leaving the nest, chicks often spend the first day or two on the ground learning to use their wings, and here they are exposed to predators.

Life expectancy
Survivorship between 1980 and 1991 indicates a mean life expectancy of four years. "Old Blue", the sole breeding female in 1980, lived for over 14 years. Some black robins can live from 6 to 13 years.

Conservation and distribution
There are now around 300 black robins (in 2021), but in 1980 only five survived on Little Mangere Island. They were saved from extinction by Don Merton and his Wildlife Service team, and by "Old Blue", the last remaining fertile female. The remaining birds were moved to Mangere Island. The team increased the annual output of Old Blue (and later other females) by removing the first clutch every year and placing the eggs in the nest of the Chatham race of the tomtit, a technique known as cross-fostering. The tomtits raised the first brood, and the black robins, having lost their eggs, relaid and raised another brood. Many females laid eggs on the rims of nests where the eggs could not survive without help. Human conservationists pushed the eggs back into the nests where they were incubated and hatched successfully. The maladaptive gene causing this behaviour spread until over 50% of females laid rim eggs. Humans stopped pushing eggs back in time to prevent the gene spreading to all birds which could have made the birds dependent on humans indefinitely. After human intervention stopped, rim laying became less frequent, but 9% of birds still laid rim eggs as of 2011. Conservationists have faced some criticism that they may inadvertently do harm, if they allow organisms with deleterious traits to survive and perpetuate what is maladaptive.

All of the surviving black robins are descended from "Old Blue", giving little genetic variation among the population and creating the most extreme population bottleneck possible. However, this does not seem to have caused inbreeding problems, leading to speculation that the species has passed through several such population reductions in its evolutionary past, and has lost any alleles that could cause deleterious inbreeding effects. It was generally assumed that the minimum viable population protecting from inbreeding depression was around 50 individuals, but this is now known to be an inexact average, with the actual numbers being below 10 in rapidly reproducing small-island species, such as the black robin, to several hundred in long-lived continental species with a wide distribution (such as elephants or tigers).

Nest predation by introduced common starlings is the most common cause of nesting failure for black robins on Rangatira Island, with almost 21% of nests failing due to starlings. Incidents of failure caused by starlings are more common when black robins nest in cavities compared to open nests.

The species is still vulnerable, but now numbers around 300 individuals in populations on Mangere Island and South East Island. Ongoing restoration of habitat and eradication of introduced predators is being undertaken, so that the population of this and other endangered Chatham endemics can be spread to several populations, decreasing the risk of extinction by natural disasters or similar stochastic events. Attempts made to establish another population in a fenced covenant on Pitt Island have failed so far.

Further references
Attenborough, D. 1998. The Life of Birds. BBC ISBN 0563-38792-0

title: Black robin


text:
Italo house

Italo house (often simply referred to as "Italian" or "Italian house" in the UK) is a form of house music originating in Italy. Typically popular in Italy, Britain, and United States since the late 1980s, it fuses house music and Italo disco. The genre's main musical characteristic is its use of predominantly electronic piano chords in a more lyrical form than classic Chicago house records. The best known example is Black Box's "Ride on Time", but the genre became very popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s for the uplifting and anthemic tunes against the background of indie-dance.

History
"Italo-house" as it became known in the early 1990s was a happy, euphoric sound; pioneered essentially by the production stable of Gianfranco Bortolotti, whose alter egos included Cappella, R.A.F., East Side Beat, and the 49ers. Records produced in Italy dominated the UK dance charts of 1990/91 with tunes including Asha's "JJ Tribute" (lead vocals by Joyce Chung), DJ H's "Think About", Last Rhythm's "Last Rhythm", and Jinny's "Keep Warm" signifying the uplifting, happy vibe. Artists such as K-Klass, Bassheads, and Felix built on the Italian piano sound to create uplifting tunes still played out today, although the pioneers of the sound such as DJ Sasha have long since left the happy vibe of piano house to concentrate on other styles.

authors: ಮಲ್ನಾಡಾಚ್ ಕೊಂಕ್ಣೊ

title: Italo house